Chapter 61
Yu Ming had come back because he forgot his jacket in the meeting room.
But the moment he walked in, he saw Fu Changfeng eating something—something he seemed to be really enjoying.
…In all these years, Yu Ming had never seen Fu Changfeng eat anything with such enthusiasm.
Fu Changfeng had always been disciplined, restrained, never one to indulge in food cravings. Yu Ming himself would occasionally eat some junk food, but Fu Changfeng? He never even touched street food.
Yet now, Fu Changfeng was devouring something like it was the best meal of his life.
For the first time in days, Yu Ming, who had lost all appetite since Boss Jian stopped selling malatang, actually felt hungry again.
“What are you eating?” Yu Ming asked casually. “Let me have a bite?”
Since childhood, Fu Changfeng had never refused Yu Ming anything.
Even if Yu Ming asked for the stars or the moon, Fu Changfeng would try his best to fulfill his wish.
So, when it came to something as simple as sharing food, Yu Ming naturally assumed Fu Changfeng wouldn’t refuse.
But to his surprise—
The moment Yu Ming spoke, Fu Changfeng’s eyes sharpened, and he suddenly stood up!
Almost instinctively, he clutched the paper bag close to his chest, cradling the fried chicken in an extremely defensive posture.
“No.”
Fu Changfeng’s voice was cold and resolute.
“You can forget about it!”
Fried chicken.
The fried chicken he had finally managed to buy, secretly hidden away, reserved just for himself to enjoy.
He wasn’t going to give it to anyone!
Yu Ming: “…?”
Seeing Yu Ming’s surprised expression, Fu Changfeng suddenly realized that his reaction had been a bit unnatural.
“Xiao Ming, that’s not what I meant,” Fu Changfeng softened his tone as much as possible. “It’s just regular fried chicken, not even that good, and it’s cold now. I couldn’t possibly let you eat something cold.”
He said it wasn’t good.
But at the same time, Fu Changfeng shoved the entire piece of fried chicken into his mouth in just a few bites, chewing quickly and aggressively.
[Protecting food.jpg]
His cheeks were puffed out.
As he swallowed the chicken, Fu Changfeng flashed a smile at Yu Ming. “I’ll transfer you some money. Go buy yourself something nice to eat.”
Yu Ming: “Oh…”
He didn’t say anything more, simply picked up the jacket he had left behind, looking a little dejected as he turned to leave.
After closing the door, Yu Ming huffed, a mix of frustration and disdain in his heart.
Hmph, what damn fried chicken.
—Could it possibly be better than his Spicy Hot Pot?!
*
At noon, 12:00 PM, Jian Yunlan groggily opened his eyes.
The first thing he did after waking up was check his job posting on BOSS Zhipin:
[Field Manager]
[No experience required, minimum education: middle school, full-time, daily wages.]
[Job description: Manage farmland for a food stall owner, apply farming expertise to grow a variety of crops.]
A whole day had passed, and Jian Yunlan still hadn’t received any job applications.
Not surprising.
After all, most people on this site were looking for tech or office jobs. If someone was already skilled in farming, wouldn’t they just go straight to the countryside?
The only message he had received was from a desperate civil engineering graduate who, out of sheer hopelessness, offered to do anything for money—flashing an engineering certificate to prove his credentials.
But since the guy had no actual farming experience, Jian Yunlan regretfully turned him down.
After scrolling through the app for a while with no results, he sighed, got up, and started getting ready for the day.
“Young Master, lunch is prepared,” the butler appeared and bowed.
“I’ll stop by the market first,” Jian Yunlan shook his head. “I feel like picking out the ingredients myself today.”
For the past couple of days, he had woken up too late to go to the market.
And as a food stall owner, buying ingredients personally was more reassuring.
So today, he had set an alarm, limiting himself to just seven hours of sleep, getting up at noon sharp.
He wanted to buy chicken himself.
Previously, Hu Danggui had been the one purchasing the chicken—not that it was bad, but… Hu Danggui had a habit of sneakily eating raw chicken. Jian Yunlan was worried the kid would end up overeating.
*
At 1:00 PM, Jian Yunlan pedaled his tricycle to the market.
Since he had moved his stall to Longteng Summer Camp, he had also switched to a different market—not the one he used to go to when selling Spicy Hot Pot.
This was a large market in the suburbs, but not too crowded in the afternoon.
As soon as he stepped in, vendors started calling out:
“Fresh lotus roots! Come take a look—”
“Boss, our fish are big and fresh! Perfect for making soup.”
“Corn, veggies, carrots—”
But… chicken didn’t seem to be popular here.
After walking around, Jian Yunlan realized he hadn’t seen any fresh chicken for sale—only two stalls offering cheap frozen chicken.
But frozen chicken just wouldn’t do.
For truly delicious fried chicken, fresh meat was a must.
Just as he was thinking he might need to visit another market, he suddenly heard a few “cluck cluck clucks” from a nearby stall.
The sound caught his attention.
Looking over, he spotted a cage filled with plump, healthy chickens, their feathers a beautiful and even shade of yellow.
Clear as day—these were Farm free-range chickens.
Behind the cage sat a rugged-looking middle-aged man, broad-shouldered and muscular, dressed in a patched-up work jacket. He stared blankly at the chickens in front of him.
Jian Yunlan immediately recognized the high quality of the chickens and was about to walk over—
—when a nearby vegetable vendor suddenly grabbed his arm.
“Boss, you’re new here, aren’t you? I’d advise you not to buy chickens from that stall. If you’re looking for free-range chickens, you can find them at the market in the south too,” the vegetable vendor said in a hushed tone, his expression a bit strange.
“The guy selling chickens over there is weird, kind of superstitious. The other vendors at this market don’t like him.”
Jian Yunlan pondered for a moment before responding, “Thanks, I’ll be careful.”
But when it came to fresh, high-quality ingredients—
Jian Yunlan was unstoppable.
Seeing that he was dead set on going, the vegetable vendor gave up trying to persuade him and just shook his head helplessly.
Jian Yunlan walked up to the middle-aged man and asked, “Hello, how much for the chicken?”
The man was muttering something under his breath.
It took quite a while before he seemed to register Jian Yunlan’s voice. Slowly, he lifted his head.
Staring blankly at him, the man finally gave a number and stammered through his sales pitch: “My—my family’s free-range chickens… Even Black and White Impermanence, the Judge of the Underworld, and the King of Hell himself ate them and said—said they were good.”
Jian Yunlan: “…”
Okay. That was a little too superstitious.
With a pitch like that, who would dare buy these chickens?
Were they meant for the living or the dead?!
But… Jian Yunlan dared to buy them.
After all, the chickens were indeed top quality.
The seller might be eccentric, but that didn’t change the fact that the chickens themselves were excellent.
He would turn these chickens into the most delicious fried chicken ever.
“I’ll take them all. Do you handle the slaughtering?” Jian Yunlan asked.
“Yes, yes!” The middle-aged man’s face lit up with joy. He stood up abruptly and bowed repeatedly. “Thank you, boss! Thank you for buying my chickens! You’re a great person. Old Niu will remember you…”
The man picked up the chicken cage, spun around twice, then hurriedly made a phone call. Stammering, he said, “Lao Ma! I—I sold the chickens! We have money—money to take the contractor to court now!”
Hearing that, Jian Yunlan glanced at the man’s worn-out clothes and weathered face.
And that phrase—”take the contractor to court”—
For some reason, it made his heart feel a little heavy.
Life wasn’t easy for anyone trying to make a living these days…
So when he transferred the money, Jian Yunlan quietly sent a little extra.
*
Back at the Jian family villa, just as Jian Yunlan was about to start prepping for the night’s food stall, Taotie suddenly walked over.
The tall, silver-haired man looked a little conflicted. In a hesitant tone, he asked, “Human, do… do you have time right now?”
Jian Yunlan raised an eyebrow. “What’s up?”
Taotie’s golden eyes narrowed slightly. After a moment of silence, he spoke in a deep voice:
“Experts have stated that selling fried chicken has a 100% fatality rate. Every single person on Earth who has ever sold fried chicken has eventually died. Moreover, hot oil is a carcinogen, it serves no real purpose, and it poses a serious danger—”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Jian Yunlan felt his brain starting to short-circuit. He had to cut him off. “So what exactly are you trying to say?”
Taotie looked uncomfortable.
He had had enough of the nightmares where Jian Yunlan kept getting burned by hot oil.
Not only that, but even during the day, every time he scrolled on his phone, he kept getting articles and posts warning about the dangers of fried chicken.
All those marketing accounts were citing expert opinions, and the more Taotie read, the more terrifying it seemed.
Humans were already fragile enough as it was.
They could die from wind, rain, or anything, really—let alone from handling something as high-risk as fried chicken.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally tugged at Jian Yunlan’s sleeve and casually muttered, “Tonight… take me with you to the stall.”
If anything happened, he would protect him.
Jian Yunlan stared at him, noticing the slight redness at the tips of Taotie’s ears.
Weird.
After a long pause, a sudden thought struck Jian Yunlan. Clapping his hands together, he said, “You just want extra shifts to make more money, don’t you?”
Taotie: “…”
Looking at him, Jian Yunlan suddenly thought of that chicken seller from earlier.
Taotie—so old, tens of thousands of years old, still drifting around society as an unemployed vagabond… Maybe he needed to save up some money to start a life of his own too.
Life wasn’t easy.
Jian Yunlan sighed.
“Alright, fine. You can come tonight. I’ll pay you extra for overtime.”
Taotie: “…”
He watched as Jian Yunlan cheerfully walked away, his golden eyes filled with frustration.
“…Idiot,” he muttered under his breath.
*
Meanwhile, at Longteng Summer Camp.
The principal slammed a report onto his desk, looking utterly disappointed.
“Unbelievable…! These useless brats! I’ve warned them over and over again, and they’re still not learning their lesson?!”
Yes.
Recently, after the official implementation of the “Bait Plan”—a collaboration with street food vendors—they had indeed caught many students sneaking out by climbing over the wall.
They caught them, but the students didn’t change their ways.
The report showed that the students who had been caught once went right back to climbing over the wall the next day.
They were completely disregarding his authority!
The principal was so furious that his mustache trembled.
“No matter how much we try to teach them, they just won’t listen! At this rate, they’re not even worth one finger of Fu Changfeng!”
A supervising teacher standing nearby nodded in agreement. “Fu Changfeng is the model student of this summer camp, but these kids… hmph.”
Thinking about Fu Changfeng, the principal and teachers finally felt a little more at ease.
No matter how tempting that street food stall was, they firmly believed that Fu Changfeng would never give in.
“Alright then,” the principal sighed, “Tonight, I’ll personally go out and catch them. I must put an end to this bad trend!”
—
4 PM, Jian Family Villa
The middle-aged man, Lao Niu, had delivered the freshly processed Farm free-range chickens.
At the market, all the chickens were live. Since Lao Niu had said he would handle the slaughtering, Jian Yunlan had given him his address.
But when he opened the large bucket Lao Niu handed over, Jian Yunlan was stunned.
Not only had the chickens been slaughtered, but they had also been plucked, cleaned, and fully processed.
Even the wings, drumsticks, and chicken breasts had been neatly sorted into separate categories.
It was almost exactly like the ones sold in supermarkets.
“Boss, I already processed everything for you! Th—These chickens are delicious, and they’re at their freshest right now. Just have your chef cook them up!”
The man, dressed in a worn-out blue work uniform, scratched his head with a simple, honest smile.
… It seemed like he had misunderstood. Seeing that Jian Yunlan lived in such an expensive villa, he probably thought the chickens were for the household chef to prepare.
But in reality—Jian Yunlan was the chef himself.
“Thank you, Mr. Niu,” Jian Yunlan said. “Do you have more chickens? I want to buy from you every day this week.”
Lao Niu’s eyes lit up. He nodded eagerly, grinning from ear to ear. “Yes! Yes! However many you need, I have them!”
After seeing Lao Niu off, Jian Yunlan turned and headed into the kitchen to start prepping for the food stall.
He had already decided—tonight, he would make salt and pepper fried chicken!
Speaking of salt and pepper fried chicken, Jian Yunlan was reminded of his childhood.
After school, he used to stop by a small shop near the school gate, buy a portion of crispy salt and pepper fried chicken, and savor it bite by bite—paired with a cup of bubble tea…
Ah, the taste of childhood.
Unfortunately, Jian Yunlan didn’t have time to make bubble tea today.
He had actually considered it, but as a master-level chef, he wasn’t sure if making bubble tea really fell under the category of culinary skills.
Each craft has its own specialty—if he wasn’t completely confident in something, he wouldn’t attempt it lightly.
But this fried chicken?
He would make it the best.
Salt and pepper fried chicken wasn’t a complicated dish. Jian Yunlan chose pipa drumsticks.
After deboning them, he cut the chicken into small pieces and marinated them with scallions, ginger, and garlic—along with a few fresh egg yolks to enhance the flavor.
While the chicken was marinating in the fridge, he started preparing the batter.
The crispy outer shell was the soul of the dish.
To make it extra crunchy and flavorful, Jian Yunlan mixed flour with coarse-grain sweet potato starch, adding salt and water.
After whisking rapidly, the batter took on a yogurt-like, thick consistency.
…But that alone wasn’t enough.
Jian Yunlan ground his own five-spice powder.
Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, fennel, cloves, and dried tangerine peel—finely ground and blended in perfect proportion—were sprinkled into the batter.
Only with this five-spice mix could the “crispy” in salt and pepper fried chicken truly shine.
Looking at the perfectly blended batter and the marinating chicken, Jian Yunlan nodded in satisfaction.
—
Five Hours Later—3 AM
Jian Yunlan woke up right on time.
To his surprise, Taotie was already waiting for him in the living room.
…Had this guy been too lonely from not going out for so long?
Now that he was finally going back to the food stall, Taotie had even transformed into his beast form—a massive black dog standing tall and proud.
He looked… oddly smug.
“Human, I am ready,” Taotie’s voice echoed directly into his mind.
Jian Yunlan: “…Alright.”
Then—let’s get to work.
*
Meanwhile, at Longteng Summer Camp
By 3 AM, many students had already begun scheming about how to sneak out for fried chicken.
Aside from Jiang Wolong, Lin Feng, and Cui Hu, who had chosen a non-traditional method by hiding inside a chicken cage, most of the other students opted for…
Digging tunnels.
Du Linlin was a regular Alpha student at the summer camp.
Since his sense of smell wasn’t very sharp, he hadn’t been tempted by the fried chicken aroma over the past few days.
But at 3 AM, he quietly climbed out of his dorm window and made his way to the outer wall.
There, a girl with silky black hair was already waiting for him.
Du Linlin’s cheeks flushed, his heartbeat quickened, and he hurried over.
“Xiao Xiao, did you… did you wait for me long?”
Xiao Xiao smiled, her bright eyes as clear as the moonlight.
“No, I just got here. The timing is perfect.”
Xiao Xiao was also a student at the summer camp—an Alpha, just like him.
But her gentle and elegant beauty, paired with a faint jasmine-like aura, made her undoubtedly the camp’s queen of campus beauty.
Even as an Alpha, many people secretly admired her.
So when Du Linlin mustered up the courage to ask Xiao Xiao to meet him late at night by the wall, he hadn’t held out much hope…
But Xiao Xiao actually agreed!
Not only did she agree, but she even arrived earlier than him.
Looking at Xiao Xiao standing before him, Du Linlin felt so happy that he was almost dizzy.
The only strange thing was that while Du Linlin had dressed formally in a suit for the occasion, Xiao Xiao was dressed quite casually… too casually. She was wearing a loose, oversized tracksuit.
But even so, she was still beautiful.
“Let’s take a walk,” Du Linlin suggested shyly.
“Mm.” Xiao Xiao nodded.
The two of them walked quietly along the wall, shoulder to shoulder, without speaking.
Du Linlin didn’t dare look directly at Xiao Xiao, feeling that the moonlight tonight was intoxicating.
Ah, so this is what first love feels like!
Not speaking, just walking under the moonlight together, savoring the moment—it was thrilling and beautiful.
…Suddenly, Xiao Xiao’s eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, “Ah, we’re here!”
Du Linlin: “…?”
Wait, what do you mean, ‘we’re here’?
Weren’t they just walking aimlessly??
Confused, Du Linlin followed her gaze—
And saw a hole.
And a group of people.
The hole was just big enough for a person to crawl through, leading to the outside of the wall. A group of students was already gathered there, waiting.
Some were even arguing:
“We got here first!”
“I have health issues and can’t run fast—let me go first.”
“Why should we? That’s your own fault for not training.”
The group started pushing and shoving, on the verge of breaking into a fight.
And just then—
A tall Alpha stepped forward from the crowd. He stood straight and elegant, his phoenix eyes gentle.
“Stop arguing,” he said calmly. “Listen to me—line up here properly and go one by one.”
“If this gets out of hand and attracts the teachers, no one will get any fried chicken. That would be the worst outcome, wouldn’t it?”
His voice wasn’t loud, nor did he raise it deliberately, but somehow, it carried an undeniable authority.
The students exchanged glances, hesitating.
“I heard that Brother Fu knows the fried chicken vendor,” someone whispered. “Yesterday, the vendor even packed a fried chicken leg for him as lunch.”
Whoa.
Fu Changfeng knows the fried chicken vendor?! That’s a major connection.
This completely shattered their resistance.
Immediately, everyone obediently lined up under his guidance, even trying to get on his good side:
“I’ll listen to Brother Fu.”
“Since Brother Fu said so… let’s all line up properly!”
“Brother Fu, how are you not only top of the class and super capable but also so well-connected—you even know the fried chicken vendor! A true academic god.”
Hearing the rumors get more and more exaggerated, Fu Changfeng neither confirmed nor denied them—he simply nodded meaningfully.
And so, a line formed in front of the hole.
“Let’s line up too—the fried chicken vendor will be here soon!”
Xiao Xiao excitedly grabbed Du Linlin, afraid of falling behind, and joined the line.
As she mentioned the words “fried chicken,” her eyes suddenly sparkled with an intense glow.
Du Linlin stood in line, completely bewildered:
“Wait… what line… what fried chicken…”
Who was he? Where was he? What was even happening??
Next to him, Xiao Xiao gazed dreamily at the moon, seemingly lost in thought. A bit of drool trickled from the corner of her mouth as she smiled blissfully, “Fried chicken… hehe, fried chicken… I can eat it again soon…”
…Wasn’t Xiao Xiao once the goddess-like beauty of the summer camp, as pure and elegant as a jasmine flower?
Du Linlin felt even dizzier.
Had his first love really just turned into lining up to crawl through a hole for fried chicken??
Fried chicken vendor, I hate you. Give me back my innocent, romantic youth…
Du Linlin’s heart shattered into pieces.
As time approached 4 AM, the students grew increasingly restless.
By 3:59 AM, they could already hear the crisp ringing of a tricycle’s bell in the distance!
Like a pack of lions on the verge of a frenzy, the students shifted impatiently in line.
The only reason they weren’t already fighting to squeeze through the hole was because Fu Changfeng had always been respected in summer camp. He was admired by all, and they truly believed he had connections with the fried chicken vendor.
Otherwise, chaos would have erupted.
“Everyone, stay calm,” Fu Changfeng said in a gentle voice. “Follow the order—one by one.”
“I’ll go first. Once I’m on the other side, I’ll call out names in order. When I call your name, you can crawl through. Okay?”
No one suspected anything. Their eyes, bright and innocent yet utterly foolish, nodded in agreement.
And so, they watched as the ever-elegant, ever-dignified Fu Changfeng, maintaining his gentle smile, lowered himself—
And crawled through the hole.
Then, he disappeared.
Vanished…
At first, everyone assumed he was just preparing. But after a long moment, he still hadn’t called out any names.
Minutes passed.
Then someone murmured, “Wait a minute… he wouldn’t have just said all that to delay us, then gone ahead to buy the first piece of fried chicken for himself, would he…”
“Who said he knows the fried chicken vendor? I remember it was just the first time he bought fried chicken yesterday.”
The crowd: “……”
Well, you can’t deny it.
It was at this moment that everyone realized.
They had been played!!!
The students’ faces darkened as they rushed toward the hole.
Under the moonlight, a voice filled with resentment echoed:
“Dog thief Fu Changfeng, we will never forget this—”
At the same time, at the security office.
Principal Lao Xu, along with a group of teachers on duty, was ready to act. The events of the past few days had completely driven him crazy, and he was determined to make an example of the students today, to maintain discipline in the camp.
Not only had he brought all the teachers on duty, but he had also called in a few reporters.
The goal was to showcase the excellent discipline of the Longteng Summer Camp, to let the world know that they would not tolerate students climbing walls.
Reporter Xiao Zhang, with the cameraman in tow, started the recording: “Ahem, Principal Xu, you may begin.”
Dozens of eyes were on Lao Xu.
In front of the camera, Lao Xu puffed out his chest proudly and began speaking:
“Our fully enclosed Longteng Summer Camp has, for many years, cultivated outstanding students for prestigious schools both at home and abroad.”
“For example, this year’s top student, Fu Changfeng, who excels in both academics and character, is disciplined and strong. He has already been accepted by multiple overseas universities.”
“If other students could follow his example, they certainly wouldn’t be doing things that disappoint us like this!”
Lao Xu said this with righteous indignation, clenching his fist:
“Today, I will personally—”
Suddenly.
A tall figure rushed past Lao Xu like a gust of wind!
The story is really quite predictable sometimes and yet it stays SO entertaining and funny and it’s a true joy to read! Every time I see there is a new chapter, I get so happy!