A large broth pot, over a dozen ducks cleaned of their blood and with their heads and tips removed, a large plate of bones, a large plate of chicken legs...

All the ingredients needed for the broth were neatly arranged on the stove.

Clear, sweet spring water was poured into the broth pot, and after the fire was lit, various ingredients along with ginger slices were added to the pot. Once the water boiled, the foam was skimmed off carefully, and then it was left to simmer on low heat.

Taking advantage of this time, he started making duck blood tofu.

It's not easy to buy something clean like this, and it's even harder to find something fresh, so he simply bought fresh duck blood and made it into the finished duck blood ingredient himself after getting home.

Salt, white wine, pepper, canola oil, spring water, milk.

Of course, pure duck blood can be used, but the flavor and taste created this way are far less fragrant than when these things are added.

After pouring all the seasonings into the spring water, Wang Fan picked up a stainless steel basin and started shaking it clockwise. Soon, the water in the basin began to sway slowly, gradually forming a rapidly rotating vortex.

Once Wang Fan put down the basin, Zhuo Qianqian placed a large skimmer over the basin and Wang Fan poured the duck blood towards the skimmer.

The thick, slightly fishy duck blood slid through the skimmer, spreading along with the ripples of the vortex in the water, gradually merging with the water.

The stationary steel basin was no longer under force, so the water in the basin gradually settled down.

Wang Fan picked up the basin again and continued to pour the duck blood mixture through the skimmer onto a rectangular tray.

After lightly tapping the tray twice to shake out the air, he covered it with cling film. Next, he simply had to wait for an hour, and the duck blood would solidify into the form that Wang Fan desired.

Then he took out fresh duck intestines and poured them into a cleaned basin. After directly sprinkling two packets of salt into it, he began to gently knead them.

The intestines are coated with mucus and fat, and only kneading with salt can thoroughly clean them.

Knead, rinse, knead, rinse, knead, rinse, until repeated three times, the duck intestines became perfectly clean.

Being somewhat obsessive about cleanliness, he wouldn't allow his duck intestines to retain even a bit of their natural essence, not even by accident. In his kitchen, there was no such thing as accidental.

Once cleaned, the duck intestines were marinated with cooking wine, scallion, ginger, and salt, then stored in the refrigerator while he started braising the duck gizzards...

Wang Fan never believed there was an issue with the pricing of his dishes.

Because his prices were meticulously calculated from these detailed steps.

Every bit of effort and the cost of time justified each price he set.

Even if a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup costs 50 yuan.

Expensive?

It's naturally expensive.

Is it worth it?

If someone thinks it's not worth it, they can choose not to pay—this was Wang Fan's policy.

Yet until today, no one has left without paying after eating.

There are indeed cheap duck blood vermicelli soups available, only costing over ten yuan for a large bowl, but what one consumes is anyone's guess.

...

Today, the river's surface seemed a bit turbulent, as it was approaching September, and the autumn winds had begun to stir.

But many people were puzzled to find that even as they were nearing the end, they hadn't caught a whiff of that captivating aroma in the autumn breeze.

"Is Boss Wang's magic expired?"

"It feels quite strange not having those magical attacks over the lake."

"Could Boss Wang have run off today? If I remember correctly, today's only the fifth day?"

"Maybe he hasn't woken up yet?"

Various speculations arose in their minds, and their worries only dissipated completely when they saw the conspicuously imposing mobile home.

The familiar sign featured familiar Chinese characters, but what on earth did "Non-Authentic Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup" mean?

How was it non-authentic?

A middle-aged man felt nostalgic upon seeing "Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup".

When he was working in Nanjing, the first thing he did with the money he earned was treat himself to a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup.

He also used a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup to comfort himself during difficult times, and his last meal before leaving Nanjing was, unsurprisingly, duck blood vermicelli soup.

This delicacy spanned his entire youthful struggle.

But after eating so many years of authentic duck blood vermicelli soup, what was this non-authentic version all about?

A crowd of curious people gathered at the stall, wide-eyed and awaiting Wang Fan's explanation.

"Boss Wang, quickly tell us why your duck blood vermicelli soup is called non-authentic?"

"Exactly, what's the difference between non-authentic and authentic?"

"Which is better, the authentic one or your non-authentic one?"

In such a hubbub, Wang Fan would struggle to cope, but Zhuo Qianqian handled it all with ease.

She raised one finger and said, "Everyone listen to me, I'll explain."

Once the boss lady spoke up, everyone stopped talking and patiently awaited her explanation.

"Firstly, it's called non-authentic because the boss altered the recipe slightly, making it just a little bit different from Nanjing's authentic duck blood vermicelli soup, primarily changing the broth."

Then she raised two fingers: "Secondly, the authentic one is very delicious, but whether the non-authentic one is depends on whether you like it or not. If you like it, then it's naturally delicious, and if you don't, then it's surely not. Besides, the boss says that if you don't think it's good, you don't have to pay."

Raising three fingers, she continued, "Today's duck blood vermicelli soup is 50 yuan a bowl, roughly a meal's worth for an adult, over a pound with soup and ingredients. Every single ingredient was made by the boss's hands last night, including the duck blood, duck intestines, braised duck gizzards, and even the fried tofu puffs."

"Finally, the quantity is limited, first come first served, each person is limited to one bowl!"

Zhuo Qianqian's clear explanation helped everyone understand at once. Upon hearing that all ingredients were made by Wang Fan himself, and one could opt not to pay if unsatisfied, everyone gave a knowing smile.

The joke about not having to pay if it wasn't good had been around Boss Wang's place for a while, but until now, no one had managed to utter the words 'not good'.

No one, not even to say 'don't love it', had ever voiced it.

Everyone wanted to be the first to do it; it would surely feel thrilling.

They weren't really trying to save the 50 yuan, just thinking it would be fun.

However, when Wang Fan started making the finished duck blood vermicelli soup, everyone's urge to challenge him slowly faded away.

Foul play!

This was simply foul play!

The soaked and cooked translucent, slightly brown vermicelli noodles lay neatly at the bottom of the bowl; a generous heap of duck intestines, a generous heap of duck gizzards, a small handful of tofu puffs, and a generous heap of duck blood were placed into the bowl, and everyone knew exactly what it meant to be worth more than its price.

The heap of duck intestines alone would probably cost twenty or thirty yuan if bought at a store, wouldn't it?

With such a large bowl costing only 50 yuan, who could utter the word "expensive"?

This was simply a great deal, wasn't it?!

When Wang Fan scooped from the broth pot with his large iron ladle, everyone's eyes nearly popped out.

This isn't foul play; this is full-on cheat mode, do you hear me?!