Chapter 18

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Li Jiang was puzzled; yesterday when he came to eat there weren't this many people!

How come today we have to queue?

Glancing at the time again, it's not even eight-thirty yet!

Aren't business hours nine o'clock?

"Jiangzi, what's going on? Isn't this your brother's shop? Still have to queue?"

Xu Tao frowned and asked.

In order to eat more xiaolongbao later, the few of them hadn't eaten anything all evening, and right now they were starving, front chest stuck to back.

The queue in front of them was already terribly long; if they went to the back of the line, who knows when they'd get in?

"Don't rush, I'll make a call." Li Jiang fished out his mobile phone and, without another word, dialed Lu Feng.

The call connected, but no one answered on the other end.

Only then did Li Jiang remember that yesterday was the same situation.

When Lu Feng is preparing ingredients, he doesn't take calls.

Seeing the few of them standing there unmoving, several old men and women burst out of the queue and surrounded them aggressively.

"I say, you youngsters, what's wrong with learning something decent? Why learn to cut in line like us old folks?"

A woman in her fifties took the lead, jabbing her finger at Li Jiang's nose and letting loose a torrent of abuse.

"Cough cough! Sister Zhang, how come you're scolding us too?"

The faces of the people beside the old woman looked a bit embarrassed; one of them leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

"Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue, ai! These brats muddled my head!" Reminded like that, Sister Zhang hastily corrected herself: "You youngsters, how can you have not a shred of manners!"

"No, we..."

Li Jiang looked at the old men and women closing in and hurriedly tried to explain.

Unexpectedly, before he could finish, their mouths started chattering like machine guns again.

"What 'no'! Didn't you see all these people queuing properly? The moment you arrive you want to squeeze in — think we can't see?"

"Society's morals are ruined by young people like you!"

"Look at you, each dressed quite respectably, yet you don't even understand this bit of etiquette!"

"Hurry up and go queue at the back! Don't delay the boss's business later!"

Li Jiang was rebutted so fiercely by these old folks that he couldn't get a word in; only after much difficulty did he manage: "You've misunderstood! This is my brother's shop; we agreed long ago to come eat here!"

"Who are you fooling! If you're the boss's brother, how come we didn't see you yesterday?"

"Even if you know the boss, so what? That means you don't have to queue? Impossible!"

"Never mind being the boss's brother — even if the boss's own father came today, he'd have to queue obediently!"

"Are you leaving or not? If you don't leave I'll really start cursing! Old Sun! Bring me my thermos!"

"Young man, if you're this ungrateful, I won't be polite — you believe I'll lie down right now?"

"I just got out of the hospital; the sequelae on my body are things you've never even heard of!"

Li Jiang never expected these old men and women simply wouldn't listen to him.

Seeing they'd all switched into battle mode, he could only meekly beg for mercy: "No no no! Grandpas, grandmas, let's talk nicely... we'll go queue, okay?"

Watching Li Jiang and the others slink off to the end of the line, the old folks exchanged smiles and, under the approving gazes of the crowd, returned to their places in the queue.

"Brother Jiang, I feel today's outing with you was terrifying!"

Jiang Chao recalled the scene just now and wiped cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear.

"Come on! Those old geezers can't eat you, can they?" Li Jiang replied irritably.

"If they actually ate me it wouldn't be that scary, but if they really lie down on the ground..."

Li Jiang shivered and hurriedly stopped Jiang Chao from saying more.

"Jiangzi, you said you'd bring us to support your brother's shop; look at the situation now... is there still any need?"

Xu Tao glanced ahead at the queuing crowd, worried about where dinner would come from.

"Brother Jiang, didn't you say yesterday that Lu Feng's place just opened and had no customers? What's going on today?"

Xu Tao was so hungry he felt unwell, forced to chat to distract himself.

"Don't know; yesterday when I was here there really was no one."

Li Jiang was also curious; if only he'd known, he would've come back later yesterday.

That way he could've foreseen today's situation and not ended up like now, dragging several friends into this huge line.

"Could it be paid actors? I've seen lots of newly opened shops online use this trick." Xu Tao guessed.

"Actors? Impossible—"

Li Jiang denied it immediately without much thought.

He'd seen those shops that hire people to queue, creating the illusion of booming business to attract passersby to join the line.

But he knows Lu Feng — normally such a stingy person, how could he bear to spend money hiring so many actors?

Then there's only one possibility.

These people were all drawn by the flavor of the xiaolongbao.

"Jiangzi, are we still eating here today? I'm starving; why not go somewhere else?"

"Eat! Let me tell you, my brother's culinary skill is really... my Chinese studies weren't good, I can only describe it as fucking awesome, anyway you'll know after you eat, absolutely won't let you feel like you came for nothing!"

Li Jiang's gaze was firm, he made the decision decisively.

Hearing him say this, the others had no choice but to continue waiting.

Just the feeling of queuing on an empty stomach, it really is quite torturous.

……

Lu Feng inside the shop still didn't know the situation outside.

When he finished wrapping the first pot of 30 portions of Shrimp Xiaolongbao, the xiaolongbao on the steamer just happened to be cooked through.

Lifting the steamer basket lid, a gust of white steam mixed with the aroma of pork and shrimp rushed to the nose.

The Shrimp Xiaolongbao in the steamer basket, each one white and plump, semi-transparent bun skin wrapping fresh tender juicy filling and shrimp, looking at them makes one unable to help but have appetite wide open.

Lu Feng impatiently used chopsticks to pick up one, blew a few times then placed into mouth.

"Hot hot hot..."

The freshly steamed xiaolongbao inside was still very hot, Lu Feng while exhaling air, yet accelerated the chewing movement.

Teeth bit open the bun skin after, fresh tender juicy filling immediately scattered in the oral cavity, the soup juice inside the xiaolongbao along with chewing, flowed through every corner of the oral cavity, the shrimp wrapped in the filling bitten down Q-bouncy smooth, texture not ordinary good.

"Too delicious!"

Lu Feng while chewing the xiaolongbao in mouth, while unable to help narrowing eyes, a face of enjoyment exclaimed in admiration.

This Shrimp Xiaolongbao's deliciousness, not in the least inferior to pure pork filling, even in texture still superior by a notch.

Mouth's xiaolongbao just swallowed down, he already unable to help pick up the next one.

Delicious to the point of making people fundamentally unable to stop!

Three steamers of Shrimp Xiaolongbao, in the blink of an eye were wiped out clean by Lu Feng.

He felt stomach a bit full, picked up mobile phone looked, still five minutes until nine o'clock opening.

In mobile phone several missed calls, were Li Jiang calling.

Estimating they should be arriving soon, Lu Feng thinking this, called Li Jiang back.

Call just dialed out, only rang once then was picked up.

Lu Feng didn't yet have time to speak, other side Li Jiang's loud voice rang out.

"Fengzi! You still know to call me back!"

"Just now was busy, where have you guys reached?"

"We arrived long ago! Waited outside half hour! Do you know how we spent this half hour!"

"Sorry sorry... I'll come out to receive you right now."

"Fengzi, I must remind you one sentence, wait a moment when opening door be a bit calm, don't be like never seen the world..."

Lu Feng listened full head question marks, puzzled opened the gate...

Am I seeing things?

Or is the door opening posture wrong?

Lu Feng refusing to believe closed door, once again opened...

Fuck! How so many queuing people?