Chapter 004: Encountering a Powder Leader

In the kitchen, the burly man looked down on the three of them with disdain, waving his hand dismissively.

“You three, either come here to eat like normal people or get lost. Stop bringing your begging tools into the restaurant every day. You so-called food critics are a real pain.”

“Hey, could you mind your words a bit? We’re here to help promote your place, you—”

Before Wu Miaoran could finish, the man cut her off at once.

“No, no, no, we don’t need your promotion! We can’t afford to have celebrities like you around. Last time, some lunatic claimed to be a top livestreamer and tried to eat for free. Now you lot want to stir up trouble again. Like I said, either eat properly or get out!”

Seeing that the situation was turning sour, Qin Qisan quickly reached for his wallet. Hardly anyone used cash these days, but he always kept some bills on hand for emergencies. Now was the perfect time to put it to use, so he prepared to use some money to silence the man.

“Come on, brother, don’t get upset. Here’s a little token of goodwill…”

When Qin Qisan pulled out the cash, the burly man was momentarily stunned. He swallowed, just about to take it, when a loud, robust voice called out from the kitchen:

“Well, I’ll be damned! This is the first time I’ve seen someone try to bribe a chef. The corrupt trends in society are all thanks to people like you!”

This was the restaurant’s owner and head chef, Lu Tieqiang, who had overheard the commotion from the kitchen. When he heard there were food streamers again, he was instantly indignant and hurried out to see what was going on.

Lu Tieqiang meant to shoo the three of them away, but as soon as he saw Wu Miaoran, he was taken aback. The anger on his face melted into delighted surprise.

He pushed the burly man aside, pointed excitedly at Wu Miaoran, and exclaimed,

“My goodness! Isn’t this the famous Beauty Chongchong? Are you Chongchong from ‘Miaobukeyan’s Food Journal’?”

“Yes, that’s me.”

Lu Tieqiang quickly wiped his dirty hands on his apron and, rubbing them together, said eagerly,

“Wow, what an honor! I’m the head chef here, Lu Tieqiang, and I’ve been your fan for ages! To use the lingo these days, I’m your top fan! Come on, Xiao Li, you misunderstood—this is a bona fide superstar streamer. Chongchong here has over six million followers now!”

“What? Six million followers? Her?” The burly man swallowed again, staring at Wu Miaoran in disbelief.

“Of course! Please, come in, the three of you. Today, Chongchong, you can order whatever you’d like—I’ll take care of it!” With that, Lu Tieqiang warmly welcomed them inside.

Though Wu Miaoran was still displeased with Xiao Li’s earlier attitude, the head chef’s hospitality made it hard to hold a grudge. She nodded and smiled,

“All right, but today’s bill is on me. If you try to pay for it, I’ll be upset. And actually, we came with a small request. We were hoping to film a food review episode here today—if it’s all right with you, could we set up our equipment and record as usual?”

Lu Tieqiang hesitated but finally agreed.

“Of course, that’s fine. But to be honest, we didn’t use to mind food streamers so much. The problem is, some of them have gone off the rails and made things difficult for us.

“You’ve probably seen those videos online. For dramatic effect, some streamers make the whole visit look mysterious, as if we’re running a shady business. They avoid the front entrance and insist on coming in through the back, where the trash is taken out, and then head straight for the unfinished upstairs, claiming the place is a dump.

“Worse still, they ignore the empty seats on the first floor and insist on going upstairs, making the overworked servers haul dishes up and down during rush hour. Then they provoke the staff on purpose, film the less-than-perfect moments, and edit the clips to exaggerate the effect—making it seem like only run-down restaurants with rude service can have tasty food.

“You have no idea how much trouble it’s caused. Just the footage at the back door with the swill buckets brought the health inspectors over every day. We’re at our wits’ end.”

Listening to Lu Tieqiang’s complaints, Wu Miaoran and her companions felt genuine sympathy. As insiders, they knew all too well how toxic the food review scene had become. Lu Tieqiang’s experiences were relatively mild compared to others—some streamers even smeared restaurants on purpose to extort them.

Qin Qisan, equally indignant, stepped forward and thumped his chest reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Brother Lu. We’re honest streamers. We’ll show the true picture of your restaurant and let the viewers dine here with confidence!”

Lu Tieqiang glanced at Qin Qisan’s greasy hair and said gruffly,

“Oh, come off it. You look way too slick for your own good. Put your wallet away and stop with these shady tricks—don’t lead Chongchong astray.”

“Heh, you’re right to scold me, brother. I was just desperate and tried anything. I’m actually pretty decent at heart,” Qin Qisan grinned.

Lin Yu gave an awkward laugh, staying out of it.

Wu Miaoran quickly added,

“Since we’ve met like this, Chef Lu, why not make a cameo in our video?”

“Oh, no, no, I’d rather not show my old face on camera.” Lu Tieqiang waved his hands, blushing.

Seeing this, Wu Miaoran didn’t press further, gestured for Qin Qisan to start recording, and continued speaking to the camera:

“My dear friends, I can’t believe we just ran into a loyal fan right here in the restaurant! But our generous host doesn’t want to appear on camera, so in a moment we’ll focus on tasting the exquisite cuisine made by this true fan. What’s interesting is, after searching for so long, we ended up at the back entrance of the restaurant. Let’s see together what’s inside this legendary eatery.”

With that, the three of them followed Lu Tieqiang and Xiao Li inside.

Once inside, they realized the place was nothing like the rundown image they’d imagined—the main entrance and facade looked perfectly ordinary, no different from any other eatery.

The restaurant faced the street, with a large sign and a ring of neon lights around it.

Though the first floor was old-fashioned, it was spotless and tidy. The seats were modern European-style sofas and glass tables, and there were two private rooms with a nostalgic feel.

Lu Tieqiang explained that some old customers liked that vibe, so those two rooms hadn’t been renovated and the furniture hadn’t been replaced.

As for the dilapidated spaces featured in some streamers’ videos, they were on the second floor. When business was slow, the second floor wasn’t open. With so many new chain Sichuan restaurants these days, business had declined, so the second floor was rarely used or updated.

This had become a secret weapon for internet food critics, who persuaded Lu Tieqiang and his wife to let them film a few review videos there, claiming it would bring more customers.

The videos went viral, and although there was a temporary surge in customers, most came out of curiosity. The excitement faded quickly, and the crowds soon disappeared.

Some new visitors did become regulars, but many of the old loyal customers stopped coming.

In the past, regulars saw this place as a hidden gem—a great spot to impress friends. But after the restaurant was thrust into the public eye and labeled with all sorts of odd tags, the original clientele felt alienated and stopped coming altogether.

Combined with the flashy antics of the food reviewers, the restaurant suffered a lot of unnecessary trouble, which made the owner and staff wary of these so-called food critics.

After listening to Lu Tieqiang’s story, Wu Miaoran couldn’t help but sigh.

“Don’t worry, Chef Lu. In this episode, we’ll show the real Jin Ju Snacks—no tricks or gimmicks. But fair warning, I have a picky palate. If the food’s not up to par, I won’t hold back with my criticism!”

Lu Tieqiang immediately raised his head with pride.

“Chongchong, don’t worry. I’ll show you what your Brother Lu can do. If you think the food’s no good, I’ll close the restaurant tomorrow!”