The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 324: Chapter 323: Irrelevant to Character and Conviction

It was Zhao Meng’s early shift the next day.

Fu Yu got up early and first arranged for Zhao Meng’s helpers to follow the buyer to check the inventory.

Then he went to the storage room to check the pickling situation of the side dishes.

Zhao Meng’s tenosynovitis had noticeably improved, and he no longer needed to go to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital. The doctor advised him to rest for at least another half a month before he can resume normal work.

However, after this relapse of his old ailment, Zhao Meng realized how damaging this condition could be and knew he must take it slow and steady.

He must try to avoid the flipping pan motion in the future to reduce stress on his wrist.

After hearing Zhao Meng’s explanation, Fu Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

In the kitchen, whoever is on the early shift is responsible for preparing breakfast.

Sun Qingning got up late, but his timing was just right for cooking.

His culinary skills have improved rapidly; even with a pot of millet porridge, a plate of tiger salad, a dish of stir-fried shredded potatoes, and a serving of fried eggs, the evident progress in mastering the control of the heat is apparent.

Zhao Meng always had strict standards for those below him, but he was never sparing in praise when it was deserved.

Zhao Meng took a bite of the fried eggs.

Smooth and tender, the texture was full and lingering.

The heat control was just perfect.

”Xiaosun, your heat control is quite good now, and your progress is very noticeable.”

Zhao Meng made a casual compliment and then tasted the tiger salad.

”The tiger salad is also good, the fresh, fragrant, and spicy flavors are well controlled, but there’s one thing – you need to practice your knife skills when you have the time!”

Because of Zhao Meng’s words of praise, Sun Qingning had an extra bowl of millet porridge in the morning.

o’clock in the morning is the rare leisurely time of the day in the kitchen.

The helpers take care of the prep work, allowing the cooks to take a short break.

Yao Shi came in this morning; he hadn’t been around for the last few days over the National Day holiday, and the finance department hadn’t yet checked the previous month’s attendance for the kitchen staff with him.

He came out of the finance room and turned to the kitchen to chat with Zhao Meng.

”I say you should let your hand recuperate for another month. An injury to the muscles and bones requires a hundred days to heal, especially since this is an old problem causing significant wear on the joints.”

Zhao Meng shook his head, smiled, and said, ”Don’t worry, I know what’s best. If my hand truly becomes disabled, I’d be out of a job for the rest of my life, it’s precious to me!”

Yao Shi sighed and said, ”That’s good. I’ve been so overwhelmed with things recently, I really couldn’t keep an eye on things here.”

Zhao Meng and Yao Shi have always had a close relationship; they used to work together quite harmoniously, and over the years, they gradually transitioned from colleagues to friends.

Seeing Yao Shi in low spirits, Zhao Meng showed concern and asked, ”What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

Yao Shi clicked his tongue and said, ”Don’t even mention it, once business gets prosperous, it’s like a honey jar with a cracked lid, all sorts of flies and bugs want to latch on!”

Zhao Meng was stunned, ”Someone is causing trouble over there?”

Yao Shi shook his head, ”It’d be easier if they were causing trouble! They’re not causing trouble, they just want to take advantage. Since the first day of the National Day holiday, it hasn’t stopped! Weddings, birthdays, even divorces, come up with any excuse, and they’ll hold some sort of ceremony!”

”No matter what, they know quality, and they’re all drawn to the music restaurant. One call from them forces me to rack my brains to clear the venue!”

”And that’s not all, some private gatherings insist on having me cook! I’m on my feet all day from morning till night with hardly any rest, now I’m so exhausted my shoulder periarthritis is almost acting up!”

For thousands of years, the continuation of chefs has largely relied on the mentorship and internal transmission.

This learning method has a major drawback – it heavily emphasizes the precise teaching and inheritance of existing cooking methods within the school.

Additionally, cooking is truly a profession that requires accumulated experience.

Chinese people have ingrained the mentality that ”the more famous the chef, the better.”

So even though Yao Shi’s official title at the music restaurant over there is ”boss”, a lot of the people who come through various connections are ones he can’t refuse.

It’s not about character or beliefs, not about virtue or integrity, it’s just survival needs and helplessness.

No matter how exquisite Yao Shi’s cooking skills are, no matter how famous he is, no matter how much money he has, he’s still an ordinary person, unable to escape the various rules of human society.

”On the fifth, there was a wedding banquet, booked six months in advance, the venue was arranged and set up, and then someone calls, and we have to find a way to clear the banquet hall. We have to pacify the customers and attend to the others cutting in line successfully!”

”For those couple of days, I felt like my hair was going to fall out from stress!”

After finishing, Yao Shi couldn’t help but sigh.

Zhao Meng offered some consolation.

Running a business is like this; being the boss means more troubles.

Social dealings have nothing to do with the level of ability, when it comes it’s a mess, but at least the input is proportional to the return.

The brain cells consumed now are the groundwork for future increases in savings.

Thinking this way, it should indeed be accepted gladly.

The two chatted for a while, and Zhao Meng asked, ”Did you come specifically to see me to talk about something?”

Yao Shi nodded, ”It’s Wang Duzi’s mother’s birthday, he called me just now, I’m telling you in advance.”

Zhao Meng was taken aback, ”Wang Du Zi? Isn’t it Wang Zhongyang who contacted you?!”

Yao Shi said helplessly, ”Last year they held the birthday party here, I couldn’t make it back at that time, you were in charge of the cooking, and they enjoyed it. They’re planning another birthday celebration this year and want to host it here again. I thought Wang Zhongyang was a difficult customer, hard to please, and your hand shouldn’t be flipping the pan, he might cause trouble if things don’t go smoothly for him!”

Zhao Meng nonchalantly snorted, ”I’m not planning to run anything on my own, he has no basis for causing trouble.”

Wang Zhongyang is a leader at the Industry and Commerce Bureau, specifically responsible for setting the pricing of restaurant dishes, which is also a lucrative job.

Frequently, he’d send a few of his subordinates to make rounds in various restaurants within the district.

Encountering the gods is easy, dealing with the lesser spirits is tough.

The people from the Industry and Commerce Bureau never leave empty-handed from any establishment they visit.

Yao Shi saw Zhao Meng’s expression and smiled, saying, ”He has no way of dealing with you, but isn’t there still Dong Jun Tian? Eventually, if he causes trouble for Dong Jun Tian, it would come back to you.”

Zhao Meng sighed, ”Alas... bottom line is, we need to train newcomers quickly; each day I’m working myself to death and it’s still not as effective as Lao Gu flattering someone.”

While Zhao Meng was speaking, suddenly his phone rang.

”Chef Zhao, are you in the kitchen?”

Gao Wenjing’s tone sounded somewhat urgent.

Zhao Meng quickly said, ”Yes, what’s going on?”

Gao Wenjing hurriedly replied, ”A customer just called to order food, saying there’s a pregnant woman at home. They ordered seafood from us once before and enjoyed it. Now she’s about to give birth and wants to order again.”

Zhao Meng immediately remembered the order Fu Yu had taken earlier.

Zhao Meng quickly said, ”Alright, send the order list over, I’ll arrange it right away!”

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Meng called over to Yao Shi, ”Alright then, time to start!”