Chapter 280 - 133: New Mission: Homestyle Dish, Stir-Fried Yellow Beef

Chapter 280: Chapter 133: New Mission: Homestyle Dish, Stir-Fried Yellow Beef

While the beef marinated, he cut the long green peppers into half-centimeter rings, the cilantro stems into two-centimeter lengths without the leaves, and finally, the small celery into one-centimeter strips.

"The key to Stir-Fried Yellow Beef is to infuse the flavor of the peppers into the beef without overwhelming the beef’s natural taste."

With his own understanding of the dish, Su Chen waited until the beef had marinated for fifteen minutes, then immediately heated oil in a wok!

First, he stir-fried the beef slices until they were about sixty percent cooked!

Then he stir-fried the scallions and ginger until fragrant, added the long green peppers and other vegetables, and stir-fried them until they were just cooked through!

The beef went back into the wok, along with a little dark and light soy sauce, and he stir-fried everything fiercely over high heat!

A drizzle of sesame oil, and it was plated!

Why is this kind of dish called home-style cooking?

The entire cooking process didn’t even take three minutes.

If the ingredients were prepped in advance, the whole thing could be done in just a minute and a half.

He took a bite.

"The beef is tender and flavorful. It starts off savory, then turns spicy, with a fresh, spicy aftertaste. The meaty flavor of the beef is complemented by the complex aroma of the celery and cilantro. This dish has to be at least an A Level."

According to Su Chen’s Peak of Flavor evaluation, there was nothing wrong with this dish!

When Su Chen pushed the Stir-Fried Yellow Beef to the front of the workstation...

A line of huge text slowly materialized above the training room.

[Stir-Fried Yellow Beef: B Level Rating]

Su Chen: ???

’What the hell? B Level?’

’I haven’t made a B-Level dish in a long time. A Level should be the bare minimum!’

HISS!

"Bring me another set of prepped ingredients!"

Su Chen refused to accept it. ’I can casually whip up a famous Huaiyang dish and get an A Level, and with a bit of research, I can hit S Level. How did I end up with a B Level for a simple home-style dish?’

’This is ridiculous!’

...

On the second floor of the Meiweilai Building, Fang Chang sat across from Ling Shuyu.

"Are you saying we have to use the construction team assigned by the officials?"

Fang Chang was uncharacteristically serious. "President Ling, I know what you’re worried about. But since I’m the middleman here, there are some things I have to make clear to you."

"The things you’re worried about absolutely, positively will not happen! This project is a hot potato right now. The people in charge are just thrilled that someone is willing to take it on. No one would dare try any funny business with this project."

That was exactly what Ling Shuyu was worried about.

She had seen this kind of thing too many times. Back when she was a designer, Ling Shuyu had a habit of making a rough budget estimate herself after completing a design.

Even though it wasn’t part of her job description.

But over time, she discovered that a project designed for one million could somehow end up costing three million.

There were too many tricks of the trade involved; an outsider wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of it.

"Then I have one more condition. Our own company personnel must supervise the work. If we find any problems with the project, we reserve the right to replace the construction team."

Fang Chang slapped his thigh. "Done. I’ll pass it along and have this condition added to the contract."

After saying that, Fang Chang added earnestly, "President Ling, you’re really worrying for nothing. The loan won’t be going into Boss Su’s pocket anyway; the officials are the guarantors. They’re also desperate to cut costs as much as possible so they can minimize the loan amount, if you know what I mean."

Ling Shuyu let out a breath. "Mm."

She did understand.

This project was a bit strange. The officials would send a construction team to rush the renovation, and all construction funds would be disbursed directly by the bank.

After the hotel and cafeteria were built, the funds disbursed by the bank would be treated as a loan to Su Chen.

That was why Ling Shuyu was worried someone would take the opportunity to skim money off the top. No matter what Fang Chang said, as long as the condition she proposed was added to the contract, she wouldn’t have to worry.

If the worst came to worst, she was prepared to bring everyone down with her.

"But there is one more problem," Fang Chang said very, very seriously. "Once the renovation starts, since they’ll be rushing to meet the deadline, it will probably affect business on the 19th and 2nd floors."

Ling Shuyu tilted her head and thought for a moment.

’That does seem to be the case.’

When they were renovating the 2nd floor, Su Chen and the others were all in the Capital City, so the 19th floor wasn’t open for business at the time.

But now...

"No construction from 12:00 PM to 2:30 PM on weekdays. That’s the bottom line."

After all, the children still needed to come over for lunch and a rest.

Fang Chang nodded. He was practically the spokesperson for this matter now; all he had to do was relay the message to the leader in charge.

Besides, Fang Chang knew that as long as the requests weren’t too outrageous, they would basically be approved.

During his last few deliveries, that leader had seemed desperate to pay out of his own pocket just to get this matter resolved quickly. The organizing committee and the government were both pressuring him. Now that someone had finally stepped up to take this on, they couldn’t afford to be picky!

Since the matter was decided, there was nothing more to say.

Ling Shuyu and Fang Chang made a trip downtown together, and just as Fang Chang had said, the other party’s attitude was crystal clear!

As long as work could begin immediately, everything else was negotiable!

This attitude briefly gave Ling Shuyu the strange feeling: ’Am I about to get screwed over this time?’

The speed at which the officials moved was so astonishing that even Ling Shuyu, a certified workaholic, was left dumbfounded.

Barely a day had passed. When Ling Shuyu came to work the next day...

...she saw a line of large trucks parked at the entrance of the Meiweilai Building!

A constant stream of construction materials was being brought right in!

「Second Floor.」

Zhang Heping had only sold half of the dozen or so steamers of buns he’d made today. "What’s going on today? Why are there so few people? I feel like I haven’t seen any of the usual regulars!"