The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Watching the waiter return the used dishes from the customers.

Zhang Jiaxin quickly asked, ”How was it? Did the customers in room 303 have any feedback?”

The waiter smiled and said, ”Oh, they praised our restaurant’s dishes for being authentic. Look, they finished all the dishes, though there are still some dumplings left.”

Zhang Jiaxin was relieved, it was good they were satisfied.

After the waiter left, Zhang Jiaxin specifically went to thank Fu Yu, ”Chef Fu, the customers in room 303 were very satisfied with the dishes. Thank you so much. If I hadn’t asked for your help, things definitely wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.”

Fu Yu waved his hand with a smile, ”No need to thank me.”

It was just a small favor, and Zhang Jiaxin was really considerate. He noticed the large banquet they prepared as a trade-off.

There are always many complicated things in the kitchen, who can guarantee they won’t encounter a situation where they need someone else’s help in the future?

Fu Yu has a special talent, but the skills he acquired came from his own learning through hardship, not by chance or without effort.

If it wasn’t for learning the complete fish feast in practical teaching classes, Fu Yu couldn’t guarantee he could make perfect river fish dishes.

Fu Yu sincerely said, ”It was just a helping hand.”

Lending a hand among colleagues, mutual assistance brings convenience to others and oneself.

Zhang Jiaxin looked at Fu Yu with increasing gratitude.

At this moment, Gu Yunwu returned from greeting customers in the front hall... reeking of alcohol, smiling broadly, clearly in a great mood.

Zhang Jiaxin sighed and said softly, ”I’ll go back to work now.”

Fu Yu nodded, feeling quite sympathetic towards him.

Having to deal with such a head chef is really a headache!

...

Zhao Meng returned from three days off, bringing gifts for everyone.

Fu Yu looked speechlessly at the bag full of pumice stones and four large boxes of Kedong Fermented Tofu.

”Chef Zhao, last time Chef Gu came back from vacation, he brought flower pastries and salted meat mooncakes. Isn’t bringing back a bag of stones a bit too shabby?”

Zhao Meng opened the boxes of fermented tofu and invited everyone to take some, scoffing, ”Take it or leave it! Lao Gu went to Yunnan for vacation, while I went to Old Black Mountain! Can you even compare?”

”There’s nothing at Old Black Mountain besides pumice stones and mineral water. Our restaurant even sells the mineral water from Five Great Pools, is it worth bringing back?”

Fu Yu had never even climbed Old Black Mountain, so he had no idea about these things.

”What about the fermented tofu? We have that in the restaurant too!”

Zhao Meng rolled his eyes, ”The restaurant’s fermented tofu is all in large barrels. This is the genuine stuff from Kedong County, I’ll mail some to your home later. Eat it with split buns, it’s especially tasty!”

Fu Yu laughed, ”No need to mail it. My mom and dad are coming over in three days, they can take it back home directly.”

The thought of his parents visiting soon put Fu Yu in an exceptionally good mood these past two days.

After confirming his parents’ arrival time in a phone call home, he also called Lin Minghao.

Contrary to Fu Yu’s eager excitement, Lin Minghao sounded disgruntled on the call, ”They’re coming, whatever, just arrange for my aunt and uncle. Don’t worry about my parents, they can take care of themselves.”

Fu Yu was at a loss for words.

His aunt and uncle were too eager for their child to achieve greatness, expecting too much from their only son.

In contrast, his own parents were open-minded and easygoing.

Fu Yu felt quite pleased, offering a few words of comfort, and suggested, ”I plan to book two rooms at the hotel on the side street for my parents and your parents to stay. Chef Zhao’s place might be livable, but nothing’s been tidied up. I don’t want them having to deal with that. It’s just three days, I’ll arrange it.”

Lin Minghao promptly said, ”No need, brother, let my parents book it themselves.”

Fu Yu ignored him and mentioned Zhao Meng giving tickets, ”When they arrive tomorrow night, they can stay at the hotel for one night. The next day, I’m off, and we can head straight to Sifeng Mountain. It’s a three-day break, a good chance to relax and explore a bit.”

Having already booked his leave, the mention of visiting Sifeng Mountain lifted Lin Minghao’s spirits, shifting his mood from gloom to joy, ”That sounds great! I’ll charge up my camera now, we can take some good photos then...”

Fu Yu, excited, discussed the three-day vacation plans with Lin Minghao.

At home, Mr. and Mrs. Fu were also too excited to sleep.

After hanging up the call with their son, as they chatted in bed, Mrs. Fu cheerfully asked her husband, ”Do you think we need to bring anything when we visit this time?”

They had already bought all the clothes and shoes, and prepared a lot of Fu Yu’s favorite food, both homemade and store-bought.

They also prepared gifts for Fu Yu’s mentor, Zhao Meng, and some items for Lin Minghao.

In addition, Mrs. Fu had taken out some money from the bank, planning to give it to Fu Yu.

Fu Yu always shared the good news and not the bad, and Mrs. Fu knew her son’s character well.

Even though Fu Yu kept saying he had money and was earning well, as parents, they couldn’t help but worry.

They feared their child might not be eating or drinking well, and might suffer from living frugally.

Mr. Fu said, ”We’ve prepared what we need to, we’re not missing anything else, right?”

Mrs. Fu: ”Oh, maybe we should take another trip to the mall tomorrow. We focused on getting things for Fu Yu’s mentor, and forgot about his mentor’s wife. I heard they have a little daughter? Maybe we should buy a toy for the child.”

Mr. Fu frowned: ”No need, just getting something for his mentor is enough. That child isn’t even his, and they haven’t had any nuptials yet.”

Mrs. Fu thought that made sense, ”Then we won’t buy it.”

Mr. Fu said, ”Instead of spending that money, we should save it up. The kid’s not getting any younger, if he really finds someone, we must help him buy a house when he gets married. Weddings cost money too!”

Mrs. Fu: ”That’s a long way off, I don’t think he’s even considering it now.”

Mr. Fu: ”Whether he is or not, we should buy the house in advance. Maybe this time when we visit, we should directly check out some houses? If the down payment isn’t enough, we’ll see if we can borrow some from relatives and friends and not delay it.”

Mrs. Fu: ”Are you planning to buy a house in Bei’an? Oh my, that will cost a lot!”

Mr. Fu confidently said in the dark, ”No matter how much it costs, we must buy one! Our son’s finally got a stable job in Bei’an, if we buy the house, he can really settle down here! They say settling in a big city takes three generations of effort, but I think our son might just achieve it in one step.”