Chapter 367: Chapter 367: Hot and Sour Chicken Gizzards

[DING! 3500/3500 meal sets sold. Customer satisfaction is three stars or higher. Mission complete. Reward: one Lottery Ticket.]

As the mission completion alert sounded, business at the restaurant began to wind down.

Shen Lu had put a sign out front long before, telling any new arrivals not to bother coming in. Even if they waited, there would be no food left to sell.

This approach naturally drew plenty of complaints, and Shen Lu watched as the satisfaction rating slowly fell back to three stars.

Not a hair more, not a hair less—it stopped right at three stars.

There was nothing Shen Lu could do about it.

Although she was only supposed to be open for lunch, she always ended up staying open until two or three in the afternoon.

Typically, a restaurant’s busiest time is the dinner rush. Shen Lu didn’t dare to imagine how hectic it would get if she started serving dinner.

’I’ll just leave things as they are for now.’ The mission quota was still manageable with just one service. Once the quota increased to the point that lunch service alone wasn’t enough, she’d add dinner.

Before bed, Shen Lu received a message from Xue Can. He said he’d found out who the thugs were that had caused trouble earlier in the day.

Shen Lu: What? They’re friends of Gao Manting? But... I don’t have a problem with Gao Manting, do I?

Xue Can: I’m sorry. You got dragged into this because of me.

Shen Lu: eye_roll.jpg

Shen Lu: I’m a completely innocent victim here.

Xue Can: I’ll have Jiang Gong take care of it.

Shen Lu: Don’t bother. From what I can see, Jiang Gong is no match for his cousin. Let’s just drop it. They’re just a bunch of kids, anyway. They can’t cause any real trouble for me.

Hearing Shen Lu’s world-weary tone, anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she was seventy or eighty.

But she was actually only seventeen... ’Wait,’ he thought. He had looked up Shen Lu’s file. ’Isn’t her birthday sometime around now?’

Xue Can: Is your birthday coming up soon?

Shen Lu: Huh?

Shen Lu: It already passed.

Xue Can: It passed? Your eighteenth birthday, and you didn’t invite me?

Shen Lu: It’s just a birthday. No need to make a big deal out of it. I wanted to celebrate it quietly.

Xue Can: ...

Xue Can: I’ll get you a belated birthday gift.

Shen Lu: You don’t have to. I didn’t get you a gift for your birthday.

Xue Can: That’s different.

’How could that be the same?’ He was doing his utmost to get on Shen Lu’s good side. He’d already missed her coming-of-age birthday; the gift was a must.

It was hard to refuse such a persistent offer, so Shen Lu couldn’t keep declining. She made a mental note to get him a gift in return on his next birthday.

The night passed quickly. The weather the next day was even better than the day before.

The wind was light, but the sky was still filled with yellow sand.

After all, the area lacked vegetation. With nothing to hold it down, the sand was easily swept up into the air by the slightest breeze.

Shen Lu was leading her staff, busy with prep work in the kitchen.

First thing in the morning, she received orders from Li Long and Bai Wanwan.

She had already agreed to Li Long’s order. He’d requested exactly ten dishes—no more, no less—and said he would send a driver to pick them up with their own containers.

She had been reluctant to accept Bai Wanwan’s order, but after some thought, Shen Lu replied with a simple "Okay."

’In any case, their dishes can be prepared in advance,’ she reasoned. ’They won’t get in the way of the noon rush. I can just lump them together and count it as one table.’

That way, she could still serve two tables of customers during lunch.

Shen Lu was showing Shu Meng how to make a new dish: Hot and Sour Chicken Gizzards. It would be added to the menu in three days, replacing the Kung Pao Chicken.

’Ideally, it would be better to add a new dish instead of replacing one,’ she mused.

But what could she do? The restaurant was short-staffed.

Shen Lu didn’t want to burn out her employees, either. Leaving some breathing room was essential for long-term sustainability.

So, after opening for the day, Shen Lu set up a loudspeaker to broadcast a looped message: the Kung Pao Chicken was about to be removed from the menu. Any fans of the dish were advised to get their fill during its last three days.

"Why are you getting rid of the Kung Pao Chicken? It’s delicious!"

"This is unacceptable! Boss Shen, please don’t take it off the menu!"

"I don’t care what you replace it with, I won’t like it! I’m a die-hard fan of the Kung Pao Chicken!"

"I, Liu Bo’er, will defend the Kung Pao Chicken to the death!"

But no matter what opinions the customers voiced, Shen Lu acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

’Are you kidding me?’ she thought. ’This is my restaurant. I can consider my customers’ opinions, but I can’t run my business entirely based on their whims.’

After days of patting out pizza dough, Xin Yu’s efficiency had improved, but his hands were still swollen.

Even the anti-inflammatory ointment Shen Lu had bought for him, which she reminded him to apply daily, wasn’t having much of an effect.

Once Xin Yu finished his quota of 100 pizzas, he would help his colleagues with other tasks, like washing and chopping ingredients or plating dishes.

Xin Yu wasn’t as naturally talented at stir-frying and chopping as Deng Ying, but he was a natural at plating, performing the task with professional flair.

A little after twelve, Mao Guangjian entered the restaurant with a young woman.

The man had shed his usual rugged appearance. Today, he wore a leather jacket, his hair was styled with gel, and his beard was cleanly shaven.

He was like a peacock fanning its tail feathers.

"So this is the delicious restaurant you were talking about?" Ding Xue said, glancing around coolly. "Business is certainly booming."

The fast-food counter on the right was packed, and the food smelled wonderful.

Mao Guangjian gestured for Ding Xue to go to the left. "Boss, we’re eating over here."

Ding Xue blinked. She’d thought for a moment that Mao Guangjian was treating her to fast food.

But the booth seating on the left was nearly empty. ’Could their made-to-order dishes really be any good?’

But she was already here, and she’d already given her word. It was too late to back out now.

Once the two were seated, Shen Lu came over to attend to them.

"Boss, take a look at the menu. Order whatever you want! Boss Shen is an amazing cook; everything she makes is delicious!"

Ding Xue’s lips twitched. She didn’t put much stock in Mao Guangjian’s words.

’If it’s really that good,’ she thought, ’why are we the only ones here?’

When she saw the prices on the menu, Ding Xue couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. ’Are dishes priced at 1,888 and 2,888 really reasonable?’

’And this is the Lower City District!’

’A little shop in the middle of nowhere has the nerve to charge prices like these.’

For a fleeting moment, Ding Xue had the urge to get up and walk out.

Mao Guangjian could let himself get fleeced if he wanted, but she wasn’t about to be taken for a fool.

"Boss Shen, you still have room for us? We’re here!"

A familiar voice suddenly called out from the entrance.

Ding Xue turned her head and saw it was Yang Fei, with seven or eight of his crew members in tow.

"We do. You all came at the perfect time," Shen Lu said, showing Yang Fei and his group to a table.

Yang Fei picked the table closest to Mao Guangjian and Ding Xue. "Let’s sit here."

"Sounds good."

"Let’s order, let’s order." After a quick discussion, Yang Fei’s group ordered eight dishes.

Shen Lu took their order, then turned to Ding Xue and Mao Guangjian. "Please take your time. I’ll get started on their food in the back."

Mao Guangjian nodded. The moment Shen Lu was gone, he shot a venomous, teeth-gritting glare at Yang Fei’s group.

’Those damn bastards!’ he fumed. ’They’re deliberately trying to ruin my one-on-one time with the boss!’

’Dammit! This was an opportunity I bled for, and they have absolutely no sense of honor.’

"Boss, how about I give you some recommendations?" Yang Fei leaned back, angling his chair toward Ding Xue. "What does Mao Guangjian know about ordering? Every time he comes, he just stuffs his face and never even offers to chip in for the bill."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.