After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

Tuantuan ate a bite of fish and a bite of vermicelli, and her little belly quickly became round.

The powerful range hood at the top of the kitchen was running at full speed.

The aroma, a powerful blend of the smoky, caramelized fat of black mountain pork, the tangy, aged aroma of pickled mustard greens, and the rich, bubbling fish bone broth, is forcefully expelled out the window through the robust exhaust pipe.

It transformed into a billowing cloud of thick, white, humid steam, carried by the biting winter north wind, and quietly swept towards the entire frozen and desolate Phoenix Golden Street.

……

At exactly four o'clock in the afternoon, the temperature in the alley of Jin Street dropped to minus sixteen degrees Celsius.

The biting wind swept through the narrow, secluded cobblestone path, whipping up the dry snowflakes from the corners of the walls, which then rustled against the closed wooden doors of the shops along the street.

The thick black ice on the road was frozen hard and shiny, and apart from the howling north wind, the whole street was so deserted that not a single human voice could be heard.

Two young men were huddled in the sheltered shadows behind the iron fence of the transformer diagonally opposite each other.

The two were wrapped in heavy, cheap down jackets and fleece hats. Their faces were blue and bruised from the cold, and clear snot was constantly dripping down their red noses.

These are two local livestreamers who expose counterfeits and have tens of thousands of followers on short video platforms. They are nicknamed Monkey and Xiao Liu.

When Zhao San'er and Goat Beard were taken away by the police car in the morning, the two of them were standing at the back and didn't dare to throw rotten eggs directly, thus managing to escape.

Right now, the entire internet is focused on Lin's Shop, and the two couldn't bear to miss out on this wave of attention. Braving the sub-zero temperatures, they crouched behind the electrical box, hoping to capture some exclusive scoops about Lin's Shop.

"Monkey...Brother Monkey, what time is it now?" Xiao Liu sniffed loudly, stomping his feet on the spot, his toes already numb from the cold.

"Four-fifteen." The monkey hunched his shoulders, put his hands in his pockets, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably from the cold.

"Let's wait another half hour. If there's still no movement inside, we'll go back to the car and turn on the heater. In this awful weather, if we stay in this cold any longer, we'll definitely develop arthritis."

Xiao Liu pulled a steamed bun he had bought that morning out of his pocket; the plastic wrap it was wrapped in was as hard as sheet metal.

He took a bite, and the outer skin was frozen into ice shards. The cold meat inside was as hard as chewing wax, stuck in his throat and difficult to swallow, causing his stomach to cramp and reflux.

Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do; given the weather and the time of day, many shops on Jin Street are closed.

The nearest supermarket is a few hundred meters away.

Just as Xiao Liu was about to force himself to put the second bite of the bun into his mouth...

"Buzz—"

Under the eaves of the second floor diagonally opposite, the thick exhaust pipe of the Lin family shop, accompanied by the deep hum of a powerful motor, suddenly spewed out a thick cloud of hot, humid white steam!

White vapor burst out of the chimney and, upon encountering the frigid air below -10 degrees Celsius, quickly transformed into vast swathes of white fog. Carried by the strong north wind, it swept down from above, howling and engulfing the entire old cobblestone street.

In an instant, a strong and domineering smell exploded in the narrow alley!

First comes the aroma of rendered pork fat frying over ginger and garlic, followed by the rich, white fish bones bursting forth in the intense heat of a thousand degrees. And deep within this savory aroma lies a layer of clear, refreshing, and subtly sweet pickled mustard greens with a tangy, savory flavor.

Xiao Liu's hand froze instantly.

The frozen rice ball, as hard as a rock, hung on his lips, yet before he could even put it in his mouth, the salivary glands on both sides of his mouth began to secrete saliva uncontrollably, as if a dam had burst.

"Gulp."

Xiao Liu swallowed hard, his eyes fixed on the exhaust vent on the second floor that was spewing out billowing white steam, not even noticing the rice ball in his hand fall into the snow.

"Gurgle gurgle—!!"

A thunderous rumbling sound suddenly came from the monkey's abdomen, so loud that even the wind at the alley entrance couldn't drown it out.

The monkey suddenly ripped off its woolen mask, stretched its neck, and inhaled the white mist in the air with all its might, its nostrils flaring violently.

"What...what is this smell?!"

The monkey stood frozen beside the transformer fence, its Adam's apple bobbing up and down three times in quick succession, saliva constantly gushing from its mouth.

"Pickled cabbage...? No, wait! There's also the aroma of hot oil poured over garlic and Sichuan peppercorns! How can this smell so good?!"

The dry, cold air in the alleyway was originally like a knife cutting into your throat, but this sour and fragrant steam rushed over, and when you inhaled it, it brought an indescribable warmth and appetite-stimulating feeling. Instantly, it washed away the deathly chill that had frozen your whole body, leaving only a hunger that went straight to the top of your head.

Xiao Liu looked at the cold buns on the ground, then down at her frozen hands, her eyes instantly reddening, her voice tinged with grievance and despair:

"Brother Monkey...it's freezing cold...he's making delicious food inside...we're eating icy buns outside..."

"Stop talking!"

The monkey gritted its teeth and interrupted him, its eyes fixed on the tightly closed door of the Lin family shop, its fingers unconsciously gripping the pocket of its down jacket.

"Damn it, I've lived for twenty-eight years and never smelled such an overpowering sauerkraut aroma... What on earth are they doing with the shop closed like this?!"

……

It wasn't just the two anchors behind the electrical box.

At the intersection on the east side of Jin Street, next to the blue mobile police vehicle with flashing lights, two street patrol team members responsible for patrolling also stopped.

Young Chen, a member of the joint defense team, was holding a stainless steel thermos and was about to take a sip of hot water to ward off the cold when his nose suddenly twitched.

"Captain Wang, can you smell it?" Xiao Chen looked up, his eyes gazing into the depths of the old street.

Old Wang, who was in his forties, was rubbing his frozen hands. Hearing this, he stopped, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

The scalding, tangy, and fresh fish aroma in the air grew stronger and stronger, carried by the wind straight into the collar of clothes. The sourness made one's cheeks tighten, while the aroma made one's stomach burn.

Old Wang opened his eyes, turned to look at the white smoke rising from the second floor of Lin's shop, and smiled helplessly:

"This pickled cabbage smells so authentic, sour but not overpowering, and the bone broth underneath is very rich. Just smelling this makes me want to eat three bowls of rice."

Xiao Chen patted his shrunken belly, smiled wryly, and tightened the cup lid:

"Team Leader Wang, the mixed stew we had for lunch at the cafeteria has been completely digested by now."

"Boss Lin closed the doors and shut down, but he's cooking this kind of heavenly stuff in the kitchen. Isn't that going to kill us? The smell is unbearable."

"Alright, stop drooling." Old Wang patted Xiao Chen on the shoulder and stomped his numb heels.

"Keep an eye on the intersection and don't let those fools from this morning sneak in and cause trouble again."

……