CHAPTER 260: 260

The food truck slowly made its way through the outskirts.

All around were fields of grass, lush and dripping with green.

Not far off were tall mountains, their layers rich with foliage.

Atop the mountains stood many metal wind turbines, their triple blades gently spinning.

The scene was beautiful.

Jiang Feng drove the food truck at an unhurried pace.

Sun Zhuangfei kept staring out the window, growing increasingly astonished.

The scenery here was picturesque. It resembled a scene from a comic book.

Jiang Feng felt invigorated. He didn’t set up his stall to make money; he wasn’t scurrying for a living but acting on his hobbies, so his mindset was different. He could enjoy the scenery to his heart’s content. Apart from him, few would choose such a place to set up a stall.

Sun Zhuangfei remarked, "Boss, it’s really beautiful here.

"This is my first time seeing wind turbines.

"It would be great to have a few of these beside my house."

Hearing this, Jiang Feng shook his head with a smile and replied, "These turbines are wind-powered fans for generating electricity; no one wants these things near their home."

"Why?" Sun Zhuangfei asked curiously.

Jiang Feng explained to Sun Zhuangfei, "Because installing wind turbines for energy is very costly, and they definitely need to make their money back. In short, if a county or suburb installs such turbines around it...

"That means this area won’t see much change for the next ten years, no new buildings, no new residential areas.

"There’s not much development to expect here over the next decade, let alone housing prices or population growth."

Sun Zhuangfei, hearing this knowledge for the first time, wasn’t very clear but roughly understood the meaning. He didn’t think about it any further, simply admiring the large wind turbines outside and wondering how they were transported here.

The food truck continued its journey inward.

Jiang Feng’s food truck was a system-awarded modded version. Its performance was comparable to a regular sedan. Thus, driving on mountain roads was very steady.

The mountain road was tricky, with just two lanes, and a cliff right beside one edge. So, many sedan drivers were driving very slowly. But Jiang Feng didn’t care about that. As an experienced driver, he was steady, so he even passed a few sedans on the road.

The sedan drivers, seeing the food truck’s taillights, were somewhat taken aback. Initially, they thought it was a school minibus, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a fancy food truck like those seen on food streets! What was outrageous was that this food truck was also incredibly fast!

Being overtaken by an oddly shaped vehicle on a mountain road is something you’d only see in QQ Speed, right? How can it be happening in real life! What on earth is this food truck! The sedan driver thought it was quite preposterous. He momentarily began to doubt life itself.

Jiang Feng drove upwards, and soon he arrived at the spot he had scouted the day before.

Checking the time, it was already 8:30 in the morning. It was not too early; the sunrise had been missed. But at this time, there were quite a few visitors in the area. Glancing over, there were about thirty or forty people. Most of them were middle-aged or retired elders. Young people were rarer. It couldn’t be helped; today’s young people are too busy to come to the scenic area for fun on a weekday morning.

Jiang Feng parked the food truck, set up his things, and was ready to start his stall. He even brought a trash bin, not wanting litter to spoil the environment.

It wasn’t long before some people noticed the commotion. Their eyes turned towards Jiang Feng’s direction.

In the expanse of majestic mountains and pervasive greenery, the food truck stood out conspicuously. It even seemed somewhat surreal. In such natural beauty, with few people around and far from the urban area, it was quite odd to see someone setting up a stall. Some even thought they were hallucinating.

"Look there, someone’s setting up a stall!"

"That food truck looks nice."

"I thought I was seeing things!"

"This person must have come here to enjoy the scenery," a middle-aged couple commented while looking at Jiang Feng’s food truck.

"Let’s go check it out, maybe grab something to eat."

"Probably sells snacks like sunflower seeds, beverages, and bottled water, and it’s definitely pricey. Forget it."

"Just take a look."

"Alright."

The couple approached Jiang Feng’s food truck. Soon, they arrived beside Jiang Feng’s food truck.

The food truck’s sign read:

Premium Lean Meatballs: Small portion $10, large portion $15

Premium Glutinous Rice: Small bowl $8, large bowl $12

Seeing the sign, the couple realized the items Jiang Feng was selling were not expensive and were similar in price to the market. Lean meatballs cost around $10 in the current market.

The local couple, seeing the lean meatballs and glutinous rice, spontaneously salivated.

"Boss Jiang, a portion of meatballs, please," the woman said gently.

"Sure, just a moment."

Jiang Feng placed the minced meat on a board and then scraped pieces of meat into the pot, somewhat reminiscent of sliced noodles. The pieces of meat fell into the boiling water and rapidly transformed under the high temperature. It only took two to three minutes for them to float up. Floating indicated that the meatballs were cooked.

"Take a look at these veggies; is there anything you don’t want?" Jiang Feng inquired.

"We’ll take them all," the woman replied.

"Okay."

Jiang Feng took out a small bowl, scraped some side dishes into it with a spoon, and added some seasonings.

The side dishes included dried shrimps, seaweed, chopped green onion, coriander, and chopped pickled vegetables.

The seasonings included salt, pepper powder, and rice vinegar.

After adding the seasonings, he scooped a spoonful of soup from the pot and added it in. The boiling soup entered the bowl, immediately dispersing the seasonings, which melted together to form a soup base.

Next, Jiang Feng scooped out the meatballs with a skimmer, pouring them all into the bowl. The original cooking broth was used for the soup base. This bowl of lean meatballs was hard to imagine not being delicious.

"There are chili and vinegar here if you want to add some," Jiang Feng said, pointing to the seasonings beside the food truck.

"Great, thank you."

The middle-aged couple picked up their bowls and sat down at a table. Jiang Feng had set out a total of four small tables and 12 small chairs, just enough for the customers to sit. Since he had brought everything on the food truck, he could only bring so many.

The bowls were covered with a clean disposable plastic bag, so after the customers were finished, they could just replace it with a new one. After all, running a stall meant there was no steady supply of water for washing dishes, so he had to make do with this approach. Some customers even preferred it this way, thinking that disposable items were cleaner than freshly washed dishes.

The couple used disposable chopsticks, added some chili, and began to taste the lean meatballs Jiang Feng had prepared.

The soup was hot. The chili and vinegar melded into the soup, establishing a spicy and sour base for the bowl. The flavor of the green onions and coriander added a fresh aroma to the soup. The seaweed and dried shrimps catered to the local dietary habits. Being close to the sea meant a bounty of seafood, and adding dried shrimps brought a taste of the ocean. This soup would make anything dunked into it delicious.

The meatballs, fresh out of the pot, were smooth on the surface, much like freshly cooked shrimp paste. Picking up a meatball with the chopsticks, it glistened, dripping broth. There were even a few bits of green onion clinging to it. Once in the mouth, the meatball slipped to the back of the tongue and had to be pushed onto the teeth before being gently bitten into. The sensation of meat mixed with starch felt chewier than pure meat alone.

After this bite of the lean meatball, the middle-aged couple’s faces lit up with surprise.

It was delicious!

To be precise, it was extremely delicious!

The texture of the meat was exquisite and the balance of the soup ingredients was perfect. The meatballs, moist with soup, were exceptionally refreshing to eat.

It was truly satisfying.

The two of them couldn’t stop eating bite after bite! Soon, they had finished the bowl of meatballs.

"Boss, can we have another bowl?" the man called out to Jiang Feng.

"Sure, just a moment."

Jiang Feng took out another bunch of minced meat and began to scatter it into the pot with chopsticks. Alongside, he prepared another soup base, then scooped out the cooked meatballs, and another fresh bowl of lean meatballs was ready.

Sun Zhuangfei brought the lean meatballs over to the customers. The middle-aged couple ate them quickly, one bite at a time. After finishing the meatballs, they found them incredibly delicious and ended up drinking all the soup as well. Previously, they didn’t usually drink the soup with their meatballs, but this time they couldn’t resist. After drinking the soup, they felt thoroughly refreshed.

Feeling completely satisfied, they stood up with smiles and left the stall to continue enjoying the scenery. It was visibly evident that their mood had significantly improved.

Jiang Feng sat at the food truck, while Zhuangfei went to clean up.

It had been a long time since he had run the stall so normally. The customers didn’t make idle small talk; they bought their food, ate, and left. Jiang Feng also didn’t need to say much, just running his stall this way.

Soon afterward, a group of seven or eight retired ladies, each wearing a headscarf and carrying a bag, came over to eat snacks. They seemed to be in good spirits. After all, with retirement came fewer worries and a steady pension, so they must have planned to meet up and have fun together. These aunts represented those who had a good quality of life; of course, having made the right choices when young, they deserved to enjoy their later years.

Each of them ordered a bowl of lean meatballs and then sat down to eat together. Discovering the remarkably good taste of the lean meatballs, the aunts were especially surprised.

"This stall is really tasty!"

"Truly impressive!"

"Indeed delicious, it’s my first time eating lean meatballs!"

"No wonder it’s Wenzhou’s signature dish!"

The aunts chatted among themselves. Quickly, they finished their bowls of meatballs.

Being fond of taking photos, one aunt snapped pictures of the lean meatballs and casually captured Jiang Feng’s food truck as well. Afterward, they continued on with their outing.

That evening, this aunt posted a series of photos on her social media. Her daughter, upon seeing the food truck in the photos, found it more and more familiar. Upon zooming in, she clearly recognized Jiang Feng.

So, the daughter immediately sent the picture to her aunt, along with a message asking, "Mom, did you actually stumble upon Boss Jiang’s stall?"

Seeing her daughter’s message, the aunt was a bit confused and replied, "Who’s Boss Jiang?"

"You don’t know? It’s the man in this photo from your social media, the stall owner; he’s Boss Jiang, super famous!"

"Is that so? Well, I didn’t know, but his lean meatballs are really delicious. I recommend you try them too!"

Seeing her mother’s message, the daughter wanted to cry but had no tears.

How could I not know they’re tasty when Boss Jiang’s news is all over the internet? Of course, it’s delicious! Is it that I don’t want to go eat? It’s just that I can’t make it there! Just like now, even if I know Jiang Feng is setting up his stall at the Wenzhou wind farm, I can’t go. After all, I’m tethered by work and life. I can’t just up and leave. It seems such things are a matter of fate.