The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 264: Chapter 130: An Expensive Breakfast, No More Treats

’Where did this big shot come from, buying a 38-yuan bun without even blinking? I just wonder what the deal is with the wok-sautéed noodles for lunch.’

’Could they have a new item on the menu again?’

He left Delicious with his half-eaten bun and looked at his company’s building across the street, lost in thought.

’Am I really going to just muddle through life like this?’

’I can’t even afford to eat my fucking fill of buns?’

DAMN IT!!!

Seeing that his idea was having some effect—at least, the first step was a success—Su Chen was able to relax for the moment.

Like the big meat buns, the wok-sautéed noodles also had a formulaic cooking method.

He could teach this to Zhang Heping in the morning.

What he needed to do now was research and develop another SS Level dish before lunchtime.

This dish had to be a home-style one, not a famous dish from one of the major cuisines.

If it were a famous dish, it would be pointless. After all, it’s a given that famous dishes are delicious.

It would be wrong for them *not* to be delicious.

But home-style dishes were different. ’Home-style’ meant that anyone could make them at home; they were not only convenient but also simple.

For a dish like this, you could say a thousand mothers have a thousand different recipes.

To elevate such a dish to the SS Level—now *that* would be truly badass!

Su Chen returned to the second floor, but before he could even get seated, Liu Shengnan came running up.

"Boss, you’re amazing! If we hadn’t treated those teachers to breakfast this morning, we would have broken ten thousand yuan!"

Su Chen waved his hand dismissively. "Steaming buns is exhausting! From now on, I’m only steaming five batches a day. Any more than that, and there won’t be any."

With the right prep work, Su Chen could get five batches done in just half an hour.

The money was worth making, but steaming any more than that wouldn’t be worth the effort.

"Alright then. I came to ask if there’s a special plan for the wok-sautéed noodles at lunch."

"Hm?" Su Chen didn’t quite understand.

"I mean, the buns you made yourself sell for 38. Shouldn’t our wok-sautéed noodles also be..."

Su Chen looked at Liu Shengnan.

’What a little money-grubber...’ If she hadn’t mentioned it, Su Chen really wouldn’t have thought about raising the price.

The meat buns were simple and quick to make, but the wok-sautéed noodles were different. If they weren’t sold shortly after being cooked, they wouldn’t taste good anymore.

That meant they had to be made to order, so Su Chen hadn’t planned on selling these SS Level wok-sautéed noodles at all.

But Liu Shengnan had just given him an idea.

’The buns sold for eight thousand this morning... so these noodles must be...’

"You’re absolutely right." Su Chen gave Sister Shengnan an affirming look. "The wok-sautéed noodles don’t need to be too expensive."

"But they should still be..."

Su Chen said, "Let’s sell them for 88 yuan."

Liu Shengnan gasped. She had been about to say they should be 38 yuan, right? She never expected the boss to start at 88. ’Isn’t this ripping people off?’

Who besides an airport would dare sell a bowl of noodles for 88 yuan?

"Alright, that’s settled. You should get back to work."

Liu Shengnan wasn’t sure if Su Chen’s pricing strategy was reasonable; in fact, she was sure it wasn’t.

’I’m going to go talk to Ling Shuyu!’

But Su Chen didn’t see it that way.

’These guys are all loaded. Opportunities to fleece them are rare, so you have to take them one meal at a time!’

That being said, Su Chen knew the truth.

When it came to the price of gourmet food, those who truly understood how to cook knew best.

If selling the buns for 38 yuan was really considered ripping people off, those master chefs would have raised a fuss long ago.

The next important task was to contact Li Mingtao and look into the accommodation and catering for the sports meet.

But before that, Su Chen entered the Gourmet Practice Room.

At the same time, he opened the fragment of the famous recipe book, placing it directly in front of him. He rarely used this materialization feature.

Everything was usually in his head, accessible with a quick mental search.

But now, Su Chen had to maintain a state of extreme focus. He needed to find a home-style dish—preferably a home-style dish from Lu Province—in the shortest time possible.

Then, he had to master the dish to the SS Level before noon. This was undoubtedly an arduous task!

Even Su Chen himself wasn’t thirty percent confident he could do it.

’Just because it’s hard, does that mean I shouldn’t do it?’ Su Chen gave himself a mental pep talk in the practice room.

He immediately hunched over the table and began rapidly scanning the sections on Lu Province in the famous recipe book.

「Meanwhile.」

Liu Ahbao finished packing his things and shouldered his bag.

"Master, didn’t you say we were returning to Capital City with Teacher Cui and the others at noon? Weren’t you going to watch my competition?"

Lu Yongliang shot Ah Bao a sidelong glare. "Look at you, getting all sentimental! We’ll watch your competition on TV. Now scram!"

Ah Bao stared dumbfounded at the dense crowd of people in the cafeteria.

’Liars! You’re all liars!’

’A few minutes ago, I felt like a warrior heading off to battle. How did I suddenly become an abandoned disciple?’

"Junior Brother Liu, the Lu Cuisine team already has a contestant with a bye. Good luck! We’ll see you in Paris!"

"That’s right, Junior Brother Liu! You have to give it your all!"

Cui Yufen’s disciple had placed in the top three before, so they had a spot with a bye, allowing them to go straight to Paris for the world competition.

Liu Ahbao gritted his teeth and left Delicious resentfully.

’No one to see me off, no words of encouragement... Damn it!’

’If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have gone either!’

’Wouldn’t it be better to just stay at the company and eat the boss’s wok-sautéed noodles?’

With Ah Bao’s departure, Zhang Heping, back in the kitchen, felt the weight on his shoulders grow a little heavier.

Especially since Su Chen had given him a recipe that morning for the large-batch meal he needed to cook for lunch today.

The diners would be a group of little kids who hadn’t even lost their baby teeth yet.

"Time to get to work!"

Zhang Heping got busy in the kitchen. For the sake of his own stomach, he could truly endure anything!

In the office, Liu Shengnan’s fingers flew across the calculator as she tallied the past few days’ accounts, a smile on her face as she looked at the ledger that grew more impressive by the day.

He Shuting also got busy; she had to prepare for the children’s lunch service in advance.

Zhang Li and Bai Xiaobo also threw themselves wholeheartedly into their work. Bai Xiaobo continued to contact various clients around the city, summarizing their requests into one exquisite dish after another, and then handing the concepts over to Zhang Heping in the kitchen.

Ling Shuyu was still busy with her own personal projects, which wasn’t against the rules.

The well-organized workflow at Delicious drew constant praise from the high-ranking chefs outside, but they were all very curious about one thing.

Why did Boss Su always disappear right after he finished cooking?

Did he really have that much sleep to catch up on?

No one knew just how hard Su Chen was actually working!

At this very moment, having finally chosen the dish that would debut at lunch, Su Chen felt his mind go numb.

’There’s no way this dish will be ready by lunch.’

The prep time was too long, but it was genuinely a home-style dish. You could ask anyone from Lu Province—who hadn’t grown up eating this stuff?

Seriously, if you made this dish on New Year’s Eve, you wouldn’t have to eat anything else from the first to the sixth day of the new year—you’d be eating this stuff every single day!

Imagine working out of town for a few years, finally making a trip back home, and ordering this dish at a restaurant.

It would be absolutely disgusting!

Only the version your mom makes is delicious!

But that wasn’t the main point. The reason Su Chen broke out in a cold sweat was because...

’If I completely reinvent this dish, will the big guys from Lu Province hunt me down and beat me to death?’

This was going to be a dish that would shatter the perceptions of everyone in Lu Province!

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