Chapter 666: Chapter 650: Have They Never Tasted Anything Delicious in This Life?

The sky was as blue as if it had been washed clean, and brilliant sunlight streamed down through the dense gaps in the ginkgo leaves, spilling in shafts all over Delicious Restaurant, making the whole place shine as if coated with a layer of dazzling gold.

Near eleven o’clock, Li Chengzhan opened the front door, which also meant Delicious Restaurant was now welcoming the lunch crowd.

The moment the door opened...

scattered customers began to trickle in.

"Manager Yang, I’m telling you, this So Delicious place is absolutely a hidden gem. The boss’s cooking is top-class, even better than a National Banquet Chef. I guarantee once you’ve eaten here you’ll be thinking about it every day, wanting to come back every day."

"Everything I’m saying comes straight from my own experience, from the bottom of my heart. I’m not exaggerating at all, okay? I even brought my girlfriend over yesterday. One bite and she was hooked, and she’s been fussing that for our date next Sunday, we also have to come eat at this place! You have no idea, before this she insisted on western restaurants for every date..."

A young man led three colleagues toward the entrance of So Delicious.

That’s right.

The young man walking in front was Lin Jinyuan.

Among the other three colleagues, one of them was their manager, Yang Ziyang.

Yang Ziyang’s family was fairly well-off, and he himself was quite capable of making money. His standards for food, clothing, and housing were all pretty high.

His philosophy was, "Making money is for enjoying life. If you scrimp and save every day and live some bland, flavorless life, then what’s the point of making money?"

Take this Delicious Restaurant that had been all the rage these last couple of days. Just from hearing the name, he immediately categorized it as a "street-side little eatery." Put it next to sushi, steak, pasta and the like, and it seemed a notch or two lower in class.

He hadn’t even bothered to learn more about it before directly passing it over.

After all, little hole-in-the-wall places weren’t even in his consideration range. Why waste time and energy paying attention to them!

He even felt his WeChat Moments crowd had pretty lousy taste—just eating a bowl of braised meat rice with a couple of side dishes, and they’d get so excited they’d have to post about it.

Even saying it was so delicious it made them cry~

What, they’ve never had anything good in their lives or what?

Or do they just misunderstand what the word "delicious" means?

He was someone with high demands for quality of life, but in order to get closer to his subordinates, he was also willing to bend a little.

He felt that the reason he could earn his colleagues’ respect and affection in the company, besides his own strong professional skills, had a lot to do with the way he could blend in with everyone.

Especially when it came to eating. No matter how much he disliked this type of food, he still put his colleagues’ preferences first.

Like just now, when Lin Jinyuan and the others invited him to go eat at a newly opened restaurant near the company after work, he had no choice but to agree.

"Manager Yang, you don’t know—this place’s three-in-one braised meat rice and braised pork rice are especially good. I almost bit my tongue clean off. I’ve been coming here all weekend just for their braised meat rice. I never get tired of it! And the other dishes all taste great too."

"Exactly, exactly, they even have National Banquet–level dishes here! Though the price is beyond what I can afford, so I didn’t order that Boiled Cabbage, but from what the other customers said, it’s really fresh and amazing. Plus the environment here is super clean and sanitary, and the ingredients they use are all super fresh and high-quality. Manager, you don’t have to worry about the food not being good."

"..."

Yang Ziyang found it amusing, but the whole point of eating together was to build a good relationship with his subordinates. As long as they were happy, he was fine tagging along, so he nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll trust you."

As they chatted.

The group walked into the restaurant.

It wasn’t peak rush yet, and when he saw old customers coming in, Li Chengzhan greeted them with a smile, "Hello, welcome to Delicious Restaurant. How many of you are there? Are you together?"

Lin Jinyuan nodded. "Yeah, we’re together. Four in total."

"Got it."

Smiling, Li Chengzhan pointed toward a four-top by the window. "Please have a seat over here."

"Mm!"

Lin Jinyuan nodded, and as his gaze swept around, he noticed something different. His eyes lit up. "Huh? The ribs they’re eating don’t look like Sweet and Sour Ribs or Garlic Ribs?"

Those rich second-generation regulars and Old Qin were already eating.

Li Chengzhan replied with a smile, "We’ve got a new dish at lunch today—Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans."

"Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans? That fermented bean aroma..."

"Are those black bean ribs any good?"

Lin Jinyuan asked Ma Junwen and the other rich kids.

With their mouths full of ribs, those second-generation heirs looked up and nodded, not forgetting to give a thumbs-up as they mumbled, "Mm-hmm, delicious..."

Judging by that reaction, it had to be pretty good.

Thinking of how tasty Huang Tao’s braised meat rice and Garlic Ribs were, the technique for making Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans was sure to be solid too.

Lin Jinyuan asked the others for their opinion. "How about we order a portion of the Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans to try?"

"I’m fine with anything, you guys decide," Yang Ziyang said with a smile.

The others had no objections either and discussed a few reasonably priced dishes to order.

Looking around, Yang Ziyang found the restaurant’s environment much better than he’d imagined, and his impression of the place improved dramatically.

After all, he’d only thought of it as a lower-end restaurant; it wasn’t like he had anything against this particular Delicious Restaurant.

People, you know!

When it comes to the unknown, they’re always quick to interpret things through their own fixed ideas without understanding them first. But at this moment, Yang Ziyang didn’t mind the good impression he was forming of this restaurant.

Once Huang Tao received the order, he had Li Chengzhan take out the pre-steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans first, while he himself started cooking the other dishes.

A few more people walked in.

As soon as they entered, they saw Li Chengzhan coming over with a tray.

On the tray was a plate of Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans.

As he walked past them, the fragrance of the ribs drifted over.

They took a sniff.

Fragrant!

The few of them swallowed their saliva and smiled as they asked, "Oh? You guys have a new flavor of ribs now?"

"Mm!"

Smiling, Li Chengzhan nodded at them and replied politely, "Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans."

The few customers laughed and said, "Alright, then we’ll have a portion too."

Once again, Li Chengzhan replied politely, "Please find a seat first. To order, just scan the QR code on the table. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me anytime."

They nodded. "We know about QR ordering. Go do your thing!"

"Okay!"

With another polite nod, Li Chengzhan carried the tray over to Lin Jinyuan’s table and set the plate of Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans down. "Here’s your Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans. Please enjoy."

"Great, thanks."

Smiling, Lin Jinyuan thanked him, then called out, "Everyone, eat while it’s hot!"

Yang Ziyang’s gaze fell on the Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans that had come out first.

Each piece of rib was evenly thick, gleaming with sauce, with just the right ratio of fat to lean. The cartilage in the middle was a streak of white, dotted with black fermented beans, and a sprinkling of tender green scallions lay on top. Black, white, and green set each other off beautifully, very pleasing to the eye.

There was a hint of sweetness in the aroma.

Just from the color and smell, you could tell the ribs were steamed to perfection—utterly mouthwatering.

He picked up a piece and tasted it.

The steamed ribs were very tender, having soaked up the flavor of the fermented bean sauce. The aroma was intense and the taste was fresh and savory.

The addition of the cartilage made the texture even more interesting.

In short, fragrant, crisp, soft, and falling-apart tender, with the aroma of fermented black beans lingering on!

The texture and flavor had Yang Ziyang reaching for a second piece without thinking.

Honestly, the rib dishes he’d ordered at other restaurants before were either Sweet and Sour Ribs or Deep-Fried Little Ribs, plus various kinds of rib soups. Very few places did Steamed Ribs with Fermented Black Beans like Delicious Restaurant, but the taste was surprisingly good.

Just then the nourishing fish soup arrived, and he took a sip as well.

The milky-white broth was appetizing just to look at. On the tongue it was rich with the fresh flavor of fish, and with just a slight parting of his lips, a piece of tender fish slipped into his mouth. The fragrance of scallions mixed with a gentle saltiness. It was much better than he’d expected.

Without him realizing it, Delicious Restaurant had won him over; you could tell from how he was speeding up as he ate.

Feeling cheerful, he said, "Let’s come back here for lunch again after work tomorrow."

At that, the three others all stared in surprise. "Huh? Manager, you’re coming to So Delicious for lunch again tomorrow?"

Then, all of them understood.

The manager had been conquered by the food at Delicious Restaurant.

Makes sense.

Once you’ve eaten here even once, nobody can resist how good the food is at Delicious Restaurant!