Chapter 554: Let You Open a Gourmet Restaurant, You Open for Business at 3 AM

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

Although Yang Zhenguang admitted his cooking skills couldn't compare to Lu Feng's, there was no discouragement in his eyes; instead, they flashed with a hint of delight.

He glanced at the empty bowls and plates on the table, the fresh aroma of Lion's Head still lingering in his mouth.

The slight disdain he had previously felt toward Lu Family Restaurant for its shabby environment had long since vanished, replaced by complete admiration and respect.

Yang Zhenguang pulled out a few tissues from the table, carefully wiped his mouth clean, adjusted his collar, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, stood up, and walked toward the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, Lu Feng was still focused on cooking, his movements flowing like clouds and water, a sight very pleasing to the eye.

Yang Zhenguang did not rashly disturb Lu Feng, waiting until Lu Feng had plated all the cooked dishes before speaking: "Boss Lu, may I say a few words to you?"

Lu Feng looked up upon hearing the voice, seeing Yang Zhenguang standing behind the counter, and looked somewhat surprised.

He recognized him as the head chef of the Western restaurant next door; they had met a few days ago when the neighboring place opened, and he hadn't expected the other party to come to his shop for a meal today.

The last time they met, the disdain in Yang Zhenguang's tone had made Lu Feng very uncomfortable, and he didn't know what the other party intended to do this time.

But this time it was in his own restaurant; if Yang Zhenguang said anything disrespectful to him again, he reckoned that before he could act, the diners in the hall would probably kick him out first.

Lu Feng wiped his hands, walked out of the kitchen, looked at Yang Zhenguang, and his eyes carried a hint of inquiry.

"Boss Lu, excuse me, I was overly offensive in my tone the other day; I apologize to you and hope you won't take it to heart."

Yang Zhenguang's sincere tone made Lu Feng surprised again.

Before he could ponder, Yang Zhenguang continued: "Just now I tasted your cooking; I have to say, your culinary skills far surpass mine, truly admirable."

Lu Feng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Mr. Yang, you flatter me; I only know how to make some home-style dishes."

"Boss Lu is being too modest; being able to make home-style dishes to this level—that is true skill."

Yang Zhenguang shook his head, then looked at Lu Feng with a serious expression: "Boss Lu, actually I have an idea; I don't know if you're willing to consider cooperating with us? Actually, I know quite a few capable investors; we can cooperate to open a restaurant more upscale than the one next door. I'll handle the venue, renovation, and operations; you only need to manage the entire back kitchen. You'll take sixty percent of the shares; I estimate your annual salary will be at least this much."

As he spoke, he extended five fingers.

"How much is this? Five hundred thousand?"

A diner waiting in line nearby asked curiously.

"Five hundred thousand? Heh."

Yang Zhenguang chuckled lightly, then said in a deep voice: "At least five million! Plus restaurant dividends; the final amount Boss Lu receives might even double."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but collectively gasp.

An annual salary of five million and even doubling? Isn't that in the tens of millions level?

It was already circulating in Lu Family Restaurant that Lu Feng had once refused an invitation of a million annual salary, and some people didn't quite believe it.

Now that Yang Zhenguang said it personally, these people finally believed it without doubt.

Such conditions could be described as full of sincerity; this kind of temptation placed on an ordinary person, I'm afraid no one could refuse it.

Yang Zhenguang looked at Lu Feng, his eyes carrying a hint of expectation.

He truly wanted to cooperate with a chef as naturally gifted as Lu Feng, and also believed that with their two strengths, they would surely achieve brilliant accomplishments in the future.

However, after hearing this, Lu Feng showed not the slightest emotion on his face; he shook his head and said with a smile: "Thank you, Mr. Yang, for your appreciation, but I refuse."

"Why?"

Seeing Lu Feng refuse directly without even considering it, Yang Zhenguang couldn't help but be stunned, and asked while chasing after him.

"I'm used to being free; I don't like making big moves; I just want to run this small shop steadily, seeing every customer who comes to eat here eat happily—I think that's enough; I haven't considered anything else for now."

Lu Feng explained with a smile.

Regret appeared on Yang Zhenguang's face, but he wasn't the type to pester relentlessly.

Lu Feng only said he wouldn't consider it for now, and didn't say he absolutely wouldn't consider it.

Given time, when Lu Feng figures it out one day, inviting him to cooperate then wouldn't be too late.

After carefully savoring Lu Feng's cooking skills, he no longer regarded Lu Feng as his competitor, but viewed the other party as a master worth learning from.

Yang Zhenguang fell silent for a few seconds, then his gaze became firm, as if he had made some major decision.

He looked at Lu Feng and said sincerely: "Boss Lu, I know what I'm saying might be a bit abrupt, but I'm serious; I want to ask... are you willing to accept me as your disciple and teach me cooking?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Feng was instantly stunned.

What?

Accept him as a disciple?

Isn't this person a famous chef internationally? Wanting to learn cooking from me?

Thinking about how in the future, a man ten or twenty years older than himself would call him "Master" every day, Lu Feng felt that image was a bit hard to bear.

Lu Feng shook his head with a mix of laughter and tears: "Mr. Yang, sorry, I have no plans to take on disciples."

Yang Zhenguang's gaze dimmed a bit, and he couldn't help but sigh.

He had been cooking Western food for over ten years; now he felt his cooking skills had hit a bottleneck, and he had always wanted to improve his cooking skills further.

But in all these years of his career, he had never found a master whose cooking skills far surpassed his own.

Now Lu Feng's appearance made him see hope for improving his cooking skills, which was why he had the idea of becoming his apprentice.

However, he didn't expect to be refused by Lu Feng again, which made Yang Zhenguang feel very disappointed.

Just as he was about to leave Lu Family Restaurant in disappointment, Lu Feng spoke again: "However, if Mr. Yang is willing, after my shop closes for business in the future, we can exchange insights on cooking; of course, it's the friendly kind of exchange."

After hearing this, Yang Zhenguang abruptly raised his head, light reignited in his eyes, and a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Really? Boss Lu, then it's a deal; I must ask you for advice properly!"

"You're too polite; let's learn from each other and improve together."

Lu Feng waved his hand and said.

Yang Zhenguang bowed solemnly to Lu Feng, speaking with a sincere tone: "From now on, I'll have to trouble you, Boss Lu. Coming to your shop this time, I've truly gained a great deal!"

After speaking, he didn't linger any longer, turned around, and walked toward the restaurant entrance, his steps much lighter than when he had arrived.

His mindset had undergone a heaven-and-earth overturning change; toward Lu Feng, there was no longer a shred of hostility, only a heart full of admiration and a burning thirst for knowledge.

Lu Feng watched Yang Zhenguang's departing back, and his heart also stirred with emotion.

Compared to Cheng Fan, who had come to the shop before purely to deliberately pick a fight, Yang Zhenguang's willingness to lower himself and humbly seek advice left Lu Feng's impression of Yang Zhenguang also somewhat changed.

However, the cooperation Yang Zhenguang had proposed earlier, he truly had no interest in considering those things.

He had never had any grand ambitions; he didn't want to enter some cooking competition to win fame, didn't want to expand the shop and do chains, and had never even considered active promotion.

For him, the purest joy was to carefully make every dish well, so that every diner who walked into the shop could experience the ultimate feast of taste.

Lu Feng was just pondering when a familiar system notification sound suddenly rang out in his mind:

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing the mission; rewards have been distributed!】

Immediately after, Lu Feng felt his mobile phone vibrate once in his pocket.

He took it out to look — it was a text message from the bank, notifying that one million yuan had been deposited into his bank card.

Lu Feng raised an eyebrow, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Besides running his own small shop to make himself happy, every time he completed a system mission and received a reward was likewise his happiest moment.

Immediately after, the system's voice rang out in his mind once more:

【Ding! New mission released!】

【Mission content...】

This new mission was, for Lu Feng, yet another completely new challenge.

But now he had also grown to like this feeling of constantly accepting challenges and breaking through himself.

A confident smile curled on Lu Feng's face; a new goal had formed in his heart.

Following this rhythm, completing system missions step by step, one day he would surely gather all the recipes of the Eight Great Cuisines and become a true God of Cooking.

"Boss Lu, is what I ordered ready yet? I've been smelling the aroma for half a day; I'm about to be drooled to death!"

A diner's slightly urgent urging voice suddenly came from the counter side, interrupting Lu Feng's train of thought.

"Coming! Ready right away!"

Lu Feng snapped back to his senses, replied loudly, turned around, returned to the kitchen, picked up his spatula again, and threw himself into the busy cooking.

System missions and such weren't urgent either; he could slowly study them after business ended and he returned to the villa.

Right now, the most important thing was to entertain these drooling-with-hunger diners well, letting them all eat the long-awaited dishes.

In the kitchen, the sound of spatula clashing against wok rang out once more.

The sound, accompanied by rich aroma, passed through the Lu Family Restaurant's hall, drifted out the restaurant door, and floated along the bustling Food Street into the distance.

(End of full text)

Below are the concluding remarks:

Writing here, this book counts as finished; perhaps many readers feel this ending came a bit caught off guard, feeling there should still be a lot of content that could be written afterward.

But I worried readers would feel the later content would get more and more boring, making everyone lose the original passion for this book, so I decided to finish it when it was about time.

This book is the first book I wrote on Tomato, and also the first book in my life that I wrote to completion.

Unknowingly, I wrote over a million words; honestly, I myself now find it somewhat unbelievable.

This book's results aren't good, but I still persisted in writing over a million words to finish it, not wanting to disappoint the readers who have silently supported me all along.

It is precisely because of the readers' support and encouragement that I could reach this step.

Thank you to every reader for your liking and support, giving me the motivation to keep writing to the end.

The new book is already in the draft stage; it will meet everyone soon, hoping readers will continue to support.

Finally, once again thank all readers for your support and encouragement, thank you everyone!!!