Chapter 178 - 168: Jun Xinghe

Jiang Liu had already moved the pressure cooker behind the counter using a small cart.

This made it more convenient to pack orders.

Before long.

An older woman brought the items Fu Lengleng had ordered to her table for Jiang Liu.

She was the first to be served.

The other customers in the shop stared at the deep-red beef on her table, their mouths watering.

Fu Lengleng poked the incredibly tender chunks of stewed beef with her chopsticks. She leaned over, took a sniff, and thought with suspicion,

’How can it smell this good? Did he use artificial flavoring?’

’Definitely. What a crooked boss!’

This made her even angrier.

Her expression grim, she picked up a piece of beef and put it in her mouth.

Huh???

In the next moment, she froze.

’The flavor... it’s not what I expected...’

As the chunk of beef entered her mouth, the first sensation was heat. It had a smooth texture, almost like a piece of jelly. When she bit down, the meat proved to be incredibly tender, and rich, beefy juices burst from the plump morsel, flooding her entire mouth.

Beyond the savory, tender flavor, the tendon woven into the meat added a delightful chewiness. There wasn’t the slightest hint of gaminess; instead, there was even a faint aroma of medicinal herbs.

After just one bite of beef,

Fu Lengleng was utterly astonished. Her breathing grew rapid.

She couldn’t taste any artificial flavoring at all!

And besides,

’The texture of this meat is so perfect it feels unreal!’

’How is this possible... How did that boss pull this off?!’

As Fu Lengleng reeled in astonishment, her appetite roared to life. Her stomach rumbled, churning with a deep, craving hunger that left her feeling almost weak.

’So hungry.’

’I’m starving!’

’How could beef possibly taste this good?’

’Forget 1,900—I’d gladly pay 5,000 for ten more plates of this.’

Her opinion of Jiang Liu was quietly changing. Forget criticizing him; she now felt like she should give him a bonus as a reward.

Fu Lengleng ate another piece, swallowing it almost whole.

’It was warm, comforting, and incredibly nourishing.’

"Let me try the potatoes... Huh? These potatoes taste pretty special, too!"

’Where did the boss get these? How are they so good?’

The potatoes were soft, fluffy, and sweet, practically melting on her tongue.

"My god! Are these wild morels?!"

Fu Lengleng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

She’d had wild morels before and recognized the taste instantly.

Wild mushrooms possess a unique, natural fragrance of their own.

Fu Lengleng was completely floored. She couldn’t help but shoot a questioning look toward Jiang Liu.

’Using wild morels as a garnish? Is this boss insane?’

"Huh? Wait, are these wild termite mushrooms?!"...

Fu Lengleng ate with gusto, feeling almost numb with shock.

She inwardly regretted not listening to her dad and coming sooner. This place was a miracle, the holy grail of restaurants in South City!

She took another piece of beef and savored it slowly. The meat was so soft, fragrant, and tender that it couldn’t possibly be from a feedlot cow, let alone the expired frozen meat she’d suspected earlier.

’This is absolutely top-tier, the best of the best!’

Fu Lengleng cast aside all her reservations and attacked her food with wild abandon.

A bite of potato, a bite of beef, then a bite of the savory mushrooms.

Her mouth was filled with savory, aromatic flavors.

"This is too good! What have I been eating all my life? Ugh."

She sighed with emotion.

Fu Lengleng took a sip of the sweet and tangy orange juice.

The cool liquid slid down her throat, filling her mouth with a fruity fragrance that seemed to elevate her very soul.

"Oohh~, this is delicious."

She couldn’t help but let out a moan of pleasure, slumping against the back of her chair and clutching her stomach.

Nearby, Uncle Li shook his head with a knowing smile. This was all going as expected.

’Boss Jiang’s food... Forget little Yangzhai Street, you’d be hard-pressed to find its equal in all of Hua Country. And even if you could, you probably couldn’t afford it!’

After a moment’s hesitation, Fu Lengleng called out:

"Scam... Boss Jiang, could I please have a serving of the tuna as well?"

She didn’t even notice how much more polite her tone had become.

It had taken only one plate of beef and one glass of juice to transform her from someone who scorned these ’mindless’ customers to someone who understood them—and had become one of them.

Fu Lengleng finally understood why all these old folks were so frantic to buy this food.

’Food this incredible, and for this price?’

’If it were me, I’d be willing to line up for it every single day!’

’I’d be even more hardcore about it than anyone else!’

After finishing packing Huang Yunfeng’s order, Jiang Liu turned and said coolly, "The restaurant has a one-item limit. You’ll have to come back next time."

"Huh?" Fu Lengleng froze, her heart sinking. Still, she frowned and said, "Boss Jiang, I admit I was wrong about you just now. Please don’t take it personally. I’m not short on cash. I’m stu... I mean, I’m beautiful and have plenty of money. I can come support your business every day. So, can you just give me one more order?"

"I’m sorry. I truly apologize."

The other customers laughed.

"An apology? Real smooth."

"This girl’s hilarious. Boss Jiang needs someone to ’support his business’? HAHAHA, that’s got to be the joke of the year."

"Needs support? If Brother Jiang ever decided to close, we’d all be on our knees begging him to reopen!"

Jiang Liu shook his head and replied to Fu Lengleng, "I’m sorry, but those are the rules of the restaurant. It’s nothing personal. It’s the same for every customer."

"But why? This beef is so good. Can’t you just make more and sell more?"

Fu Lengleng couldn’t accept it.

All she wanted now was to try the tuna.

’If the Beef, Potato, and Mushroom Stew is this amazing, the tuna must be incredible too.’

This time, Jiang Liu didn’t bother responding. He was too lazy to explain. One serving meant one serving.

Fu Lengleng pouted, feeling dejected.

With no other choice,

she bought fifteen more buns and two more cups of juice—everything she was allowed to buy.

Soon, plates of the Beef, Potato, and Mushroom Stew covered the tables in the restaurant.

The customers who got to try the new dish wore expressions of pure bliss.

’It was worthy of being a permanent new menu item.’

The beef was silky, rich, and fragrant, a perfect mix of fat and lean. With every chew, the flavor of rendered fat and marrow filled the mouth—an absolute explosion of aroma.

’For 1,900 yuan, it was an absolute steal!’

Jiao Shenghua’s mouth was slick with rendered fat. He had already eaten half of his portion but suddenly stopped, reluctant to finish. If he couldn’t get a spot in line for lunch, he could save the rest of the stew and sauce to eat with rice. He couldn’t help but praise, "Boss Jiang, this beef is incredible! And the potatoes and mushrooms are fantastic too!"

"Of course! Anything from Brother Jiang is guaranteed to be top-tier. Getting to eat world-class cuisine for just 1,900? All I can say is, it’s more than worth it."

"If Boss Jiang ever stops cooking, I don’t think I could go on living!"

Since Fu Lengleng was at the first table to be served, she had already devoured the entire half-pound portion of beef.

She even lifted the plate to drink every last drop of the sauce.

After finishing, she let out a satisfied burp.

Clutching her bag of buns, she said her reluctant goodbyes:

"I’m heading out, Boss Jiang! I’ll be back for lunch!"

Jiang Liu gave a small smile. "Alright."

At 8:30, the morning service was over.

The customers who had finished eating dutifully cleaned up their own tables.

’They had to pamper Boss Jiang.’

’What would they do if he decided to move his shop to another street?’

"Bye, Boss Jiang! The beef was amazing! I’ll be back after work this afternoon."

"We’re off, Boss Jiang! What time do you open for lunch?"

"Around twelve-thirty," Jiang Liu replied.

Once all the customers had left,

Jiang Liu sat cheerfully at his counter to tally the morning’s earnings.

Because of the 30% discount on the beef, the net profit was only 56,935 yuan. The tuna brought in a little over 80,000 yuan.

As usual, all four hundred bottles of juice sold out, bringing in another 12,000 yuan.

[Current Praise Points: 125,850]

As for the buns, Jiang Liu didn’t even bother to check the total.

A few thousand yuan... Back when he’d first opened, earning that much in a morning would have thrilled him. Now, it was just pocket change.

He tidied up the restaurant, then dished out a plate of the Beef, Potato, and Mushroom Stew for himself and began to eat.

He had to admit, it really was delicious.

If Jiang Liu had to rate his own cooking, he’d say the flavor of this dish was a cut above even five-star quality.

Just then,

a message alert buzzed on his phone. Jiang Liu assumed it was from Jun Qingmeng.

But when he checked, he saw it was from Wang Cheng.

Wang Cheng: "Boss Jiang, are you free? My master has two friends visiting him in South City on a business trip. He wants to treat them at your restaurant. Do you have any food left? My master said price is no object."

Jiang Liu could sense the caution in his words and gave a wry smile. "Sure, have him come over. It’ll be the normal price. We’re friends, after all. No need for such formalities."

Wang Cheng replied with delight: "Great! My master is already nearby. I’ll tell him to head over."

He was thrilled that Jiang Liu considered him a friend.

At 9:10,

Xia Changzhi arrived with two middle-aged men.

The two men were named Jun Xinghe and Guo Dapao.

Jun Xinghe was of medium build with refined, scholarly features. His hair was styled in a neat side part, giving him the air of a university professor.

Guo Dapao, on the other hand, wore a suit and tie. He had a sallow complexion, a large nose, and a stern, commanding presence that made him look like a military man.

Jun Xinghe glanced around Jiang Liu’s shop. "Brother Xia," he said, "this is that amazing restaurant you told us about?"

"It looks pretty average to me."

"That’s the one. You may think it looks average now, but trust me, you’ll be stunned once you taste the food!"

Xia Changzhi said with a chuckle, his aged face alight with excitement.

’He couldn’t wait to see the look on his old friend’s face—the look of someone whose world was about to be turned upside down.’

’After all, Jun Xinghe was a giant in the medicinal herbs industry, earning tens of billions a year, with a company valued in the hundreds of billions. To make a man of his stature question his very existence... now that would be an incredibly amusing sight.’

Guo Dapao picked his nose, flicked the resulting prize onto the concrete floor, and wiped his finger on his suit.

The other two men shuffled away from him in disgust.

Xia Changzhi pushed open the glass door, calling out with a grin:

"Boss Jiang, what’re you up to?"

Jiang Liu was relaxing behind the counter and playing on his phone. When he saw Xia Changzhi, he smiled and stood up. "Uncle Xia, you’re here. A party of three?"

"That’s right, three of us."

Xia Changzhi gave Jiang Liu a subtle, grateful nod.

’Everything was understood without a word. Boss Jiang had given him face today. In the future, if Jiang Liu ever needed anything, he would return the favor.’

"Okay, have a seat. What can I get for you?"

Xia Changzhi said, "We’ll start with three orders of that new yak dish of yours, and three bottles of juice."

"One moment."

"We appreciate it, Boss Jiang."

The three men took their seats.

Jun Xinghe looked at Xia Changzhi in surprise. "Brother Xia, why are you being so polite to a restaurant owner? With your status, shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t he be trying to curry favor with you?"

"Don’t say that! If Boss Jiang overhears you and decides to stop giving me special treatment, I’ll really have to go cry in the bathroom."

Guo Dapao snorted in contempt from the side.

’This Old Xia is probably just messing with us,’ Guo Dapao thought. ’What’s all this about "the best food in the world," or how "even the most competitive hustlers can’t get a spot when there’s a new dish"? What a load of bullshit.’

After service had ended, Jiang Liu had already carried the pressure cooker back to the kitchen.

He lifted the lid and glanced inside. It was still piping hot, with about three or four servings left.

He had originally planned to eat it himself.

Jiang Liu wasn’t stingy; he dished up all of it and brought the plates out along with the juice.

"Thanks for all the trouble, Boss Jiang. Why don’t you join us?"

Jiang Liu waved him off. "No, thanks. I’m a little tired. I’m going to get some rest."

’Tired?’

Hearing this, a warm feeling spread through Xia Changzhi’s chest.

’Boss Jiang is such a good person. He’s always treated me exceptionally well.’

Jiang Liu went back to the kitchen, flopped into a chair, and started scrolling through his phone.

Jun Qingmeng hadn’t messaged him, and he was getting a little bored.

He wondered if his daughter was behaving at kindergarten.

In the main dining area,

Jun Xinghe watched Xia Changzhi, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Brother Xia," he said with a laugh, "in all the years I’ve known you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so animated over a plate of beef."