"Wow, oh, this tastes really good. It's not any worse than what Chef Feng made before."
"Yes, this taste really tastes like Chef Feng's cooking."
"Delicious, this fried rice tastes really good."
"And this fried goose leg is really delicious."
"I never thought you could eat it this way. Mix it with fried rice and eat it together."
"Well, except for the lack of noodles, everything else is really not inferior to the previous chef Feng's skills."
"The noodles are definitely not good enough. Su Ji's noodles are unique, not everyone can make them. But now that Chef Feng is not here, Xiao Lin's noodles are not very good either."
"Oh, I still miss Chef Feng's noodles."
When Lin Ruifeng heard what the neighbors from the ancient street were saying when they gathered in front of the new snack stand, he and Zhao Daxia beside him looked at each other in surprise. Neither of them had expected that a competitor would suddenly appear when the night market in the small market had only been open for a few days and business was picking up
Moreover, looking far through the crowd, one could clearly see what the other party was doing, which was almost the same as what Lin Ruifeng, Zhao Daxia and others were doing.
It’s the same teppanyaki fried rice, the same chicken noodle soup on the side, and the same barbecued pork, roast duck and roast goose.
The only difference may be that the other party’s barbecued pork, roast duck and roast goose should have been prepared in advance and then brought here. They will then be reheated on the iron plate and then covered on the fried rice, or fried into the fried rice during the process.
Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia could naturally see at a glance that this was such an obvious attempt to steal business.
Zhao Daxia was immediately very angry and wanted to go up and argue with the other party.
But Lin Ruifeng reached out and held Zhao Daxia back: "No, Sister Zhao, you'd better not go. The small market is an open market. Anyone can come here to set up a stall. We can't force others to leave. We just need to do our own thing and don't worry about others."
Zhao Daxia was still very annoyed after hearing what Lin Ruifeng said: "Xiao Linzi, what you said is wrong. This market is for the merchants like the old shops on our ancient street. Not everyone can set up a stall here. If he is not a merchant on the ancient street, he should not set up a stall here."
Just as Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia were talking here, the man setting up a stall over there suddenly looked up.
Then a young man wearing a very formal chef's uniform came out of the stall with a very kind and sunny smile on his face, and walked in front of Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia.
The young man first extended his hand to Lin Ruifeng and said, "Hello, you must be Lin Ruifeng, right? Are you the disciple of Chef Feng Yifan?"
Lin Ruifeng also politely extended his hand, shook hands with the other party and said, "Yes, I am Lin Ruifeng, who are you? How do you know me and my master?"
The young man continued with a smile, "My name is Ma Youhan. I came here because I was attracted by his reputation. I really want to see the cooking skills of Chef Feng Yifan. Unfortunately, I heard that the ancient street where Su Ji is located is still under renovation, and Chef Feng is not here, so I can only stay and wait for him to come back."
Zhao Daxia looked at the young man and had to admit that both his appearance and dress gave people a very comfortable feeling.
Especially the young man has a pair of big eyes, it can be seen that the young man should be of mixed race.
And from the name "Ma John", it is not difficult to tell that the other party should have returned from abroad.
Zhao Daxia looked around for a while and suddenly asked, "You are setting up a stall here. You are not a merchant on the ancient street. You cannot set up a stall here. Don't you know that?"
Ma Youhan smiled and replied, "Of course I know, that's why I have bought a shop."
This sentence left Zhao Daxia speechless for a moment.
Lin Ruifeng was very surprised.
Buying a shop on the ancient street, especially at a time like this, can only mean that this Ma John is very rich.
You should know that the original prices of the shops in the ancient street were not low, and now they have been renovated. In addition, Su Ji’s reputation is well-known, and many people came here even when the street was closed. It is conceivable how many people will appear on this ancient street after it is unblocked.
So at this time, many shop owners on the ancient streets will not sell their shops at all.
Even some homeowners who have put their shops up for sale would probably list them at a very high price.
Under such circumstances, Ma Youhan actually bought a shop directly. It is really surprising how much money he has.
What surprised Lin Ruifeng even more was that it was not difficult to hear from the other party's voice that this Ma John might have bought a shop in the ancient street just to set up a stall in the small night market.
Thinking of this, Lin Ruifeng was not a fool. He thought that the other party's target might be his master, and vigilance instantly appeared in his eyes.
Lin Ruifeng looked at the other person carefully, and then asked: "Who are you? Do you know my master? Are you doing this specifically to target my master?"
Ma Youhan kept smiling and answered Lin Ruifeng calmly: "Don't be so excited. Actually, you should call me Senior Brother. I followed Chef Feng earlier than you did. I was his assistant and he helped the restaurant get three stars."
Lin Ruifeng naturally had not heard his master talk about these things in detail, but he had asked about them and heard from his master that his master had once helped a restaurant get three stars.
After the master left, Lin Ruifeng was invited to dinner by Su Liancheng again. When the two were having dinner, Su Liancheng also mentioned that incident. Su Liancheng also said that at that time, the master did not ask for fame, but only asked the restaurant owner for a sum of money, and then chose to return home.
Lin Ruifeng still clearly remembered that Su Liancheng had said at that time: "Perhaps your master had a feeling that something was going to happen to Su Ji at home, so he chose to return home so decisively."
Now, the person who once followed his master, served as his master's assistant, and helped the restaurant win three stars appeared in front of him, which really caught Lin Ruifeng off guard.
Ma Youhan always had a smile on his face and looked very polite. His courteous appearance made people unconsciously feel good about him. He looked at Lin Ruifeng and said, "I came here and set up this stall just to see if the disciple recognized by Feng Yifan is really better than me?"
As soon as these words came out, Lin Ruifeng instantly felt the smell of gunpowder.
He already understood that the other party was here to challenge him.
Ma Youhan saw Lin Ruifeng's expression change several times, and probably understood that the other party must have guessed his intention. So he simply stopped hiding it.
"Lin Ruifeng, to tell you the truth, I came here this time just to challenge you and see if you, the disciple recognized by Chef Feng, are qualified to be his disciple. If you are not qualified, then you will have to leave Su Ji in the future. You are not worthy of being Chef Feng's assistant in Su Ji."
Lin Ruifeng had never expected that the other party would actually lay everything out in the open.
In his opinion, even if the other party had such an idea, he would not say it directly.
But unexpectedly, the other party stated his purpose very directly.
Lin Ruifeng stared at the other person for a long time, and finally said: "I accept your challenge. Although I have not really learned anything from Master, I am still willing to accept your challenge, and I will do my best to defend my reputation and that of Master."
After hearing this, Ma Youhan was very satisfied: "Okay, then please take care of each other in the future."
As he spoke, Ma Youhan took the initiative to extend his hand to Lin Ruifeng.
Lin Ruifeng did not avoid it, but also extended his hand and shook hands with the other party.
"Take good care of me."
After Ma Youhan returned, Zhao Daxia patted Lin Ruifeng and said, "Are you stupid? How could you agree to compete with him
Didn't you hear him say that he used to be your master's assistant, and that he won the three stars together with your master? He was a very powerful person. Do you think you can defeat him with just the little bit you have learned
Don't you understand how powerful your master is? How powerful is the person who can be used as a deputy by your master?"
Lin Ruifeng turned his head to look at Zhao Daxia and said very calmly: "Sister Zhao, this is a test for me. I have been thinking about how to better improve what my master taught me these days, but I still have no idea. I don't know how to innovate.
I just kept repeating what my master taught me, and I don’t think this is the true strength of a chef.”
Lin Ruifeng said this while looking at Ma Youhan who had returned to the stall. He said in a very serious manner, "I will accept this challenge. I will make something that can surpass my master's assistant based on what my master taught me. I want to truly become a chef."
When Zhao Daxia heard this, her expression became a little bit respectful.
But then, Zhao Daxia asked again: "Should we tell Chef Feng about this?"
Lin Ruifeng decisively refused: "No, this is a competition between him and me. Sister Zhao, please don't tell my master."
Zhao Daxia's eyes were full of worry, but she finally agreed.
Before nightfall, the night market in the small market had already officially opened. No different from the previous few days, people started to go out one after another after the scorching sun went down in the evening, and began to enter the small market in an endless stream, and naturally went straight to Su Ji's stall first.
Because there is not only Su Ji's dinner here, but also a lot of miscellaneous snacks in a row.
Soon, Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia became busy and a long line formed in front of the stall.
Portions of fried rice, noodles, and wontons were handed out, and Lin Ruifeng's business did not change much despite the addition of a competitor.
Lin Ruifeng and Zhao Daxia were busy in an orderly manner, trying their best to deliver everyone's orders in a timely manner.
The small market is becoming more and more lively, and other stalls in the small market are also starting to attract a lot of attention. The night market is officially open.
After being busy for a while, Zhao Daxia took a moment to glance at Ma John's stall not far away.
Seeing that there were only a few people there, Zhao Daxia couldn't help but say with a little pride: "It looks like that. If the guests are used to eating at our restaurant, they will definitely not switch to his place casually."
When Lin Ruifeng heard it, he also turned his head to look over there.
After looking at it, Lin Ruifeng suddenly said to some people in the queue: "If you can't wait, you can go to the store over there to buy it. He is my senior brother, and he was once the assistant of my master, Chef Feng. He is doing business here for the first time today. You can go and show your support."
After hearing Lin Ruifeng's words, not only the people in the queue were stunned, but even Zhao Daxia and Ma Youhan in the stall over there were also stunned.
After a period of silence, someone asked, "Chef Xiaolin, is that guy really your master's former assistant?"
Lin Ruifeng smiled and responded: "Yes, everyone can trust me. If there is any problem with the food, I will definitely be responsible."
Zhao Daxia finally came to her senses, grabbed Lin Ruifeng and said, "Are you crazy? How can you be responsible? You don't even know if the person is genuine, and you dare to guarantee him like this? If someone really has problems eating at his place, how will you be responsible?"
Zhao Daxia's words stumped Lin Ruifeng, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.
In fact, the reason why Lin Ruifeng helped promote Ma Yuehan’s stall was because he wanted to defeat the other party fairly, rather than relying on his master’s name to win.
Therefore, if the two parties want to have a fair competition, they must first be on an equal starting point.
But now that Zhao Daxia said that, Lin Ruifeng also realized that he was not sure whether the other party was genuine, and he casually gave a guarantee to others. This would not only affect himself, but might also affect Feng Yifan. What should he do if the other party was deceiving him
Ma Youhan looked over here, then he walked out of the stall and came to Lin Ruifeng's stall.
He said seriously, "First of all, I want to prove that I once worked in a restaurant where Chef Feng worked overseas. At that time, I was his assistant. I can prove that this is a fact. Secondly, if you have any problems eating at my stall, please do not look for this Lin Ruifeng or Chef Feng. I will take the responsibility myself."
At this point, Ma Youhan took out a photo, which was a photo of him and Feng Yifan.
After seeing this photo, the diners present all understood.
Ma Youhan turned to Lin Ruifeng and said, "Actually, you don't have to be like this. Our starting points for this competition were different. Although you have been learning from Chef Feng for a while, you are still a rookie in my class, so my starting point is much higher than yours. You don't have to equalize our starting points."
After hearing this, Lin Ruifeng responded neither servilely nor arrogantly: "I don't want to take advantage of you."
As soon as these words were spoken, an expression other than a smile appeared on Ma Youhan's pretty face for the first time, and it was a hint of unwillingness.
Obviously, he was a chef who once followed Feng Yifan and became his deputy.
He had always regarded Feng Yifan as his idol, but he had never really become Feng Yifan's recognized apprentice. This matter still bothered Ma Youhan.
The unwilling expression flashed across his face for a moment, but Ma Youhan kept smiling and said, "Okay, I'm looking forward to this competition even more."
Lin Ruifeng remained neither humble nor arrogant, and responded seriously: "Me too."