244: Who is he?

Manager Liu's eager service and Lu Chuan's composure completely astonished the white-collar workers who were watching the commotion.

The expressions on the faces of those who had been waiting to see the security guards drive away the vendor were now a sight to behold.

"What's going on? The property manager is actually so polite to him?"

"I didn't see wrong, did I? What's the background of that stall owner? To make 'Manager Liu the Scraper' bow and scrape?"

"Did you hear that? Manager Liu even wants to bring him a sun umbrella and a chair? This treatment... Is this guy the son of some boss coming down to experience life?"

"Doesn't seem like it. Even if he was experiencing life, there's no need to set up a fried rice stall in the plaza, right? And look at his food cart, although it's clean, it's just an ordinary food cart."

"It's strange. The way Manager Liu ran over just now, it was like he was afraid he'd lose his job if he was a step too slow..."

The crowd whispered, their gazes at Lu Chuan filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and disbelief.

They couldn't figure out how a fried rice vendor could make the notoriously harsh property manager change his attitude so quickly.

This small stall, in the prime real estate of the financial center's plaza, now seemed to possess an added air of mystery.

Just then, Lin Wei and Xu Ying happened to walk by.

Hearing the discussions, they couldn't help but slow their steps.

"...Is it true or false? The property manager personally apologized?"

"Absolutely true! He even said something like 'a dragon among men' and 'magnanimous' to the vendor. Tsk, it was sickeningly sweet."

"What's the background of this fried rice stall, anyway?"

Lin Wei looked at the stall cart, placed so conspicuously at the plaza's entrance and exit, and a hint of surprise flashed in her beautiful eyes.

Xu Ying, on the other hand, widened her eyes directly, pulling Lin Wei and whispering:

"Wow! Lili, did you hear that? This vendor seems to have a lot of connections! He can actually make the property manager so subservient? Should we go try it too? Maybe it's some hidden delicacy!"

Lin Wei was just about to be swayed when she suddenly caught sight of Zhang Jun and You Yueyi approaching from not far away.

Seeing Zhang Jun's greasy smiling face and You Yueyi's affected demeanor, Lin Wei immediately lost interest and even frowned slightly.

"No, let's go look over there."

She pulled Xu Ying and walked directly towards the commercial district in the opposite direction, not wanting to run into the two of them.

Zhang Jun and You Yueyi also noticed the commotion and the out-of-place stall.

Zhang Jun frowned, casting a disgusted glance at the simple food cart and the three people, Lu Chuan, who was playing on his phone. Especially when he saw He Jingrui's muscular physique and dazed expression, which was completely out of place with the surrounding elite atmosphere, he scoffed.

"Hmph, all sorts of things dare to gather here."

He complained loudly to You Yueyi.

"This rotten property management is getting more and more out of line. For a bit of petty gain, they let in all sorts of shady trash, lowering the entire plaza's class! It's like a wet market!"

You Yueyi immediately giggled in agreement.

"Exactly, Brother Zhang. Let's not talk about it, we should hurry to the restaurant. This place just looks unhygienic."

The two spoke sarcastic words as if no one else was around, walking past the stall with their noses in the air.

He Jingrui looked up, expressionlessly glancing at their backs, then lowered his head to continue daydreaming, completely ignoring their words.

Lu Chuan merely smiled faintly, his fingers sliding across his phone screen, as if he hadn't heard anything. If a dog barks at you, do you bark back? His state of mind was no longer something that could be shaken by such low-level provocations.

Only Ding Xinyang watched Zhang Jun and You Yueyi's retreating figures with indignation, wanting to go argue, but afraid of causing trouble for Lu Chuan, he became sullen.

The time slowly passed.

Despite the excellent location of the stall and the sufficient discussion it generated, Lu Chuan's stall remained unopened throughout the entire lunch break.

Basically, everyone who passed by observed from afar, took pictures, and discussed, but not a single person actually stepped forward to buy anything.

Lu Chuan was momentarily speechless, having thought that choosing a good location would bring some change, but the result was the same as his previous hawking experiences: the first day faced the awkward situation of a dismal close.

However, after a brief thought, he quickly understood.

The specific reasons were nothing more than two points:

Firstly, this group of self-proclaimed high-end financial elites, under the watchful eyes of others, couldn't bring themselves to patronize a street stall, afraid of being seen by colleagues and becoming gossip in the break room.

Secondly, they looked down on street stalls from the bottom of their hearts, considering them cheap and unhygienic, not matching their refined and outstanding taste in life.

Until the end of the lunch break, the crowd surged back into the building like a receding tide, and the plaza became empty again.

By this point, Lu Chuan still hadn't sold a single portion of fried rice.

"Well, first day of business, nothing sold."

Lu Chuan helplessly began to pack up, preparing to close the stall.

Just then, the young security guard, who had been the most talkative earlier, jogged over awkwardly.

"Th-that, Mr. Lu..."

He scratched his head, a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Just now... thank you."

Lu Chuan paused his actions, looked at him, and smiled.

"Why thank me?"

"Just... thank you for speaking up for us just now."

The young security guard scratched his head awkwardly.

"If you hadn't spoken up, Manager Liu would definitely have cursed us out, and he might even have docked our pay..."

"It wasn't your fault to begin with."

Lu Chuan waved his hand, saying indifferently:

"You were just doing your duty."

Seeing Lu Chuan affirm their work in turn, the young security guard's face immediately broke into a smile.

"My name is Zhao Le, just call me Little Zhao, buddy. Um... how much is your fried rice? I'll take one, to help you make your first sale for good luck, and may your business prosper and you get rich!"

Lu Chuan found his deliberately generous but clearly budget-conscious demeanor a bit amusing, and decided to tease him.

"Alright, the most extravagant Seafood Supreme Fried Rice, 888 per portion."

"H-how much?!"

Zhao Le's eyes instantly widened, and his voice cracked.

"Eight hundred eighty-eight?! Are you robbing people?!"

Lu Chuan couldn't help but laugh.

"Then how about a mid-range one, Black Pepper Beef Fried Rice, 288."

Zhao Le: "!!!"

His face turned crimson. He looked at the food cart, then at Lu Chuan's seemingly serious face, and internally struggled fiercely—should he stubbornly save face and suffer, or decisively admit defeat?

Ultimately, reality triumphed over pride.

He weakly asked:

"...Then, what's the cheapest one?"

"Egg Fried Rice, 88."

Lu Chuan stated the price.

Zhao Le gasped. Although this price seemed much more approachable than the previous two, for him, it was definitely a "luxury expense," equivalent to two days' worth of food money.

But the words had already left his mouth, and he really couldn't back out now, so he could only bite the bullet and wave his hand.

"...Alright! I'll take an Egg Fried Rice!"

Lu Chuan laughed heartily.

"Coming right up."

With that, his expression turned serious, and he began to heat the wok and oil.

The next moment, Zhao Le witnessed a scene that utterly astonished him.