The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: The Only Chance to Stay

Boss Pang finished speaking, looking eagerly at Fu Yu.

Fu Yu thought for a moment and said earnestly, ”Boss Pang, I think you should communicate well with your daughter before making a decision. After all, both parties need to agree for a blind date to work, right?”

Boss Pang immediately promised, ”Of course, don’t worry. Once I talk it over with my daughter, I’ll contact you.”

Fu Yu agreed with a smile, not taking it too seriously.

It seemed like Boss Pang was casting a wide net, so Fu Yu decided to be a bit passive and decide what to do later.

Maybe the girl would even think he was just a kitchen worker with no future, a poor guy.

...

When Fu Yu went to the back kitchen, Zhao Meng was flipping a wok and scolding the kitchen helper Sun Qingning.

”How many times have I told you! Be quick with everything! The oil here is about to burn dry, and you haven’t finished cleaning yet! It’s such a delay!”

Sun Qingning, good-tempered and just returning from vacation with his girlfriend, faced Zhao Meng’s angry roar calmly and admitted fault.

”I’ll pay attention next time...”

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked up to see Fu Yu entering from the doorway, and immediately greeted him with a look of finding a savior, ”Fu Yu! You’re back?”

Before Fu Yu could get closer, Sun Qingning hurriedly turned his head and said, ”Chef Zhao, I’m going to the restroom, I’ve been holding it for so long. Since Fu Yu is back, let him watch for a bit!”

Zhao Meng, exasperated yet resigned, gestured to let him go, ”Get out!”

Sun Qingning slipped away immediately, brushing past Fu Yu and discreetly clasping his hands in a gesture of thanks.

Fu Yu returned the gesture with a middle finger.

”Chef Zhao.”

Fu Yu had just called out when he saw Zhao Meng about to plate the dish from the wok. Quickly, he grabbed a clean cloth nearby, ready to wipe the edge of the plate in a moment.

Zhao Meng plated the dish, and as he turned the dish, two drops of sauce splashed out.

Zhao Meng instinctively reached out his hand, and immediately a clean cloth was handed to him.

He casually wiped the edge of the plate free of sauce, then handed it to the waiter waiting to serve it.

Zhao Meng looked at Fu Yu.

Originally irritated, Zhao Meng felt his annoyance ease with someone pleasant and efficient by his side.

Without waiting for Zhao Meng to ask, Fu Yu took the initiative to quietly say, ”Chef Zhao, I learned a lot today. Are you free tonight? Let’s go out for a drink?”

Zhao Meng’s mood improved even further.

He thought to himself, they always say comparing people can be deadly, and comparing goods results in discard.

Look at him, not only is he good at what he does, he knows how to talk, works efficiently; then look at those other guys, truly useless.

With such a comparison, how can anyone not be biased?

The same effort spent, who wouldn’t want to be kind to someone they like and find pleasant?

...

Fu Yu invited Zhao Meng to a long-established barbecue restaurant on a side street.

They ordered dozens of skewers and a pot of braised tripe along with four bottles of beer.

It wasn’t Fu Yu’s first time dining with Zhao Meng and he knew Zhao Meng liked to drink a little, but had an average tolerance.

Two bottles each, just right, slightly tipsy, a good mood for chatting.

Before Zhao Meng could ask, Fu Yu proactively reported, ”Did you know Chef Yao used to be a partner in a music restaurant?”

Zhao Meng nodded, ”I knew, didn’t I tell you?”

Fu Yu grabbed a box of small onions, peeling them as he spoke, ”No, you never told me. I was shocked to find out!”

Zhao Meng snorted, ”Some show of capability!”

Fu Yu laughed, ”I spent half the day with Chef Yao, plating crab for over forty tables myself.”

Zhao Meng was a bit surprised, ”Chef Yao didn’t lend a hand?”

Feeling a bit proud, Fu Yu said, ”He started by plating one, I just followed suit, and then he let me handle it.”

Zhao Meng knew Chef Yao was a stickler for detail, so if he felt secure in letting Fu Yu handle it, then Fu Yu must have done quite well.

Being skilled in the trade, he understood plating those crabs in harmony was intricately detailed work, despite seeming easy at first.

Unconsciously, Zhao Meng’s lips curled slightly with pride, as if his child had done him proud in front of outsiders.

Fu Yu recounted his experience at the music restaurant as it was.

He couldn’t help asking, ”Chef Zhao, were you really fine with letting me follow Chef Yao there? You don’t even know, when I looked at the grandeur of that restaurant and those waitstaff, each one was so elegant. I almost regretted applying to our store back then!”

Zhao Meng glanced at him, ”What, thinking of switching jobs?”

Fu Yu placed the peeled small onion on Zhao Meng’s plate, saying, ”It was just a thought. Once I thought of you, I didn’t want to leave.”

Zhao Meng rubbed his arm, ”Disgustingly sweet! With that act, you could easily charm girls outside. With your face, you shouldn’t be single.”

Fu Yu took a bite of grilled tripe, blew the heat, and mumbled, ”I’m speaking from the heart. You’ve been so good to me, how could I bear to leave?”

Zhao Meng turned to look at Fu Yu, ”You’re just buttering me up.”

Fu Yu said earnestly, ”Chef Zhao, thank you. Chef Yao told me, it was you who specifically asked him to mentor me.”

”Now that you know, cherish the opportunity,” Zhao Meng said with a satisfied smile, sincerely adding, ”It’s been years since Chef Yao took anyone under his wing. If you manage to learn his skills, you won’t need to envy him anymore.”

Fu Yu raised his glass, clinking it with Zhao Meng’s, ”Don’t worry, Chef Zhao, I’ll definitely study hard.”

Then he continued, ”But I don’t dare hope to become like Chef Yao someday, perhaps just surpass you!”

”Ugh! What’s the point of always comparing with me!” Zhao Meng laughed in exasperation, punching Fu Yu playfully, and said, ”Let me tell you, it’s often not that there’s no water in the well, but that you haven’t dug deep enough. It’s not that success is slow, but that your efforts aren’t strong enough.”

Fu Yu thought about it, and it really made sense.

He also raised his glass and finished the drink: ”Like me, I wanted to live life like a poem, sometimes simple, sometimes exquisite, but life ended up being like my song.”

Zhao Meng was taken aback: ”What do you mean.”

Fu Yu gave a self-deprecating smile: ”Sometimes unreliable, sometimes out of tune.”

”You rascal!” Zhao Meng laughed out loud.

Eating and drinking.

Taking advantage of the drink, Zhao Meng spoke his mind: ”I’m telling you, no matter when, a person must strive and be ambitious.”

Fu Yu nodded.

Zhao Meng casually pointed to a vending machine by the roadside: ”Look, the same bottle of drink sells for three yuan here, but we sell it for ten yuan at our restaurant. Often, a person’s value depends on their position.”

Fu Yu lay in bed at night, tossing and turning, pondering the last thing Zhao Meng said.

He made a secret resolution to seize this opportunity for promotion.

This might be his only chance to stay.

...

Yesterday was supposed to be a day off.

Fu Yu deliberately got up early to help with the dishes.

After everything was stored, Fu Yu was surprised to find that there wasn’t a question mark above the buyer Xu Wei’s head.

Fu Yu actively asked: ”Do you want me to take the purchase order to Chef Zhao for a signature later?”

Xu Wei smiled and said: ”Oh, no need. I moved, so I’ll be eating at the canteen every morning, and I’ll just find Chef Zhao directly for the signature.”

”Oh.”

So disappointing...

One less income source in the future!

While returning from the storeroom, he punched in his time card along the way.

To his surprise, the time card machine was blacked out.

”What’s going on?”

Fu Yu turned to ask the server Li Ran who also came to punch his card.

Li Ran waved his hand: ”Seems like there’s a system problem, someone will come to debug it later.”

Fu Yu frowned: ”What about punching cards then?”

”Hey! No need to punch cards today, we’ll do it after it’s fixed.”

Just as the cashier came down from upstairs, she saw them and quickly notified them.

Li Ran was quite happy: ”Hey! Great, then there’s no need to come back specifically tonight.”

Fu Yu’s face changed, and he touched his chest.

Darn it!

If he couldn’t punch in, wouldn’t he miss out on the daily missions?

A double loss, heartache!!

...

Another busy morning.

Fu Yu was immersed in his sorrowful emotions when the server Wang Yuxuan suddenly ran anxiously to the kitchen: ”Oh no! Master Zhao, the customer at table 302 said our lemon chicken feet don’t taste authentic, saying we changed chefs and wants to see you.”

Zhao Meng was stunned: ”What? Lemon chicken feet not authentic? Impossible!”

Fu Yu also looked bewildered.

Are they finding fault on purpose?

Lemon chicken feet is a signature dish of the restaurant.

Because it’s tangy and appetizing, it’s very popular with the customers.

This dish is usually marinated the afternoon before to be used the next day.

How could there suddenly be an issue with its taste?

The recipe ratios are consistent.

”Alright, I’ll finish this dish and go over.”

Two minutes later.

Zhao Meng temporarily handed over the order to Gu Yunwu and walked out wearing his apron.

Fu Yu hurried to follow, thinking that if any disputes arose, he could at least say a few words to support the situation.

When they entered the private room 302, they saw the customers inside.

Zhao Meng’s expression changed.

There were indeed two familiar faces at the table; they were regular customers of the restaurant.

They weren’t new customers, so there must really be an issue with the dish.

The middle-aged man leading the table looked surprised to see Zhao Meng: ”Oh, Chef Zhao, it was really you cooking? Then what’s up with these chicken feet? The taste isn’t the same as before?”

Hearing this, Zhao Meng quickly apologized: ”I’m so sorry, let me taste it first and see what went wrong.”

The customer made space, and Zhao Meng stepped forward, using new chopsticks to pick up a piece of chicken feet and putting it in his mouth.

After tasting it, his face immediately darkened.

The taste was indeed off, lacking just a bit of tanginess, not sour enough!