Shen Jiayue thought she must have put it in the wrong place.

She searched again.

Still no sign of the Chicken Feet.

Instead, she found a pile of chicken bones in the trash can in her room.

This...

Thinking back to when her mom came to her room for a face mask not long ago, Shen Jiayue had reason to believe that this was a heinous case of internal family theft!

She couldn't believe it.

The chief of gastroenterology, who lectured her every day about not eating late at night, had actually sneaked away to nibble on the Chicken Feet she had stashed away.

She immediately sent her mom a message: "Director Han, something's missing from my room. I don't know where it went," she typed, adding three smiling emojis.

Less than a minute later, her mom replied: "I'm going to rest now. Talk to your dad if you need anything."

My dad? Was he involved in this theft too?

Shen Jiayue thought it over.

Her father, Old Shen, indeed had a prior record in this area.

Just last month, she had caught her dad secretly eating Roasted Goose in the garage, and he had even shared a wing with her to keep it a secret.

Heh... No wonder they were so brazen, not even bothering to clean up the chicken bones. So, it was a gang operation!

She clicked on her dad's profile picture.

Shen Jiayue typed out a message: "Dad, have you heard the story about a famous pair of thieves, a man and a woman?" she typed, adding two smiling emojis.

Shen Guofu, this doting father, confessed immediately: "Daughter, where did you buy those Chicken Feet in your room? They tasted so good, your mom and I almost fought over them."

And then you forgot about your daughter, right? Hmph! I might as well not stay in this family!

Shen Jiayue was about to send a smug comeback line she'd seen online, but her dad surprisingly sent a transfer first, in the amount of a thousand yuan.

"Sorry, daughter, for eating your Chicken Feet. This is the money for them."

Heh... As if a mere thousand yuan could make up for my emotional trauma!

Shen Jiayue swiftly accepted the payment.

Then she sent a message: "It's hard to find that shop."

"My hardworking daughter."

Shen Guofu transferred another three thousand yuan.

"I had to wait in a very long line; I almost got sunburnt."

"Daughter, you've done so much for this family."

This time it was six thousand.

"Dad's always good to me, unlike Mom, who is just..."

Shen Guofu immediately transferred another ten thousand yuan.

"This is for your mom's part."

Ha! Ten Chicken Feet sold for twenty thousand yuan. Profit, profit!

Shen Jiayue couldn't wait to transfer that twenty thousand yuan to Lin Xu.

Lin Xu, who had just taken a shower and was lying in bed, was surprised.

What's going on? Why is she sending me money?

"I sold those ten Chicken Feet for twenty thousand yuan for you. This is the payment."

Lin Xu: "…"

You sold them to your parents, didn't you?

He replied, a mix of amusement and exasperation, "Keep it and spend it yourself; I won't take it."

Some people's loyalties lie with outsiders. Our classmate Shen, on the other hand... her loyalties are entirely external.

After replying to Shen Jiayue's message, Lin Xu browsed through the social media activities under the topic of Lin Ji's Food.

The topic's popularity remained around the thirty-fifth rank in the Yanjing Region food rankings.

The netizens had become much more active than before. It even brought over some curious bystanders to browse through the updates.

While browsing, Lin Xu saw the picture Wu Kexin had posted: "After being busy all afternoon, I finally succeeded in making the Tiger Skin Chicken Feet! Submitting my homework! Submitting my homework! The only pity is that I put too much salt in the marinade, which made the Chicken Feet a bit too salty."

The Chicken Feet in the picture looked red and glossy, quite appetizing.

Lin Xu replied, "After stewing Tiger Skin Chicken Feet, they need to be soaked, so it's okay for the marinade to taste slightly salty. If they're too salty next time, soak them in chicken broth and steam them for half an hour. The taste will be much milder."

After sending the message, he turned off his phone and went to bed.

But under that reply, a series of comments appeared.

"Wow! Learned a new trick!"

"Boss Lin is grading homework now!"

"I'll give it a try next time too. Hoping for Boss Lin's acknowledgment!"

"Count me in too, I'm making it!"

"Xinxin, come out and thank him! Boss Lin seems like he can really help you get rid of the 'Queen of Kitchen Fails' title!"

"..."

「At four-thirty in the morning.」

Lin Xu showed up on time at the Chunfeng Market.

After buying vegetables from Uncle Shen, he headed to Boss Hu's meat stall.

"Boss Hu, have you prepared the belly Pork Ribs I ordered?"

Boss Hu, his face fleshy, moved out a plastic basket filled with pieces of belly Pork Ribs. Each piece trembled slightly, indicating the meat was very fresh and hadn't been frozen.

"Eighteen pounds in total, all small ribs with cartilage. You can compare the quality across the entire market. If it's ever any less than anyone else's, I'll rip off my own ribs and give them to you to use as Pork Ribs!"

Lin Xu: "..."

There's no need for that. I'm not running the Eight Immortals Restaurant. What use would I have for your ribs?

After weighing them, he started to pick out the pork belly he needed for the day.

Curious, Boss Hu asked, "Aren't you selling ribs in black bean sauce? That's not many Pork Ribs; it won't make many servings, right?"

Lin Xu nodded. "Probably enough for about forty or fifty servings. This dish becomes tough if steamed too long, so I can only offer it in limited quantities... If you're not busy, come by the shop with Uncle Shen. I'll treat you guys."

"It should be us treating you! Ever since you started buying our ingredients, you've brought us quite a bit of business. Many locals come to the market looking specifically for us two."

After Boss Hu spoke, he pointed to the chicken skins and large bones Lin Xu had selected and said, "I'll give you these two for free, no charge. And I'll give you the meat and Chicken Feet at the lowest price."

It was essential to take good care of customers like Lin Xu, who not only bought in large quantities but also had the power to draw in more business. Plus, Lin Xu wasn't much of a haggler. As long as the quality was good, he never hesitated when it came to payment. Who wouldn't like such a customer?

「In the morning.」

Lin Xu posted an update under the Lin Ji's Food topic: "Starting today, #LinJi'sFood officially offers Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce. To ensure the quality and taste of the dish, it will be available in limited quantities of fifty servings per mealtime. Those who want to try it can come early."

Limited availability?

When they saw this message, many customers who couldn't get to the store early were taken aback.

But everyone also knew that this dish would taste worse if steamed for too long.

And Lin Xu was the only chef in the store.

If it's limited, then it's limited.

「Dongming Building.」

While slacking off in her office, Shen Jiayue saw the message and immediately felt hungry.

Her Chicken Feet from last night had been snatched by the "master thieves," and all she had for breakfast was a sandwich; she was really looking forward to lunch.

Thinking of that... she was holding her phone, about to tell Lin Xu what she wanted for lunch, when her father, Shen Guofu, suddenly sent a message: "Daughter, where did you buy those Chicken Feet last night? Could you get me a few more after work today?"

"Sure! But just to let you know, that shop uses a private recipe, and it's a bit pricey."

Shen Guofu asked, "How pricey?"

"Twenty yuan per piece! And they are limited in supply too."

"Then get me ten... no, twenty pieces. Your mom is working the night shift and won't be home. I plan to sneak in a little drink... Remember to keep it a secret!"

After saying that, Shen Guofu transferred a thousand yuan. "Four hundred yuan is for the Chicken Feet, one hundred yuan is for your trouble, and the remaining five hundred is hush money!"

Huh? This money is too easy to make, isn't it?

"Don't worry, Dad, I'll go buy them after work."

"Good girl, you're truly Daddy's little sweetheart!"

After receiving the money, Shen Jiayue thought being a middleman was quite interesting.

So she clicked on her mother's profile: "Director Han, I heard you're on the night shift at the hospital tonight? Would you need a little snack to pass the time? Like some soft, juicy, delicious Chicken Feet?"

——————

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