The Gourmet Customizer

Especially the Braised Dried Tofu.

The two brothers had been making it for a week straight, eating nothing but the shredded tofu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

But even though they used almost the exact same side ingredients as Boss Xiaosu, the final flavor was completely different. The thought of it was driving Jiang Wensheng crazy!

「A short while later, in the museum kitchen.」

"How’s it going, brother?"

Jiang Wusheng looked at the shredded tofu in the pot. "This isn’t right. Are you sure you remembered the pork kidney correctly? Can you really put this stuff in shredded tofu?"

Jiang Wensheng nodded emphatically. "There’s no way I mistook it. I tasted it clearly back then. It was definitely pork kidney!"

Jiang Wusheng hissed. "That still doesn’t make sense. Even if you can process pork kidney to get rid of most of the gamey taste, it just doesn’t go with a light dish like this shredded tofu!"

"Oh? Want to try again?" Jiang Wensheng said, rolling up his sleeves to get started.

His older brother immediately stopped him. "No, no way. I’m about to puke from all the shredded tofu I’ve eaten these past few days. Let’s study the squirrelfish today instead. Based on what you said before, the boss definitely didn’t use ketchup for the sauce. That means it was the traditional white sugar and white vinegar seasoning."

"Right!" Jiang Wensheng said with absolute certainty. "The seasoning isn’t the main point. The point is, how can he let the squirrelfish sit for several minutes and still keep its crispy fried skin? How does the sauce not soak into the starchy coating?"

"Tsk!" Jiang Wusheng felt as if he’d seen a ghost.

As everyone knew, for a dish like squirrelfish, the cornstarch slurry applied after scoring the fish had to be thick. Every nook and cranny of the fish meat had to be coated in starch. And such a thick starchy layer was bound to soak up sauce!

And once it soaked up the sauce, the texture would go from crispy to soft. This principle was as objective as the law of gravity. How could it possibly change just because someone willed it to?

"Either way, let’s try again! Besides, Boss Xiaosu already promised we could watch in the kitchen, so we’re not in a huge rush!"

"Right, right!"

The two brothers were like a couple of kids. They holed up in the kitchen and tinkered away for a whole day. They must have made countless squirrelfish, taking just one bite from each one.

This left the museum staff completely bewildered.

"Has the director gone crazy? A few days ago, he was feeding us shredded tofu for every meal, and now it’s squirrelfish?"

"Normally, the director cooking for us would be a good thing, but why do I get the feeling these dishes are... not up to his usual standard?"

"Are you really going to look a gift horse in the mouth? Do you know how many people out there would kill to eat a dish made by the director himself? Just eat! Don’t take your good fortune for granted!"

"But I can’t take eating shredded tofu for every single meal... Looks like we’re in for another week of squirrelfish now..."

Knowing exactly what they’d be eating for every meal was truly agonizing!

Compared to the folks at the museum, the employees at Delicious were much happier.

They never got tired of eating the same food every day. On the contrary, they felt sad when they *couldn’t* eat it.

"I’m already missing the boss’s steamed buns again. What do I do?"

"Who isn’t... Don’t talk about it. Let’s get ready for work!"

Bai Xiaobo was a little tired, lying on the sofa like a dead fish. "Why does it feel like President Ling has an endless supply of energy?"

"You really think everyone’s like you? Get up!" Liu Shengnan kicked him. "All you think about is taking shortcuts. You should learn from President Ling’s work ethic!"

「It was only their first day in Jinan.」

Left to his own devices, Bai Xiaobo would have tried to find a central hub like the one they used on their last trip to E Province, a place where you could buy just about anything.

But Ling Shuyu rejected his proposal outright.

Ling Shuyu had stationed her team members outside of Jinan’s most famous restaurants, telling them to observe the suppliers who made deliveries early every morning.

Then, they were to follow those suppliers to find their sources.

In Ling Shuyu’s words, regardless of the chefs’ skills, these restaurants at least wouldn’t cheat their customers with subpar ingredients.

She couldn’t guarantee they’d find the absolute best ingredients, but they would definitely be the most suitable. Otherwise, these restaurants wouldn’t have been using them for so many years.

In the process of tailing them, they even discovered that a few restaurants were using pre-made meals for certain dishes, which was a real shock to everyone.

But fortunately, they made good progress in other areas. In just one day, they had already purchased most of the ingredients they needed.

A short while later, Ling Shuyu entered the room.

"Today, I’m taking Liu Shengnan and Zhang Li to Yantai. Bai Xiaobo, you’ll stay in Jinan and ship the ingredients we’ve bought back first. Freeze what needs to be frozen, and ship what needs to be shipped live. Spare no expense."

Bai Xiaobo stood up. "And after I’m done shipping them?"

"Once you’re done, you can head back to Jingzhou first. We’ll return after we’ve bought what we need in Yantai and shipped it."

"Huh?" Bai Xiaobo was taken aback.

’She’s sending me back already?’

"What? Shouldn’t you be hurrying back to see if they need any help at the company?"

In front of Ling Shuyu, Bai Xiaobo didn’t have an ounce of fight in him. The last person who could handle him like this was Liu Shengnan.

"Alright then."

Xiaobai muttered a few words and went out to contact various courier companies.

After quickly washing up, the girls also followed Ling Shuyu’s lead and prepared to head out.

Liu Shengnan had been admiring Ling Shuyu throughout the entire trip.

If President Ling hadn’t been leading the team, this ingredient-sourcing trip definitely wouldn’t have gone so smoothly. Completing half the task in such a short time was truly impressive.

She remembered their last trip to E Province, how the three of them looked like beggars when they returned. This time was completely different.

All of Ling Shuyu’s arrangements were so orderly and clear. Every action had a purpose; she never blundered about like a headless fly.

As they were about to leave, Zhang Li was dawdling a bit.

It wasn’t until after they left the hotel that the young woman found a chance to pull Ling Shuyu aside to a secluded spot.

"Sister Ling, here!"

"What’s this?" Ling Shuyu took a black plastic bag from Zhang Li, feeling a pleasant warmth through it.

"A steamed bun!" Zhang Li said secretively. "Sister Ling, I saw that when you were handing out the buns, you took one less for yourself. I saved this for you on purpose, hehe! It’s one of Boss Su’s big meat buns!"

Ling Shuyu froze for a moment, a prickling sensation in her nose.

Then she thought about how she always used to steal Zhang Li’s snacks, and an overwhelming sense of guilt washed over her. "You eat it. I’m not hungry right now!"

Everyone wanted one of those big meat buns, and you could never have enough. But right now, Ling Shuyu felt that watching Zhang Li eat it would bring her more happiness than eating it herself.

"Well... okay then!" Zhang Li took back the bun, which she had heated up in the hotel’s microwave before they left.

Of course, she also wanted to share it with Sister Shengnan, but one bun really wasn’t enough to split. The main reason was that Sister Ling had taken one less bun that day, so Zhang Li wanted to give hers to make up for it.

"Let’s eat it together!" Zhang Li broke the bun in half and handed one piece to Ling Shuyu.

This time, Ling Shuyu didn’t refuse and took the half bun from Zhang Li.

She took just one bite, and her eyes grew moist. She turned away, finished the bun in a few more bites, and tried her best to calm her emotions. "Let’s go!"

"Okay!" Zhang Li wiped her mouth. "Let’s buy something nice for Sister Shengnan later!"

"Okay."

The three of them continued their journey, boarding the train to Yantai.

Everyone’s hard work and travels were all for the sake of a challenge they had never faced before, just four days away!

This included Su Chen, the boss of Delicious, who was now as busy as he could be.

"This clear stock and milky stock... there’s definitely a trick to them..."

"Let’s go again. If I can’t even make a good stock, what right do I have to claim I know how to cook in front of those old-timers?"

Summoning several kinds of ingredients once more, Su Chen, inside his practice room, began making stock for the countless time!