Universe Infinite Canteen

"Where's our food? How come it hasn't been served yet?"

Not long after, Tang Rijie was urging them again.

This time, it wasn't the pretty waitress who responded but Ma Lu from the cash register.

"It'll be ready in two more minutes."

Tang Rijie finally quieted down a bit and continued to bury his head in eating.

When people are under great pressure, their appetite increases, and since the food at Universe Infinite Canteen was indeed delicious, Tang Rijie ate even more, bowl after bowl.

Since the cameraman wasn't recording and he didn't have to forcefully give critiques, he completely let loose.

What Tang Rijie didn't know was that his wild show of eating was being watched by tens of thousands of viewers in the live stream.

At this moment, the live stream chat was blowing up with messages again.

"Teacher Tang, where's your restraint? Didn't you say it had no soul? Why are you showing off with such gusto?"

"Don't tell me, his eating is making me hungry too. I think Teacher Tang shouldn't bother with food exploration blogging anymore, he should switch to live-stream eating!"

"It looks like Teacher Tang really has the talent for it, considering how in his previous exploration videos he only took a few small bites to taste the food. I didn't expect him to have such a good appetite."

"Do you guys think it's possible that the food at this restaurant is so good that it made Teacher Tang lose control?"

"Hey, hey, hey, if you say that, Black Boss is going to be grinning behind the screen."

Although the viewers in the live stream were still calling Ma Lu Black Boss, the attacks weren't as strong as before, and it was more about teasing.

Even though Tang Rijie stubbornly clung to his 'soul', anyone with clear eyes could see he was just being stubborn, seeing as he was enjoying the food so much he couldn't even fake otherwise.

Therefore, more and more people in the live stream started mocking Tang Rijie, with only his true fans still hoping that Teacher Tang could pull off a last-minute, dramatic comeback.

Before two minutes had passed, Tang Rijie had devoured all three dishes on the table.

The cameraman and editor beside him hadn't had a single bite and could only swallow their saliva.

Both had resolved that, once the video shoot was done, they'd definitely order extra portions to try, even if they couldn't get reimbursed, because not just Tang Rijie, but all the diners around them seemed to be really enjoying their meals, which showed the food at this restaurant was genuinely delicious.

Neither the cameraman nor the editor understood the 'soul' that Tang Rijie kept emphasizing.

Although Tang Rijie was known for his sharp tongue, when encountering delicious food at other restaurants, he never hesitated to give praise; he rarely ever praised and criticized as half-heartedly as he was doing now.

But since Tang Rijie wouldn't explain and just kept his head down to eat, they didn't feel it was right to ask.

A little while later, the fourth dish was finally served.

Seeing the plate in Ma Lu's hand, Tang Rijie unexpectedly felt a sense of relief.

The last dish—after eating this, he could end this nightmarish food exploration.

Tang Rijie loosened his collar and picked up his chopsticks.

However, upon seeing what was on the plate, the three people at the table were taken aback.

"Is this... dumplings? But we didn't order dumplings," said the person responsible for ordering, in post-production. "We ordered Wuxu Almond Cake."

"Did they serve the wrong dish, or give us someone else's?" asked the photographer. "That can't be right, I remember the menu didn't even have dumplings on it."

"There was no mistake; these are yours."

Ma Lu looked at Tang Rijie. "Our restaurant has always valued customer feedback. Didn't you specifically mention wanting to eat a 'soul'? I told the kitchen, and since we just happened to have some, we wrapped it into your dish. Eat it while it's hot."

Tang Rijie frowned, feeling bewildered. "Are you playing tricks on me with a plate of dumplings because I gave an honest review of the dishes in your restaurant, and you harbor resentment?"

"No, quite the opposite. I hope that Teacher Tang can be more sincere. Becoming a major broadcaster and accumulating so many fans is not easy. Don't let yourself be used as a pawn and burn all the reputation you've built up until now, which you might regret deeply later."

Tang Rijie was startled, having not expected Ma Lu to figure out that he had come on a mission. But after being a public figure for so long, he had practiced some control over his expressions. Tang Rijie remained impassive on the surface and shook his head.

"I don't know about other food bloggers, but I've always been outspoken, never hiding or mincing words, and I don't accept paid reviews. It's precisely because of this that I've come so far!"

Their conversation also drew the attention of other customers in the restaurant toward them.

At first, most people thought like He Xiaoqian, assuming Ma Lu had taken the initiative to greet Tang Rijie upon discovering his visit in hopes of building a relationship.

After all, food bloggers wield considerable influence, especially someone like Tang Rijie with millions of fans. A single word from him could determine the life or death of a restaurant.

This wasn't an exaggeration. There had been restaurants that suffered a drastic decline in business after being critically reviewed by Tang Rijie and ultimately had to close down. There were also obscure venues that saw a significant increase in customers and were constantly packed after receiving his praise.

So, most restaurant owners would try to serve these review bloggers as well as possible.

But now, the atmosphere between Ma Lu and Tang Rijie seemed unfriendly, even tense.

Ma Lu couldn't be bothered to argue and simply placed the plate of dumplings on the table, then returned to sit behind the cash register.

Tang Rijie and his two companions were left staring at the steaming hot plate of dumplings.

Post-production Xiao Zhao was the first to speak. "It seems that the owner of this restaurant has a preconceived notion against us, Teacher Tang. Maybe we shouldn't eat these dumplings, in case there's a problem."

As he spoke, he hesitated a bit because the dumplings in the plate looked very appealing, plump and steaming hot.
Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

Tang Rijie did not respond but asked the photographer beside him, "Did you get that last part on video?"

The photographer gestured reassuringly to him.

Having worked with Tang Rijie for so long, the photographer wouldn't miss such valuable footage of "Teacher Tang critically reviewing a trendy restaurant, and the enraged owner coming out to slander."

The next video's views would rely on this.

Tang Rijie also understood this and perked up a bit, deciding to capture this dramatic moment completely.

He signaled the photographer to start recording and said to the camera,

"Can't everyone see? We were just eating normally, when the owner suddenly came over accusing us of being shills and even took it upon himself to change our last dish.

"He said this dish contains a 'soul', so now I must taste and see where this 'soul' he mentioned is."

Having said that, Tang Rijie picked up the chopsticks he had just set down, grabbed a dumpling, and put it in his mouth to chew.

"Hmm, it's filled with lamb and they've added zucchini inside. The taste isn't bad, but it's not better than the previous dishes by much..."

Tang Rijie was in the midst of saying this when he suddenly halted mid-sentence.