Chapter 181: Is This Your First Time Here, Young Lady?
Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Is This Your First Time Here, Young Lady?
The next day, Shen Lu went out after eating breakfast.
Finding a local supplier to source ingredients was a pressing matter. The sooner she settled it, the sooner she could feel at ease.
It wasn’t a difficult task. Shen Lu asked Ma Laosan for information and got an address.
She took a rickshaw over and met with Boss He, the biggest vegetable supplier in the Lower City District.
"You need them today?" Boss He took a drag from his cigarette and laughed at her words. "This must be your first time here, little girl. I don’t keep stock on hand. Everything has to be pre-ordered."
He wasn’t a retailer who had produce ready to go. His customers placed an order and paid a deposit one day, then came back the next to pay the balance and pick up the goods.
The smoke made Shen Lu uncomfortable. She furrowed her brow. "Could you make an exception? I’m in a real hurry. I can pay extra."
"Extra money won’t help. It’s not that I don’t want to; I just don’t have the stock." Boss He exhaled a large cloud of smoke. "Little girl, you need to understand, food is precious in the Imperial City. There’s a set amount of vegetables harvested each day. No waste is allowed, you get me?"
Shen Lu had no choice but to follow the rules, placing an order and paying a deposit with Boss He. They agreed she would pick up the vegetables at seven the next morning.
Besides, Boss He only dealt in vegetables. If she wanted to buy meat, she’d have to find another supplier.
Shen Lu didn’t stop, heading straight to find the meat supplier, Boss Huang.
Boss Huang had the same rules as Boss He: no stock on hand, orders had to be placed in advance.
Having learned her lesson, Shen Lu didn’t bother wasting her breath and just placed her order and paid.
Lastly was the seafood supplier, Boss Feng. Shen Lu skipped the unnecessary questions and placed her order as quickly as possible.
By the time she returned to the restaurant, it was already nine o’clock.
’Time really flies when you’re busy.’ She had only run to three places, and an hour or two had already vanished.
The restaurant opened at 11:30, which didn’t leave Shen Lu much time to cook.
Fortunately, she had used the kitchenware upgrade voucher on Little Mantis as soon as she got up.
The Second Level Little Mantis now had its duration increased to six hours, allowing it to cook slightly more complex dishes.
For example, with Kung Pao Chicken, it just needed to follow the steps, adding the ingredients to the wok one by one to stir-fry, then pouring in the sauce Shen Lu had prepared.
The flavor was about ninety percent as good as Shen Lu’s own cooking, which was already excellent.
But Shen Lu still had to make the braised pork belly herself. Caramelizing sugar was a skill-intensive task. If you weren’t proficient, you’d either overcook it and make it bitter, or undercook it, leaving it merely sweet with the wrong color.
Shu Meng and Song Zhigao had already done all the prep work for the pork belly, cutting it all into chunks and searing it until golden brown. As soon as Shen Lu got back, she started caramelizing the sugar. Half an hour later, the braised pork belly was stewing in the pot. It would be ready in two hours.
But Shen Lu was still incredibly busy, with plenty of side vegetables for the set meals waiting to be cooked.
For a while, the kitchen was a whirlwind of activity, with everyone focused on their tasks.
Rushing to get everything done, they finally managed to finish all the cooking before eleven.
Shen Lu shook her aching arms, took off her chef’s coat, and went to the front counter. She still had to hand out cards and stamp them today.
[DING~ New mission issued: Please sell 450 servings of the Braised Pork Belly Set and 350 servings of the Kung Pao Chicken Set. Achieve a total revenue of 88,000 yuan and maintain a customer satisfaction rating of three stars or higher. Time limit: eight hours.]
’Great, a new mission.’ Shen Lu glanced at the star decoration on the counter. It was more than halfway lit.
’I hope the satisfaction rating doesn’t drop again today, or I’m really going to lose it.’
Besides, starting tomorrow, she would have to mix in the new ingredients. She didn’t know if it would affect the taste.
’And what if the customers notice after eating dishes made with the local ingredients and leave bad reviews out of dissatisfaction?’
One question after another popped into her head, causing Shen Lu’s lips to purse into a deep pout.
She rubbed her face and patted her cheeks twice, telling herself to pull it together.
’Don’t worry about things you can’t predict. I’ll just take it as it comes. It’s not scary to have problems, you just have to find a way to solve them.’
The restaurant was packed with customers again today, a steady stream pouring in from the moment the doors opened.
Shen Lu saw many familiar old faces, as well as some new ones.
When she came across a talkative new customer, she would casually ask where they had come from.
"I live in Zone 03, which is pretty far from here." The customer handed his card to Shen Lu. "If I hadn’t seen in the group chat that you could enter a raffle for Brother Xing’s merch by eating here, I would’ve never known this place existed."
It was his first time eating here. He had originally come for the raffle and didn’t have high expectations for the food, but after trying it, he was blown away.
’This price, this portion size, this flavor... it’s practically a giveaway!’
The only downside was that it was too far from his home. It took an hour and a half to get here and another hour and a half to get back. That was three hours of travel, round trip.
Moreover, Little Deer Cuisine only served lunch. If they also served dinner and a late-night supper, he would be willing to come for a meal after work, even without the prize drawing.
If it weren’t for his relaxed work schedule, the three-hour round trip alone would have been enough to deter him.
Shen Lu stamped the card and handed it back with both hands. "Were you satisfied with your meal? Is there anything you think we could improve?"
The customer put his card away and hmm-ed. "I was very satisfied with the food. I was just wondering, could you start a delivery service, or maybe extend your business hours?"
"Thank you for your valuable feedback. We will consider it carefully."
Shen Lu respectfully saw the customer out of the restaurant, her mind mulling over what he had just said.
The location and nature of Gold Street destined it to be a place that was livelier at night than during the day.
Aside from those who were idle all day or those who lived and worked near Gold Street, people from farther districts rarely came to her restaurant to eat.
At the current mission level, she could manage to complete her daily goals for now. But the mission requirements would increase. If she didn’t extend her business hours, it seemed like starting a delivery service was her only option.
To offer delivery, she would need a delivery person. As far as she knew, the Imperial City didn’t have delivery platforms like Meituan or Ele.me, which meant there were no dedicated delivery drivers. Usually, for shops that offered delivery, their own handyman was responsible for it.
She had a handyman. Wang Daguo’s physique was top-notch; he would definitely have no problem making deliveries. He just needed a vehicle.
Once her train of thought started to wander, it was endless.
Shen Lu shook her head, pulling her thoughts back into focus.
’Don’t get ahead of yourself. Focus on solving the most urgent problems first.’
At two in the afternoon, the lunch rush was mostly over. All that was left of the food were some dregs of sauce.
After hanging up the "Closed" sign, everyone let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Today, Song Zhigao had beaten Shu Meng to the punch, offering to make the staff meal, and Shen Lu had agreed.
Song Zhigao was clearly a very observant person. He had probably noticed yesterday that Shen Lu wasn’t satisfied with the staff meal Shu Meng had made.
So, after getting Shen Lu’s approval, he made stir-fried pork with green peppers and stir-fried bok choy.