Ling Hong directly used his hidden ace. It was simple but effective. “Let’s make a deal, Boss Yuan. As long as you cook all dishes on the menu for us today, I will do some advertising for your restaurant.”
“I am sure not many people are able to afford such expensive dishes.” Ling Hong hit the nail on the head with his words.
Though Yuan Zhou’s culinary skills were god-tier and all the ingredients were top-grade, except Wu Hai, the grandpa, and a few other people, hardly did anyone come here for meals every day. They basically came only 2 or 3 times a month occasionally.
No matter how tasty the dishes were, they couldn’t be consumed day after day if the people were not able to afford it. Desire can always be reined in, especially if circumstances wouldn't allow one to indulge in it.
“However, I’m different. The people that I am acquainted with can easily afford to eat these dishes.” Ling Hong was quite confident that he could convince Boss Yuan.
Yuan Zhou was slightly tempted by the proposal since he could earn more without doing any advertising himself. However, he still insisted firmly, “No, but thanks anyway.”
“Fine. Then give me a serving of Soup Dumplings.” Ling Hong wasn’t a person who would keep pestering. Since he had been rejected for several times, he wouldn’t bother offering any help again.
Following him, the others behind all ordered the Soup Dumplings.
Of course, the reason why Yuan Zhou didn’t want to cook any other dishes for Ling Hong was quite simple. It was just one word, “Troublesome.”
“Ok, wait a moment, please. Would anyone want some vinegar?” Yuan Zhou asked beforehand.
“One plate for me.” Ling Hong ordered first.
“I don’t want it.” The girl didn’t enjoy any sort of sour food.
“Boss Yuan, is the Watermelon Juice available?” someone asked suddenly.
“Only Soup Dumplings are available this morning.” Yuan Zhou answered firmly again.
“Then I don’t want the vinegar anymore.” the person who had asked the question refused the offer.
The soup dumplings were quickly served to the customers as they were prepared beforehand. Ling Hong was the first to open the lid. The food steamer made of verdant bamboo emitted the fragrance of bamboo. However, the bamboo seemed too green.
“Boss Yuan, why is the color so green?” Ling Hong asked in doubt.
“This is Shuang Bamboo. Kitchenware made out of this bamboo won’t fade in color. When heated, it appears to be even greener.” Yuan Zhou brought out the explanation given to him by the system casually.
“Boss Yuan, I may not read a lot but you can’t lie to me. Isn’t Shuang Bamboo a type of bamboo that existed during the ancient times?” Ling Hong said with a manner of “Are you fu*king kidding me?”
“Yes, absolutely. This variety of bamboo is best suited for creating steamers.” Yuan Zhou revealed an unfazed expression as he replied.
The problem here wasn’t whether it was suitable or not!
“Boss, can I beat you up?” Ling Hong asked seriously.
“No.” Yuan Zhou also replied earnestly and decisively.
This time, Ling Hong, too, experienced choking sensation. Formerly, he had watched others choking and coughing due to Yuan Zhou’s actions and words. Now that it was his turn, Ling Hong didn’t want to experience this feeling again, thus he decided to concentrate on eating.
The first criterion for judging if the Soup Dumplings were well made was to check the thickness of the skin of the Soup Dumplings. As he was experienced in eating luxuriously, drinking luxuriously and having fun, Ling Hong could judge just from the skin that Yuan Zhou had truly excellent culinary skills.
Beneath the crystal clear skin was the clearly visible meat stuffing. The soup inside the Soup Dumplings was so full that it seemed as if it could flow out any moment; nevertheless, it was firmly wrapped by the thin skin. As Ling Hong brought up the Soup Dumpling using chopsticks, the soup and the meat stuffing could be seen quivering beneath the skin.
Looking at his kind of Soup Dumpling, Ling Hong’s mood finally became better.
He then put the Soup Dumpling onto his plate carefully. While picking it up with chopsticks, he worried that the thin skin could break any minute. Nevertheless, the Soup Dumpling placed on his plate merely swayed a bit.
Ling Hong lifted the plate and poked a small hole through the skin. After that, he moved close to the opening and sipped the soup into his mouth in one go.
“Slurp slurp,” the delicious soup flowed ceaselessly into the mouth of Ling Hong, making him almost unable to restrain his desire to devour it all.
Having drunk the soup, Ling Hong immediately poured the vinegar from the small plate into the Soup Dumpling from the hole. The vinegar that didn't managed to flow into the opening stained the surface of the dumpling instead.
The 30 people led by He&Ro were merely the first group here for a taste test. There would be more of the audience following them later. Meng Meng’s live broadcast could reach up to thousands of people. Even if only one tenth of them came, that would be a few hundred people.
One hour was very short. In the last ten minutes, 5 girls came. They could be considered regulars as they had been here at least three times.
Of the 5 beauties, the tallest one who sprouted a ponytail and was dressed in hot pants said, “Boss, give me a plate of blueberry jam.
The following three others also ordered the blueberry jam.
“Give me a plate of beef mince.” the last girl aside suddenly said.
“Yuan Yuan, why did you order the beef mince to eat with the bread?” the tallest girl asked, puzzled.
“But beef mince is also very tasty. Maybe I’ll eat the blueberry jam next time.” This cute girl seemed to be a carnivorous person, preferring meat over vegetables and fruits.
After speaking, the five girls got seated and all drew out separately packed toast from their respective bags.
“Sorry, only Soup Dumplings are served this morning. Furthermore, they are all sold out.” Yuan Zhou looked at the several beauties, each with their own different characteristics, while crossing the arms on his chest.
Though these few girls couldn’t rival Yin Ya based on appearance, they were still quite pretty. Moreover, there were five of them appearing at once. However, their request was still declined by Yuan Zhou mercilessly.
“Boss, why did you cook the Soup Dumplings? Blueberry jam with the toast is the best.” The tallest girl had gotten used to Yuan Zhou’s rigid rules but still couldn’t help grumbling.
“Yeah, yeah, that’s true. The beef mince is so delicious!” The cute girl was reluctant to accept the fact.
All Yuan Zhou had to do was only to shrug his shoulders, revealing a helpless manner.
The pretty girls could only leave reluctantly while holding the toast in their hands.
……….
Once noontime arrived, Ling Hong led more people to the entrance of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. This situation could be attributed to the private advertising in their Wechat group. A wealthy man’s recommendations could not be ignored easily, even more so if it were two wealthy men.
The two group members, He&Ro and Bamboo Eating Panda, voluntarily advertised together, attracting lots of the surrounding people watching in the group to join them. The first ten people who joined could even order a dish for free.
Therefore, Yuan Zhou got a bit startled when he opened the door. There were even more people gathering at the entrance compared to this morning. However, more customers meant more income. Although it wasn’t revealed on his earnest and solemn face, Yuan Zhou was quite delighted.
Of course that also meant more work. For example, the two people, Ling Hong and Bamboo Eating Panda ordered all the dishes available on the menu.
“All right. Wait a moment, please,” Yuan Zhou agreed without any hesitation.
Luckily there weren’t many main courses in Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, only the Egg Fried Rice and Clear Broth Noodle Soup. The rest were all in small plates. For an adult man, eating up all these dishes would only make him stuffed. It was still some distance from being too full to eat another bite. After all, delicacies would definitely stir up people’s appetite greatly.
While he was busy with cooking, Yuan Zhou suddenly got a new mission.
The system read: “Host, you can unlock the second stage of the mission now.”
[Second Stage of the Mission] Working hard to get at least one hundred regular customers
(Mission Tip, “An excellent restaurant should have at least 100 regular customers. Only those who enter the restaurant and eat dishes at least 8 times per month can be considered as regular customers.)
[Mission Reward] A chance at the lottery to gain part of a cuisine’s recipe
(Mission status, 70/100)
Now Yuan Zhou felt that if he could go back in time, he would definitely not avoid troublesome matters. As long as he made a little effort, he might have already completed the mission. He didn’t know if he could make it now.
Suddenly, a good idea occurred to Yuan Zhou. Maybe he could make himself appear kinder and more easy-going in order to complete this mission.
But, what exactly does part of a cuisine’s recipe mean?
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