Chapter 521

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

"Boss Lu, let me introduce myself. I'm the person in charge of the Jiang City branch of sunshinegarden. My name is Zhou Li."

Zhou Li slightly raised her chin, observing Lu Feng's expression without showing any emotion: "From now on we'll be doing business on the same street. I hope Boss Lu will take good care of me."

Her tone seemed polite, but carried an invisible sense of superiority.

After all, the sunshinegarden brand was still quite well-known domestically. Being regarded by them as a competitor, Zhou Li felt it would put some psychological pressure on Lu Feng, more or less.

After finishing her self-introduction, she kept paying attention to Lu Feng's expression, hoping to catch a look of surprise or nervousness on his face.

"Mm, hello."

Lu Feng showed a polite yet distant smile on his face, responding in a very flat tone.

He neither deliberately fawned over the other party because of her Marketing Department Manager title, nor felt awkward because of her scrutiny.

He was no longer the corporate slave who used to watch the excitement and watch his expression in the office building, being careful everywhere.

Now he possessed Full-Level Culinary Arts bestowed by the system, had seven-figure deposits in his bank card, lived in a top-tier luxury villa, and drove a million-yuan luxury car.

His only goal now was to properly run this small shop left by his parents, and while completing system tasks, advance step by step toward the pinnacle of culinary skill.

For a greeting like Zhou Li's, carrying a bit of superiority, Lu Feng really had no interest in getting close.

If it weren't for his innate upbringing making him not want to appear too rude, he would probably have turned and left by now, too lazy to waste time here.

Zhou Li saw that Lu Feng's reaction was flat to an unreasonable degree, and a bit of disappointment couldn't help but flash through her heart. She couldn't see even a trace of the expression she had expected on the other person's face.

But she soon adjusted her mindset, pointed to Yang Zhenguang beside her, and continued introducing: "Boss Lu, this is our restaurant's future Executive Chef, Mr. Yang Zhenguang. You're both chefs, so when you have time, welcome to come and exchange culinary skills with Special Chef Yang anytime, learning from each other."

Lu Feng's gaze fell on Yang Zhenguang beside her.

This middle-aged man wore a gray casual outfit, his cuffs neatly rolled up, revealing a low-key mechanical watch on his wrist.

There wasn't much expression on his face; his sharp gaze looked Lu Feng up and down, carrying a bit of the scrutiny unique to professionals.

But from his gaze, Lu Feng seemed to also sense a hint of contempt.

Lu Feng stared at Yang Zhenguang for two seconds, and suddenly a flash of familiarity crossed his heart. He always felt like he had seen this face somewhere before.

But during this period his head had been stuffed with knowledge from various culinary books, so for the time being he couldn't recall it.

Lu Feng didn't strike up a conversation with Yang Zhenguang, just nodded slightly at him, counting it as a greeting.

As for Zhou Li's earlier suggestion of exchanging culinary skills, he had not the slightest interest.

In his view, so-called exchanging culinary skills was nothing more than wanting to see whose culinary skill was higher or lower between him and this Special Chef Yang.

Lu Feng knew very well in his heart what level his current culinary skill was at.

With the Full-Level techniques bestowed by the system, every detail in the cooking process had already reached perfection, attaining a height ordinary people could hardly match.

Now he didn't need to prove he was stronger than others by competing with anyone at all.

"Boss Lu, our Head Chef Mr. Yang is a Special Grade Chef known internationally. He's been wielding the wok for twenty years and has won many major awards in the international chef world. Being able to exchange and learn from Mr. Yang in the future is a great opportunity for you, Boss Lu."

When Zhou Li spoke, her tone was full of undisguised pride, even carrying a bit of deliberate showing off.

But her words made Lu Feng involuntarily frown slightly: "Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean."

He felt Zhou Li's words were rather baffling.

Whether Yang Zhenguang had been wielding the wok for twenty years or won many international awards,

what did these things have to do with him?

What did it mean by being a rare opportunity for him?

"Boss Lu, it's indeed quite admirable that you can run a small restaurant so successfully at such a young age."

Zhou Li smiled. The smile looked kind, but her tone carried obvious superiority: "To be honest, Mr. Yang is not only famous domestically, but also a well-known figure in the international dining circle. Compared with him, you can only be considered a junior who just entered the industry."

"Our two restaurants are so close. In the future you'll have many opportunities to follow Special Chef Yang and learn more profound culinary skills. Isn't that a good opportunity for you, Boss Lu, to broaden your horizons and improve your culinary skills?"

Lu Feng couldn't help but frown even tighter.

He wasn't unaware that there were rules of seniority in the catering industry.

After all, he had run his shop for so long and had heard quite a few rumors among peers.

But that didn't mean he had to lower himself because of the other party's seniority and fame.

Did he have to go up and flatter them, and learn from them, just because the other party was famous and senior?

What was wrong with being young?

What was wrong with a small restaurant?

What Lu Feng believed in now was only one thing: the level of culinary skill was never defined by seniority or the scale of the shop.

Moreover, this high-end restaurant entered Food Street at the critical moment when popularity was surging, and just happened to be right next to his own shop. One look and it was clear they came with ill intent.

Lu Feng saw at a glance that this was them eyeing the fat meat on Food Street's side, wanting to come and seize the market here.

In the end, they would be direct competitors in the future.

Between direct competitors, where are there any opportunities for learning and exchange?

These words were just said casually, to show off their restaurant's sense of superiority.

But when the enemy comes, the general blocks them; when water comes, earth covers it.

If it really came to comparing culinary skills or business, Lu Feng truly had never feared anyone.

He only felt Zhou Li's words sounded a bit funny, and had no interest in continuing to entangle with her on this topic.

"Um... I've already toured your restaurant. It's quite good."

Lu Feng shrugged, speaking in a very flat tone: "If there's nothing else, I'll head home first. Miss Zhou, and this... Mr. Yang, goodbye."

He was just about to leave when Yang Zhenguang, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke.

"I heard you single-handedly drove up the consumption level of this Food Street?"

Lu Feng looked at Yang Zhenguang and did not respond.

Yang Zhenguang continued instead, and his opening words were an impolite judgment: "I've been to your restaurant; the food you make does taste good, and it is indeed surprising that someone so young has such skill, but most of the dishes on your menu are too home-style and lack technical merit."