After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

"I want to taste it myself! As long as there's even the slightest hint of anti-fishy medicine or artificial flavoring in his meat!"

"I'll call the food and drug administration right away and shut down his shop! I'll make sure his charlatanry sign dies today in the snow of Jiangcheng!"

Li Dayong and Chairman Chen exchanged a glance. Looking at Zhao Chengming's delusional behavior of not shedding tears until he was faced with a death sentence, they both shook their heads. They looked at him as if he were a pitiful wretch whose worldview was about to be shattered.

"Alright, Lao Zhao, let's see today whether you'll be the one who ruins their reputation or they'll be the one who destroys your values." Li Dayong sneered and ignored him.

"Crunch—"

The heavy, antique-style carved wooden door of the Lin family shop was slowly pulled open from the inside.

A warm, spring-like steam, mixed with an extremely pure and clean aroma of high-mountain tea, drifted through the crack in the door into the wind and snow, instantly soothing the chill from everyone's bodies.

The person who pushed open the door was a young girl with a neat ponytail and wearing a clean apron.

Good morning everyone! The snow is so heavy, sorry to have kept you all waiting!

This book is first published on 111k.com, providing you with a reading experience without errors or disordered chapters.

Holding a small, distinctive blackboard, Su Xiaoxiao greeted Li Dayong and the others outside the door, who were shivering from the cold, with a beaming smile.

Then, she deftly hung the small blackboard on the wooden shelf by the door. On it, written in neat chalk handwriting, were the words:

【Premium Charcoal-Grilled Lamb Hot Pot: 888 RMB/pot (Limited quantity daily, first come, first served)】

[Our rules: No queue jumping, one item per person, and don't order if you don't like the taste.]

Zhao Chengming had no time to look at the blackboard. He snorted and ignored Su Xiaoxiao who was blocking his way, striding over the threshold and squeezing in.

The restaurant still retained the elegant traditional Chinese style with its small bridges and flowing water that he had seen last time. The entire lobby was spotless, without even the slightest trace of the oily smell that is common in hot pot restaurants.

But in Zhao Chengming's eyes, who had become completely obsessed, this extremely elegant environment was nothing more than a hypocritical cloak that Lin Fan used to cover up his "technology and ruthless skills"!

The more innocent they pretend to be, the more ruthless they'll be in secretly poisoning you!

His gaze, like radar, was intensely aggressive and hostile, fixed on the completely transparent open kitchen.

In the kitchen, Lin Fan stood tall and straight, dressed in a minimalist white chef's uniform. He held a clean white towel in his hand and slowly wiped the table.

Hearing the door open, Lin Fan calmly raised his head, his gaze sweeping across the lobby to the long line of people outside.

"Little one, welcome the guests."

Lin Fan put down the towel, turned around, and continued to process the ingredients in his hands.

"Alright!"

Su Xiaoxiao responded crisply, turned her head, and looked at Zhao Chengming, who was full of hostility.

Although she found the man's eyes menacing, Su Xiaoxiao maintained a perfectly polite smile and slightly turned her body to gesture for him to enter.

"Uncle, it's snowing heavily outside, please make yourself at home."

As Su Xiaoxiao led the way, she habitually pointed to the small blackboard by the door and crisply reminded him:

"Is this your first time here, sir? Each person is limited to one order of any dish. Please read the rules carefully before ordering."

"rule?"

Zhao Chengming sneered, glanced at Su Xiaoxiao as if she were a joke, and strode over to the elm wood square table closest to the open kitchen, where he sat down heavily.

"Little girl, you don't need to talk back to me. I'm here to spend money!"

Zhao Chengming pointed at the sign on the blackboard and said through gritted teeth:

"It's just 888 yuan a pot? Bring me one! I want to see what this 'clear broth' of yours is all about!"

"Okay, please wait a moment."

Since opening her shop, Su Xiaoxiao has seen all sorts of troublemakers who were defiant when they first came to the store. She's too lazy to argue with him, so she skillfully scanned the payment code on his phone with the barcode scanner and turned to report the order.

Just then, Li Dayong, Chairman Chen, General Manager Huang, and others filed in through the snow.

"Oh, I'm finally in! I'm freezing!" Li Dayong rubbed his hands together, breathing out white vapor as he walked over to the table next to Zhao Chengming and sat down.

Chairman Chen slowly untied his scarf, glanced at Zhao Chengming who was staring intently at the kitchen as if facing a formidable enemy, shook his head slightly, and turned to Su Xiaoxiao with a gentle smile:

"Little girl, the usual rule, Dayong and I will each have a mutton hot pot."

"Alright! Mr. Li, Chairman Chen, please have some hot tea to warm yourselves up, we'll be right there!"

Several cups of steaming hot Yunwu white tea were served on the table.

Li Dayong picked up his teacup and took a delicious sip, a warm current instantly flowing through his body.

He let out a long sigh of relief, turned to look at Zhao Chengming at the next table, whose brows were furrowed, and couldn't help but tease him:

"Old Zhao, stop looking so stern. Didn't you come here today to cause trouble?"

"Later, you'll have to use your thirty years of hot pot expertise to give us a good check and see just how much 'technology and ruthless techniques' have been put into this pot!"

Mr. Huang and Mr. Liu, who were sitting at another table, couldn't help but suppress their laughter and looked over when they heard this.

"I don't need you to provoke me!"

Zhao Chengming snorted coldly, crossed his arms, and fixed his gaze like radar on the completely transparent open kitchen.

In the kitchen, Lin Fan remained as calm and composed as ever.

With his back to everyone, he took out a piece of top-grade lamb from the freezer, its texture resembling perfect marble.

"Knock knock knock..."

A series of rhythmic, fast-paced chopping sounds rang out.

Zhao Chengming was initially somewhat disdainful, but when he saw the afterimage of Lin Fan's swift and deadly strike, his pupils involuntarily contracted sharply.

A true expert's skill is immediately apparent.

The knife skills are so steady, so ruthless, so precise! Every slice of lamb is almost perfectly uniform in thickness, each slice as thin as a cicada's wing, with an almost transparent, crystalline texture.

"Pretentious! What's the use of good knife skills? Lamb is the worst thing to boil. Without heavy seasoning, let's see how you get rid of that gamey smell!" Zhao Chengming gritted his teeth inwardly.

Soon, a soft footstep sound was heard.

Lin Yi carried a traditional Beijing cloisonné copper charcoal hot pot and quietly walked to Zhao Chengming's table.

"Thump."

The hot pot was placed steadily in the very center of the table.

The smokeless fruitwood charcoal underneath was burning red-hot, and the water in the pot above was already boiling, bubbling and gurgling.

Zhao Chengming immediately rushed forward, his nose almost touching the edge of the pot, his eyes fixed on the liquid inside.