Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 100 How are you guys practicing so fiercely one after another?

Chapter 100: Chapter 100 How are you guys practicing so fiercely one after another?

「Another day passed.」

In the afternoon, during his shift at Bucks Gym, Ma Jun saw that Jiang Feng’s barbecue stall had already opened, and there weren’t many people in line. Ma Jun immediately headed over.

"Boss, I’ll take twenty beef skewers, five grilled leeks, and five enoki mushrooms," Ma Jun said to Jiang Feng.

"Okay, just a minute." Jiang Feng got busy right away in front of the grill.

A new slogan had been added to the signboard beside him: Today’s specialty dish—Grilled Pineapple Beef. This was a recipe Jiang Feng had acquired yesterday, perfect for today.

Ma Jun, somewhat surprised to see the specialty dish on the signboard, asked, "Boss, can you barbecue pineapple?"

Jiang Feng replied, "Yes, pineapple enhances the meat’s flavor and eliminates gaminess. It pairs quite well."

"Then give me two skewers," Ma Jun said, his interest piqued.

"Alright," Jiang Feng agreed.

The grill was at the perfect temperature. About twenty-five minutes later, Jiang Feng had Ma Jun’s order ready.

Meanwhile, more customers started arriving. Jiang Feng packed up Ma Jun’s order. Seeing it was getting late, Ma Jun hurried to the gym upstairs to start his class. Many trainees had eaten the barbecue over the past couple of days, so they needed extra training.

Just as Ma Jun entered the elevator, he unexpectedly ran into Hu Minghui, the gym manager. Hu Minghui, a member of the Tiger’s Gate bodybuilding club, was in ridiculously good shape and currently preparing for a competition one month away. He’d been training extra hard daily, even dehydrating himself, all to get his muscles in peak condition.

Ma Jun felt a bit embarrassed seeing Hu Minghui, who, in turn, had caught a very fragrant scent.

"Old Ma, what did you buy that smells so good?" Hu Minghui asked immediately.

Ma Jun recalled a trainee’s answer from yesterday when asked about their weight gain. So, putting on an air of knowledge, Ma Jun began, "Brother Hu, do you know that really popular stall owner? Online, they call him Executive Chef Jiang. Wherever he sets up his stall, a lot of people line up."

Hearing this, Hu Minghui touched his chin. "I know him. I think I’ve seen his videos."

Ma Jun continued, "For the past few days, he’s been running a barbecue stall right downstairs from our building, and it’s incredibly popular. I was curious, so I bought some barbecue to try."

"Barbecue?" Hu Minghui swallowed hard.

The diet during the sculpting phase was extremely tough; everything tasted particularly awful. It wasn’t just Hu Minghui; all the bodybuilding enthusiasts from Tiger’s Gate were training hard for the competition too.

"Alright, after the competition, let’s go have a barbecue feast together," Hu Minghui said with a smile.

"No problem, Brother Hu! Your current form is amazing; you’ve definitely bulked up," Ma Jun replied immediately.

"Of course." Just then, the elevator reached their floor.

As the doors opened, three muscular men from Tiger’s Gate walked out. The one in the middle, the largest of them, was Lin Hu, the leader of Tiger’s Gate. They greeted each other, and Lin Hu also caught the scent of barbecue.

They asked casually, and Ma Jun explained again. "It’s that stall owner. I know him."

"He’s making barbecue? I’ve actually been quite keen to try it," Lin Hu said cheerfully.

Outside of competition periods, they generally didn’t restrict their diet much. They ate plenty of protein and meat.

"Tiger Brother, I have some right here. Try it," Ma Jun said, offering the barbecue.

"Let’s all have one. Minghui, you better not. It was hard work getting into shape, and all that grease isn’t good for you," Lin Hu added.

Hu Minghui nodded. "Of course I won’t eat. I won’t even look. I’ll go first." Then he promptly left.

Lin Hu took out a skewer of Grilled Pineapple Beef from the bag, eager to taste Jiang Feng’s culinary skills. Each Grilled Pineapple Beef skewer had four pieces of beef interspersed with three pieces of pineapple—not a large portion. Both the beef and pineapple had been cut into cubes. Before grilling, the beef was marinated in a secret sauce. During grilling, it was sprinkled with white sugar and black pepper powder.

Lin Hu first tried a piece of beef. The initial taste was tangy and sweet, blending with the pineapple flavor. This tangy sweetness was very appetizing and instantly made his mouth water. The marinated beef was even juicier when chewed. With one bite, surprisingly fragrant sauce oozed out. The beef was fully cooked, tender, and had a great texture.

"Mmm!" Lin Hu immediately exclaimed in admiration. "Delicious!"

Then he took another bite of the pineapple. The pineapple’s original taste couldn’t be altered, but the marinade permeating it made it delicious as well.

Barbecued pineapple? Could this be some sort of bizarre cuisine? Lin Hu had initially thought. But upon tasting it, he realized it was an absolutely splendid dish!

The other guys also got a skewer each. After trying it, they realized this barbecue was no joke.

"This suddenly makes me crave barbecue," said one of them.

"Isn’t it just downstairs? Let’s go," another replied.

Someone else chimed in, "Minghui is preparing for the competition. It doesn’t seem right for us to go eat barbecue."

"We’re not the ones competing. It’s just a meal."

The group looked towards Lin Hu. After all, he was the leader. After finishing the pineapple barbecue, Lin Hu felt unsatisfied. He thought for a moment before saying, "Later on, let’s go back and tell Minghui that the barbecue isn’t tasty. Don’t corrupt his discipline. Let’s find someone to buy more, and have it at my place tonight."

As soon as Lin Hu finished speaking, everyone was all for it.

"Alright, it’s settled!"

"Good, let’s do that!"

"Old Ma, after you get off work, help with the buying. My treat."

"No problem, I’ll go buy it."

That’s how it was decided. Originally, they had planned to just try one to taste the flavor. But once they started eating, they realized just how delicious the barbecue was. This put the group in the mood for a barbecue feast.

As for Hu Minghui, there was no helping it. During this special period, such delicacies were just not meant for him.

「The next day, the members of Tiger’s Gate were training in the gym.」

Their gym was private, not open to outsiders. Hu Minghui noticed something was amiss. Each one of them was training with incredible energy, as if they were the ones competing. And their high spirits were visibly apparent. This was odd.

"What’s gotten into all of you? Full of beans?" Hu Minghui asked. "Are you also preparing for the competition?"

This was a serious city competition. Lin Hu typically participated in international competitions, and two others weren’t quite up to par to join. On hearing Hu Minghui’s words, everyone was momentarily unsure how to explain.

What they wanted to say was that last night they had a barbecue feast, and it was incredibly satisfying. The experience of eating large chunks of meat was just perfect. Especially the sweet and tangy pineapple beef—it was an ultimate pleasure. After eating, the fatigue from their training was greatly relieved. The next day, they were even more energetic. After arriving at the gym, all they wanted to do was lift weights.

Jiang Feng’s barbecue wasn’t like ordinary barbecue. Its supreme pleasure was a comfort to both mind and body. Perhaps, for the sake of preparing for the competition, they needn’t be so strict, Lin Hu thought.

Hu Minghui was very dedicated, but it was evident he was somewhat weary. If he continued to train in this state, it was hard to say what the toll on his body would be, but his spirit would surely suffer. Lin Hu remembered how during his own competition preparations, when his cravings became irresistible, he would have a big bowl of beef noodles or eat a large chunk of beef to satisfy them. After such a break, he would return to training with renewed vigor.

"Minghui, we ate barbecue from downstairs yesterday. It was really good," Lin Hu said, putting down the heavy dumbbell in his hand. "You should come too today. Let’s have another round."

Upon hearing Lin Hu’s words, everyone was somewhat surprised. A group of bulky muscle men looked at each other.

"Brother Hu?" Hu Minghui was also taken aback.

"Based on my experience, eating this meal will improve the effects of your training. The barbecue won’t have a particularly big impact on your body. You’ll recover in a couple of days. But it will boost your spirits. Being tense all the time is uncomfortable. Try relaxing this once."

"Alright, I’ll listen to you," Hu Minghui nodded. Everyone then broke into smiles.

Afterward, the gym’s atmosphere heated up again, with intermittent grunts and groans echoing through the air.

"UNNGH~"

"HUFF~ HUFF~"

"HA! HA!"

The number of customers at Jiang Feng’s stall continued to grow. Barbecue was popular to begin with; many people loved it. Even ordinary barbecue stalls attracted a lot of patrons, let alone Jiang Feng’s exceptional cooking skills.

He grilled on two barbecue grills at once, with charcoal covering the bottom and the grills loaded with meat. Typically, only the central part of a grill would have hot charcoal, leaving the sides clear. This allowed cooked barbecue to sit on the edges to stay warm without overcooking. But Jiang Feng’s barbecue sold out as soon as it was ready, leaving no leftovers. With no need for storage space, filling the entire bottom with charcoal was most efficient.

Some patrons took out their phones to record videos of Jiang Feng grilling. His appearance and demeanor were both appealing and clean-cut. He never boasted about himself online, but the number of his admirers kept growing. Among them, there were many girls who came especially for him. Girls generally like to check in on trends, enjoy good food, and Jiang Feng’s image was quite appealing. Handsome guy + delicious food—it’s hard not to like.

Little Black, the dog, was so sleepy he could hardly stay upright. He tried hard to sit up with his eyes closed, nodding off, his body occasionally swaying to the side before he’d jolt awake. Licking his lips, he sat back and squinted his eyes to sleep again. He was truly dog-tired!

Seeing Little Black’s state, Jiang Feng gently nudged him with his foot, getting him to lie down on his side. Once lying down, the little fellow fell soundly asleep.