Chapter 184: How Could Anything for Her Be a Bother?
Chapter 184: Chapter 184: How Could Anything for Her Be a Bother?
Shen Lu smiled humbly. "It’s not all from a single supplier."
’It’s better to keep a low profile.’ Shen Lu casually told a white lie. On the way back, she bought Fu Cheng a few sets of clothes, getting him everything from underwear to outerwear, before calling for a rickshaw.
The kitchen was bustling with activity as everyone prepped ingredients. Shen Lu called Deng Ying and Xin Yu over, took out the bok choy, radishes, cucumbers, pork belly, and other ingredients from the System Warehouse, and told them to hurry up and wash and chop everything.
Wang Daguo glanced at the vegetables Shen Lu brought back and felt them with his hand. "Boss, these vegetables don’t seem very good."
Even he, someone who couldn’t cook, could tell that the quality was much worse than before.
Shen Lu lied without batting an eye. "I had no choice. Our previous supplier had a limited quantity, but we have more and more customers. I had to purchase some from an Imperial City vegetable merchant, or we’d run out."
This wasn’t anything new, so no one in the kitchen objected.
There were a lot of vegetables to process, and they were short one key player, Cai Su. For a while, everyone in the kitchen was so busy they didn’t have a moment’s rest. Aside from necessary communication, they all focused on the tasks at hand.
At about 10:30, Cai Su, who had taken her son to the hospital for a check-up, finally returned.
The results wouldn’t be out until the afternoon. Cai Su wore a grim, anxious expression, but she immediately threw herself into her work as soon as she got back.
After the first batch of food was cooked, Shen Lu dished out a small bowl and carried it upstairs to the second floor.
She had mixed the System Mall ingredients and local ingredients based on her intuition, but she didn’t know if the ratio was right. She needed a Superpower User to taste it and make a judgment.
Fu Cheng was undoubtedly the best candidate—safe and reliable.
"How is it? How is it?" Shen Lu stared at Fu Cheng expectantly. "Does it still have the effect of soothing the Spiritual Sea? Is the flavor much worse?"
Fu Cheng chewed carefully, and after swallowing, he savored the aftertaste with great concentration.
There was too much to say, so he chose to send Shen Lu a message.
Fu Cheng: The soothing effect on the Spiritual Sea is weaker, about sixty percent of what it was before. The flavor hasn’t changed, but the texture is a bit worse.
Fu Cheng was being very direct, without any sugarcoating.
He knew Shen Lu wanted the most honest feedback so she could make adjustments.
"Still sixty percent? No, that’s too much. ’It’s best if it feels pleasant to eat, but doesn’t have a strong soothing effect on the Spiritual Sea.’"
"There’s nothing to be done about the poor texture. That’s just the quality provided by the Imperial City merchants. I suspect they’re the leftovers from the Upper City District. A lot of the vegetables are wilted. For things like greens, no amount of stir-frying will make them fresh again."
Fu Cheng thought for a moment.
Fu Cheng: How about I ask around and see if I can get some better vegetables?
Shen Lu looked at him. "Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?"
Fu Cheng’s lips curved up slightly.
Fu Cheng: Not at all.
’As long as it’s for her, and as long as I can help, how could it ever be trouble?’
Shen Lu: "Then I’ll have to ask you to do that. For the next couple of days, we’ll just have to make do with the vegetables I bought."
Having made up her mind, Shen Lu went downstairs.
Fu Cheng really enjoyed the feeling of being able to help Shen Lu. He paused his rehabilitation exercises and, feeling pleased, opened his Light Brain to send Li Zexing a message: "You there?"
When Li Zexing suddenly received a message from Fu Cheng, he thought he was seeing things.
Li Zexing: I am. What’s up?
Fu Cheng: I figured Ze Nan’s break should be over and he’d be back on the front lines, so I didn’t contact him. I came straight to you.
Li Zexing pursed his lips.
Li Zexing: Yeah, Brother Nan went to the front lines a couple of days ago.
Fu Cheng: I need your help with something. Can you find some vegetable merchants who can provide a long-term supply of top-quality produce?
Li Zexing’s temples throbbed.
’This request is definitely related to Shen Lu.’
The thought of Shen Lu naturally reminded Li Zexing of the food he’d eaten at her restaurant that could soothe the Spiritual Sea.
The roads had been closed due to heavy rain these past few days, and on top of that, he had confirmed the script for his next movie and was working overtime taking classes to hone his acting skills. He had almost completely forgotten about Shen Lu.
Although food that could soothe the Spiritual Sea was rare, Li Zexing always felt there had to be some unknown side effect.
’Hmm... True, I’ve eaten it twice and didn’t notice any side effects, but what if that’s just because I didn’t eat enough to experience them?’
’In any case, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.’
’Besides, my Superpower Level isn’t high, and I don’t use it often. As long as I go to the hospital for regular treatment, it’s not particularly unbearable.’
’Now Fu Cheng is asking me for help. Could it be that something’s wrong with Shen Lu’s restaurant?’
Li Zexing: Isn’t that restaurant Shen Lu’s?
The subtext was, ’How did it become your business to worry about it, an invalid resting in bed?’
Fu Cheng: Can you find them or not?
Fu Cheng ignored his question, only wanting the answer he was looking for.
Li Zexing clicked his tongue and silently cursed, ’What a pain.’
Li Zexing: I’ll look around first and get back to you with a definite answer.
Fu Cheng: Thanks.
Fu Cheng turned off his Light Brain and resumed his rehabilitation.
As he exercised, he wondered, ’If Li Zexing can’t bring me good news, who else can I ask for help?’
’It would be great if I could move on my own. This is such a small matter; I could solve it myself with just one trip to the Upper City District.’
But now, because he was bedridden, he could only help Shen Lu in this small way by asking favors from others.
’I really want... to get better soon.’
「...」
Shen Lu returned to the back kitchen. Under the confused gazes of her staff—who nonetheless trusted that she, as the boss, must have her reasons—she put the cooked dishes back into the wok.
She added more of the local ingredients, diluting the effect of soothing the Spiritual Sea.
Correspondingly, she had to sacrifice the texture.
Shen Lu lamented internally.
’Even though people here aren’t picky eaters, I’m the one who spoiled their palates over this period. The regulars will definitely be able to tell with one bite that today’s food isn’t as good as before.’
In a daze, Shen Lu could almost see her shop’s satisfaction rating plummeting.
Left with no other choice, Shen Lu decided to lower the prices.
Until she could find a way to strike a balance, all dishes in the restaurant would be reduced by 30 Star Coins.
In other words, a set meal that normally cost 120 Star Coins could now be had for just 90.
’Hopefully, this will stabilize my pitiful shop satisfaction rating.’
[DING! Mission issued: Please sell 480 servings of Braised Pork Belly set meals and 380 servings of Kung Pao Chicken set meals. Achieve a total turnover of 90,000 Star Coins, with customer satisfaction at three stars or above. Time limit: eight hours.]
Looking at the daily mission, Shen Lu took a deep breath and had Wang Daguo open the restaurant doors.
The customers who had been waiting outside for a long time immediately flooded in. Shen Lu put on a professional smile and began the day’s business.
As one perceptive customer was getting his food, he noticed that the dishes didn’t look as appealing as usual. However, out of the trust built up over so many days, he kept his doubts to himself and didn’t say anything.
But when he learned that the set meal was only 90 Star Coins today, he immediately understood.
Shen Lu, who was standing nearby, didn’t wait for him to ask and beat him to the punch.