Chapter 6: Chapter 6: To be honest, the Yangchun Noodles there are far better than yours here.

In their surprise, many people left comments.

"I’ve been to Jiulong Gorge before. There are no noodle shops there. Besides, it’s out in the middle of nowhere. There’s no way a noodle shop should be there!"

"I’ve never been, but I know it’s a total wilderness. How could there be a noodle shop there?"

"..."

The three girls replied, "Maybe it just opened. It’s not a noodle shop, it’s a restaurant. The owner just said that for now, he’s only selling Yangchun Noodles."

"Opening a restaurant in Jiulong Gorge? What was the owner thinking?"

"I guess the owner plans to sell to the tourists in Jiulong Gorge, right? But it’s so remote. How many people actually go there?"

"The noodles can’t be *that* good, can they? It’s probably a win if they don’t taste bad."

"..."

Their social media feed was buzzing.

The three girls understood where their friends were coming from.

In fact, they still didn’t understand why the owner would open a restaurant here.

But the noodles really were unbelievably good.

All they could do was reply, "I have no idea why the owner opened his restaurant here either. But the Yangchun Noodles are seriously amazing. You’ll understand once you come and try a bowl."

Meanwhile, Liu Xu said to Li You, "Boss, your noodle-making skills are just too good. Are you a national Special-Level Pastry Chef?"

In this world, pastry chefs were divided into four levels.

Junior, Intermediate, Senior, and Special-Level.

Li You smiled and shook his head. "Not quite."

Liu Xu continued, "I feel like even a Special-Level Pastry Chef could, at best, only make noodles of this quality. Boss, why don’t you open a noodle shop in the city? There’s a storefront for rent right below our office building, and the location is great. If you opened a shop there, business would be absolutely explosive."

Hearing this, the eyes of Xie Yunfei, Xiao Yue, Zhang Rui’er, and Ning Wan all lit up as they looked at Li You.

’If Li You really opened a noodle shop below their office, that would be amazing!’

’They could eat these incredible noodles every day!’

Li You chuckled. "I just opened this place. I’ll see how it goes for a while. If I really can’t make it work here, then I’ll consider moving to the city."

Liu Xu and his friends were a little disappointed to hear that.

But they couldn’t press the issue.

They could only praise once more how delicious the noodles were.

Then, they paid by scanning the QR code.

"Congratulations, Host, on successfully selling five bowls of Yangchun Noodles. Forty-three bowls remaining to complete the mission."

He’d taken another small step toward completing his mission.

Afterwards, the group left and continued their tour of Jiulong Gorge.

Li You returned to the kitchen. It was time to prepare a nice meal for himself.

He would make Spicy Creek Grouper.

After a flurry of practiced movements, the dish was ready. It looked incredibly appetizing.

He took a bite.

It was fragrant and savory, with no fishy taste. The flavor was excellent.

Creek groupers have extremely high standards for water quality, making them very difficult to find elsewhere.

He began to enjoy his meal.

Li You ate with great satisfaction.

’Too bad there’s no wine. A few sips of fine liquor would make this absolutely perfect.’

After a leisurely meal, he went back to lie down in the rocking chair by the entrance.

He gazed at the beautiful scenery in the distance, then up at the blue sky and white clouds. The crisp chirping of birds occasionally reached his ears, along with the scent of flowers carried on the gentle breeze.

It was an indescribable feeling of contentment.

He had already sold five bowls of Yangchun Noodles today. Even if he didn’t get any more customers, Li You was completely satisfied.

...

「Changxi County Town.」

After finishing a delivery, Wei Ping spotted a noodle shop on the side of the road.

It was called "Noodle Delight," and its specialty was Yangchun Noodles.

The place was packed with people eating noodles; business was clearly booming.

’I didn’t expect to find a place selling Yangchun Noodles in the county town.’

Wei Ping was pleasantly surprised.

’It’s noon. I’ll just have a bowl of Yangchun Noodles here for lunch today.’

’It probably won’t be as good as the Yangchun Noodles from the restaurant in Jiulong Gorge, but it can’t be that bad, right?’

He walked into the noodle shop.

"Boss, one large bowl of Yangchun Noodles, please."

"You got it! Just a moment, it’ll be right out."

Wei Ping found an empty seat and sat down.

A short while later, his noodles arrived.

Wei Ping felt a pang of disappointment. ’These noodles don’t look nearly as good as the ones from Jiulong Gorge Restaurant!’

’There’s not much of an aroma, either.’

’Time for a taste.’

He took a bite. The flavor was acceptable, but compared to the noodles from the Jiulong Gorge Restaurant, it was a world of difference.

The gap was even wider than Wei Ping had imagined.

He was quite disappointed.

But what could he do? He kept eating.

’Even though the flavor is so different, I can’t just stop eating, can I?’

After slowly finishing his noodles, he went to the counter to pay.

The person taking the payment was the owner of the shop, Jiang Caidong.

Jiang Caidong didn’t recognize Wei Ping, figuring it was his first time here. "Friend," he said, "how did you like it?"

Wei Ping replied, "It was all right. But to be honest, compared to the Yangchun Noodles I had at another place, it falls pretty short."

Jiang Caidong was a little surprised. "That can’t be right," he said. "As far as I know, there are only three noodle shops in the entire county town, including this one, that sell Yangchun Noodles."

"And the Yangchun Noodles at the other two definitely aren’t as good as mine!"

"The chef who makes my noodles is a nationally certified junior-level pastry chef, and he has specifically studied Yangchun Noodles."

"My Yangchun Noodles are definitely the best. Which place are you talking about?"

Wei Ping chuckled and said, "The place I’m talking about isn’t in town. It’s in Jiulong Gorge."

"Jiulong Gorge?" Jiang Caidong asked, puzzled. "I’ve heard of it, but isn’t that just a bunch of wilderness? How could there be a noodle shop there?"

Wei Ping said, "To be exact, it’s a restaurant. It just so happens that for now, they only sell Yangchun Noodles."

Jiang Caidong repeated, "A restaurant? Someone opened a restaurant out there?"

Wei Ping smiled again. "To be honest, I have no idea what the owner was thinking. But the Yangchun Noodles he makes are truly incredible. Much, much better than what you have here."

Jiang Caidong looked at Wei Ping, wondering how much of his story to believe.

Wei Ping didn’t say anything else, simply giving a wave to say goodbye.

"Well, see you, Boss."

"Okay, take care."

After Wei Ping left, Jiang Caidong kept thinking about what he’d said.

’What he said is unbelievable, but why would he have any reason to lie to me?’

After thinking for a moment, he walked into the kitchen and said to one of his chefs, "Master Liang, have you ever been to Jiulong Gorge?"

Master Liang’s full name was Liang Heng, a nationally certified junior-level pastry chef.

Although he was only junior-level, being certified at all meant he was already one of the best in his field.

He was exceptionally skilled with noodle dishes and had been hired by Jiang Caidong at a high salary.

Upon hearing the question, he said, "Jiulong Gorge? I’ve heard of it but have never been. Why do you ask, Boss?"

Jiang Caidong replied, "A customer just told me there’s a restaurant in Jiulong Gorge that serves Yangchun Noodles far better than ours."

Liang Heng laughed. "Boss, how is that possible? That customer was just talking nonsense."

"Forget for a moment how a place like Jiulong Gorge could even have a restaurant."

"Even if it does, they’d just be selling ordinary, home-style noodles. It would be a miracle if they didn’t taste bad. And he said they’re *far better* than ours?"

"That’s completely impossible. If that owner had such skills, why on earth would he open a shop way out in Jiulong Gorge?"

"Besides, I can’t speak for other places, but here in Changxi County, I can say with confidence that my Yangchun Noodles are the absolute best."

"You should know that better than anyone, Boss!"

Jiang Caidong said, "I also find it hard to believe. But then I think, what reason would he have to lie to us?"

Liang Heng replied, "Some customers are just like that. They like to run their mouths and shoot the bull. It’s best to just ignore them, Boss."

Jiang Caidong nodded slowly. "I suppose you’re right."

Then, he put it out of his mind.

...