CHAPTER 228: CHAPTER 228: HE PUT ON A MASK, ALMOST DIDN’T RECOGNIZE HIM!

Sun Lijun carried a bag of roast duck and strode briskly back to the dorm.

At this moment, all his roommates had entered battle mode, hunched over and staring at their computer screens, playing video games.

It was evening, the time of day when college students are most awake.

It was strange; some people never slept during high school classes and couldn’t understand how anyone could get sleepy during lectures. But once they got to college, they would sleep all morning, all through midday, and all afternoon. At night, they were incredibly alert, playing games until after two in the morning before going to sleep. It was quite remarkable.

"Hurry up and eat the roast duck, I just went out and bought it," Sun Lijun called out to his roommates. "It wasn’t easy getting this roast duck."

Their dorm housed four people. The other three, who were fully engrossed in gaming, turned their heads the moment they heard the words "roast duck."

"Holy crap? Roast duck?"

"For real?"

"Hang on, I’m crushing this round!"

The three of them clamored.

The dynamic between roommates varied from dorm to dorm in college. Some people had strong boundaries, and their relationships were just those of ordinary roommates. Others were generous and decent, resulting in great relationships. Sun Lijun’s dorm was like that. The four of them got along very well. Moreover, they had similar backgrounds—all being only children from the city, with families neither extremely rich nor poor—making them easy to get along with.

"We have roast duck around here? Which place? From that roast duck shop to the south?" one of them asked.

"Not that one, it tastes awful. Ate there once and never went back," Sun Lijun replied.

The roast duck shop to the south was notoriously bad at the university. Many people, skeptical, had tried it only to discover the duck meat was slightly raw; if not for the strong flavor of the sauce, the meat would have been inedible. On its own, duck meat isn’t that tasty. If not cooked well to bring out the flavor, it can be quite bland. Therefore, it requires a skilled chef.

"So where did you buy this?"

The three of them finished their game, put down their mice, and walked over.

"A small stall. I saw it was busy, so I bought a whole duck," Sun Lijun explained. "Quite a big one too. The duck meat looked particularly good, and the vendor there seemed pretty skilled—he was slicing the meat right there on the spot. Seeing that, I decided to give it a try."

They didn’t bother with gloves, simply grabbing a thin pancake, topping it with duck meat, cucumber, and shredded scallions, rolling it into a wrap, and stuffing it into their mouths.

They had thought it would be just an ordinary roast duck. But as they began to chew, they slowly realized something was amiss.

How... could it be this delicious?

The taste was so fragrant!

Could it be because they hadn’t had a fulfilling dinner?

"This place is really good! The duck meat is so tender, very fresh, and tastes amazing," one of them exclaimed.

The other two nodded in agreement.

Even Sun Lijun hadn’t expected it to taste so good. "It really is delicious, no wonder there were so many people!"

One of them asked Sun Lijun, "Where is this from? Around where exactly? I’ll remember this place for next time."

While eating the roast duck, Sun Lijun replied, "It’s in the square to the east, behind that big square, where there are a few snack stalls, right? Over there. His stall stands out; others have tricycles, but he has a food truck. And he even has a server."

Hearing Sun Lijun’s words, the others marveled.

A stall owner like that?

Impressive.

The four of them wolfed down the duck meat, continuously rolling it into pancakes. The sweet bean sauce made by Jiang Feng himself was also delicious, with a sweet flavor that was anything but cloying. Upon entering the mouth, the distinctly fragrant taste of the sauce became prominent, with cucumber and shredded scallions merely enhancing the experience. The sticky sauce oozed from the meat and pancake, spreading across the tongue, the taste so pleasant one wanted to swallow their tongue too.

"So satisfying!" They ate with great enthusiasm.

Just then, someone knocked on the dorm door, and a guy burst in.

"Anyone going to the square to the east?" the guy asked directly. "Come with me to buy roast duck."

The four were in the middle of enjoying their roast duck and were a bit surprised upon hearing him.

Sun Lijun replied, "I just got back from there; that’s where I bought this roast duck. What made you want to go?"

The newcomer paused, clearly taken aback by Sun Lijun’s reply. "No way, you already got one? Awesome! I just heard the news; that stall’s owner is the famous online chef. Have you heard of him? Goes by the name Jiang Feng. He likes to set up stalls selling street food in different places. The roast duck is his specialty!" the newcomer spoke eagerly.

"Holy shit, I know him! Jiang Feng? This roast duck is made by him?" one of his roommates was utterly astonished.

"I’ve seen his videos too! Really? What a coincidence?" another roommate’s eyes also lit up with surprise.

Sun Lijun belatedly realized, "Holy moly, I knew it! His knife skills are so good; the way he slices the duck is just beautiful. It’s obvious he’s had practice. So he’s a professional chef! He was wearing a mask, so I didn’t recognize him!"

Everyone suddenly became excited.

"Got any left? Let me have one," the buddy who had come to the dorm looking for someone walked over, just as there were two last pieces of duck meat left on the table.

"Sure, help yourself," Sun Lijun said readily.

The guy picked up a pancake, dipped the duck meat in sweet bean sauce, and added some cucumber and shredded scallions. He rolled it up and gobbled the roast duck in just a few bites. The delicious taste hit him instantly, making him a bit heady.

"Damn, this is really good! This is what you call roast duck," he couldn’t help but heap praise. "Not only is the duck meat fully cooked, but it’s also tender and juicy. The duck skin is thin and crispy too. No wonder he’s popular online. Unbelievable!"

"How did you know he’s Jiang Feng?" Sun Lijun asked.

"It’s all over the group chat; lots of people are heading there," the guy who had entered the dorm exclaimed. "You know, it’s not easy to find a good food stall around here. Everyone’s fighting to get a taste!"

Word spread quickly. After all, Jiang Feng had some serious buzz. And he had set up shop near the university town. Surrounded by fourteen universities, all filled with college students hungry for food. Their desire for food was even stronger than their thirst for knowledge. Jiang Feng was certainly on fire!

At that moment, Jiang Feng had sold his last portion of roast duck. All he had left were some duck frames, which, after being deep-fried, he gave away for free to a couple of guys who hadn’t made it in line.

"Sorry, come back tomorrow," Jiang Feng said to the students queuing up in front of him. "There just isn’t any more roast duck for today. I’ll prepare more for tomorrow."

Then, he gave Sun Zhuangfei a knowing look. Sun Zhuangfei had evidently developed the skill to assist Jiang Feng effortlessly. Upon seeing Jiang Feng’s signal, he started cleaning up the food truck without saying a word. He neatly arranged and secured all the kitchen tools in their places, cleaned up the trash, and made sure the area around the food boxes was also tidy. Then, he silently took his seat, ready for departure. The entire sequence of actions was smooth and efficient, done in one fluid motion.

While Jiang Feng was chatting leisurely with the students, Sun Zhuangfei finished all his tasks. No one even noticed him.

Realizing everything was wrapped up, Jiang Feng waved goodbye to the students. "Folks, see you tomorrow."

Then, he took the driver’s seat and drove off in the food truck, quietly disappearing into the distance.

"Boss Jiang, you’ve got to come back tomorrow!"

"I want to reserve a roast duck!"

"Boss Jiang, your duck is really amazing!"

"Boss Jiang, you’re the Duck King in my heart!"

"Duck King! Duck King!"

Jiang Feng paused when he heard the shouting from behind.

Man, Duck King?

Couldn’t they come up with a better title?

Even ’King of Roast Duck’ would do.

He could only smile helplessly. College students were just too good at creating memes; he didn’t really mind.

Jiang Feng drove the food truck, heading into the distance. He returned directly to the shop he had rented.

"Boss, just tell me how many ducks to buy tomorrow. I can handle the purchasing and cleaning," Sun Zhuangfei offered.

This kid was really getting the hang of it, Jiang Feng thought. It made the high salary I pay him worthwhile.

Sun Zhuangfei volunteered to take on all the work that didn’t involve Jiang Feng’s specific culinary secrets, such as the sweet bean sauce recipe or the method for preparing the crisping batter. Of course, this also greatly honed his basic skills.

"Forty, I expect there will be even more customers tomorrow," Jiang Feng calculated. "It’s just the two of us, and our capacity is limited. I’d like to make more, but we don’t have enough ovens. Tomorrow, you handle the ducks first, and I’ll go hire a couple more people and rent two more ovens. We need to increase the quantity."

As a chef, he couldn’t help wanting to ensure as many people as possible could enjoy his food, especially hungry customers. When he left today, with all the roast duck sold out, those college students had looked at him with such pitiful, longing eyes, their gazes brimming with a craving for roast duck.

He’d try to make as much as he could then.

"Let’s work overtime this week," Jiang Feng added. "It’s good to make a little extra. Everyone seems to love roast duck."

"Got it, Boss," Sun Zhuangfei responded earnestly.