Chapter 192 Aunt Huang's Roujiamo (Chinese Hamburger)

Chapter 192 Aunt Huang's Roujiamo (Chinese Hamburger)

Mu Yu was slumped in the sofa, like a crumpled piece of paper—feeling incredibly stifled and annoyed.

He scratched his head in frustration, unconsciously repeating those words over and over again, like a cassette tape player: "Roujiamo, roujiamo, roujiamo..."

This feeling of frustration was truly infuriating—the "divine food" he had painstakingly dug up in a corner of the campus, how could it just disappear like that?

How could Mr. Su, whose eyes crinkle into crescents when he smiles and whose roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) is so delicious, just leave like that, leaving only the words "Something came up and I don't know when I'll be back"?

"Boss? When are you coming back?" Zhang Wei's WeChat messages were still flooding the group chat, one after another, like a death knell.

Without even looking up, Wei Junwei, the eldest brother, still had his finger on the program book, his glasses reflecting a cold light. His tone was impatient and rationally analytical: "Save your energy. She's clearly stated that she has something to do and her return date is uncertain. Even if you flood the group chat, do you think she'll magically appear and come back?"

"Hey, hey, hey, extra! Extra!" Bai He held up his phone and leaned closer, the screen so bright it was blinding.

"I just saw a post on the school forum—there's a new roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) shop that opened around that corner, where we used to go to Su Ji! They say it tastes pretty much the same as before, shall we go check it out?"

"Is this Boss Su?" Mu Yu suddenly jumped up from the sofa, then slumped back down, pulled the blanket over his face, and his voice was muffled under the blanket, revealing a sense of dejection from not having woken up properly.

"It's not that I'm too lazy to move, it's that I'm afraid of making a wasted trip. What if it's not her after all? Wouldn't that be a complete waste of my time?"

"Come on, let's go take a look!" Bai He laughed and tugged at his arm. "Let's treat it as an after-dinner stroll. What if it really is the boss back? Let's go see."

"Alright, alright, let's go." Mu Yu had no choice but to sit up straight, pulling back the covers, looking unwilling. "Let's make this clear first, if it's not good, I'll complain right here and now and turn the place upside down!"

The group strolled leisurely out of the school. The evening breeze carried the aroma of roasted chestnuts, grilled sausages, and jianbing (Chinese crepes), and the air outside the school was filled with the lively atmosphere of everyday life.

But Mu Yu's eyes were fixed on that familiar corner—the place where the hand-painted sign of "Su Ji Snacks" used to hang was now occupied by an unfamiliar blue shed. Under the shed, the figure wearing an apron and kneading dough looked so familiar.

"Wait..." Mu Yu paused, squinting to examine the details more closely.

"Isn't that...Aunt Huang?!"

Bai He followed his gaze and was also stunned: "Hey? It really is her! The old lady Huang who sells scallion pancakes at the back gate of the school?"

Mu Yu's face darkened instantly. How could he forget—last time he bought a scallion pancake from Aunt Huang, his hands were so oily they could have been used to fry vegetables, and he casually grabbed two extra tissues from the table to wipe them.

As a result, Aunt Huang chased after him for half a block, nagging: "Young man! I paid for this toilet paper, it didn't fall from the sky! If you want to wipe your hands, why don't you pick a leaf and rub it on? What a waste!"

His voice and his posture made it seem as if he had stolen her family's ancestral secret recipe.

He was so angry that he swore he would never set foot in her pancake stall again in his life!

Unexpectedly, this seemingly unyielding person has actually ventured into the world of roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) and even usurped Boss Su's territory.

Mu Yu grew angrier the more he thought about it, and his fists clenched unconsciously.

"Hey, isn't this Aunt Huang?" Bai He recognized her first, his tone full of suspicion. "What's she doing here? Isn't she the one selling scallion pancakes at the back gate of the school?"

Mu Yu's heart sank, a sense of foreboding creeping over him. He stared at Aunt Huang's hands, those hands that had once argued with him for so long over two pieces of paper, now stained with grease, and a wave of nausea washed over him. "Could it be what I'm thinking..." he muttered to himself.

Just then, a freshman who had just bought a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) asked in confusion, "Excuse me, ma'am, where is that really pretty lady who used to sell roujiamo here? Her roujiamo is so delicious!"

Aunt Huang kept working with her hands, without looking up, and replied vaguely, "Oh dear, that young lady went back to her hometown to handle some urgent business, and her return date is uncertain. My steamed buns are similar to hers, we're from the same family, you should try them, the taste is definitely not bad!"

"They're all from the same family?" Wei Junwei sneered, adjusting his glasses. "I think it's more like they're all ruining the reputation of the same family."

Bai He, still unwilling to give up, and driven by both scientific inquiry and the desire to fill his stomach, took out his phone, scanned the QR code, and paid: "Okay, let's try it. If it's not good, we'll really complain!"

He took the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), and the moment he touched it, something felt off—the crust was hard and stiff, as if it had been heated many times, looking wilted and completely lacking the crispy outside, soft inside, and steaming hot vitality that Su Yingxue's roujiamo had.

He took a big bite, thinking he had nothing to lose. Instantly, his face fell.

"How is it?" Mu Yu leaned closer and asked.

Bai He chewed with difficulty, his expression contorted: "Damn it, Brother Yu, this thing... the outside is dry and hard to chew, and the meat inside is all chili powder, so salty it's bitter. I've been chewing for ages, and I still can't taste a single bit of meat. What's the difference between this and chewing wax? This isn't a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), it's a 'spicy noodle dumpling roujiamo'!"

Mu Yu, refusing to believe it, took the food from Bai He's hand and took a bite.

He spat it out after just one bite. The stench of cheap oil and industrial chili extract hit him right in the head. This was nothing like the taste Su Yingxue made!

Su Ji's roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) features carefully braised pork with a perfect balance of lean and fat, melting in your mouth with a rich, savory sauce and the refreshing taste of green peppers. The bun is freshly baked and has a wonderful wheat aroma.

This thing in front of me is an insult to the name "roujiamo" (Chinese hamburger)!

"It tastes awful! What happened? How could it taste so bad?"

Mu Yu's face turned red with anger, feeling as if his tongue had been insulted like never before. He looked around, wanting to confront Aunt Huang, but then he noticed that not far away, Professor Jiang Yan from the Physics Department was holding the same roujiamo (Chinese meat sandwich), his brows furrowed, taking small bites with a puzzled expression that clearly said, "What is this? Why does it taste so awful?"

The opportunity has arrived!

Professor Jiang Yan put down the roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), walked over to Aunt Huang, adjusted his glasses, and said in his usual rigorous, academic tone, "Sir, if I may be so bold, there are several obvious flaws in the preparation of your roujiamo. First, the dough has too low a moisture content, resulting in a dry and hard texture; second, the seasoning of the meat is severely unbalanced, with excessively high concentrations of sodium ions and capsaicin, completely masking the natural amino acid flavor of the meat. I cannot understand why it has replaced the previously popular product."

Aunt Huang clearly didn't understand terms like "sodium ions" or "amino acids," but she knew Jiang Yan was saying her roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) was bad. Her temper flared up.

She put her hands on her hips and raised her voice even higher: "Hey old man, do you even know how to eat? I've been selling pancakes for over ten years, and no one has ever dared to say I'm bad at making them! Eat it or don't, it's up to you, if you don't want to, get lost!"