Lei Feng continued his walk along the streets.
Along the way, he passed by many food stalls and restaurants selling a variety of dishes.
He saw vendors selling glistening roasted ducks, colorful candied fruits, and sizzling fried cakes.
While the smells were far better than the Phoenix Pavilion, none of them truly attracted him.
It was as if the foods were lacking in a certain something, and he could not quite pinpoint it.
'It seems like the food here is only so-so. At this rate, I will have to learn how to cook on my own.' Lei Feng mused, walking along the streets.
His aimless wandering slowly took him away from the city's prosperous center. The wide, clean avenues gave way to narrower and worn out streets.
The grand structures started getting thinner and were slowly replaced by less imposing houses.
This was clearly the area where the less privileged people of the city lived.
'Snifff.."
Suddenly, a different kind of aroma hit his nostrils.
"Hmmmm. What is that?"
Lei Feng was immediately attracted to the new smell. It was so much better than the previous ones.
'But where is it coming from?'
Lei Feng looked around. However, he did not see any place where the people were moving in and out.
In fact, the smell was so light that if not for Lei Feng being Lei Feng, a normal human would never be able to smell it.
Curious, Lei Feng followed the scent to its source and soon arrived at a small, humble-looking shop tucked between two slightly larger buildings.
The wooden sign above the door was completely faded, its lettering barely visible, which read -
"Grandpa Jin's Noodles."
Without a second thought, he pushed the door open, a small bell jingling to announce his arrival. The interior was simple, with a few worn wooden tables and stools, but everything was meticulously clean.
The shop was completely empty of customers.
"Hello, is anyone there?" Lei Feng called out.
From a curtained doorway leading to the kitchen, a fat young man with a cheerful, round face emerged, wiping his hands on an apron.
Lei Feng could tell that the fat man was surprised to see him.
"Hello, brother," the young man said hesitantly. "Are you... Looking for a meal?"
Lei Feng frowned, looking around the empty shop. "What else would I do in a noodle shop? Are you selling furniture?"
The young man was taken aback by his directness.
"No, it's just..." he stammered, a look of disbelief on his face. "We haven't had a customer in a very long time. Are you sure you want to eat here?"
Lei Feng's patience wore thin. "Stop asking stupid questions," he said, pointing towards the kitchen.
"Whatever you're cooking that smells so good, bring me three bowls of it."
"Co...Coming right up."
The fatty went back into the curtains in a hurry.
Soon, three bowls of noodles appeared. Though their appearance looked very ordinary, Lei Feng found himself almost drooling as the smell hit his nostrils once again.
"Here you go. Three bowls of Grandpa Jin's special noodles. Hope you like it." The fatty placed the three bowls in front of Lei Feng.
Lei Feng immediately dug into the noodles in front of him with gusto.
Nom nom nom.
Lei Feng just kept on eating, without stopping for a single breath. After eating the noodles, he would pause for a second before digging into another bowl.
"Errr...." The fatty was at a loss for words, watching Lei Feng wolf down the noodles in front of him.
"Bring me three - no, five more bowls. Hurry, or I will come into the kitchen."
Lei Feng spoke between mouthfuls as he reached his third bowl. However, his speed of devouring the noodles had not gone down in the slightest.
If anything, it had increased.
"Right away." The fatty bowed quickly, and ran in, seemingly afraid of Lei Feng.
Nom Nom Nom
Lei Feng continued eating, as if nothing had happened.
-----------
After quite a while, Lei Feng was finally done. He gave a loud burp and leaned on his chair, satisfied.
More than a dozen empty noodle bowls were now stacked on the table. If anyone did not know better, they would imagine that these were left behind by a big group of people who had just had an enormous feast.
The fatty, who finally realized that Lei Feng was done, soon came over once again.
"Brother... you can truly eat. Even I, Jin Bao, can only eat five to six bowls of noodles at a time." He spoke softly.
"Nonsense. Who are you? How dare you think that you can compare with me, the great Lei Feng?" Lei Feng boasted shamelessly.
"Indeed. However, I was really surprised that someone was willing to eat here again. Are you not afraid of offending the Gourmet Sage Master Lian?"
"Eh? Gourmet Sage Master Lian?"
Lei Feng was surprised. This was the second time today that he had heard this name.
It looked like he had quite the influence."
"Fatty, what does that Master Lian have to do with all of this?" Lei Feng asked, annoyed. His good mood from eating the noodles got sour, hearing that name, and recalling the so-called gourmet master and phoenix pavilion again.
"Well, a few months ago, the Gourmet Sage Master Lian came to our eatery," Fatty recalled.
"He was rating various restaurants on the streets, and his ratings would ultimately determine the best and the worst restaurants in the whole of Azure Dragon city. "
"But when he came to our restaurant, instead of tasting our food, he immediately started fighting with my grandfather to donate the restaurant to the Zhao Family."
At the mention of the Zhao family, Jin Bao's eyes became slightly red with anger.
"Naturally, my grandpa refused. After all, we had just moved from our village and had invested everything we had into this place. How could we donate it?"
"Grandpa tried to reason with the Gourmet sage, but he was unwilling to listen to anything."
"At the end, he left without even tasting the food. Declaring that this was the worst restaurant in Azure Dragon city, and the food was so bad that anyone who ate there would be branded as the enemy of the Gourmet Sage himself."
"Since that day, we have had no customers ever come to our stall."