"Brother Panda, I can’t finish all these dumplings. Do you want me to grab a few for you?"
Chen Meijuan’s dumplings were very uniform, with twenty in each serving.
There were three servings of dumplings, sixty in total. Panda would not have a problem splitting them, but Wu Kexin was literally overstuffed.
Besides, she was drinking sour soup while eating. Most people couldn’t handle that many dumplings.
Panda didn’t refuse them, but he was a bit worried that the beauty beside him wouldn’t be full.
"Are you sure you have enough to eat?"
He moved his bowl closer to Wu Kexin, making it easier for her to pick up dumplings.
The two of them, behaving , left some viewers in the live stream feeling a little jealous.
"Wow, why do I feel like the sour taste of the dumplings is wafting through the internet into my room?"
"I think I can smell it too... *so sad, so sad*."
"Me too, me too! *Waaah, waaah, waaah!*"
"Panda bro, if you’re being held hostage, just blink, and I’ll replace you!"
"Panda bro, as our number two ranked VIP, you should be above all this; let your little bro handle these kinds of tasks."
"Panda bro, I don’t wanna draw my sword against you, so don’t force me!"
"Panda bro, think twice! Women are tigers; you can’t touch them!"
The two enjoying the sour soup dumplings didn’t see the barrage of comments in the live stream. They were fully immersed in the delicious taste of the sour soup dumplings.
While they were eating, the door to the store was pushed open.
Xie Baomin walked in.
"Hello, we haven’t started business yet, please..."
Song Tiantian saw someone coming in and was about to stop them when Elder Gao from the kitchen coldly asked, "What are you doing here if you’re not at work properly?"
Xie Baomin smiled and said, "Master, I knew you’d be here. I just came to check on my Little Junior Brother. I was supposed to come yesterday, but there was an interview at the last minute, and I got held up."
As he spoke, he walked in carrying a few boxes of pastries.
The fans in the live stream instantly became intrigued.
"Who is this guy? Is he Lin Xu’s Senior Brother?"
"He looks a bit familiar. I think I’ve seen him somewhere..."
"Me too, let me search for it."
"Found it! Isn’t there a foreign head of state visiting our country in a few days? CCTV visited the Fishing Platform State Guesthouse yesterday to investigate the reception issues and interviewed the head chef there, and it seems to be him!"
"Found the news, this is the guy. His name is Xie Baomin, the executive chef of Fishing Platform."
"Wow, Elder Gao is really something!"
"Yet a few days ago, he insisted he was just a kitchen helper."
"Some enlightened monks are just humble sweepers, too!"
At the kitchen entrance, Xie Baomin enthusiastically greeted Lin Xu, "Hello, Little Junior Brother, I’m your Eldest Senior Brother, my name is Xie Baomin."
"Hello, Senior Brother."
Lin Xu returned the greeting, then immediately said to Song Tiantian, "Tiantian, brew a cup of tea for my Senior Brother."
After being taken on as an apprentice by Elder Gao yesterday, Lin Xu thought that this elder would come to the shop from time to time, so he bought a pound of decent tea leaves from a store on the street. It turned out that Elder Gao wasn’t much of a tea drinker. The pack of tea leaves ended up at the cash register.
"No trouble at all, no trouble. I just came to have a look and I’ll be off; I still have to go back for an administrative meeting later."
Xie Baomin came just to meet Lin Xu and get acquainted, especially since the internal competition for young chefs at Fishing Platform was going to start at the end of the month. It was always better to come over and build connections early rather than to panic at the last moment. Having lost to Building No. 10 for two years in a row, and almost having the hospitality task snatched away by them this time, he was holding a grudge.
However, his timing today was less than perfect. Instead of cooking, his Little Junior Brother was working on Seasoning Oil.
Xie Baomin placed those boxes of pastries on the dining table at the entrance of the kitchen and then walked straight into the kitchen.
He took a lap around the kitchen, and when he saw the marinated Black Bean Pork Ribs and Black Bean Chicken Feet, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat with excitement.
Little Junior Brother is actually skilled in Cantonese cuisine? This is just perfect! Building No. 10 is known for its Cantonese cuisine. If Little Junior Brother could outdo them in Cantonese cuisine, that would be quite the morale booster! No, this won’t do! This time, no matter what, I have to get my Little Junior Brother to help out with the competition. As for my Little Junior Brother’s cooking skills... They’ve been certified by Master. How could they be bad?
"Are you done looking? If so, go back. Don’t hold up your Junior Brother’s work."
Elder Gao was afraid that his crafty eldest disciple would lead Lin Xu astray.
"Master, aren’t you being a bit too biased? The last time you visited Fishing Platform, you wanted to leave in less than five minutes, and now, not even five minutes after I arrive, you’re driving me away..." Xie Baomin complained with a bit of resentment and then said to Lin Xu, "Fishing Platform has tasks these few days. Once it’s less busy, I’ll come over and stir-fry a few dishes—we, as disciple brothers, should have a good drink together, without inviting our Master."
"Scram, scram, scram!" Elder Gao dismissed him with an annoyed wave of his hand.
From a distance, Wu Kexin secretly captured this scene. The fans in the live stream couldn’t help but laugh.
"This has the distinct feel of parents favoring the second child and neglecting the first."
"That’s exactly what happened in my family. Ever since I got a younger brother, my parents find fault in everything I do."
"Same here! Our parents are like carbon copies."
"Is there a chance that your parents think their first ’account’ is a lost cause, so they’re leveling up a new one?"
"The comment above speaks the truth!"
Xie Baomin came quickly and left just as swiftly.
After he had left, Elder Gao pointed to the boxes Xie Baomin had left behind and said to Lin Xu, "You can share these boxes of Snacks with everyone. They are gifts for VIPs like heads of state and can’t be bought outside. The taste is passable."
Master certainly has a talent for putting on airs. With just a casual "passable," he exuded an air of being a man of distinction. Impressive!
He opened a box and saw that all the Snacks inside were exquisitely shaped like little animals. Especially the pair of pandas nibbling bamboo in the corner; they looked just like the real thing.
He distributed these among everyone, giving the pair of pandas directly to Panda.
"Xinxin, do you really have the heart to eat it?"
"This art student, a sculpture major, is currently in tears."
"When chefs get serious, they instantly outshine us art students, can you believe it?"
"Panda bro, eating your own kind is bad luck. Better let me do it!"
"Can I try a panda paw?"
"I want to munch on a piece of bamboo."
At this moment, Shen Jiayue, who was sitting in her office watching the live stream, was starry-eyed as she watched Wu Kexin’s broadcast. She picked up her phone and sent Lin Xu a message, "Can you save one of those Snacks for me? I really want to try it... *pleeeease?*"
Lin Xu glanced at his phone. Slacking off at work by watching live streams again?
He replied, "The remaining two boxes are all yours. You should take them home for your parents to try as well. After all, I’m planning to whisk their daughter away, so I might as well curry favor with my future in-laws in advance."
Upon seeing this message, Miss Shen’s cheeks instantly turned rosy.
Oh! Xu Bao is flirting with me again! No, I must take a screenshot to keep.
After taking a screenshot, she rapidly typed a response, "Actually, compared to the Snacks your Senior Brother brought, I would rather eat what you make, because I think yours would taste better."
Seeing this message, Lin Xu smiled helplessly.
I’m not the all-around talent you imagine me to be, Shen. When it comes to Snacks, I really don’t know how to make them at all...
Just as he was thinking this, a system notification suddenly rang in his mind:
"The host aspires to be an all-around chef, triggering the reward task [Dessert Making]: Please have the host produce a Snack of at least Excellent Level within two weeks. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with one Perfect Level Snack draw."
I’ll shout it out every day, folks, I need your votes!