To take an authentic-looking photo, they had borrowed a chef's hat and were holding the cleaver and spatula from the competition, which hadn't been cleaned yet.

Lin Xu carried Dundun on his shoulder, supporting its hind legs with one hand, while his other hand held Shen Jiayue's. Like a young couple strolling through a temple fair with their child, they walked into the adjacent restaurant.

The tables were already set with food.

Lin Xu went to the table where Wei Qian and Guo Xinghai were sitting.

On the table were dishes like braised miniature pig, pickled cabbage stew with pork belly, red-braised pork knuckle, Four-Joy Meatballs, stir-fried celery with cured meat, braised pork with shredded bamboo shoots, lettuce with oyster sauce, shiitake mushrooms with bok choy, and a small tureen of shredded tripe soup.

It was an eight-dish, one-soup spread.

While the variety wasn't extensive, the portions were generous. Coupled with the fact that they were all hearty dishes perfect with rice, the audience and contestants, who had been hungry all morning, ate with great gusto.

After the meal, Lin Xu bid farewell to Wei Qian and Guo Xinghai.

He prepared to take the Building No. 2 business van back to his shop. He had been away all morning and didn't know how business was doing.

However, just as he reached Building No. 2, he ran into Xie Baomin.

"Junior Brother," Xie Baomin said, "the Dining Department wants Building No. 2 to add that dish you made to our menu soon. But Building No. 2 can't produce many servings of it, and the plating is also quite particular. Could you find some time to come work here for a period? You could teach the kitchen staff and also help me out in this urgent situation."

Work here? Lin Xu thought. Then what about my shop? When customers ask where Boss Lin is, what should the staff say? That he's gone to work at another restaurant?

Lin Xu smiled, just about to refuse.

Then, the system's notification sounded in his mind again:

"Host has received an invitation from the Fishing Platform, triggering the side mission 'Work': Please work for at least twenty days at the Fishing Platform State Guesthouse within the next month. Upon completion, you will be rewarded with one Perfect Level sauce-braised dishes lottery draw and one Perfect Level pork knuckle dishes lottery draw."

This... Lin Xu pondered. Does even the system want me to take on an outside job?

He had initially planned to refuse, but hearing how generous the rewards were, he reluctantly agreed. "I'll go back and make some arrangements first. We can discuss the work details in a couple of days."

Xie Baomin immediately grinned broadly. "That's the spirit! When the time comes, properly teach our kitchen staff here. Building No. 2 has too many reserved State Banquet dishes, so there aren't many regular dishes we can sell. We hope to leverage this current popularity to boost Building No. 2's revenue."

You'd be better off hiring Dundun; that would be far more effective than me coming here... Lin Xu muttered inwardly. Just then, the business van arrived.

Lin Xu, holding Dundun, boarded the van with Shen Jiayue. After bidding farewell to Xie Baomin, they headed home.

When they got back to the shop, it was nearly two o'clock, and business was winding down.

Although Dundun hadn't been there, business didn't seem to have been affected. Lin Xu noticed many dishes were already sold out.

"Boss, congratulations on winning the championship!"

"Where's the trophy? Should we display it behind the cash register?"

"Let's hang up the medal too! This is your honor, Boss!"

The staff were even more excited about the win than Lin Xu himself.

After Shen Jiayue took out the trophy and medal, they immediately hung them around their necks and posed for photos, making peace signs.

Once the midday rush was completely over, the chefs from Building No. 2 who had come to help, drenched in sweat, boarded the business van to go back.

When they first arrived, they had thought it was just a small eatery. They figured helping out would surely be a piece of cake.

However, by eleven o'clock, they were so busy their feet barely touched the ground, with no time to even catch their breath.

They had originally thought they were coming for a relaxing time.

But they hadn't expected that the morning's workload would be more than two days' worth at the Fishing Platform.

Is this the true capability of an ordinary roadside diner? they wondered. So scary, so scary!

Not long after they left, Lin Xu rested for a bit. Just as he was about to start preparing dinner, he suddenly received a call from his master, Grandpa Gao.

"Xiao Xu, are you busy right now? Can you come to the real estate transaction hall in Haidian District?"

Lin Xu asked curiously, "What for?"

Grandpa Gao's voice was tinged with pride. "You really brought me honor today, so I've decided to transfer this shop to you. It'll be yours from now on. The paperwork is almost done. Just come over and sign; you don't need to handle anything else."

These words warmed Lin Xu's heart.

However, he felt hesitant to accept such a valuable gift. "Master, you should keep it. I'd be happy if you just let me pay a bit less rent. Transferring it to me so suddenly... I feel uneasy about it."

"What's there to feel uneasy about? Hurry over. When your senior brother got married, I gave him two shops. You're not married yet, so I'm giving you one for now."

With that said, Grandpa Gao hung up without giving Lin Xu a chance to argue.

Feeling helpless, Lin Xu had no choice but to take a taxi to the real estate transaction hall.

When he arrived, his master was already processing the paperwork, assisted by a lawyer. By this point, all the paperwork was nearly complete.

Coupled with his master's persistent urging, Lin Xu had no choice but to follow the transaction procedure and sign his name.

Before long, the commercial property at No. 34 Yingchun Street was registered under his name.

I originally planned to save money to buy a house in Beijing, Lin Xu thought. But I ended up getting a commercial property first. Life is full of disappointments... Oh, wait, no, life is truly full of surprises!

After the transaction was completed, the master and disciple went to the entrance of the transaction hall.

Grandpa Gao handed the documents to Lin Xu and said, "That dish, 'Home,' you made really touched me. I also want to start a family. During this time, I'm preparing to go out and have some fun with your Aunt, do some traveling, and enjoy some time just the two of us. While I'm not in Beijing, take good care of yourself."

Lin Xu: ?????

How can you so nonchalantly start living off a woman, hey?! he thought. I still have two dishes from the mission that I haven't learned yet!

As they were talking, a black BMW 760 pulled up on the opposite side of the road.

Grandpa Gao waved goodbye to Lin Xu, then happily trotted over, pulled open the car door, and got in.

Soon, the car drove off into the distance.

Lin Xu watched the receding silhouette of the car and sighed softly.

The former King of the Seas has finally come ashore, he mused.

After his moment of reflection, just as he was about to hail a taxi back to the shop, he suddenly received a call from his father-in-law, Shen Guofu.

"Xiao Xu, are you busy right now? Can you come to the real estate transaction hall in Haidian District?"

Lin Xu: ?????

What's going on? he wondered. Why am I so tangled up with the real estate transaction hall today?

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