Chapter 426: Chapter 338: Want to Poach My Customers? That’s a Different Price

Lin Chen’s culinary skills are something he knows all too well, having witnessed his journey firsthand. There’s no way what he makes could taste bad.

But the fact that he’s making the Great Xia Cuisine, the most unfamiliar to him, gives him a sense of both familiarity and strangeness, and he’s eagerly anticipating the fresh and strong impact Lin Chen can bring him.

The line moves quickly, and before long, there are only five or six people left waiting.

"Customers who have not yet been served, please be patient for a few more minutes. The chefs are currently preparing your food, and it will be ready shortly."

The diners are not in a hurry. Instead, they seem quite curious about watching the chefs make handmade meatballs on site, gathering near the truck window and standing on tiptoe to get a closer look at how the meatballs are being made.

As luck would have it, Nicole is at the front of the line, and her friend is lucky enough to get the last few meatballs from the previous batch.

Her friend doesn’t leave and stays by her side, thinking that if they haven’t had enough, they can buy some more later.

Lin Chen is currently at a loss.

Facing Nicole’s unblinking gaze, he has no choice but to lower his eyes, keeping his focus solely on the pot in front of him to avoid unnecessary eye contact.

Next to him, Nagishiro Sho glanced at him and then at Nicole, a smile tugging at his lips as he started to speak.

"Hello, beautiful lady. Were you the one who just called? Did you come all the way from the hotel?"

"Yes, that’s right!"

Nicole nodded, feeling a bit curious about this head chef who seemed to have appeared from nowhere beside Lin Chen.

Last weekend, she also attended the kite festival, so she knew that Nagishiro Sho was quite a chef, almost on par with Michelin, but she wasn’t clear on the details.

"May I ask which restaurant you’re the head chef of? I think I saw you at the event site last weekend."

"Me? Yes, I was beside Lin for two days last weekend. My name is Nagishiro Sho, and my restaurant is over in Amiens, called Natsuki Longyin. It specializes in fusion cuisine, incorporating the flavors of Sakura cuisine with the culinary characteristics of various countries, served in a Western-style presentation."

"Oh, I think I’ve heard of your place!"

Nicole’s friend exclaimed excitedly, drawing the attention of the other tourists around them, who began to search online for information about Nagishiro Sho’s restaurant.

"Then why aren’t you staying at your restaurant, chef, and why are you here helping Lin?"

Nicole tilted her head curiously, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two, a bit puzzled.

"Because I specialize in fusion cuisine, I need to constantly learn about the culinary cultures of other countries to innovate better. Currently, I’m learning Great Xia cuisine from Lin as part of my tuition fee, hahaha."

"I see, but indeed, everything Lin makes is delicious, and business has always been good. It’s different from the Great Xia food I’ve had before."

The two started chatting in front of Lin Chen, with her friend and Su occasionally chiming in.

Even though they didn’t converse directly with Lin Chen, they kept mentioning Lin, to the point where Lin Chen started feeling incredibly embarrassed, his hands unsure of what to do with the meatballs, as he felt multiple pairs of eyes fixed directly on him.

It’s not that he’s afraid of being stared at by customers, it’s just that a customer is a customer, and Nicole is Nicole—it feels different.

She’s the only girl in his life who has ever approached him and shown interest proactively, and she’s a foreigner, leaving him unsure of how to handle her.

After all, she hasn’t done anything outrageous or harassed him. She’s been quietly acting like a regular customer, leaving him with nothing he could do. He certainly can’t tell her to stop staring at him, right?

Sometimes, he even wishes she would cross a line or two just a bit more, so he could rightfully scold her, telling her to stop it!

Unfortunately, dreams are seductive, while reality is harsh.

Up until he starts scooping out the meatballs, Nicole remains outside the truck window like a well-behaved child, watching his actions eagerly, not making a fuss, and even stepping aside to let Dais work more conveniently.

Su stands behind Nicole, thoughtfully staring at her profile.

Of course, she’s unaware of Nicole’s proactive approach toward Lin, but that doesn’t stop her from recognizing the odd atmosphere on-site.

Women are naturally sensitive to gossip, and Nicole’s gaze towards Lin Chen is clearly different from usual, filled with curiosity and a desire to deeply understand him.

This girl is interested in Chef Lin?

That certainly took her by surprise.

Dais and Elsa work together to transfer three large bowls of heavy meatballs with their broth to the table, and the remaining few customers immediately gather around.

Nicole and her friends are no exception.

Lin Chen silently breathes a sigh of relief, his tense facial expression relaxing.

Next to him, Nagishiro Sho keenly notices Lin relaxing and asks teasingly in a low voice.

"What’s going on? That lady’s gaze towards you seems off?"

"...So what? I can’t control what others think."

"Looks like she’s Nordic, right? She’s got quite the appearance and demeanor. Aren’t you curious?"

"Are you playing matchmaker now?"

"Haha, if you need it, it’s not impossible. Or are you only interested in Asian people? I know many young and beautiful Sakura and Kimchi girls, and also Thai girls—all regulars at my place, you..."

"Have them come to eat at my place, thank you!"

"?" Nagishiro Sho raised an eyebrow, "Just to eat?"

"What else?"

"Forget it, you should just work hard to promote it yourself. Trying to poach my customers, that’s an additional charge."

The two were busy bantering, and Lin Chen didn’t want to pay attention to Nicole’s situation over there, so he never looked up, naturally missing the familiar face at the end of the line.

Raphael was relieved that Lin Chen hadn’t noticed him.

Surprises require a bit of shock first to truly delight, so it’s best if he doesn’t notice!

He didn’t rush to reconnect with Lin Chen, but instead blended into the crowd to first buy some meatballs to taste.

"Is this... squid?"

Looking at the snow-white, smooth meatball on the bamboo skewer, he leaned in to take a closer sniff. Indeed, he could smell a subtle seafood aroma but couldn’t identify exactly what kind it was.

Squid, cuttlefish, and octopus have very similar flavors; when fresh, they almost have no distinct smell. They can only be distinguished by appearance.

When ground finely into a delicate paste like this, the distinction can only be made through texture.

He opened his mouth and bit off half of the meatball, his eyes lit up.

So bouncy?!

The meatball in his mouth felt like it had springs in it, vigorously resisting his teeth, and he could distinctly feel the savory juice being squeezed out, carrying a mild seafood aroma.

Small pieces of squid mixed within the fine meatball portion created a striking contrast in texture, along with fish roe that burst with flavor—an intriguing combination he’d never experienced before.

He chose not to add any seasoning, simply savoring the natural flavor of the ingredients, as only then could countless inspirations be sparked in his mind.

After tasting the extremely elastic squid ball, the shrimp corn ball brought him a completely different taste experience next.

Though both elastic, the bounce of the shrimp ball and the squid ball were two entirely different extremes.

The squid ball’s elasticity was like a compressed sponge, with a more solid and soft texture reminiscent of fish meat.

The shrimp ball was completely different, making him feel like lively prawns were fighting and bouncing energetically in his mouth, especially with the large chunks of shrimp mixed in, perfectly cooked.

Shrimp is one of the simplest ingredients to test a chef’s skill, comparable to an egg.

Though it seems ordinary, doing it well is not simple.

The perfect cooking of shrimp should result in a full shape with luster, a firm and springy texture, without the slightest powdery feel, and the cross-section of the shrimp must be fully discolored, with no semi-transparent texture present.

Each individual condition is easy to achieve, but combining them doubles the difficulty.

Especially when Lin Chen produces large batches of shrimp balls at once, which is even more challenging.

He speculated that the shrimp balls should be a combination of minced and diced shrimp.

Diced shrimp definitely cooks slower than shrimp paste, and the center cooks slower than the outside edges. By the time the center is cooked, the shrimp paste on the outside edges would surely feel powdery.

But Lin Chen’s shrimp ball, the overall texture was summed up in one word.

Bouncy!

This particular point left him very perplexed.

Could there be some other ingredient in the meatball that makes the shrimp tender?

He temporarily set aside his doubts, and used the bamboo skewer to pick up another meatball of obviously different texture, made of pork and mushrooms.

"Hmm?!"

Another completely different texture!

This time it wasn’t bouncy but superbly soft and juicy, you hardly needed your teeth—simply a light push with the tip of your tongue melted the meatball instantly.

The meatball itself had a very rich meaty flavor, and although it looked like it contained many fatty particles, it didn’t taste greasy at all—rather, it was rich in aroma when eaten.

Coupled with the intense mushroom flavor, it completely overturned his preconceived notions about pork meatballs.

He tasted three different meatballs consecutively, each with a completely different texture. Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he turned and walked towards the stall.

"Hello!"

With no new customers at the moment, Lin Chen had stopped making more meatballs and was replenishing the meat paste in the bowl.

He suddenly heard a somewhat familiar voice, and puzzled, he looked up, meeting a pair of eyes that felt increasingly familiar.

"You are..."

In that moment, countless faces flashed through his mind.

While he was in a daze, Nagishiro Sho was already rolling his eyes.

He just met this guy yesterday, is it possible not to recognize him?!

"Why are you here too?"

"Got a problem?" Raphael grumbled displeased, "You’re allowed to sneak over, but I’m not allowed to come openly, is that it?"

As more words were exchanged, the deeply engraved familiarity surged to the forefront, Lin Chen’s pupils suddenly widened, pointing at him incredulously.

"Chef ???"