The boxed lunches sold out quickly.
Jiang Feng grabbed his fishing gear and headed back to the lakeside, ready to fish.
The cats followed when they saw their Big Brother coming.
The scene was quite peculiar.
Jiang Feng walked ahead, followed by a little black dog and five or six cats.
He looked every bit the leader of a cat community.
He found an open spot to sit, poured water to soak the bait, and then sat on his small stool, ready to fish.
"Executive Chef Jiang, you’re here!" a fellow fisherman greeted Jiang Feng.
"Yep, just fishing for a bit," Jiang Feng responded with a smile.
A few people looked over in Jiang Feng’s direction.
Jiang Feng always remained composed, choosing a spot to sit by himself without being picky about the location.
Normally, people liked to gather at the bends in the river where it was most crowded; the sides usually had fewer people.
Jiang Feng preferred the sides, watching the river flow straight past him.
"Today’s deluxe boxed lunches were so delicious! That stir-fried kidney was really sothing special," a man nearby praised, still savoring the mory.
"Thanks for the support."
Jiang Feng loved the quiet. Sitting by the river, watching the water, and petting the cats felt wonderfully comfortable.
The cats turned into supervisors, all their eyes fixed on the fishing float. They were more anxious than Jiang Feng.
As soon as the float twitched, all the cats imdiately leaped to their feet. It was an amusing sight.
Jiang Feng was enjoying a relaxing ti fishing when a young voice suddenly ca from behind him.
"Boss Jiang, are you really leaving in a couple of days?"
Jiang Feng turned to see a young man, about twenty years old, standing with his body angled away from him, head tilted up at a 135-degree angle to gaze at the sky, striking a sowhat profound pose.
Jiang Feng was slightly startled. What’s this guy looking at? Is he talking to ?
"Yes, I have to set up my stall sowhere else," he replied.
"Can’t you just not leave? You’re making feel lancholy." The young man closed his eyes, frowned, and adopted a pained expression.
Jiang Feng was montarily speechless.
"I have other matters to deal with," he finally said.
"Go ahead, then! Just don’t co back!" the young man declared petulantly, turning on his heel and running off.
Jiang Feng was left dumbfounded. What was all that about? Are young people today really so dramatic?
He was quite taken aback, but the older fisherman next to him said, "Boss Jiang, don’t mind him. That guy’s got issues."
"Last ti soone took his fishing spot, he started slapping his own face and rolling on the ground. This freaked the other person out so much that they gave up the spot to him right away."
"He probably just wants to eat more of your delicious boxed lunches every day."
Hearing this, Jiang Feng was completely stunned. He had seen all sorts of people, but this was his first ti encountering such an uninhibitedly free-spirited young man.
Oh no, not his first ti. Jiang Feng recalled a video he had seen—dium cup, large cup, extra-large cup—where a Mr. Luo was also slapping his own face like that.
"Rolling on the ground?" Jiang Feng asked again.
"That’s nothing. Once, a fish he was catching got away. He started screaming and pulling his own hair—it was terrifying! I was there at the ti, and I didn’t dare co back for two days, fearing he might do sothing drastic."
"I see," Jiang Feng nodded. The young man had seed polite, quietly fishing on his own. Who would have thought he was so unrestrained?
But everyone has their own way of living. As long as they’re happy and don’t bother others, it’s fine.
Jiang Feng continued to fish. After a while, having used up most of the bait, he packed up his things and prepared to leave.
At that mont, the young man from earlier returned and approached Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng felt slightly nervous.
"Executive Chef Jiang, this is the silver carp I caught today. I’m giving it to you." The young man held out a fish to Jiang Feng.
"For ?" Jiang Feng quickly replied, "There’s no need, I’ve caught so too."
"I want to thank you for your boxed lunch. It was exceptionally delicious. After being out here for so long, this is the first ti I’ve tasted sothing so good. I truly thank you," the young man continued.
Fearing that the young man would start rolling on the ground right there if he refused, Jiang Feng said, "Okay, thank you. If you buy a boxed lunch tomorrow, don’t worry about paying."
Jiang Feng took the silver carp and placed it in his bucket. He guessed that the young man might have had a falling-out with his family.
Everyone has their own way of living, and all he could do was make food that satisfied his custors.
It was still early when Jiang Feng got ho. After settling Little Black, he drove around outside for a bit.
「anwhile, in the bustling comrcial district, Gourt Suite Restaurant.」
The banquet was over, leaving an air of emptiness. It wasn’t realistic for the restaurant to rely solely on banquets for profit. In the past, the restaurant never lacked for banquets, but now many people chose to hold them in hotels. The future looked bleak for traditional restaurants.
To change, one must innovate. But the restaurant’s owner had lost confidence and was only thinking about liquidating, already looking for ways to sell the establishnt. The staff were all aware of this.
"The boss is selling the restaurant. We’ll probably all be out of jobs soon."
"We might be okay, but Liew has been here for so many years; I wonder where she’ll go."
"The chefs in the back kitchen won’t have trouble finding new jobs; there’s a shortage of chefs everywhere. It’s not the sa for us, though."
"Guess we’ll just find another place to work."
The staff whispered amongst themselves.
At this ti, Jiang Feng walked into the restaurant. He found a table and sat down, ordering six dishes in a row. They were all signature Shandong Cuisine dishes. The employees just thought they had encountered a tycoon—the way he dined was so lavish.
Jiang Feng was tasting the dishes to judge the chef’s skill level. After all, the restaurant would definitely rely on such talents going forward. Although he could cook too, he couldn’t be there every day; he still needed to cultivate so outstanding staff.
From his tasting, Jiang Feng found that although the dishes were slightly lacking, the taste was quite good. They could definitely hold up. He morized the taste of every dish.
At that mont, a slender woman in her thirties walked over. Her hair was tied up, and she wore a black business suit with trousers. A na tag on her chest read "Lobby Manager."
"Hello, sir. This is plum wine, a gift from our restaurant," Liew i smiled as she placed the wine in front of Jiang Feng, her deanor quite pleasant.
"I’m driving, so I can’t drink," Jiang Feng replied politely.
"Then I’ll have it packaged for you. It’s a small token from the restaurant," Liew i said gently. Her expression and posture were quite admirable, and chatting with her felt very comfortable.
"Does the restaurant have this kind of promotion?" Jiang Feng asked.
"Yes, since you ordered quite a few dishes, we have a complintary gift for you."
"Alright."
"If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to call for . I’m the Lobby Manager here."
"Sure, thank you."
Liew i took the plum wine away and soon returned with it neatly packed in an elegant gift box, placing it beside Jiang Feng.
A few cleaning staff mbers nearby watched in stupefaction.
"What’s Liew doing? Are we doing giveaways now?"
"That’s just a young guy, right?"
"Who knows?"
However, it wasn’t their place to question the Lobby Manager’s actions. Liew i was known for her shrewd and efficient work style, a capable woman whose abilities were quite formidable.
While so were still discussing where to find work if the restaurant closed down, Liew i had already started looking for a new job for herself.
After dinner, Jiang Feng left Gourt Suite. The taste of the food was decent, but there was room for improvent. Once the restaurant was in his hands, he would look into the chefs’ situation in more detail.
「The next day, Jiang Feng continued to be busy preparing boxed als.」
It was his last day setting up the stall, and he prepared everything with his usual care. Moon River had been bustling these past few days, filled with throngs of people. Today, however, Jiang Feng wasn’t in the mood for fishing; he planned to leave as soon as he sold all the boxed als. After all, there was a restaurant waiting for him to take over.
It was the weekend, and many regulars showed up: Zhang Dashan and Zhang Xinya from Happy Ranch, outdoors vlogger Liu Bao, and the beautiful Ji Mingming from the University of Science and Technology, among others. Many greeted Jiang Feng warmly.
"Executive Chef Jiang, where are you heading next week?"
"I just love your food!"
"It’s still so delicious!"
"So many people have been praising your stir-fried kidney! I ca specially to try it, and the taste is absolutely amazing!"
Jiang Feng responded with a smile to the familiar faces. "Thanks for the support. I haven’t decided where to go next week yet; I’ll see when the ti cos."
The custors were used to Jiang Feng’s style. No matter where he went, he never had to worry about business. Besides, when large crowds beca disorderly, vendors like him preferred to sell out quickly and enjoy so peace and quiet.
Before long, all the boxed als in his food truck were sold out.
"Ladies and gentlen, the boxed als are all sold! Thank you all for your support!" Jiang Feng shouted to the crowd.
"They sold out so quickly!"
"Business is booming!"
"Boss Jiang, looking forward to your next stall!"
People responded one after another.
Jiang Feng got out of the truck, tidied up his tables and chairs, took down his sign, and closed the windows. Then, he got into his vehicle and slowly drove away from Moon River.
「Weekly Task Completed」
「Reward Received: Gourt Suite Restaurant」
In the car, Jiang Feng chose to collect his reward. Shortly afterward, his phone began to ring. It was Duan Feng, the current owner of Gourt Suite Restaurant, calling to discuss the restaurant transfer contract with Jiang Feng.
Jiang Feng readily agreed. The money was in place; all that was left was to get the paperwork notarized. That wouldn’t take much effort.
Duan Feng arranged a banquet at Gourt Suite that evening and invited Jiang Feng. Jiang Feng had been thinking along the sa lines. He needed to understand the restaurant’s general situation, as well as the personalities of the chefs and the Lobby Manager. Hearing about these things from the current owner was the most appropriate way.
Now, Jiang Feng truly had his own business. Nevertheless, he would still set up his stall as usual. Running a stall was interesting, more relaxed than hustling in a restaurant kitchen.
So people liked to call him "Executive Chef Jiang," others preferred "Boss Jiang." Although he was a street vendor, everyone treated him with great courtesy. This ti, the chef had truly beco an executive chef, and the boss had truly beco a boss.
Jiang Feng didn’t plan to keep the fact that he owned a restaurant a secret. In fact, when the restaurant reopened after renovations, he even planned to use his popularity to promote it.
Perhaps Jiang Feng’s regular custors had no idea that the man who set up a food stall was also the owner of a Chinese restaurant.
This was truly an eye-opener!
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