I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 703 - 318: Isn’t This More Exciting Than Watching a Movie? Lin Ji’s Food Braised Delicacies Section is on the Rise! [Subscribe Please]
"Manager Shu, when is Chef Chen’s birthday?"
Oh? Asking for shoe size and now for the birthday. If I didn’t know that our Chef Chen also secretly liked you, I really wouldn’t dare reveal too much.
Shu Yun said with a smile, "It’s on the 23rd of this month. The restaurant will host a birthday banquet for her, and if Officer Ren is free, he’s welcome to join us."
Ren Jie nodded eagerly, "Definitely, I will definitely attend."
As he spoke, he kept scratching Dundun’s chin, making the little guy purr contentedly.
But since he was on patrol, he couldn’t stay long.
After chatting casually for a bit, Ren Jie said, "Thanks for the information, Manager Shu. I have to get back to my patrol. See you!"
After finishing, he looked down and said to Dundun, "I’m off then. I’ll scratch you next time."
"Wait a moment, Officer Ren."
Shu Yun called out to him, then picked up the intercom at the front desk and said, "Bring down a few small sesame flatbreads, stuffed full of beef, as fast as you can."
There was an intercom connecting the front desk and the second-floor kitchen. However, with many employees and an automated ordering system, it was rarely used except in urgent situations. For instance, Officer Ren was here asking about Chef Chen’s personal details. A police officer, still on patrol this late, likely hadn’t eaten yet. Letting him go hungry wasn’t an option.
Soon, a young staffer came down the stairs with a bag, saying, "Manager Shu, here are the beef-stuffed flatbreads you asked for. There are eight. Is that enough? I can get more if it’s not."
Ren Jie hurriedly said, "That’s plenty, thank you so much... I don’t have my membership card with me. Should I scan to pay?"
Shu Yun chuckled, "No, no, no! If Chef Chen found out we took your money, there’s no telling how she’d deal with us. Please, just take them and eat. Have something to tide you over; they’re not worth much anyway."
Ren Jie decided he would bring his membership card next time to pay for them, so he didn’t decline further. He thanked her again and left Lin Ji’s Food, bag in hand.
Once outside, he didn’t immediately start eating the flatbreads. Instead, he took out his phone, opened WeChat, and with a quick TAP-TAP-TAP on his screen, sent a message to his mom:
"Mom, I think I’m falling for a girl. She’s not a local, her education isn’t very high, and she’s in the culinary industry that you guys look down on..."
Right after sending it, his mom replied:
"What about the overseas graduate with a master’s degree Aunt Wang introduced? She’s beautiful, obedient, and you wouldn’t even meet her. You know where your father and I stand on this."
Ren Jie frowned and continued to text, "But I like her!"
"What did she do to make you like her so much?"
What did she do?
Ren Jie recalled his encounters with the assistant cook.
There was nothing earth-shattering, nor heart-wrenchingly memorable. Just eating and chatting, that’s all. Every time he saw the assistant cook so carefully maintaining her Head Chef persona, he found her adorable. He wanted to pinch her pretty cheeks and say, ’Stop pretending, I know you’re just an assistant cook.’ But then he’d think that this might be her only way to satisfy a bit of vanity, so he’d resist exposing her and even help her maintain the facade. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Now, looking at his mom’s message, Ren Jie replied, "She treated me to a meal."
"You’d cast your parents’ words aside just because she treated you to a meal? Jie, when you insisted on joining the army, your parents didn’t stop you. After you were discharged, you went to the police academy, and your parents didn’t say anything then either. But marriage is a serious matter; you can’t be so willful anymore."
Seeing this message, Ren Jie took a deep breath and replied coldly, "I want to make my own decisions about my marriage. I’m on patrol and need to get back to work."
He pocketed his phone, picked up the bag of beef-filled flatbreads, and was about to walk on when a Highlander with temporary license plates suddenly turned and pulled up beside him.
The window rolled down, revealing Captain Sui Fusheng’s weather-worn face: "Get in!"
Ren Jie opened the door and sat in the passenger seat. Just as he closed the door, Sui Fusheng reached for the bag, glanced at the beef flatbreads inside, and nonchalantly took one, biting off a large chunk. "It has to be Lin Ji’s, right? These little flatbreads are so exquisite yet delicious, a perfect match for the beef... Why aren’t you eating? Did you already eat at the restaurant?"
Ren Jie replied with slight distress, "I impulsively told my mom I like the assistant cook. She’s pretty firm: no one with a ’low education’ is allowed through our family’s door."
Sui Fusheng took another bite, leaving just a corner of the flatbread. "So don’t have her enter. You have your own little place, don’t you? That’s enough to get married in. Lots of people drifting in the big cities just wear new clothes, treat friends to a meal in a rented apartment, and call it a wedding. Life can be much simpler if you’re not too hung up on formalities... Man, this flatbread is delicious! I’m having two more. I’ll treat you to grilled skewers tonight."
Their relationship was like that of a mentor and friend, and they got along harmoniously.
Ren Jie took one flatbread out to taste. It was indeed delicious. Especially since he’d been so busy he hadn’t even had time for a bite to eat, having a flatbread like this was incredibly comforting.
"Captain, what do you think I should do?"
"Why think so much? What if she’s the one who decides a detective’s life—always facing danger—is too much and doesn’t want to be with you? The boat will probably sink when it reaches the bridge anyway. Just let nature take its course."
While Ren Jie was troubled, a completely different scene was unfolding on the Hulun Buir grasslands.
After seeing Mr. Gao off, Chen Yan mounted the most beautiful white horse in the camp and galloped across the grassland. She was a senior member of the Equestrian Club and an experienced rider.
