Chapter 86
The mahjong room was so silent that one could hear a pin drop.
Three business moguls fixed their gazes on Madam Huo.
Madam Huo remained composed, studying the tiles in her hand. Her fingers, adorned with an emerald ring, rested lightly against her cheek as if contemplating her next move.
Her expression was calm, her silver hair neatly pulled back and secured with a jade hairpin. Even the wrinkles on her face seemed dignified and elegant.
A poised and immovable presence, exuding the aura of a seasoned strategist.
…Just as the three moguls were starting to rub their ears, thinking they had imagined things—
Gurgle—
Another round of crisp stomach growls echoed through the room.
Three moguls: “…”
Madam Huo: “………”
Madam Huo abruptly pushed over her mahjong tiles, stood up with a pale face, and tried to defend herself:
“No, it wasn’t me! Why are you all looking at me like that?! I am not hungry… I don’t even want to eat…”
At this point, she had to pause and quickly wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth.
That was close—she nearly drooled onto the floor.
The moguls present couldn’t bear to watch anymore and covered their faces.
Oh dear…
That secondhand embarrassment was kicking in.
On the other side, Madam Huo was fuming, her expression slightly contorted in frustration.
Damn it!
She had never been this humiliated in her entire life!
Having been raised in luxury and devoted her entire life to business and corporate warfare, she had thought she was beyond such mundane cravings.
And yet—why!!!
The moment that scent drifted in through the crack of the window, just a single whiff had transported her back to her childhood.
She saw herself as a little girl, huddled under the small eaves with her siblings, eyes fixed on the bubbling clay pot where their mother had placed a glossy red roasted duck, still steaming, soaking in fragrant broth.
They had been poor back then. Their mother couldn’t afford a whole duck and had only bought leftover scraps that vendors couldn’t sell. She would stew them in their homemade broth, and each child only got a tiny piece of meat. But that bite of duck, paired with the rice soaked in broth, was one of the most precious memories of her childhood…
Madam Huo had almost forgotten those decades-old memories, but her hungry stomach hadn’t!
Just from smelling that aroma, the long-dormant glutton inside her had been awakened.
She had already been hungry after playing mahjong for so long.
Madam Huo tried to suppress it, again and again, but failed. The growling from her stomach only grew louder and more persistent—almost like a symphony playing in rounds.
A gust of wind blew the window open a little wider, and an even richer, more intoxicating scent wafted in…
Gurgle! Grumble! Growl!
It was as if the hunger itself had come to life, roaring inside her.
Madam Huo’s face turned red, then white, then finally black.
Like a seasoning dish overturned, blending into a chaotic mix of emotions.
The other moguls couldn’t bear the awkward atmosphere any longer and immediately stood up, all talking at once to smooth things over:
“This really does smell incredible. Maybe we should ask Boss Huang where we can buy some of this roast duck?”
“Yeah, yeah! We’re all getting hungry anyway.”
“I’m not as young as I used to be—I really can’t stand being hungry. Come on, Sister Huo, let’s go find it together…”
With an unpleasant expression, Madam Huo was soon surrounded by the group. She appeared reluctant, but in reality, she followed them quite obediently, heading straight toward the source of the mouthwatering scent.
The streets were bustling—filled with ordinary people dressed casually, riding electric scooters, many with their families in tow. They were all heading in the same direction, toward Auntie Wang’s small convenience store, clearly drawn in by the same aroma.
For an average rich person, perhaps they would have considered their status too high to be eating street food with commoners on a regular city road.
But at Madam Huo’s level of wealth?
That was a completely different story.
They believed in returning to simplicity.
They didn’t need the price of food to prove their wealth—if it tasted good, they would eat it, whether it came from a high-end restaurant or a roadside food stall. If a street vendor’s food was truly delicious, spending some money to buy out the entire shop and turn it into their private kitchen wasn’t out of the question.
In fact, some of them had done exactly that before.
As the enticing aroma filled the air, the moguls had already started calculating in their minds. If the food was as delicious as it smelled, buying out the entire store—including the chef—would mean they’d have a steady supply of it…
Naturally, everyone assumed the scent was coming from a restaurant or a well-known street food vendor.
After all, if even people of their status were drawn in by the aroma, surely it had to be from some hidden gem of a restaurant, right?
How could it possibly be from an ordinary household’s cooking?
So when Madam Huo and her entourage finally reached the source of the scent and looked up, they were met with a massive red sign with gold lettering—
“Auntie Wang’s Convenience Store.”
The moguls froze in shock.
A… a convenience store?!
Madam Huo felt dizzy and instinctively grabbed a nearby utility pole for support, rubbing her temples.
The mouthwatering roasted duck scent that had tormented her stomach for so long… wasn’t coming from a restaurant or even a street vendor—but from a convenience store?!
It wasn’t just them—everyone in the crowd was equally dumbfounded:
“Holy crap! I thought some legendary chef had opened a new restaurant, but you’re telling me it’s just a convenience store?!”
“Wait a minute… isn’t this the same Auntie Wang who made that cursed strawberry stir-fry last time? She gave my entire family food poisoning! Since when did her cooking improve?!”
“I heard the roast duck and marinade weren’t made by her. She bought them from somewhere else.”
“No way! There’s no good roast duck place around here, and Auntie Wang definitely can’t afford the high-end stuff from Zhu Yuan.”
“Aaaaahhh! I need to try it! Even if I can’t get the duck, I’d be happy just having some rice soaked in that marinade!”
Hundreds of hungry, gleaming eyes locked onto Auntie Wang and her family.
The raw hunger and longing in their stares were unmistakable.
If not for the fact that this was a lawful society, Auntie Wang had no doubt they would have stormed in and stolen the food straight from their mouths!
Auntie Wang, her son, and her daughter-in-law: “…”
They had just been casually enjoying their meal, chatting as they ate.
Who could have predicted that someone would roll up the shutter door—revealing a crowd of people staring at them?!
This was like a scene straight out of a horror movie!!!
Her son and daughter-in-law trembled, instinctively tightening their grip on their bowls and shoveling food into their mouths.
Auntie Wang, in particular, began eating even faster, practically inhaling her food. Her chopsticks moved at lightning speed, leaving afterimages as she grabbed pieces of roast duck.
She mixed the rich, red marinade into her rice. The grains, soft and sticky, were coated in the glossy sauce, each bite bursting with deep, savory flavor. The slick, oil-glazed rice carried the essence of the roast duck, making every mouthful incomparably satisfying…
And the roast duck itself—
The skin, tender yet slightly chewy from absorbing the marinade, released a rush of hot, fragrant juices with each bite. Beneath it, the duck meat was soft yet firm, releasing even more flavor the longer it was chewed.
Big, hearty mouthfuls. Pure bliss.
Meanwhile, the spectators watching them eat were suffering.
The scent was overwhelming, the visuals even more tempting—yet they couldn’t have a single bite!
A small child in the crowd suddenly burst into tears: “Mommy, Daddy, I want roast duck! Waaaahh!!”
The adults could only force a bitter smile.
Who could understand the pain of seeing and smelling such delicious food but not being able to eat it?
Faced with this crisis, Auntie Wang started eating even faster. In the blink of an eye, the massive clay pot full of roast duck was almost empty.
Then, at last, Auntie Wang picked up the final slice of duck.
The piece trembled between her chopsticks, dripping with golden oil and rich marinade, its surface glistening red.
Just as she was about to put it into her mouth—
A sudden burst of footsteps approached, followed by a loud, clear voice:
“STOP RIGHT THERE! PUT THE DUCK DOWN!”
Auntie Wang’s chopsticks froze mid-air.
Everyone turned in the direction of the voice.
There stood an elegant woman, dressed in luxurious clothing, an emerald ring on her thumb. Though she appeared to be in her sixties or seventies, her well-maintained features made her look striking rather than old.
A murmur of recognition spread through the crowd.
“Wait… isn’t that—”
“No way. What’s someone like her doing here?”
“Could it be—”
Auntie Wang, still holding the final piece of roast duck, stared blankly at Madam Huo.
Madam Huo locked eyes with the duck, her face darkening slightly before she spoke, her words sending shockwaves through the crowd—
“I’ll pay you 1,000 yuan… for that piece of duck.”
Gasps filled the air.
One thousand yuan—just for one thin slice of duck?!
The crowd collectively sucked in a sharp breath.
The extravagance of the rich was something they could never comprehend.
And yet…
That piece of roast duck was already at her lips, and this mogul still wanted to buy it? She really wasn’t picky at all!
Auntie Wang was utterly stunned.
She had bought an entire roast duck with marinade from Boss Xiao Lan for only 100 yuan—how was it that just one piece could now be sold for 1,000?
From now on, if anyone dared to call Boss Xiao Lan expensive, she would be the first to disagree!
Holding the piece of roast duck in her chopsticks, Auntie Wang was stuck—eating it felt wrong, but not eating it felt even worse. She stood there, awkward and frozen.
And then, something even more shocking happened.
A voice from the crowd called out: “I’ll pay 5,000!”
“Heh, I’ll pay 10,000.”
“I’ll give 50,000—final offer!”
“100,000.”
It turned out that even a small street in Beijing was full of hidden tycoons. They might have looked like ordinary folks, but quite a few were wealthy business owners or had made a fortune from real estate redevelopment.
In the blink of an eye, the piece of roast duck had turned into an auction.
“…”
Then, a calm yet firm voice cut through the commotion—
“One million.”
Madam Huo spoke with authority.
“I want the roast duck—and the remaining marinade in the pot.”
Between her fingers, she held a check, neatly signed and marked with the amount.
The wind gently ruffled her silver hair, making the check flutter.
Boom.
Like a gavel hitting the table, her words sealed the deal.
No one else dared to bid any higher.
The entire crowd gaped at her in sheer disbelief.
One million yuan… for a single piece of roast duck?!
This was sheer madness!
And yet, their gazes quickly turned toward Auntie Wang, filled with envy.
A single piece of roast duck—one she hadn’t even made herself—had just netted her a million yuan. Wasn’t this insanely lucky?
Auntie Wang looked at Madam Huo, then down at the roast duck in her chopsticks.
A brief moment passed.
Then, gritting her teeth, she did something that left everyone completely dumbfounded—
—She ate it.
She stuffed the million-yuan roast duck into her mouth and devoured it in big, satisfied bites.
“Delicious!”
Under everyone’s shocked stares, Auntie Wang then scooped up the remaining marinade in the clay pot, mixed it into her rice, and finished her meal.
Madam Huo: “……”
The entire crowd: “…………???!!!”
Madam Huo’s expression turned as dark as an overcast sky.
Auntie Wang’s son and daughter-in-law nearly fainted from shock.
One million.
That was one million yuan!!!
And she just… ate it?!
Auntie Wang scratched her head. “Well, the roast duck wasn’t made by me—it was made by Boss Xiao Lan. How could I sell something that someone else made? That wouldn’t be right…”
What was she, a scalper?
Even if someone was willing to buy it, she would’ve felt guilty selling it.
Besides—when that piece of roast duck was right there, right under her nose, smelling that good—how could she possibly resist?!
Auntie Wang swallowed the last bite and let out a satisfied burp.
Everyone was still staring at her in utter disbelief.
Their minds were now full of questions.
The roast duck wasn’t hers? Then who was Boss Xiao Lan? How much did this insanely delicious roast duck cost? Was it as expensive as the high-end ones from Zhu Yuan, selling for thousands of yuan?
The sheer number of questions in everyone’s minds was practically overflowing.
Finally, after finishing every last bite, Auntie Wang wiped her mouth.
Only then did she have the time to leisurely turn to the massive crowd gathered in front of her small convenience store and explain:
“Every day at noon, Boss Xiao Lan sets up a stall across from Zhu Yuan to sell roast duck. If you want to buy some, go tomorrow.”
Across from Zhu Yuan.
Noon.
Boss Xiao Lan.
Including Madam Huo, every single person secretly memorized these details.
So will Mrs.Huo try to take the first spot of Jian Yunlan’s roast duck at noon?