But the chef at this stall with the sign ‘Three Generations of Stir-Fried Rice Noodles’ was clearly a true expert. The sauces he used were top-notch—at least at a level six chef’s standard. Especially his stir-frying skills: the way he tossed the noodles up and down was dazzling to watch. You didn’t even need to eat it; just watching was worth the five yuan you paid for the noodles.

The noodles he made achieved a perfect crispy layer on one side, and about eighty percent of the liangfen stayed intact. One side was golden and crispy, the sauce coated the noodles evenly and generously, and when it came out of the pan, the heat forced out little bubbles, making it look like a solid ninety out of a hundred in terms of appearance.

It seemed the ‘Three Generations of Stir-Fried Rice Noodles’ sign wasn’t just for show. With skills like these, not only in Chudu, but even in Bianjing, the birthplace of stir-fried noodles in the Central Plains, he’d be considered first-class. William Carter nodded, then turned to look at Lillian Reed’s stall across the way, sighed inwardly, and walked over.

“Boss, I’ll have a serving of noodles, please.”

William Carter took out five yuan and handed it over with a smile.

“Sure... Eh, Big Brother Carter?”

Lillian Reed was just about to take the money, but when she looked up and saw it was William Carter, she froze in surprise.

“Uncle Carter, are you here to see Auntie?”

Little Alice also spotted William Carter, but this little girl was way too direct—her words made both adults blush.

Chapter 9: [God-Level Stir-Fried Noodles]

Girls who are often shy tend to be more sensitive.

Originally, William Carter’s appearance could have been considered a coincidence. Lillian Reed was a little embarrassed, but she couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Why did he come? Is he here to see me?’—the kind of little thoughts girls have. But it wasn’t really that awkward. After all, the flea market was a public place, not her private boudoir. Besides, these days, girls’ boudoirs aren’t so heavily guarded anymore. It’s not like the old feudal days when a man seeing a girl’s hand or foot meant she had to cry and demand to marry him, calling it ‘losing her virtue’...

But the mischievous Little Alice’s words almost hit the mark, exposing the little bit of mischief brewing in William Carter’s mind. Even with his thick skin, honed over more than twenty years of braving winter and summer, and his college days joking about longing for girls’ perfume with some impressive ‘battle records’, he still couldn’t help but blush: “What kind of world is this? She’s not even three years old yet! It’s all those Korean dramas’ fault...”

Lillian Reed, on the other hand, was so embarrassed she nearly lowered her head onto the griddle, exposing a long stretch of her fair neck as she busied herself with her work.

“The sauce is pretty good—not worse than the ‘Three Generations of Stir-Fried Rice Noodles’ across the way, maybe even a bit better. But the stir-frying skills...”

The aroma of the sauce hit his nose, and William Carter nodded to himself. Just from the smell, he could tell that Lillian Reed’s sauce wasn’t some supermarket product, but something she’d blended herself. And the quality wasn’t low—probably at the peak of level six chef skills. If you converted that to chef rankings, that would be a special third-class chef.

What William Carter couldn’t figure out was how someone like Lillian Reed, who could blend such a sauce, could have such terrible stir-frying skills. He watched as she broke the liangfen into pieces, burning them until they were black and even giving off a burnt smell. With stir-fried noodles like this, you wouldn’t even want to eat them—just smelling them was enough to make you give up.

Compared to the ‘Three Generations of Stir-Fried Rice Noodles’ across the way, the difference was obvious. No wonder her business was so bad...

“Uh, Lillian Reed, has your business always been like this?” William Carter couldn’t help but ask as he took the noodles.

“Hmph, our business used to be good, but ever since that bad uncle across the street showed up, it’s gone downhill. He stole all our customers.”

Little Alice angrily clenched her little fists again, making William Carter start to worry—did this little girl have violent tendencies? Why did she always want to throw punches?

“Alice Green, don’t talk nonsense. The uncle across the street makes better noodles than we do, so of course his business is better.”

Lillian Reed stopped Alice Green and said, “Remember what Auntie said: when someone is better than you, you should find a way to surpass them, not complain or hate. Understand?”

“Hm?”

Lillian Reed’s words were meant to teach Alice Green, but they made William Carter pause and take a closer look at her. He hadn’t expected this gentle girl to have such insight.

A girl like this was worth helping.

William Carter picked up a piece of liangfen and tasted it, nodding slightly. “Lillian Reed, did you blend this sauce yourself? It’s really good.”

“It’s my dad’s recipe... This stall used to be my dad’s...”

“Oh, I see.” William Carter saw she didn’t want to say more, so he didn’t press. He just glanced at the liangfen soaking in several buckets and said, “If you don’t sell these noodles, they’ll go bad by tomorrow, right?”

“Yes, but there’s nothing I can do.” Lillian Reed smiled helplessly.

“Heh, since they’ll go bad anyway, why not let me give it a try? To be honest, I’m a bit of a foodie myself, and I do know a thing or two about stir-fried noodles.”

“You?”

Lillian Reed looked at William Carter in disbelief, clearly not thinking this scholarly-looking man could cook noodles.

“Really? I knew Uncle Carter was the best!”

But Little Alice was very excited, her big eyes blinking as she looked at William Carter with great anticipation.