Chapter 403

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

The moment this thought surfaced, it was immediately vetoed by Zhang Haitao.

No, no, this is too shabby, too low-class, isn't it?

The other party is a major publisher from Mo Du; future projects going live will still rely on them to monetize and make money.

For such an important client, we'd entertain them with xiaolongbao?

If word got out, we'd be laughed out of the industry by our peers!

While Zhang Haitao's mind kept flashing through ideas, Bao Hong's eyes remained fixed on the xiaolongbao the whole time.

The xiaolongbao were still steaming at this moment; heat wrapped in fragrance kept drilling into his nose through the gaps of the takeout box.

It hooked Bao Hong's Adam's apple into a bob; he couldn't help swallowing the saliva secreted in his mouth.

In fact, he was also a food enthusiast.

Bao Hong's wife ran a fairly large fan dian in Mo Du, doing business with great success.

He used to go eat at his wife's fan dian at least three times a week, and would occasionally offer the chefs there some suggestions for improvement.

Later he got tired of his wife's fan dian, and Bao Hong started eating at other restaurants big and small in Mo Du.

He had been to almost every famous local restaurant in Mo Du.

Among them, the one he visited most frequently was a Michelin restaurant located in the center of Mo Du.

He felt the food there suited his palate very well; he would go eat a meal there whenever he had the chance.

Over time, after many visits, he gradually became friends with the head chef there.

Every time Bao Hong went to the restaurant, the head chef would personally cook for him.

A couple days ago, Bao Hong went to that restaurant as usual, but didn't see the head chef.

After asking a waiter, he learned that the head chef friend had gone out of town for an inspection trip.

That evening Bao Hong called him; the head chef friend's tone on the phone carried a rarely seen excitement.

He said he had discovered an inconspicuous xiao can guan in Jiangcheng, but the flavor of the food there made him, a Michelin head chef, feel inferior for the first time.

Bao Hong was incomparably shocked upon hearing this.

In his eyes, this head chef friend's culinary skill was considerably high.

And this friend was no ordinary person.

His master was State Banquet Chef Qi Yunfeng; he was Qi Yunfeng's eldest disciple, having learned culinary arts from Qi Yunfeng since childhood.

Qi Yunfeng's reputation in the industry was resounding.

Yet this eldest disciple taught by the State Banquet Chef actually told him that a xiao can guan's food made him feel inferior?

This aroused enormous interest in Bao Hong.

Coincidentally, Bao Hong's company was currently negotiating a publishing cooperation with a game development company in Jiangcheng.

The cooperation scale wasn't large; given Bao Hong's position, there was absolutely no need for him to personally handle such a project — at most he'd send a department manager.

But Bao Hong couldn't get the restaurant his friend mentioned out of his mind, so he simply led the team to Jiangcheng himself.

Before coming to Jiangcheng, Bao Hong had his assistant do a simple investigation of that xiao can guan and learned the restaurant's name was Lu Family Restaurant.

The name was very ordinary; at first listen it was clearly a street-side xiao can guan.

But that xiao can guan situated in Food Street was now the most famous restaurant in Jiangcheng, had even appeared on local TV programs, and the restaurant boss was still very young.

Bao Hong originally planned to go taste it at Food Street in the evening after finishing work in the afternoon.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the partner company, he was drawn in by a wave of fragrance.

And the source of that fragrance — the bag holding the xiaolongbao — bore a printed restaurant name that happened to be exactly the Lu Family Restaurant he intended to visit.

It was quite a coincidence when you think about it.

Bao Hong had eaten the airline-provided lunch at noon, and hadn't eaten much to begin with.

Now, lured by the xiaolongbao's fragrance, his stomach started gurgling again.

"President Zhang, not to hide it from you, we had the plane lunch at noon, and right now our stomachs really are a bit hungry."

Bao Hong pointed at the xiaolongbao and said with a smile to Zhang Haitao: "Actually, besides coming to discuss cooperation with you this time, I also have a private matter. A friend specially recommended it to me, saying there's a restaurant in your Food Street where the food is absolutely superb. I wanted to go taste whether the flavor is really as he described."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Haitao's eyes immediately lit up.

Bao Hong voluntarily proposing to eat and even specifying the restaurant location — this was a rare opportunity to get closer to him.

"No problem! Of course no problem! President Bao, you've come from afar; emotionally and logically, I as a local should entertain you properly. Let's go right now!"

Then he glanced at Ma Wenliang, who was still stunned: "Wenliang, you probably go to that restaurant often, right? Put your work aside for now; trouble you to guide us there, and introduce the other signature dishes while you're at it."

Ma Wenliang glanced at the time in the bottom right corner of his computer screen; his brows couldn't help furrowing, his face showing some hesitation.

"What, not even willing to show the way?"

Seeing his expression, Zhang Haitao asked with some dissatisfaction.

You being late for lunch this afternoon, I won't even hold that against you.

Now I ask you to just show the way, such a small thing, and you're still unwilling?

Don't you know this is a chance for you to perform?

Has coding knocked your brains stupid?

"President Zhang, it's not that I'm unwilling to go."

Ma Wenliang hurriedly waved his hand, explaining in rapid-fire speech: "It's almost three o'clock now. Although that restaurant is still open at this hour, there will definitely still be quite a few people eating there. If we queue, it'll take at least half an hour. By the time we get there, we probably won't even have reached the door before Boss Lu closes at three."

"Closing at three in the afternoon?"

Zhang Haitao's tone was full of surprise: "There's actually such a willful restaurant on Food Street? And people still queue up to eat there?"

Ma Wenliang nodded.

"General Manager Bao, what do you think about this?"

Zhang Haitao also had no way, looking at Bao Hong and saying with a smile: "I know a high-end restaurant in the city center, the food there tastes pretty good too, how about we go there first today, and go to this place tomorrow?"

Bao Hong had not spoken yet, when Ma Wenliang immediately followed up with another sentence: "President Zhang, the owner of that restaurant rests and doesn't open for business tomorrow and the day after tomorrow too."

Zhang Haitao was stunned.

What the hell?

A person running a small restaurant on Food Street closing at three in the afternoon is one thing.

The owner even has weekends off?

Simply outrageous!

Bao Hong was also stunned, his face showing deep regret.

This business trip he would only stay in Jiangcheng for three days total, Sunday they had to return to Mo Du.

Originally a large part of the reason he came to Jiangcheng this time was to eat at Lu Feng's restaurant.

Didn't expect it to be such a coincidence.

What to do now?

Could it be this trip to Jiangcheng was for nothing?

Bao Hong's gaze fell again on that portion of xiaolongbao on Ma Wenliang's table, his face becoming somewhat conflicted.

That restaurant's xiaolongbao, just so vividly appeared before him.

After smelling that tempting fragrance, he felt that Michelin Head Chef friend's words weren't exaggerated at all.

But, as the person in charge coming to discuss cooperation, an executive of the Mo Du Company.

At this moment he couldn't possibly thicken his face and snatch that portion of xiaolongbao over to eat, right?

The two assistants behind him were still watching!

If this matter got spread around the company after returning, he would lose too much face.

But...

Really want to eat!