The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Recently, Fu Yu has started gaining some fame in Bei’an’s culinary circles.

Ever since he officially signed a part-time contract with the music restaurant, he has been unwaveringly spending his one day off a week working here.

Occasionally, when there’s an order for medicinal cuisine, or when the music restaurant suddenly needs extra hands, he’ll use it as an excuse to visit.

The more frequently he comes, the more familiar and adapted Fu Yu becomes to the people and working environment at the music restaurant.

Similarly, the staff here have gradually warmed up to Fu Yu, especially the kitchen crew, who quietly regard him as a colleague, and their interactions with him have noticeably intensified.

Among them, the person who cares most about Fu Yu and looks after him the most is Zhang Zhen.

Zhang Zhen has been in the industry for many years.

As the saying goes, the old are wise and the experienced are clever.

Zhang Zhen clearly understands the ins and outs of the field.

With each demonstration of Fu Yu’s incredible culinary skills and personal abilities, Zhang Zhen spares no effort to befriend him, and his favoritism towards Fu Yu has increasingly tilted.

Under Zhang Zhen’s protection, Fu Yu finds himself quite at ease in the kitchen here.

Getting along well with colleagues, having a leader’s support, everything goes smoothly; apart from the busyness of work, everything else is great, especially in terms of salary, which Fu Yu is very satisfied with.

After preparing the medicinal cuisine, Fu Yu, with nothing else on hand, proactively joins in to assist others in cooking the banquet dishes without needing Zhang Zhen’s instructions.

Compared to Qianlima and Shangshi Private Kitchen, the music restaurant here is very training-oriented.

Moreover, there are many opportunities for practice.

The same dish can be cooked several times, even dozens of times.

After helping out with various impressive banquets each time, Fu Yu always feels sharpened and that his culinary skills have improved.

Fu Yu multitasks, cooking the ordered dishes with others while also keeping an eye on the medicinal cuisine in the pot.

Soon, the medicinal cuisine is cooked, and Fu Yu simply plates it, leaving it to the kitchen hands to place it on the serving stand.

The finished medicinal dishes are gradually brought to the front hall by the servers.

At this time, the Jin father and daughter are tasting the music restaurant’s specialty dishes.

Under the boss’s instructions, Li Xintong enthusiastically holds the menu, warmly recommending and introducing dishes to the Jin family.

The Jin family, unable to refuse such hospitality, orders four dishes and a soup, and additionally a serving of the restaurant’s specialty staple, shumai.

Though it’s the rush hour, it’s worth praising that the music restaurant serves the dishes quite fast.

Besides the four specialty dishes, the staple dish also arrives quickly.

Jin Yang takes a look at the dishes, feels satisfied, and first uses his chopsticks to pick up a hot shumai, placing it on the plate in front of Jin Nuannuan.

The father and daughter don’t mention the previous incident.

For Jin Nuannuan, it was nothing to fuss about.

But Jin Yang looks at the scar on her face, wanting to speak yet holding back.

Jin Nuannuan’s mother fell ill and passed away after her college entrance exams.

The family’s cat, originally bought to keep her mother company, has become Jin Nuannuan’s precious treasure after her mother’s death.

Jin Nuannuan usually has a pretty good temperament, but when it comes to the lost cat, her emotions instantly collapse.

Jin Yang feels deeply for his precious daughter, so in these situations, he usually turns a blind eye.

There’s always time to educate kids, but not in moments like these. As a father, beyond feeling heartache, he really doesn’t know what else to do.

”C’mon, Xinxin, try the shumai. I came here with a friend before, and they all say the noodle chef here is a descendant of Emperor Qianlong’s imperial chefs. The skills are quite impressive!”

Jin Nuannuan, not in high spirits, looks at the shumai rotated in front of her, served in an old-fashioned steamer, accompanied by a small bowl of vinegar and a dish of garlic cloves.

She takes a bite; it’s three flavors, with two kinds of filling in the steamer.

Besides the three flavors, there’s pork and scallion.

The noodle chef’s skills are indeed not bad; each shumai is shaped like a pomegranate, white and translucent, with more filling and thin skin, aromatic and tasty.

Jin Yang eats two in a row, then turns to ask, ”How’s the taste?”

Jin Nuannuan finishes a steaming, fragrant shumai, purses her lips, dimples showing: ”Hmm, it’s quite delicious.”

Jin Yang, hearing this, immediately displays a face full of pleased and joyous wrinkles: ”As long as you like it. Later, taste how their dishes are. If they’re good, see what else you’d like to eat, and we can order a couple more.”

The person claiming to be the front manager just made it clear; the boss said today’s meal is on the house.

Though he wasn’t short of money for this meal, he has to admit, the music restaurant’s boss knows how to handle matters well.

Seeing her father’s satisfied expression, Jin Nuannuan couldn’t help but snicker: ”Sure, order a few more. After all, didn’t their boss say it’d be on the house for us?”

”That’s funny! Who’s short of money for a few dishes here? But he’s good at making moves, looking like he’s losing a few hundred bucks but aiming to pull tens of thousands out of our pockets!”

Jin Yang frowned: ”That’s not how it is...”

Jin Nuannuan snorted: ”Then how is it? Am I wrong?

”Getting this order, that Chef Fu must be ecstatic, right?”

Jin Yang sighed, helplessly saying: ”Xinxin, ah, forget it, let’s eat.”

Jin Nuannuan’s grip on her chopsticks tightened, turning her fingers slightly white from exertion.

To her, coming for so-called medicinal cuisine is just like last time’s cosmetic procedure.

It’s just spending money for peace of mind.

She knows the two scars on her face are like thorns sticking in her dad’s heart.

If they can’t be healed, her dad might never be at ease.

So be it.

Their family has nothing else but money.

If spending some can buy her dad peace, then it’s money well spent.

Thinking this way, the bit of discomfort in her heart slowly calmed down.

Tasted each dish one by one, and have to admit, the music restaurant’s good reputation is justified; the food is indeed delicious.

The front manager is also reliable, likely recommending all the restaurant’s specialty dishes.

Before this, Jin Nuannuan had never had these dishes outside.

They say food heals all.

Even being half-full, her mood indeed improved quite a bit than before.

Jin Yang is still thinking about the medicinal cuisine, noticing it’s almost time, he hurriedly stops Jin Nuannuan from eating further.

”Just a taste is enough, once the medicinal cuisine arrives, don’t forget to have some.”

Jin Nuannuan, not expecting much, obediently puts down the chopsticks.

In her view, medicinal cuisine is just a gimmick, specifically designed to fool people like her dad, who are rich but gullible.