Chapter 418: Grudgingly Accepting the Loss
Chapter 418: Chapter 418: Grudgingly Accepting the Loss
Shen Lu had assumed Sang Yue just wanted to stay the night because she was scared of being alone, but it turned out she also wanted to learn some more cooking.
Shen Lu rubbed her forehead. ’This is probably the consequence of agreeing so readily when Sang Yue asked for cooking advice a few days ago.’
’If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed so quickly.’
Since she had to make dinner anyway, Shen Lu went ahead and taught Sang Yue how to make sweet and sour pork ribs.
Sang Yue changed into a chef’s uniform and began preparing the ingredients under Shen Lu’s guidance.
"Boss Shen, the shredded pork in garlic sauce you taught me to make last time was so delicious! After the judges tasted it, they immediately passed me to the next round!" Sang Yue said excitedly. "I feel like I’m not just talented at baking; I might have a knack for cooking, too. Can I study here with you for a while?"
Shen Lu didn’t answer her question. "Aren’t you going to run your cake shop?"
A moment later, it dawned on Sang Yue. "Ah, that’s right. Besides a cashier, I’m the only Baker at my shop."
If she came to learn cooking from Shen Lu, who would make the cakes?
Besides, hiring another Baker wasn’t cheap. She had already spent most of the money she’d borrowed, and she couldn’t just throw the rest around. It had to be used for daily operations.
"How’s business at your shop?" Shen Lu asked.
"It’s doing well. The shop is in a good location, and I get plenty of customers, so I sell out of all my cakes and pastries every day." Sang Yue’s eyes curved into crescents as she smiled. "The customer feedback has been great, too."
Making small talk, the two of them finished preparing dinner.
They made a huge basin of sweet and sour pork ribs, using close to eleven pounds of baby back ribs.
Sang Yue rubbed her sore arms, feeling deeply grateful to Shen Lu.
’Boss Shen really is one of those people who are tough on the outside but soft on the inside. As long as it’s not an outrageous request, she’ll agree to it.’
’Look at this! She brought out eleven pounds of ribs for me to practice with, just so I could master the key points of making sweet and sour pork ribs!’
Besides the sweet and sour pork ribs, there was also stir-fried pork with green peppers and a bowl of spinach and egg drop soup.
Although there were only three dishes, the portions were huge—more than enough for everyone in the restaurant.
Naturally, the sweet and sour pork ribs Sang Yue made couldn’t compare to Shen Lu’s, but thanks to the excellent quality of the ingredients and Shen Lu’s supervision, the flavor wasn’t bad at all. Everyone showed their support by polishing off every last bite.
Shen Lu had Cai Su arrange a spare room for Sang Yue. When it got late, everyone went back to their own rooms to rest.
The next day, Sang Yue waited until she saw Zhizi, the Female Superpower User, before reluctantly returning to her own shop.
Shen Lu wiped away imaginary sweat from her brow. ’Thank goodness the official competition in the Upper City District is starting soon,’ she thought. ’Once Sang Yue meets the Eldest Prince, I won’t have to worry about her anymore.’
The weather wasn’t great today. It was too windy for dine-in customers, making it perfect for delivery.
Making food for delivery was easier than for dine-in, and the system’s tasks were reduced on delivery days. Shen Lu never made more than she had to; she would close the ordering channel as soon as she had done enough to complete her task.
In fact, many customers from Dragon Hall had requested delivery, but Shen Lu had refused them all.
That was because a couple of days ago, the system had suddenly fixed a bug. It declared that deliveries would no longer count toward the weekly task. Past deliveries were fine, but going forward, completion would be judged strictly according to the task conditions.
Shen Lu: "???"
Shen Lu: "Wow, is your system completely nuts? I’m making the exact dishes you specified, and Superpower Users are eating them. Why don’t deliveries count anymore?"
[Host, have you forgotten that this week’s task also specifies a location?]
Shen Lu glanced resentfully at the location requirement. Well... it did specify one.
[Previously, our system experienced a small bug which caused an unintended error. It has now been fixed. Because it was our fault, your previous completions will still count toward the task, and you will not be penalized.]
Shen Lu: ￣へ￣
In a fit of anger, Shen Lu revoked the delivery privileges of Bai Wanwan and Li Long as well, forcing them to come to the restaurant in person if they wanted to eat food from Dragon Hall. From now on, only food from the fast-food restaurant would be available for delivery.
Although Li Long didn’t understand why, after his attempts to persuade her failed, he had no choice but to do as Shen Lu said.
Bai Wanwan, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, raised an incredible fuss. But Shen Lu refused to indulge her, not budging an inch no matter how much she whined and threw a fit.
In the end, Bai Wanwan had no other option and tearfully agreed.
In the kitchen, halfway through cooking, Shen Lu suddenly remembered something. Her brow furrowed, and she quickly finished her current task before stepping out of the kitchen to make a phone call.
After half a minute, the other end of the line was slowly picked up.
"Morning, Boss Shen."
"Morning, Mr. Sun," Shen Lu said coolly. "We agreed you’d settle the final payment in three days. It’s been almost a week now. Have you forgotten, Mr. Sun?"
"Oh, my! If you hadn’t mentioned it, Boss Shen, I would have completely forgotten. My apologies, my apologies. It’s just been so busy lately."
"It’s fine. Important men like you are often forgetful. It’s enough that I remember. I trust you have the money ready, Mr. Sun. You can just transfer it to me."
"I honestly don’t have the money. Sigh. Boss Shen, we’re not like you. We’re a small operation; it takes more than a little cash to get things moving. With the year’s end approaching, we need money for everything. I was already two months behind on paying my employees, so I used the last bit of cash to pay all their back wages."
Mr. Sun let out a long sigh. "But don’t you worry. I’ve already received a new batch of orders, also heading to Shanghai. As soon as the goods are delivered and the client there pays the final balance, I’ll transfer the money to you immediately."
He delivered the speech with such sincerity that if Shen Lu didn’t know what kind of person Mr. Sun truly was, she might have actually believed him.
Shen Lu let out a pair of cold, sarcastic laughs but didn’t say anything.
Not at all embarrassed, Mr. Sun continued, "Boss Shen, there’s actually a matter I have to ask for your help with."
"You want to rent the vehicle, right?" Shen Lu had already figured it out. "You’re quite the schemer, Mr. Sun."
"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. How could I possibly scheme against you, Boss Shen? I’m truly in a tight spot with cash flow." Mr. Sun sighed again. "Right now, you’re the only one who can help me out, Boss Shen. Otherwise, I really won’t be able to pay you that money."
Shen Lu truly found Mr. Sun ridiculous.
’He was blackmailing me with my own money, forcing me to rent him my vehicle, and I’d still have to wait for his client to pay up before I’d see a cent.’
’I’m sure that even if he does pay, he’ll only settle the last debt. He’ll definitely push this new rental fee off until the next time he needs my vehicle.’
’It’s a vicious cycle, designed to force me to keep renting to him.’
’Mr. Sun was certainly a qualified businessman. This calculating nature of his was truly disgusting, like swallowing a fly. It was nauseating.’
"I hope you don’t regret your decision, Mr. Sun." Shen Lu didn’t waste any more words on him and hung up.
"Tch." Mr. Sun curled his lip in disdain. "This little girl is trying to pull the threat card? Please. These are the cheap tricks I was done with ages ago."
General Manager Chen felt a little uneasy. "Old Sun, maybe we should just pay her. Look, even President Pan paid up obediently."
"He paid because he’s an idiot, letting some little girl wrap him around her finger. So much for the president of the Commerce Association," Mr. Sun scoffed. "We can’t let that brat have the upper hand every single time. She needs to be the one holding her nose and admitting defeat for a change!"