Chapter 165 A Unique 5-Star Review: On the Self-Strategy of a Billionaire
Jiang Jianguo gasped for breath and rushed out of the alley like a gust of wind.
A few strands of white hair hung down in front of his forehead, which, combined with the large, tattered coat, made him look particularly disheveled.
In order to avoid revealing his identity during this incognito visit, he didn't even let his family driver, Lao Li, accompany him.
Now they've fled in disarray, without even a car to pick them up.
Standing on the empty street, Jiang Jianguo couldn't help but sneeze loudly when the cold wind blew.
Just then, a Beijing taxi with its "For hire" light on turned around the corner.
Jiang Jianguo waved his hand quickly, as if grasping at a lifeline.
The car pulled over to the side of the road, and he yanked open the back door and awkwardly climbed inside.
With a bang, the car door slammed shut, completely shutting out the chill of late autumn.
The taxi driver was a middle-aged man with a buzz cut, who was drinking goji berry water from a thermos.
Hearing the noise, the older brother glanced at the uninvited guest in the rearview mirror.
Looking at Jiang Jianguo's worn-out military overcoat that smelled of mothballs, the older brother frowned slightly.
"Sir, where are you wandering around so late at night?"
The driver put down his thermos, casually shifted gears, and spoke with a touch of Beijing-style banter.
Jiang Jianguo's mind was filled with the embarrassing scene in the yard earlier, and he had no mood to chat with anyone.
He leaned back in his chair and uttered a place name in a irritable tone.
"Go to the villa area in Xishan, drive faster!"
Upon hearing the name of the place, the driver paused slightly on the accelerator.
That's one of the most exclusive and wealthy neighborhoods in Beijing, inhabited entirely by incredibly wealthy and influential people.
The older brother glanced again at the ragged old man in the rearview mirror, a hint of suspicion creeping into his eyes.
"Sir, that place is very secure; not even a fly can get in."
"You're going there in the middle of the night, do you think the security guard will let you in? You might not even be able to pay your fare later."
Jiang Jianguo was seething with anger and had nowhere to vent it when he heard this, and his eyes widened.
He's the biggest owner; even the property manager there has to bow and scrape before him.
Now I'm being looked down upon by a taxi driver.
He instinctively wanted to pull out his unlimited black card and throw it at them.
He reached into his pocket and felt a crumpled banknote.
That was the hundred yuan that Lin Mo had just forced back into his hand.
Jiang Jianguo's fingers suddenly stiffened, and that familiar sense of shame surged into his heart again.
He gritted his teeth, pulled out the hundred-yuan bill, and slammed it directly onto the center armrest box.
"Stop talking nonsense! Drive your car! Is this enough money?"
When the driver saw the real money, he curled his lip and stepped on the gas.
The taxi smoothly merged into the dazzling nighttime traffic of Beijing.
The heater was on inside the carriage, and the temperature quickly rose.
Jiang Jianguo felt a bit hot, so he casually pulled open the tattered jacket that was in the way.
He slumped into the slightly worn car seat like a lump of mud.
My tense nerves finally relaxed at this moment.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled.
In that very breath, a strange reaction occurred within his body.
The anger, embarrassment, and shame that had been building up inside the carriage seemed to be gradually dissipating as the temperature rose.
Instead, there is an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
A faint citrus scent lingers in the mouth.
The rich, lingering flavor of aged Shaoxing wine mixed with premium crab roe still lingers on the tip of the tongue.
The memory lingered, leaving a lasting impression.
His stomach felt warm and cozy.
The crab roe from that whole orange cup I just ate is now radiating a gentle warmth in my stomach.
This heat flowed through my blood to my limbs and bones, dispelling the chill I had felt while standing in the cold wind.
Jiang Jianguo subconsciously reached out and gently touched his stomach through his expensive custom-made shirt.
There was a slight bulge there.
This was the most filling and enjoyable meal he had eaten in recent years.
In the past, he would only take a couple of bites of those so-called fancy meals before finding them tasteless.
But today, he almost licked the bottom of the plate clean.
Thinking of his pathetic state as he licked the spoon in front of everyone, Jiang Jianguo's face turned red again.
"Cough cough..."
He cleared his throat, trying to hide the turmoil in his heart.
But in such a quiet space where you are all alone, your body's reactions don't lie.
He had to admit that the crab-stuffed orange had completely won over his stomach.
"This kid, though kind-hearted, his skills..."
Jiang Jianguo muttered to himself, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.
"This skill is definitely much better than the foreign chef at home who gets a yearly salary."
He is an absolutely rational person in the business world and never denies objectively existing facts.
He has a clear sense of right and wrong, which is the underlying logic that enabled him to become the richest man in the world.
Although they would never admit it verbally, their actions betrayed them horribly.
Now, whenever he closes his eyes, all he can think of is that golden crab-stuffed orange.
Jiang Jianguo was somewhat uneasy.
He felt an overwhelming urge to express himself that he had to urge to do.
He felt in his pants pocket and pulled out his custom-made folding phone.
The screen lit up, casting a pale blue light on his wrinkled face.
The driver in front glanced in the rearview mirror and was so startled he almost swerved the steering wheel.
The old man was dressed like a beggar, but the phone he was holding was a limited edition that couldn't be bought on the market!
The contrast is too great.
Jiang Jianguo completely ignored the driver's shock. He shrank into the corner like a thief caught in the act.
With two fingers deftly swiping across the screen, I opened a review app similar to Dianping (a popular Chinese review platform).
He rarely uses this software, and his main account is the verified Jiang Group Chairman.
Of course, he wouldn't use his official account to review a restaurant in a run-down alley.
His fingers flew across the keyboard as he quickly opened the account switching interface.
He skillfully entered a password and logged into a secondary account that he had registered many years ago.
Account nickname: User 9527.
The profile picture is a gray landscape image that is the system's default setting, and the homepage is clean and uncluttered with no activity.
Jiang Jianguo looked at the screen and took a deep breath.
He typed "Lin's Restaurant" into the search bar.
The page redirected, displaying information about the courtyard house that didn't even have a proper storefront.
Overall score: 5.0.
Jiang Jianguo snorted and clicked the "Write a review" button.
His original intention was to write a sarcastic commentary that used the technique of praising first and then criticizing, to stir up trouble.
But when his fingers hovered over the virtual keyboard, all that came to mind was that wonderful feeling.
"The cooking time is perfect; any more and it would be overcooked, any less and it would be too fishy. It's textbook-level precision."
He sighed inwardly, and his fingers began to tap involuntarily.
"I happened to pass by a small, unassuming restaurant today and ordered a dish just to get by."
"As someone who has traveled the world and tasted countless Michelin three-star restaurants, I must say that this dish surprised me."
Jiang Jianguo became more and more engrossed in writing, completely immersing himself in the role of a food critic.
He even used a lot of technical terms that would only appear in business reports.
"The selection of ingredients is extremely rigorous. The fruit acids of oranges and the lipids of crab roe achieve a perfect molecular fusion at high temperatures."
"It not only neutralizes the fishy smell of seafood, but also enhances the overall taste."
"The knife skills are fluid and graceful, the crab meat is extremely intact, and the original fibrous elasticity is preserved."
He wrote at length, the only sound in the carriage being the soft tapping of his fingers on the screen.
Before I knew it, I had written almost a thousand words.
After writing down the menu, the image of Lin Mo stuffing the hundred yuan back into his hand suddenly flashed into his mind.
The young man's clear eyes and his advice, "It's getting cold, buy a warm coat."
Jiang Jianguo's fingers paused for a moment.
Although I felt humiliated at the time, now that I've calmed down and thought about it, I realize that the guy wasn't really a bad person at heart.
In this materialistic society, it is rare to still retain such simple compassion.
Jiang Jianguo glanced at the hundred yuan on the armrest box.
That awkward feeling welled up inside me again.
"Although the boss is young, he is steady in his work and has rare traditional virtues in his dealings with people."
"They demonstrated exceptional humanistic care and moral character towards the elderly and vulnerable."
Jiang Jianguo gritted his teeth and added the words that were clearly praising his character.
Anyway, he used a pseudonym, so nobody knew it was written by the richest man in the country.
Consider it a disguised form of compensation for the 100 yuan "free meal".
Jiang Jianguo has never owed anyone a favor.
A flurry of actions, as fierce as a tiger.
The lengthy essay, exceeding two thousand words, was accompanied by his professional typesetting and punctuation.
It's even more rigorous and detailed than a column article in a food magazine.
During the final scoring phase, Jiang Jianguo hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then, I decisively pressed the five bright yellow stars.
Not only did I give the taste five stars, but the environment and service were also top-notch.
A soft "ding" sounded.
Evaluation sent successfully.
Seeing my long positive review appear at the very top of the shop.
Jiang Jianguo breathed a long sigh of relief, feeling as if a weight had finally been lifted from his heart.
He turned off his phone screen and casually put it back in his pocket.
The streetlights outside the car window flashed past quickly.
Jiang Jianguo looked at his reflection in the car window and suddenly found it somewhat amusing.
What am I doing?
He just slammed his fist on the table and made some threats in someone's shop, but then secretly wrote a two-thousand-word five-star review in a taxi?
If this gets out, what will become of Jiang Jianguo's reputation?
"snort!"
Jiang Jianguo snorted coldly at his reflection in the car window, trying to save face.
"I'm just giving the most objective and fair evaluation as a conscientious food critic."
He reached out and straightened his slightly wrinkled collar, straightening his posture once again.
"One thing at a time. Just because someone cooks well doesn't mean I approve of them as a person."
"If you want to be my son-in-law, Jiang Jianguo, just knowing how to cook a couple of dishes isn't enough!"
"I'm absolutely not backing down, I'm just stating the facts, yes, stating the facts!"
He repeatedly brainwashed himself, trying to use this "mental victory method" to cover up his true thoughts.
As long as I don't admit it, no one will know that I've been completely won over by a dish.
The taxi turned through a quiet intersection and smoothly drove into the affluent Xishan district.
The plane trees lining both sides of the road looked especially serene in the night.
Jiang Jianguo leaned back in his chair and even hummed a tuneless Peking Opera excerpt with a sense of contentment.
He thought that today's absurd test had come to a perfect end in this quiet autumn night.
It was flawless, and no one knew about it.
When the sun rises tomorrow, he will still be the same aloof and decisive Chairman Jiang.
The taste of this crab-stuffed orange will forever remain a secret in his heart.
The taxi slowly slowed down.