In front of the stall, flas licked and roared. Lin Tang worked the wok with a series of flashy moves, a dazzling feast for the eyes.
The key was a single word—speed! It was so fast that Zhang Xinyu and the others struggled to keep up with collecting money and giving change. In no ti, their takings had surpassed the sum of all their previous earnings from the stall. The other stall owners were green with envy. If Lin Tang did this every day, there would be no business left for them!
"Big Brother Lin, you really are sothing. Your cooking skills are amazing, yet you were always so reluctant to cook, always taking out to eat…" Lee Encai grumbled.
She ran over to grab a serving, eager to have a taste.
"Hey, how can you cut in line?"
"You're so pretty, but you have no manners!" the custors in line complained.
"What are you talking about? He's my husband," Lee Encai said defiantly, planting a kiss on Lin Tang's cheek to proudly declare her territory.
Then she began to tuck in, her eyes widening and cheeks puffing out. "Wow, this is delicious!"
The custors couldn't say anything more, instead casting envious glances. They were envious of Lee Encai for having a husband with such incredible cooking skills, and of Lin Tang for having such a beautiful, adorable wife with a great figure.
After eating her fill, Lee Encai was supposed to help out. Instead, she clutched her stomach and awkwardly announced she needed to go to the restroom.
"Tsk," Lin Tang said with a look of disdain. It wasn't like he needed her "help" anyway.
While he was bustling about, a different scene unfolded at the street corner. Shi Yanan, two n, and another woman were planning to eat together. It was actually a blind date. Her best friend, Qiao Jieying, was introducing her to Gong Zhenfei's good buddy, Cao Junyang.
Cao Junyang was very pleased with Shi Yanan's stunning looks; it was love at first sight. To impress her, he planned to find a high-end restaurant.
Just then, a night breeze blew by, carrying an intriguing aroma of spices.
"Wow! What's that sll?" Gong Zhenfei exclaid.
Qiao Jieying's eyes lit up. "Let's go have a look... Oh, why is it a street stall!"
She was initially disdainful, but then she saw the long line of people. There were clearly no seats left, yet so were willing to stand just to eat a steaming hot bite. All sorts of praise could be heard. It was obvious the food had to be super delicious.
"Should we get a few servings to try?" Qiao Jieying asked.
Cao Junyang secretly swallowed his saliva but tried to remain reserved. "Is that really appropriate? Who goes on a blind date at a street stall for their first eting?"
"What's wrong with that? At worst, I'll just make you treat to an expensive al tomorrow!" Qiao Jieying laughed. "Yanan, what do you think? Huh? What's wrong with you?"
She waved a hand in front of the daydreaming Shi Yanan.
"Ah? No, it's nothing," Shi Yanan snapped back to reality, but her expression as she looked at Lin Tang had grown subtly complex. She had a very deep impression of him and hadn't forgotten him at all.
Although his martial arts were crippled, didn't he have that rich young woman supporting him? Even Big Bro Han got put in the ICU for provoking him… How could he have fallen so low as to set up a street stall?
Previously, Han Jinlong had tried to verify if Lin Tang was truly crippled. He had used Shi Yanan as bait to ambush Lin Tang, only to be severely injured by Wei Zichu. It was a terrible ss. Even Shi Yanan's sister, Shi Yanhong, received a severe beating. Fortunately, since she was a woman with no martial arts, so rcy was shown, and she wasn't permanently injured.
Perhaps that young, wealthy woman lost interest in him, and they split up, Shi Yanan speculated.
"You know the stall owner?" Qiao Jieying noticed Shi Yanan's odd behavior and had a flash of realization.
Cao Junyang saw Lin Tang's handso appearance and the fluid, graceful way he handled the wok, and he couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Yet he laughed it off. "He's just a street vendor. How could he possibly be my rival?"
Gong Zhenfei, anwhile, was rubbing his eyes and searching on his phone. "Holy smokes, isn't that Lin Tang? The husband of the super-beauty Shen Youling, and the man with a hefty bounty on his head!"
"Eh?"
The surrounding people overheard him, and their expressions began to change.
"It's true!"
"I thought he looked familiar, I just couldn't place him…"
"Goodness, if I report him now, can I still get the reward?"
"Lin Tang sure has so nerve, setting up a stall while he's a wanted man!"
"You're behind on the news. His warrant was already canceled by President Xiao!"
"Ah? That's a huge disappointnt. I missed out on a fortune!"
"Wait a minute! If he's the Lin Tang who gave President Xiao and President Guo food poisoning, is his fried rice really safe to eat?"
"This…" The custors murmured amongst themselves, now filled with hesitation.
With his sharp hearing, Lin Tang naturally overheard them. He smiled and said, "I have no grudge against any of you. Why would I poison you for no benefit instead of just taking your money?"
"That's true."
"So you really are Lin Tang?"
"How did you manage to poison a big shot like President Xiao?"
A previous livestream had already made Lin Tang incredibly famous. Now that he was recognized, the celebrity effect drew even more people, who flocked over and surrounded the stall until it was packed.
Lin Tang kept busy, giving casual answers to their questions. He did his best to downplay his incredible poisoning feat, claiming it was rely a fortunate coincidence due to perfect timing and conditions.
"Your ex-wife, Shen Youling, didn't she participate in so kind of concubine selection? So what happened? Was she chosen?" soone suddenly asked.
The others perked up their ears, their faces gleaming with gossip.
Without looking up, Lin Tang said, "What concubine selection? Those are all rumors."
"Hehe."
"Still putting up a brave front!"
"Looks like she was probably selected."
"Whether she was chosen or not, he's divorced from her. Why else would he be here selling street food? You know, the Shen Family is quite wealthy."
"He's so pitiful."
"He took Shen Youling's first ti! I'm so damn jealous, and you call that pitiful?"
The scene grew noisy, and so of the comnts were vulgar. Lin Tang was growing impatient. "If you want to eat, get in line. If not, please leave. If you keep talking trash behind my back, I might just have to start poisoning people again!"
At these words, most of the curious onlookers backed far away and didn't dare to continue their loud discussions.
Lin Tang shot a glare at Gong Zhenfei, the one who had first revealed his identity, but he completely ignored Shi Yanan—he had long forgotten her.
Gong Zhenfei's butthole clenched. He whispered, "Let's go. I wouldn't dare eat anything he makes."
An inexplicable sense of loss washed over Shi Yanan. She nodded, not wanting to intrude any further.
"Make way, make way!"
At that mont, the trio who had been collecting stall fees from the other streets was about to head ho. Noticing the unusual commotion here, they walked over. They hadn't heard the discussions that exposed Lin Tang's identity. All they saw was that this stall was doing incredibly well, with Zhang Xinyu and Liu Changping having been relegated to helpers while a new person was the main cook.
They imdiately started shouting, "What do you think you're doing? I order you to stop right now! Young man, are you new here? You haven't registered, and you don't have a health certificate. Who allowed you to set up a stall and sell fried rice? If you have an infectious disease and harm the custors, can you bear that responsibility? You must be fined, and your stall permit will be revoked!"
Hearing this, the crowd gave them peculiar looks. They actually dared to fine the "Poison King"? Weren't they afraid of getting diarrhea until their insides fell out?
"A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Benefactor… Mister Lin is just teaching us a few cooking techniques. He's not here to do business," Zhang Xinyu and Liu Changping hurriedly explained, trying to smooth things over. "Please, be lenient…"
"Regardless, a fine is mandatory. We're just following the rules," the trio said, putting on an air of impartiality.
Lin Tang frowned slightly. Everyone around, including Shi Yanan's group, thought he was about to unleash his wrath and teach these greedy n a lesson.
Instead, Lin Tang said, "If there is indeed such a regulation, and it's not sothing you just made up on the spot, then go ahead and fine . Can I pay with a card?"
"Hmph! So you know your place. Of course, you can pay with a card."
With triumphant looks, they pulled out a POS machine. Lin Tang continued to stir-fry while casually taking out a bank card and tossing it to them.
"Hey, the design on this card…" They saw that the bank card was exquisitely made, very different from standard-issue cards. Moreover, it was labeled "Supre VIP." Their eyelids twitched.
Realization dawned on them: this guy was loaded. A rich man running a street stall? Was he just trying to experience the life of the lower class?
Instantly, their condescending attitude shifted to one of cautious respect. "Um, please enter your password."
Lin Tang was about to ask Lee Encai for help but saw that she still hadn't returned.
Did she fall into a pit or sothing? he wondered, before saying aloud, "My hands are full. The password is six eights. Just enter it yourselves."
"Hiss…"
"He's that carefree?" the surrounding crowd gasped in astonishnt.
Shi Yanan and her friends had already walked a fair distance away. Because of the angle, they couldn't see the face of the bank card and didn't think much of it.
Cao Junyang even scoffed deliberately, "You can tell there's not much money on that card. He was probably cleaned out by Shen Youling in the divorce."
The three n huddled together, staring at the POS screen. After swiping the card, they were driven by a bizarre impulse and pressed the button to check the balance.
"My god!"
"This… this is…"
"Is the machine broken? How can there be so many zeros?!"
The card Lin Tang had given them was the one from Mo Pinglan. It contained the massive compensation paynt from the Zhou Family, once one of Jiangbei's four great families. It was worth several billion!
GULP.
Cold sweat imdiately beaded on the three n's foreheads. They knew they had picked a fight with the wrong person today and feared the consequences would be dire.
But then a new thought struck them. This might not be a bad thing. With so much money, he must be used to spending freely. Perhaps… As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.
In a flash, one of them quickly entered the amount 888,888 yuan. He then swiped the card, entered the password, and completed the transaction in one smooth motion.
"Alright, don't let it happen again."
"Please take your card back."
"We won't disturb you any longer."
They handed the card back to Lin Tang. Without even looking at it, he put it away and continued frying his rice. This should have made their hearts leap into their throats, but instead, a wave of relief washed over them.
They imdiately scurried away.
"Haha, that moron didn't even bother to check!"
"We're rich! We're rich!"
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