Chapter 376: "No acting cute, acting cute is shameful.

Shen Lu didn’t think Sang Yue’s problem was a problem at all.

You do what you can with the money you have. If you’re broke, do you really expect the landlord to take pity on you and lower the rent?

The question clearly stumped Sang Yue.

She had never considered that.

She had only been weighing which shop was more suitable.

She currently had just over ninety thousand Star Coins, and that was all the money she had to her name.

Although Jiang Gong had offered to take care of the shop, Sang Yue had refused. Subconsciously, she felt it was best not to involve Jiang Gong too much with her little business.

Just over ninety thousand Star Coins had to cover rent, utilities, ingredient costs, simple renovations, and hiring staff.

She would have to hire at least one person, right?

Sang Yue had her eye on Deng Ying. She thought Deng Ying was clever and skillful, a quick learner, and about the same age as her. Plus, she wasn’t much of a talker, which made her a perfect employee for her bakery.

’Wait, these are all things to worry about later,’ she thought. ’First, I need to solve the problem right in front of me.’

Sang Yue snapped back to reality and made a painful decision. "It looks like I can only afford to rent a shop in the Lower City District for now."

’Oh well, one step at a time,’ she mused. ’Things are different now. Since I’m starting from scratch, I’ll just have to climb my way up from the bottom.’

’Being a self-made woman is quite a challenge.’

Shen Lu nodded. "It seems Miss Sang has made her decision."

’Actually, this shop in the Lower City District is the same one Xue Can secured for Sang Yue in the original novel.’

’I don’t know how Xue Can managed to buy the place outright.’

’Now things are a little different from the plot; Sang Yue is renting it herself.’

’For now, the main plot hasn’t deviated, but a lot of the details have changed.’

’They talk about the butterfly effect. I wonder what kind of storm my little wing flap will cause.’

Deciding she might as well see things through to the end, Shen Lu took Sang Yue to the market again to scope out a few ingredient suppliers.

On the way back, Sang Yue asked her with an innocent expression if she could introduce her to the supplier who provided such high-quality ingredients.

Sang Yue was used to the finer things in life. She could tell the ingredients Shen Lu used for the customers in the booth seating were top-notch—fresh, vibrant, and exceptionally high-quality.

If her bakery could use ingredients like those, it would be the icing on the cake, taking her business to a whole new level.

If Shen Lu didn’t know Sang Yue meant no harm, she would have been tempted to throw her out right then and there.

"Miss Sang, what was that? I didn’t quite catch it," Shen Lu said, feigning ignorance.

At first, Sang Yue didn’t get it and thought Shen Lu genuinely hadn’t heard her, so she repeated herself.

Shen Lu just grunted, "Hmm?"

No matter how dense Sang Yue could be, she finally understood. She pouted in disappointment. "Boss Shen, we’re not even in the same lane. I’m not going to steal your customers."

Shen Lu just smiled without saying anything. ’Was she afraid of competition?’

Back at the restaurant, Shen Lu started her busy day.

Today, she not only had to prep the ingredients for lunch but also knead the dough for the steamed multigrain buns.

Shen Lu assigned the dough-kneading to Wang Daguo. With his brute strength, he was the best person for the job.

[DING DONG~ This week’s mission has been issued: Please serve 80 Superpower User customers with pork rib dishes. Location: Little Deer Cuisine. Time limit: Seven days.]

[DING DONG~ Daily mission has been issued: Please sell 3,600 set meals with a customer satisfaction rating of three stars or higher. Time limit: Eight hours.]

The two system prompts chimed one after the other. Shen Lu hissed in annoyance. The weekly mission was later than the last two times; it was almost eight o’clock already.

’Unacceptable. Completely unacceptable.’

[Apologies, Host. We were fixing a few small bugs, which caused the delay. In the future, weekly missions will be issued one day in advance. This won’t happen again~]

Shen Lu said, "No acting cute. It’s shameless."

Shen Lu was speechless.

Shen Lu really had no resistance to cute little things, even if the system didn’t have a physical body or a concrete form.

She couldn’t help but imagine it as a fluffy little animal trying to act cute. Even knowing it was all an act, her heart would still soften.

Shen Lu immediately went to update the menu.

Braised Beef Brisket was removed. All fish dishes except for the Smoked Fish were taken off the menu. In their place, she added Honey-Glazed Barbecue Ribs, Garlic-Fragrant Pork Ribs, Steamed Pork Ribs with Taro, and Pork Rib Soup with Corn and Carrots.

She removed two vegetable dishes but added a rice milk drink and sweet, milky steamed mini buns, keeping the total number of items the same.

She sent the new menu to Li Long and Bai Wanwan, her two dedicated takeout customers. Within a very short time, both had placed orders.

Li Long didn’t have much to say, but Bai Wanwan was like a little chatterbox.

Bai Wanwan: Why weren’t you open yesterday?! Do you have any idea how miserable I was, not eating your food for a whole day?

Bai Wanwan: The day dragged on forever!

Bai Wanwan: My parents love your cooking now, too! After eating your food, their recovery speed has even picked up!

Shen Lu: ...You don’t have to be so dramatic. Just saying my food is delicious is good enough.

Bai Wanwan: It’s true!

Shen Lu: You ordered a bit too much today. Even for four people, you don’t need this much. Especially the meat dishes—you ordered two of each, and you even got five orders of the smoked fish!

Bai Wanwan: I love it! I don’t even eat it as part of a meal. It’s the best snack. I can finish a whole bowl by myself while watching TV.

Bai Wanwan: Who knows when you’ll take it off the menu! I need to stock up. Right, I’ll add five more orders. Or how about this: just give me everything you’ve made. I’ll pay double.

’Look at her, throwing her money around,’ Shen Lu couldn’t help but grumble inwardly about the damn rich.

Shen Lu: Fine. I’ll save two or three orders for other customers, and the rest are yours.

After sending the reply, Shen Lu started preparing the takeout order.

Except for the ribs in the Pork Rib Soup with Corn and Carrots, the ribs for the other three dishes needed to be marinated ahead of time to let the flavors soak in.

It was a tricky step—not exactly hard, but not simple either. The seasoning had to be just right, or it would ruin the final taste of the dish.

She seasoned each batch of ribs differently according to the recipe, mixed them well, and set them aside. Then, Shen Lu blanched a batch of fresh ribs, placed them in a large clay pot, and filled it with water to stew.

The carrots and corn cooked relatively quickly, so the ribs had to be stewed for a while before adding the vegetables.

This would take time; it couldn’t be rushed.

To make the soup perfectly, Shen Lu even bought a small coal stove and some briquettes from the System’s shop. After bringing the soup to a boil on the main stove, she moved the large clay pot onto the coal stove to simmer slowly over a low flame.

Then, Shen Lu started on the Honey-Glazed Barbecue Ribs.

She placed the marinated ribs in a preheated oven to roast for about an hour. During the process, she had to brush them with honey water and a special sauce to enhance their flavor and color.

The Steamed Pork Ribs with Taro wasn’t difficult either. She tossed sliced taro with salt and light soy sauce and arranged it in the bottom of a bowl, then placed the ribs on top. The bowl went into a steamer over high heat for about forty minutes.

Next came the Garlic-Fragrant Pork Ribs. The marinated ribs had to be deep-fried until cooked through, then stir-fried in a separate wok with seasonings.

Overall, the rib dishes were simpler to prepare than the fish dishes. Shen Lu felt noticeably more relaxed than she had the previous week.