The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Zhao Meng spoke in a calm and detached manner.

Fu Yu listened, but still felt that Zhao Meng was only sharing the good news and not the bad.

After peeling an orange, he handed it to Zhao Meng: ”From now on, eat an orange and a banana every day. Both of these fruits are great for potassium replenishment; I’ve checked.”

Zhao Meng was touched and took a bite of the orange: ”Don’t worry, it really isn’t a big deal. The doctor prescribed medicine, and I’ll just make sure to eat more potassium-rich foods.”

Fu Yu asked, ”What about Sun Qingning? Why didn’t he stay to take care of you?”

Zhao Meng blushed at the thought: ”Oh, someone came to see me just now, and since I’m fine, I let him go back to rest.”

Fu Yu didn’t think much of it. After all, Zhao Meng’s dark complexion made it hard to tell when he was blushing.

On the other hand, Zhao Meng was unusually conflicted.

He was both afraid Fu Yu would keep asking, not knowing how to respond right away,

and also hoping Fu Yu would continue so he could show off a bit.

In the end, Fu Yu silently peeled an orange, and before he could eat it, proceeded to peel a banana.

After Zhao Meng finished both fruits, Fu Yu confirmed he was fine and got up to leave.

Working in the kitchen all day is truly exhausting!

Fu Yu left quickly, leaving Zhao Meng with a belly full of unsaid words, feeling very stifled.

With Zhao Meng’s illness, he took two consecutive days off.

He himself felt it wasn’t a big deal.

But Yao Shi requested time off from the boss and insisted on giving Zhao Meng two days off.

Since he had been busy with orders earlier and hadn’t had a break last week, combining his days off was actually a normal rest.

Zhao Meng thought about it and since it didn’t delay work, he decided to take the time off since the boss approved.

Zhao Meng rested with peace of mind.

But the store was still busy, with orders continuously sent from the front to the kitchen.

Gu Yunwu was barely managing, and with Zhao Meng resting, there was no main workforce.

Moreover, to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival, the store had started a celebration event in advance.

The promotional offers were just announced, and customers were getting ready to flock in, yet Zhao Meng got sick at this crucial moment.

Who would take on this burden?

Yao Shi was also anxious.

He couldn’t possibly stay in the Qianlima kitchen every day!

He had his own heavy responsibilities too.

Qianlima was prepping for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the music restaurant was in full swing with promotional activities.

Many issues at the store awaited his decisions, and he couldn’t just avoid appearing to resolve them.

A tough choice was before Yao Shi.

If he managed Qianlima, he couldn’t attend to the music restaurant.

One was a restaurant he was responsible for, the other was his own restaurant.

Thinking about it gave Yao Shi a headache.

What to do?

During the shift change at night, Yao Shi called a small meeting with Zhao Meng’s team.

”The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the store’s activities have been announced. But because of Chef Zhao’s health issues, he’s taking an impromptu break. Now in the kitchen, except for Fu Yu, there’s no one to take charge. I can help for a while, but if something comes up, I might not be able to... So, everyone, do you have any suggestions for the next two days?”

Yao Shi gathered everyone not really expecting effective suggestions.

He really had no good solution, given the staff shortage, this issue wasn’t something that could be resolved quickly.

However, taking the opportunity to boost everyone’s spirits and motivate them was necessary.

After Yao Shi opened the topic, none of them showed discontent or worry as he expected; instead, they secretly sighed with relief.

These junior workers earned fixed salaries and, unlike the chefs, couldn’t earn commissions from orders.

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, the business was bound to be as busy as ever.

Then, they would have to work overtime and work hard, exhausting them completely.

Now with Zhao Meng sick, though it was just for two days, it was a welcome break.

It allowed them to recharge.

Having anticipated their reaction, Yao Shi suddenly said, ”Moreover, you might not know this, but the boss specifically allocated funds for bonuses for this Mid-Autumn Festival. The kitchen staff is divided into two groups led by Chef Zhao and Chef Gu for a competition, with the criteria for the prize being which group handles the most orders during the event.”

As soon as he said this, everyone was suddenly excited.

But soon after, they all sighed.

This year might just be an unlucky one for Chef Zhao, right?

Why did it feel like Lady Luck was always smiling on Chef Gu instead?

The Mid-Autumn Festival event started today, and Chef Zhao was taking two days off starting today.

Without Chef Zhao leading, how could they compete with Chef Gu’s group?

The bonus hadn’t even appeared yet, and it was considered already in someone else’s pocket.

Outspoken Zhang Jinyu suddenly said, ”Chef Yao, this isn’t fair to us! They said it’s a competition between two groups, but Chef Gu’s team has more people than us! With Chef Zhao resting for two days, there’s no one to lead us! I think we should first gather the personnel before discussing the competition.”

Zhang Jinyu’s words immediately made everyone dissatisfied too.

Exactly!

If it’s a competition, it has to be fair and just, at least with two team leaders, right?

With Zhao Meng resting, they had no leader, and were outnumbered.

This competition is unfair!

Zhang Jinyu continued, ”If there’s going to be a competition, we should wait until Chef Zhao comes back to start! Chef Yao, you’ve got to fight for us!”

Yao Shi looked at Zhang Jinyu, finding himself a bit at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

How did Zhao Meng end up with such a candid junior?

This straightforward lad disrupted his original plan with just a couple of sentences.

After this commotion, said, it was less about boosting momentum, and more about losing morale.

Yao Shi sighed.

This competition was an idea he came up with on the spur of the moment, and he hadn’t discussed it with the boss yet.

His original intent was to use the opportunity to boost motivation, but it backfired!

Fu Yu listened to Zhang Jinyu and instinctively looked at Yao Shi.

Mainly because Zhang Jinyu seemed to speak without much thought, what was reasonable sounded like he was pressuring Yao Shi.

Fu Yu felt a bit helpless, wanting to see Yao Shi’s reaction, only to suddenly notice a [?] appear above Yao Shi’s head.

There’s actually a task available!

Fu Yu chose to check it out.

[Ding! NPC Chef Yao Shi’s Task: In the two days while Zhao Meng is resting, take on the burden of leading the team and actively participate in the competition. Task reward: 100 yuan cash, 20 task experience, and a random reward]

Fu Yu: ”!”

There’s actually a random reward!