Chapter 20

Chapter 20: So Delicious, It Seems Like Maybe...

With the entire police station’s expectations, Chen Ran got up early the next morning to prepare the ingredients.

“Ranran, have you decided what to sell at the stall?”

Hao Ge and Song Yifan had already arrived early, going to the morning market around 3 a.m., buying all kinds of needed vegetables and meats according to Chen Ran’s list.

Wang Changhai also came early, rolling up his sleeves ready to pitch in personally: “Ranran, were these vegetables all washed today?”

Ms. Wang had found him to provide Chen Ran with a safe place to work and asked him to look after the young girl.

Unexpectedly, in the end, these big guys ended up being taken care of by the young girl!

He just had to work harder and take on more. He was also keeping an eye on the Chen family people.

“Yes, all washed. Today we’re selling rolled pancakes. It’s easier, lets us free up our hands to observe.”

Of course, another reason Chen Ran decided to sell rolled pancakes was that her recipe needed over nine thousand uses to unlock special effects!

The kindergarten’s special effect was childhood happiness; what would the police station’s special effect be?

She skillfully started kneading the dough to prepare the pancake bases. The other officers helped wash and cut vegetables, while the tardy Xiao Li grabbed some potatoes and began shredding them.

“I’ll fry the ham sausages and chicken cutlets?”

Director Gao also arrived. Although he had applied for some benefits for Chen Ran, he felt a little guilty making a temporary worker do so much.

All seven people from the police station had arrived, and working together, they quickly prepared everything needed to open the stall.

“Smells so good…”

None of them had eaten yet. Chen Ran decisively grilled a few pancakes, gave each person one filled with some vegetables, and paired it with some millet porridge—they all ate heartily.

Song Yifan was amazed by the taste. Yesterday he had doubted Wang Changhai’s praise, but today it seemed maybe it wasn’t impossible after all?

“Ranran, I heard from Director Wang that your lion’s head meatballs are even better than Chen’s Restaurant? When will you make some for us?”

Wang Changhai slapped him on the shoulder: “Whatever she makes, you just eat it. Useless stuff—you’re the ones who get her to clean up your mess!”

Yesterday, the videos of Hao Ge and Song Yifan had truly gone viral. Although they wore masks, no one dared let those two go again.

Even yesterday’s tricycle was replaced with a new one today.

Director Gao personally borrowed a special food cart. He praised Chen Ran: “Not bad, selling rolled pancakes today, totally different from yesterday! And you even changed the cart—no student will guess now.”

However, everyone underestimated how bored and curious contemporary university students are.

Yesterday’s two videos had already spread rapidly internally! In countless group chats, people were wildly guessing the reason for the police undercover work.

Everyone was very active because the school was right there. If the criminals got away because of them, wouldn’t everyone be in danger?

Obviously, the two plainclothes officers didn’t catch anyone yesterday.

So today, some enthusiastic students even created a group to maintain order!

Their goal: do everything possible to make sure the police officers’ stall had no business.

The food cart Xiao Li drove had barely appeared when it was immediately targeted by a few students with no classes.Everyone professionally looked away. Even though they were close by, they were still furiously typing in the group chat.

“They’re here, they even changed the cart today!”

“The people changed too, right? They don’t look like the two cops from yesterday?”

“It’s all your fault. We agreed we’d protect the police officers today—no one’s allowed to go over and film!”

“But what about buying stuff? Do we stop people who want to buy?”

The group admin hesitated a moment, then decided: “If workers from the construction site come to buy, don’t stop them. But if they’re students from our school, keep them back! Everyone keep your movements low-key and rotate shifts, don’t stand here too long!”

“But is it possible they got the wrong people? Maybe they didn’t change carts, maybe it’s really the same guys?”

“They didn’t catch anyone yesterday, so they’ll definitely come again today! Everyone watch your phones less and wander around more, spread out!”

Xiao Li had already parked the food cart. This morning and for the morning shift, he was helping Chen Ran; Wang Changhai would take over in the afternoon.

He looked around carefully but saw nothing unusual, just a few university students wandering nearby.

“Look, that’s the shack where Snake Skin is living now.”

Chen Ran felt a little nervous. She carefully looked in the direction Xiao Li indicated, seeing a low steel-plate house. The steel roof was haphazardly covered with asbestos tiles.

The steel house sat in a temporarily empty construction site, next to a low fence, making it very concealed.

“This spot is the only place to observe Snake Skin’s movements,” Xiao Li said, a bit troubled. “Otherwise, we’d have to move somewhere else. Hopefully, those students filming won’t come today.”

Chen Ran was confident: “Don’t worry, they won’t recognize it!”

Her rolled pancakes were unmistakably professional!

Plus, today Chen Ran had dressed up a bit, even dirtied her apron before setting out. She looked like a proper street vendor.

“Alright, during the day some students come to buy, and at breakfast, lunch, and dinner times, workers will come buy food too. We don’t need to come in the morning; Snake Skin usually doesn’t get up before ten.”

“Okay.”

Chen Ran took out the prepared pancake bases, set the iron plate in place, then picked up the system-rewarded kitchen knife and started chopping scallions.

The special effect of this kitchen knife wasn’t unlocked yet, but it was exceptionally handy, almost like an extension of her body, making chopping very satisfying.

“Whoa, this can’t really be a food cart, right? Look at that scallion chopping!”

One group member guarding the undercover officers was shocked by Chen Ran’s extremely skilled knife work. He could barely see the knife’s movements!

“Just chopping scallions, look again! I believe the police officers definitely won’t ignore our safety!”

“Yeah, isn’t it normal for a female cop to be awesome with a knife?”

Chen Ran finished chopping the scallions and cilantro, then started arranging about a dozen side dishes on the iron plate.

Fried chicken cutlets, fried sausages, fried chicken strips, fresh lettuce, and sliced onions.

The group admin sensed something off. Everyone was frantically chatting in the group.

“This food cart looks a bit professional. Could it really not be undercover officers today?”

“Are you underestimating the police officers? Don’t you know how to make lettuce and chicken cutlets? I can do it too!”“Don’t zone out! Walk around more, don’t blow our cover!”

Chen Ran kept adding dishes onto the iron plate.

There were clearly crisp stir-fried shredded potatoes, mixed with green and red chili strips, the colors looking very beautiful.

The soft, wrinkled tiger-skin green peppers were soaked in sauce. When picked up with tongs, their own weight even tore them apart. The whole pepper skin was wrinkled, clearly well-fried.

The eggs on the side were also tiger-skin style, their outer layer perfectly fried. Xiao Li, helping out, squeezed a bit too hard and broke one instantly. The crispy outer skin was intact, and the inside had many holes fully soaked with sauce.

Chen Ran kept taking vegetables, while the group chat on the other side had a mini explosion.

“Tiger-skin green peppers! They’re my favorite! Can you really wrap these in the pancake?”

“I feel like I can already smell it…”

“Who knows about those shredded potatoes? They’re still so firm! I love crispy shredded potatoes; the cafeteria ones are always soft and limp…”

“No way, this really isn’t undercover, right?”

The group admin was also a bit puzzled — this looked way too professional.

“Let’s see, don’t you just want to eat this pancake?”

The tiger-skin pepper fanatic typed “want” then painfully deleted it.

Wait a bit longer! Observe some more!

But now he couldn’t take his eyes off the little food cart.

That female vendor kept loading dishes!

The fresh-looking bean sprouts — were they stir-fried with vinegar or just blanched and tossed?

And the brown minced meat with vermicelli — this was the first time he realized that could be wrapped in a pancake, but now thinking about it, it sounded like a perfect match.

“No way, there’s more dishes? Can pancakes have this many fillings?”

“Look! That small bok choy — is it braised? What else is in that pot? There should be some braised meat too, right? I think I can smell it, can you smell it?”

The university students smelled it, and Xiao Li nearby definitely did too.

“Smells amazing…” He shyly asked Chen Ran, “Can you write down this recipe for me later?”

“Sure!”

Chen Ran’s braised meat recipe wasn’t just using her A-level seasoning skill; it also combined the S-level Lion’s Head meatball sauce formula.

It was literally soul-stirring by smell alone.

She scooped out some baby bok choy, then tofu skin and braised eggs, neatly arranging them.

But… something was odd.

“Why isn’t there a single customer today?” Though she wasn’t very familiar with surveillance, she wondered, “If there are no customers, wouldn’t that blow our cover?”

Xiao Li secretly observed the direction of Snake Skin: “Maybe we came too early, wait a bit longer. Besides, the workers will come out to buy food soon, then there will be more people.”

Chen Ran still found it strange. Did her pancake not look delicious?She lifted the lid of the braised meat pot, and a gentle breeze blew, carrying the aroma downwind.

“Help! I can’t resist! How can it smell this good? Group leader Qing Tang, is this fragrant braised meat really made by undercover cops?”

“Tiger-skin green peppers…”

“Look, she’s starting to cook the pancake!”

The system’s pancake recipe included many ways to make the pancake.

Chen Ran now took out the dough prepared for egg-stuffed pancakes.

She skillfully rolled out the dough, shaping it, then placed it in the pan.

With a sizzle, hot oil met the dough, releasing a pure wheat fragrance. Wearing gloves, she expertly flipped several pancakes in the air.

“…She really isn’t undercover! Her hands aren’t afraid of the heat at all!”

“This egg-stuffed pancake is a hundred times better than what our cafeteria makes. I can’t hold back, look how it’s puffed up!”

“Egg-stuffed! Egg-stuffed! Wow, so much egg? The egg is oozing out!”

A whole egg was quickly stuffed into the opening of the pancake by Chen Ran, then she flipped it in the air so the opening faced down and slapped it back into the pan.

The egg liquid that almost spilled out slowly flowed from the pancake, clinging to the crust, releasing a roasted egg aroma.

“Wow, this egg-stuffed pancake is the first time I’ve seen it; isn’t it basically like frying an egg on the outside too?”

Chen Ran’s hands moved rapidly up and down, almost too fast to see, with the strong heat and oil, the aroma of egg and pancake filled the air.

Xiao Li swallowed hard. Chen Ran asked him, “Want to try one?”

“Not yet,” Xiao Li resisted the temptation, “Wait until after lunch sales, or else they’ll think I’m undercover again.”

One of the university students observing nearby finally couldn’t hold back.

“I don’t believe this is undercover! With this skill selling food, wouldn’t she earn over ten thousand a month?”

“Group leader, I’ll go check it out first!”

“Yeah, what if she’s really here to sell food? Wouldn’t we be interfering with her business?”

The group leader hesitated.

“...Alright, go see.”

The tiger-skin green pepper fanatic was the first to rush out!

Nearby, the shredded potato enthusiast was a step slower and couldn’t overtake him, anxiously stamping his foot and looking toward the food cart with the egg-stuffed pancake enthusiast.

“I’ll have one egg-stuffed pancake! How much?”

Chen Ran had already set the prices: “You can put any vegetable you want; the default includes a sausage. Adding chicken steak or braised meat is three yuan extra, adding egg is one and a half.”

“Give me one with tiger-skin green peppers! Can you add extra?”

“Sure, do you want scallions and cilantro? The tiger-skin peppers are a bit spicy. Do you want lettuce?”

“No cilantro!”He eagerly scanned the QR code, watching Chen Ran reheat the green peppers and sausages, brush sauce on the egg-stuffed pancake, and roll it up.

When the pancake was rolled, you could even hear the crisp crust breaking, with some crumbs falling off.

“Here you go, classmate.”

Chen Ran saw the guy’s eyes almost glued to the pancake, about to warn him it was hot, but then saw him take a big bite fiercely.

“Don’t burn yourself!”

No… it’s not hot!

This is the paradise of tiger-skin green peppers!

Moreover, this egg-stuffed pancake’s egg had two textures. The inside egg liquid was tender, the outside fried egg was crispy and fragrant—this dual texture combined perfectly with the strong flavor of the tiger-skin green peppers.

Lu Bei took a bite and felt he had eaten the best tiger-skin green peppers in his life. Before he could even swallow, he took out his phone and scanned the code again.

“Another one… one more!”

Chen Ran worried he might choke, but there were no drinks sold at the food cart, so she could only tell him to slow down.

“Eat slowly… don’t rush. Should I make another one the same?”

Lu Bei’s mouth was full; not filling it up would be a waste of such delicious peppers!

Such tasty peppers deserved to be paired with even tastier meat!

“Which is the most expensive braised meat? Add a tiger-skin egg too.”

“There’s braised beef, four yuan extra, plus one for the tiger-skin egg, total fifteen and a half.”

Chen Ran scooped up a piece of braised beef, chopped it finely and rolled it up, then crushed a tiger-skin egg and added it in.

When the tiger-skin egg was crushed, its shell actually cracked open!

Lu Bei’s eyes couldn’t leave the pancake. His phone kept ringing, but he couldn’t look at it.

“@Lu Bei, what are you doing? Is it tasty? Is she undercover?”

“@Lu Bei, answer!”

Finishing one egg-stuffed pancake in one bite, seeing the second ready, Lu Bei took out his phone and happily opened the group chat.

“Don’t worry, definitely not undercover! It tastes ridiculously good!”

“But what if the undercover cop hired some expert…”

“This kind of expert… seems unnecessary?”

Someone cautiously doubted in the group chat, but Lu Bei was too busy to reply.

He was spamming messages in the dorm group: “Behind the east gate where undercover cops set up a stall yesterday, there’s an insanely delicious pancake. You guys want some? Hurry! I can bring more!”

He even attached a photo of the side dishes: “What do you want? Say it fast! Otherwise, the line will be too long!”

He knew the school-area snack stalls well; something this tasty would soon have huge crowds.

“Huh? No undercover today? So good, is it really or just pretending? You’re not trying to make money for the cops by fooling me, right?”“Give me one with glass noodles, I haven’t tried that yet. Add chicken fillet! Extra cilantro!”

The shredded potato lover couldn’t hold back anymore!

“Nope, I’m starving. Group leader, I’m going first!”

The group leader called out, and seeing several volunteers had already gathered around, she quickly followed too.

“Is there only egg-stuffed pancake? Do you have other kinds?”

Chen Ran had just gotten new recipes and was eager to try every kind of pancake: “Gluten pancake, oil-fried pancake, spring pancake, pocket pancake—which one do you want to try?”

“Give me a pocket pancake!”

The shredded potato lover had already gotten his and was eating with cheeks stuffed full. The egg-stuffed pancake lover ordered three in one go, asking with a blissful look: “This pancake’s method is really special—did you invent it yourself?”

Chen Ran didn’t have time to answer—more and more college students were crowding around! And not far away, workers from the construction site were also trickling out in small groups.

Xiao Li had already started helping with wrapping and collecting money, while Chen Ran focused solely on frying pancakes.

But… she still couldn’t keep up.

There were just too many people.

The tiger-skin green pepper enthusiast had already bought three for his roommates and, seeing more people arriving, even stepped up enthusiastically to maintain order.

“No cutting in line! Step back, step back!”

“Call out your orders early!”

“Move to the side, you’re blocking the way—yes, I mean you!”

Suddenly Xiao Li said, “Ran Ran, drink some water.”

Chen Ran’s nerves instantly tightened!

This was the code phrase they had agreed on before setting up the stall—if Xiao Li said this, it meant Snake Skin had appeared!

Her movements faltered slightly, and she glanced toward the shanty where Snake Skin lived.

Fortunately, with the green pepper enthusiast managing the crowd, the line of college students hadn’t completely blocked the cart, so she could still see the other side.

She immediately recognized Snake Skin: a tall, thin, dark-skinned man with a large burn scar next to his chin—patchy like snake skin, hence the nickname.

Snake Skin was walking this way! He stood at the very end of the line!

Chen Ran couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. She looked at Xiao Li beside her. Seeing that he wasn’t making any sudden moves, she took a deep breath and continued frying pancakes as requested.

Before they came, Wang Changhai had emphasized that she only needed to focus on cooking. The surveillance task mainly rested on Xiao Li.

And their goal wasn’t to arrest Snake Skin on sight—it was to catch him in the act and ensure the kids’ whereabouts and safety.

Chen Ran took a deep breath and told herself to just focus on the pancakes.

She was just a food vendor!

“Jiejie, I want a pocket pancake!”

Chen Ran nodded and signaled to the customer that she heard.In a few swift motions, she rolled out the dough, flicked it with the rolling pin, and several pancakes flipped beautifully through the air before landing back in the pan.

“Quick, take a picture!”

“This jiejie is so cool!”

“Jiejie, look over here!”

Chen Ran instinctively looked in that direction—suddenly, she realized the voice sounded familiar?

It seemed to be the same college student who filmed the plainclothes video yesterday!

She glanced at Xiao Li and quickly kicked his shoe.

Xiao Li also recognized the voice.

He turned around with a serious expression. The male student who had spoken was standing right in front of Snake Skin.

The pancakes were being made quickly; these few people were about to reach the front of the line.

Using the motion of restocking cilantro as cover, Xiao Li quickly crouched down inside the food cart to send a message.

“Snake Skin has appeared!”

“But the college student who filmed yesterday is also here. If he mentions the plainclothes officers, it might alert the suspect! Director Wang, please be on alert—if necessary, proceed with early arrest!”

This scenario had actually been discussed at this morning’s briefing. If it really happened, they’d have no choice but to arrest early.

At the time, Chen Ran had thought the police's preparations were a bit too meticulous. But who would’ve expected such an extreme case to happen right now?

The person filming had actually shown up together with Snake Skin!

She silently prayed the guy wouldn’t say anything reckless. If they had to make an early arrest now, the losses would be significant.

That familiar voice spoke again.

“I want an egg-stuffed pancake, with this and this—no scallions, and no sausage. I want spiced beef.”

Hearing him order fluently, Xiao Li felt slightly relieved. A light sheen of sweat had broken out on his back, and the breeze made it feel cool and damp.

Chen Ran also relaxed a little and slowly let out a breath.

Good, he didn’t say anything! She’d add extra toppings for this guy later!

But before she could even exhale completely, she heard him speak again.

“Your stall looks pretty good…”

Xiao Li panicked and shouted loudly, “Classmate, there are still a lot of people behind you, let’s keep it moving!”

But the guy didn’t stop—he kept talking.

“…Yesterday, that…”

Chen Ran reacted quickly. She put down the spatula, grabbed the skimmer and chopsticks, bent down, and lifted the lid off the braised meat pot.

With a clatter, a glossy, quivering pork knuckle was scooped up and slammed onto the cutting board!

To keep it warm, the braised meat pot had been kept fully covered—only opened slightly to take out eggs or tofu skin. This pork knuckle had been hidden at the bottom the whole time and hadn’t been taken out until now.After all, this stall wasn't here to make money—Chen Ran had originally planned to save the pork knuckle for the hardworking police officers.

But now, if she didn’t show off some real skill and stun them a bit, that brat up front was going to start running his mouth!

The whole pork knuckle hit the cutting board, and even after a full second, the skin was still quivering.

The student who had been about to say something completely forgot his words. Standing at the very front of the line, his eyes were glued to that massive pork knuckle.

The reddish-brown skin had cracked open, even the lean meat inside had split. With just the lightest touch, it looked like it would fall clean off the bone.

Chen Ran had taken out the knuckle precisely to draw attention. She deliberately used extra force, slamming the whole thing down on the board so hard it nearly came apart.

And sure enough, it did—just one slam, and it broke apart.

What would it be like in your mouth? Probably wouldn’t even need to chew—just a slight press of the lips and it would melt away.

Zhao Chunguang, who had recorded two plainclothes officer videos yesterday, had completely forgotten about his likes and followers. All he could think about was that pork knuckle!

The spiced beef he’d been craving a moment ago had lost all its appeal in front of that knuckle.

Except for the not-so-friendly glare from the jiejie who scooped out the knuckle, Zhao Chunguang felt everything was perfect.

“I don’t want the beef anymore! Switch it to the knuckle—no, actually, add two more! All knuckle!”

Not just Zhao Chunguang—people behind him in line all raised their hands: “I want the knuckle too!”

“Damn, can we get a limit on this? If he buys three, what am I supposed to eat?”

“I’ll have it too! Can you sell the knuckle by itself? Looks like a great drinking snack!”

The crowd burst into a frenzy. Even Snake Skin, standing right behind Zhao Chunguang, was only focused on getting his share of the pork knuckle.

No one mentioned anything else at all!

Xiao Li let out a long breath and gave Chen Ran a discreet thumbs-up from under the cutting board.

With Ran Ran here, no problem at all!

Chen Ran quickly sliced off some knuckle meat and gave it a few casual chops with the back of the knife—it fell apart into tender pieces. She swiftly rolled up Zhao Chunguang’s pancake and even tossed in some extra chili.

Please, just stop talking, classmate!

Zhao Chunguang didn’t even notice the chili—his mind was full of that magnificent knuckle.

He took the roll and stuffed it into his mouth. The weight of the knuckle combined with the chili left him nearly speechless.

Zhao Chunguang struggled to give a thumbs-up, took the two pancake rolls, and left.

Then Snake Skin stepped up.

“Smells damn good.”

Snake Skin had a slick, thuggish air to him, cigarette dangling from his mouth. He ordered two pocket pancakes with tiger-skin green peppers and pork knuckle. He even blew smoke in Chen Ran’s direction and said, “You’re a good-looking wife. Cook those rolls a bit longer for me, alright? And give me extra cilantro.”

“Sure, I gave you extra—check out the portion, alright?”

Xiao Li’s hands were steady. He finished them quickly and passed them over.

Snake Skin was cautious—he asked for the price first, then pulled out cash from his pocket instead of using digital payment. He had some basic anti-surveillance awareness—otherwise, he wouldn’t have evaded arrest for so long."This is extra cilantro? You feeding a cat?"

While giving change, Xiao Li played the role of an honest street vendor: “Bro, cilantro’s been super expensive this year. That’s already quite a bit.”

Snake Skin curled his lip, took the change, and casually took a bite of the pocket pancake in his hand.

“F***, that’s fragrant!”

This pork knuckle meat was tastier than anything he’d ever had at the fanciest restaurants! Damn shame—if only he could have a drink to go with it, that’d be perfect.

In this godforsaken place where he waited around every day, all he ever ate was bread, cold cuts, or boxed meals from the construction site. Snake Skin’s taste buds had long gone numb.

“Make me a pork knuckle to-go tomorrow, yeah?”

Xiao Li didn’t agree too quickly. He put on the hesitant look of a small-time vendor, a bit reluctant on the surface.

“That pork knuckle’s pricey... plus, if you don’t come tomorrow, and I can’t sell it, it’ll be wasted...”

Snake Skin took another bite of his pancake.

Now this was real food!

“With business like yours, how could you not sell it?” He pointed behind him at the corrugated steel housing: “I live right there. Just bring it to me tomorrow. One pork knuckle, two eggs, and a plate of green peppers. You bring it over, you think I won’t take it?”

Xiao Li’s heart rate spiked instantly—his smartwatch was already sending alerts!

But this was the moment to prove his undercover skills.

Hao-ge, Xiao Song, your little brothers—just wait and see who the real undercover king is!

“Then you gotta pay a deposit,” Xiao Li still wore a hesitant look, “that’s a lot of food. Twenty yuan deposit’s not too much, right? We’re just small vendors, gotta deliver it too…”

Snake Skin cursed under his breath, but the pork knuckle was way too good, and the students behind him were starting to get impatient.

“Fine, fine!”

He grabbed the pancake and walked off while eating: “Don’t forget tomorrow! Bring it early!”

The line behind was nearly spilling out to the factory gate. This stall’s business was off the charts.

If he didn’t have it delivered, he was seriously worried he wouldn’t get any!

As he thought that, Snake Skin stuffed the rest of the pancake into his mouth in two big bites, then sucked his fingers with satisfaction.

That pork knuckle—damn, it was good!

Once his goods arrived and got sold, he’d have people come buy this for him every single day!