Chapter 483 - 317: Angel Investor

Chapter 483: Chapter 317: Angel Investor

SMACK!

Before the hairy hand could even touch the metal basin, it was viciously slapped away by his father.

"Damn it! You sneak off when there’s work to be done, but you’re the first to show up when the food’s ready. Stop shoving! You bumped into Miss Erica! Get outta here, you useless bum!"

His father glared fiercely at his son. The burly, 1.8-meter-tall man shrank back, chuckling sheepishly and clutching his reddened hand as he retreated two steps.

"Uh, um, I didn’t mean to, Lin. And Erica, sorry."

?

Lin Chen hadn’t noticed what just happened. The front counter was higher than the work surface to begin with, and with four people standing in front of it like a human wall, he couldn’t see anything behind them.

If it weren’t for the old man’s sudden SMACK, he wouldn’t have even caught a glimpse of Mr. Beef.

’He accidentally bumped into Erica, so why is he apologizing to me?’

Erica, on the other hand, just smiled faintly and waved her hand to show it was no big deal, even shooting him a smug glance.

When she saw his confused expression, the smugness in her eyes instantly froze, replaced by a speechless eye-roll.

’This guy is great in every way, except sometimes he’s as dense as a block of wood! No romantic sense at all!’

’This won’t do. I have to find a way to sharpen his awareness in this department, or I’ll be the one suffering later on.’

While the father and son from the beef stall were horsing around, a man appeared further down the aisle, slowly approaching them. Dressed in a suit and leather shoes, wearing square-rimmed glasses, he clearly wasn’t a local.

His leather shoes made crisp clicks on the tiled floor. The man’s gaze was fixed, locking onto their location from ten or twenty meters away as he walked straight toward them. He didn’t even bother to turn his head as he passed the other stalls.

Whether it was a woman’s sixth sense or something else, Erica—who was currently vexed about how to train Lin Chen into the perfect man—seemed to sense something and suddenly spun around.

Through the scattered pedestrians, her eyes immediately locked onto the out-of-place man.

Her slender brows furrowed, as if she had remembered something.

Their gazes met mid-air. The man in the suit’s eyes lit up, and he let out a sigh of relief, quickening his pace.

The approaching sound of leather shoes also caught Lin Chen’s attention. He was already facing that direction, and when Erica turned, he could see the man through the gap she created.

Seeing both of them looking in the same direction, the other four people also turned their heads in confusion.

"Excuse me, are you Miss Erica and Mr. Lin Chen?"

The man in the suit was quick, practically jogging until he stood before Erica. He smiled, gave a slight bow, and took two business cards from his breast pocket, handing one to Erica and the other to Lin Chen.

"You’re one of her people?"

Erica hadn’t intended to take it, but on second thought, she realized an outsider wouldn’t know about the issues between her and her mother. She had to maintain her mother’s image in front of a subordinate, so she reached out and accepted it.

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am..."

The man had just started to speak when he noticed the camera on the rack in front of Erica, which was recording. A questioning look appeared in his eyes.

Erica casually pressed the pause button, and only then did the man continue.

"I am Lady Marcia’s lead venture capitalist. To put it simply, I’m in charge of investments. I’ve come today to hold a preliminary discussion with Mr. Lin Chen and Miss Erica regarding an investment."

’So soon?’

A flash of surprise crossed Lin Chen’s eyes. He had assumed Erica’s mother, a very busy woman, would need some time before she could handle this matter. He didn’t expect her to send someone over after just one day. It was a clear sign of how seriously she was taking this.

Although the others didn’t know who Lady Marcia was, the mere mention of the word "investment" told them she was no ordinary person, so they all tactfully remained silent.

"My name is Simon. It’s a great pleasure to meet you both."

After the brief introduction, Lin Chen was the first to speak. "I’m not sure if you’re in a hurry, Mr. Simon, but I’m in the middle of recording footage right now."

"Not at all, not at all," the man said, waving his hands hastily. "My work hours are flexible. As long as I complete the tasks my boss assigns within the deadline, I’m fine. When I don’t have any assignments, I just play the stock market and so on."

"In that case, why don’t you try a snack I’ve made? We have an old saying in Great Xia: coming early is not as good as coming at the right time."

"Haha, I’ve long heard that Mr. Lin’s skills are exceptional. Coincidentally, I’ve dabbled in the food cultures of various countries around the world and have a pretty open palate. I hope I won’t disappoint you, Mr. Lin."

’He just plays the stock market every day and runs errands when there’s work. I have to say, that job sounds pretty cushy. And being able to manage finances for Marcia proves this guy has real skills. His salary is probably pretty high too. He earns it all with his brain.’

’A guy like me, who makes a living with the labor of his own two hands, can’t help but be envious.’

Lin Chen got a disposable bowl and fork for Simon as well. He grabbed a small pinch of spicy beef tendon and placed it inside, then put some in everyone’s bowl.

"This one is a bit spicier than the red chili oil version. I’ll give you all a little to try first. If you can handle it, you can have more. Oh, right, this stuff goes great with alcohol."

"Goes with alcohol?!"

Mr. Beef’s dad’s eyes lit up like searchlights. Without another word, he speared a piece of beef tendon and stuffed it into his mouth.

’Let’s see just how well it goes with a drink!’

At the same time, the other three also began to taste it eagerly.

In North America, where daily entertainment options are few, drinking is practically the only pastime people have besides working out.

And over here, bar snacks are usually all sorts of fried things: fried chicken wings, fried onion rings, fried tortilla chips, chili cheese fries, and so on.

Although the cost isn’t high, the prerequisite is always having a pot of frying oil.

Especially when drinking at home or throwing a party for friends, dealing with that huge pot of leftover oil is a real hassle.

Tossing it feels too wasteful, but keeping it is useless since Westerners don’t typically use that much oil in their daily cooking.

But the bar snack Lin Chen was making now perfectly circumvented this problem. All it took was boiling to create a delicious snack to go with drinks.

The only thing required was to buy a pot. Not only could you make this dish, but you could also shorten the cooking time for many other foods, greatly increasing its utility.

Most importantly, this bar snack was made from a part of the cow that has no fat. It’s practically pure protein, which is great for drinking while avoiding excessive calories. Simply perfect.

"What is this?"

Simon didn’t use the fork. Instead, he opted for a pair of chopsticks, skillfully picking up a few of the thin white strands coated in sauce and holding them up to his eyes to observe.

The rich aroma of chili and sesame continuously wafted into his nose, and he could faintly detect hints of cumin powder and garlic.

Even before tasting it, just from the smell alone, he could tell that this sauce was definitely going to be delicious.

"It’s a certain part of the cow, but it’s not offal. You can eat it without worry."

"Offal is fine too," Simon said with a grin, popping it into his mouth without hesitation.

"I’ve been to Europe. The pan-fried veal sweetbreads in France are exquisite, and the Italian cold tripe salad is surprisingly delicious. I’ve also been to Mexico, where the beef intestine dishes were tastier than I expected. And then there’s the beef tripe soup in Poland, the grilled beef heart skewers in Peru, the lamb offal dishes in Turkey, and so on."

"Why haven’t you been to Asia?" Erica asked, puzzled.

"Good question."

Simon savored the complex aroma in his mouth. The fragrance of cumin and chili didn’t overwhelm the flavor of the garlic at all; a slight sweetness suppressed the garlic’s characteristic sharp smell. Combined with the fragrant burst of whole sesame seeds, the more he chewed, the more aromatic it became.

"Because Asian cuisine is more famous and diverse than that of other countries. I have a little quirk: I like to save the best for last. Otherwise, if you eat the best food first, the more ordinary stuff becomes very uninteresting."

"I don’t get it," Erica said with a pout, a look of indifference on her face. "I’m the complete opposite. If there’s something delicious, I have to eat it first. That feeling of happiness is indescribable. I don’t have the patience to waste on bad food."

"That makes sense too. After all, everyone has different preferences. I personally enjoy learning about different cultures, and food is the most representative field."

Although he didn’t know what he was chewing, he was certain it was very chewy, almost like a rubber band. Thankfully, he could still bite through it, otherwise he might have really thought he was eating some kind of rubber product.

Yet it wasn’t offal—it lacked that characteristic taste—nor did it have the white color and texture of fat.

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Simon held out his bowl with great interest.

"May I have some more? The flavor of this seasoning is incredible, and it has a real kick. It makes you feel like you could get addicted to it. So, what part of the cow is it, exactly?"

"Of course."

Seeing him adapt to the seasoning so quickly, Lin Chen was finally convinced that the guy wasn’t bragging and grabbed another handful for him.

Unlike beef, this beef tendon barely shrinks when cooked. A few pounds remains a few pounds.

With such a large basin, forget the seven of them—even if another seven people showed up, they probably couldn’t finish it all.

After all, it’s just a snack, not a main course. It gets very salty if you eat too much.

"Let me explain it to you!"

Mr. Beef’s dad volunteered, raising his hand. Then he grabbed his son’s shoulders, spun him around, and patted him on the back.

"Let’s say he’s a cow. This is the shoulder, this is the leg..."

After a whole series of gestures and explanations, Simon’s eyes widened in astonishment.

"What a vivid explanation! I’ve been to so many places, but I’ve never seen anyone explain the different parts of a cow in such detail. This gentleman... seems to be a butcher? No wonder."

The father and son were both still wearing aprons from their shop, which had a logo printed on them. Plus, their store was just a short distance away, so it wasn’t hard to figure out.

"No, Lin taught us this."

The middle-aged man waved his hands hastily and pointed at Lin Chen.

Simon raised an eyebrow, though he wasn’t particularly surprised.

The taste test was over. There was still a long time before the beef shank and hoof tendons would be ready. Knowing that Lin Chen had business to discuss, the others tactfully dispersed, going off to chat with other people in the market and, while they were at it, help promote the beef tendon Lin Chen had just made.

Lin Chen sliced some more beef and prepared a bowl of dipping sauce for Simon.

"Here. This is a specialty beef hot pot from our Great Xia. We can eat while we talk."