"Delicious! This taste is absolutely fantastic!"
"Exactly! I told you the boss's seasoning and ingredients were top-notch."
"Those people are just despicable. Their own barbecue doesn't taste as good as here, so they come to slander the boss. Truly petty!"
"Absolutely, they are complete scoundrels. I will never go to their stalls for barbecue again!"
"Me neither! From now on, I'll only eat barbecue here!"
Those who were lucky enough to get some barbecue from Alan couldn't stop praising Jake's skills. The flavor of the barbecue was no different from before.
During the whole process of Jake's barbecue just now, it was all done right under their watchful eyes, using ingredients and seasonings from other bosses. This thoroughly proved Jake's innocence.
As for the owners of those barbecue stalls, in a complex mood, they ate Jake's barbecue and then dispersed back to their own stalls. They already knew the result and anticipated the comments from other customers. Staying there would only embarrass them.
However, now that they were sure of Jake's true skills, these stall owners became more determined to find other ways to force Jake out. Since Jake's abilities were proven, and Alan's identity confirmed, nobody objected to Jake seeking Alan's help with his work.
However, Alan's barbecue skills were a bit inferior to Jake's. He was already weaker in terms of skill, and he hadn't studied barbecue before, so it was understandable. Nevertheless, compared to the other stall owners, Alan's level was still higher.
After realizing the difference in skills between Alan and Jake, everyone admired Jake's abilities even more. Even Kailomen's head chef couldn't match Jake's expertise. It was evident that Jake's level of skill was exceptional, and finding someone with such talent doing barbecue here wasn't something that happened every day. Perhaps he would be recruited by a big restaurant at any moment. So everyone was eager to enjoy more barbecue here before that happened.
Wendy usually didn't eat barbecue because she found it unsanitary. However, today was an exception, and she had some barbecue. Of course, she and her roommates only ate what Jake personally grilled, which tasted even better than what Alan made.
Wendy and her group didn't stay for long and left quickly, as if she was just passing by.
In reality, Wendy's roommates knew that it wasn't the case. After leaving Jake's stall, Wendy returned to the school alone, without continuing to wander with them.
"What do you think is the relationship between our goddess Wendy and that barbecue stall owner?!"
After Wendy left, her three roommates started gossiping. Gossiping was a woman's nature, and Wendy's unusual behavior today naturally piqued their curiosity even more.
"They're probably just friends. Otherwise, she wouldn't have come here specifically to see him."
"Are they just regular friends or more than that?"
"Definitely just regular friends. Come on, do you think Wendy would fall for a barbecue guy? Please, this is reality, not a fairy tale world."
"True, the gap between the two is too obvious. Wendy is obviously well-off, and although the barbecue stall owner is not poor, he certainly can't compare to Wendy."
"But even if they are just friends, it's already quite rare. If this gets out, it will definitely cause a sensation in the school. Many people at the school are interested in Wendy, but she's never even spoken to anyone, let alone become friends with them."
"That's for sure. By the way, there were quite a few students from our school in front of that stall just now. I hope news about Wendy and the barbecue stall owner doesn't spread."
"It probably won't. Apart from exchanging a few words with him at the beginning, Wendy hasn't talked to him since."
"Alright, let's not overthink it. Even if it gets out, knowing Wendy's personality, she won't care. Why bother ourselves?"
"You're right, let's continue shopping."
"Let's go."
Though these girls speculated about the relationship between Jake and Wendy, they didn't entertain the idea of them being in a romantic relationship. In their eyes, the difference between the two was too vast, and even being ordinary friends seemed unlikely, let alone anything more. From their perspective, it was absolutely impossible.
If Jake knew their speculations, he might tell them they were mistaken. After all, he and Wendy were probably not even friends anymore. However, if Wendy knew what they were guessing, she might have a different view, but she wouldn't reveal it.
Jake's business was still booming in the evening. Thanks to his previous impromptu performance, customers trusted him even more, and the business was better than before. Luckily, Alan was there today; otherwise, Jake would have been exhausted. With Alan's help, he felt much more at ease. Having this apprentice was indeed beneficial, as it helped relieve some of the pressure.
Alan had a great attitude, even though he was busy from start to finish, he didn't complain at all. It's worth mentioning that back when he worked at Kailomen, he was a head chef and only had to prepare a few dishes, while other chefs handled the majority of the work. He had never been this tired before. Despite sweating constantly from the busy work, he didn't utter a single complaint and remained diligent. Jake was very satisfied with him.
"Master, let me drive you home." After packing up, Alan offered, "I came here by car."
Jake probably wasn't financially well off since he was doing barbecue here. Although Alan was curious, he didn't ask, and instead, he offered to drive him.
"No need, my place isn't far from here. You go ahead, it's been a tiring night." Jake declined.
Having an apprentice with a car while he didn't was embarrassing! Jake decided that once he had enough money, he would definitely buy a car, not for showing off, but for convenience.
"I'm not tired. When I first started learning to cook, it was much more exhausting than this." Alan said.
Whether in the real world or the game world, for an ordinary person to excel in a certain field, strong abilities come only with substantial effort. In this aspect, Jake was very fortunate because he was a "player." Improving his skill levels was relatively easy, and his several skills had high starting points, far above those of others.