34: The boss is not setting up the stall anymore?

Lu Chuan handed over a bento box, smiling, “Don’t be shy, let’s eat together!”

Looking at the fragrant meal in front of him, and then down at the protein bar in his hand, He Jingrui’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

It was clear he was very tempted, but he obviously still had some reservations.

“No, no, we have regulations! We can’t just eat the people’s food!”

It was the first time Lu Chuan had heard of such a regulation in the army, and he nodded in surprise.

To prevent He Jingrui from violating discipline, he immediately moved to take back the bento box, but He Jingrui’s hand blocked him.

He Jingrui showed an embarrassed smile and handed over the protein bar in his hand.

“But we also have regulations: under certain special circumstances, and without harming the interests of the people, we cannot refuse their good intentions. So, I’ll exchange this energy bar with you.”

Seeing the longing in He Jingrui’s eyes, Lu Chuan silently took the protein bar and handed the bento box back to him.

It had to be said, this soldier was quite flexible in his thinking, as long as it didn’t compromise his principles.

He watched He Jingrui eagerly dig into his meal, eating noisily and enthusiastically, occasionally letting out exclamations of satisfaction and awe.

Lu Chuan smiled and looked at the ten-centimeter-long protein bar in his hand.

To be honest, he was quite curious about the army’s rations.

But unlike the canned goods he’d seen online, He Jingrui was eating these compressed protein bars?

Could they even taste good?

Lu Chuan shook his head; given a choice, the fragrant, hot meal was much more suited to his Chinese palate.

With the acquisition of the Elementary Cooking Skill, Lu Chuan also began to pursue quality in his three daily meals.

Just like the bento boxes in front of him, the rice and ingredients were of the best quality, paired with his superb cooking skills.

To say the aroma wafted for ten li might be an exaggeration, but to make people’s appetites soar and mouths water was no problem at all.

He Jingrui’s satisfied expression as he ate was already enough to explain everything.

When the Regular Customers were satisfied, the chef was naturally happy.

Lu Chuan smiled and also picked up a bento box, slowly enjoying it.

Midway, seeing He Jingrui about to finish, Lu Chuan handed over the last remaining bento box.

The goal of coming up the mountain had been achieved, so there was no need to keep the remaining bento boxes; they might as well eat them all here, as carrying them down the mountain would be quite tiring.

The simple setting but hearty lunch quickly ended.

Lu Chuan and He Jingrui set off again.

Only this time, He Jingrui was much more enthusiastic, showering Lu Chuan with endless praise.

“Your cooking skills are absolutely amazing, a hundred times better than my mom’s!”

“If only you could cook for our unit, sigh!”

“I will remember this meal forever; it was truly delicious! Not a single restaurant I’ve eaten at can compare to your skill!”

…He Jingrui turned out to be quite a chatterbox, making Lu Chuan’s head feel like it was about to explode.

Fortunately, the large rock had been reached.

After bringing He Jingrui to the rock, Lu Chuan quickly bid farewell and left, unwilling to stay for another second.

It was clear that chatterboxes were indeed unwelcome.

He Jingrui, waving goodbye to Lu Chuan, turned to head towards a hidden marker point ahead, but he suddenly paused.

“Damn it, I forgot to ask where this brother’s restaurant is!”

At this moment, He Jingrui was full of regret.

With such skills, anyone would open a restaurant to make money, and He Jingrui firmly believed in his judgment.

If he knew the restaurant’s address, inviting the captain and his brothers for a meal there would be such a face-saving thing to do!

---

An hour later, Lu Chuan, finally back home after descending the mountain, eagerly took out the ingredients from his backpack.

Then he plunged into his workspace, beginning the preparation of ice cream, mung bean paste, and double-skin milk.

As for lemon tea, besides making the tea base first, the lemons and ice water could be muddled on-site when needed.

Otherwise, if the lemons were steeped for too long, the tea would become bitter and sour, severely affecting the taste.

---

【stinky tofu Regular Customers Group (8)】

In the group chat, the Regular Customers were chatting heatedly.

“Qi Yuan: Who can go tonight? Can someone help me queue and buy? I have evening self-study, by the time I get there, there won’t be any left…”

“Li Qihong: +1!!!”

“Zeng Yucheng: +1!!!”

“Old Chen: Don’t worry, leave it to me tonight. Still three portions per person?”

“Qi Yuan, Li Qihong, and Zeng Yucheng: Thank you, Uncle Chen!!!”

“Leng Hui: My brothers and I are also on duty until ten tonight. Can you help buy thirty portions?”

“Worker Meng: No problem, leave it to the four of us.”

Gathered by the same delicious food, the atmosphere in the group was always very harmonious.

Requests like helping to queue and buy for others happened almost daily in the group.

Those who had free time were also very willing to help, after all, no one could say when it might be their turn to be busy and unable to leave.

However, just then, Li An, who rarely spoke, popped up and brought bad news.

“Li An: The Adult isn’t setting up his stall next to the public restroom starting today, didn’t you know? (smug face)”

As soon as the message was sent, the group, which had been chatting so animatedly, suddenly fell silent.

But then they resumed their conversation, completely disregarding Li An’s words.

After all, in their eyes, Li An might have some kind of delusion, otherwise, he wouldn’t always refer to the young boss as “the Adult.”

Perhaps he was having an episode again, already fantasizing that the young boss wasn’t setting up his stall.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Li An laughed in exasperation.

“Li An: Hah, I thought you all knew~ (smug)”

“Li An: So, am I the only one who cares about the Adult’s activities? Sure enough, you all love the Adult’s stinky tofu, only I am the Adult’s true loyal fan~ (smug)”

Seeing Li An speak so earnestly, everyone couldn’t help but fall silent once more, then collectively typed a question mark.

Although Li An was usually unreliable, what if he was telling the truth this time?

“Qi Yuan: Brother An, where did you get this news? Did the young boss tell you personally?”

“Zeng Yucheng: Brother An, you must be teasing us, right? We’re all so familiar, you shouldn’t joke like this, haha!”

“Li Qihong: Exactly, exactly!”

“Worker Meng: That’s not right, if the young boss wasn’t setting up his stall, wouldn’t he tell us?”

“Old Chen: The young boss is an honest person; he definitely wouldn’t abandon us Regular Customers. Li An, you can’t make such jokes!”

“Old Li: Li An, if you know anything, hurry up and tell us!”

“Old Zhang: The young boss isn’t really not setting up his stall, is he? If I can never eat that delicious stinky tofu again, what will I do?!”

“Leng Hui: Does anyone have the young boss’s contact? Why don’t we just ask him directly.”

As soon as Leng Hui said this, the group immediately fell silent again.

Oh, right!

If they had added him as a friend, couldn’t they just ask the young boss directly if he was setting up his stall?

But, I (we) didn’t add him!

At this moment, all the Regular Customers regretted it so much they started pounding the ground.