A Bite of Douluo Continent

"Mr. Cao, what brings you here? Have you eaten? I'll have the kitchen prepare something for you to have something simple."

Zhao Fenglai said he would just make do with whatever was available, but then turned to the servant next to him and said, "Have the kitchen prepare each dish and send it to Fenglai's private room."

That was the best private room in Fenglai Pavilion.

Cao Pingzhi's expression softened slightly, and he was extremely satisfied with Zhao Fenglai's tact. However, thinking of the grievances he had suffered at Hanshi Festival, he immediately snorted coldly, "That Hanshi Festival really is a case of refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

"Oh?" Zhao Fenglai's heart skipped a beat. "Mr. Cao, how was the Cold Food Festival rating?"

"Ratings?" Cao Pingzhi sneered. "I'll pretend this restaurant doesn't exist. It won't get a single point. With me around, this restaurant won't be featured in any food reviews!"

Oh?

Zhao Fenglai was overjoyed. Although he didn't know how Qi Han had offended Cao Pingzhi, this was definitely a great thing for him.

His smile widened even further. "Mr. Cao, please come to the Fenglai private room. I've recently come across another beautiful piece of jade..."

Chapter 160 Mu Liufeng's Wrath

"Thank you all for your hard work these past six days."

On the morning of the seventh day of the rating week, Mu Liufeng recalled more than thirty ratings under his command.

"Everyone should have finished the scoring by now, right?" Mu Liufeng smiled as he looked at the thick stacks of papers in each scorer's hands.

This new issue of Food Review magazine coincides with the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament, a perfect opportunity for the magazine to further expand its influence.

Within Star Luo City, the Food Review magazine had reached its bottleneck. Mu Liufeng, an ambitious editor-in-chief, wanted to expand the magazine beyond Star Luo City to the entire Star Luo Empire.

It may even cover the entire Douluo Continent in the future.

After collecting the papers from each of the scorers, the staff responsible for compiling the statistics quickly copied the list of the top 100 dishes into more than 30 copies and distributed them to everyone in the conference room.

"Everyone, please take a look. We all know the tasks for the last day. If you have any objections to this list compiled from everyone's scores, please raise them directly and we will resolve them on the last day."

After Mu Liufeng finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent, with only the rustling sound of pages turning.

Lin Lang held the list in his hands, his face showing a hint of anticipation.

I wonder how many dishes from the Cold Food Festival will make the list?

There must be at least ten dishes, right?

As for how many dishes from the Liuyue district he was assigned to make the list, he wasn't that concerned.

They're all veteran reviewers; they can roughly estimate whether a dish will make the list. This time, the Liuyue Street area is pretty good; six dishes should qualify for the food review.

As Lin Lang flipped through the list with great interest, his expression gradually became strange.

No!

There is not a single dish from the Cold Food Festival on this list.

Why didn't the delicacies of the Cold Food Festival make it into the top 100?

This would never have happened if Cao Pingzhi's tongue hadn't malfunctioned.

Then there's only one possibility.

Nine times out of ten, Hanshi offended Cao Pingzhi, which led Cao Pingzhi to deliberately give him a low score.

Thinking of the rule during the Cold Food Festival that food waste was forbidden, Lin Lang's expression immediately became quite interesting.

Could the owner of that cold food stall really be so stubborn as to refuse to back down at all?

But then, Lin Lang's heart skipped a beat.

This is a great opportunity for me!

He was just honest, not stupid. He could more or less guess what the editor-in-chief was thinking. The reputation of the Cold Food Festival was growing. Although he hadn't eaten at home these past few days, his children would describe the recent situation of the Cold Food Festival to him when he returned home in the evening.

The fact that such a restaurant did not appear in the food review is a huge blow to the credibility of the review, and may even have an irreparable impact on the editor-in-chief's expansion plans.

Cao Pingzhi, it's over.

Even the King of Heaven himself couldn't protect him, I'm telling you!

Lin Lang took a deep look at Cao Pingzhi sitting across from him, then stood up. "Editor-in-chief, I have some things I need to discuss with you privately."

"Oh?" Mu Liufeng looked at the diligent evaluator under his command who had been working for several years, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Then let's go to the small conference room next door."

Then he looked at the others and said, "You guys continue reviewing. If there are no problems, then we'll prepare for printing."

Cao Pingzhi suddenly felt uneasy, but the unease quickly disappeared, making him think it was just an illusion.

He glanced at the list in his hand and a smile appeared on his face.

Last night, Zhao Fenglai gave him another piece of beautiful jade. This piece of jade was even more precious, and it would probably cost at least ten thousand gold soul coins to obtain. In return, after returning home last night, he modified the ratings of several dishes from Fenglai Pavilion. Now, there are a total of five dishes from Fenglai Pavilion on the list.

As for the Cold Food Festival?

There are no ratings at all, so there's no chance of it making the list.

Thinking of this, a cold smile flashed across Cao Pingzhi's lips.

Trying to fight me?

You're still too inexperienced to eat cold food!

Now that things have escalated to this point, even if one regrets offending oneself, it's not going to end so easily.

Cao Pingzhi thought to himself silently.

I want to please myself and strive to be on the list for the next food review.

Asking for 100,000 gold soul coins isn't unreasonable, is it?

Strange, Lin Lang and the editor-in-chief have been out for quite a while, why haven't they come back yet?

What is it that takes so long to report?

Cao Pingzhi suddenly felt some discomfort in his buttocks and couldn't help but shift his body in the seat.

...

After waiting for a long time, Mu Liufeng hurriedly entered the meeting room, leaving behind the words, "Everyone, please do not leave the meeting room. I will send someone to bring lunch. If something comes up, we will continue the review this afternoon." He then hurriedly left the meeting room.

Only the evaluators in the conference room were left, looking at each other blankly.

Is this awkward?

...

"Is this the shop?"

Seeing that the Hanshi restaurant had already formed a long queue outside before it even opened for business, Mu Liufeng's eyes showed a hint of surprise.

"Yes, editor-in-chief." Lin Lang followed closely behind Mu Liufeng, standing at the very end of the line.

"I believe at least 80% of what I'm saying now," Mu Liufeng said, a cold glint in his eyes.

What a fine Cao Pingzhi!

Even Fenglai Pavilion has never seen such a booming business before.

Not a single dish was featured in a food review?

Who would believe it if I told them?

Soon, the doors of the Cold Food Festival opened, and the diners who had been queuing outside filed in. Mu Liufeng and Lin Lang followed closely behind and sat down around a table.

Soon, Qin Yue came up and saw Lin Lang with a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Uncle Lin, isn't today the day for food review? What brings you here?"

Lin Lang chuckled and pointed to Mu Liufeng opposite him, "Let me introduce you, this is..."

Mu Liufeng waved his hand, "Let's order first."

Lin Lang immediately stopped talking, understanding that the editor-in-chief did not want to reveal his identity at this moment.

"Are you a waiter here?" Mu Liufeng glanced at Qin Yue, and nodded after receiving an affirmative answer. "Bring me all the dishes here."

"Ahem." Before Qin Yue could explain, Lin Lang coughed awkwardly twice. "Their restaurant doesn't allow waste. If we order everything we can't finish, they'll blacklist us."

"Oh? There's such a rule?" A strange look appeared in Mu Liufeng's eyes. "Then you order. You've already tried them all, so you should know what to order."

At this moment, Mu Liufeng had a rough idea of ​​why Cao Pingzhi didn't leave a review for this restaurant.

Lin Lang nodded. There was no need for formalities at this moment. After a moment's thought, he quickly ordered enough staple food and dishes for two people.

Soon, the dishes for the two of them were served one by one.

As he watched the delicious dishes being served one after another, Mu Liufeng's face grew increasingly gloomy.

Only after all the dishes were served did he pick up a small spoon and taste a bite of the egg fried rice.

After just one bite, he silently put down his spoon and summoned Qin Yue. "Young lady, did a reviewer named Cao Pingzhi come to your shop to sample the food a few days ago?"

Qin Yue hesitated, unsure whether she should speak up. Lin Lang, standing beside her, smiled and said, "Qin Yue, this gentleman in front of you is Mr. Mu Liufeng, the editor-in-chief of Food Review Magazine. Just say it."

This time, Mu Liufeng did not stop Lin Lang from revealing his identity; a murderous intent was brewing in his eyes.

That damned bastard Cao Pingzhi almost ruined my plans!

Chapter 161 The Top-Ranked Hanshi Festival

"The editor-in-chief of Food Review?" Qin Yue was startled and looked at the handsome middle-aged man in front of her in surprise.

Mu Liufeng forced a smile, "Can you tell me what happened after Cao Pingzhi came to your shop?"

"Okay." Qin Yue nodded and hurriedly recounted what had happened last night.

As Qin Yue recounted her story, Mu Liufeng began to grit his teeth in anger.

Cao! Ping! Zhi!

"Let's eat first!" Suppressing his anger, Mu Liufeng shoved large mouthfuls of fried rice into his mouth.

Although he is not a food critic, he is still the editor-in-chief of a food review magazine, and his ability to taste food is not bad.

This simple plate of fried rice was already better than any of the delicacies he had ever eaten before, and the other dishes were equally delicious, making him almost unable to believe it.