Chapter Summaries

Lu Qin’s victory over Master Old Zhan’s stir-fried rice noodles drew attention to Lu’s Snack Stall at the food festival. As Chef Zeng Quanyou prepared Crystal Shrimp Dumplings beside Lu’s stall, their neighboring stalls became the focus of a livestreamed contest, leaving Four Flavors Restaurant’s Boss Wang worried about the consequences of a loss.

• Master Old Zhan silently acknowledged that Lu Qin’s stir-fried rice noodles tasted better, and the livestream audience praised Lu’s Snack Stall.
• Zeng Quanyou began preparing Crystal Shrimp Dumplings as a crowd gathered for another apparent showdown.
• Xiaomi served Lu Qin’s dumplings to customers, who praised their springy, fresh flavor while others queued to compare them with Zeng Quanyou’s.
• Viewers recognized Zeng Quanyou as a pastry chef from Four Flavors Restaurant, and the livestream framed the neighboring stalls as rivals.
• Boss Wang called Zeng Quanyou, warning that a loss could harm Four Flavors Restaurant’s reputation, while Zeng Quanyou said his participation was personal.

At the Gourmet Food Festival, Zeng Quanyou sold his Crystal Shrimp Dumplings beside Lu Qin’s and discovered that customers preferred Lu’s. After tasting Lu’s dumplings, Zeng Quanyou asked him how he made them, and Lu Qin began explaining.

• Zeng Quanyou sold his Crystal Shrimp Dumplings for twenty-eight yuan a serving, matching Lu’s price, but customers said they were inferior to Boss Lu’s.
• After hearing customers praise Lu’s dumplings, Zeng Quanyou waited in line for twenty minutes and tasted a serving himself.
• Zeng Quanyou realized Lu Qin’s dumplings surpassed his own in flavor and texture and humbly asked about his dough ratio.
• Though Zeng Quanyou expected Lu Qin to keep his cooking methods secret, Lu Qin explained them casually.

Lu Qin defeated Zeng Quanyou in a pastry contest and explained the technique behind his crystal shrimp dumpling wrappers. Chef Qian tasted Lu Qin’s Chicken Tofu Pudding and recognized it as a master-level dish, leaving Qin Hui’s final challenge in doubt.

• Lu Qin gave Zeng Quanyou the Cheng Mian ratio and explained how scalding the mixture with boiling water made the wrapper dough soft and pliable.
• Zeng Quanyou accepted his defeat, thanked Lu Qin, and added him as a friend to exchange pastry-making techniques.
• Qin Hui asked Zeng Quanyou about his loss, then looked to Chef Qian as his last hope against Lu Qin.
• Chef Qian joined the line and bought a serving of Lu Qin’s Chicken Tofu Pudding to judge it for himself.
• Chef Qian tasted the clear broth and tender minced chicken, recognized the dish as a state-banquet-level masterpiece, and admitted he could not make one that good.

Lu Qin’s cooking drew record crowds to the Lotus District Gourmet Food Festival, but he refused Qin Hui’s offers to move his stall there. When government leaders and Kyoto investors toured the festival to assess Jiangcheng’s food culture, the investors remained unimpressed by the local specialties.

• After losing to Lu Qin, Qin Hui recognized Lu’s Snack Stall as the main reason the festival’s attendance had surpassed twenty thousand.
• Qin Hui tried to persuade Lu Qin to move his stall to Lotus District by offering a kindergarten placement and a discounted home, but Lu Qin refused because he wanted to keep his daughter at her current kindergarten and remain in Annan District.
• Qin Hui returned to work and learned that a Bureau of Culture and Tourism leader would inspect the festival alongside Kyoto investors considering a several-hundred-million-yuan food-street project.
• Qin Hui introduced several Lotus District specialty foods to the visitors, and the leader asked diners about them.
• The investors showed little interest in the foods, and the leader realized the supposed local specialties had failed to impress them.

Qin Hui brought investors and the Bureau of Culture and Tourism leader to Lu's Snack Stall, where the food impressed them so much that they considered staying in Jiangcheng longer. The chapter ended with the leader and Qin Hui hopeful that the investors would commit to the deal.

• The investors noticed the huge line at Lu's Snack Stall, and Qin Hui introduced the stall without mentioning that it came from Annan District.
• The investors insisted on joining the queue, but after waiting more than ten minutes, they were so hungry that Qin Hui arranged for them to be served sooner.
• The investors and the Bureau of Culture and Tourism leader tasted Lu Qin's Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, Imperial Consort Chicken Wings, Chicken Tofu Pudding, and fried rice noodles, and praised the food.
• Qin Hui brought more dishes to the table, and the investors ate eagerly until they were full.
• The investors said they might stay in Jiangcheng for a few more days and called Lu's Snack Stall a signature of the city's food scene, leaving the leader and Qin Hui hopeful about the investment.

Shen Muyan learned that Annan District was trying to secure Lu's Snack Stall and revealed to Director Nie Guoqiang that its owner was her child's father. Nie saw a chance to bring the stall to Annan District, while the investors' decision to invest in Jiangcheng remained tied to Lu's Snack Stall.

• Annan District's director blamed his secretary after Kyoto investors abandoned their planned visit and went to Lotus District's Gourmet Food Festival.
• Shen Muyan met with Director Nie Guoqiang to discuss a business project, but Nie remained distracted by the investors' decision.
• Nie received a call saying the investors had decided to invest in Jiangcheng largely because of Lu's Snack Stall.
• Nie sent his secretary to verify whether Lu's Snack Stall had come from Annan District, as Lotus District was trying to keep its owner.
• Shen Muyan recognized the stall as Boss Lu's and told Nie that its owner was her child's father.
• Nie concluded that Shen's connection to the stall could help Annan District secure it.

Shen Muyan secured favorable terms for her project in Annan District and arranged a dinner invitation with Nie Guoqiang, while Lu Qin refused Qin Hui’s attempts to bring his stall to Lotus District permanently. The chapter ended with Shen Muyan joining Lu Qin to pick up Lu Xiyao, who happily greeted both of them.

• Nie Guoqiang stopped worrying that Lu Qin would move his stall to Lotus District and smoothly negotiated Shen Muyan’s project with generous preferential policies.
• Shen Muyan reflected on her divorce and agreed to Nie Guoqiang’s invitation to dinner for her and her husband.
• At the Lotus District food festival, Lu Qin’s stall sold out before five, but he refused Qin Hui’s request to set up there every day and agreed only to finish the festival.
• Shen Muyan waited outside Starlight Kindergarten, where Lu Qin arrived to pick up Lu Xiyao.
• Lu Xiyao ran to Lu Qin and Shen Muyan, kissed them both, and happily called them Boss Lu and Rich Mommy.

Lu Qin took Shen Muyan and Lu Xiyao home after the stall sold out, but Lu Xiyao wanted to keep playing Little Boss Lady. Shen Muyan disciplined her in the car, then cheered her up with a promise of ice cream; at home, Lu Qin began preparing dinner while Shen Muyan and Lu Xiyao ate their treats.

• Lu Qin told Lu Xiyao the stall was done for the day and that they were going home, but she pleaded to keep being Little Boss Lady.
• Shen Muyan made Lu Xiyao stand in the car holding the seatback, then forgave her after she admitted she was wrong.
• Shen Muyan promised Lu Xiyao vanilla ice cream, which stopped her crying.
• At home, Lu Qin went to cook while Xiaomi cleaned the snack cart, and Shen Muyan and Lu Xiyao sat on the sofa eating ice cream.

Lu Qin spent a cozy evening with Shen Muyan and Lu Xiyao, then calculated his food-stall profits and planned to streamline his menu. He ordered an online electronic display to show changing daily menus.

• Shen Muyan stole bites of Lu Xiyao’s ice cream, and the family later enjoyed a lavish dinner with Xiaomi.
• Lu Qin beat Lu Xiyao and Shen Muyan at Chinese checkers, covered them with paper strips, and secretly kept their photos in the cloud after deleting the local copies for Shen Muyan’s 200-yuan red packet.
• Shen Muyan stayed the night and tried to charm Lu Qin after her bath, while he resisted her allure.
• Lu Qin checked his finances, saw that his savings had passed 1.35 million yuan, and decided to offer a rotating selection of dishes to simplify preparation.
• Lu Qin ordered an online electronic display so he could change his daily menu remotely.

Lu Qin used his system points to obtain cooking equipment, health tea, and ice-cream-making skills, then prepared for his food stall with Xiaomi and Shen Muyan. After a busy morning, he picked up an electronic menu display and planned to use his old whiteboard for reminders.

• Lu Qin spent 5,000 system points on a thermostatic box, ice-cream-making skills, gastrointestinal health tea, a kitchen knife, and a box of little umbrellas.
• Lu Qin posted in the Penguin Group that his morning stall would be outside Sunshine Elementary School, drawing excited responses from the foodies.
• Xiaomi returned from buying ingredients while Lu Qin and Shen Muyan awkwardly shared the bathroom early in the morning.
• Lu Qin’s morning stall drew a large crowd, and customers who missed out bought buns from Sunshine Buns instead.
• Lu Qin collected his electronic LCD display and menu from the sign shop, and kept his old whiteboard for written reminders.

Lu Qin attended a dinner with Shen Muyan and learned that Annan District had secured the commercial food street project partly because investors were drawn to his stall. He expanded Lu's Snack Stall with a new ice cream machine and began making three unconventional Chinese-style flavors, leaving customers eager to try them.

• Nie Guoqiang hosted Lu Qin and Shen Muyan at the Jiang City Grand Hotel, then confirmed Lu Qin would remain in Annan District and resumed negotiations with the Kyoto investors.
• The commercial food street project went to Annan District, and Nie Guoqiang celebrated the win while teasing Lotus District's leaders.
• Lu Qin set up a large electronic menu display at his stall and left to buy a high-capacity ice cream machine and ingredients.
• Lu Qin announced Red Bean Mugwort, Mint Watermelon, and Sweet Cream Fermented Rice as his Chinese-style ice cream flavors and explained how herbs could lessen the burden of cold foods on the stomach.
• Lu Qin poured the three mixtures into the machine and prepared special crispy cones as customers eagerly waited to taste the ice cream.

Lu Qin’s Chinese-style ice cream became a huge hit at the Gourmet Food Festival, and customers kept buying and eating far too much. The chapter left Lu Qin facing a packed restroom and shocked festival-goers who suspected his stall had caused food poisoning.

• Lu Qin used leftover aluminum foil to wrap his Red Bean Mugwort, Mint Watermelon, and Sweet Cream Fermented Rice ice creams, and the first customers praised their flavors.
• Customers flocked to Lu Qin’s stall, and the first batch sold out in just over twenty minutes, so he made another batch with his remaining ingredients.
• Despite Lu Qin’s warnings, repeat customers denied having bought ice cream before and continued ordering multiple servings.
• After an hour, the festival’s men’s restroom was packed as customers suffered diarrhea, and one customer returned from the restroom to queue for more ice cream.
• Festival-goers saw customers rushing to the restroom and were shocked when they heard the complaints came from Lu’s Snack Stall.

Lu Qin’s ice cream drew huge crowds at the Lotus District Food Festival, and he later joined Shen Muyan’s family for a weekend dinner. The chapter ended as his dishes filled the table and Shen Hongda eagerly waited for the rice.

• Lu Qin’s ice cream proved so popular that customers ate too much, and his stall sold out.
• Lu Qin picked up the little one, who happily tried his Red Bean Mugwort ice cream.
• Lu Qin sold out his remaining food and continued running his stall at the festival for three more days, drawing customers away from Lotus District vendors.
• The festival ended with Lu Qin’s stall remembered by diners, leaving Qin Hui depressed and Lotus District officials distressed.
• Shen Hongda and his wife invited Lu Qin and the little one over for dinner, where Lu Qin cooked and Jiang Qin helped.
• Fang Ya arrived with fruit just as the meal was nearly ready, and Shen Hongda eagerly asked for the rice.

With Yao Yao keeping Lu Qin at the house late, Jiang Qin locked the other bedrooms so he had to share Shen Muyan’s room. Shen Muyan tried to act composed while they prepared for bed, then privately asked Fang Ya for advice and admitted she feared moving too quickly might scare Lu Qin away.

• Yao Yao refused to let Lu Qin leave, so Jiang Qin and Shen Hongda urged him to stay overnight.
• Jiang Qin locked the vacant bedrooms, leaving Lu Qin to sleep in Shen Muyan’s room, where she told him to take the floor.
• Shen Muyan showered and got into bed while Lu Qin sat awkwardly nearby, then he went to shower.
• Shen Muyan messaged Fang Ya, who teased her about making a baby and urged her to take the initiative.
• Shen Muyan told Fang Ya they had not reached that stage and said she was afraid of scaring Lu Qin away.

Shen Muyan tried to engineer a romantic night with Lu Qin, but both hesitated to make a move and fell asleep back-to-back. They woke up tangled together, and Lu Qin ended up hovering over Shen Muyan when their daughter burst into the room.

• Fang Ya advised Shen Muyan to make the room cold so she and Lu Qin would cuddle for warmth, and Shen Muyan turned down the air conditioner.
• Lu Qin found only one blanket and accepted Shen Muyan's offer to sleep on the other side of the wide bed.
• Shen Muyan and Lu Qin exchanged glances but turned away and fell asleep without kissing.
• During the night, they instinctively embraced, and Lu Qin woke with Shen Muyan curled against him and their legs intertwined.
• Their daughter came upstairs to wake them, startling Lu Qin into pulling away and falling over Shen Muyan.
• Shen Muyan blushed and asked Lu Qin what he was trying to do.

Lu Qin and Shen Muyan were embarrassed when Lu Xiyao and Jiang Qin misunderstood their morning wrestling as proof they had spent the night together. Lu Qin then returned to his stall, where Xiaomi had prepared the ingredients and the unchanged menu for the day.

• Lu Xiyao interrupted Lu Qin and Shen Muyan in bed, and they claimed they had been wrestling.
• Jiang Qin teased Lu Qin and Shen Muyan about having another child, while Shen Hongda joined in and Shen Muyan hurried off to work.
• Lu Qin left breakfast early and returned to his rented place at seven thirty.
• Xiaomi told Lu Qin she had bought the ingredients on credit, and Lu Qin paid Boss Cai 432 yuan and 50 cents through WeChat.
• Lu Qin and Xiaomi kept the previous day's menu and sold pickles and Pickled Chili Chicken Feet to customers from Lotus District.

Lu Qin agreed to let the crew of Happy Warm Sun use his food truck as a set prop in exchange for a day's stall income. When the actors arrived, the crew noticed Lu Qin was so handsome that he might draw attention away from the cast, so Chen Dong asked him to step aside and lend them his work uniform.

• Lu Qin drove his snack truck to Huaguoshan Park and learned that a production crew had requisitioned the park.
• Assistant director Chen Dong persuaded Lu Qin to let the crew use his truck as a prop and offered him a full day's stall income.
• Lu Qin agreed to the deal, sent Xiaomi home to clean the kitchen and pickle kimchi, and set up his truck on the set.
• The cast of Happy Warm Sun arrived, and Lu Qin briefly watched them before returning to his phone.
• Wen Zhiyong pointed out that Lu Qin was exceptionally handsome, prompting the crew to compare him favorably with Peng Kai.
• Chen Dong asked Lu Qin to step aside and lend his work uniform to another staff member who would play the stall owner.

Lu Qin stepped in to fry rice noodles for a film scene after the crew member playing the stall owner repeatedly failed. Their irresistible taste distracted lead actor Wu Chen, who kept eating instead of delivering his lines, leaving Director Wen furious.

• Lu Qin told assistant director Chen Dong that the crew needed to pay for the ingredients used at his stall.
• After repeated failed takes, Director Wen asked Lu Qin to fry the noodles for a close-up, and Lu Qin insisted the camera film only his hands.
• Lu Qin expertly fried a serving of noodles, earning praise from Director Wen and drawing hungry attention from the crew.
• Wu Chen took a bite during his scene and became so absorbed in the delicious noodles that he missed his lines.
• Wu Chen failed a second take by continuing to eat, and Director Wen scolded him for repeatedly ruining the simple scene.

Wu Chen repeatedly forgot his lines while eating Lu Qin’s Fried Rice Noodles, prompting Director Wen to blame him for holding up the crew. When veteran actor Zhai Lin stepped in to demonstrate, the noodles distracted him too, and he forgot his lines as well.

• Wu Chen apologized after eating the first serving of Fried Rice Noodles and forgetting his lines, so Director Wen ordered another take.
• Assistant Director Chen Dong asked Lu Qin to make a fresh serving, but Wu Chen again forgot his lines and kept eating.
• Wu Chen blamed the Fried Rice Noodles for his mistakes, angering Director Wen and drawing skepticism from the crew.
• Zhai Lin criticized Wu Chen for shirking responsibility and volunteered to demonstrate the scene.
• Zhai Lin ate the Fried Rice Noodles, became distracted by their flavor, and forgot his own lines.

Zhai Lin and Director Wen both forgot their lines after tasting Lu Qin’s fried rice noodles, prompting the crew to realize how delicious his food was. The set took a break, and a long line formed at Lu’s Snack Stall as the cast and crew rushed to order.

• Zhai Lin took a bite of Lu Qin’s fried rice noodles and became so absorbed in eating that he forgot his lines.
• Director Wen tasted the noodles and finished the portion, then sent his assistant to buy more food for the set.
• Director Wen ordered fried rice noodles, several dishes, a dessert, and mung bean paste from Lu Qin.
• After Director Wen ate, Wu Chen, Zhai Lin, and the crew hurried to Lu’s Snack Stall and ordered food.