Chapter 544: You're Told to Open a Food Shop, But You Operate at 3 AM

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Today's business at the Lu Family Restaurant was still a bustling, lively scene.

Those diners waiting in line outside the restaurant stretched their necks one by one, constantly looking ahead, estimating in their hearts how much longer until it was their turn, their faces full of barely contained anticipation.

The three new dishes launched in the shop today were even more welcomed by new and old diners alike with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Those at the front of the line, almost every single one of them ordered at least one new dish, unwilling to miss the chance to taste the new dishes on this very first day.

However, because the ingredients for the new dishes were top-tier ingredients Lu Feng ordered from the System Mall, with a daily limited supply, added together they were only enough to make less than a hundred portions total.

Therefore, only those diners standing relatively near the front of the queue were fortunate enough to taste these few new dishes.

When word came from the front of the line that there weren't many new dishes left for today, a wave of regretful sighs instantly rose from the back of the queue.

And at this moment, the faces of several young people standing at the back of the line instantly revealed extremely anxious expressions.

The few of them were precisely waiters who had come from the Sunshine Garden Western Restaurant next door, changed into plain clothes, and disguised themselves as ordinary diners.

Before coming, the Hall Manager had specifically instructed them on the importance of this mission.

Today was their restaurant's first day of business, yet they hadn't expected such an unexpected situation to arise.

Now the leaders in the restaurant were all on edge, waiting for them to bring back the Lu Family Restaurant's dishes for study.

The Hall Manager assigned each of them a task, telling them they must by all means buy as many of the Lu Family Restaurant's dishes as possible, pack them up, and bring them back.

Of course, if a few dishes really couldn't be bought it didn't matter, but those few new dishes absolutely had to be brought back, not a single one missing.

At this moment, hearing that the new dishes were about to sell out, the few of them instantly panicked.

They all knew that if they couldn't complete the task the Hall Manager assigned, couldn't bring back the new dishes, it wouldn't be as simple as just getting a scolding.

If things went wrong, they started their first day of work today, and tomorrow they'd be out the door.

You have to understand, the Sunshine Garden Western Restaurant offers excellent benefits; even a waiter's position is one countless people in Jiang City are eyeing.

None of them wanted to be fired on their very first day of work, so they huddled together to think of a plan.

In the end, a relatively quick-witted waiter came up with an idea.

He had observed while queuing just now that among those diners in front, there were also some who weren't eating inside the restaurant, but were taking the food away packed.

Because the Lu Family Restaurant's hall was already almost full, those unwilling to wait for a seat would naturally choose takeaway.

If they spent money to buy from those people, although they might have to pay a markup and spend quite a lot of money.

But it's still better than losing their jobs!

Said and done, he immediately quickly discussed with the other few, and soon split into two groups.

One group continued queuing, the other few people left the queue and stood guard opposite the Lu Family Restaurant's entrance, staring intently at those diners walking out of the restaurant.

As soon as they saw someone carrying a Lu Family Restaurant takeout box, they immediately swarmed over, acting pitiful and speaking persuasively, begging the other party to resell the new dishes to them.

Through the effort of sweat, tears, and money, the few of them ultimately lived up to expectations and finally bought up all three of the Lu Family Restaurant's new dishes for today.

Although the price paid in the process was not small, the purchase price for each dish was several times higher than inside the Lu Family Restaurant.

But compared to that extra money spent, at least they completed the task assigned by the leaders, and their jobs were considered saved.

…………

Inside the private room on the second floor of the Western Restaurant, the bright light of the crystal chandelier shone on the dining table covered with a white tablecloth, silver cutlery and bone china plates reflecting a dazzling luster.

The private room's environment was elegant, but those takeout boxes placed on the table seemed somewhat out of place with the room's surroundings.

The Hall Manager and those few waiters who had just rushed back from the Lu Family Restaurant stood straight beside the dining table, each and every one respectfully looking at Yang Zhenguang sitting by the table.

Yang Zhenguang slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand, and the expression on his face couldn't help but darken.

At first, he still somewhat looked down on these slightly home-style dishes in his heart, but after carefully savoring the flavors, his usually unperturbed heart involuntarily began to tremble with shock.

In Yang Zhenguang's twenty-plus years as a chef, he had tasted countless delicacies from land and sea.

Yet he could no longer recall when was the last time he had been struck to the core by a flavor like he was now.

Every dish before him, relying on Lu Feng's incomparably precise control of heat, seasoning, and the ingredients themselves, actually made him feel a sensation of being a wave smashed dead on the sandbank by the rear wave.

A sense of frustration he had never felt before suddenly surged in Yang Zhenguang's heart.

He had always thought that he now stood at the very top of the chef world's pyramid.

But today, the dishes Lu Feng made shattered his pride.

Yang Zhenguang never expected that this chef more than twenty years younger than himself would actually display such astonishing culinary skill.

Although he was silent at this moment, in his heart he had to admit that if he were to make these dishes, his culinary skill indeed had no small gap compared to this young chef named Lu Feng.

However, this did not mean he had already admitted defeat at this moment.

Yang Zhenguang's gaze slowly swept over the few dishes on the dining table, finally landing on that Clear Stewed Lion's Head.

He lowered his head and pondered silently for a long while; after a good long time, he abruptly raised his head, the bewilderment in his eyes already faded, replaced by a kind of determined fighting spirit.

"Manager Liu, notify the front-of-house people: for tonight's main course, I want to add a new dish of Swedish Meatballs, made by me personally!"

Yang Zhenguang looked at the Hall Manager, his voice deep and powerful, tone incomparably serious as he spoke.

A trace of unwillingness to lose faintly flashed in his eyes.

Today was their Western Restaurant's first day of business; they originally wanted to score a beautiful opening on Food Street with exquisite Western cuisine.

They never expected that before long, the Lu Family Restaurant next door would steal the limelight with new dishes, attracting almost all the customers in their shop over there.

Since Lu Feng's new dishes have such great drawing power, tonight he would use something similar to the new dishes on that side to directly meet the challenge head-on.

Yang Zhenguang specializes in Western cuisine; he is not very proficient in Chinese cuisine.

But of the three new dishes Lu Feng launched today, the Clear Stewed Lion's Head, he felt he could use Western-style meatballs as a competing product to vie for supremacy with the other party.

Even though they were both meatballs, Yang Zhenguang believed that his own kind carried a unique exotic flavor, and compared to the others, was better at capturing those customers' taste buds.