Chapter 75

Chapter 75: The Fan Group Attacks!

Ignoring the barbecue, He Xin shared the video into the “Foodie Werewolf” group.

“Come watch Lao Wang!”

She was waiting for the other two’s exciting comments, but unexpectedly, both the Cook Guy and the Cameraman silently sent the same sighing cat emoji.

“Brave people enjoy life first. I really want to eat that egg-filled flatbread…”

“Don’t look at Lao Wang not getting a single dish, but there’s red and green in that rice. Chef Chen is really considerate, even made mixed rice with vegetables…”

“Opportunities are for those prepared!” Hearing the group buzz, Wang Zhaoshan replied twice with an undefeated attitude, “If I hadn’t trained hard on Vajra skills, how could I have gotten in now? So what if I can’t get dishes, you guys can’t even get rice!”

He Xin was silent.

The Cook Guy, who witnessed the scene, couldn’t help but expose Wang Zhaoshan’s old story: “Obviously, the coach took you in because she saw you were training wrongly and was afraid you’d injure yourself. Do you think we didn’t hear that?”

“Well, I still got in. Did you two get in?”

Wang Zhaoshan fought fiercely, and soon the group quieted down.

Feeling proud for two minutes while his whole body ached, Wang Zhaoshan still felt something was off.

Switching quickly between several groups, he immediately saw his video had been shared in Chen Ran’s fan group.

“Lao Wang deserved it! Found Chen Ran’s address but didn’t report it, permanently pinned!”

“Chef Chen really went overboard this time, how did she end up at the martial arts hall? Next time, is she going to the military zone?”

“Before it was testing fans’ tracking skills, now it’s testing personal ability, huh?”

“Used to play conspiracies, now switched to open strategies…”

He hurriedly defended himself: “Cook Guy and the others found out too, it’s not that we didn’t report it, it’s just scouting first. If I hadn’t scouted, and you guys went into the martial arts hall first, getting worn out every day only to find you can’t get food?”

“Just sign up more people! Let them fight over theirs, us newbies fight over ours…”

“Didn’t Cook Guy say? The martial arts hall doesn’t take those without a solid foundation, he and the Cameraman are too weak, they weren’t accepted.”

Perhaps the discussion was too lively in the group, even the usually inactive big fans joined in the chat.

Ms. Wang calmly watched the video of the food fight.

Her focus wasn’t on the pitiful Lao Wang, but on the dishes on the table.

“I’ve never seen Chen Ran make this beef before, is it a new dish? Lao Wang, answer us.”

Ms. Wang always caught the most important points. Once she spoke, everyone chimed in.

“Where’s Lao Wang? Come on, tell us what new dishes there are.”

“Come quickly!”

Wang Zhaoshan was in great pain, lying on the bed with aches all over, still recalling the delicious food he himself hadn’t gotten to eat for his group friends.

“There are two new dishes this time. One is an improved version of fish-and-mutton fresh lion’s head meatball, using fish instead of fatty pork and mutton instead of lean pork. The other is a soy-free and reduced-salt braised beef, which Chef Chen named ‘Ghost Face Beef.’”

Wang Zhaoshan didn’t get to eat a single piece of beef; it was still the “kind-hearted” Tu Xiaoning who described the taste for him.“This Ghost Face Beef has absolutely no smell, but it’s said to taste exceptionally rich… the flavor is locked entirely inside the beef itself.”

“Taking a bite, not only do you taste the flavor, you can even feel the aroma bursting out, forcibly letting the taste buds on your tongue smell the beef’s fragrance.”

This description made everyone in the fan group daydream with delight.

“Gotta say, Chef Chen’s cooking skills have reached a level I can’t even imagine…”

“Of course! Chef Chen was already strong, then went to the haunted house and learned from some mysterious expert… Really want to try a bite.”

“Why is Lao Wang’s description so brief this time? I can’t eat it anyway, can you describe it more?”

Wang Zhaoshan felt a bit wronged too. He was only relaying others’ descriptions since he hadn’t eaten it himself!

Unconsciously, the chat in the fan group subtly shifted direction.

If before the fan group’s chat was mainly about chasing Chef Chen and some scheming to trip each other up, this time, everyone seemed united in a common cause.

“Watching this video now, I kind of feel sorry for Lao Wang…”

“Exactly! Chef Chen is a bit bullying this time. According to Lao Wang, when you can’t get the beef into your mouth, you can’t even smell its aroma? Of course, I don’t mean anything else, I’m just saying Lao Wang is useless.”

“Even if Lao Wang is useless, he still got in. What about the others in the fan group? Seems like no one else has managed to get in smoothly, right? Cook Guy? Isn’t he a food blogger? Why can’t he get into the shop either?”

Cook Guy quietly closed the group chat.

Did he not want to go?

If he could get in and film a food-fight video, at least he could gain tens of thousands of followers!

“Can you guys at least try harder! Just thinking about Chef Chen inside modifying recipes and inventing new dishes, but no one in the fan group gets to eat anything, I feel a bit frustrated!”

“Indeed… hearing you say that, it kinda feels like a battle for the fan group’s honor.”

“With such a big fan group, is there really not one person who can get in and eat properly?”

Ms. Wang looked at the fan group’s comments with some relief.

That’s exactly the fighting spirit!

“Seems the martial arts hall is selective. Cook Guy and the Cameraman weren’t accepted because they’re too weak…”

“Everyone sign up! I don’t believe it. Such a big fan group and not a single healthy body? Everyone’s weak?”

“I’m going tomorrow! I can pull 60kg by force, I refuse to believe I’m weak.”

“Signing up is just the first hurdle, you still have to fight for food inside! Are there any food-fight experts who can check it out?”

“I’ll go. I’ve lived at school for twelve years and served three years in the army. I can always get lobster and king crab at buffets. I don’t believe I can’t win the fight!”

Everyone cheered.

The fan group’s honor is in your hands!

At the same time, He Xin took a screenshot of this lively scene and posted it in the Gourmet group.

“Look at their fan group! Where are the experts in our group?”

The Gourmet group consisted of a bunch of veteran foodies. Having money and leisure was one characteristic; another was that most had struggled in society for some time.That is to say, most people were generally a bit older.

He Xin was in her thirties this year and was already considered a typical young lady in the group!

The group members saw the food-fighting scene, which looked like a martial arts movie, and inexplicably felt a bit intimidated.

“Even if I got in, I probably wouldn’t be able to grab any food…”

“I looked it up, this Tang’s Martial Arts School teaches Tai Chi? How is this different from the slow Tai Chi I remember?”

“What’s good to eat this time?”

He Xin reported: “Currently known, breakfast has chicken congee, lunch has Ghost Face Beef, and Chen Ran’s improved Fish and Lamb Fresh Lion’s Head…”

“I’m all in, let this old bone try! Whoever tries to fight me for food, I’ll just lie down on the ground!”

“Brother Zhuang! Hold on, trying to provoke trouble now might get yourself in trouble!”

“Those who provoke trouble want money; you’re lying on the ground with your mouth open asking for a piece of beef, right?”

Jokes aside, a few people from the Gourmet group eventually decided to try their luck at the martial arts school.

No choice — everyone had studied Chef Chen’s work experience.

Every time Chef Chen worked at a new place, she would develop some new dishes. Whether these new dishes could be replicated depended entirely on luck.

When luck was good, for example, at the Shu Family Banquet, she might prepare all her past new dishes in one go.

But when luck was bad, she might only make new dishes, skipping all the old recipes.

And as Chen Ran’s culinary skills grew more advanced and her passion for cooking intensified, the dishes became increasingly difficult, so it was very likely some dishes would be missed once and for all!

Driven by this thought, a large number of fans gathered from all over to Pingshan City.

Their target was Tang’s Martial Arts School!

However, at this time Tang’s Martial Arts School was still as quiet as usual.

A group of students were standing focused in the courtyard practicing Zhan Zhuang, with Wang Zhaoshan wobbling in the middle.

Teacher Zheng held a stick nearby, hitting a specific muscle on Wang Zhaoshan’s body accurately every time he wobbled, correcting his posture.

Tang Yang was doing the same thing in the kitchen.

After watching Chen Ran’s stunning knife skills making chicken congee last time, Tang Yang couldn’t forget it for a long time.

Each profession has its own secrets!

She specially asked Chen Ran to make chicken congee again, watching Chen Ran’s movements closely.

“All done, just finished chopping.”

Chen Ran crossed her fingers tightly, pressing down on the back of her hand: “It’s actually not that hard. First, the chicken mince must be chopped finely; second, don’t cut the pork skin badly, or the flavors will mix.”

Tang Yang sighed: “This is the peak of Mingjin (direct force)!”

Her style of Tai Chi categorized Jin (force) into three types: Mingjin, Anjin, and Huajin. Chen Ran’s knife skills were already at the peak of Mingjin.

She recalled what her father once told her about the Dao in life. Some gymnasts’ strength was also the peak of Mingjin, strong enough to kill a person with a single kick.At that time, she didn’t believe it, until she saw Chen Ran’s knife skills and realized that indeed, every profession produces its masters.

No one knew how long Chen Ran had practiced, but every chop was exactly the same strength, chopping down with such force yet stopping just a second before touching the pork skin. The chicken mince was chopped extremely finely, but the pork skin had not a single damaged spot.

“But your force application process might still have some minor flaws. Do you mind if we discuss it?”

Chen Ran naturally didn’t mind!

Although she had learned the standard force application from Master Xu, after all, every craft has its specialty; a martial arts expert like Tang Yang surely knew more.

She followed Tang Yang to learn a simple Zhan Zhuang posture, gradually practicing force application.

“Yes, follow my hand, but don’t put your focus on my hand—put it somewhere high and far away. Imagine you are standing on a cliff, facing the vast sea…”

After guiding Chen Ran through the force application method, Tang Yang sighed.

If this chef came to learn martial arts, she might have talent similar to Tu Xiaoning’s.

Why are all the good disciples taken by others, and she herself never gets one?

“Very good, just stand like this. You need to concentrate, but not on your own body.”

Chen Ran nodded slightly, feeling the force in her muscles, then heard Tang Yang ask her:

“Chef Chen, your skills are really excellent, and your culinary art is superb. Even though I don’t know much about the chef world, I know someone with your skills wouldn’t normally come to a martial arts school to apply as a chef, right?”

Chen Ran was about to explain when she heard Tang Yang say the next sentence.

“Did you get into some kind of trouble? You don’t have to answer me now. If you don’t want to, I won’t ask. But if you’re willing to say, I will definitely help where I can.”

Wait, that’s thinking a bit too far ahead!

Chen Ran never expected that Tang Yang’s mind was already imagining a whole drama, even fantasies of being chased and hunted.

Otherwise, under what circumstances would such a talented chef hide inside a martial arts school?

“No, this is our family’s ancestral rule,” Chen Ran hurriedly explained, briefly describing the experiences of Chef Chen Shen back then, finally summarizing and elevating the point: “Simply put, working in different places and learning to satisfy different customers is also a kind of learning experience.”

Now, hadn’t she just learned the standard force application? Moreover, making better dishes with less salt was also a refinement of her seasoning skills.

She could even feel that the “flavor showing through mildness” that Master Xu taught her was understood more deeply in recent practice.

And what she hadn’t said before, Chen Ran finally found the chance to say: “So, I probably won’t stay here too long, at most about a month. But before I leave, I will organize the recipes! Whether the martial arts school teachers cook themselves or hire new chefs, they should be able to use them.”

“So that’s how it is,” Tang Yang pondered. “But if you really have any difficulties, you must tell me. If you leave after a month, the whole martial arts school will send you off.”

Although Chef Chen had only worked here for a few days, everyone could see her earnestness!

“Whoever tries to lay a hand on you should think twice. Even if you’re really being chased, I’ll hide you safely!”

Chen Ran smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to dispel Tang Yang’s wildly imaginative thoughts. Suddenly, they both heard noise at the door.

“Strange, why are so many people coming to the martial arts school lately? Don’t get distracted, focus!”

Chen Ran, standing in posture, felt a bit embarrassed.

Of course, she knew why so many people came to the school—it must be those fans chasing after her again!

But having Chen Ran say these people were all following her would be a bit embarrassing, like she was some big celebrity.Tang Yang gave Chen Ran a pat, corrected her posture, and then walked straight toward the entrance of the martial arts school.

Wow, so many people!

It was already winter, but Tang Yang was still wearing a white training uniform. Just a few steps to the door, although she appeared to be walking casually with light strides, she covered a large distance in just a few steps.

You could tell she was a true expert!

Intimidated by her aura, the crowd at the door quieted down noticeably.

“What’s going on?”

Tang Yang scanned the crowd: “I’m the head of this martial arts school. If you have business, speak up.”

“I want to learn martial arts!”

“Yes! I want to enter the school and learn martial arts!”

“I want to learn too! I can pull 60kg by myself. Head, take a look at me!”

Just after less than half a minute of silence, once Tang Yang asked, the door area immediately turned noisy like a market.

“Teacher, look at me! I’m not weak at all. I can run up eighteen floors without stopping!”

Tang Yang narrowed her eyes, scanning the crowd a few times.

Her martial arts school was not well known among ordinary people. After all, when modern people mention Tai Chi, they mostly think of the slow-moving old men in parks.

And Xing Yi was even less known to the general public.

Why would suddenly so many people come rushing to sign up at her martial arts school?

Tang Yang glanced toward Chen Ran.

It seemed this Chef Chen was far more famous than she had imagined.

However, ordinary food fans chasing after her was much better than her actually being chased by someone.

Tang Yang didn’t expose this.

Chinese martial arts were now considered to be declining; her school survived only thanks to ancestral business. If it relied solely on taking disciples, it would have closed long ago.

Besides, maybe she could find someone with genuine martial talent!

Put yourself in their place: if Chef Chen left the martial arts school to work elsewhere, she might also be tempted to try it out...

“Alright, since you all want to learn martial arts here, let me take a look.”

There was a fairly large open space at the entrance of the Tang Martial Arts School.

Seeing such a big crowd, Tang Yang didn’t even open the door but lightly tapped the door, then lightly jumped, gracefully vaulting over the iron gate.

It was more like flying than jumping!

This one move shocked everyone. Some veteran fans couldn’t help whispering behind.

“Have you noticed? Wherever Chef Chen works, there’s always a story. That haunted house game was also of super high quality...”

“Yeah, that White Swan KTV is especially friendly to girls. I still remember the posters inside the store!”“This martial arts school looks like it actually has some real skills…”

Tang Yang stood casually with her hands crossed behind her back and feet loosely apart, showing the demeanor of a master. Under her gaze, the fans’ voices gradually quieted.

“Since you all want to join the school, let me see. Everyone, show me your horse stance.”

The fans looked at each other, and one by one, they slowly began to assume the horse stance at the entrance of the Tang Martial Arts School.

However, although everyone was ready to endure hardship in the school, very few actually had a foundation. One horse stance was enough to eliminate most of them.

The eliminated fans stood annoyed at the door: “You actually test horse stance?”

“But honestly, I think it’s reasonable for the school to test the horse stance… going to learn martial arts without even knowing horse stance is really a bit much.”

Luckily, this time the fan group acted as a team!

The first batch of fans failed; the new fans who came the next day learned from the lesson, found videos online, and at least looked proper when doing the horse stance.

“Good, at least you all know how to do horse stance. But our Tang Martial Arts School mainly teaches Tai Chi, so you should know at least some related knowledge. Let me test you: who is the founder of Yang-style Tai Chi?”

Silence…

Then the third batch of fans who came to the school, besides practicing horse stance, each had printed materials and started memorizing.

“Yang Luchan! The founder of Yang-style Tai Chi is Yang Luchan!”

With the fans pooling their knowledge and efforts, finally six people got in.

Although the guy who could pull 60kg and the buffet rice-grabbing king didn’t make it, by chance, Zhu Chenchen, a nearby university student, got in!

Tang Yang looked at Zhu Chenchen’s broad shoulders and subtly pinched them.

“Did you practice martial arts when you were young?”

Zhu Chenchen honestly shook his head: “No, and I never tried working out. My mom said I’ve had broad shoulders since I was little, so it’s hard to buy clothes.”

“Can you eat well?”

Zhu Chenchen was a bit embarrassed but nodded honestly.

Since elementary school, he had been the famous rice-grabbing king at the Seventh Elementary School! Even his younger sister Zhu Kuangkuang already dominated the kindergarten!

“Being able to eat well! That’s good!”

There’s a saying in the fitness world that the highest talent is the ability to eat. This saying is also true in martial arts circles.

Tang Yang heard Zhu Chenchen had a younger sister and couldn’t help but look at a photo of the two siblings, her eyes shining.

Most people might just see Zhu Kuangkuang as a chubby little girl, but to Tang Yang, her figure was like a sacred maiden of the sect!

High body fat and strong muscles are not the same thing!

“What does your sister like to eat? What does she like to play?”

“She eats everything, especially beef and shrimp. She likes to play at the fitness square by the neighborhood gate, especially that spinning equipment…”

Tang Yang nodded and silently made a decision. When she had time during the New Year, she would personally visit!

Ordinary disciples prepare gifts when apprenticing, but truly talented disciples are always chased by their masters!Zhu Kuangkuang’s talent seemed even better than Tu Xiaoning’s.

Thinking about having a good disciple in the future, Tang Yang looked at the new Chen Ran fans who had just arrived at the martial arts school and decided to give them a little reward.

After all, they had at least stepped into the Tang Martial Arts School’s door, so training them a bit wouldn’t be in vain, especially since this group had brought her a top-tier disciple.

Coincidentally, she had recently learned the “Feynman Learning Technique” online, so she could use this opportunity to train those students in the school who didn’t like to think much.

Leading this batch of Chen Ran’s fans inside, Tang Yang clapped her hands.

The students practicing their forms all stopped, and pairs of eyes turned to Tang Yang.

“Come on, every four people take one new student back and teach them the most basic Sanhe Zhuang method. I’ll inspect in the evening.”

The Feynman Learning Technique says that only when you can fully teach knowledge to others can you truly have mastered it.

It was time to test these students!

“As for the reward for the inspection—”

Tang Yang deliberately stretched out her voice a bit: “The group that teaches the best can eat together with the new students.”

The moment she said this, the fierce competitiveness in the entire martial arts school grew even stronger!

Wang Zhaoshan, standing to the side, was neither a new nor an old student. But looking at this scene, he inexplicably recalled a phrase.

In free games, free players are the rewards for paying players.