The Gourmet Customizer

If it were eight or ten yuan, he wouldn’t have made a fuss. But they were demanding thirty, and an apology on top of that. The man couldn’t accept it!

At that moment, He Shuting looked toward the restroom. "Boss!" she called out, her voice catching. "Boss!"

Forgetting everything else, she jumped up from her seat, ran over, and clung to Su Chen’s arm. "Boss, this guy is bullying us!"

Su Chen had already gotten the gist of what happened.

He patted He Shuting’s hand reassuringly.

When the others saw Su Chen arrive, they all fell silent and gathered behind him. It was as if the group had instantly found its backbone.

Seeing this, the man sneered, "So you’re their boss, huh? Just look at your employees!"

"Five yuan for a single egg? Are you people insane? If you’re going to rip someone off, at least learn how to do it properly!"

Su Chen stepped between the two groups with a smile. Facing the man, he caught the foul stench of alcohol on his breath.

He didn’t want any trouble, but this guy in front of him was really a pain.

Su Chen turned to the train attendant. "First off, this gentleman ate my employee’s egg without her consent. Is that correct?"

The bewildered train attendant nodded.

"Next, what we’re asking for is compensation for the egg—30 yuan, which is, in fact, the price at my restaurant."

Su Chen took out his phone and showed the attendant his transaction history. The records showed multiple transfers, all with notes like "X eggs for Y yuan."

The attendant was even more bewildered. ’Holy crap, you really sell them for that much?’

Su Chen continued in an orderly fashion, "Finally, taking something without permission is stealing. All we’re asking for is an apology. Is that too much to ask?"

The attendant, taken aback by Su Chen’s systematic breakdown, replied, "No, it’s not."

"Good. Then I’ll have to trouble you with this."

Su Chen took a step back, planning to let the train attendant resolve the matter.

’If the attendant can’t handle it, there’s always the railway police.’

’And if they can’t, there’s the police station at the next stop.’

The attendant awkwardly approached the man. "Sir, you see..."

"See what? The most I’m paying is ten yuan! An apology is out of the question. It was just one egg! And you’re calling it stealing? What kind of people are you?!"

The attendant was in a difficult position again.

The man was aggressive, while the boss seemed much more reasonable. The attendant turned back to Su Chen. "Sir, I can request that the train service compensate you for the egg. I can also upgrade your employee’s seat to a different car for free. What do you say we just let this go?"

Hearing this, He Shuting and the other employees fell silent.

’It was a standard, by-the-book solution.’

’They’d been offered everything that could be offered. There was really no point in dragging it out.’

Su Chen nodded slightly. "Grab your things. Let’s go."

’There was no point getting tangled up with a guy like this. Wasting time on it was even more pointless.’

When the man saw Su Chen and his employees start to pack their things, he got cocky again. "So you were just trying to get a little something out of this after all, huh? And you made it sound so high and mighty. ’Five yuan for an egg,’ ’taking without asking is stealing.’ All of you dressed up to look so respectable. Anyone who didn’t know better might actually think you were cultured."

Liu Ahbao gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. ’If Boss Su wasn’t here, I’d have beaten the hell out of this guy!’

The young women’s faces flushed red. ’We didn’t do anything wrong, so why do we feel so awful right now...?’

After taking a few steps, the entire group suddenly stopped.

Su Chen, who was at the front of the group, turned around with a smile. He walked past everyone and returned to where they had just been.

"Boss..."

"Brother Chen, maybe we should just forget it!"

"Boss, please don’t start a fight!"

This time, it was the employees trying to calm Su Chen down!

Watching this unfold, the train attendant sighed in frustration. ’Why the hell did you have to run your mouth!’

The other passengers, who had just been watching the drama unfold, perked up with interest, craning their necks to get a better look.

All eyes were on Su Chen...

He looked down and fiddled with his belt buckle. The gesture startled the man, who thought Su Chen was about to whip off his Seven Wolves belt and start a fight.

But Su Chen simply said in a breezy tone, "Sure, no problem..."

Then he looked up and added, "Who the hell’s belt came loose and let a piece of crap like you fall out?"

The sudden insult completely floored the man. The other passengers were stunned for a moment, but less than three seconds later, the entire car erupted in laughter.

"Hahahaha! Oh, man, that’s amazing. What a creative way to insult someone. It almost went over my head."

"A handsome guy cussing isn’t that funny on its own, but the way he looked at his belt first... that was hilarious! Hahaha!"

"How can he say something like that to someone? I... I’m speechless..."

Zhang Li clung to Sister Shengnan’s arm. "Sister, sister! What did Boss Su mean?"

Shengnan patted Zhang Li’s arm. "Kids shouldn’t ask about such things."

Seeing everyone laughing at him, the man’s anger flared, and he lunged forward a step!

Su Chen raised the fist that was holding his phone and pointed at the man. "Thinking of hitting someone? You lay a hand on me, and I’ll be car shopping tomorrow!"

HISS!

At his words, even the onlookers couldn’t help but gasp.

’This young man is vicious!’

’The guy hasn’t even thrown a punch, and he’s already planning on buying a car? How can he say something like that so shamelessly!’

The man was so taken aback by Su Chen’s two retorts that he didn’t know how to respond. He could only stand there, mouth slightly agape, glaring fiercely at Su Chen.

Then, Su Chen said in a leisurely, mocking tone, "If you’re not going to make a move, then I will!"

’Hit me?’

The man suddenly took a step back. ’Go ahead and hit me. Who’s afraid of taking a punch these days?’

’Haven’t you heard of people getting paid tens of thousands for a single slap?’ The man even puffed out his stomach and stuck his face forward.

It was as if he was daring Su Chen to slap him.

However...

...Su Chen just breezily unlocked his phone and dialed three numbers.

"Hello, I’d like to report a theft... Yes, the monetary value isn’t high, but the nature of the act is quite malicious."

The man was stunned.

’Dude, you’re not gonna fight? You’re making a damn phone call?’

’You’re actually calling the cops?’

"Right, yes, of course. I’ll wait for the confirmation then. Uh-huh, goodbye."

After hanging up, Su Chen waved his hand. "Alright, let’s go. Time to enjoy the business class seats the nice attendant upgraded you to for free."

Liu Shengnan snapped out of her daze. "Oh, right! Let’s go, let’s go!"

The others grabbed their bags and followed Su Chen. In stark contrast to their earlier indignation, they were all struggling to hold back their laughter.

As soon as they reached Su Chen’s business class car and set down their things, the group erupted in joyous laughter.

"Oh, that was hilarious! Boss, you were amazing just now! You completely dumbfounded that guy!"

"Total boyfriend material! Boss, I’m going to find a boyfriend just like you in the future!" He Shuting said, her face full of admiration. ’This feeling of being protected is the best, isn’t it?’

Liu Shengnan, however, was a little worried. "Since you called the police, does that mean we’ll have to go give a statement? I’ve never been to a police station... It’s not going to be a problem, is it?"

Su Chen just smiled and shook his head. Just then, the train pulled to a stop at a station, and he turned to look out the window.

"Take a look."

Everyone looked over in unison. They saw the man who had been causing a scene earlier being escorted toward the station exit, each of his arms held by a police officer.

Liu Ahbao watched this unfold in silence, lost in thought.

’So, is this why everyone is so happy working here, even though the pay isn’t great and the work is a chaotic mess?’

’If this is how it is... maybe working here a while longer isn’t such a bad idea after all...’

As the train started moving again, Su Chen closed his eyes, ready for a short nap.

「Three hours passed quickly.」

When Su Chen woke up again, the train had already arrived at Capital City Station.

"Boss, where are we heading first?"

After the incident, He Shuting had become Su Chen’s number one fan.

"That’s not something we need to worry about." Su Chen took out his phone. Coincidentally, a message from President Shang came in right then.

Waiting for you at the exit. How about we go eat first? I’ve booked a private room at Cuihua Building.

’Just like a fellow foodie.’

Su Chen had only mentioned Lu Cuisine once in a passing chat, and Shang Mingke had gone and booked a table at Cuihua Building.

That suited Su Chen just fine.

Time to go!