The ex-wife of a former CEO regrets resigning to raise her child and retire from public life.

Chapter 33 Your Emperor's Seal Has Arrived!

The market at four o'clock in the afternoon had long lost the lively energy of the morning when the dew was still wet and everything was fresh and vibrant.

The air was filled with the musty smell of slightly fermented vegetable leaves and the foul odor emanating from various poultry. The vegetable stalls, which were originally piled up like small mountains, now mostly consisted of the leftovers and awkwardly shaped "defeated soldiers".

Chen Feng walked at the front, looking left and right. Zhang Qiang held the bouncy Mengmeng in one hand, and his other hand was loosely clenched, ready to "receive the goods." Their stomachs were already rumbling uncontrollably. The hunger after a busy day made them look forward to the upcoming grocery shopping.

Chen Feng stopped in front of a meat stall with a sign that read "Black Soil Pig". The stall owner was a middle-aged fat man who was idly swatting flies. When he saw someone coming, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly covered by a wave of weariness.

"Boss, what would you like? I have two spare ribs left, and this long strip of tenderloin is all I have. I'll give you a discount." The stall owner said, while using a hook to pok at the few pieces of somewhat dry red meat on the cutting board.

Chen Feng didn't reply; his gaze, like a scalpel, slowly swept across the cutting board.

The braised lion's head meatballs he's making today have extremely high requirements for the meat—it must be the cut of meat from the front leg tip, with a good balance of fat and lean, and the fat must have a chewy texture while the lean meat must be tender and sinew-free.

"Qiangzi, look at this piece." Chen Feng pointed to a piece of scrap meat pressed under the bone in the corner of the stall, his brows furrowing slightly.

Zhang Qiang leaned over to take a look, scratched his head, and said, "Fengzi, this piece doesn't look very appealing. The edges are a bit dry."

How about we go to another place? The meat was really hard to choose this afternoon. Maybe we can just buy some pork belly and make do? Anyway, with your skills, any meat in your hands can be transformed into something amazing, right?

Chen Feng shook his head, his eyes revealing a hint of stubbornness: "That won't do. Lion's head meatballs are all about being 'soft and chewy without falling apart, and fatty without being greasy,' and that's all thanks to the ratio of more fat than lean meat."

The fat in the pork belly was too loose, resulting in a watery, oily texture that lacked the characteristic meaty flavor. Although the meat had been picked over quite a bit that afternoon, the best parts are often hidden in the most inconspicuous places.

He looked up at the stall owner and said, "Boss, take out that piece of foreleg that you've been hiding underneath so I can see it. Yes, that's the one. Don't try to fool me with tenderloin."

The stall owner was taken aback, a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Oh, an expert? I specifically kept this piece to take home and refine oil myself, and you noticed that?"

When the piece of meat was placed on the cutting board, Zhang Qiang realized its secret. Although the skin and flesh on the surface had darkened a bit due to being left out for a while, the cut surface still had a fresh pinkish hue, and the fat was as white as jade, layered and interwoven—exactly the high-quality meat Chen Feng wanted.

Chen Feng stretched out his finger and gently pressed it on the meat, testing its freshness.

"Okay, this is it. Boss, peel it for me, I'll take care of the rest myself when I get home." Chen Feng said as he paid the money promptly.

While Chen Feng was paying, Zhang Qiang took the heavy bag of pork from the vendor and couldn't help but exclaim, "Fengzi, I'm impressed. When I glanced at it just now, I thought this was a pile of garbage. It seems that buying groceries is like life; you can't just judge a book by its cover."

Looking at the thick layer of pork inside the bag, Chen Feng began to imagine the moment the lion's head meatballs went into the oil.

In the afternoon, the sound of the oxygen pumps was particularly loud in the seafood section. Most of the large, plump, fresh fish had already gone into other people's shopping baskets. What remained were either "frozen goods" lying belly up on the ice, or "half-dead fish" huddled in the corner of the fish tank, looking like they were about to die.

Chen Feng was going to make a "Clay Pot Braised Fish Head" dish for the celebration banquet. The essence of this dish lies in the word "raw"—the fish head must be freshly killed, and then the high temperature of the clay pot is used to instantly lock in the freshness. If the fish is not fresh, it will have an unmistakable muddy taste.

"Fengzi, these fish heads... are in danger." Zhang Qiang pointed to the lifeless grass carp in several fish tanks and shook his head. "Look at these, their eyes are all cloudy. The others are even thinner."

"Is it okay? How about we change the dish? How about some braised pork ribs?"

Chen Feng remained silent, wandering among the stalls without a hurry. Mengmeng, watching the fish blowing bubbles with curiosity, whispered, "Daddy, are the fish sleeping?"

"Fish is waiting for us," Chen Feng replied softly, finally stopping in front of a small stall in the far corner.

The stall owner was a withered old man, squatting on the ground smoking a pipe. His fish tank only had a few fish, and the water was somewhat murky.

Chen Feng's gaze fell on the bottom of the fish tank, on a fish that was struggling to flap its gills and try to float to the surface.

This fish wasn't very big, and its scales were even a bit worn from being in the tank for so long, but its eyes were frighteningly bright, and it was currently flapping its gills with great effort, exuding a tenacious vitality.

"Boss, I'll take this fish." Chen Feng pointed to the fish.

The old man exhaled a puff of smoke and glanced sideways at Chen Feng: "Young man, this fish doesn't look very energetic, are you sure? There are a few over there that just died, they're big, I'll give you half price."

Chen Feng smiled and said, "Boss, big fish have meat, but live fish have a soul. A raw fish head can't be cooked without its soul."

Hearing this, the old man stubbed out his cigarette and chuckled, "Alright! You know your stuff. Although this fish was pushed to the bottom by those bigger ones, it was the strongest one we caught today. I've got it for you!"

When the old man scooped the lively male fish out of the water and saw it struggling wildly in the net, Zhang Qiang suddenly slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Damn, this fish is really strong!"

Fengzi, how did you figure out it wasn't simple? I saw it lying there without moving an inch.

"Because it's gathering its strength." Chen Feng took the bag of fish and felt the fish struggling and thrashing inside. "The less fresh the environment, the more precious that struggling freshness is. The fish head will taste absolutely authentic when it's cooked in a while."

As time went by, Chen Feng and his companions had prepared almost all the necessary ingredients.

The group walked back, carrying large and small plastic bags filled with ingredients that would soon be transformed into delicious food.

The heavy bags swayed in their hands, yet the three men moved with unusual lightness, as if they were returning home after plundering countless spoils from the battlefield.

Mengmeng walked in the middle, holding one of her father's fingers on each side and one of her godfather's fingers on the other, humming a tuneless little song she had made up: "Big lion, bright red, fish jump, loud thump thump..."

"Fengzi, do you think Dazhuang and the others will kneel down before us when they see these lion's head meatballs?" Zhang Qiang chuckled mischievously, his mind already filled with the image of the room filled with their delicious aroma.

Chen Feng was amused by him and said with a laugh, "Kneeling down is not necessary, but with Da Zhuang's hearty personality, he'll probably drink that bowl of mutton soup dry."

"That's for sure," Zhang Qiang exclaimed, quickening his pace. "Fengzi, to be honest, when that guy said his colleagues were going to line up as a group, I felt sweeter than if I'd drunk honey. Our 'Human Fireworks' is really going to be a hit."

Chen Feng looked at the faintly visible signboard ahead, his eyes revealing a sense of satisfaction: "Fame is fleeting, but the satisfaction in our stomachs is real. Tonight's meal isn't just to celebrate Da Zhuang and the others' success, but also to calm our nerves. We've held our ground on the first day."

"Hey, my mom's voice rose eight octaves when she heard on the phone that you were going to cook!" Zhang Qiang exaggeratedly gestured.

Mengmeng tilted her head back, her big eyes sparkling as she looked at Zhang Qiang: "Godfather, Mengmeng wants to eat lots and lots of those red balls tonight, are they called lion's head meatballs? Mengmeng worked so hard today, Mengmeng received so much money!"

"Eat! You have to eat!" Zhang Qiang scooped Mengmeng up and carried her on his shoulders, waving his hand triumphantly. "Mengmeng is the star of our shop today. Her dad will make her an extra-large one later. Our Mengmeng needs to eat her fill so she grows up to be as cute as a little bunny!"

"Mengmeng is a little bunny!" the little guy protested on Zhang Qiang's shoulder, accompanied by a string of silvery laughter.

Chen Feng looked at the two lively characters in front of him and silently calculated in his mind: the lion's head meatballs had to be simmered over low heat to bring out the meaty aroma; the fish head had to be freshly crushed with ginger and garlic, and the action had to be quick; the mutton soup had to have some old skin added... The process of each dish flashed through his mind like a slideshow.

"Qiangzi, hurry up." Chen Feng looked at the setting sun, which was almost sinking below the horizon, and a confident smile appeared on his lips. "Pots and Pans, your emperor has returned!"

"Alright! Let's go home! Let's fire!"

The three people's shadows were stretched long and cast on the bluestone road.