Chapter 144

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

In the kitchen, Lu Feng was focused on cooking noodles.

Today's Pig Trotter Noodles seemed very popular; almost all the customers ahead had ordered this dish.

The shop had only been open for less than fifteen minutes, and the braised pig trotters in the pot had already gone down by a small half.

It looked like quite a few people wouldn't get to eat today; Lu Feng had just been considering whether to make more pig trotters tomorrow.

Hu Xiaoyun walked in from outside, handed the order in her hand to Lu Feng, then said in a low voice: "Boss, that customer from yesterday came again, saying he wants to see you."

Hearing Hu Xiaoyun's words, Lu Feng's noodle-cooking movements stopped, and he turned his head to look outside.

In front of the counter, An Liang's gaze was fixed on him; because his hat brim was pressed low, no expression could be seen on his face.

"Boss, when this person left yesterday, his complexion didn't look too good; could it be because of yesterday's matter, that he's come to find trouble?"

Hu Xiaoyun glanced worriedly at An Liang outside, then said in rapid-fire speech: "Or you don't go out; I'll say you're too busy to leave, and send him away."

After she finished speaking, she prepared to turn around and leave the kitchen directly.

As an employee in Lu Feng's shop, Hu Xiaoyun felt she had an obligation to help the boss solve those troublesome customers.

Lu Feng, however, called her back, shook his head and said: "It's fine, I'll go out and take a look."

Finished speaking, he put down the soup spoon in his hand, wiped his hands, then strode toward the outside of the kitchen.

At this moment, An Liang's heart felt slightly uneasy.

His back had long been soaked through with sweat; one didn't know if it was from heat, or because of those tigerishly watching gazes behind him.

Just now when Hu Xiaoyun walked into the kitchen, he had already felt the hostility from those diners behind him.

An Liang couldn't help but feel some regret; had he known it would be like this, he wouldn't have made this superfluous move.

His original thought was very simple: just call Lu Feng out to see if his hands were clean.

But he hadn't expected that his simple, single request would cause the diners behind him to suspect his motives.

Yesterday at noon at that ramen shop, after witnessing the chef there pick his nose and then knead dough, An Liang had become extraordinarily concerned about restaurant hygiene.

Lu Feng's place looked quite clean, but who could really vouch for what goes on in the back kitchen?

If Lu Feng comes out in a moment, with so many pairs of eyes staring from behind, and he says "I just want to see if your hands are clean or not".

Who knows if those diners, hearing that, would really think he came to deliberately pick a fight, and directly throw him out of the shop.

However, what gave him some peace of mind right now was that he had just seen Xiao Feilong and Xiao Yue finish their noodles and leave Lu Feng's shop.

This way at least he didn't have to worry about those two seeing his somewhat embarrassing appearance in a moment.

He hadn't expected that he, a proper Food Critic, would actually fall into such a passive situation over such a trivial matter.

Wait!

Food Critic?

Got it!

An Liang's eyes brightened slightly; his mind instantly came up with a line of talk.

Lu Feng walked out of the kitchen, arrived in front of An Liang, wearing a gentle smile on his face, and asked: "Hello, looking for me?"

An Liang's gaze swiftly swept over Lu Feng's hands; seeing Lu Feng's hands were clean and tidy, nails trimmed neatly and evenly, nail crevices also spotless, not a speck of dirt, his heart immediately settled.

After hearing Lu Feng's words, he subconsciously lifted his head slightly, his eyes gaining a few points of composure.

An Liang cleared his throat, looked at Lu Feng and asked: "Boss, I am An Liang, author of 'Gourmet Travels'; don't know if you've heard of it?"

'Gourmet Travels' is the name of An Liang's food column, somewhat famous in the food circle, with quite a few followers online.

When An Liang spoke his column's name, his tone deliberately carried a few more degrees of weight.

This column embodied An Liang's years of painstaking effort; every article on it was written by him personally after visiting specialty restaurants across various places.

Many fans treat An Liang's food column as a nationwide food guide.

People with even a little research into food almost all know the column name 'Gourmet Travels'.

This is also an achievement he takes pride in.

Just for the sake of his column's reputation, this boss before him ought to be surprised, right?

An Liang's eyes carried a few points of proud smile; he stared tightly at Lu Feng, wanting to see surprise or admiration on the other's face, waiting for Lu Feng to say "So it's you" or "Long admired your great name".

Unexpectedly, Lu Feng's answer made the smile on his face freeze instantly.

"'Gourmet Travels'? What thing is that? Similar to 'Brother Fat Takes You to Eat' that kind of Douyin account? I usually don't pay much attention to these."

Lu Feng shook his head with a blank face; seeing An Liang's expression seemed a bit off, he added: "'Gourmet Travels', right? I'll definitely give you a follow when I have time later; when you livestream I'll send you some little hearts..."

"You..."

The composure on An Liang's face from just now had completely vanished, leaving only anger after being slighted.

That was his food column he had poured years of painstaking effort into, yet now it was treated by Lu Feng like Xiao Feilong's kind of internet celebrity eating-broadcast Douyin account.

Is this boss really in the food business? He hasn't even heard of his own column?

But before An Liang could continue saying anything, several diners behind him suddenly burst out with a sound of sharp intakes of breath.

"Hiss... 'Gourmet Travels'? Is that the 'Gourmet Travels' reputed to be an encyclopedia of food from all places? You're that author An Liang?"

A middle-aged man wearing a plaid shirt looked at An Liang with a face full of surprise, shouting loudly with a somewhat excited tone.

"My god! I just read the latest published food review article today, writing about our Jiangcheng's restaurants; didn't expect to meet the man himself here!"

In the hall, another young man eating noodles also raised his head in surprise, eyes staring round.

"Teacher An Liang! I'm your fan! I print out the articles you write every day; they can be bound into volumes now!"

A young girl standing not far behind An Liang shouted excitedly, her face full of admiration.

"Lu Boss! Teacher An Liang's column isn't some Douyin account! The food column he writes is far more authoritative than those shop-visiting bloggers!"

Hearing the diners' discussions, the look Lu Feng gave An Liang now carried a hint of surprise: "So you're actually this impressive?"

An Liang's originally stiff shoulders slowly relaxed; upon hearing Lu Feng's voice, he let out a hmph from his nose.

But the corners of his mouth couldn't help curling upward, feeling a bit smug inside: "Not bad."

An Liang ignored the commotion in the Hall, his gaze falling on Lu Feng, his tone carrying a touch of pride: "Boss, I tasted your mushroom noodles here yesterday, the flavor was very good; to tell the truth, I've been to many places over these years, and rarely see culinary skill as superb as yours."

He paused, took out a business card from his Pocket and handed it to Lu Feng: "I plan to write a column for your Shop, but there's a condition, hoping Boss you can fulfill it."

Lu Feng took the business card An Liang handed over, his gaze swept over it once, casually set it aside, smiled and asked: "What condition?"

"I need to taste all the food in your Shop; only then can I write the most truthful and objective evaluation; when the column is published, your Shop's business will probably become even more...."

Lu Feng smiled, opening his mouth to interrupt An Liang's words: "Mr. An, I appreciate your kind intention, but there's no need for the time being."