The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Ever since she posted that moment showcasing her designer bag,

the news that Liu Yici owns a limited edition branded handbag spread like wildfire.

Her friends and girlfriends, upon seeing it, were filled with both envy and jealousy.

Liu Yici couldn’t help but feel smug.

To be envied by others is simply both glorious and satisfying to one’s vanity.

Such is the interaction between women.

No matter how good or bad the relationship is, comparisons are inevitable.

Especially bags, particularly branded limited editions, are like martial arts manuals; whoever gets one makes others green with envy!

Finally getting a limited edition bag, one that is especially rare and hard to find.

Liu Yici hasn’t been idle these days either.

Doing her hair, changing her makeup, shopping at malls during the day, and browsing livestreams at night.

All just to match this bag, replacing everything from inside to outside anew.

She already looks beautiful, still maintaining her charm despite her age.

With this makeover, her aura immediately stood out.

At a friend’s gathering, a few rich ladies gathered to chat leisurely.

Others couldn’t help but praise: ”Mrs. Liu is really blessed, happy family, loving couple, and all her friends are of high status!”

If someone had said this before Qin Yue’s son’s engagement, Liu Yici would definitely have thought it was sarcasm, thinly veiled mockery.

After all, though Qin Yue’s family is wealthy, they’re in engineering, lacking cultural heritage.

In their eyes, someone like the Guan family is a real scholarly family, worthy of respect and admiration.

But now, it’s different!

Qin Yue and the Guan family became in-laws, making them one family.

This raised their status together.

Liu Yici, being close to Qin Yue, seemed to others like she had also climbed up to the Guan family, elevating her status.

Especially knowing the limited edition bag was from Qin Yue, everyone became even more curious!

To women, a bag is no less important than their life, especially a limited edition one. How could she bear to part with it?

Liu Yici, being praised by her friends, was floating on air, her vanity utterly satisfied, nearly bursting with joy.

As for the matter with Qin Yue, there wasn’t anything she couldn’t share with outsiders.

So she told how she met a young, talented chef and how she helped arrange a dinner that astonished the Guan Family.

The others were dumbfounded.

What is this eight dishes and eight bowls meal?

Never heard of it before?

Even the Guan Family praised it as authentic!

Guan Family is descendants of the Manzu Zhengbai Banner Gua Clan!

Could this eight dishes and eight bowls meal be the type of cuisine only found in the Imperial Palace?

How rare!

Everyone’s curiosity was piqued at once.

They all asked Liu Yici which big restaurant the chef who can make this meal works at?

The words were on Liu Yici’s lips when a bright idea struck her.

She thought of something that could accomplish multiple goals at once!

So, facing everyone’s inquiries, Liu Yici just gave a faint smile and didn’t pick up the thread.

The more she maintained an inscrutable demeanor and was unwilling to elaborate, the more their curiosity burned, all wanting to taste what the royals could enjoy, this eight dishes and eight bowls meal, to see what the fuss was about!

This scarcity marketing tactic was something she learned from her husband, except he used it to deal with those cunning old foxes in the business world.

She used it to handle these rich ladies with more money than sense around her.

Once she was sufficiently pestered, Liu Yici finally relented: ”I do have a good relationship with Chef Fu, he regards me as his sister, and we often keep in touch. However, he’s a great chef, very busy. If you want to invite him to cook at your place, I can help contact him, but the price definitely won’t be cheap!”

The more Liu Yici said this, the more curious the others became.

Especially the implication in Liu Yici’s words...

Cheh!

Who did she think they looked down on?

Everyone here has some wealth!

They aren’t lacking money.

Seeing her goal achieved, Liu Yici smiled and said: ”Then I’ll help you contact him to see when he’s available. After all, he’s really quite busy normally, and sometimes the Guan family, when hosting family dinners, occasionally invites him over...”

Everyone’s interest grew even more upon hearing this!

It seems the meal is indeed well-made and authentic!

If the Guan family invited him over for a family dinner, it must be cooked like what you’d find in the Imperial Palace, right?

Seeing their expressions, Liu Yici knew she had achieved the desired effect.

The smile on her face became even more radiant.

She had experienced Fu Yu’s culinary skills, which were undeniably delicious, but crucially, he could make the eight dishes and eight bowls meal!

Because of her friend Qin Yue’s in-law relationship with the Guan family, the matter had been a serious gossip topic for a while in their circle.

Now that the dust settled, she unexpectedly managed to stand out again.

Liu Yici, with money and leisure, has the greatest hobby of standing out.

To have everyone envy her is her largest pursuit.

And most importantly, what she’s doing is clearly a win-win situation.

She gains fame, Fu Yu gains profit.

No one loses out.

However... she should still give Fu Yu a heads-up and have a proper discussion.

Even though Liu Yici was a bit exaggerative, intentionally elevating Fu Yu’s status,

after all, only when Fu Yu’s status is elevated can she stand out and attract attention.

But she wasn’t lying; Fu Yu’s culinary skills were indeed excellent, and the eight dishes and eight bowls meal was truly praised highly by the Guan family.

Thanks to her friend Qin Yue, Liu Yici later met the Guan family and even dined with them.

She wasn’t particularly awed by the scholarly family title.

In her view, the Guan family was ordinary, kind, and very amiable in speech and manners.

Their attire was quite tasteful, but they didn’t chase after brand names.

Truthfully, their family assets might not even be as deep as those of the nouveau riche.

Yet, the Guan family was indeed quite knowledgeable.

When interacting with others, they appeared amiable, but in conversation, they could always say things people didn’t understand but found impressive, making others feel their family had great cultural depth...

But her previous words were just to use the reputation of the Guan family to exalt Fu Yu’s identity, promoting him.

Even though Fu Yu is quite skilled, at the end of the day, he’s just a cook.

Claiming to be invited over for banquets, isn’t it just serving others?

How much skill could that be?

So, appropriate promotion and hype are crucial.

You can become capable through promotion if you have no ability.

If you have ability, you can become highly skilled through promotion!

But since she had boasted so much about Fu Yu, she’d better quickly get in touch with him and manage this properly.

Otherwise, if things fall through, losing trust is minor; losing face is major!

As the gathering ended, Liu Yici hurried to contact Fu Yu.

As she was about to press the voice button, she suddenly remembered the owner of the music restaurant.

Back then, Boss Yao said he was friends with Fu Yu, and any matter could be addressed through him.

Judging by Fu Yu’s attitude, he indeed seemed to follow Boss Yao’s word.

When it comes to interest-related matters, dealing with the boss would definitely be smoother.

With this thought, Liu Yici simply found a way to get in touch with Boss Yao.