“This—this—this! Isn’t that the rice-devouring Little Brother who’s super popular on Tremolo?!”
“Huh?”
“You know, the one who always clutches the rice cooker in his mukbangs!”
“Ohhh! It’s him! I knew he looked familiar! OMG! That’s Uncle Jiang and Auntie Han’s kid? Jiang Fuyue’s Little Brother?!”
“Holy cr*p, all the divine blessings went to the Jiang family.”
“So you’re telling me the reason I haven’t gone viral is because my last name isn’t Jiang?!”
“Haha, sorry sis, but my last name is Jiang… and I’m still not famous.”
“…Oh. That’s actually a little more tragic than me.”
“?”
“A dad who can cook, a mom who’s crafty and sweet, a genius-level daughter, and an adorable son—what kind of god-tier family is this?!”
Cao Dou had just stepped out of the kitchen when he saw a crowd of girls squealing at a wall.
Him: “?”
“Little Douzi is here! Let’s go ask him!”
“Little Douzi, is the rice-devouring kid really Uncle Jiang and Auntie Han’s son?”
“Can he really eat that much? Like, finish three whole rice cookers in one sitting?”
“How come he’s not fat at all? Uncle Jiang’s food is amazing, and Auntie Han’s desserts are out of this world!”
“Is he as smart as his sister Jiang Fuyue?”
“Are Sister Yue and little Chenxing coming today too? Can we see them in person? So excited!”
Cao Dou had never experienced such an overwhelming amount of attention before.
A group of pretty girls had him surrounded like he was a hot commodity—everyone wanted a bite.
It was glorious. Truly glorious.
The only slight downside? While they were surrounding him, all the squealing and questions were about Jiang Chenxing.
He, a perfectly handsome young man in the prime of his youth, was somehow not as popular as a kid?
“Quiet, everyone! Let Brother Dou speak!”
Great, now he’s “Brother Dou.” If he didn’t drop some juicy gossip now, he’d be letting down the title.
“Ahem—” Cao Dou cleared his throat. “First, yes, Chenxing is the biological son of our boss and boss lady.”
“Second, yes, both siblings are coming today!”
“Lastly, please, lovely fairies, keep the squealing to a minimum.”
“Ahhh—!” Sorry, not possible.
The fans still waiting outside heard the excitement inside and started craning their necks like curious cats.
Cao Dou had the servers hand out freshly made snowflake crisps to the girls.
And not just to those inside—the ones waiting outside got some too.
“…So good! Dense, soft, fragrant, with that rich milky smell, and the dried cranberries? My taste buds are dying of happiness!”
“For real? Let me try… mmm~~ so crisp! And it doesn’t stick to your teeth! Sweet but not too sweet.”
“The creamy milk, the rich cheese, and the tart-sweet cranberries all explode on the tongue—heavenly!”
“Ugh! I don’t want to tear the wrapper, it’s too cute! Brother Dou, can I have another one?”
Cao Dou: “Of course! These are all made by the boss lady as a thank-you for coming so early. There’s a lot of people, so the wait might be long, but there’s free snowflake crisps and lemon mint tea at the refreshment area—all handmade by the boss lady. Help yourselves, or ask one of the handsome waiters—don’t be shy~”
“Auntie Han made them?! No wonder they taste divine!”
“And the mint tea! So cool and refreshing—one sip and I feel like I’m flying.”
The servers scrambled to hand out more snowflake crisps.
“Ahem… I’m eating two and bringing two for my roommate. She’s working a part-time job and couldn’t come. She literally cried last night watching us debate what to order.”
“I’d cry too.”
“Only those who’ve eaten Uncle Jiang’s cooking will understand the sheer tragedy of missing out.”
“By the way, can we buy these snowflake crisps? I wanna send some to my mom—she loves sweets and has very picky taste.”
“Let’s ask Brother Dou when he comes back. But if you like them, just take a few more—they’re free anyway.”
“Isn’t that a bit rude?”
“True. If we can buy them, I’ll definitely get some to take home. These are handmade by Auntie Han—you can’t just mooch off that.”
By 8 a.m., a long line stretched from the restaurant door through the commercial plaza, looping once around the fountain in the center. And instead of getting shorter over time—it kept growing.
The mall staff arriving for work were stunned.
“Since when has our plaza been this popular?”
“…Manager, it’s not the plaza—it’s that restaurant.”
“Jiang Ji?! Oh no! Quick! Get security in place! I completely forgot about this! Move move move! If the crowd gets out of hand, we’re in trouble!”
“I’ll call Security right away.”
The massive line wasn’t just noticed by mall management. The staff at Cao Ji, the restaurant next door prepping for its own grand opening, weren’t blind either.
Their manager Liu Shanhua hadn’t arrived yet, so twenty-odd staff were bustling about—but none of them looked even remotely happy.
They wore frowns and sighed heavily.
“What’s with the long faces? Didn’t have breakfast?! New store, new start! Let’s see some energy!” The assistant manager clapped loudly, trying to rally them.
They stood straighter—but their expressions stayed sour.
“Brother Tan, can we even call this a grand opening? That next door is the real one!”
The assistant manager fell silent.
“Compared to them, we don’t look like we’re opening—we look like we’re going out of business!”
“As they say, comparison is the thief of joy.”
“We could’ve avoided this. But someone insisted we open the same day. Were they trying to kill us?”
“Brother Tan warned them. But someone didn’t listen and made all the wrong calls. What can we do?”
They didn’t need to name names. Everyone knew they were talking about Liu Shanhua.
“That guy parachuted in from nowhere and got made manager? Brother Tan’s been with Cao Ji for years, working his butt off…”
“Enough!” barked Brother Tan, the assistant manager. “We’re here now—no use regretting. Just grit your teeth and push forward! Focus on your work. When the manager arrives, we’ll follow his lead.”
The staff grumbled but scattered.
One of them snuck to the door to peek at the neighboring line.
“Holy cr*p, it’s even longer now!”
“What are you looking at? Back to the kitchen!”
“Old Liu, look at that crowd—insane.”
“In this internet age, popularity is everything. Not surprising. Plus, their food’s actually good…” He smacked his lips.
“Wait, how would you know? You’ve had it?”
“Bought their pancakes before. Honestly, ours look fancy, but theirs? That’s the real deal.”
“That good, huh?”
“You’ll see. Try it someday. I’m off to prep—hurry up and come in.”
“Okay, okay!”
As he spoke, his eyes lit up. He quickly pulled out his phone and texted his son—
[Stinky brat, hurry over to Tianxing Plaza and get a number at Jiang Ji Private Kitchen! We’ll eat after my shift ends!]
What could he do? He and his son were both die-hard foodies. Rivalries, competition—none of it mattered. If it was delicious, they were there.
His son replied instantly: [You know Jiang Ji too? This place is blowing up! I was just about to leave school and head over! What’s the line like?]
Dad: [Insane.]
Dad: [photo]
Son: [Da*amn! That bad?! Okay, calling a taxi now.]
Dad: [Step on it!]
…
The long line didn’t just amaze the mall staff and dishearten the competitors—it was also extremely eye-catching.
And eye-catching lines attract onlookers.
Onlookers become customers.
Take, for instance—
A young mom pushing a stroller who had only planned to take a walk. She stopped in her tracks, stunned by the crowd, and walked up to the back of the line. In a gentle voice, she asked, “What’s everyone waiting for?”
“We’re getting a number to eat!”
“At this place—Jiang Ji Private Kitchen?”
“Yep! You a fan from the super-topic group too?”
“Not really… I got one of their flyers a while back. The dish names were interesting. Happened to be walking by today since it’s their opening… didn’t expect this many people.”
“Miss, let me tell you—you came at just the right time. Here, have a snowflake crisp while I tell you all about how amazing their cooking is. So, the owner is…” balabala…
Outside, the queue was orderly; inside, the waiting area buzzed with life.
Cao Dou saw everything falling into place and finally relaxed.
By 8:30, the invited TV reporters and several well-known food influencers began to arrive—
Among them, a mega-influencer with over a million followers and the appetite of a true connoisseur…
