The Gourmet Customizer

Although Cui Yufen had initially come to get even for her apprentice, it was undeniable that her side was simply less skilled. Cui Yufen observed that Su Chen wasn’t the type to hold a grudge, so after a few mutual compliments, they tacitly buried the hatchet.

The grand meal lasted until about one o’clock in the afternoon.

As the meal was winding down, Cui Yufen and Lu Yongliang started chatting about the upcoming competition.

"I hear Sichuan Province is also sending a few skilled juniors to participate?"

Lu Yongliang lived relatively close to Sichuan Province. "I’ve heard about that too. This competition has been well-promoted and is getting a lot of attention worldwide. The successors of all the major culinary schools are itching for a chance to compete!"

Jiang Wusheng asked curiously, "I heard that if you place in this competition, the rewards are quite generous?"

Lu Yongliang laughed heartily. "The rewards are so-so, not much money. The key is the publicity! To be able to promote your own cuisine on a global stage means it’ll be used more often when hosting foreign dignitaries. For a chef, that’s the ultimate honor!"

Cui Yufen strongly agreed. A sudden thought struck her. "Boss Su, with your incredible skills, why don’t you try entering the competition?"

Lu Yongliang slapped his thigh. "Exactly! I was only thinking of sending Ah Bao, but there’s a master right here in front of me! Boss Xiaosu, if you were to enter, I don’t think anyone else would stand a chance at the championship!"

Su Chen rested his forehead in his hand, feeling a wave of awkwardness.

He really had no interest in that sort of thing. For one, Su Chen thought holding a competition for something like culinary arts was just plain silly.

’In the arts, there is no first; in combat, there is no second.’

’Fine food is an art. For a thousand diners, you’ll get a thousand different opinions on a big pork bun!’

’Take someone like He Shuting. No matter how delicious she thinks a pork bun is, even if it’s SS Level delicious, she’ll eat two at most. Starting with the third one, she’ll just eat the dough and leave the filling.’

’The woman just doesn’t like meat. What can you do about it?’

’It’s the same with competitions. The judges are human, and humans have preferences. If a certain chef makes a dish that happens to perfectly match a judge’s palate, they might get a slightly higher score.’

’And if you made someone like Zhang Li a judge, she wouldn’t care which chef made what. To her, everything is crazy good, and she’d probably give everyone a perfect score!’

"I’m swamped with a ton of things at my company, I can barely keep up. I’ll have to pass on the competition. If they decide to enter, I’ll be cheering for them from my TV!"

Lu Yongliang and Cui Yufen exchanged a look, both having the same thought. ’This Boss Xiaosu... could he be strapped for cash?’

"Well, it’s a real shame you won’t be participating, Boss Su," Lu Yongliang said. "I just don’t know where this year’s preliminary round for seeded contestants is being held. Yufen, have you heard?"

"I believe it’s right here in Capital City." Cui Yufen was based in Capital City, so her information on this was a bit better than Lu Yongliang’s.

Su Chen had little interest in the dishes on the table and found their conversation about the competition rather dull. That is, until Jiang Wusheng suddenly spoke up. "By the way, Boss Su, I noticed you bear a striking resemblance to an old acquaintance of mine. We must be fated to meet. How about you take up a post at my museum? As Honorary Director!"

What the hell?

"What’s an Honorary Director?"

Jiang Wusheng smiled. "Oh, it’s nothing much, really. Just a title. Whenever you’re not busy and have some free time, you can come sit at our museum, have some tea, that sort of thing."

’Is there really such a sweet deal?’

Su Chen was ready to accept on the spot. Although it wasn’t a position with any real duties, ’the title "Honorary Director of the Xia Country Huaiyang Cuisine Museum" still sounded pretty damn cool.’

’With a few more titles like this, when I introduce myself in the future, I can be like Dragon Mother. Who cares what my name is? I’ll just throw a bunch of titles at you first!’

Just as Su Chen was about to agree, Lu Yongliang suddenly cut in. "How could Boss Su possibly agree to your offer? Last time, I invited him to be the Honorary President of our E Province Culinary Association, and he hasn’t even accepted that yet. What do you say, Boss Su? Would you like to reconsider my offer now?"

Su Chen: ???

’Hold on, old man, when did you ever invite me?’

’You were trying to take me as your goddamn apprentice back then!’

"Hmm! Now that you mention it, I just remembered something. We at the Capital City International Hotel are still missing an Honorary Executive Chef. I wonder, Boss Su..."

This time, Su Chen was truly dumbfounded. ’Master Cui, you’re jumping on this crazy train too?’

’Why is everyone tossing around the word "Honorary"? You guys aren’t trying to set me up, are you?’

’If it had just been Jiang Wusheng, Su Chen wouldn’t have thought much of it. But with all three of them suddenly saying the same thing, there had to be something fishy going on!’

At the critical moment, Su Chen glanced at his vibrating phone. "Excuse me, everyone."

It was a call from Ling Shuyu!

’The girl is right inside the kitchen. Why is she calling me?’

"Agree to their offers, but with one condition: you must require an official letter of appointment from each of their organizations."

He heard Ling Shuyu’s voice as soon as he answered the phone.

"Boss, this is extremely important. Please, you must agree!"

Su Chen didn’t really understand what this "honorary" business was all about, but he figured Ling Shuyu wouldn’t lead him astray. After hanging up, he looked at the three masters with a wide grin. "Are there letters of appointment?"

"Of course there are!" Jiang Wusheng said. "Our museum is a legitimate institution approved by the local government. We have all the proper paperwork, so you can rest assured!"

"We do as well," Lu Yongliang and Cui Yufen said in unison.

In that case...

Su Chen put on a pained expression. "Well, it’s hard to refuse such a gracious offer. In that case... I’ll... fine!"

Lu Yongliang looked at Su Chen.