Chapter 145: You're Told to Open a Food Shop, But You Operate at 3 AM

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

The words An Liang was about to say were choked back, and he couldn't help but frown: "Boss, won't you reconsider? Do you know how many restaurant owners want me to write a column for them?"

An Liang wasn't boasting; the shops whose dishes he tasted, if their flavors earned his approval, after promotion through his food column, some shops went from street stalls to viral restaurants in just a few months.

Countless owners queued up wanting him to write a premium food review for their own shops, yet he had never seen anyone react to his publicity with such avoidance.

Lu Feng shook his head, not caring about An Liang's words in the slightest.

The only thing he cared about right now was that the time An Liang had delayed him meant he had made several fewer bowls of soup noodles.

This week there's only one hour of business hours each day; chatting a bit longer means selling a few fewer portions.

Although An Liang's offer to write a column for him was quite attractive — after all, it's free advertising for him — and judging from the diners' reactions, the promotional effect of An Liang's column was even better than Xiao Feilong's livestreams.

But for Lu Feng right now, nothing is more important than completing the system task.

"Sorry, it's business hours now. If you're here to eat, I welcome you; other matters we won't discuss for the time being."

Lu Feng smiled, looking at An Liang and saying seriously.

An Liang froze, not expecting that this boss, after learning of his influence, could still act so indifferent.

Does he have absolute confidence in his own culinary skill, indicating he doesn't need publicity?

"Mr. An, are you still eating the pig trotter noodles?"

Lu Feng looked at An Liang and asked again.

"Eat! I already paid!"

An Liang's mood was a bit depressed at this moment, and his tone of voice also became somewhat stiff.

"Alright, then do you need me to make it a small portion?"

Lu Feng nodded, not minding the dissatisfaction in An Liang's tone at all, and continued asking with a smile.

An Liang's face flushed red then pale, and he finally said irritably: "No need, normal portion, I can finish it!"

Hearing this, Lu Feng smiled and nodded: "Alright, coming right up."

Then he shouted toward the diners behind An Liang: "Everyone continue ordering, there's not much time left."

After speaking, he turned and walked back into the kitchen.

Hearing Lu Feng's reminder, the diners' originally heated discussion stopped instantly, and they started scrambling to order again.

Because in their hearts, no matter how famous An Liang was, he still couldn't compare to the tangible deliciousness Lu Feng made.

An Liang took the pig trotter noodles handed over by Hu Xiaoyun, glanced at Lu Feng busy in the kitchen, then silently went to the hall, found a seat, and sat down.

Being rejected by Lu Feng made him feel a bit displeased, but with the food before him, he didn't have the leisure to dwell on it.

When An Liang sat down, his tightly furrowed brows hadn't yet relaxed, but when the aroma of the pig trotter noodles in the bowl entered his nasal cavity, his expression eased somewhat.

In the white porcelain bowl, slightly yellow handmade noodles were submerged in amber soup, with a layer of fine oil droplets floating on the soup.

Eight pieces of pig trotter were neatly arranged on the noodles; the skin glistened with an enticing sheen of oil, and the reddish-brown meat pieces exuded a rich aroma.

An Liang picked up his chopsticks and first picked up a piece of pig trotter.

As the chopsticks lifted it, he felt the skin on the outside of the trotter trembling slightly, like a piece of fruit jelly.

When the trotter entered his mouth, with just a slight bite of his teeth, the meat separated from the bone.

The trotter was stewed extremely tender, but the tendons inside were quite numerous; while meltingly tender and flavorful, it still had great chewiness.

Being able to achieve both melt-in-the-mouth and springy chewy textures simultaneously — two completely different mouthfeels — the demands on the stewing heat control and the chef's technique are extraordinarily high.

The sauce wrapped in the trotter mixed with the mellow richness of spices; as his teeth continuously chewed, it bloomed layer by layer in his mouth, and as it slid down his throat, there was still a faint, barely-there sweetness.

An Liang chewed the trotter in his mouth, an expression of enjoyment slowly spreading across his face, and he couldn't help but gain a new appreciation for Lu Feng's skill.

All the collagen in this trotter had been stewed out, but what he found miraculous was that eating it there was absolutely no sticky, gluey feeling.

The fat in the trotter had also been stewed through completely; even the bones were permeated with aroma; eating it didn't make one feel greasy or cloying, giving an irresistible, can't-stop feeling.

An Liang couldn't help but close his eyes and slowly savor the deliciousness coming from his mouth; after a good while he swallowed, and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.

He picked up another chopstick of noodles; the moment the noodles entered his mouth, that soup mixed with meat fragrance spread to every corner of his mouth a step ahead.

The noodles carried just the right amount of chewiness; when his teeth bit down, he could clearly feel the tactile sensation of each noodle snapping, the soup adsorbed on the noodle surface dissolving on his tongue tip, every taste bud on his tongue awakened by this flavor.

An Liang ate the bowl of pig trotter noodles before him with single-minded focus; the somewhat vexed mood from being rejected by Lu Feng had long been completely forgotten amid the aroma of this bowl of pig trotter noodles.

If An Liang were to rank all the delicacies he had tasted over these years by deliciousness, this pig trotter noodles would absolutely rank in the top five.

This is authentic pig trotter noodles!

An Liang lowered his head; the movements of his chopsticks picking up noodles and trotter became faster and faster, without even he himself noticing; his usually elegant eating movements had long since lost their former reserve.

His eating movements at this moment were exactly like the other diners in the hall; the noodles were slurped with a sizzling sound, as if he hadn't eaten for several days.

After a while, An Liang looked at the empty bowl before him and couldn't help but touch his belly.

From the moment he started eating this bowl of noodles until now, he hadn't paused for a single moment; his usual habit of stopping after two tastes seemed to have never existed at all.

An Liang couldn't help but glance at the kitchen again, sighing inwardly in admiration: No wonder he would refuse; this person's skill truly has the confidence to back it up.

With flavor like this, as long as someone comes here and tastes it once, even someone like himself who has tasted countless delicacies would be unable to resist the urge to come back for another bowl.

Being able to make a bowl of pig trotter noodles to this level, it seems indeed no publicity from him is needed.

An Liang stood up; the moment he walked out of Lu Feng's shop, the last bit of awkwardness in his heart also disappeared.

Genius culinary skill, perfect flavor.

This was the evaluation An Liang made of Lu Feng and his skill as he was leaving.

…………

If Li Hong'an learned of An Liang's evaluation of Lu Feng, who knows if he'd be so depressed he'd vomit blood.

Three days have passed since An Liang's column article was published.

Over these three days, he has clearly felt that business at his shop is not what it used to be.

In just three days, a third of the banquets originally booked at his shop have been canceled.

Not a few regular customers who often came to his shop now rarely come to eat at Hong'an Restaurant anymore.

Watching the number of customers decrease day by day, the enthusiasm of the waiters and chefs at Hong'an Restaurant has gradually been extinguished.

Originally thinking that the restaurant's business would flourish day by day, and that they could still receive a good amount of bonuses over the next few months.

If this situation continues, whether next month's salary can be paid in full is even a question.

As the boss of Hong'an Restaurant, Li Hong'an has been so worried these past few days that he can't sleep well.

He feels he still underestimated An Liang's influence; the speed at which this foodie's reputation spreads is somewhat beyond his expectations.

Because of An Liang's online review, not only were many regular customers who often patronized the restaurant dissuaded.

Even among the diners who still choose to eat here, their opinions of the dishes at their shop are increasing more and more.

Fortunately, although business at the shop is not as good as before, it is still enough to keep the restaurant running.

Otherwise, given Li Hong'an's temper, he might go to great lengths to find An Liang and fight him.

Li Hong'an was at Food Street at this moment, just having hung up the manager's call; after hearing the other party report the restaurant's dismal turnover today over the phone, he couldn't help but curse again: "Damn it, this An surnamed guy is really no good!"