Chapter 298: Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Beans
Chapter 298: Chapter 298: Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Beans
Liu Yaozu was rendered speechless.
Shen Lu was right. Never mind the fact that his arm and leg were injured and he wasn’t fully able-bodied; even if he were perfectly healthy, it would be tough to find a job as easy as this.
Liu Yaozu pouted. "I was just saying. What’s with the temper?"
Liu Yaozu felt aggrieved. His attitude toward Shen Lu had been exceptionally good lately, yet she was still so harsh, shutting him down at every turn without a shred of respect for his pride.
A look of revulsion crossed Shen Lu’s face.
’Give me a break. You’re a grown man, don’t start whining at the slightest disagreement!’
’She wasn’t Yang Jing; she wouldn’t fall for that act.’
"It can’t be helped. I just can’t stand people who don’t take their work seriously and just want to slack off," Shen Lu said sternly. "This shop doesn’t carry loafers. If I find anyone deliberately slacking, they get one warning. Three strikes, and you’re fired for good."
Liu Yaozu let out a sullen "Oh."
As soon as Shen Lu was gone, Liu Yaozu started complaining to Liu Qiang. "Why didn’t you say anything? There are so many seeds left. How are we supposed to sort them all in two days?!"
Liu Qiang carefully shifted off the bed and poured a basin of seeds for his son. "Cut the crap. Didn’t you hear her? The shop doesn’t carry loafers. If we don’t do our jobs well, we’ll be fired."
"Fuck!"
Liu Yaozu really wanted to knock over the basin of seeds Liu Qiang had handed him.
But when he thought about the delicious meal he’d get at noon, he swallowed his pride and began the humiliating task of sorting seeds.
Liu Qiang also poured an iron basin of seeds for himself and started sorting them on the bed.
He’d only just realized it himself.
Staying here at Shen Lu’s place was actually a good thing.
He didn’t have to worry about finding a job, his son wasn’t out causing trouble anymore, and they had free housing. Apart from having to endure that girl’s temper, it wasn’t bad at all.
It was the first time in five years that Liu Yaozu had stayed home, stayed out of trouble, and actually did some serious work.
Liu Qiang felt that perhaps, with a little more time, he could get his son back on the straight and narrow.
So what if he had to put up with Shen Lu’s moods? For his son, it was worth it.
After breakfast, all the ingredients were delivered.
Everyone at the shop had arrived, and they all got busy in an orderly fashion.
Shen Lu turned on her Light Brain’s recording function and began filming today’s new menu item: Steamed Pork Ribs with Fermented Black Beans.
It was a dish with a light flavor, but one that was by no means bland.
The preparation method was relatively simple, so Shen Lu opted for a flashier filming style.
The only problem was that without her helper, Lin Zhou, filming was much more difficult.
"Can’t any of you make the pork ribs float in mid-air like Lin Zhou?" Shen Lu asked, looking at Wu Jun and Huo Qian with a bewildered expression, the disappointment in her voice barely concealed.
Wu Jun scratched his cheek. "Lin Zhou’s superpower is Control. Of course he can move things with his mind."
Huo Qian added, "I’m a Water Ability User. I can only control water. Sorry, Boss Shen, I can’t help."
"It’s fine..."
Unable to help, Huo Qian and Wu Jun left the kitchen, exchanging a look.
Wu Jun sighed. "I feel like Boss Shen is disappointed in us."
"What can you do?" Huo Qian shrugged. "It’s not our fault the superpowers we awakened aren’t the same as Lin Zhou’s."
Without Lin Zhou, some of the fancier shots were impossible. Shen Lu couldn’t be bothered to add special effects in post-production, so after a moment’s thought, she simply dragged over her go-to actor, Wang Daguo, to film a shot of him eating the ribs.
Since it was a promotional teaser for a new dish, Shen Lu decided to post it early so her followers could see it sooner.
Fortunately, the prep for the Steamed Pork Ribs with Fermented Black Beans wasn’t complicated. Shen Lu just had to marinate the ribs, steam them for an hour starting at 10:30, and the dish would be ready right on schedule at 11:30.
As for the other dishes, the kitchen staff could handle them. Cai Su had even started cooking on the main stove; she had no problem stir-frying simple side dishes, and the flavor was more than passable.
Shen Lu always posted a daily update unless she wasn’t in the shop in the morning, in which case she would skip a day.
Even though her videos were just about cooking, over time, many of her followers started to feel like something was missing if they didn’t see a video from her.
With a new dish on the menu today, the comments section saw some new developments.
-Ooh, a new dish, finally! I was getting sick of seeing Braised Pork, Kung Pao Chicken, and Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili every day.
-To the person who’s sick of it: I suggest you stop watching.
-Great suggestion. Next time, don’t.
-Steamed Pork Ribs with Fermented Black Beans? Looks delicious!
-Every time that big, wholesome-looking guy eats, he makes the food look so incredibly delicious. It’s practically a crime!
-If this place wasn’t in the Lower City District, I might actually go try it.
-You people need to get a grip. It’s obviously staged for the video. The food can’t possibly taste that good! It’s a shop in the Lower City District, for crying out loud!
-Exactly! What good food could possibly come out of the Lower City District? The really delicious places are all in the Upper City District!
-A new food stall just opened in Youjia Mall in the Upper City District! The food’s great, the prices are fair, and they have grand opening discounts. Everybody, go take advantage of the deal!
-Holy crap, is the commenter above me advertising? Placing an ad for your own business in someone else’s comments section is a pretty low blow.
...
Shen Lu glanced at the comments, then wrote and pinned one of her own.
Little Deer Cuisine: New Item! Steamed Pork Ribs with Fermented Black Beans! Get a 30% discount when you try our new dish. Only 50 servings available, today only. Customers who want a taste should grab this opportunity~
There was nothing wrong with offering a small discount for a new item. A 30% discount basically meant breaking even, and since she had only prepared 50 servings of the ribs, any loss would be negligible.
Shen Lan also came across the video. Seeing the lively comment section underneath left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She was extremely tight on cash these days. Shen Changrong had cut her allowance by nearly half, Xie Mei no longer secretly gave her extra money, and Shen Yi was a lost cause—her "big brother" hadn’t given her a single cent since she returned to the Shen Family.
The money Shen Changrong gave her barely covered her daily expenses, which meant she could no longer afford to hire online trolls to leave bad reviews for Shen Lu.
Shen Lan couldn’t believe it. After her paid trolls had spent all that time smearing Shen Lu, the moment they stopped, the comment section actually became harmonious. Hardly anyone was cursing Shen Lu anymore.
It felt like she had just thrown all that money away.
Shen Lan was so angry that she crushed the little cookie in her hand.
"Xiao Lan, don’t you like these cookies?" Pan Junru asked from beside her, confused.
Shen Lan snapped out of it and quickly explained, "It’s nothing. I... I was just lost in thought about something else."
"What is it?" Pan Junru asked.
A sorrowful look clouded Shen Lan’s features. "I don’t know how to explain..."
"We’re good friends, Xiao Lan. You can tell me anything that’s bothering you," Pan Junru said with a sincere expression.
Shen Lan was touched. Ever since her birthday banquet, everyone she had tried so hard to win over had started keeping a polite distance from her.
Only Pan Junru, a transfer student who had just joined their class two days ago, was unaware of what had happened with Shen Lan.
On top of that, Pan Junru was from the Lower City District, so no one else in the class was willing to associate with her.
The two outcasts had naturally gravitated toward each other, becoming inseparable friends.
So, Shen Lan gave her a brief version of the story between herself and Shen Lu.
People are, of course, unconditionally biased in their own favor.
In Shen Lan’s telling, Shen Lu was a calculating, petty villain, while she herself was a pure, innocent victim.