Chapter 323

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

"The rice has already been given to you, so now I can ladle the soup, right?"

Lv Shuai set aside his bowl, now half-empty, and stared expectantly at the hot pot in front of Zhu Chang, swallowing audibly.

"Sure, but you have to use your own spoons to ladle it."

With the Xianglu Rice secured, Zhu Chang now felt confident.

Just now he had secretly compared the size of his soup spoon with the spoons on the neighboring table.

This spoon of Zhu Chang's was specially provided by Lu Feng, specifically for drinking soup, a full size larger than an ordinary soup spoon.

One ladle from his spoon amounted to roughly more than double that of an ordinary spoon.

Lv Shuai frowned; he wasn't stupid either, and saw through Zhu Chang's little scheme at a glance: "Better use your own spoon to ladle, our spoons are smaller than yours, using yours is the only fair way!"

The words barely left his mouth when Zhu Chang, quick-eyed and quick-handed, snatched up the soup spoon before him and brought it to his lips.

He stuck out his thick tongue and rapidly licked the spoon all over, up and down.

"What did you just say? I didn't catch it."

Zhu Chang put down the spoon and looked at Lv Shuai with an innocent face, blinking: "Lately I feel my hearing has declined a bit, probably because I've been staying up late these past few days writing code."

The three of them, Lv Shuai included, froze directly.

They never could have imagined Zhu Chang would actually do something like this.

This guy is truly shameless!

He licked that spoon all over, how are they supposed to use it now?

Wouldn't that be eating this guy's saliva?

Just thinking about it is disgusting.

Lv Shuai gaped for a long while, unable to speak, the corner of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

He deeply regretted it now; had he known Zhu Chang was this despicable.

He should have let him ladle the soup first, then given him the rice.

Lv Shuai took a good long moment to recover before squeezing out: "I didn't say anything."

"Oh, I just saw a bit of oil on this spoon, so I licked it."

Zhu Chang held up the spoon, licked shiny clean, and deliberately waved it in front of Lv Shuai: "Want me to use my spoon to ladle soup for you? My spoon is bigger than yours, I can give you more."

Lv Shuai looked at the spoon Zhu Chang held out, feeling an urge to hit someone.

"No need, we'll just use our own spoons."

Faced with Zhu Chang's unexpected move, he felt helpless.

He also wanted to repay him in kind and disgust Zhu Chang, but the thought was abandoned the moment it surfaced.

Looking at Zhu Chang's layer of fat, his greasy appearance.

If he really went toe-to-toe with him, who knows what other tricks he'd pull next.

He was here to eat; better to avoid trouble.

Besides, if he did that, what if Zhu Chang then refused to drink that pot of red soup?

If Lu Boss got angry and put them all on the blacklist, that would be too unjust.

"Alright then, hurry up and ladle the soup, the fire underneath is about to go out, in a bit the soup will get cold and the texture won't be as good."

Zhu Chang also knew when to stop and didn't tease the other party further, saying magnanimously.

"Heh heh, thanks for the reminder."

Lv Shuai looked at Zhu Chang speechlessly and said.

This kid looks harmless, but he sure has a lot of schemes up his sleeve.

"You're welcome, food is meant to be shared, it tastes better that way!"

Zhu Chang's face showed a warm smile.

Lv Shuai withdrew his gaze from Zhu Chang and nudged Ma Wenliang beside him with his elbow, signaling them to go ladle soup first.

Ma Wenliang perked up, but immediately suggested: "How about we don't ladle separately? You still have half a bowl of rice left, right? Three spoonfuls of soup poured over the rice will do, then the three of us split this half bowl of rice, perfect chance to taste what hot pot soup over rice is like."

The other colleague nodded, agreeing with Ma Wenliang's suggestion.

Lv Shuai also nodded, picked up that half bowl of rice, took his own spoon, ladled three spoonfuls of red soup from the pot, and carefully poured them onto the rice.

Although they only got three spoonfuls of soup, with only half a bowl of rice left, after stirring the color still looked pretty good.

"Alright alright, that's about enough."

Ma Wenliang's eyes shone, staring at the half bowl of rice in Lv Shuai's hand, an impatient expression on his face.

"The hot pot soup is still a bit little, but let's just go with this, certain people are too stingy, half a bowl of rice and only this much soup."

Lv Shuai rolled his eyes toward Zhu Chang's side and said loudly on purpose.

Looks like he's still hung up on Zhu Chang licking the spoon just now.

But Zhu Chang didn't hear a thing.

Right now he was burying his head, eating the soup-soaked rice in his bowl with a look of utter absorption.

He ate with such focus it seemed even the surrounding sounds were blocked out by him.

"Alright alright, stop complaining, hurry up and taste it! You eat first, we'll eat after."

Ma Wenliang couldn't help but laugh, then started urging them.

Lv Shuai nodded, his gaze falling on the soup-soaked rice in the bowl.

The bright red spicy hot pot broth, poured over the white rice, did indeed look much more appetizing in color.

Just looking at it made one feel hungry.

Lv Shuai picked up the spoon, scooped up a spoonful of rice, and ate it in one mouthful.

The moment the rice entered his mouth, a spicy and numbing flavor rushed straight from his oral cavity to the crown of his head, making him involuntarily suck in a breath of cold air.

"Hiss! So spicy!"

Same as Zhu Chang's reaction from the first mouthful just now, Lv Shuai also couldn't help but cry out.

But immediately after, he couldn't help but widen his eyes, chewing with an intoxicated expression.

After the brief spiciness passed, the chive fragrance of the Xianglu Rice slowly revealed itself.

The rice carried a faint chive fragrance and sweetness, suppressing much of the intense spiciness from just now.

Originally, the Xianglu Rice Lu Feng made was already very appetizing; one could eat several bowls without side dishes.

Now the rice had an additional spicy and numbing flavor, making the taste richer by far.

The saltiness of the red broth, the numbing of the Sichuan peppercorns, the spiciness of the chili peppers, plus the chive fragrance of the rice itself.

These several flavors entangled together, complementing each other perfectly; the texture was indeed more satisfying than eating the rice alone.

"Wow! This taste is really magical!"

Lv Shuai inhaled through his teeth while praising loudly involuntarily.

He couldn't help but glance at Zhu Chang; the bit of resentment that had risen in his heart over him licking the spoon just now vanished like smoke.

To be able to discover such a magical way of eating, this guy counts as a talent.

Ma Wenliang and the other colleague at the side had long been unable to wait.

Seeing his appearance, they immediately each picked up a spoon, and each scooped a large spoonful of rice into their mouths.

Ma Wenliang had only chewed twice before frowning from the spiciness, but immediately after a delighted expression appeared on his face.

The spiciness of the broth perfectly set off the rice's own flavor; inside there was also a faint numbing sensation, continuously stimulating every corner of the tongue, making the flavors tasted by the tongue all different.

The taste of this hot pot soup-soaked rice indeed did not disappoint him.

The three of them, you one spoon me one spoon, in just the blink of an eye, half a bowl of hot pot soup-soaked rice was eaten completely clean.

The bottom of the bowl was clean and spotless, not a single grain of rice left behind.