Chapter 493 - 327: It’s the Ugly Ones That Are Delicious

The woman wore sunglasses, but from the lower half of her face, it was still clear she had Asian features.

What was strange, though, was that she spoke English—perfect, unaccented American English at that.

The woman didn't look much older than him, he guessed. 'To be this fluent at our age, to speak English like a native, she must have either grown up here or moved here when she was very young. She must have been here for at least a decade,' he thought.

He didn't deny that some linguistic prodigies could reach that level in just a year or two, but one couldn't normally count on such an unlikely possibility.

"I am. How can I help you?"

Out of politeness, Lin Chen didn't stare. Instead, he looked directly at the eyes faintly visible behind her sunglasses and reached out to gently shake the tips of her fingers.

The woman smiled, two charming dimples appearing at the corners of her mouth. She took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of eyes as clear and bright as a tranquil pool.

"I'm the one who applied to arrive today. My reservation was for this afternoon, but I didn't have much to do, so I thought I'd come by early. It seems I've interrupted your work, Mr. Lin?"

'A reservation?'

Lin Chen froze. He stared at the woman's face for a few more seconds before it dawned on him.

"Oh, I remember now! You're our second free-trial guest, right? My apologies. I'm not your point of contact, so I didn't recognize you."

"I know," the woman said with a slight nod, her lovely dimples still gracing her face. She turned to the driver and said softly, "Would you mind getting my luggage for me?"

"Of course, ma'am. My pleasure."

After lifting a massive suitcase from the trunk, the man in the suit nodded to the woman, got back in the car, made a U-turn, and drove away.

Watching the car's tail lights disappear, Lin Chen suddenly had a thought.

"Ah... so that was a premium Uber?"

It was like a VIP car service; if you paid more, you could reserve a premium ride.

You could choose the car model, the pickup time, and any destination you wanted.

Drivers for such high-end services were usually dressed in suits, looking like corporate executives.

Still, to be honest, this was the first time he'd ever seen someone actually use a service like that.

"Yes. The place is still quite a ways away, so I figured since I'm already here, I might as well save a little money where I can. I'm renting a room at your place anyway, Mr. Lin, so I thought I might as well hitch a ride back with you."

"Er... Haha, sure. No problem."

'This woman sure gets comfortable fast. I feel like she could give Erica a run for her money,' he thought.

But on second thought, if she had taken a car directly to their rental, she would have found an empty house. Making a guest wait at the door wouldn't be right, and she'd have wasted money on the fare. It really would have been a waste.

"Ah! That's right!"

Just as the woman was about to move with her luggage, she seemed to remember something and gave a slight, almost embarrassed bow.

"So sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Jin Meiyan. It's a pleasure to meet you."

If everything up to this point had made him think this beautiful woman was a true-blue North American, the bow was the final confirmation. This was definitely the blogger from South Korea that Erica had shown him this morning.

'Looks like Erica's intel wasn't all that great,' he mused. 'For all I know, this woman's passport might not even list her as Korean.'

After her bow, the woman smiled a little sheepishly and pointed to the SUV not far away. "Is that your car?"

"Yes. For the luggage, right? I'll get it."

The car was parked on the grass, and dragging such a large suitcase over the uneven, soft ground would be a struggle.

He stepped forward and grabbed the heavy suitcase. Its unexpected weight made him falter for a second, but he couldn't look weak in front of so many people. Gritting his teeth, he hauled it over to the trunk in one go.

The strain made the muscles in his arms stand out, and Jin Meiyan, who was right beside him, couldn't help but steal a few extra glances.

"Whew... All set!"

Closing the trunk, Lin Chen let out a long breath, trying his best to appear calm and mask his hammering heart.

"Miss Jin Meiyan, have you eaten lunch? We were just serving lunch to the construction crew. There should be some left. If you're hungry, would you like to try some?"

"Did you make it?"

Jin Meiyan was still smiling, her dimples looking particularly captivating in the sunlight. Her beautiful eyes watched him, filled with curiosity.

"I did. I brought it over right after cooking. It's been less than half an hour."

Lin Chen didn't dare hold her gaze. He locked the car and walked quickly ahead to lead the way.

"Since it's for the workers, we should wait until they've all had their fill. I couldn't possibly take food from them; that would be too impolite."

The whole thing only took five minutes. By the time Lin Chen led her back to the insulated food containers, all the workers had already started eating. Even Wang Jun and the driver were squatting to the side, plastic food containers in hand, slurping and shoveling food into their mouths.

He glanced at the food left in the containers. It was about what he'd estimated—roughly a third was left, enough to feed another seven or eight men.

"You must be Miss Jin Meiyan! It's so nice to meet you. You're even prettier in person than in your videos!"

Erica came forward enthusiastically and shook her hand.

"Thank you. And you, Miss Erica, are much lovelier in person than on the show. The camera doesn't do you justice."

Despite it being their first meeting, the two women chatted away as if they were long-lost friends, complimenting each other on one feature after another.

The bizarre scene made Lin Chen frown in confusion.

'This kind of back-and-forth flattery should be an Asian custom, right? People in North America do it, sure, but it's usually just one or two compliments and then they move on. They'd never go on and on like this.'

'What on earth has Erica been watching online? Did she actually learn these tactics from videos?'

'Give her a few more months, and she'll have completely infiltrated our ranks!'

"Does any of the crew want more rice or stew?"

He picked up a megaphone and shouted a few times. Sure enough, three or four workers who weren't quite full came over for a little more, but it wasn't much—about three servings' worth in total.

The remaining portion was more than enough for the three of them, so he didn't wait any longer. He served each of the women a bowl of the stew and let them help themselves to the staple foods—as much as they wanted.

"What is this dish? It looks a bit like curry, with so many ingredients stewed together, but it isn't as thick."

Jin Meiyan hadn't expected to get a free meal the moment she arrived. She held the steaming container in both hands, examining its contents with curiosity.

She stirred the contents with her chopsticks. The more she looked, the more familiar it seemed.

There were glass noodles, cabbage, potatoes, and plenty of other vegetables and meat. 'Why does it look a bit like a stone pot soup?' she wondered.

She wasn't put off by the hodgepodge stew's plain, even unpresentable, appearance. On the contrary, she seemed genuinely interested.

"Seeing how elegantly you're dressed, I figured you wouldn't be interested in the kind of food working-class people eat," Erica remarked.

Erica held her container in her left hand while her right hand used chopsticks to lift one of the fried meatballs she'd been craving. She popped it into her mouth and began to chew.

It was completely different from the crispy texture it had fresh from the fryer. Having soaked in the broth for over half an hour, the meatball's surface was completely saturated, turning it soft and tender. The moment she bit down, it burst with savory juices.

The original fried taste had been completely replaced by the meaty aroma of the stew. Her mouth filled with a rich, savory flavor that finished with a hint of sweetness.

The vegetables inside the meatball no longer had the slight crunch they'd had when freshly fried. After stewing in the hot broth for so long, they were completely tender, dissolving into a sweet vegetable puree the moment she pressed it with her tongue.

What surprised her even more was that the very center of the meatball still retained a hint of its original springy texture, a stark contrast to the soft, saturated outer layer.

It wasn't the texture she had been expecting, but it was surprisingly delicious.

"How someone dresses shouldn't have anything to do with the food they eat, should it?"

Jin Meiyan wasn't the least bit annoyed. She smiled and replied, "Dressing up is just a personal preference, and a professional necessity. The social pressure on Koreans is immense. You can hardly leave the house without being dressed up nicely. I'm used to it."

"In South Korea, there are many restaurants specifically for taxi drivers, which the men call 'driver's canteens.' The food there is never pretty, and the taste isn't mind-blowing—it's just regular-delicious. Their main appeal is large, filling portions at an affordable price."

"Since this food is for working men, it should be exactly like this—plain and unadorned. They don't care about plating; they only care about getting a full meal for the best price."

"Mr. Lin managed to go viral, he's collaborating with the White Whale Restaurant, and he even helped improve their menu. That proves his skills are the real deal—they've been tested and approved. So even if the food isn't pretty, I'm sure it will taste unexpectedly delicious."

She didn't rush to take a bite. Instead, her gaze swept across the area. Most of the workers' containers were already empty, wiped clean with only a sheen of broth left on the sides.

Judging by that result alone, the taste couldn't be bad.

Unlike Erica, who had gone straight for the meatballs, her chopsticks stirred the bowl a few times. She lifted a small bundle of sweet potato noodles to the edge of the bowl and slurped them into her mouth. SLURP.

The sweet potato noodles, soaked soft in the broth, had lost all their usual chewy, springy texture; they broke at the slightest touch. But in exchange, they had completely absorbed the flavor of the broth.

She didn't even need to chew; they slid right down her throat.

She didn't say a word, but the dimples at the corners of her mouth reappeared. She quietly opened one of the warmers, ladled a scoop of rice over her stew, then curiously picked up a white steamed bun and took a small bite.

Its texture, even fluffier and softer than bread, made her eyes light up. On instinct, she dipped the bitten part into the stew, letting it soak up the broth before lifting it out.

The snow-white bun instantly turned a reddish-brown, its surface glistening with oil.

She secretly swallowed, then quickly placed a slice of fatty-and-lean pork knuckle on top of the bun, followed by a piece of soft-stewed cabbage. Then, she opened her mouth wide and eagerly took a huge bite.