The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Moreover, Zhang Xueyao’s skin has indeed been conditioned very well.

During a previous chat, Teng Xue mentioned that this female student’s skin condition was very poor at first, with severe acne that almost ruined her face.

It’s only been two or three short months, and it can be conditioned like this, showing that the chef in charge of the herbal therapy is quite skilled.

A teacher turned to discuss with Teng Xue: ”Teacher Teng, isn’t it true that you teach music class for Class One? Can you help us inquire about the herbal therapy later?”

”A child in my sister’s house just started their freshman year in college this year. There’s nothing on her face, but her back is full of acne, and she can’t even lie down to sleep, because if it presses on the acne, it hurts a lot.”

”They’ve already been to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital before, and they said it’s puberty and a hormonal imbalance. They’ve tried various decoctions and acupuncture, but the effect has been mediocre.”

”If the herbal therapy really works, I would like for her to try it. After all, she’s just a young girl, and she doesn’t even dare to wear a backless dress in the summer. It’s really too much to bear.”

Teng Xue is actually not very convinced about this herbal therapy.

In her view, herbal therapy is just a gimmick.

If eating could cure diseases, then what’s the point of hospitals?

Any dietary therapy, for sure, takes a long course and works slowly.

For Zhang Xueyao to get her skin in such good condition in such a short time, that so-called herbal therapy must have included some kind of hormones or something.

Teng Xue is very beauty-conscious and, being at her current age, has done substantial research on beauty and skincare.

She usually also engages in dietary therapy, such as eating vegetarian meals regularly for detoxification and occasionally doing nutritional meals to regulate her digestive system.

However, she would never easily drink traditional herbal soups or take any medication that contains herbal ingredients.

Mildly toxic, as the old saying goes, is often not without reason.

But the reason why Teng Xue is respected and loved by her peers is, on one hand, her seniority and outstanding personal abilities, and on the other hand, her exceptional skill in handling interpersonal relationships.

Though she doesn’t endorse herbal therapy herself, she doesn’t impose her views on others or forcefully persuade others to follow her opinions.

Besides her initial indication that she doesn’t recognize herbal therapy, when others discuss it, she just listens quietly without arguing.

Now being asked, she readily agreed.

”No problem, I’ll find a chance to ask about it for you later.”

...

Fu Yu suddenly received a call from Zhang Zhen, feeling a little puzzled.

What’s going on?

He instinctively looked at the time.

It’s eleven-thirty at night.

For someone to call out of the blue at this time of night...

Fu Yu answered the phone and proactively asked, ”Chef Zhang? It’s late, is there something you need?”

Zhang Zhen, sounding a bit embarrassed, said, ”Xiaofu, am I not disturbing your rest?”

He also knows it’s getting late now.

The kitchen isn’t like other jobs, with late hours and early starts.

If you’re on an early shift, you have to control yourself to go to bed and wake up early.

Otherwise, you won’t have enough energy for standing at the stove all day, your body simply can’t handle it.

He didn’t know that Fu Yu had to go to Shangshi Private Kitchen every day to learn cooking from Liu Yunong.

Right now was precisely the rare leisure time for Fu Yu after a busy day.

Fu Yu promptly said, ”No, I’m still up.”

Only then did Zhang Zhen continue, ”That’s good, I have something to tell you. Yaoyao called me earlier in the evening, saying that her classmates are inquiring about herbal therapy for acne. They seem interested because it worked well for her, but they heard the price is quite high and are a bit hesitant.”

”I was thinking, maybe this is a business opportunity! So I thought I’d let you know.”

This took Fu Yu by surprise.

Students from No. 1 High School want to eat his herbal therapy?

That’s good news!

The more people eat, the more money he can make.

However...

The price set for his herbal therapy by Yao Shi was indeed not low.

For adults, willing to spend money on their health and beauty, who have the money and can decide for themselves, it’s surely not a problem.

But to customize herbal therapy for students at this price point, not too many families could afford it.

And even if they could, whether their families would agree is another issue.

Fu Yu thought about it and spoke out, ”It’s indeed a good business opportunity, but our restaurant’s pricing for herbal therapy is uniform. If they really can’t accept it, there’s nothing we can do.”

After all, he’s using the restaurant’s venue to make herbal therapy, and everything should follow Yao Shi’s arrangements.

”The price can’t possibly change, but it’s worth seeing if Chef Yao has other discount methods.”

In this regard, it’s indeed necessary to seek Yao Shi’s advice. After all, he has decades of rich experience managing Qianlima alone, and his music restaurant is thriving as well.

His mindset and vision are something Fu Yu can’t compare to.

Zhang Zhen naturally understood this principle and discreetly reminded him, ”Xiaofu, it’s best not to mention Yaoyao in this matter...”

Fu Yu understood immediately.

The herbal therapy Zhang Xueyao had been eating was organized and paid for by Zhang Zhen himself.

None of the ingredients or medicines went through the restaurant’s accounts.

Although everyone in the restaurant knows this, seeing that Zhang Zhen doesn’t bring it up, naturally nobody wants to be insensitive and acts as though they know nothing about it.

Although Yao Shi is the owner, the person in charge of the kitchen is Zhang Zhen.

The owner sometimes doesn’t come to the restaurant even once a week, so everything depends on the collaboration and support of the management team, and they usually have good relationships with each other.

Who would idly gossip about Zhang Zhen’s business? They’re not stupid.

Although even if Yao Shi knows about this, it wouldn’t matter.

After all, apart from using a dining room and wasting a few sets of tableware, Zhang Zhen paid for everything himself, not taking advantage of the restaurant.

Truth be told, he just owes Fu Yu a personal favor.

Though that’s the case, it’s better to avoid trouble.

Fu Yu agreed, ”I understand, Chef Zhang, don’t worry.”

Zhang Zhen knew Fu Yu was a smart guy. He’s discussing this with Fu Yu because he knows if it succeeds, it could be a great opportunity for large orders.

Sometimes, returning a favor isn’t just about giving money.

Interacting among friends requires regular contact and mutual support to have a deep relationship and go far together.

Fu Yu took this matter to heart.

This time, he didn’t seek Zhao Meng’s advice first but made the decision himself to contact Yao Shi.

When Yao Shi answered the phone, he sounded surprised, ”Xiaofu? What’s up?”

Fu Yu called the next morning, taking some time to explain the situation.

”Chef Yao, someone has referred No. 1 High School students to eat herbal therapy. They also want to improve their skin, but they find the price a bit high. What should we do in this situation?”

No. 1 High School students want to try herbal therapy?

Yao Shi was taken aback and then asked with great interest, ”Good news! How many want to subscribe? If it’s for skin conditioning, don’t we need to see the individual to customize the herbal therapy?”

Fu Yu replied, ”Right, we certainly have to customize the therapy accordingly.”

Yao Shi smiled, ”We can’t easily lower the price, or it will be difficult to raise it again later.”

”This reminds me, if we can indeed establish a channel for student group orders, that would be a great business opportunity!”

”As for the price, although we can’t lower it, there are still solutions.”

Fu Yu immediately perked up, ”Chef Yao, do you have any good ideas?”

Yao Shi said, ”It might not be a brilliant idea, just a marketing strategy.”

”Since herbal therapy can regulate the body and maintain the skin, and now we have potential student consumers wanting to customize it, we can completely assess their actual situation and re-establish the cost structure.”

”For example, we can offer them a plan to customize herbal therapy with installment payments.”

”And since they’re a student group, we can also provide them with special discounts such as the option to stop further payments if the treatment is ineffective, or other more detailed preferential and welfare policies.”