The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

The man felt guilty, so he said no more.

The woman saw the man like this and lost the mood to complain.

Calming down, she remembered the prices of the dishes on the menu she looked at earlier.

The woman’s previous determination in ordering dishes weakened a bit.

She couldn’t help but ask: ”How many dishes do I have on this table? What’s the price range?”

Fu Yu was taken aback for a moment, but Liu Yuqing quickly responded: ”Eight dishes and a soup. The spicy crayfish comes in three sizes: large, medium, and small. The one ordered last night was medium, 188 yuan. For this salt and pepper mantis shrimp...”

The woman’s face immediately changed; her family background was average, and she rarely dined in restaurants.

So she wasn’t very clear about the grades and prices of restaurants.

Originally, she thought a table of dishes would cost about five or six hundred yuan, but it turned out to be so expensive!

After hearing the dish prices, the woman became somewhat hesitant.

She flipped through the menu, looking at the expensive dishes, habitually pinching her left thumb and index finger lightly.

When the man noticed the woman’s little gesture, he suddenly felt his heart tightly gripped...

The woman was actually quite delicate, with fair skin and thick hair. Knowing they were dining out today, she specially braided her hair that she usually tied casually.

The clothes she was wearing, she had bought several years ago but only wore them on important occasions...

The man suddenly felt his nose tingle.

Such a simple and plain woman, diligently and selflessly married him and built a life together.

Bore children for him and helped take care of the elderly with him.

Actually, when they first got together, he genuinely wanted to treat her well, provide a good life, and build a home together.

But when did he start to change...

He thought that he worked hard and busily outside every day, while the woman could sit back and reap the rewards at home.

He felt that she was completely dependent on him for support, not as beautiful as when she was younger, and not romantic.

Staying with her every day, she only talked about trivial matters at home, and understood nothing else.

But he forgot that the woman was actually very busy at home every day.

The children were still young and couldn’t be away from adults.

His mother was not in good health and had always been living with them.

The woman had to take care of the children at home and serve the elderly.

Doing the laundry, cooking, and cleaning, he could come home to hot meals every day without lifting a finger, and the woman handled everything meticulously.

Yet he took all these for granted, never appreciated them.

The man looked at the conflicted woman and unusually said: ”Alright, as you said, let’s just order them.”

Then he comforted: ”Honey, it’s okay, since we want to eat, let’s enjoy the meal properly.”

The woman had spoken so confidently earlier that now she could only grudgingly agree.

After ordering, a waiter led them to a private room.

Indeed, being a big restaurant, the prices were high, but the service was excellent.

The waiter not only helped pull out chairs and served complimentary tea but also the environment in the private room was very nice.

However, she still felt heartache for the money spent, thinking about how this outing took half of the household’s monthly living expenses, the woman’s anger flared up again.

Just about to flare up, she heard the man say: ”Honey, you’re right, currently, I don’t earn a lot, and there’s barely any savings aside from our expenses.”

”In the future, for outside engagements like last night’s, if I can avoid attending, I will.”

”Since we’re here today, let’s have a good meal; after all, we’ve been married for so many years, and I haven’t taken you to a restaurant yet.”

Seeing the man like this, the woman’s anger gradually subsided.

After all, she felt a bit soft-hearted.

The man worked hard and faced a lot of pressure.

Besides, since it’s for business, it must also be required for work.

Despite having caused such a scene, in the end, the man didn’t say anything.

The woman just couldn’t stay angry.

...

Although the mood in the private room was somewhat tense, the couple didn’t argue or bicker further.

Fu Yu immediately took the order slip to the kitchen and started cooking the deep-fried squid ordered by the customer.

Zhang Jinyu followed Fu Yu’s instructions to prepare the ingredients.

But hearing that the fresh squid was to be sent to the Red Case District, he couldn’t help asking: ”Chef Fu, didn’t the customer order grilled squid? Why is it going to the Red Case area?”

Fu Yu casually replied: ”Oh, she ordered the innovative dish.”

Zhang Jinyu was startled: ”...Innovative dish?”

Fearing to waste time, Zhang Jinyu, puzzled, went to gather the ingredients.

When did the restaurant have an innovative grilled squid dish?

Because he was curious about the innovative dish, Zhang Jinyu was quite looking forward to the cooking later.

When Zhang Jinyu had everything prepared, Fu Yu promptly began frying the giant squid.

The squid was cleaned, with its eyes, teeth, and suckers removed.

Fu Yu deftly sliced the squid, ensuring it would cook thoroughly and absorb the flavors better.

The sliced squid was skewered with bamboo sticks.

Because the customer requested it, they chose a large, fatty squid with excellent meat quality.

The squid was placed in a basin, mixed with coating powder, and carefully brushed with batter.

Fu Yu brushed it evenly, to prevent the squid from curling and ruining the texture when in the pan.

Then the battered squid was placed in flour, thoroughly coated to ensure it was completely covered.

The oil in the pan was heated.

Seeing that Fu Yu was preparing the oil and pan, Zhang Jinyu curiously asked: ”Chef Fu, are you planning to deep-fry it?”

Fu Yu nodded: ”Yes, the squid needs to be fried first.”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jinyu quickly stepped up: ”Let me do it.”

In the kitchen, any deep-frying tasks were always handled by Zhang Jinyu, and Fu Yu never intervened.

However, when Zhang Jinyu was working, Fu Yu would always guide him.

Zhang Jinyu genuinely thought Fu Yu was a wonderful person, willing to teach and not keeping secrets.

Fu Yu, on the other hand, felt a bit guilty for always making Zhang Jinyu do more work to hide his reluctance in using oil utensils, so he tried to teach him some cooking methods as compensation.

Fu Yu handed the skimmer to Zhang Jinyu, instructing: ”Try to maintain the oil temperature at around 210 degrees. The temperature shouldn’t be too high or too low. Frying at about 210 degrees ensures a crispy exterior while locking in moisture.”

Zhang Jinyu noted it down carefully while skillfully working with the oil.

When the squid’s exterior turned a golden brown, it could be removed from the pan.

The frying process formed a protective crust around the squid, ensuring the inside stayed tender and fresh.

This way, the dish wouldn’t be too greasy, and the taste would be very favorable.

However, fried food can’t be left out for too long, so even though it was a takeaway, Fu Yu, after draining the oil, carefully brushed it with barbecue sauce and wrapped the skewer with printed oil paper for packaging.