Chapter 211: Chapter 211 This person is considered to be getting off lightly; in the past, they’d just be blocked to death directly!
"Two spicy fried chicken meals, please."
"Okay, two spicy chickens coming up!"
Zheng Chuanlin shouted this to the back, leaving the customers staring in surprise.
Jiang Feng, unhurried, wrapped the chicken in batter and continued frying.
The three girls who recognized Jiang Feng were eating fried chicken while replying on their phones. After they posted Jiang Feng’s photo, many people in their social circle started to ask questions.
"Did this famous chef come to Yangzhou? Is the food good?"
"Send the address, I’m heading over now!"
"Ah, I know him, he’s super popular!"
"I want to go take pictures too!"
The girls also replied, "Super delicious, the flavor of this fried chicken is amazing!"
"Highly recommended!"
Because of this, many people learned about Jiang Feng’s whereabouts. Moreover, after someone recorded a video of Jiang Feng and posted it on Douyin, the views shot up quickly, and many people soon knew that Jiang Feng had come to Yangzhou.
At the same time, many foodies in Chengdu were looking for Jiang Feng. But since Jiang Feng had already left Chengdu, they naturally couldn’t find him. The Jiangyue Terrace Sichuan Restaurant was now well-established, enjoying healthy operations with a steady flow of customers. The managers were all dedicated, which was why many people chose to dine at the Jiangyue Terrace Sichuan Restaurant.
In Chengdu, there was an old group chat called "The Searching for Boss Jiang Information Group." This group had been formed when Jiang Feng was selling crawfish and had a considerable number of members. News of Jiang Feng being in Yangzhou quickly spread within the group.
"Stop searching, Boss Jiang has gone to set up a stall in Yangzhou!"
"What? He went to Yangzhou again?"
"Ah, that’s so far!"
"How dare he? Is he following Emperor Yang Guang’s example and going to Yangzhou for the girls?"
"Why did he leave us?"
"Feels like he’s playing some grand game of chess!"
The group instantly became lively, with everyone discussing animatedly. After all, Jiang Feng’s culinary skills were widely recognized; everything he made was truly delicious. But with Jiang Feng not in Chengdu, they could only yearn from afar.
At this very moment, Jiang Feng was busy in his fried chicken shop. Business had been going well when suddenly a huge crowd surged in, jamming the shop both inside and out.
Zheng Chuanlin stared, dumbfounded at the scene. "Damn, there are so many people! How are we supposed to maintain our cover?"
Sun Zhuangfei, however, was used to this. "This is nothing," he said. "In the past, we were completely swamped!"
The crowd wasn’t too large, still within controllable limits. Many people held up their phones, aiming them in Jiang Feng’s direction to take pictures.
「Across the street, at the entrance of a bar」
A well-dressed, spirited young man there saw the situation at the fried chicken shop, came over to investigate, and immediately ran back inside the bar to report.
"What’s all the commotion outside?" the bar owner asked urgently, his expression somewhat panicked.
"There’s a really popular chef who’s opened a fried chicken shop across the street, and everybody’s going over there," the spirited young man replied.
"A chef? Who?"
"I took a photo; take a look, boss."
Upon seeing Jiang Feng’s photo, the bar owner remembered seeing him online. "The fried chicken takeout everyone’s been ordering recently is from his place, right?" the bar owner asked again.
"Yes, that’s the one. It’s really tasty; everyone’s ordering it."
Hearing this, the bar owner immediately pulled out his phone and ordered some fried chicken for himself to calm his nerves. These last few days had been terrifying. Two fugitives were hiding in the bar’s secret room; because they had leverage over him, the owner had no choice but to help them. Only the bar owner knew about this, and he personally delivered their meals every day.
"Bring my takeout to my office when it arrives," the bar owner instructed the spirited young man.
"Sure, no problem," the spirited young man instantly agreed.
Soon, the fried chicken takeout arrived. The delivery person was Ma Jiang.
Ma Jiang was an old hand. He glanced at the order and noticed it was for one person whose surname matched the bar owner’s. He deduced that other staff members wouldn’t order takeout this way. Ma Jiang inferred that the takeout must have been ordered by the bar owner himself. A bar owner ordering three whole fried chickens at once definitely signaled something was amiss.
"Hello, Mr. Wang’s takeout," Ma Jiang said, holding the fried chicken as he approached the front desk.
"Great, just set it here," the spirited young man replied immediately.
"Boss, our fried chicken is pretty good, right? It’s made by a top chef. Thanks for supporting our business," Ma Jiang said, trying to ingratiate himself with the spirited young man.
"The flavor really is good." The spirited young man swallowed, eyeing the takeout bag with admiration.
"You guys ordered quite a bit, huh? That’s at least enough for three people," Ma Jiang remarked casually, his gaze seemingly nonchalant, yet he kept a close eye on the young man’s face.
The spirited young man paused for a moment. "Enough for three? Maybe our boss is just really hungry."
Hearing this, Ma Jiang chuckled softly and then turned to leave. He was now certain that the two wanted criminals were inextricably linked to Boss Wang Youcai.
Soon, the takeout bag was brought to Wang Youcai’s office. Wang Youcai dismissed the spirited young man and then slipped into an extremely well-hidden secret room. This secret room was concealed so effectively that even the police couldn’t find it.
"Come on, eat up," Wang Youcai said to the two fugitives. "It’s been too risky these past few days; I didn’t dare ask anyone else to look after you, so I had to come myself. I’m just afraid there are police in the bar. You two be careful."
The two men didn’t speak. They took the chicken, ripped open the bag, and began to eat eagerly, grabbing pieces and stuffing them into their mouths. The delicious taste instantly captivated them. It was so good! They had never tasted such delicious fried chicken before. Famished, they couldn’t be bothered to talk, simply devouring the chicken with both hands.
Seeing them eat as if they hadn’t had a meal in days, Boss Wang Youcai frowned slightly.
Before long, every bit of the fried chicken was gone. Still unsatisfied, the two sucked the bones clean.
"Where did you buy this fried chicken? Can we order another portion?" one of them asked.
Upon hearing this, Wang Youcai replied, "No problem. That fried chicken shop is just across from the bar, but it’s not very easy to buy from. The owner of that shop is an incredibly popular chef online. His food is extremely tasty, and right now, a lot of people are clamoring for it. It’ll take a while for delivery."
Hearing Wang Youcai’s words, the two men immediately became alert. "A very popular chef?"
Wang Youcai added, "Yes, his food is indeed delicious. This fried chicken is his creation. The taste is incredibly good!"
Both nodded in agreement. No wonder the fried chicken was so delicious. It was understandable. They didn’t dwell on it further and just asked Wang Youcai to order another portion. Wang Youcai did as they requested and ordered another delivery.
Meanwhile, Jiang Feng was busy inside his shop. Many people were gathered around. No one knew where they had come from, but suddenly, the crowd had swelled. Jiang Feng was no longer worried about a lack of business.
"Boss Jiang, it really is you!"
"What brings you to Yangzhou?"
"The fried chicken is so good! Fry me another portion!"
"How do you make it so delicious?"
People chimed in one after another. Jiang Feng was always polite, happy to chat with everyone.
"Yangzhou has a lot of great food; I came to experience it," Jiang Feng replied with a smile. "And also to study how to cook Huaiyang Cuisine."
"Boss Jiang, are you planning to open a Jiangyue Terrace that specializes in Huaiyang Cuisine?" someone who was an old fan of Jiang Feng and had watched many of his videos immediately asked.
"Hmm, we’ll see how it goes," Jiang Feng frankly admitted. There was nothing to hide; he was open about such topics.
While Jiang Feng fried chicken, many people recorded him with their phones. It seemed to be the trend these days: whenever there was any excitement, people would record it first and figure things out later. But Jiang Feng had grown accustomed to it.
Just then, Sun Zhuangfei remarked from the side, "Boss, we’re out of chicken."
Hearing Sun Zhuangfei’s words, Jiang Feng turned. "Out of chicken?"
"Yeah, you haven’t stopped for a moment. It was all fried up a while ago."
"That fast?" Jiang Feng found this unexpected.
But since the chicken was finished, it was time to close up shop. He politely said his goodbyes to everyone, preparing to leave.
Zheng Chuanlin, Ma Jiang, and the others felt a wave of relief. This undercover gig is killing us! they thought. And who would’ve guessed Jiang Feng’s business would be this good?
Of course, even after closing, they couldn’t just leave right away. They still needed to find a covert spot to continue watching the bar. Moreover, the team had given instructions for the next step: they were planning to bring Wang Youcai in for investigation tomorrow. If the investigation yielded nothing, they were prepared to conduct a full search of the bar. This was a necessary measure; they couldn’t keep waiting indefinitely.
「After work, in a secluded spot」
Ma Jiang and the others gathered to discuss their plans.
Zheng Chuanlin said, "Captain, do you think a search will turn up anything? There are so many rooms, big and small, in that bar. We can’t just go in smashing things; we can only do a routine check."
Hearing that, Ma Jiang nodded. "When the time comes, we’ll go inside too and search carefully. We should have a chance. Those two are really good at hiding. Not showing their faces for so many days, they must be holed up in there. The entire city’s police force is looking for them; I refuse to believe we can’t catch them."