Chapter 52

Chapter 52 Chapter 52 Haha… haha… why is it all…

In the end, every video Wang Zhaoshan sent to tempt Zhu Chenchen was forwarded to Chen Ran’s fan group.

Almost every fan was drooling and wailing.

“Who exactly is lucky enough to eat at Chef Chen’s big banquet? Why are they all just short videos? Is there any full photo of the banquet table to satisfy our craving?”

“Yeah, can you stop posting bit by bit and just post a full photo of the whole table? We can’t eat it, but at least watching is never enough!”

Someone had already watched Xiao Xiao’s video back and forth many times and screenshot it, commenting: “With Chef Chen’s skills, it’s probably very hard to get a full photo, right?”

She posted five screenshots from different moments in the video. Almost every screenshot only showed one or two dishes; the rest was just clean, empty plates.

However, even these screenshots were enough to make most fans in the group pound their chests in frustration.

“Lion’s head! My lion’s head!”

“How come the pork knuckle is still pan-fried? Has Chef Chen been secretly experimenting with new dishes again?”

“Look at the roast chicken! A whole roast chicken, not just fried chicken legs anymore!”

“Did you see the short video above? That candied sweet potato looks absolutely perfect… and that oil base residue, can someone explain if this technique can really be done in real life?”

“Does any of that matter? I just want to know how I can get to eat at this banquet!”

The group fell silent for a while. For the first time, no one gave any tips.

Places like the previous Swan KTV or Yanglianshan small restaurant were easy—just find the address and happily line up.

But if you want to crash a big banquet, you can imagine how precious the spots must be.

A rural big banquet might only have three or four dozen tables at most, but how many people are in the group?

At this moment, Chen Ran’s fan group was divided!

Qingjiao Ge was a bit anxious. After all, he was still a student with little social experience, and boldly asked, “Why is no one talking? You’re not planning to sneak in by yourselves, are you?”

Everyone’s plan was exactly what Qingjiao Ge said, but no one admitted it. They just kept joking in the group like nothing happened.

“If I could go eat at this banquet, I definitely wouldn’t be like this blogger who can’t even grab a dish from an old lady…”

“Oh come on, you’re overestimating yourself. Can you beat all the grandpas and grandmas fighting for seats on the bus? How come you think you can win when it comes to grabbing dishes?”

“By the way, why hasn’t this blogger posted more videos? Didn’t get in?”

Indeed, Zhu Chenchen couldn’t get into her grandmother’s home’s graduation banquet this time, and Xiao Xiao, weighing 140 jin, couldn’t get in at all!

The old lady’s family wasn’t short of gift money. They held these two banquets simply because the old lady liked to eat.

Besides, the old lady had been married far away for years and was very popular in the village. Just for a few hundred yuan in gift money, they wouldn’t let outsiders eat their own big banquet.

Those from the “Cook Men” group got in only thanks to Zhu Chenchen’s blessing; almost no strangers got in.

—The old lady personally guarded the door and didn’t let anyone she didn’t know inside.

Xiao Zheng sighed heavily toward the sky: “Might as well hand in an exam paper. I already checked beforehand—the girl in their family who got into university is called Zhu Chenchen…”

“Well, nothing can be done,” Qi Yan was open-minded, “It’s already good enough if we can crash their banquet once or twice; how can we crash it every time?”“I don’t believe it. Next time I’ll just directly give two thousand yuan as gift money—still can’t get in?”

After all, he was a self-media blogger. Giving more gift money wasn’t just for eating good food, but also an investment for his own traffic.

Since that rural banquet video was discovered by Chen Ran’s fan group, the views on his video had been climbing steadily.

After carefully observing the comments section, Xiao Zheng realized this group was organized!

Not to mention their weird dish rating standard called “few lions,” just the way they addressed each other looked like some kind of organized group.

For Xiao Zheng, if he could turn such a small group into his own fan base, it would definitely be a guaranteed profitable business.

Forget two thousand yuan in gift money—even five thousand, he would give it!

After all, when he first started the account, his startup funds for short video promotion were more than that.

“If the gift money is that much, I won’t even bother going to eat,” unlike Xiao Zheng, Qi Yan was not a self-media blogger, just someone who loved good food and wanted to eat more, “Looks like there’s no chance to keep eating banquets together.”

“Don’t rush, maybe next time, if we get there early, we can make it?”

The two were still strangers, so Xiao Zheng couldn’t promise Qi Yan any gift money. He showed Qi Yan the schedule he’d obtained from Shu Jianmin.

“Look, see which place is really doing things properly, those are easier to sneak into!”

Places like Zhu Chenchen’s grandmother’s house, which purely held a graduation banquet for her granddaughter who took the college entrance exam two years ago just for the food, should be the minority.

However, when they zoomed in carefully on the list they got from Shu Jianmin, both their expressions gradually brightened.

“Why are so many still undecided? Usually for big banquets, people say in advance what kind of banquet it is, right?”

“This is even weirder, look, this one’s a wedding! Getting married on a Wednesday?”

“Indeed… none of them note what the reason for the banquet is, but roast chicken and pork knuckle are all noted clearly.”

This list wasn’t only in Xiao Zheng’s hands. Ms. Wang’s all-purpose assistant Ji You remotely controlled Qiu Xian and got this list from Shu Jianmin.

She absolutely had to get a seat for Ms. Wang!

However, the internal unity of the fan group couldn’t be overlooked.

Ji You immediately organized the list and forwarded it to several fan groups.

“There’s no other way this time, everyone has to rely on their own ability. But since we’re all fans of Chef Chen, relying on our own skills is okay; it’s best to avoid any tugging or backing down from each other.”

“Agreed! Rely on our own skills!”

“This time we even have names, so hurry home and ask your distant relatives, see who can pull some strings to get a seat.”

“Oh hey, isn’t this my wife’s cousin’s paternal uncle?”

“Damn, how do you guys get in touch so fast? I basically don’t even contact relatives regularly!”

For a while, fans living close to home happily rejoiced, while some out-of-town fans sighed in the group chat.

Judging by the current situation, flying directly from out of town might be easy, but trying to snatch a spot at the big banquet was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

“When is Chef Chen finally going to open a restaurant? When that happens, I’m definitely going to book a table and eat until I’m full!”

“If Chen Ran opens a restaurant, the prices might be too expensive for me to afford…”Brother Qingjiao also expressed in the group that although the school he attended was not far from Qiantang Village, his family was not local, so naturally, he had no local relatives to help him snag a spot at a big banquet.

“Thinking about it, since Chen Ran works everywhere, it’s actually quite beneficial for me. If one day she really opens a restaurant, it’ll be hard to get a dish there.”

“Indeed, I once wanted to eat a dish from a chef on the Famous Chef List, and it took three days to get a reservation!”

“Famous Chef List? That still exists? I’ve only heard of Michelin. How many stars on the Famous Chef List is that comparable to?”

For ordinary diners in the country, the Famous Chef List’s reputation was far behind Michelin, which spent a lot on marketing.

Especially after the Chen family took over Michelin’s domestic agency, they spent nearly a fortune on promotion, opening ten three-star restaurants in the country in one go.

“Michelin is nothing. For our Chinese cuisine, we have to look at the Famous Chef List!”

This was said by Zhang Qiangling, an old foodie with quite a bit of culinary knowledge.

“Did you notice, the first batch of Michelin three-star restaurants announced domestically are almost all either innovative cuisine or popular internet-famous restaurants...”

“True, just looking at the decor, it’s ridiculously expensive, feels like my wallet is aching.”

“And among those ten three-star places, three are steak houses. I’m wondering, does this first batch of three-star restaurants just not like our traditional Chinese food?”

“Sigh, forget the steak. The Michelin two-star near us is a Korean fried chicken place, can you believe it?”

When it came to Michelin’s recent publicity, everyone complained.

“At this rate, maybe even if Chef Chen opens a restaurant, she might not get three stars!”

“Oh, how rare! Even if Chen Ran’s restaurant only gets a few stars, there’ll still be long lines, that’ll annoy them to death!”

“Wait, don’t get off topic. What’s this Famous Chef List about? Chef Chen’s skills should be good enough to get on it, right?”

Zhang Qiangling patiently explained the Famous Chef List to the group: “The Famous Chef List was founded by the country’s only female state banquet chef, Ms. Chang Nian. Almost all well-known chefs in the country have appeared on it.”

She detailed the three rankings of the Famous Chef List — Heaven, Earth, and Man — and mentioned several well-known chefs.

“Like Master Guo Sulong and Master Chen Gui, both top in the Heaven ranking. But the rules for getting on the Famous Chef List are very strict. Someone has to recommend you first, and Ms. Chang Nian has to personally try your dishes…”

When this rule was mentioned, the group fell a bit silent.

“So that means Chef Chen’s biggest rival for getting on the Famous Chef List is herself?”

“What does Ms. Chang Nian look like? I couldn’t find her on Baidu. Has anyone found her? If we accidentally end up at the same banquet, we’d better give way.”

“Indeed, I’m willing to break off with my roommate for Chen Ran’s big banquet! But for letting Chef Chen get on the Famous Chef List, I can give up my banquet seat!”

Wang Zhaoshan, whose account was pinned at the bottom, saw everyone’s messages and couldn’t help but get a bit teary-eyed.

Finally, he didn’t have to worry about how to sneak Ms. Chang Nian in!

Though the selection process for the Famous Chef List was secret, he couldn’t reveal anything in the group. But if everyone met Ms. Chang Nian and she voluntarily gave up her seat, that would be fine, right?

“I once saw Ms. Chang Nian briefly at a meeting! She’s truly a very elegant silver-haired lady. Here’s a photo of us together.”

Wang Zhaoshan, surfing the group with Qiu Xian’s account, quickly got a photo of Qiu Xian with Chang Nian and posted it in the group. The message was promptly pinned.

“Everyone, remember, even though we’re competing for dishes, when you see this lady, always show the quality of Chen Ran’s fan group!”

“No problem!”However, Brother Qingjiao downloaded that photo and quickly sent it to his roommate.

“If we see this old lady then, even if we give up our spots, we have to get her in!”

“Got it!”

His roommate looked carefully at the photo twice, trying hard to memorize Chang Nian’s image in his mind, then reminded Brother Qingjiao, “Don’t just stand there, keep going!”

Unlike others who asked relatives everywhere, Brother Qingjiao and his three roommates were not locals, so naturally there was no chance to rely on relatives to sneak into the banquet.

But nothing is harder than being a university student!

The four quickly started thinking: if they couldn’t get into the seating, couldn’t they at least get in as staff?

Even Ji You, who considered herself quite clever, would be dumbfounded to see what these four university students were doing here.

They had somehow borrowed a small bridal sedan chair and were decorating it!

“Is it settled over there? Are you sure the wedding is on the 27th? Don’t go through all that trouble carrying the bride over only to find out the banquet isn’t cooked by Chen Ran—wouldn’t that just tire us out for nothing?”

“Don’t worry!”

Brother Qingjiao patted his chest hard, making exaggerated pounding sounds: “We’re just lucky. Several villages around here are promoting new customs… no renting luxury cars, no more than thirty tables at weddings, and no expensive gifts…”

“No renting luxury cars, so isn’t our sedan chair more dignified than those? Then we’ll dress the groom with a horse and a big red flower on his chest. We can even sell the spot for leading the horse.”

“Does that matter?”

His roommate, sweating heavily, pinched his fingers in an orchid gesture while sticking red silk flowers on the top of the sedan chair, angrily scolding Brother Qingjiao: “The point is you have to make it clear! We’re not working for free. No pay is okay, but no banquet meal is not!”

“Yes, if I don’t get a meal, I’ll lie on the ground and start crying!”

“Enough! It’s a wedding; if you lie down crying, don’t get thrown out…”

Brother Qingjiao raised his phone: “No problem, don’t worry! I made it clear! But apparently, our table will be separate, not with the relatives.”

“That’s no problem; then the food will taste even better!”

“Yes, when we carry the bride all the way over, after digesting breakfast completely, they won’t dare not to feed us well, right? I can eat three lion’s heads myself!”

“Alright, alright, hurry and stick on the decorations. Do you think my business is this good just by luck? Tomorrow is the 25th; tonight we have to send a video of the sedan chair over for confirmation!”

“Hurry up! Don’t delay, stick it on firmly!”

During these days, winners in the group occasionally posted videos flaunting their success.

By relying on relatives, many people successfully sneaked into the banquet. Chen Ran’s three new dishes played repeatedly in the fans’ dreams every day.

Not to mention the syrupy deep-fried sweet potato or the new way of eating the clear stewed pork elbow, just the double-excellent roast chicken described as heavenly delicious made countless people drool on their pillows.

Those who had eaten it described the roast chicken’s skin as crispy like roast chicken, the meat tender and smooth like white-cut chicken, but the flavor was exactly like authentic roast chicken—rich and fragrant!

Moreover, at rural big banquets, the ingredients usually come from local sourcing. The young rooster used for this roast chicken was often still lively and hopping on the ground that morning.

“I won’t get to eat at that banquet, but I just hope Chef Chen will work at a roast chicken shop someday! I’ll buy ten frozen ones at once!”

“She’s bringing capital to join the shop. Chef Chen brings her secret recipe? Even if she works at someone else’s roast chicken shop, she’d have to follow their recipe, right?”

Those who couldn’t get into the banquet could only fantasize secretly and then open Zhuonan’s videos to satisfy their cravings.Zhu Nan’s latest video about rural banquets has already received over a million likes!

In the filming, he fully absorbed Xiao Xiao’s 140-jin experience, focusing not only on showcasing the delicious dishes but also on everyone’s impressive skills at grabbing food.

“The blogger’s food-snatching skills look like they took at least ten years to develop...”

“Actually, I think the girl in the background is even more unfathomable. Her hands move so fast I can’t even see clearly!”

“The meatballs came up and I didn’t even get a clear look before they were all gone!”

“Has anyone who’s eaten it tell me, how delicious is that pork elbow? Is it at least one lion’s head size?”

Rarely, Zhu Nan replied under the comment: “I feel it’s at least 1.6 lions.”

Seeing his reply quickly get over ten thousand likes, Zhu Nan seriously considered filming another video.

He was now quite a big blogger with a full schedule, but the videos related to Chen Ran still had some of the highest view counts.

Besides views, he also really wanted to eat that pork elbow again, which was at least 1.6 lions!

After much thought, he turned to the photographer beside him.

The photographer was a bit stunned by Zhu Nan’s gaze: “What’s up, what do you want from your bro? No need to look so pitiful, just say it.”

“Bro, have you ever done wedding photography?”

The photographer actually had!

He hadn’t started as a content creator; when Zhu Nan found him, he had done wedding shoots and even small events like kindergarten anniversaries.

“I’ve done it, so what? Your sister finally wants to get married? Don’t worry, if she’s your sister, I’ll definitely do a great job for you!”

“No, no, my sister’s still young, no rush,” Zhu Nan leaned closer, “What do you think about us guest shooting a wedding? From what I saw at weddings, photographers usually get their own table to eat.”

“There usually is... like one or two tables just for hosts and staff,” the photographer suddenly realized, slapped his thigh, “Right! Didn’t you see that photo in the group? There’s a wedding on the 27th, right?”

“Yeah, I was thinking your equipment is pretty good now. If we grab that job, we might even give the previous photographer some compensation.”

The two instantly agreed and booked their tickets!

Coincidentally, the two contacted the previous photographer who had taken the job before; they had cooperated before, so they smoothly got the subcontract from him.

“Hey, Da Liu, thank you so much! Don’t worry, if you ever need anything, I won’t hold back!”

Da Liu, unaware of what he missed, was also very happy: “Hey, what are you saying? I get paid 500 yuan without doing any work. If anything, I should be thanking you!”

He was really happy. This wedding was chosen for a Wednesday, so he had to take time off his part-time job.

This time someone else covered for him; he could work normally without taking leave and earn 500 yuan for free. How happy was that!

He just didn’t understand why these two were willing to pay out of pocket to sneak into the wedding... Could it be to snatch the bride back?

Da Liu murmured as he ran off, afraid they might really be there to snatch the bride and he’d be blamed.

The next morning of the wedding, he was distracted the entire morning, worried the employer would call to ask where the bride was.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Xie Shuang even sent a message to thank them: “The new photographer you helped find last minute is amazing! That equipment is really great!”Because her biological mother had to attend the banquet, Xie Shuang’s uncle’s wedding was suddenly scheduled for this Wednesday, so Xie Shuang had to contribute some manpower to help run errands.

After all, organizing a wedding is quite difficult. Most good wedding companies require advance booking, and a Wednesday is especially hard to find help for. Even the band could only find a small temporary group to fill in.

The photographer they found last minute quit yesterday, which scared Xie Shuang badly. Fortunately, he found someone to cover for him himself.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s all what should be done!”

Seeing the other person repeatedly say “It’s fine,” Xie Shuang was a bit puzzled. But soon, that doubt was overwhelmed by great anticipation.

As long as the bridal sedan chair came to pick up the bride, her job would be done! After that, she could just enjoy the banquet!

This was very different from before, when she and her mother sat at the guest table. Although they ate quite a lot, they never ate to their heart’s content.

After all, there were so many guests at the table, all from the village and town, she couldn’t exactly compete with children for chicken legs.

But now it was different! The bride’s family had two tables specially set up, with only about seven or eight people per table. If she still wasn’t full, she could shamelessly use the host family privilege to ask for two more dishes!

“Mom... I want to go inside and wait.”

“Stand right there! You think I’m not craving it? The dishes aren’t even out yet, what’s the rush?”

But she didn’t wait long. Soon, amidst the sound of drums and music, the groom appeared riding a white horse, dressed in red silk!

Behind him was a beautiful small bridal sedan chair. The four sedan bearers looked clean and spirited.

As for the man leading the horse, for some reason he had grown a big beard... but despite the long beard, he looked quite handsome, vaguely resembling some celebrity.

However, in the eyes of the bride’s family, their own people were still the most handsome.

“Oh, come on, your uncle really looks spirited! My girl sure knows how to get things done!”

Xie Shuang’s mother was very satisfied with everything and gave her eldest daughter a big hug: “Mom will help you grab the chicken leg later! Won’t give it to your niece!”

Xie Shuang was also satisfied.

Although the chicken breast from this famous roasted chicken was delicious, how could it compare to a chicken leg?

Soon, the grand ceremony of paying respects to heaven and earth ended, and the real highlight of the banquet began —

— Serving the dishes!

Not to mention how amazed the guests were or how satisfied Xie Shuang was with the chicken leg, just the single table set aside for the staff after the banquet...

There was a moment of silence in the air.

“Hahaha, pretty good, hahaha, all familiar faces!”

Qingjiao Ge couldn’t hide his embarrassment as he looked at the entire table filled with staff he knew...

Ms. Wang guest hosted the wedding; not to mention, she often attended various chambers of commerce events, so she was quite confident as a host.

Zhu Nan and the photographer sat on one side, adjusting their equipment, smiling awkwardly.

And Qingjiao Ge’s whole dormitory... everyone wore red vests, showed their arms, dressed very plainly.

The most exaggerated was the four-person band on the other side of the table:

Wang Zhaoshan played the suona, Ms. Chang Nian beat the big drum, and Ji You and Qiu Xian even played the trumpet!