BXBX NOVEL Chapter 180 - 180: Face-to-Face Meeting
“Blue shirt and black jeans…”
Stepping away from the crowded platform, Qin Lang scanned the crowd waiting for arrivals outside the station, quickly spotting a teenager about his own age.
The other party spotted him at the same time, vigorously waving in his direction.
“Traveler!”
Upon hearing this voice, Qin Lang immediately felt a wave of embarrassment that made him want to hide his face.
He quickly walked up to the boy, “Zhao Wenchang?”
“That’s me.” Zhao Wenchang nodded vigorously, “What does the Traveler plan to do next?”
“Just call me Qin Lang.” Qin Lang rubbed his forehead, using this gesture to conceal the embarrassment on his face.
“Okay.” Zhao Wenchang, who had done his research, was naturally familiar with Qin Lang’s real name, “Have you booked a hotel yet? I can help you if you haven’t!”
“I have, at Qingyun Hotel.”
“That’s very close to my family’s shop!” Zhao Wenchang’s eyes lit up, “It’s a
10-minute walk.”
“That is indeed close.” Qin Lang nodded, “In that case, 1’11 go to the hotel to drop off my luggage first, then go to your family’s shop to get a handle on the situation, okay?”
“This…” Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenchang, who should have been thrilled about Qin Lang’s willingness to understand the situation, showed a hesitant expression on his face.
“What’s wrong?” Noticing Zhao Wenchang’s abnormality, Qin Lang furrowed his brows.
“Qin Lang, I may not be able to take you to our family’s shop right now.” Zhao Wenchang solemnly admitted, “Because I still haven’t convinced my dad…” “Huh?” Qin Lang blinked, showing a puzzled expression.
Zhao Wenchang took a deep breath, leading Qin Lang towards the station as he explained the situation.
By the time the two got into a taxi to the hotel, Qin Lang had a basic understanding of the situation.
Facing an impending duel which could risk losing the operating license and the family’s noodle recipes, Zhao Wenchang’s father, the shop owner, was anxious. However, he didn’t want Zhao Wenchang to get involved.
Therefore, Zhao Wenchang approached Qin Lang without consulting his father.
After accepting Qin Lang’s call, Zhao Wenchang tried to discuss the matter with his father, but it was not taken seriously.
After understanding the situation, Qin Lang let out a sigh.
Such obstinate parents were indeed not uncommon.
“It looks like you need to reach an agreement with your father first.”
“I will do my best to convince my dad.” Zhao Wenchang nodded earnestly, tightly clenching his fists.
Looking out at the rapidly receding scenery, Qin Lang quickly remembered that after contacting Zhao Wenchang, he had also contacted uncle Luo Hui’s friend.
Knowing Qin Lang’s purpose, Luo Hui’s friend warmly assured him that he was free at any time and left an address for him.
Since Zhao Wenchang had a little issue, Qin Lang decided to complete uncle Luo Hui’s commission first.
“Do you know where 35 Meihua Street is?” Qin Lang turned to look at Zhao Wenchang, “I plan to go there after dropping off my luggage at the hotel.”
“35 Meihua Street…” Zhao Wenchang opened his mouth, staring at Qin Lang in astonishment, “That’s my family’s noodle house!”
Qin Lang:”???”
He remembered carefully that Luo Hui’s uncle’s friend named Zhao Junzhang did mention that the location was a restaurant called “Zhao’s Noodle House”.
Noodle House…
Zhao Wenchang’s surname is also Zhao…
“Such a small world!” Qin Lang exclaimed, turning to look at the still bewildered Zhao Wenchang, “What’s the relationship between you and Zhao Junzhang?”
“That’s my dad…” Zhao Wenchang suddenly went silent.
He suddenly remembered that his dad had said a friend from Dongxia City would deliver some special seasonings and ingredients to resolve the current crisis.
And Qin Lang was the cooking champion of Dongxia City.
He seemed to realize something and couldn’t help taking a sharp intake of breath.
“A senior of mine asked me to deliver it.” Qin Lang pointed at the large box he was carrying and shrugged, “It looks like 1 still have to go to your family’s noodle shop.”
“Let’s put our stuff down at the hotel first.” After getting over his initial shock, Zhao Wenchang seemed more excited.
He suddenly had a good idea.
“This is the place.”
After dropping off their luggage, under Zhao Wenchang’s lead, they quickly arrived at Zhao’s Noodle House.
It was a standalone building, the exterior walls were painted with faux wood grain, and its cozy color scheme and design made it rather unique. Although it looked new, some details proved that it had a bit of history.
“You wait here for a bit, I’ll go in first.” Zhao Wenchang opened the outdoor seating area that also belonged to Zhao’s Noodle House, gesturing for Qin Lang to wait. Then, he took a deep breath and went inside.
Qin Lang’s gaze moved away from Zhao Wenchang’s retreating figure and started taking in the surroundings.
On their way here, Zhao Wenchang explained to him in detail the cause of the duel.
The competitor of Zhao’s Noodle House is a restaurant called Liu’s Noodle House.
The latter is a rising star, operating for less than a year but has already enlisted many titled hanging position chefs, attracting a lot of food guests with their overwhelming advertisements, and challenging Zhao’s that has been operating for several generations.
After that, they set their sights on Zhao’s, trying to become the number one noodle house in Qingyang City.
With a legacy that spans several generations, Zhao’s has many delicious noodle recipes, which are precisely what Liu’s, a newcomer who lacks background, needs.
Therefore, the other party used some dishonorable means, forcing Zhao Junzhang to agree to the duel, in an attempt to acquire Zhao’s noodle recipes.
According to Zhao Wenchang, Liu’s were clearly very aggressive.
So, Qin Lang planned to further investigate the matter.
Seeing an old man walking by, Qin Lang rose to his feet and greeted him with a smile.
“Sir, I would like to ask you something…”
“Dad!” Entering the shop, Zhao Wenchang quickly made his way to Zhao Junzhang, “I’ve invited a Spirit Chef. If he can represent our shop in the duel, we will surely defeat our opponents!”
“Nonsense!” Zhao Junzhang frowned, “Wenchang, you’ve just become a Spirit Chef, you don’t understand the skill gap between a city-level cooking champion and a regular Spirit Chef.”
“You might have met some Spirit Chefs with better skills than yours, but it doesn’t mean they have any hope of winning!”
“Jihe is widely recognized as one of the strongest champions of the city-level cooking competitions in recent years, and he specializes in pasta. The number of Spirit Chefs in Qingyang City who could beat him in a duel are very few, and they have all been reached out to by the Liu family and will not participate.”
Zhao Junzhang ended up raising his voice unintentionally as he went on.
He who was already under immense pressure, was finding it hard to control his restlessness.
Calm down, calm down.
Zhao Junzhang took a deep breath to suppress his inner agitation, waving his hand at his son, “Let the Spirit Chef you invited leave, we don’t need him!”
Zhao Wenchang looked at his father, and suddenly spoke, “Even if he’s bringing the seasonings and ingredients that Uncle Luo Hui sent?”
Zhao Junzhang’s hand froze in mid-air.
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