Time quietly passed bit by bit, and before he knew it, it was half past eleven.

After finishing his project, Jiang Linwei strapped on a gym bag and hurried to Zhonghua Road, standing at the street corner, waiting for a few gym buddies to arrive.

He worked in sales.

Their working hours, relatively speaking, were quite flexible.

He had scheduled a meeting with a client at 3 PM.

So, he had it all planned out.

Taking advantage of this time, he planned to have lunch with a few gym friends first, then head to the gym for about an hour, and then meet the client as planned.

He waited at the street corner for about four or five minutes.

Then he saw two men with crew cuts walking briskly while looking around, as if searching for something.

When they got a bit closer, he recognized them as the two gym buddies who had agreed in the WeChat group chat last night to work out together in the afternoon.

He smiled and waved at them, "Lin Bo, Yang Ming, over here."

"Hey, Wei..."

As Lin Bo and Yang Ming saw Jiang Linwei, they quickened their pace and apologized with a sorry face when they reached him: "Wei, sorry, there was a bit of traffic on the way, we got delayed, have you been waiting long?"

"Not long at all."

Jiang Linwei waved his hand and replied with a smile, "I just got here a little while ago!"

Hearing this, Lin Bo and Yang Ming felt a bit relieved from their guilt and said with a smile, "Let’s go then!"

"Sure, let’s go this way!"

Jiang Linwei headed towards Delicious Restaurant.

This move.

Made Lin Bo and Yang Ming a bit puzzled.

But they didn’t think much of it.

They just instinctively reminded him while pointing in another direction, "Wei, the gym is not in this direction, it’s over there, you are going the wrong way..."

"Oh, I know."

Jiang Linwei turned his head, smiling, "I haven’t had lunch yet! Have you guys eaten?"

"Not yet! I woke up late this morning, and by the time I got ready, it was almost eleven, so I just went out to meet you guys."

Lin Bo scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed, "I haven’t even had breakfast!"

Yang Ming agreed, "I haven’t eaten either, I was planning to eat a little downstairs at the gym after meeting you guys."

Jiang Linwei suggested with a smile, "I see there are quite a few restaurants around here, why don’t we just eat a little here first, then we can go to the gym, and work off some calories on the way!"

Lin Bo and Yang Ming, feeling his suggestion was reasonable, nodded in agreement, "Sounds good, as long as we can fill our bellies, it doesn’t matter where we eat."

Jiang Linwei led the way, continuing towards Delicious Restaurant.

"There’s a newly opened restaurant here, let’s try this one!"

"That place looks pretty good, seems like there’s even a line outside!"

Jiang Linwei pointed to a shop in front, which was Huang Tao’s Delicious Restaurant.

There were already seven or eight people sitting on a bench under the eaves outside the shop, waiting in line.

Seeing this, Lin Bo and Yang Ming were somewhat surprised.

Yang Ming couldn’t help but say, "A newly opened restaurant and there’s a line?"

"Let’s go check it out."

Lin Bo, who loved to join in lively activities, suddenly got interested, urging them quickly over.

When the three arrived outside the shop, the people in line moved slightly forward.

The three of them sat down near the bench, queuing up.

Just as they sat down, more people started lining up, and they could even hear someone discussing:

"Before I got off work, I checked the official Weibo account and almost laughed like a goose when I saw the news about the new dishes. I couldn’t concentrate at work, so I rushed over as soon as I got off, hoping I can still get this new dish, Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce!"

"Most likely you can. Although Boss Huang used to prepare not too many portions of new dishes, since opening a branch in the city, the quantity has increased compared to on Old Street! Now you can usually buy new dishes and other popular ones within an hour after opening."

"That’s good, I’m relieved. Today’s lunch was all about this new dish, Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce. If it’s sold out, I’d cry my eyes out. Ah, So Delicious really makes delicious food, but it’s just hard to get, especially the new items, like yesterday’s new Garlic Spareribs and Sweet and Sour Spareribs, you have to come early to get them!"

Hearing there were new dishes at lunch, Jiang Linwei felt he had come at just the right time.

He looked at the line in front and the number of people dining inside, feeling quite hopeful about getting some himself.

Yang Ming frowned, "Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce? Doesn’t sound particularly appetizing! What else do they have besides this dish?"

Jiang Linwei pointed to a menu board standing at the entrance, "There’s a menu over there, you can take a look."

"Wei, your eyesight is great, I didn’t see it at all!"

"That’s because I have good eyesight!"

"Marinated Meat Rice, Crab Fried Cakes, Yellow Croaker Noodles, Lotus Leaf Glutinous Rice Steamed Ribs are the staples, they look quite ordinary, besides the soup, most dishes seem quite greasy..."

"Wei, why don’t we go to another place to eat? I’m still craving sushi, we should eat something lighter."

As they spoke, it was their turn already.

Jiang Linwei felt relieved and said, "It’s our turn, let’s not fuss, let’s go in and try it!"

"Forget it, forget it, it’s our turn, let’s just eat something!"

Yang Ming and his companion thought since it was their turn, they’d just go with it and followed inside.

Jiang Linwei found an empty seat and sat down, then picked up his phone to scan and order. As he ordered, he said, "I ordered a braised chicken leg rice, black bean sauce steamed ribs, Dongpo pork, and a nourishing fish soup, what do you guys want to eat?"

"Damn, Wei, you really ordered a lot, huh?"

"Wei, you’re usually not a fan of heavy-flavored braised dishes and greasy food, why’d you order braised rice and Dongpo pork?"

"I had it yesterday, the braised rice here is quite fragrant, not heavy in flavor."

"Ah, you had it already?"

Yang Ming and Lin Bo’s expressions changed slightly.

Jiang Linwei explained, "Ah no, what I mean is, I had the braised chicken leg rice last night and found the taste quite nice, not heavy at all."

Yang Ming and Lin Bo gave him a suspicious look but said nothing.

Then each ordered a dish of yellow croaker noodles.

Soon enough.

Jiang Linwei’s braised chicken leg rice, Dongpo pork, and black bean sauce steamed ribs were brought over by Li Chengzhan.

Once these three dishes were placed on the table, Yang Ming and Lin Bo were drawn to them.

Every dish could be described as having a perfect combination of color, aroma, and flavor.

Just looking at them made their mouths water.

The aroma was delightful, without a hint of greasiness, instead, they found them impressively fragrant and alluring.

Yang Ming couldn’t help but say, "It looks really tasty, pity I ordered yellow croaker noodles."

Lin Bo nodded in agreement, "The food in this restaurant does look quite good!"

"Mm!"

Jiang Linwei, being economical with words, just nodded and said "Mm!" and fell silent.

He was afraid to say too much and slip up again!

He first picked up a piece of black bean sauce steamed ribs and began tasting.

With one bite, the salty aroma of the black bean sauce hit him, blending with the fresh juices of the ribs, as if releasing an infinite array of flavors in his mouth. The sauce’s savory taste and the rib’s meaty aroma permeated, offering his taste buds an unprecedented delight.

Mm.

Delicious!

Taking another bite of the enticing Dongpo pork that quivered like jelly.

As he bit down, the fat melted in his mouth, the distinctive taste of Dongpo pork instantly awakening his taste buds, as the savory and sweet, rich aroma seemed to explode, becoming increasingly complex with each chew, rich yet not greasy.

Whoa, this is what real gourmet tastes like!

Lin Bo and Yang Ming watched Jiang Linwei devouring at a remarkable speed, evidence of its tastiness.

It made them swallow hard but they felt too embarrassed to ask for a taste.

Fortunately, their yellow croaker noodles arrived at this moment.

Thinking it wouldn’t be any different from other places’ yellow croaker noodles, they didn’t expect it to whet their appetites.

But then.

The moment the noodle aroma reached their noses, their appetites surged!

"Wow, these yellow croaker noodles are really good!"

"Mm mm mm, indeed very tasty! How did this restaurant make the yellow croaker noodles so good?"

The three of them quickly polished off their food.

They then looked at the empty plates on the table, and glanced at each other.

The portions of yellow croaker noodles were substantial, so they were more or less full, but Yang Ming and Lin Bo felt unsatisfied.

Yang Ming spoke first, "Mm, I feel like... I haven’t had enough, do you guys feel the same?"

Lin Bo nodded, "I feel the same~"

Though Jiang Linwei was already somewhat full, he still suggested eagerly, "How about ordering some more?"

As soon as this suggestion came out.

It was immediately met with strong approval from his two friends.

So...

The three of them picked up their phones and started ordering again.

Jiang Linwei ordered another garlic rib, wanting to sneak it in, even if he couldn’t finish later, he could pack it up and take it home for a snack whenever he wanted.

Wei Ming and Lin Bo each ordered fish ball soup and braised meat rice.

Thinking they ate too hastily earlier, not savoring the taste properly.

Next time, they should eat slowly, not wolfing it down.

Especially with their gym buddies around, they had to be more refined.

So as not to become a laughing stock!