The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 93: Chapter 73: Liu Ahbao Clears His Name, Takes Fans to Eat (Part 3)

"Maybe they’re just sick of it," Su Chen said. He’d noticed too, but he hadn’t had time to deal with it these past few days.

Even the most delicious food in the world gets old if you eat it every day.

"Some employees are demanding that the fish with pickled greens make a comeback."

Su Chen: "The fish with pickled greens can’t come back for now. We’d have to buy new ingredients, and the company isn’t in a position to do that right now."

"Our current inventory of ingredients is becoming limited. We have a lot of some things, but we’re almost out of others. It’s getting a bit repetitive." Liu Shengnan knew the stock inside and out.

Su Chen leaned against the table. "It really is time to work on some new dishes. If we’re talking breakfast, what suggestions do you all have?"

When it came to suggestions, everyone suddenly had something to say.

Suggestions like fried dough sticks and soft tofu pudding, soy milk and savory pies, and savory crepes all came flying out, but Su Chen rejected them all.

Breakfast items that took too much effort were out of the question; he didn’t have that much energy to spare.

"I think I have a suitable breakfast idea." Ling Shuyu always liked to wait until everyone else had fallen silent to speak, enjoying the feeling of all eyes turning to her in unison. "Tea eggs."

"Tea eggs usually sell for 1.5 to 2 yuan, but they only cost 0.5 to 0.7 yuan to make. Not only is the profit margin good, but they’re also relatively easy to prepare."

That was indeed a good option, and it didn’t conflict with the main quest Su Chen was currently working on.

"Tea eggs are a go. Anything else?" Su Chen asked.

Seeing that no one else had anything to add, Su Chen made the final decision: Starting tomorrow, they would reduce the production of steamed buns and add a new breakfast item—tea eggs!

Since the fish with pickled greens couldn’t make a comeback for now, that meant stir-fried chicken was the main dish for the time being.

Today, many people at Xinghui had come up with a "three-person approach" to eating.

Three people would share one order of stir-fried chicken and each get a side of noodles. It was basically enough to fill everyone up. If things went as expected, a lot of people would definitely be choosing the stir-fried chicken for lunch tomorrow.

"Alright, let’s go with that for now. You all get back to your work. I’m going to go prepare tonight’s order."

Bai Xiaobo was tapping away at his phone. "Boss, something’s not right. Another order just came in!"

"What’s the request?"

"Two orders of stir-fried chicken, for seven o’clock."

"Then I’ll just make one extra portion."

"No, Boss, it seems to be... from that guy who was just eating here earlier."

Seeing that Xiaobai was struggling to explain, Su Chen simply grabbed his phone to look for himself.

[Fang Chang: Bro, can your company make Huaiyang Cuisine?]

[Bai Xiaobo: I’ll have to ask my boss.]

[Fang Chang: It’d be best if you could make Huaiyang Cuisine as good as your Jingzhou Cuisine!]

[Bai Xiaobo: ...]

’What the hell is this conversation?!’

Su Chen started chatting with the customer himself.

[Please state your needs and your budget directly!]

「In a residential complex in Jingzhou City.」

Fang Chang stared at his phone, racking his brain, unsure how to express what he needed.

[Fang Chang: Bro, here’s the deal. I’ll start with the budget. It’s for about six people, and the budget doesn’t matter. Just make it as good as you can, and you can name your price when you’re done.]

Whoa!

Su Chen was stunned when he saw the request. An unlimited budget?

’Bro, I could just serve you gold-inlaid jade!’

’Don’t come crying to me if you feel ripped off then!’

Seeing that the customer was taking forever to articulate his needs, Su Chen simply replied: How about this, please figure out your exact requirements first, and then let us know.

If it were just a matter of making a few Huaiyang Cuisine dishes, the customer surely wouldn’t be this indecisive.

Handing the phone back to Xiaobai, Su Chen ducked into the kitchen and started cooking for the six o’clock customer. Outside, Liu Ahbao glanced at the scene and asked the others, "Is Boss Su going to cook now?"

"Yup."

"Can I go watch?" This was the moment Liu Ahbao had been waiting for!

He Shuting frowned. "Why are you just like your master? Oh, right, who is your master anyway? Do you guys have a clan or something?"

When the topic turned to his master, Liu Ahbao was instantly filled with pride.

"My master?" He gave a thumbs-up. "He’s the number one authority on Hubei Cuisine! The one who personally compiled the Hubei Cuisine cookbook and spread its fame across the country! He’s also a regular chef at the National Guest House. In short: a National Banquet Chef!"

Liu Shengnan was rather dismissive. "Didn’t he still lose to our boss? We were all there that day."

’So what if he’s a National Banquet Chef?’

’In front of our Boss Su, he still had to give a thumbs-up in the end, didn’t he?’

Liu Ahbao had expected to blow them away by dropping his master’s name. Instead, not only did he fail to impress them, he was met with contempt!

Then he recalled the framed photo that had been tossed in the trash heap by the door.

’This company really is full of hidden masters!’

Just a moment ago, He Shuting had thought this fatty was a nice guy, but seeing him get so carried away, she couldn’t bring herself to like him. "Alright, fine, I’ll go ask for you."

Running into the kitchen, He Shuting’s voice instantly changed, becoming a little cutesy. "Boss! That fatty wants to watch you cook~"

"What’s so interesting about watching someone cook?" Su Chen said dismissively.

"I know, right! And he was being so pretentious with us. I just thought he was a good guy for defending our company, but I didn’t expect him to be such a show-off."

"Show off about what?" Su Chen asked, chatting without missing a beat as he stir-fried the chicken pieces.

"Going on about how his master is some National Banquet Master, the ’number one authority on Hubei Cuisine,’ and how he wrote a cookbook or something. It’s ridiculous."

Su Chen’s heart skipped a beat.

The spoon in his hand wasn’t steady, and he added a bit too much MSG.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, it’s ridiculous."

"No, I mean, his master... what did you say he was?"

"A National Banquet Master! Haha, Boss, you don’t actually believe him, do you?"

"Give me the phone!"

A sense of unease crept over Su Chen. Recalling the old master’s techniques and skills from that day, he immediately typed "Lu Yongliang" into Baidu.

「A moment later.」

"Shuting."

"Hm?"

Su Chen put down his phone. "Where’s that framed group photo that Ling Shuyu had someone deliver the other day?"

"Didn’t you tell me to throw it out? What’s wrong?"

Su Chen took a deep breath. "Where did you throw it?"

"I dunno! It’s like..." He Shuting fiddled with a lock of her hair. "Did Aunt Fang say she was going to put it away?"

"Quick! Find that photo right now and hang it up! Hang it in my off—No! Hang it by the entrance, right where everyone sees it when they walk in! Put it in the most conspicuous place you can find!"

Seeing Su Chen like this, He Shuting was completely baffled. "What’s..."

"Don’t ask, just go!"

The chicken in the wok was about to burn. Su Chen smacked his forehead.

’Elder Lu, you sly old fox. A National Banquet Master of your stature... what kind of joke are you playing on me?’