It was soon noon.

Half an hour before noon, Su Chen walked from his office to the kitchen. As he passed the dining area, he noticed Zhang Li was still sitting there, beaming about something he couldn’t quite figure out.

’Are Zhang Li and Bai Xiaobo the same type of person?’

Which meant they were total goofballs.

"Boss, we have two orders for lunch. One is from an unfamiliar customer in Jingzhou City, and the other is from Xiaobai, who’s bringing a girl for a meal."

"Alright."

The first order was for a two-person meal at one hundred per person.

A whole chicken would be perfect for that. As for Xiaobai and his date, he’d just prepare another standard two-person meal.

Su Chen took out two portions of the chicken pieces Aunt Fang had prepared. Using a large strainer, he submerged each portion in a container of cold water to begin the slow-cooking process.

「Meanwhile, on a bus heading from the Jingzhou City District to the High-Tech Development Zone.」

A young man dressed in a somewhat hip-hop style held a selfie stick, chattering nonstop at his phone’s screen.

The other passengers were used to this sight. Far too many young people these days dreamed of getting rich overnight through live streaming. Even the space under Jingzhou’s cross-river bridge had become a base for internet-famous streamers.

Every night, a motley crew would gather there, either wailing and screeching or contorting their bodies into clumsy dance moves.

The young man spoke loudly into his phone.

"Word is, a real special restaurant opened up in the High-Tech Development Zone, so your boy Lao Jiu is gonna take you all to check it out!"

"As you all know, when Lao Jiu does a review, he only reviews local spots. It’s all about keeping it real and giving you the most honest live reviews! I find the hidden gems and help you steer clear of the duds!"

Lao Jiu was a moderately popular food vlogger in Jingzhou City.

He didn’t have a huge following. His streams usually pulled in a little over a thousand viewers, most of whom were locals from Jingzhou.

The edited video clips he posted afterward would only get several thousand likes.

For a stream with just over a thousand viewers, the chat was still quite active.

"A restaurant in the High-Tech Development Zone? Damn, what a genius this owner must be. That place is in the middle of nowhere. Who’s gonna eat there, ghosts?"

"Lao Jiu, don’t bother. I went to that last restaurant you recommended. It was disgusting and expensive! You got paid off for that review, didn’t you?"

"Gotta say, anyone who dares open a restaurant in the Development Zone is a real ’warrior.’ Probably got scammed into leasing the place."

"Hurry up and get there! It’s lunchtime, and I need something to watch while I eat."

Lao Jiu pulled out a second phone and waved it at the camera. "Alright, same rules as always today, folks! We’re doing a hidden-camera stream, keeping it 100% real. Once I’m inside, I won’t be able to interact with the chat. Let’s see what this place is all about!"

"This place has no menu. How weird is that? What’s the point of opening a restaurant without a menu? They call it ’Delicious Customization’ or something... Does that mean I tell them what I want and they just make it?"

"What I want is simple: a meal for one hundred per person, and it better be good. That’s it!"

"Let’s go see what they can whip up for us!"

As the bus pulled up to the stop, Lao Jiu handed the streaming phone to his companion. Standing at the foot of an office building, he spoke with a disgruntled tone.

"Most people open restaurants in a proper storefront. This one is on the nineteenth floor of an office building! That’s just mind-blowing! Location? Negative points!"

"Shout-out to my boy Sun the Second for the supercar gift!"

After giving his thanks, his companion positioned the streaming phone in a discreet spot, and Lao Jiu turned and entered the building.

「Meanwhile, at Xinghui Company.」

Sun the Second was glued to the live stream on his phone. "Heh heh, let’s see how you get out of this one," he muttered.

"Second Brother, is this guy you hired really going to work? No one at our company even watches these streams."

"Of course it will," Sun the Second said confidently. "Any restaurant that doesn’t pay Lao Jiu off ends up closing. We’re just going to make sure that place across the hall goes under for good. If you’re going to strike a snake, you strike it where it’s weakest!"

"But the thing is... besides our own employees, it doesn’t seem like anyone else eats there anyway, right?"

’Since almost no one goes there to begin with, aren’t you just wasting your effort?’

Sun the Second rubbed his forehead.

’Damn, he’s actually right!’

"Forget about that! Just expose him first, anyway!"

As for what, exactly, they would expose, Sun the Second couldn’t say. All he knew was that any restaurant in the city that Lao Jiu visited had to pay the streamer a little something. Anyone who didn’t pay to keep the peace could just wait to go out of business.

Li Mingtao sat in his company’s cafeteria, eating a bland bowl of potato and tofu stew. He silently pulled out his phone and found Lao Jiu’s live stream.

’Boss Su, you’ve got to hang in there!’

The stream was now showing the inside of Meiweilai Company, a layout Li Mingtao knew very well.

"Holy crap!" Lao Jiu whispered on the stream. "Folks, this is insane! This has to be an unlicensed restaurant, right? What happened to it being a restaurant... This is just a damn office!"

The viewers in the chat were also stunned by the scene.

Who would eat in a place like this?

It completely shattered everyone’s expectations!

And setting aside the issue of the environment, not a single person had come out to greet the streamer since he’d walked in.

It was, frankly, a bit much.

"Alright folks, for now, I’m giving this restaurant a zero out of ten!"

As the streamer walked further in, he came to a door. He hesitated for a moment before finally pushing it open.

"Hello?" Lao Jiu called out.

The person sitting in the dining area was Zhang Li...

"Hello?" Zhang Li was still waiting for her meal.

"Excuse me, can I eat here? I... have a reservation."