The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Speaking of Chef Zhao, there he is!

Fu Yu was chatting with Sun Qingning when Zhao Meng, with a spring in his step, strolled into the small restaurant after clocking in.

”Hey! Eating, huh!”

Sun Qingning quickly stood up enthusiastically to greet him, ”Chef Zhao! Good morning! Today we’re having eight treasure porridge with tiger salad and pan-fried bread slices. Shall I serve you a bowl of porridge?”

Zhao Meng waved his hand, ”No need, I’ve already eaten. Bao’Er wanted leek boxes yesterday, so I specifically went to the market for fresh leeks this morning and made a whole batch for her.”

Though his tone was normal, the pride in his eyes was unmistakable.

The old bachelor unexpectedly found love and moved into his girlfriend’s place, wanting to show off to his colleagues was only natural.

Sun Qingning, who had a girlfriend, sat back down with an expression that said ”I understand.”

Only Fu Yu, the single guy, had his breakfast disrupted by the public display of affection.

Fu Yu, feeling three parts envious and seven parts jealous, interjected, ”Chef Zhao, did you look for me last night?”

Zhao Meng was about to talk to Fu Yu about it and nodded upon hearing the question, ”Yes, finish eating first and come find me afterward. I have something to discuss with you.”

The thought of what could be going on lingered in Fu Yu’s mind.

Fu Yu quickly finished a bowl of eight treasure porridge, stuffed a slice of bread into his mouth, grabbed two more slices, and hurried to find Zhao Meng.

The two of them went to the storage room to talk.

Fu Yu got straight to the point, ”Chef Zhao, what did you want to talk to me about yesterday? Is something happening at the restaurant?”

Zhao Meng replied with a question of his own, ”I was going to ask you, why was your phone off yesterday?”

Fu Yu scratched his head with a sheepish smile, ”My phone ran out of battery. I didn’t realize until I was paying for a taxi last night. So, what’s up, Chef Zhao?”

Zhao Meng explained, ”Chef Yao was looking for you. Apparently, there’s a customer at the music restaurant who accidentally cut their face at the beginning of the year. They’ve had cosmetic sutures, but the recovery isn’t great, and the scar is quite noticeable. Someone referred them to you, wanting to book medicinal cuisine.”

Speaking of this, Zhao Meng gave a few extra reminders, ”I heard from Chef Yao that the customer’s family isn’t simple. When you take on this order, be cautious.”

Fu Yu was taken aback, ”Not simple family? What do you mean?”

Zhao Meng explained, ”Chef Yao said he’s seen the accompanying family member before. They’re a famous entrepreneur in Bei’an City, wealthy and influential. The main thing is, after the cosmetic sutures, because the results were unsatisfactory, they gave the responsible doctor a hard time.”

”In short, be careful in how you handle things.”

After their conversation, Zhao Meng advised Fu Yu, ”Chef Yao doesn’t know when you’ll be available, so call him back now.”

This was for Fu Yu to explain about his phone running out of battery yesterday.

Zhao Meng left, not forgetting to close the door behind him.

After the door closed, Fu Yu made a call to Yao Shi.

Yao Shi picked up quickly, and Fu Yu hastily explained about his phone running out of battery.

Yao Shi didn’t mind and just instructed, ”There shouldn’t be much going on in the kitchen today. Come by the music restaurant before ten. I’ll be there too, and we can discuss the specific details in person. I’m driving, so it’s inconvenient to speak over the phone.”

Fu Yu understood this meant he should treat this as a home service call.

After hanging up, Fu Yu relayed the situation to Zhao Meng.

He and the kitchen crew busied themselves with preparing ingredients, checking the stock of side dishes.

Once the time seemed right, he told Zhao Meng, changed into a different set of clothes, and took a taxi to the music restaurant.

Now, at the music restaurant, Fu Yu felt as at home as he did at Qianlima.

He knew all the staff, had his own locker, and even a dedicated kitchen station.

Even though he only came once a week, no one used his station except to occasionally store some ingredients.

This gave Fu Yu a strong sense of belonging.

Changing into the music restaurant chef’s uniform, Fu Yu left the dressing room and called Yao Shi.

As he passed by a hallway mirror, he glanced at himself in the clean chef’s uniform and paused...

Wow!

He was just wearing his uniform from Qianlima this morning, and in just an hour, he switched to another one.

He felt like a spy.