I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 517 - 259: Dishes That Comfort Homesickness! Unexpected Gains from the Opening Ceremony? [Vote for a 10K-word - ]_2

Chapter 517: Chapter 259: Dishes That Comfort Homesickness! Unexpected Gains from the Opening Ceremony? [Vote for a 10K-word Chapter]_2

Chen Meijuan smiled reflectively, thinking her son was really quite amazing.

Last time she went to the Fishing Platform for the competition, she had met this very approachable, smiling girl.

It was Shu Yun, then the front desk manager of Building No. 2, who had taken Chen Meijuan, Lin Hongqi, and Dundun on a tour of the genuine presidential suite upstairs.

This allowed the older couple to see the living quarters used by foreign presidents during their stays in the country.

There were a total of five small turtles.

Chen Meijuan, Han Shuzhen, and Shen Jiayue, the three ladies, each had one. The remaining two were divided between Lin Xu and Guo Xinghai.

The middle-aged folks weren’t very interested in the spicy small turtles; they felt these didn’t offer significant health benefits and preferred the more robust turtle soup and braised turtle instead.

While everyone was eating and drinking, a different scene was unfolding in the online discussions about Lin Ji’s Food.

"Argh, just over two hours left, and I still haven’t figured out what to write for my joke!"

"Hey, poster above, don’t bother. Even if you write it, it won’t make a difference."

"I racked my brains and pooled the wisdom of everyone in our office, and our crafted joke only earned just over a thousand likes, ranking 456th."

"As if the rat race at work wasn’t enough, now even an online event is this competitive!"

"Who has time to care about the event now? Everyone wants to prove they’re a true gag writer. They’re fighting tooth and nail for the rankings."

"One netizen wrote over three hundred jokes in just two days, all of them about Boss Lin. The themes ranged from ’Boss Lin battling the Demon Sect Saintess,’ ’Boss Lin battling the Fairy of the Bright Moon,’ ’Boss Lin battling the Empress of the Ninth Heaven,’ and ’Boss Lin battling the Undying Goddess,’ to even ’Boss Lin battling Thanos...’"

"Poster above, don’t you think something weird snuck in there?"

The netizens were discussing passionately, all wanting to know which lucky individuals would make it into the top fifty.

Such discussions caused the popularity of Lin Ji’s Food to skyrocket.

By 8:00 p.m., Lin Ji’s Food had officially climbed to the fourth spot on the Yanjing Region’s trending topics list. This surprised many in the media, as the last time a food-related topic had garnered such attention in this position was the news about the unappetizing buns from Dog Ignore.

After so long, a culinary topic had finally made it to this rank. It was quite unexpected.

Out of curiosity, people began to search for what exactly Lin Ji’s Food was. Judging by the name, it sounded like a nondescript roadside eatery. How had it managed to reach the fourth spot on the trending list?

In an instant, the search volume for Lin Ji’s Food soared, which in turn further boosted its ranking on the charts.

"Fourth place now!"

At the first-floor service counter, Song Tiantian couldn’t help but exclaim as she watched the constantly refreshing popularity rankings on her computer.

The boss is really something else! He casually stirred up such a buzz with just one event, nearly catching up to those celebrities who create drama over every trivial little thing.

Shu Yun inquired, "Have tomorrow’s fifty portions of Shakima and fifty portions of Seven-colored Horse Hoof Cake been fully reserved?"

"They’re all reserved. The customers are complaining that it’s too few and want to order more, but I didn’t agree."

Shu Yun smiled and said, "We have indeed made more, but those are for tomorrow’s opening celebration, meant to be given as complimentary gifts to the guests. That’s why we can only sell fifty portions of each tomorrow."

Last night and this morning, Lin Xu had made a hundred portions each of Shakima and Seven-colored Horse Hoof Cake. This should have lasted all day, but they had already sold out by noon.

The online hype had already made the customers incredibly eager.

So, as soon as they heard the sale had started, many people bought four or five boxes at once, not only for themselves but also intending to give some to relatives and friends.

Those customers who arrived late could only reserve snacks for the next day.

There were even people urging them to introduce more snack varieties quickly, so everyone would have more options.

Shu Yun and Song Tiantian couldn’t make such decisions themselves. They could only say they would relay the feedback to the boss as soon as possible. As for when new snack varieties would be added, that was entirely up to the boss to decide.

Upstairs, after nearly finishing their meal, the group cleared the table and chatted over tea for a while before getting up to leave.

Xie Baomin had drunk nearly half a catty of liquor and was staggering a bit as he walked, but he still hadn’t forgotten the turtles Lin Xu had promised him. He said, "Junior Brother, pack up those turtles for me. I need to take them home, to the Fishing Platform. That bunch would tear into them raw!"

Guo Weidong chuckled beside him, "They’re not as desperate as you are."

Lin Xu selected two larger turtles, put them into a net bag, sealed them in a foam box, and handed it to Xie Baomin.

Once outside, Xie Baomin used an app on his phone to call for a designated driver.

While waiting for the driver, he said to Lin Xu, "Junior Brother, Master will be here tomorrow, and he has a surprise for you."

What? Has that old Sea King, who supposedly retired from the game, finally finished his honeymoon with the leopard-print lady? I wonder if Master has lost any weight over the past month. But surprises... there have been enough of those lately. What kind of surprise could Master still have?

Curious, Lin Xu asked, "What kind of surprise, Senior Brother? Tell me first, so I can brace myself."

Xie Baomin shook his head. "I don’t know either. He’s always been whimsical and unpredictable. The surprise could be as random as him picking up a rock for you from Daocheng Yading."

This... Although it seemed absurd, considering Master’s character, it was indeed possible.

As they stood at the entrance for a while, a cool breeze blew past. Xie Baomin seemed to feel the alcohol’s effects more keenly. Seeing his drunken state, Lin Xu asked with concern, "Senior Brother, why don’t you go upstairs and rest a bit before leaving? If you go back like this, your wife might nag you again."