Did this guy actually bring the ingredients?

Shen Chuan jumped off the tricycle, unloaded the chair, and glanced back. Good grief, the crowd that had been a mess just moments ago had formed a neat, long line in an instant, their movements as brisk and orderly as a military training formation.

The moment the tricycle came to a stop, He Wencai, who had been guarding his spot at the very front, stepped into place at the head of the line.

"Boss Shen, you're finally here! I didn't get any yesterday, so I came early today. I finally got a spot up front."

"I got some yesterday, but I'm still craving them. Today, I'm eating these scallion pancakes until I'm full."

"If only you started selling in the morning, Boss Shen. Then I could have them as soon as I got up."

The customers in line greeted Shen Chuan enthusiastically. Some near the front even stepped forward to help set things up, giving Jiang Wenyan such a scare that he started setting up the stall even faster.

He had no choice. The competition was too fierce. Every one of them had their eye on his position, which let him earn money and buy first. If he didn't work hard, someone would steal his job.

As the customers discussed how delicious the scallion pancakes were, He Wencai grew hungrier listening to them. Holding up his things, he blurted out impatiently, "Boss Shen, I want chive pockets."

Silence fell for several seconds, and everyone turned to stare at him in surprise.

Seriously, everyone was talking about scallion pancakes. Why did he have to be the odd one out?

Shen Chuan, who was washing his hands, didn't even look up. "Didn't I tell you? I don't have the ingredients for chive pockets. I can't make them," he said evenly.

"I have them! I brought the ingredients!"

As he spoke, He Wencai opened the opaque black plastic bag he had been carrying, pulled out a large food storage container, and set it on the worktable as though presenting a treasure.

Shen Chuan looked down. Good grief, it was packed with fresh chives. Judging by his own standards for selecting chives, every one had been carefully chosen-the finest, tenderest kind.

Did this guy actually bring the ingredients?

He Wencai pointed to the chives and began introducing them earnestly. "These came from my family's field. I specifically picked the tenderest, best-looking ones. I guarantee every stalk is as tender and fragrant as they come."

Next, as though performing a magic trick, he pulled a bag of flour out of the sack and handed it with some effort to Jiang Wenyan beside him. "This flour was milled from wheat grown in my family's own field."

Last came a large mineral-water jug filled with eggs. After placing all three ingredients in front of Shen Chuan, He Wencai rubbed his fingers together with an especially radiant smile. "Boss Shen, I drove three hours back to my hometown this morning to pick all of these out myself. They're all completely natural, pollution-free ingredients. They'll definitely meet your standards."

To prevent Boss Shen from saying he was too tired to make them, He Wencai hadn't even gone home after returning. He had come straight here to line up!

Before Shen Chuan could speak, the customers beside him were already stunned by He Wencai's words.

"You said you drove three hours back to your hometown first thing this morning to find these? A round trip would take most of the day. Don't tell me you came straight here to line up as soon as you got back?" one customer asked as realization dawned.

He Wencai nodded emphatically. "That's right. I drove straight here. My car's still in the parking lot across the street. Then I rushed right over to line up, and that's how I managed to get first place."

Everyone pictured him opening his eyes first thing in the morning, driving three hours home, pulling chives out in the field, hunting around the chicken coop for eggs, then carrying off his elderly mother's farm-grown wheat flour and loading it into the car.

Then he had driven another three hours back, rushed straight to the stall, and stood in line under the sun until he finally secured the first spot. They couldn't help admiring him.

"You went that far just for something to eat?"

"Even without chive pockets, there are scallion pancakes. They're so delicious, and you're not even planning to have any?"

One customer even pointed to himself and said earnestly, "Buddy, the scallion pancakes really are delicious. Don't assume all scallion pancakes taste bad just because you don't like scallions. That's only because you haven't tried Boss Shen's. Once you do, you'll fall in love with them just like you did with his chive pockets."

"But I'm allergic to scallions! I have it rough!"

He Wencai's face fell. It truly brought tears to his eyes to talk about it. He had finally found a chef with superb skills whose food was all delicious, only to run into scallions, which he was allergic to.

Once his old craving for good food flared up, he simply couldn't hold himself back.

Even Shen Chuan felt he had it hard. No wonder the man had hovered around his stall all day yesterday, from opening to closing. When Shen Chuan left, he had even chased after him to ask when he would sell chive pockets. So he was allergic to scallions.

He Wencai turned back to Shen Chuan with an earnest smile.

"Boss Shen, please, make chive pockets one more time and let me have a bite. I'm really craving them. It's your fault for making them so delicious. I'd bet that if your chive pockets ranked second, nobody would dare claim first."

That flattery nearly made the corners of Shen Chuan's mouth curl up. Fortunately, he managed to maintain his composure.

As He Wencai kept talking, he lost control of his tongue.

"With skills that amazing, I can't even find a substitute. Everything else I eat just makes me crave yours more. Last night, I couldn't sleep because I wanted them so badly, and I woke my wife up. She kicked me out of the bedroom, so poor me had to sleep on the couch..."

At that point, he suddenly realized what he had just said and hurriedly covered his mouth. But it was too late. Everyone around him had heard, and they burst into laughter.

He Wencai's face flushed scarlet. He wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into, but remembering that his chive pockets were still uncertain, he stood firm and looked pitifully at Shen Chuan.

"Boss Shen, I want chive pockets..."

Shen Chuan gave a light cough and said calmly, "I understand. It's only natural that you can't find a substitute for my chive pockets. This is the skill of a God of Cooking, after all. Not just anyone can manage it."

He had barely finished speaking when the Show-off Points notifications rang in his ears.

Shen Chuan silently gave himself a thumbs-up. It seemed he could borrow more show-off scenes from those billionaire novels. After reading so many, even his boastful lines were coming out more naturally!

[Ding! Show-off Points +50!]

[Ding! Show-off Points +20!]

[Ding...]

Wen Yang, who was in line, had already set up his camera, raising it high on a stand to film the stall owner tossing flying pancakes.

He was a well-known local food blogger who enjoyed visiting places in the surrounding area, seeking out all kinds of delicious little eateries and sharing them with his followers after his visits.

While scrolling through videos last night, he had come across footage of this food street vendor making flying scallion pancakes. The atmosphere was lively, with plenty of spectators and even more people buying pancakes. Most importantly, the owner looked incredibly cool tossing them.

Wen Yang had immediately grown curious about the stall. He had come specifically to film today and wanted to try the flying scallion pancakes to see whether they were actually good.

He had intended to film Shen Chuan making pancakes, only to capture He Wencai bringing ingredients himself and asking for chive pockets.

The thought that this man had gone to such lengths to find ingredients just for some chive pockets, even returning to his rural hometown, left Wen Yang stunned. Just how delicious could those chive pockets be to make customers yearn for them like this?

Putting himself in the man's shoes, he certainly couldn't run all over the place hunting down ingredients just for a bite to eat.

Even when it came to lining up, if he hadn't needed footage for work, he wouldn't have queued for hours just to eat a scallion pancake.

Yet hearing the owner speak with such confidence, Wen Yang felt somewhat unconvinced.

In his years of reviewing eateries, he had seen far too many internet-famous places that relied on gimmicks and hype but failed to live up to their reputations.

It was perfectly normal for someone running a business to boast about his skills. He just didn't know whether this owner's abilities could back up such big talk.