Chapter 44: Little Uncle is Tasting the Flavor

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Little Uncle is Tasting the Flavor

Tonight was the first night of the new menu, and Nan Zhi had been prepared to be completely swamped.

Who would have thought she’d happen to get two extra helpers in Fu Chao and Qing Xi?

As a result, Nan Yi didn’t have to shout himself hoarse talking to customers;

and Nan Zhi didn’t have to worry about taking orders on top of her cooking.

The mother-son duo found themselves working with increasing ease. It was even more relaxed than the night before!

’We definitely hired the right help!’

Nan Zhi thought happily.

As the boss, and for the sake of long-term sustainability, Nan Zhi decided to properly reward her two helpers.

So, during a lull in the rush, she took a moment to make some fried rice for Fu Chao and Qing Xi.

Nan Zhi said, "The rush is over. You two can go take a break and grab a bite to eat before coming back."

This was Fu Chao’s first time experiencing the high-intensity business of a food stall, and he was indeed having trouble keeping up.

He glanced at his little nephew, Qing Xi, who had gone from being full of energy at the start to completely wilted...

It was impossible to say he wasn’t tempted.

But, "...You call this ’the rush is over’?"

Fu Chao looked left and right, but he didn’t see any decrease in the number of people in line.

These customers were just like auto-spawning NPCs in a management sim—a constant, endless stream.

Fu Chao just couldn’t bring himself to leave Nan Zhi and Nan Yi on their own.

"Never mind, we’ll wait a bit longer."

"Just eat quickly and come back!"

Nan Zhi couldn’t be bothered to listen.

She packed the fried rice into a to-go container and, without another word, shoved it into Fu Chao’s arms.

Fu Chao tried to argue.

But then Nan Zhi shot him a look.

Fu Chao followed her gaze and looked to the side...

WHOA!

So many pairs of greedy eyes were staring at him!

The young man at the very front smiled with a deceptively sweet smile.

"Ma’am, it doesn’t look like Brother Fu is very eager to eat. Why don’t you give it to me instead? I’m not picky, I’ll eat anything!"

Fu Chao immediately clutched the fried rice protectively.

"...Give us ten minutes!"

Then he took Qing Xi by the hand and temporarily escaped the bustling fried rice stall.

But he didn’t dare go too far. He picked a spot that wasn’t too close but not too far either. After sitting down, he distractedly opened the bag, but his eyes never left Nan Zhi and Nan Yi for a second.

Looking at the slender, almost frail mother and son, their builds were so slight you’d almost suspect they were malnourished...

’So where on earth do they get the persistence and willpower to handle such high-intensity work?’

’If it were me, I definitely wouldn’t last.’

"And to think he’d dared to look down on them."

Fu Chao shook his head with a wry smile, lost in a mixture of admiration and guilt.

Until a loud "SLURP" jolted him back to his senses.

Qing Xi was leaning against his knee, his eyes fixed on the fried rice container.

"Uncle, when are we going to eat the fried rice?"

"Sorry, sorry."

Fu Chao quickly sped up his movements.

As he opened the lid, a rich aroma washed over him.

Fu Chao had thought that after smelling the fried rice for so long, he would have become immune to it. He even suspected he might find it cloying and lose his appetite.

But as the fragrance filled his nostrils, his mouth began to water automatically.

The appetite that had been suppressed by exhaustion reared its head again, and every cell in his body screamed with desire.

Even after watching hundreds of servings of fried rice go out like an assembly line, Fu Chao still felt that the one before him now was the most fragrant and delicious of all. It was as if it was covered by a golden filter, making it impossible for him to look away.

You have to understand, just a while ago, while he was busy, a question had occasionally popped into Fu Chao’s mind—

’The fried rice smells good, sure, but is it really so good that all these customers would flock to it like this?’

Now, with a spoonful of fried rice in his mouth, he finally understood...

It wasn’t an exaggeration!

Not an exaggeration at all!

What kind of divine fried rice was this!

It completely exceeded the limits of his imagination!

Not only could he taste a new layer of fragrance with every bite, but even his exhausted body was soothed by the piping hot Food, refilling him with energy.

’Cloying?’

’Lost my appetite?’

’Hilarious. In the face of absolutely incredible Food, such things are impossible!’

All Fu Chao wanted to do was wolf down his food!

"Uncle! Uncle!"

Qing Xi yanked on Fu Chao’s arm with all his might, desperately craning his little head forward, wishing he could just stuff it right into the container!

"We’re supposed to share! The pretty auntie said we’re supposed to share!"

Qing Xi was on the verge of tears!

Fu Chao snapped back to reality, feeling embarrassed.

But he quickly explained himself righteously:

"Uncle was just tasting it!"

Qing Xi glared at him huffily, not believing a single word.

Fu Chao: "...The green pepper beef one is a little spicy. How about you have the shrimp fried rice?"

Qing Xi reluctantly nodded, took the container from Fu Chao, and quickly buried his head in it, eating happily.

Who would have thought that Fu Chao would then regret it:

"Xiao Xi, is it good? Let your uncle have a taste!"

Nan Zhi had prepared three servings for them in total: one egg fried rice, one beef fried rice, and one shrimp fried rice.

Having eaten the beef fried rice, Fu Chao now wanted to try the other flavors.

Unfortunately, his probing was ineffective.

Qing Xi had already learned to be protective of his food and gave him no opportunity to break through.

’As his uncle, I can’t possibly fight my own little nephew for food, can I?’

’In front of everyone, too. How embarrassing would that be if someone saw!’

Fu Chao regretfully gave up on the idea.

The uncle and nephew duo quickly polished off the three servings of fried rice.

Of course, Fu Chao was the main force.

Even the shrimp fried rice he’d failed to trick away ended up in his stomach, as Qing Xi couldn’t finish it and Fu Chao wiped the rest clean.

The way he was crouched in the corner, meticulously picking up every last grain of rice from the container...

Even his most loyal fans wouldn’t have believed this person was actually Fu Chao!

Afterward, Fu Chao didn’t dare to linger. As soon as he finished eating, he immediately went back to work.

Fu Chao thought that while Nan Zhi’s position as head chef was unshakable, he could temporarily take over Nan Yi’s job to let the two little ones rest for a bit.

Nan Yi: "No!"

His wary gaze made it seem like he was guarding against Fu Chao stealing his job!

It really left Fu Chao at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.

With no other choice, he did his best to take on more of the miscellaneous tasks to lighten the load for Nan Zhi and Nan Yi.

Fu Chao was so busy he barely touched the ground, his mind completely filled with thoughts of fried rice.

He had, however, forgotten about the "pebble" he’d tossed out a short while ago, which was now causing a massive storm in the ocean of the internet.

-

The matter had to be traced back to that afternoon when the audio recording incident was first exposed.

Besides cursing out Nan Zhi, people also felt that Fu Chao was being a bit nosy and questioned his motives—

[He’s not just trying to generate buzz for the show, is he? Like sacrificing Nan Zhi for publicity.]

[They’re all guests on the same show, why be so ruthless?]

[Nan Zhi might not be a saint, but Fu Chao is going too far. Isn’t this just backstabbing a colleague?]

...

Fu Chao had a massive fanbase, and they were furious when they saw these comments!

[So it’s wrong for our Brother Fu to have a sense of justice now? Abusers should be condemned by everyone!]

[Backstabbing a colleague? That Nan Zhi got on the show by pulling strings. Does she even deserve to be called Brother Fu’s colleague?]

[Everyone calm down. There’s a reason Fu Chao is so sensitive about this—his own sister was abducted.]