Chapter 39

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Closed on weekends?

Then what about our xiaolongbao?

And what's with writing "due to overwork"?

Boss, you only operate for two hours a day; writing it like this, how do those shops that operate all day feel?

"Boss Lu is too much! Today's Saturday, I finally managed to come early once, and I was hoping to eat xiaolongbao earlier!"

"Exactly, such delicious xiaolongbao — I put up with opening at 9 p. m., I put up with only two hours a day, I put up with the one-portion-per-person limit, but closed on weekends too? How am I supposed to put up with that!"

"Who understands! Queued for five straight days and never got in; today I finally came early once, and the boss isn't open!"

"What's going on? The boss was operating fine, how can he just say he's resting and rest?"

"You think it's possible the boss got into trouble and fled?"

"Don't talk nonsense, didn't you see the sign? The boss is exhausted!"

"Then what do we do these two days? Just thinking I can't eat Boss Lu's xiaolongbao for two days makes me feel awful all over!"

"How would I know?"

…

The diners at the entrance of Lu Feng's shop were in an uproar, as if Lu Feng were a heartless scoundrel who had toyed with their feelings.

Some diners even claimed they had been deeply hurt and vowed never to set foot in Lu Family Restaurant again.

Yet even as they said this, their legs remained rooted to the spot, not the slightest intention of leaving.

The few from Dormitory 203 stared at each other; things had happened so suddenly they didn't know how to react for a moment.

"Ming-ge, we can't eat xiaolongbao now — what do we do?"

Wang Hao scratched his head and asked with a worried frown.

Sun Qiming looked at the paper pasted on the door, his heart also full of helplessness: "Bear with it for two days; maybe the boss really is tired."

"You guys think… could it be that this notice wasn't put up by Boss Lu?"

Wang Hao suddenly came out with this.

"Haven't you seen how crazy popular Boss Lu's xiaolongbao has been these past few days? Do you think it's possible some people got jealous and pulled a dirty trick on Boss Lu?"

The others all froze, then nodded slowly in dawning realization: It's possible!

Just how explosively popular Lu Feng's xiaolongbao has been these days, everyone has witnessed with their own eyes.

With so many shops on Food Street, it's inevitable some would turn green with envy.

This notice claiming Boss Lu isn't open on weekends — it's not certain it wasn't deliberately pasted up by some ill-intentioned person.

"Rat, lower your voice!"

Sun Qiming lowered his voice: "If that's really the case, Boss Lu will still open for business tonight; let's go eat something nearby first, wait until the crowd thins out, then come queue early — today we might still get those limited crab roe xiaolongbao!"

The 203 bunch exchanged a glance and tacitly nodded.

Yesterday they hadn't managed to buy crab roe xiaolongbao, and they'd been craving it ever since.

"How about we go to Li Ji first? They sell xiaolongbao too; we can eat two portions to whet our appetites." Wang Hao suggested.

Sun Qiming and the others' eyes lit up, all nodding in agreement.

After the group left, the diners surrounding Lu Feng's shop entrance all revealed meaningful smiles.

What Sun Qiming and the others didn't know was that although their discussion wasn't loud.

Those few diners nearby heard it clearly.

Good grief, a plain and simple business war, huh?

This time let you jealous unscrupulous merchants have a good taste of us foodies' cohesion!

…

As an old-brand establishment, Li Ji's reputation on Food Street was not small.

Their xiaolongbao was a bit pricey, but because the taste was good, plus the boss was willing to spend money on advertising.

Before, when people came to Food Street for xiaolongbao, the first place they thought of was Li Ji.

On holidays, you could even see quite a few foreigners at Li Ji.

But that was all before Lu Family Restaurant opened.

When the few from Dormitory 203 stepped into Li Ji, they clearly felt there weren't as many customers as before.

Before, even before mealtime, Li Ji's hall had hardly any empty tables.

Yet now, already dinnertime, the hall was nearly half empty, visibly deserted.

"What would the few of you like to eat?" The waiter came over with an enthusiastic smile, and before they could speak started recommending: "You've come at just the right time — our signature xiaolongbao just came out of the steamer; eating it now the flavor is the best!"

"Two steamers each, thanks." Sun Qiming pointed at his roommates and began ordering.

Li Ji's xiaolongbao wasn't cheap either; they only came a few times a month, but each time a person had to eat at least three portions and order a few stir-fries to fill their stomachs.

But this time they just came to pad their stomachs a bit, not planning to eat their fill.

The waiter's enthusiasm didn't diminish; looking at them he continued suggesting: "Two portions of xiaolongbao each probably won't fill you up; how about ordering a few dishes too?"

"No need, just xiaolongbao. Please hurry."

"Alright, please wait a moment, I'll bring them right over."

After the waiter left, the few found a larger table and sat down, then habitually took out their phones and started scrolling short videos.

Following their usual routine, their xiaolongbao would take at least ten-odd minutes to arrive no matter what.

But this time, before they'd even finished scrolling through the first video, the waiter had already brought the xiaolongbao to the table.

Sun Qiming picked up a xiaolongbao with his chopsticks and took a bite, chewing it in his mouth for a while, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

The xiaolongbao he used to find delicious now tasted merely ordinary.

The wrapper tasted slightly sour and was loose and floppy, with no chewiness at all.

The filling tasted acceptable enough, but with one bite the filling was dry and tough, not a drop of soup inside.

After finishing one bun, Sun Qiming felt a choking tightness in his throat; he picked up his cup and drank two sips before starting on the next one.

He raised his head and looked at the others; their movements and expressions eating xiaolongbao were much the same as his.

Sun Qiming couldn't help but grumble inwardly: These xiaolongbao taste this ordinary yet still sell for 30 a portion — what a rip-off!

They're not even in the same league as what Lu Boss makes!

Never coming here again!

The same thought popped into all their minds simultaneously.

Before, they'd eat one per mouthful and finish the xiaolongbao in under ten minutes; now a single xiaolongbao took several bites to get down, eaten slow and deliberate.

After tasting the supreme deliciousness of Lu Feng's xiaolongbao, the few of them felt other xiaolongbao had become hard to swallow.

While eating Li Ji xiaolongbao, they'd always involuntarily compare them to Lu Feng's.

One comparison, and Li Ji's xiaolongbao instantly became unpalatable.

Coming to eat Li Ji xiaolongbao felt like a wrong decision.

Had they known, they'd have been better off eating something else — like ramen or fried skewers — at least when eating those they wouldn't keep recalling the taste of Lu Feng's xiaolongbao.

Sun Qiming couldn't help but pull out his phone and find that xiaolongbao video that had gone viral online these past two days.

Right, the one Xiao Feilong posted of eating xiaolongbao at Lu Feng's shop.

Watching the xiaolongbao in the video, Sun Qiming finally regained a bit of appetite, and his eating pace quickened somewhat.

Seeing this, the others followed suit one after another.

And so a strange scene appeared at this table: these customers would watch the video once, pick up a xiaolongbao and eat a few bites, then watch the video again, eat a few more bites, cycling repeatedly.

By the end, half a steamer of xiaolongbao remained uneaten before Sun Qiming, and the others had left several as well.

It wasn't that they were full — they simply couldn't eat anymore.

"Waiter, pack these up please!"