Chapter 204

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Li Hong'an, the owner of Hong'an Restaurant, had just come down from the second floor.

In the past two days, the restaurant had gained quite a few more customers.

Because business had declined recently, several waiters in the hall had quit.

Whenever the restaurant got busy, Li Hong'an occasionally helped out a bit.

Greeting the old regulars and chatting with them, he also used small promotions to try to keep as many new diners as possible.

Li Hong'an had just greeted several tables of old regulars in the second-floor private rooms, and those people had insisted on plying him with several cups of wine.

Coming down from upstairs now, he wanted to find a corner to sit and catch his breath.

After scanning the hall, he spotted the figure by the window seat, who looked somewhat familiar.

Li Hong'an took a closer look, and his heart gave a "thump."

Wasn't that Lu Feng?

Why had he come?

The alcohol in Li Hong'an's head cleared up a bit instantly, and he walked over quickly, calling out a loud greeting from a distance.

Hearing Li Hong'an's voice, Lu Feng withdrew his gaze from his mobile phone screen, smiled at Li Hong'an, and responded.

"Xiao Lu, what brings you here today?"

Li Hong'an walked over with a beaming face, patting Lu Feng's shoulder and asking enthusiastically.

"Li Shu, I happened to pass by here, and I heard you hired a new Head Chef whose Red Braised Pork is pretty good, so I came to taste it today."

Lu Feng spoke with a smile, but there was no extra expression on his face.

Hearing Lu Feng say this, the string in Li Hong'an's heart tightened instantly.

Had he really come for Cheng Fan?

Yesterday, he had learned from Cheng Fan that Cheng Fan had gone to Lu Feng's shop to test his culinary skill.

As it turned out, this kid was too arrogant, didn't follow the rules of Lu Feng's shop, and got blacklisted by them.

Originally, Li Hong'an thought this was just a small matter and didn't take it to heart.

Unexpectedly, Lu Feng suddenly showed up today, making it hard for him not to think otherwise.

Could he be here for revenge?

Or was he... really here to compare culinary skill with Cheng Fan?

Whatever the purpose, he had to stay alert.

Li Hong'an knew that Lu Feng's temper was relatively gentle.

But that Cheng Fan...

If these two started a fight later, who should he help?

Lu Feng was a good friend of his nephew Li Jiang, and he had previously tried to recruit him.

Cheng Fan was the Head Chef he had finally managed to hire with great difficulty, and the restaurant still had to rely on him to return to its peak.

Helping either side was inappropriate.

Besides, if these two caused some trouble, the impact on the restaurant would not be good.

Recently, the restaurant's business had finally picked up a bit, and he certainly didn't want to create trouble at this time.

Li Hong'an rubbed his hands, sat down on the chair opposite Lu Feng, and asked tentatively, "Xiao Lu, tell Li Shu, is it because of yesterday...?"

Compared to Cheng Fan, Lu Feng was still easier to talk to.

If he really came because of yesterday's matter, it was no big deal for Li Hong'an to apologize on Cheng Fan's behalf.

Before Li Hong'an could finish speaking, Lu Feng smiled and interrupted him: "Li Shu, you misunderstand. I came today simply to eat a meal, with no other purpose."

Li Hong'an carefully observed Lu Feng's expression, and seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, let down the worry in his heart.

"So that's how it is. I knew Xiao Lu you're generous. That kid Cheng Fan's stinky temper—if not for his decent skill, I would have... aiyah, forget it, forget it."

While saying this, he glanced at the empty teacup in front of Lu Feng, immediately stood up, and waved to a waiter not far away.

The waiter who had taken Lu Feng's order earlier hurried over quickly.

"This is my nephew's good friend. From now on, everything he consumes in our shop gets twenty percent off!"

Li Hong'an pointed at Lu Feng, his tone full of generosity: "Go get a case of beer. We'll have a drink later!"

"Li Shu, no need to trouble yourself."

Lu Feng hurriedly waved his hand and shook his head with a smile: "I still have to go back to run my shop after eating, so drinking isn't convenient."

Li Hong'an slapped his head and said with a smile: "Look at my memory, I forgot you still need to go open your shop. We'll drink another time when you're free."

Then he instructed the waiter: "The dishes Xiao Lu ordered, have the kitchen serve them quickly, don't delay his business."

The waiter acknowledged and left in a hurry.

"Xiao Lu, I'm going to get busy now. Come by more often when you have time!"

After saying this, Li Hong'an stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

In the kitchen, a group of chefs were busy at their respective operation counters, working in full swing.

"Xiao Zhao, how did you pick these mushrooms?"

Cheng Fan's voice suddenly rang out amid the clanging sounds of cooking, pointing at the mushrooms in the basin beside him, his brow deeply furrowed.

"I said to choose mushrooms of the same size. Look at these few—they're clearly a size larger than the others. Is your eyesight bad?"

The newly hired sous chef Xiao Zhao was very young, his face still carrying a trace of childishness.

Hearing Cheng Fan's scolding, he hurriedly lowered his head, his voice tinged with panic: "Sorry, Master Chef Cheng... I'll go swap it out right away!"

"Hurry up! I need to use it in a moment!"

Cheng Fan pushed the basin aside with an impatient face: "If you're this careless again next time, don't work the back kitchen! Go wash dishes!"

Xiao Zhao nodded repeatedly, cradling the basin as he silently walked to the side.

The other chefs seemed long accustomed to this scene, each still busy with their own tasks, not one of them even lifting their head.

These past few days, they had already grown used to Cheng Fan's pickiness in the kitchen.

If the carrot dice weren't square enough, he made them re-cut; if the greens' color wasn't deep enough, he made them throw them out.

Even if the seasoning placement order was incorrect, he would scold them in the kitchen for half a day.

Toward his pickiness, the other chefs all dared to be angry but dared not speak.

Who told them he was an ancestor the boss personally spent a huge sum to invite?

Cheng Fan paid no mind to others' reactions, walking to the wok to prepare to cook.

He casually picked up an egg from the basket nearby, and his brows immediately furrowed again.

"Who's responsible for the eggs today?"

Cheng Fan shook the egg in his hand, slammed the spatula into the wok, and asked loudly.

"It's me, so what?"

A middle-aged chef who was tossing a wok turned off the gas stove, wiped his hands, and walked over.

He was a Hong'an Restaurant veteran; he had been following Li Hong'an since the restaurant first opened.

The middle-aged chef's face held a few points of puzzlement, looking at the egg in Cheng Fan's hand, unable to see any problem.

"You say how so?"

Cheng Fan threw the egg back into the basket, his tone stiff and hard: "Didn't I tell you all, eggs must be fresh, not refrigerated? Can't you understand?"

Accused by a youngster more than a decade his junior, the middle-aged chef's face instantly darkened.

"Master Chef Cheng, these eggs were just delivered today, just taken out of the refrigerator a few minutes ago, how are they not fresh?"

"What a waste that you're still a chef of ten-odd years."

Cheng Fan snorted, his face full of contempt: "Don't you know that refrigerated eggs taste different from fresh eggs in texture? You don't even have this bit of common sense?"

"So what if they do?"

The middle-aged chef also flared up, slapping his hand heavily on the chopping board nearby, rattling the bottles and jars with a clatter: "We've always used them this way before, and the customers never said anything!"

"I don't care how you did it before; now the back kitchen runs on my say-so!"

Cheng Fan's face lost all expression, staring into the middle-aged chef's eyes as he said coldly: "Either you follow my requirements, or get lost!"