Chapter 96: Let You Open a Food Shop, But You Operate at 3 AM

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

"What's the situation?"

Hearing Li Jiang say this, Lu Feng perked up a bit.

"You still remember my second uncle, right?" Li Jiang asked over the phone.

"Of course I remember." Lu Feng replied.

Li Jiang's second uncle was named Li Hong'an; he ran a fairly large restaurant on Jiangcheng's Central Commercial Street, and business was doing quite well.

Before, Li Jiang had taken Lu Feng there a few times, and he had met Li Hong'an a few times.

Li Hong'an always wore a thick gold chain, and his every gesture gave off a nouveau riche vibe.

Lu Feng's impression of this person was not very good.

"My second uncle is coming at noon today too. He heard you opened a restaurant and insisted on coming at noon to taste your cooking. He has a sharp tongue; if he says anything unpleasant at noon, don't take it to heart, just ignore him."

Li Jiang said bluntly over the phone.

Lu Feng couldn't help but frown.

Hearing Li Jiang say this reminded him of the times before when Li Jiang took him to eat at the restaurant.

When Li Jiang introduced him as just an ordinary company employee with average family circumstances, Li Hong'an's gaze toward him seemed to carry a hint of disdain.

Perhaps at that time, Li Hong'an thought he was a poor man, and that being on good terms with Li Jiang was just to curry favor.

"It's fine, I understand. Thanks for the heads-up."

Lu Feng didn't mind; after all, he was going at noon for Li Jiang's father's birthday, and he didn't take other people's opinions to heart.

Li Jiang gave a few more instructions over the phone, then hung up.

Lu Feng originally wanted to sleep a bit more, but after the call with Li Jiang, his drowsiness had mostly dissipated.

He tossed and turned a few times but couldn't fall asleep, so he simply sat up, half-leaning, and started playing with his phone.

The villa's high-end mattress really was comfortable; even just sitting on the bed without sleeping was a kind of enjoyment.

Not until the wall clock struck nine did Lu Feng reluctantly get down from the soft big bed.

After a simple wash-up, Lu Feng changed into a set of clean clothes, then went out the door.

Walking to the villa district's main gate, the security guard on duty greeted Lu Feng warmly.

The whole villa district had only a dozen or so villas; as security for this kind of community, recognizing every owner was their basic job requirement.

Facing the guard's greeting, Lu Feng also smiled and responded, which deepened the guard's impression of him a bit more.

Before, when they greeted other owners, the others always had an indifferent, couldn't-be-bothered attitude.

This new owner of No. 8 Courtyard treated them with a rather easygoing attitude.

Leaving the villa community, Lu Feng this time directly gave up the idea of hailing a taxi.

Last time he had already tried; there weren't many taxis running between this suburban area and the city.

So he headed straight in the direction of the bus stop the guard had mentioned last time.

There was plenty of time anyway, so Lu Feng wasn't in a hurry, walking while admiring the scenery along the way.

It had to be said, aside from being sparsely populated, the scenery here was indeed much better than in the city center.

After walking twenty-odd minutes, Lu Feng saw the bus stop by the road; just then a bus passed by him, heading toward the platform.

Lu Feng knew that for buses in this kind of place, if you missed one, you'd have to wait twenty-odd minutes for the next.

So he hurriedly broke into a jog and caught up with that bus.

Twenty minutes later, the bus arrived at Food Street Station, and Lu Feng got off.

After arriving at Food Street, Lu Feng didn't go to the shop, but instead walked into the shopping mall next to Food Street.

The mall on the Food Street side wasn't as large in scale as the one in Jiangcheng's center, but it had a full range of goods.

As soon as he entered the mall, the sales staff from every shop fixed their gazes on Lu Feng.

"Handsome guy, our store's new summer arrivals — spend 200, get 50 off. Want to come take a look?"

"New store opening big rewards! Premium belts buy one get one free! Sir, want to buy one?"

"Handsome guy, interested in learning about swimming and fitness?"

…

Almost every shop he passed, the sales staff at the door would enthusiastically come up to pitch their store's products.

Lu Feng could only keep saying, "Sorry, I'm here to buy something else."

He hurried deeper into the mall's first floor; shops were sparser here, but it was much quieter.

Lu Feng walked a bit further and arrived at a Moutai Specialty Store.

The moment he entered the shop, he caught the faint, rich aroma of liquor in the air.

The wooden counter in the store was wiped very clean, and inside the glass display cabinets all around, various liquor bottles were neatly arranged.

The specialty store didn't occupy a large area, but Lu Feng had checked online and this was an officially authorized outlet.

Moutai liquor is quite expensive; buying it from random tobacco-and-liquor shops on the street makes it easy to get fakes.

These authorized specialty stores verifiable online, although their prices are a bit higher than normal prices.

But at least here you shouldn't end up buying fakes.

Besides Lu Feng, there were no other customers in the store.

The staff stood straight behind the counter; seeing Lu Feng walk in, a professional smile immediately appeared on their face.

"Hello, sir, are you looking to buy Moutai?"

Lu Feng scanned the shop once around, then asked, "Do you have 53-degree Flying Fairy Moutai? If so, please get me two bottles."

The staff member was slightly surprised, but quickly replied, "We do, sir. Your luck is good — the shop just received a few bottles yesterday."

As the staff member spoke, she turned and opened the display cabinet, carefully taking out two bottles from the upper shelf and placing them on the counter.

Lu Feng picked up one bottle, turning it in his hand as he examined it closely.

"Sir, this is this year's new stock. You can check the spray code on the bottle cap — they're all clear and complete." The staff member spoke with a smile.

Lu Feng nodded after hearing this, then suddenly asked, "Is the alcohol in your shop genuine? I've heard there are quite a few on the market that use recycled bottles for refilling."

After all, these are for gifting — if he accidentally bought fake alcohol, it would be embarrassing when the time came.

Hearing Lu Feng's words, the staff member's face showed no surprise; she smiled faintly: "Sir, our shop is officially authorized — the information can be verified online. If you're not at ease, you can take them to an official direct-operated store for authentication. If they're fake, our shop is willing to bear all consequences."

Lu Feng nodded after hearing this; when he came, he had checked online, and he had also read online friends' evaluations — indeed, no one had appeared who bought fake alcohol here.

"I'll take these two bottles, please pack them in a gift box."

Lu Feng pointed at the two bottles on the counter and said to the staff member.

"Alright, sir. You're buying these to give as gifts, right?" The staff member spoke while taking out a dark red gift box from under the counter, carefully placing the two bottles inside.

The gift box's inner lining was velvet texture; the packaging looked quite exquisite.

"Sir, this gift box has a carrying bag — that way it's more convenient for you to carry." The staff member spoke as she placed the packed gift box into a carrying bag and handed it over.

Lu Feng accepted the gift box and swiped his card to pay with a dash of flair.

These two bottles equaled an ordinary person's monthly salary, but for the current him, he didn't feel the slightest pinch.

Not that it needs saying, but this sensation of spending money like flowing water really feels quite satisfying.