Chapter 895: Isn't This a Rip-Off_2

Fu Yu nodded, surprised by Luo Rang’s attentiveness.

However, this made Fu Yu ponder; if he really buys a car, washing it will also be a problem.

After all, Qianlima is strict. Using company water to wash a personal car could lead to gossip, which wouldn’t be worth the trouble.

The two chatted as they walked.

When they reached the back door of the restaurant, they found a small van blocking the front of Luo Rang’s car, perfectly blocking the space to turn around.

Luo Rang tried several times without being able to maneuver the car out, stomping his foot in frustration: “Who the hell parked their car here so early? This isn’t a parking lot!”

Fu Yu glanced at the van and asked, “Are they here to deliver something?”

Luo Rang shook his head: “No, I saw it when I came over, and I’ve never seen the license plate before.”

As they spoke, someone came over, holding a bag of steaming buns, eating as he walked.

Seeing the person heading towards the van, Luo Rang quickly called out: “Hey! Is this your car?”

The man, in his early twenties, immediately responded: “Yes, it’s my car.”

Luo Rang couldn’t help but complain: “Look where you parked; you’re blocking my car. Please move it!”

The van driver apologized: “Ah, sorry, bro. I’m here to deliver goods, they told me to park at the back door for easier unloading.”

Luo Rang was initially taken aback, then asked in surprise: “Deliver goods? What are you delivering?”

The driver replied: “Lamb spine.”

Luo Rang frowned: “Delivering to Four Seas Banquet? Which supplier are you from? Never seen you before.”

The driver mentioned a store name, a supplier Luo Rang had never heard of.

Just as Luo Rang was about to ask more, the driver’s phone rang.

He quickly answered; it was the purchasing agent informing him he could unload now.

After hanging up, the driver quickly asked Luo Rang: “Bro, I need to back out and turn around. If you’re not in a hurry, can you wait a few minutes while I unload? It’s just a few bags, three or two minutes tops.”

At the back door, there was only a narrow one-way lane. The van was too wide to turn around; it needed to exit first and then come back.

Luo Rang nodded: “Alright, you can unload first.”

Since it was a delivery for their own restaurant, he felt obliged to be accommodating.

The driver opened the van doors, revealing seven or eight bags of lamb spine. The bags were somewhat flimsy but large, packed full to the brim.

The driver adeptly pulled down two large bags from the entrance and climbed back in to retrieve more.

Hurriedly at work, the bags he unloaded first weren’t properly positioned and wobbled upon landing, toppling over.

Luo Rang, who was nearby, stepped forward to help stabilize them.

Seeing this, the driver quickly thanked him: “Thanks a lot.”

Luo Rang waved it off: “No problem, but is this your first time delivering here?”

The driver shook his head: “I’m not sure. We deliver wherever the boss tells us.”

While talking, the driver pulled two more large bags to the door, ready to jump down and carry them off next.

As they say, haste makes waste. In his hurry to get off the van, he didn’t notice he stepped on a patch of snow. He slipped, and when he lost balance while grabbing the door for support, his other hand grasped a bag of lamb spine.

He fell to the ground, pulling the bag with him.

Seeing the bag about to fall on the driver, Fu Yu reacted swiftly, quickly rushing up to grab the bag, using his strength to lift and set it aside.

At this moment, Luo Rang also reacted and hurried up to help the driver.

“Hey! Are you okay?”

The driver, aided by Luo Rang, stood up and waved his hands: “I’m fine, not hurt, thanks a lot!”

Luo Rang shook his head in disbelief.

This person works too recklessly.

With a silent complaint, he turned to look at Fu Yu, noticing something off in Fu Yu’s expression.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Rang asked with concern.

Fu Yu looked at the dialogue box prompt in front of him, his face darkening.

When he had grabbed the bag earlier, he had done it so hastily that he couldn’t control his strength, his fingers piercing right into the bag.

This wouldn’t be much of an issue; he’d always been agile with strong arms, a trait he had enhanced.

But what he hadn’t expected was the message that appeared when his fingers touched the lamb spine inside the bag.

[Lamb Spine: Freshness: 5%] [A piece of frozen lamb spine zombie meat, Frozen Time: Two years]

Four Seas Banquet’s most famous dish is the lamb spine hot pot, renowned for freshly slaughtered lamb, tender and delicious meat.

But now, the entire load of lamb spine was zombie meat!

Could it be that Four Seas Banquet was tricking customers by using fake high-quality meat?

Although Fu Yu hadn’t worked there long, he’d been working closely with Zhao Meng since he joined the kitchen.

Being immersed in the environment daily, he developed a high standard for ingredient freshness and quality.

He couldn’t accept cooking with poor quality ingredients.

Using bad ingredients, besides deceiving customers, is a desecration of one’s own culinary skills.

After all the effort to make a dish, poor ingredients would lead to a subpar taste.

To him, this was a short-sighted approach that harmed oneself and was foolishly penny-wise, pound-foolish.

Restaurant operations heavily rely on reputation.

Many unscrupulous owners try to cut corners and use cheap, non-fresh ingredients when their business starts to profit, deceiving customers.

Short-term, they might get lucky with no complaints, but over time, issues will definitely arise.

Just like the lamb spine, there is bound to be a taste difference between fresh and long-frozen ones.

Discerning customers can instantly tell the meat lacks texture, tastes off, and carries a rancid flavor of expired meat.

Fu Yu didn’t expect that Four Seas Banquet would do such disgraceful deeds.

Isn’t this ruining their own reputation?

He turned to look at Luo Rang, hesitating on whether to tell him what he had discovered.

What if Luo Rang already knew?

After all, although he’d interacted with Luo Rang twice, he didn’t know him well enough.

“Are you okay? Did you get hurt somewhere?” Luo Rang asked with genuine concern.

Fu Yu suddenly remembered their encounter at the sales office, where Luo Rang had offered to help him get a discount on a house, even though they barely knew each other.

And the first time they met, Luo Rang, clearly the head chef, willingly assisted him without hesitation.

At that time, Fu Yu hadn’t even become a full-time employee, merely a junior role.

Thinking about it now, Luo Rang’s actions showed he was genuinely a good person.

Realizing this, Fu Yu gestured for Luo Rang to come closer, signaling to discuss quietly.

When Luo Rang leaned in, Fu Yu whispered in a voice only they could hear: “Chef Luo, this lamb spine is all zombie meat.”

Luo Rang, confused, looked at Fu Yu, clearly not grasping the situation immediately.

Fu Yu glanced at the driver busy unloading, then stooped to tear open the hole he had accidentally made earlier.

The lamb spine inside was fully exposed.

Even if Luo Rang hadn’t initially grasped the situation, seeing the lamb spine in the bag, its color and appearance were clear enough.

The lamb spine was far from fresh.

Luo Rang’s face changed upon this realization, recalling the earlier conversation with the driver, and something started to click.

A counterfeit!

The whole shipment was a mismatch!

These bags, or possibly the whole truck’s lamb spine, were low-quality zombie meat!