The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

It was past nine-thirty, with just about an hour until closing, and the kitchen staff finally had a moment to rest.

Fu Yu had been working non-stop since he arrived at the restaurant. Liu Zhangpeng remarked, ”Chef Fu, I’ve seen many chefs, but none like you.”

Fu Yu smiled and casually asked, ”Isn’t it almost ten o’clock?”

Liu Zhangpeng glanced at his phone, ”Ten more minutes.”

At this time, there were usually no new customers coming in.

However, because most of the diners were full and satisfied by now, this was the time when unexpected incidents were most likely to occur.

Fu Yu nodded, ”Hopefully there won’t be any...”

Liu Zhangpeng’s face changed instantly, and he exclaimed to stop him, ”Chef Fu! Don’t say things like that!”

Fu Yu was taken aback, then realized what he said and, laughing helplessly, made a gesture to silence himself.

Liu Zhangpeng looked distressed, ”I’m telling you, never say things like that; once you mention it, it’ll happen, and the more you say it, the worse it gets!”

After saying that, he pulled Fu Yu, ”Quick, spit three times, ’spit, spit, spit!’ so nothing you said counts!”

Just then, a food runner rushed to the counter from the front hall, ”Boss, there’s trouble in private room 203, you better come take a look.”

Liu Yunong glanced at the others present.

Liu Zhangpeng said, ”Boss, I’ll go with you.”

Fu Yu said, ”I’ll go too.”

Liu Yunong led the way out.

As she walked, she asked, ”What’s going on?”

The food runner quickly explained, ”The diners are a couple, but suddenly a middle-aged woman came looking for someone. They must know each other because after just a couple of words, the middle-aged woman suddenly flipped the table.”

While talking, the three of them quickly left the kitchen and headed to the second-floor private room.

As soon as they entered, everyone paused in their tracks.

Just like the food runner said before, the room was already in disarray.

The dining table, made of solid wood and very heavy, hadn’t been overturned, but the dishes on top were scattered all over the floor.

A woman standing by the wall appeared to be about thirty-five or thirty-six. With a plain face and simple attire, she didn’t seem deliberately dressed up, but she exuded a lot of charisma, and her skin was very fair. Even at this age, she still had an enduring appeal.

The young man sitting by the table, who was holding onto it for support, looked just over twenty and was quite handsome, but at this moment he was extremely disheveled, with remnants of food and soup hanging wetly in his hair. Unfortunately, he was wearing light-colored clothes, which were now completely dirty and unsightly.

Opposite them, by the window stood a middle-aged woman who appeared to be in her early fifties. She had heavy makeup, her hair tied high at the back of her head, and she was holding an empty plate. Her fingertips were faintly white from gripping it too hard.

Liu Yunong was the first to rush into the room. The servers inside attempting to mediate visibly relaxed upon seeing the manager arrive.

Fu Yu and Liu Zhangpeng followed in.

Seeing that only the table was smashed, and no one was injured, those present collectively heaved a sigh of relief.

As long as no one was harmed, it could be resolved.

After all, while such incidents didn’t happen often, they did occur from time to time.

Like before at Qianlima, Fu Yu had heard of many alcohol-fueled disturbances and scenes being made.

If it was just a personal dispute among patrons, they could try to mediate and ask the people to leave, and that would be it.

As long as the patrons were willing to compensate, everything would be fine.

Once they were out of the restaurant, whatever altercation ensued had nothing to do with the place.

As restaurant staff, keeping out of trouble is key; help when possible, but if not, step back and clear any association, and that’s the end of it.

However... seeing Liu Zhangpeng’s excited face, ready for gossip, Fu Yu quickly reached out and slapped him on the back, signaling him to rein it in.

Liu Zhangpeng turned his head in surprise, saw Fu Yu’s look, and immediately gave an embarrassed smile, trying to put on a serious face while looking at the two women and the man in front of them.

Of the three, the young man was the most disheveled.

But at the moment, he was so agitated that he couldn’t care less about his own mess, as he shouted emotionally at the middle-aged woman, ”Mom! Are you crazy! What are you doing?”

At the young man’s questioning, the middle-aged woman became instantly furious, her voice shrill with accusation, ”Am I crazy? Or are you crazy? I worked hard to put you through college, and before you even graduate, you’re getting yourself a stepmom? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

The young man’s face flushed red with embarrassment and anger, as he rebutted, ”Mom, what nonsense are you talking?”

The middle-aged woman glared at the woman standing by the wall, ”You’re quite old already, shameless! If you lack men, go find one from the street and stop messing with my son! My son’s only twenty, how old are you? In your forties? Are you even human?”

The young man was utterly frustrated, ”Mom! Stop talking nonsense, I, we... Mom, just go home, we’ll talk about this later!”

The middle-aged woman snorted coldly and sat down on a nearby chair, ”I’m not leaving! Whatever needs to be said, say it right here!”

During the standoff, neither side had the intention to resort to violence, just verbal squabbling.

In this situation, outsiders couldn’t intervene.

Liu Yunong signaled the available staff to step out first, allowing the patrons some time to handle their personal matters.

However, they didn’t actually leave but stood by the entrance, ready to step in and separate people if necessary.

Fu Yu stood aside, watching the confrontation, and sighed inwardly.

The young man clearly had an uncommon relationship with the woman beside him, as she hadn’t uttered a single word of retort the whole time.

And the middle-aged woman was obviously there to break them apart today.

Understanding the relationship among the three in the room,

Fu Yu sighed inwardly, not expecting it to be a May-October romance.

Though it wasn’t quite a May-December romance, the age gap was notably large.

In the room, the long-silent woman suddenly spoke, ”Auntie... no, Big Sister, how about this, let’s talk outside. This is a public place after all, and it’s said that family disgrace should not be aired publicly...”

The middle-aged woman exploded upon hearing that: ”Do you know shame? If you had any, you wouldn’t be doing this kind of thing that people point fingers at! Even older men who prey on younger women don’t do it this way!”

The woman, despite the accusation, didn’t get angry but remained calm and tried to reason, ”You might not care, but nowadays with the internet, someone might secretly record this and post it online. Besides, a lot of customers come to this restaurant, and you never know if an acquaintance might see it. On my end, it’s not a big deal, but Xiao Ze hasn’t graduated yet, and if word gets to his school, it could affect him somewhat.”

When she mentioned her son, the middle-aged woman visibly calmed down a bit.

”Fine, let’s talk outside!”

The middle-aged woman stood up swiftly from the chair and led the way out.

The young man stood still, a bit at a loss.

The woman gently reminded him, ”Go after her and check on her. I’ll settle the bill and catch up with you afterward.”

Only then did the young man turn and rush out.

Once they had gone, the woman said, ”Sorry for all the trouble, I’ll compensate for the damage in the restaurant at full price. I can settle the bill right now.”