Chapter 49

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

"It's fine, Hu Daye. My business hours are a bit late this week; it's not time yet. I'm afraid of being seen." Lu Feng smiled and explained casually.

Only then did Hu Daye nod, somewhat relieved, and brought the basket of vegetables he was carrying into the Kitchen.

Lu Feng took out a thousand yuan and handed it over. Hu Dayy hurriedly waved his hand: "Young Man, this is too much. I, Old Master, can't accept it!"

Lu Feng stuffed the money hard into Hu Daye's hand and explained: "Old Master, this is a week's vegetable money plus taxi fare. I'm settling with you in advance. For the next few days, trouble yourself to deliver vegetables at seven or eight in the morning. Is that alright?"

Hu Daye slapped his thigh and said with a laugh: "What's not alright about that! I, Old Master, get up early in the morning. Young Man, you just rest assured!"

Back when he went to set up a stall at your agricultural market, he had to get up at four or five every day to prepare.

Coming over to deliver vegetables at seven or eight is no difficult matter for Hu Daye.

Seeing Hu Daye accept the money, Lu Feng then smiled and nodded, and sent Hu Daye out of the Shop.

After Hu Daye left, Lu Feng leaned at the Door and looked outside. Taking advantage of no one paying attention, he secretly shut the shop door and slipped out.

To avoid being discovered, he even specially wore a hat and Mask.

Walking to the end of Food Street and turning a corner, the main road was ahead. Once he returned to the Rental House, he would be safe.

"Young Man, not seeing you for a few days, I, Old Master, missed you to death!"

The sound from behind him made Lu Feng's steps pause. He stiffly turned his head and saw that Old Master who had eaten Fresh Meat Xiaolongbao all last week walking over with a beaming smile, a sturdy young man following behind him.

"Old Master, I'm wrapped up like this. Can you still recognize me?"

Lu Feng was somewhat surprised. He thought his disguise was quite thorough.

Qin Ye smiled faintly, his face carrying a few points of pride: "Others might not recognize you, but your little disguise — wanting to hide it from my eyes — is still far too early!"

Lu Feng gave a bitter smile, thinking that what was coming still couldn't be avoided.

"Young Man, how are you arranging your business hours this week? Did you consider whether this old bones of mine can take it?"

Qin Ye put away the smile on his face, glaring with eyes bulging in anger.

Lu Feng sighed helplessly: "Old Master, don't be angry. I have no way either. I don't want to open at three in the morning either."

"What, Young Man, are you being targeted by someone?" The Old Master's brows furrowed slightly, his gaze turning sharp.

He felt Lu Feng wouldn't change to late-night business for no reason; there must be some unspeakable difficulty.

How hot Lu Feng's Xiaolongbao sales were last week, he had personally witnessed.

With so many snack shops on Food Street, it's hard to guarantee no one is jealous.

Some people do business poorly, don't look for reasons in themselves, and insist others stole their business.

Can't compete fair and square, so they play dirty tricks in the dark.

Could Lu Feng have been targeted by such people?

If that's truly the case, he absolutely won't stand by and do nothing.

The Fresh Meat Xiaolongbao Lu Feng makes holds extraordinary significance to him. It is something no one can replace.

At this moment, Qin Ye felt his blood, which hadn't burned for a long time, showing signs of boiling again.

Since he retired, it's been a long time since he had this feeling.

"Young Man, you rest assured and speak boldly. Which blind dog thing is messing with you behind the scenes? I, Old Master, am not a vegetarian. You tell me which shop, and in minutes I'll make them scram from Food Street!"

Lu Feng looked at Qin Ye with some astonishment. Why did he feel this Old Master was faintly expectant?

Judging by appearances, this Old Master isn't a law-abiding sort either.

Lu Feng didn't think this Old Master before him, who looked frail, was bluffing.

That young man following behind him — his gaze was completely different from ordinary people's.

His build at a glance showed he had trained. If something happened, estimated five or six people couldn't get near him.

Such a person following behind the Old Master, behaving with utmost respect.

It shows this Old Master's identity is absolutely not ordinary.

"Old Master, you're overthinking. It has nothing to do with others. I have some private matters this week, I come back later every day, so I changed the business hours." Lu Feng waved his hands repeatedly, explaining vaguely.

Qin Ye's tightly locked brows relaxed, but his face showed a few points of disappointment.

He had originally been quite expecting to find something to do!

Qin Ye's face showed a smile again. He patted Lu Feng's shoulder: "Then fine. Since it's your private matter, this old man won't meddle. Just your late-night business — the burden on your body isn't small. Young people must also take care of their health."

"Understood, Old Master." Lu Feng smiled and nodded, then bid farewell to the Old Master: "Old Master, I still have matters. I have to come back for business tonight. I'll leave first."

Qin Ye nodded with a hearty laugh. Lu Feng walked quickly to the roadside, hailed a Taxi, and left.

Watching Lu Feng leave, Qin Ye turned his head and instructed Xiao Li behind him: "Go back and notify the driver. Tell him to come pick us up at two-thirty tonight."

"Qin Ye, if you want to eat Xiaolongbao, you don't need to come personally. I'll come buy them and bring them back tonight." Xiao Li hesitated, then sincerely offered the suggestion.

"By the time you buy them back they'll be cold. Can reheating match the texture of fresh out of the steamer?" Qin Ye waved his hand, looking determined.

"But your health..." Xiao Li still wanted to say something.

"This old man's health is fine! Back in the day on the battlefield, I went three days and three nights without sleep, and didn't I still live lively?" Qin Ye interrupted Xiao Li's words with some dissatisfaction.

"Then Miss Qin's side..."

"That you don't need to worry about. I'll tell her when I get back."

After Qin Ye finished speaking, he walked forward with hands behind his back, his face carrying a few points of anticipation.

…

Two-thirty in the morning.

Food Street.

Lu Feng got out of the taxi amid the driver's doubtful gaze and entered the shop.

Buying some pork from the System Mall, Lu Feng skillfully began preparing the filling for the soup dumplings.

Soup dumplings were not the focus of this week's business, so he only prepared three fillings: pork, leek, and shrimp.

As for the other two, Lu Feng planned to decide whether to prepare them based on how things went tonight.

If there were more customers, he could consider preparing some red bean paste filling and crab roe filling in advance tomorrow.

Lu Feng skillfully seasoned the fillings and also prepared the dough,

then bought some alkaline noodles and eggs from the mall again; the other side dishes were enough with what he had bought from Hu Daye today.

Everything was ready, just waiting for customers to arrive.

He glanced at the time; there were less than ten minutes until three in the morning.

Outside the shop door it was still cold and deserted, not a single person in sight.

Lu Feng was a little puzzled: Could it be that the posted notice couldn't bring back even one returning customer?

Just as this thought arose, he heard a commotion from outside.

A middle-aged couple walked into the shop, the wife's face still showing a few traces of reluctance.

"I'm telling you, are you obsessed? Really, just for a soup dumpling, running over in the middle of the night?"

The middle-aged man looked helpless: "You've been nagging all the way; if you don't want to come, why do you have to follow me?"

The wife pouted: "In the middle of the night you say you want to eat something—who would believe that if others heard it? How was I to know you really just came to eat!"