246: It subverts your perception of fried rice!

Lu Chuan's hearing was excellent; even from a distance, he could clearly catch their complaints.

"...The convenience store's fast food just sold out! Seriously, we were so close!"

"It's all You Yueyi's fault, that lunatic! She suddenly dumped a bunch of random work on us right before lunch break; it's obvious she's deliberately targeting you, Luo Li! It made us come down so late!"

"Sigh, I'm so tired, and I dragged you into it too. Now we don't even have time to eat a proper meal."

"Sister, let's not talk about that. What do we do now? It'll definitely be too late to go to a restaurant further away."

The two stood by the roadside, looking at the surrounding restaurants, which either had long queues or high prices, their faces full of worry.

Their gazes swept across the plaza, and finally, once again, landed on the incongruous but strangely 'well-connected' fried rice stall.

After a moment of hesitation, the two finally made up their minds and walked towards Lu Chuan's stall.

"Boss, how much is the fried rice?" Luo Li asked.

Lu Chuan pointed to the simple menu board he had just hung on the food truck.

"Egg Fried Rice: 88 yuan"

"Golden Egg Fried Rice: 128"

"Yangzhou Fried Rice: 188 yuan"

"Black Pepper Beef Fried Rice: 288 yuan"

"Supreme Seafood Fried Rice: 888 yuan"

"What?! Eighty-eight?! Are you robbing us?!" Xu Ying couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, her eyes wide.

Luo Li was also startled, her expression instantly changing from hesitant to shocked and displeased.

Although their salaries weren't low, 88 yuan for a roadside fried rice was an outrageous price.

Their previous curiosity and speculation about Lu Chuan's 'background' were instantly replaced by the impression of a 'black-hearted vendor.'

A thought simultaneously popped into both their minds: This stall owner looks decent, but he's so greedy! Does he really think we're suckers?

But time was tight, and there really were no better options nearby.

Xu Ying gritted her teeth and, suppressing her heartache, said, "...Two portions of egg fried rice."

But in her heart, she had already cursed Lu Chuan countless times.

"Alright, please wait a moment." Lu Chuan nodded as usual, as if he hadn't noticed their displeasure.

Then, he moved.

Picking up the wok, heating the oil, his movements were fluid and natural.

Holding the wok with one hand, he lightly flicked his wrist, and the hot oil evenly coated the sides of the wok.

Eggs cracked in, a sizzling sound, and an intense, charred aroma instantly erupted, the golden egg liquid blooming into perfect cloud-like shapes in the wok.

Overnight rice was poured in, the spatula flew, each toss of the wok incredibly precise, ensuring every grain of rice was evenly heated, separated, and coated with golden egg liquid.

And when the set of dark blue, star-studded mystic crystal kitchen knife appeared in his hand, the entire cooking process instantly elevated to another dimension.

Knife glints flashed, green onions and diced ham were cut into uniformly tiny particles at a speed difficult for the naked eye to catch, falling precisely into the wok.

Finally, salt, a small amount of secret 'cloud mushroom powder,' and crushed 'blazing bean' powder were sprinkled in.

"Boom!" An indescribable, incredibly domineering aroma suddenly rose from the wok like a small explosion.

The ultimate wok hei, egg aroma, rice aroma, and oil aroma, mixed with a soul-stirring freshness, formed an invisible shockwave that instantly swept across a radius of over ten meters.

Luo Li and Xu Ying, who were about to pull out their phones to pay, still with a hint of reluctance on their faces, were directly stunned by this sudden storm of aroma.

They both almost simultaneously lifted their heads sharply, eyes wide, mouths unconsciously slightly agape, staring blankly at Lu Chuan's artistic performance of stir-frying and the fried rice in the wok emanating an astonishing aroma.

This... this is the smell that fried rice can emit?! What's with these flowing, dazzlingly fast movements? And what in the world is that impossibly beautiful knife?

Their dissatisfaction and doubts were shattered into pieces by this absolute aroma and visual impact, leaving only immense shock and bewilderment.

It wasn't until Lu Chuan placed two portions of golden, distinct-grained, overflowing fried rice into exquisite meal boxes and handed them over that the two seemed to awaken from a dream, vaguely paid, took the heavy, hot lunch boxes, and dizzily turned to walk back to the building.

There was no conversation on the way; both were so overwhelmed by what they had seen and heard in those short two minutes that they couldn't quite recover.

It wasn't until they got on the elevator and returned to their familiar office, smelling the alluring aroma continuously emanating from the lunch boxes in their hands, making their stomachs churn with desire, that they slowly processed the experience.

"Luo Li..." Xu Ying swallowed, saying softly, "That boss... he seems... really not simple, huh?"

Luo Li also looked at the lunch box in her hand and nodded heavily.

Just this aroma alone had completely subverted her understanding of "fried rice."

The boss's technique, that set of kitchen utensils, this aroma... everything about it was strange... no, it was magical!

"Never mind, let's taste it first!" Hunger finally won out.

The two sat back at their workstations and carefully opened the lids of their meal boxes.

The moment the lid was lifted, a richer, bolder, more enticing aroma, like aged wine just uncorked, suddenly burst forth and instantly filled the entire office area!

The previously somewhat noisy office seemed to have been muted, instantly becoming much quieter.

Many colleagues who were eating their packed lunches or convenience store bentos couldn't help but stop, sniffing, and looking around in confusion, following the source of the aroma.

"What's that smell? So fragrant!"

"Who ordered takeout? It smells so good?"

"It seems like fried rice? Impossible, can fried rice be this fragrant?" Whispers began to rise.

And Luo Li and Xu Ying, at the center of the aroma storm, had no time to pay attention to their surroundings.

Their entire minds had been completely captivated by the box of fried rice before them.

The golden, inviting color, the distinct, springy grains of rice, the potent aroma mixing the charred scent of egg, the richness of meat, and an indescribable freshness, made their mouths water uncontrollably.

They couldn't resist any longer!

The two almost simultaneously picked up their spoons, scooped a full spoonful, and eagerly brought it to their mouths.

The next second, their eyes instantly widened, pupils gleaming with extreme shock and enjoyment.

The crispy char of the egg, the Q-elastic chewiness of the rice, the rich fullness of pork lard mixed with various oils, the savory freshness of the diced ham, the refreshing crispness of the green onions, the perfect amount of salt... and the ultimate umami boost and explosive wok hei aroma brought by the boss's secret seasoning.

All the flavors were distinct yet perfectly blended, playing a grand and harmonious symphony of taste in their mouths.

Every grain of rice danced on their tongues, every taste bud cheered.

Delicious! So delicious it was beyond words!

So delicious that it made them instantly forget all worries, all fatigue, all complaints about the price!

"Mmm—!" "Ah—!" The two simultaneously let out deeply satisfied, trembling moans, completely intoxicated by this ultimate deliciousness, no longer caring about their image, and began to eat quickly, mouthful after mouthful, almost greedily, their cheeks puffed out.