The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Just now while making fresh soup noodles, in a half-full bowl of noodle soup, there was one full to the brim, piled high with noodles.

Everyone joked about how Fu Yu put love before friends, showing blatant favoritism without hiding it at all.

Fu Yu argued righteously, "We’ve been snacking all day long, something to fill the gap is enough for us. Look at you, all bloated. Eat too much and you’ll put on weight. Xiaoqing is naturally beautiful, she won’t get fat no matter what she eats. Let her help us finish it so we don’t waste food. It’s just giving everyone what they deserve, what’s there to hide?"

Fortunately, with Zhao Meng managing things, whatever Fu Yu does, he always gives Zhao Meng the best portion, so everyone just kidded around casually, without making a big deal out of Fu Yu’s blatant favoritism extending all the way to the Pacific, causing endless fuss.

Meanwhile, in the back kitchen, Zhao Meng’s side never ran out of snacks for gnawing on.

Amber walnuts, spicy fried pig skin, crispy peanuts, sesame oil tofu...

However, the stuff that can be taken casually from the back kitchen are mostly scraps of the main ingredients. Plus when time is tight, they can only make simple snacks quickly.

But no matter how rushed, not just anyone can make snacks as rich in color, aroma, and taste as Fu Yu does.

The various snacks Fu Yu makes are truly loved by everyone.

Sun Qingning is eager to learn, and Fu Yu has taught him hand by hand several times, but the taste he makes is just not the same as Fu Yu’s.

Today, Fu Yu made fresh soup noodles. In small porcelain bowls, each serving only filled half. The slippery noodles, in thick milky white soup, sprinkled with emerald chives and tender mung bean sprouts, just looking at it makes one drool.

Even Zhao Meng, who used to say he wasn’t fond of noodles, devoured the overflowing bowl of fresh noodle soup.

In the back kitchen, they were happily enjoying the snacks together.

Over at the 208 private room, the server was successively bringing the additional dishes to the table.

This time, however, the server did not rush to leave. Instead, they stood in front of the table, serving the abalone slices and tomatoes into bowls, then pouring the reheated shark-fin soup into each, sprinkling with some chopped scallions.

The server smiled slightly and softly introduced, "The Shark Fin Soup with Cross-Bridge Abalone is ready to be served."

A dish was served, circled around, and everyone could take turns tasting it.

In front of the tall boy, the dish previously served, White Sauce Mashed Potatoes with Flower Crab, was still sitting there. He had been too busy chatting and toasting with others to try it yet.

Now, his attention was drawn by the server’s actions.

Leaning forward to watch the server finish, the tall boy curiously asked, "This dish looks quite interesting."

Then, pointing with his chopsticks to the White Sauce Mashed Potatoes with Flower Crab in front of him, he commented, "Unlike this one, looking all pale, not appetizing at all."

The server quickly explained, "This White Sauce Mashed Potatoes with Flower Crab is also a signature dish of our restaurant. The flower crabs used are fresh, live female crabs, and they are large with rich meat, directly shipped from afar to be cooked and sold."

A boy sitting nearby asked, "This dish must be quite expensive, right?"

The server honestly priced, "Yes, this dish is 280, but it’s definitely not as expensive as the Shark Fin Soup with Cross-Bridge Abalone since that dish uses our restaurant’s century-old stock, which is impossible to find elsewhere..."

The boys at the table clicked their tongues, realizing just how expensive this dish was!

Wang Jinrui, upon hearing this, was momentarily stunned, almost dropping the chopsticks he was holding!

A dish actually costs 280!

His lips trembled as his left hand instinctively reached for his wallet in his pocket.

The dish had already been ordered, returning it was not an option for sure.

Thinking this through, he could only muster the strength to listen carefully to the server finish talking.

But! When the server introduced "The newly served dish is even more expensive than the 280 one".

The chopsticks in Wang Jinrui’s hand completely slipped, dropping onto the table with one falling to the ground.

Yet Wang Jinrui didn’t bother to pick them up, instead, he clung to the table to prevent himself from collapsing, gripping the edge of the table with both hands as if he had lost all support.

This expensive, how much is the total for this table of dishes now?

Even with his usually sharp math mind, he dared not actually calculate it now.

The subsequent additional dishes were ordered by others, and the menu wasn’t even shown to him.

The boy sitting next to him heard the commotion, turned to look at Wang Jinrui, and casually asked, "You okay?!"

Wang Jinrui hurriedly shook his head, forcing a smile, but the tight corners of his mouth made him look quite menacing.

"No worries, I just lost grip."

Even though Wang Jinrui said that... the newly replaced chopsticks were held in his hand, his fingers still trembling, it took a great effort to finally grip them firmly.

He looked at the table full of dishes, the wine, and the classmates laughing and eating, gritting his teeth.

He had to eat!

This entire table of dishes was bought with his money, why shouldn’t he eat!

Even without an appetite, even if he really didn’t feel like eating, he had to eat!

Can’t waste money!

This is all money...

...

After work in the evening, just as usual, Fu Yu changed and punched out, ready to go to Shangshi Private Kitchen to learn cooking.

Before leaving, he deliberately headed to the front hall, to deliver a box of chocolates Zhao Meng had given him to Liu Yuqing.

The chocolates were a special gift brought back by a friend of Zhao Meng’s from abroad.

Seeing there were two boxes of chocolates, Zhao Meng gave one to Fu Yu.

Bao’Er’s teeth weren’t too good, and Dai Li usually kept a close watch, not allowing her to eat sweets carelessly.

Knowing this, Fu Yu was quite straightforward when accepting it.

But before he could reach the counter, from a distance, he saw Liu Yuqing and Jiang Mo craning towards the door, wearing gossip-filled expressions of excitement they couldn’t hide.