The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 18: Chapter 18: Getting an Extra Free Meal

Yao Shi gave some instructions and then left.

Although it was Fu Yu’s first time helping out in the cafeteria kitchen, he was quite skilled with kitchen work.

Jiang Qingrong reluctantly took out the pork belly he had hoarded and cut it into pieces again for later use.

The previously cut fatty meat was sliced and made into lard; the pork cracklings with the fat squeezed out were chopped up and used as stuffing for cabbage dumplings.

The work in the cafeteria wasn’t technically difficult. It was all about large-scale cooking without much precision; as long as the food tasted decent and looked okay, it was fine.

Fu Yu wasn’t familiar with the people in the cafeteria, so he also didn’t exchange any polite conversations.

Once he asked what needed to be done, he just buried himself in work.

The three people in the cafeteria had just been criticized by their boss and were quite honest, with a much more serious attitude towards cooking than usual.

The four of them worked together, managing to prepare all the food by the mealtime.

At the front counter, serving the meals was usually handled by two assistants, giving the chef a chance to rest.

Fu Yu was mindful of his daily task.

Serving meals meant plating, and plating counted as performing the task.

The place had over forty people coming to eat; if he worked fast, he might very well complete the entire task requirement!

He had to grab this job for the sake of 100 yuan.

As it turned out, when he mentioned wanting to serve the meals, Jiang Qingrong readily agreed.

Serving meals in the cafeteria wasn’t an easy job.

Since the meals were free, proper distribution of the food’s quantity was crucial while serving.

It was important to avoid running out of the good stuff in a dish too quickly and also to handle the acquaintances who were picky when selecting dishes.

Fu Yu hadn’t worked in a cafeteria before and didn’t understand these nuances.

At the time, he even thought Jiang Qingrong, apart from liking to take small advantages, was quite agreeable.

Fu Yu had been working at Qianlima for nearly a year, and since he spent every day working in the back kitchen, he mostly dealt with waitstaff and procurement people and seldom met with the store’s management.

Dressed in his chef’s uniform, standing by the serving area, his tall, straight posture, along with his young, handsome face, lit by the soft indoor light, made him look impeccable. Even with a transparent mask, his good looks were undiminished.

Several bosses who saw Fu Yu for the first time couldn’t help but ask, after getting their meal, ”Since when did the cafeteria hire such a handsome young chef?”

Someone who knew him explained, ”He’s not from the cafeteria; he’s from the back kitchen, probably temporarily helping out today.”

The boss, looking at the food on his plate, smiled and said, ”No wonder, today’s dishes look more appetizing than usual. Look at this salad, and that braised pork, they look like pieces of art, well-presented, and the portions are generous.”

Next to him, someone getting food from another assistant glanced at his own plate piled haphazardly with food.

In comparison, it looked like a bowl of pig food.

His appetite was instantly halved.

Every time Fu Yu finished plating a meal, a series of electronic prompt sounds would ring in his ears.

While working, he couldn’t help but mutter in his mind, five yuan, ten yuan...

What a great motivation to work!

The supervisor came to get a meal.

Fu Yu recognized her and greeted her with a smile, ”Sister Gao!”

Gao Wenjing nodded and suddenly said, ”I need two meals, one for myself, just two meat and two vegetable dishes, anything is fine.”

After speaking, she added, ”And the other one is for the accountant, Sister Xin, she’s feeling unwell and doesn’t have much of an appetite. Hmm, get her some scrambled eggs with tomatoes, oh, more eggs, um, braised pork, smaller pieces, crispy spicy cod, just the middle part, and a small stir-fry without peppers.”

Fu Yu: ”...”

[Ding! Task for NPC Supervisor Gao Wenjing: Serve Xin Li, the ailing accountant, a satisfactory lunch. Reward for task completion: +5 favorability from Gao Wenjing]

So it was a task, no wonder the requests were so peculiar!

Oh well, gaining the supervisor’s favor is also good.

It should make communication easier in future work situations.

Fu Yu prepared a meal according to the requirements.

The plating was very beautiful.

After Gao Wenjing thanked him and left with the tray.

Fu Yu plated two more meals, and Yao Shi came over.

Yao Shi first checked the remaining food in the back kitchen, then came to inspect the meal serving in the front.

Fu Yu was serving a meal for a cleaner in the front hall.

The cleaner was a middle-aged man of about forty, not very tall and quite lean.

Before getting the meal, he looked around at the dishes and then hesitantly asked Fu Yu, ”Could I get a little more rice? I can eat a lot.”

Fu Yu nodded, ”Sure.”

He served four dishes as the cleaner requested.

The cleaner looked at the tray and couldn’t help but say, ”This, this tray can hold more, can you add some more?”

Fu Yu was taken aback, he had already served extra portions, piling the food high like a small mountain.

”Can you really eat all of this?”

The cleaner sheepishly said, ”Yes, I can eat it all.”

Jiang Qingrong, following behind Yao Shi, saw this scene and hurriedly stepped forward, ”Wang Jiping! The store has rules, only one meal per person. You always want a double portion, that’s not allowed! If everyone did that, how are we supposed to serve meals in the future?”

The cleaner defended, ”You know my situation, right? Also, the store says each person can have two portions of meat and two of vegetables. I picked all vegetables, I’m not trying to take advantage of the store.”

Yao Shi asked, ”What’s going on?”

Jiang Qingrong quickly introduced, ”Chef Yao, he’s a cleaner in the front hall, Wang Jiping. ”

After speaking, he said to Wang Jiping, ”This is our manager.”

Once Wang Jiping heard it was a manager, he became nervous and quickly explained, ”I have a kid at home, studying at Sixth Primary School, no one to look after him during the day, so he comes to eat with me at noon and in the evening. I work here, and don’t have time to cook, so I take a little more to share with him.”

Yao Shi frowned, ”There’s no cafeteria at the school?”

Wang Jiping said sheepishly, ”The school’s meal fee is 1200 a month! I only earn 2000 a month; I really can’t afford it.”

A server in line behind them chimed in, ”Chef Yao, Master Wang’s family is really struggling. He’s raising a child alone, it’s not easy.”

Yao Shi nodded and instructed Fu Yu, ”Serve him another meal, didn’t you just serve four vegetable dishes? For this one, give him four meat dishes.”

Wang Jiping widened his eyes, wanting to refuse, but in the current situation, he couldn’t say anything, so he had to accept it reluctantly.

Employees in the store typically get their meals using meal tickets.

The finance department issues meal tickets for three meals a day, and the quantity is limited for each person.

This month he’ll be short one meal ticket, but he’ll deal with it when the time comes!

Thinking about it, Wang Jiping felt some regret.

If he’d known a manager would be inspecting the cafeteria today, he wouldn’t have asked for more.

Actually, the food wasn’t too little, it’s just that his son is growing and can finish an entire meal by himself.

He had worked a lot in the morning and was a bit hungry, so he thought to ask for a little more to fill himself up half full.

But what luck...

Fu Yu took another tray and asked Wang Jiping, ”Which dishes?”

Concerned about the meal ticket, Wang Jiping reluctantly decided to indulge for once, picking chicken legs and braised pork, things his son always wanted but he couldn’t bring himself to buy, taking four meat dishes.

When Fu Yu served the food, the green line indicating plating accuracy turned completely red as he deliberately piled on meat dishes.

He paid no mind, focusing only on stacking the food high before handing it to Wang Jiping.

Wang Jiping paid his meal ticket and left with two heavy trays.

As he turned out of the cafeteria, he happened to run into the cashier from the finance office coming to eat.

The cashier saw Wang Jiping, paused, and instructed, ”Wang Jiping, come to the finance office after your meal.”

Wang Jiping was startled, ”Oh? Is there, is there something?”

The cashier nodded, ”Yes, Chef Yao called earlier saying that from now on his meal ticket will be given to you, he hasn’t collected his for this month yet, so come pick it up.”

Wang Jiping was surprised, ”Given to me?”

The cashier replied, ”Yes, that’s what Chef Yao said.”

Wang Jiping quickly said, ”But if it’s given to me, what will he eat?”

The cashier smiled, ”The people in the back kitchen never worry about not having meals to eat, just take it. Anyway, Chef Yao never collects his meal tickets.”

Wang Jiping watched the cashier walk into the cafeteria, his heart in turmoil.

Thinking back to when Chef Yao kindly instructed him to serve four meat dishes, he finally understood the meaning behind it.

What a kindhearted person Chef Yao is!