Leisurely Traveler with Check-in System

Chapter 162: Chapter 100: My Disciple’s Culinary Skills

Take a few steps up, and when you turn around—the golden lights of Hongya Cave cascade down from the cliff, reflecting off the river, it really feels like falling into a cartoon.

The car lights on Qiansi Gate Bridge stretch into a flowing band of light, blending with the warm yellow of the stilted buildings below.

At moments like this, standing and watching for a while is far more enjoyable than rushing to take photos.

The next day, head towards Mountain City Lane.

The bluestone road winds around, with yellow cypress roots poking out from old wall crevices, and there’s shade from trees all along the way. Midway, turn into White Elephant Residence, a pretty amazing place; you step into the building at the 15th floor, and when you exit, you’re on flat ground, it’s the kind of place often featured on short video platforms.

While resting on the corridor, you can glimpse the slow-moving cable car of the Yangtze River Ropeway sliding between two buildings, with the muddy river water below and the distant sail-like buildings of Raffles City in the background.

It’s really quite good, much more interesting than Chengdu.

This kind of magic can only be easily found in Chongqing.

While strolling around, Li Younan couldn’t help but wonder, if Sichuan and Chongqing hadn’t split back then, perhaps this place would be the most powerful province in the country... Chongqing plus Sichuan could equal a little China...

Everything China has, Chongqing and Sichuan roughly have too...

Alone at noon, in a small shop by the sidewalk, I ate a bowl of tofu pudding rice.

The tofu pudding wobbled in a wooden bucket, the dipping sauce was fragrant without being overwhelming, paired with a bowl of braised pork, the fatty meat melted in the mouth.

On the following day, a weekday.

In the morning, I went to take the Yangtze River Ropeway, bought a one-way ticket from the south station, didn’t wait long, the cabin felt like a metal box, packed with people, swaying across the Yangtze River. Watching the cargo ships leave wakes on the river, seeing the towers on both banks stack up like building blocks, six minutes passed in a flash, and when disembarking I still felt a bit unsatisfied.

In the afternoon, I wandered to Liziba, the viewing platform was full of people pointing their phones, as the train passed through the building, the sound of shutter clicks burst like a wave, but Li Younan thought, experiencing the ride in the first carriage firsthand would be more fun—watching the tracks seemingly head straight for the window sills, only to slide smoothly into the building the next second.

Such a design could only happen in a mountain city.

Later, when Chen Kunjie was almost done with his busy day, he took Li Younan to the Jiao Tong Teahouse. Stepping inside felt like traveling back thirty years, with peeling square tables and stools, creaky ceiling fans, and old brewed tea floating in the gaiwan.

A few elderly men were playing chess in the corner, and a tea waiter in a vest was carrying a copper pot, refilling water.

The two nestled in the bamboo chairs, not in a hurry to leave even when the tea turned bland.

In the evening, of course they had to eat hotpot.

When Li Younan suggested hotpot, Chen Kunjie was a bit surprised, curiously asking, ”Aren’t you not into spicy food?”

Li Younan replied deeply, ”I’m on a mission to eat hotpot.”

Exactly what mission, Li Younan wouldn’t say.

Chen Kunjie was quite shocked, starting to understand that Li Younan was exploring Chongqing people’s taste, or rather the flavor of Chongqing hotpot!

All of it surely in preparation for opening a hotpot restaurant!

He felt a bit ashamed for not having thought about this himself, despite growing up in a hotpot restaurant and being determined to open a bustling hotpot place. He realized he’d been working behind closed doors.

Instead of going to places with long lines, Chen Kunjie recommended an old hotpot restaurant nestled deep in an alley, which was conveniently one of the spots Li Younan intended to visit.

The atmosphere was that typical bustling scene, with tables and benches shining with oil, slowly cooking, and eating slowly. If it got too spicy, one would take a sip of Vitasoy, or ice beer.

The surrounding locals were loud, the air filled with steam.

The hotpot meal lasted nearly two hours, and Li Younan felt a bit more tolerant of the spiciness, evidenced by his delay in asking for some water compared to before.

In the following days, life became more routine.

Li Younan no longer stayed in a hotel and opted to stay at Chen Kunjie’s place instead.

Though Chen Kunjie had gone independent, his parents treated him quite well.

Apart from this store, they also gave him a small two-bedroom apartment, where Li Younan could conveniently occupy one room.

Chen Kunjie had a girlfriend, but the two didn’t live together.

They hadn’t been together for long, and she was quite conservative, after about a month they were just advancing to the stage of kissing.

After Li Younan moved in, he often heard Chen Kunjie chattering endlessly on the phone next door.

He couldn’t quite make out the specifics, likely chatting with his girlfriend.

During the daytime, as most interesting spots around Chongqing had been explored, Li Younan focused his energy on teaching Chen Kunjie how to stir-fry hotpot base.

Throughout this process, Li Younan deeply felt the power of the system.

Stir-frying commercial hotpot base differs greatly from home cooking, particularly because of the large quantities involved. When the quantity increases, controlling the heat becomes particularly challenging.

Heat control might sound mystical, but it actually has scientific foundations.

The underlying logic is that different ingredients have different denaturation times, and at different temperatures, they release complex and diverse aromas.

The essence of heat control is to ensure that changing temperatures and times allow each ingredient to release its best flavor at the most suitable temperature.

However, as the quantity increases, the time needed to raise the temperature and the duration for which it holds change.

This, in turn, leads to adjustments in ingredient ratios and the order of adding them.