Chapter 481 - 380: Out-of-Town Country Bumpkin

Chapter 481: Chapter 380: Out-of-Town Country Bumpkin

’Jiang Liu got lucky twice. Can he really get lucky a third time?’

Lei Mingyue’s expression gradually filled with shock and doubt.

"Hm?"

"This Hot Toffee Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes... the aroma is concentrated, not dissipating, perfectly hidden beneath the amber syrup."

"Not bad. He’s at half my level!"

Lei Mingyue stroked his beard in satisfaction.

He used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of potato completely coated in an amber sugar glaze. The potato was golden-yellow with a hint of caramelized red.

As Lei Mingyue lifted the potato, the syrup stretched into a strand over ten centimeters long.

"This pull... How is it longer than mine?!"

A flicker of surprise appeared in his heart.

"Excellent, excellent! A true prodigy of immense talent, just a little bit short of my own skill."

The potato entered his mouth, and the smile on Lei Mingyue’s face instantly froze.

He forced himself to remain calm,

and savored it gently.

In his mouth.

The scalding, viscous amber syrup instantly brought a fresh, luscious sweetness.

The sweet fragrance was rich but not cloying.

His teeth clamped down. The sticky, soft syrup was squeezed out, flowing to the back of his tongue, while the crispy outer shell broke with a "CRUNCH."

The unique, fragrant aroma of the potato, scalding hot, exploded in his mouth. Paired with the fresh, sweet syrup, it was an intoxicating experience for his taste buds.

Lei Mingyue looked up at the ceiling.

To make sure this wasn’t a dream.

His mind went completely blank.

He quickly tried the white sweet potato and the regular sweet potato.

The texture of each was more exquisite than the last.

At this point, Lei Mingyue was completely dumbfounded.

"How... how can there be Hot Toffee Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes this delicious??"

he muttered to himself.

Beside him, Aunt Xu said disdainfully, "With Xiao Jiang, nothing is impossible."

’Country bumpkin!’ she scorned him inwardly.

By now, most people on Yangzhai Street looked down on these country bumpkins from Jing City. They wouldn’t even leave Boss Jiang’s plain boiled water alone. So classless!

The shock in Lei Mingyue’s heart began to subside.

He became even more determined to take Jiang Liu as his disciple.

He could already envision the moment Jiang Liu perfected the three hundred-plus Lu Sect dishes he possessed, causing a worldwide sensation.

The Lu Sect shall rise!!

"Excellent, excellent! Your talent is even greater than I imagined. That’s the third dish. I wonder how many more surprises you have in store for this old man."

Lei Mingyue stroked his beard and muttered to himself, his gaze toward Jiang Liu becoming even more affectionate.

He was filled with anticipation, deciding to see just how many more surprises this disciple-in-waiting could give him.

Of course.

Lei Mingyue still didn’t believe Jiang Liu could surpass him.

He had studied Lu cuisine his entire life. How could he be surpassed by some junior?

If that were the case,

wouldn’t that make him a complete waste?

’Once I take Jiang Liu as my disciple, I’ll have him tell me the secrets to these three dishes...’

he thought gleefully.

Beside him, Aunt Xu subconsciously edged away.

’Is this guy a muttering lunatic?’

Liu Dong, sitting by the door, was dumbfounded.

"Yang Qing, you really know how to eat, don’t you? Couldn’t you have left me a few buns?"

The two had just arrived and had been blaming each other for not managing to buy the Hot Toffee Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes.

"Whose fault is it that you’re not good enough? It was a fair competition!"

Yang Qing let out a burp and put down his chopsticks.

"Alright, let’s take the initiative and clean up for Boss Jiang. We need to leave a good impression."

"Liu Dong, why are you acting like such a suck-up?"

"Heh, you’re right. So you just sit there, I’ll clean."

Yang Qing grew furious. "Let go of that plate! Let me do it!"

’Trying to farm favorability points in front of me?’

’Not a chance!’

’Boss Jiang’s favorability is mine!’

The two were already treating Jiang Liu like an NPC, and washing dishes was how they grinded for favorability.

They had learned all this from the "old-timers."

"I’ll do it."

Jun Qingmeng walked over.

"It’s fine, it’s fine, Miss Jun." Yang Qing waved his hands frantically, subconsciously shielding the plates. "You go rest. Go spend time with Tongtong. You should take care of your child first."

"It’s no trouble. It’s just a few plates. Besides, I haven’t washed dishes in a long time and was just thinking of reliving the experience."

The two of them, acting like mother hens, made Xiao Han and the others burst out laughing.

Xiao Han said in a low voice.

"If word of this got out, wouldn’t the people in the Jing Circle die laughing?"

"Right? Who would have thought that Liu Dong and Yang Qing would almost come to blows over washing dishes."

"It’s only here, with Brother Jiang. Anywhere else, those two act more entitled than anyone."

"Sister Jun made a whole round and couldn’t even get her hands on a single plate. I’m dying. I think if you opened a dish-washing shop next door, you’d definitely get rich, haha."

The group of sisters giggled quietly.

Jun Qingmeng stepped aside slightly, her beautiful eyes blinking a few times, her face showing no emotion.

That was just her personality.

She didn’t like to express too much of her emotion in front of others.

But she was very clear on what needed to be said and done.

It was simply a rational sort of coldness.

Liu Dong and Yang Qing wiped the plates clean, put them away, and walked to the counter with big smiles to pay.

The two of them felt embarrassed spending this amount of money.

To eat world-class cuisine for only a few thousand yuan was too cheap. So cheap that it made the two of them timid and cautious.

They were afraid Boss Jiang would find an excuse to blacklist them.

"Boss Jiang, why don’t you charge us more? Your buns and ham are too cheap! How about this? A flat price for the buns, fifty thousand for one!"

"Old Dong, why are you so stingy? Is fifty thousand worthy of Boss Jiang’s skill?" Yang Qing immediately shot him down.

"I have a better idea. Boss Jiang, aren’t you planning to open a shop? How about I invest a hundred million for you to open one in Jing City?"

Liu Dong’s forehead was covered in question marks.

’Holy crap.’

’So this is how we’re playing now, huh?’

Listening to the two of them go back and forth, Jiang Liu smiled and said, "Just pay the normal price. I’m running a business. I charge the price I set. Thank you both for your kind intentions."

He certainly couldn’t just charge people random amounts.

If he had been broke at the beginning, he might have charged a bit more for his daughter’s sake.

But now there was absolutely no need. Charging too much could easily lead to trouble.

Besides, if this sort of thing became a trend, it would create a bad precedent. He preferred that his ordinary customers could also eat here happily, rather than it turning into a financial arms race.

The two exchanged a glance.

A sense of admiration for Jiang Liu grew in their hearts.

"Boss Jiang, will you have those Hot Toffee Potatoes tomorrow?"

"And the Four-Joy Meatballs, and the Moo Shu Pork," Liu Dong quickly added.

"We’ll see."

"Alright then. A lot of my friends are showing off your Four-Joy Meatballs. I thought I’d be able to get the Hot Toffee Potatoes today. What a shame."

Yang Qing’s innocent-looking round face showed a hint of disappointment.

"I was hoping to buy the Hot Toffee Sweet Potatoes to post on my social media. Every time I think of the smug looks on those people’s faces, I get angry."

Jiang Liu just smiled.

The two lingered for a while longer before leaving.

"Goodbye, Boss Jiang."

"Goodbye, Tongtong."

The two big shots waved warmly to Tongtong.

After leaving the restaurant,

they ran into a greasy rich guy from the Jing Circle.

The greasy rich guy asked enviously, "President Liu, President Yang, were the Hot Toffee Potatoes good? What did they taste like?"

His face was full of curiosity.

"Mmm... sweet, and incredibly delicious. That flavor... Mmm, I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life!"

"That’s right. Top-tier flavor. Bro, you didn’t get to try it, and I honestly feel sorry for you." Liu Dong patted his shoulder.

"Really?"

The greasy rich guy became even more envious, his mind involuntarily fantasizing about what it could possibly taste like.