Chapter 23: God of Fried Rice

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: God of Fried Rice

They watched as Xiao Qian devoured three bowls of fried rice, and the others had all eaten at least two servings as well.

Feifei ruefully rubbed her full stomach, regretting her small appetite for the first time in her life.

Still, she had an extra portion packed to go before she left.

She figured since she was going home that night anyway, she could bring it to her dad.

After saying goodbye to Xiao Qian and the others, Feifei hailed a cab home.

She lived in an old villa district in Yanjing.

From the outside, it resembled a beautiful park, filled with birdsong and the scent of flowers.

Only after finding the hidden main gate and passing through could one see the villas scattered amidst the lush greenery.

Only those in the know understood that the residents here were the truly rich and powerful; properties in this community never even made it onto the open market.

Feifei was an only child and had always been close with her parents.

So when she got home, the housekeeper told her that her father was in the second-floor tea room, and she dashed up without a second thought.

Carrying the still-warm food container, her voice preceded her:

"Dad! I had some egg fried rice tonight from a stall at the night market near school, and it’s absolutely the best I’ve ever tasted... Oh! Uncle Zhu!"

Seeing the man in his sixties sitting across from her father, Feifei quickly composed herself, reverting to her elegant, ladylike demeanor.

Feifei knew this uncle, Zhu Jin, quite well.

Not only was he a low-key, reserved multi-millionaire, but he was also a world-renowned food critic, the former editor-in-chief of the prestigious food magazine *Gourmet Delights*, and one of the current judges for the *Gourmet Record* and the *Top Chef List*!

Thanks to this uncle, Feifei had been exposed to countless delicacies growing up. She held him in the highest regard, feeling a mix of respect and admiration.

Zhu Jin had watched Feifei grow up and was very fond of the girl, treating her like a niece.

So he greeted her with a bit of playful teasing:

"Well now, is that a late-night snack you’ve brought for your dad?"

Feifei nodded and generously held out the fried rice.

"Here, it’s still warm. If you don’t mind, Uncle Zhu, why don’t we share?"

Zhu Jin agreed immediately.

After Feifei left, her father shook his head with a helpless smile. He opened the container and said:

"That’s just how she is, don’t mind her. And listen, Old Zhu, I know you have a discerning palate. Don’t feel forced to eat it if you don’t want to."

"Are you trying to show off what a wonderful daughter you have? Fine, fine. Since it’s a gift from Feifei, I have to at least..."

Zhu Jin’s words caught in his throat.

His eyes flew wide in astonishment.

Then, forgetting his composure, he leaned down and took a huge, deep sniff from the container!

Feifei’s father stared, utterly dumbfounded.

"O-Old Zhu... the rice smells good, I get it, but you don’t have to... go that far, do you?"

Zhu Jin shook his head back and forth in rapturous delight, his eyes gleaming.

"You don’t get it! This fried rice is so much more than just ’fragrant’!"

"It’s just a bowl of egg fried rice, isn’t it?"

Zhu Jin shot his old friend a look of utter exasperation.

"You’re such a philistine! ’Just a bowl of egg fried rice?’ Don’t you know that egg fried rice is the true test of a chef’s fundamental skills? The simpler the dish, the more difficult it is to perfect! Take Tang Lusun, for example. A man from a noble line, his family was so particular they had strict regulations for everything from clothing to cuisine. When they hired private chefs, they had to pass three trials. And the final test? Egg fried rice!"

Feifei’s father was left speechless.

He was a self-made man, without the deep-rooted family heritage of his friend.

His love of food had, by a stroke of luck, led to a friendship with Zhu Jin, who hailed from a long line of scholars.

He always loved hearing Zhu Jin expound on the intricacies of dining, and now his interest was truly piqued.

"You’re telling me this fried rice Feifei just picked up has such a profound story behind it? Go on, Old Zhu, tell me more!"

Zhu Jin, happy to elaborate, skillfully broke apart a pair of disposable chopsticks and began to poke at the grains of rice.

"Look. Even after all this time, the grains of rice are still perfectly distinct, not clumped together at all. And see how the egg coats every single grain, making them look like flecks of gold, like tiny pearls... Let me try an experiment!"

Zhu Jin pulled out a napkin and sprinkled a few grains of the fried rice evenly across it.

When he shook the rice off and looked at the napkin again—

A number of tiny oil spots had bled into the paper, and they were all exactly the same size!

Feifei’s father: "Wow!"

Zhu Jin was even more excited than he was.

"This is even more incredible than I imagined! The chef’s control over the heat is nothing short of divine!"

With that, he quickly took a bite.

His expression changed again, this time growing solemn.

Feifei’s father looked slightly surprised.

"What is it? Does it taste bad?"

Zhu Jin shook his head and spoke with great gravity.

"No, it’s too good! It’s unbelievably delicious! Do you know what I’m tasting? This chef actually took everything into consideration—the ratio of egg to scallion aroma, the effect of the rice cooling on its texture... everything! Based on this fundamental skill alone, this chef is talented enough to rank in the top 30 of the Top Chef List!"

Feifei’s father was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor.

"You’re exaggerating, right?"

The *Top Chef List*, much like the *Gourmet Record*, was one of the most authoritative rankings in the Hua Country culinary world.

The former ranked chefs, while the latter ranked renowned restaurants.

The *Top Chef List* included every living master chef in Hua Country, even national treasures of the culinary world who had long since retired!

So for Zhu Jin to give such an evaluation was the highest praise imaginable.

Zhu Jin couldn’t sit still any longer.

"This won’t do. I have to go ask Feifei where she bought this... Hey!"

Feifei’s father sheepishly pulled his hand back.

"It won’t be good if it gets cold."

"That doesn’t mean you can hog it all!"

"Wait a minute, didn’t my daughter buy this for me?"

"Feifei told me we should share!"

"..."

—In the face of good food, there are no friends.

-

「That night.」

Zhu Jin posted a new update on his personal social media page, attaching a photo of the empty food container.

It was clear he was thrilled, as he wrote a detailed, several-hundred-word professional review, lavishing praise on the fried rice.

He even ended his review with an exaggerated four-word phrase—

God of Fried Rice!

As a major food critic who had previously served as a consultant for a popular national food documentary, Zhu Jin had accumulated hundreds of thousands of followers on his account.

And they weren’t bots or fake accounts, either—they were all real, active followers.

As expected, the moment his review went live, it attracted widespread attention:

[God of Fried Rice? That’s a bit much! How much did they pay you for this review?!]

[You wouldn’t be saying that if you had any idea who Zhu Jin is. /smiles/]

[How long has it been since Old Zhu praised a dish this much? I’m so curious what it tastes like.]

[It’s just cruel, Old Zhu! How can you post a review without giving us the address!]

[Didn’t Old Zhu say it was at a night market?]

[Am I the only one who thinks that container looks familiar?]

...

-

「Also that night.」

Yang Nick did a quick edit of the footage from his livestream and uploaded it to his accounts on various platforms.

The view count skyrocketed, and its influence began to spread.

Eventually, someone put the egg fried rice from Yang Nick’s video and Zhu Jin’s review side-by-side and discovered that the food containers were startlingly similar.

-

「And still on that same night.」

A viewer who had watched Nan Zhi’s livestream in *Cub Observation Diary* was browsing randomly online when they finally stumbled upon Zhu Jin’s social media post and Yang Nick’s video.

This person happened to be familiar with both Zhu Jin and Yang Nick, so they casually left a comment:

[Isn’t this the fried rice Nan Zhi was selling on that reality show? So that shady-looking guy really was Yang Nick! I thought I was seeing things!]