Chapter 21: Professional Photographer Enters the Scene

Saturday morning, at the Happy Market.

Comrade Wang Meng arrived right on time. Chen Zhou noticed he was wearing a vest and carrying a large photography backpack.

Surprised, Chen Zhou asked, “Captain Wang, so professional?”

Wang Meng swung the backpack to his chest and pulled out a camera.

“Hey, I used to have a girlfriend who loved photography, so I bought a set of gear back then. It’s been gathering dust for a long time.”

“Used to have a girlfriend...” Chen Zhou thought to himself, Wang Meng’s romantic history must be quite rich.

“Starting to shoot now? Do I need to say anything special?”

Wang Meng was adjusting the equipment and said casually, “Just be natural. Do whatever you normally do. Leave the rest to me.”

“Alright.”

Chen Zhou walked toward the market. Behind him, Wang Meng’s calm and warm voice sounded—

“Every morning, Master Chen at the bun stall arrives punctually at the market to select the ingredients he’ll use that day.”

“Freshness is his basic requirement.”

The camera followed Chen Zhou to the Yongjia Fresh Meat Shop.

Seeing Wang Meng with the camera trailing behind Chen Zhou, Old Zhang, the butcher, turned his head and asked, “Hey Chen, who’s this guy?”

“A city official, following me to shoot a video about setting up the stall,” Chen Zhou replied.

“Wow, a city official following you to shoot...” Zhang Jinsheng, rarely showing such dignified and hospitable manner, said warmly,

“Welcome, Master Chen! This pork was freshly slaughtered early this morning!”

Chen Zhou almost burst out laughing.

“Just act normal, Old Zhang.”

“Besides that, Master Chen also checks if the ingredients he buys have quarantine certificates and quality inspection approvals.”

“Even for a small stall, Master Chen never relaxes his standards.”

“This is why he has earned so much trust from his customers.”

After buying meat, Chen Zhou went on to the vegetable and seasoning sections to fill in any gaps.

The camera followed closely.

Once the market footage was done, Chen Zhou walked over to Wang Meng.

“How’s it look?”

Wang Meng reviewed the video and said, “Perfect take. But the pork seller looks a bit off; I’ll edit that later.”

As they left, Old Zhang called out, “Come by anytime to buy meat.”

Wang Meng smiled and nodded at Old Zhang.

Chen Zhou noticed no awkwardness from Wang Meng meeting Old Zhang for the first time.

His professional identity gave Wang Meng the confidence to handle any merchant with ease.

Next was the ingredient pre-processing stage, filmed at Chen Zhou’s home.

---

Wang Meng winced and asked, “Is this a good time?”

“Sure,” Chen Zhou nodded, “At this hour, her mom is probably taking her swimming.”

“You have kids already?” Wang Meng was surprised.

Chen Zhou recalled Wang Meng’s words from yesterday and mimicked his tone, “Don’t you check my social media, Captain Wang?”

Wang Meng scratched his head. “My colleagues share eight posts a day, and with dozens of people in the office, that’s hundreds of posts flooding the screen! I can’t keep up.”

...

The two arrived at Chen Zhou’s home.

Chen Zhou pulled two drinks from the fridge and invited him to cool off in the living room. “Make yourself comfortable, Captain Wang.”

Wang Meng looked around the cozy, tidy home and complimented it.

This was likely a normal display of Ms. Lin’s housekeeping skills. The house wasn’t spotless but far from disorderly.

On the surface, it was quite clean.

After resting a moment, they resumed work.

Wang Meng’s voice sounded even better indoors—

“After buying ingredients at the market, Master Chen starts preparing what he needs for the day.”

“Since his stall isn’t open yet, much of the work is done in the home kitchen.”

“Perhaps that’s why some customers say his buns have a taste of home.”

“The sounds of chopping meat and vegetables ring rhythmically through the kitchen.”

“Master Chen uses two different cutting boards and knives for meat and vegetables—he’s quite particular.”

“That meticulousness, though unseen, ensures the hygiene and safety of his customers’ meals...”

“I’ll treat you to a meal later, really.”

“Thanks, but maybe another day,” Wang Meng shook his head. “I’ve got a blind date at noon.”

“Your schedule’s packed,” Chen Zhou recalled he had recently been stood up on a date. “Where are you going? Need a restaurant recommendation?”

Wang Meng sighed, “She’s a teacher; we booked a Western restaurant.”

“Well, good luck then.”

“Thanks, see you this afternoon.”

...

For lunch, Chen Zhou planned to cook pork tail stew for his wife and child.

But one small tail didn’t seem worth a full stew, so he also set aside some nicely marbled front leg meat.

He blanched the meat with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine.

He caramelized sugar, added soy sauce, sweet bean paste, and yellow soybean paste to stir-fry for aroma.

Then transferred everything to a pressure cooker with boiling water.

---

Added salt, sugar, and chicken essence to balance the flavors.

A handful of yellow soybeans, covered the lid, and turned on the heat.

Thanks to choosing culinary skills during his first open point exchange, Chen Zhou’s cooking had improved considerably, even without specialized training in stir-frying.

“Before reaching professional level, cooking seems to have a certain universality.”

When his wife and daughter returned, the whole house was fragrant.

Chen Taotao was the first to rush over and asked, “Daddy, what’s for lunch? It smells so good!”

Chen Zhou ruffled her still-damp hair. “We’re stewing little Peppa Pig’s tail. Do you like it?”

Taotao thought for a moment.

But swimming had worked up her appetite, so she cheerfully answered,

“I love it!”

“Your daughter wouldn’t wait for me to dry her hair and ran straight home. She must be hungry,” Ms. Lin smiled, carrying Taotao to the bathroom.

Chen Zhou heard the blow dryer start and continued simmering the sauce on high heat.

Bubbles churned in the pot, the sauce thickening and clinging to the meat and pork tail.

“Almost done.”

He turned off the heat and served the dish.

The family sat down together, enjoying their weekend meal.

The long, high heat had turned the pork tail tender enough that the meat fell off the bone. Taotao picked it up with chopsticks effortlessly.

“Mom, can I have a little more rice?”

Lin Yifan also sampled a small piece.

The outer layer, rich in collagen, was soft, chewy, fragrant but not greasy.

Closer to the bone, the lean meat was quickly cooked in the pressure cooker and absorbed the savory sauce from the wok—salty, savory, and aromatic.

The flavor perfectly suited the mother and daughter’s tastes.

Ms. Lin was so pleased she gave half a star rating enthusiastically.

...

To make it easier for Wang Meng to come film, Chen Zhou scheduled all the preparation work around three or four in the afternoon.

This time, Wang Meng even brought some fruit.

“So polite, Captain Wang,” Chen Zhou smiled as he took it and invited him inside.

At that moment, Taotao was playing in the living room.

She saw Wang Meng and greeted him politely.

Chen Zhou thought, “As long as he’s not too intimidating, my daughter really knows how to behave.”