Chapter 86 - 85: Searching for Ingredients

Chapter 86: Chapter 85: Searching for Ingredients

Chen Momo took out her pocket fruit knife and made quick work of opening the box.

Inside, eight large pig trotters were neatly arranged, all sealed in vacuum packaging. Using a Swiss Army knife, Chen Momo sliced open one of the trotters and divided it into three portions—one for herself, and one each for Chen Xiaobao and Xu Xiaoka.

Even though the trotters were vacuum-sealed, the savory aroma of pork was undeniable. She took a bite. The meat was tender, flavorful, and practically melted in her mouth. It was perfectly spiced with a mouthwatering kick that left her wanting more. It was completely different from the cheap trotters sold at the market.

Xu Xiaoka was also happily stuffing her face. "Mmm, so good! Sister Momo, there’s no gamey taste to this at all. It’s been prepped perfectly, super savory! And the meat just melts in your mouth, infused with all these spices. You can tell it was marinated really well."

It really was delicious. Chen Momo polished off her portion in no time. Beside her, Chen Xiaobao was fully engrossed in gnawing on his own piece.

"There’s a stall in the cafeteria that sells trotters," Chen Momo said. "We can take these back and sell them there. They definitely taste better than the ones the cafeteria makes. And we’ll take these mooncakes, too. Mooncakes have a long shelf life, so they might even come in handy for next year’s Mid-Autumn Festival."

Chen Xiaobao and Xu Xiaoka completely agreed with the idea. The three of them began working together to clear out the warehouse.

Chen Momo handed things out, Chen Xiaobao held the flashlight, and Xu Xiaoka handled the packing. As she passed items to Xu Xiaoka, Chen Momo continued rapidly absorbing the bulk of the supplies into her spatial dimension. To cover for his mommy, Chen Xiaobao deliberately pointed the flashlight beam entirely at Xu Xiaoka. This left the rest of the warehouse pitch-black, making it much easier for Chen Momo to secretly store items away.

Half an hour later, they finally finished packing up the warehouse.

Looking at the three unremarkable cardboard boxes on the floor, Xu Xiaoka remarked in surprise, "It looked like there was a lot of stuff in here, but it’s really not much once packed. We’re done with just three boxes."

Chen Momo asked Xu Xiaoka and Chen Xiaobao to carry the three boxes out to the hotel lobby and wait for her there. Meanwhile, she took the flashlight to explore other areas.

She refused to believe that a massive five-star hotel wouldn’t have any recipes laying around. That would be too strange. She continued trying her luck in various rooms until she finally found the chef’s quarters in a staff dormitory area. Inside, Chen Momo found a kraft-paper notebook densely packed with the chef’s handwritten recipes. Flipping through it, she quickly spotted the recipe for sour mustard fish. The key steps for making it took up several full pages.

Thrilled, she thought this was the greatest haul from her entire trip to the five-star hotel. She tucked the recipe book away and headed to the lobby to regroup with Xu Xiaoka and Chen Xiaobao.

"Sister Momo, did you find anything?" Seeing Chen Momo walk into the lobby with a smile, Xu Xiaoka felt that things were looking up.

Chen Momo nodded. "I found a handwritten recipe book from the hotel’s head chef. It includes the recipe for sour mustard fish. I’ll test it out once we get home."

Both Xu Xiaoka and Chen Xiaobao were delighted to hear this.

"If it’s handwritten, it must contain the chef’s years of experience making sour mustard fish!" Xu Xiaoka said. "Sister Momo, that kind of experience is way more precious than those standardized recipes online!"

A heavy burden lifted from Chen Momo’s shoulders. She felt much more confident about her upcoming cook-off against Zhang Wanwan.

Six large boxes were stacked in the hotel lobby, filled with ingredients gathered from the warehouse and the freezers. Of course, the vast majority of the ingredients had already been stored in her spatial dimension. These six boxes were just for show. Chen Momo and Xu Xiaoka made two trips to load all the boxes onto the RV.

It was getting late outside. Chen Momo checked her watch; it was already six in the evening. She hadn’t expected them to spend an entire afternoon just scavenging the hotel. With the day’s work done, Chen Momo drove the RV, carrying Chen Xiaobao, Xu Xiaoka, and their newly acquired loot back to the base.

Upon arriving at the base, the family of three carried the boxes up to their home.

The two ladies at the front desk looked on enviously. "Did you scavenge a lot of supplies again today?"

Chen Momo smiled and nodded, then turned to Xu Xiaoka. "Xiao Ka, bring some mooncakes down for Sister Zhang and Sister Wang in a bit."

"You got it!" Xiao Ka replied cheerfully.

This absolutely thrilled Zhang Ailian and Wang Qiuju. Even though mooncakes were typically only eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival, being able to enjoy them right now in this supply-starved apocalypse was a wonderful treat.

Chen Xiaobao enthusiastically greeted the two front desk ladies. "Aunt Zhang, Aunt Wang, Xiao Bao will come down with Sister Xiao Ka to bring you mooncakes soon."

Zhang Ailian and Wang Qiuju’s eyes curved into happy crescents. "Our Xiao Bao is so adorable. Such a lovable boy."

Once home, Chen Momo opened a large box of mooncakes and took out four smaller boxes, each containing two pieces. There were red bean, mixed nut, and purple rice fillings. She had Xu Xiaoka and Chen Xiaobao deliver the mooncakes to the front desk. After all, she never knew when she might need their help again in the future. Just like the last time she had to attend a meeting, she had troubled the two of them to watch Xiao Bao.

Xu Xiaoka took Chen Xiaobao’s hand. "Let’s go, Xiao Bao."

Xiao Bao, who loved nothing more than going out to play, nodded. "Okay!" he chirped, his little legs padding along as the two of them headed downstairs.

Once they left, Chen Momo began sorting through the day’s haul. It was a massive bounty. The ingredients from those double-door freezers alone were enough to supply the entire cafeteria for half a month, and it was all top-quality stuff. She took some items out of her space, combining them with the six boxes on the floor, and quickly filled up the freezer at home and the kitchen pantry.

As for the pig trotters, she did a quick inventory. She had initially thought there were a few hundred boxes, but the final count came out to over two thousand. It seemed this five-star hotel had been genuinely generous, likely planning to distribute two or three boxes to every employee. Unfortunately, the apocalypse had struck far too suddenly. Before the trotters could be handed out, the disaster arrived.

Chen Momo sighed, looking at the mountain of meat. Even if she hadn’t taken them, someone else would have cleaned the place out. Plus, checking the expiration dates, they were nearing their limit. If she didn’t deal with them soon, all these trotters would go to waste.

There was no way she could finish them all herself. Selling them to the trotter stall at the cafeteria was the only sensible choice.