Chapter 154: "Sister Boss Shen, can we have something else?
Thanks to Li Zexing’s influence, Shen Lu’s food today sold out exceptionally fast and completely.
Usually, there were some leftover vegetable dishes for the staff meal, but today, even the broth was nearly scraped clean. A large crowd of customers who didn’t get to eat were still clamoring for food.
"I’m sorry, but all the food for today has been sold out. Please don’t linger in the restaurant. If you’d like to eat, please come back tomorrow."
Saying it once was useless; no one was listening.
In the end, Shen Lu had to broadcast the message on repeat over the restaurant’s announcement system. It took over an hour to finally disperse the lingering crowd.
Wang Daguo wiped away the sweat from being squeezed by the crowd. "So this is the power of a big star?"
Shen Lu watched the crowd gradually recede. "Yes, this is the power of a big star."
’I won’t have to worry about business for a while. These fans will definitely come to check in and try the same food Dog Hero ate.’
But on the other hand, Shen Lu was now worried about a new problem: production capacity.
’There still isn’t enough staff. I need to hire a head chef who can hold their own.’
[DING! New Quest Issued: Hire a new employee.]
[This is a side quest. The host may decide whether or not to complete it. There will be a corresponding reward upon completion!]
’Complete it? I *must* complete it!’
Deciding to act immediately, Shen Lu promptly posted a hiring notice on the restaurant’s front door.
Wang Daguo and Cai Su came over, curious.
"You’re hiring a chef?" Cai Su’s sense of insecurity immediately flared up. ’Is Boss Shen unhappy with my slow progress? Is she just going to find a master chef who can start right away?’
"The number of customers is only going to increase. The amount of food the three of us and Little Mantis can make is limited. Besides, I can’t stay in the kitchen all the time. I need to develop new dishes or go visit ingredient suppliers. With an experienced old hand here, things will be much easier for us."
As the veteran employees who had been with her since she started with a food stall, Shen Lu valued Cai Su and Wang Daguo highly. She patiently explained her reasoning for hiring a new staff member.
"Oh, so that’s why." Wang Daguo had no talent for cooking and no ambition to become a chef. His thinking was simple: he just had to do whatever was within his abilities.
Cai Su nodded thoughtfully. What Shen Lu said was true; the staff shortage was a real problem, and she couldn’t become a master chef in such a short time.
And taking a step back, even if she did, Shen Lu would still need to hire someone to help out in the kitchen.
"Brother, Sister Boss Shen, Aunt Cai, why are you all standing outside?" a young girl’s crisp voice called out from behind them.
The three of them turned to see the sisters, Wang Xiaoci and Wang Xiaohui.
The two were pushing a small flatbed cart piled with sheets of steel, blocks of copper, and other metals.
Shen Lu’s eyes lit up. ’The Wang Family is really efficient,’ she thought. ’I just told them about this yesterday, and they’ve already found something.’
Cai Su, who didn’t know that Shen Lu needed materials to upgrade her kitchen equipment, pointed at the cart and asked, "Are you here to set up a stall? The foot traffic here dies down in the evening, you know."
Little Deer Cuisine only operated during lunch. They would only sell through dinner if they hadn’t sold out in the afternoon, but that had yet to happen.
Wang Xiaoci blinked and looked at Shen Lu. "Sister Boss Shen, these... you’re not taking them anymore?"
"I’ll take them, I’ll take them. Come on in first." Shen Lu led them into the waiting area and had the system check if the materials the Wang Family Sisters brought were acceptable.
[After consolidation and assessment, you have obtained: Refined Steel x6, Copper Block x3, Tungsten Wire x2. You are still some way from upgrading the Malatang Machine.]
Shen Lu was unconvinced. "But this is a whole little pile! Is your system’s judgment really fair?"
[Rest assured, Host. Our system is absolutely fair to young and old alike and would never intentionally shortchange the Host on materials.]
Shen Lu pouted. "Fine."
After accepting the metal materials from the Wang sisters, Shen Lu put on a smile and took out 30 Star Coins. "Here, this is for you. Take it. You can keep bringing metal materials tomorrow; I’ll still be buying."
It might not seem like much, but in this pile, only the tungsten wire was worth a bit more, and even that wasn’t very expensive. As for things like steel and copper blocks, you could buy a whole cartload for 100 Star Coins. They weren’t valuable.
Wang Xiaoci didn’t take the money. Instead, she asked cautiously, "Sister Boss Shen, can we ask for something else?"
"Hm? What do you want?"
"Steamed buns!" Wang Xiaoci blurted out. "Can we trade for steamed buns instead?"
Shen Lu raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment. "I suppose you can, but I didn’t make any steamed buns today. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow."
"Okay!" As if afraid Shen Lu would change her mind, Wang Xiaoci quickly agreed, grabbed Wang Xiaohui, and cheerfully pulled the small cart away. "See you tomorrow, Sister Boss Shen!"
"See you tomorrow," Shen Lu said to Wang Daguo. "Your sister is quite assertive and lively."
Wang Daguo wrung his hands. "Xiao Ci is the more outgoing one."
"That’s great."
"Boss, will making steamed buns be a bother for you?" Wang Daguo hadn’t expected his sister to ask for buns instead of money.
"Not at all." Shen Lu took a pointed look at Wang Daguo’s arms. "Just make sure you come in early tomorrow morning."
’She couldn’t bear to make Little Mantis knead the dough again, but Wang Daguo could be put to good use.’
’It didn’t matter that he had no talent for cooking. She just needed to teach him how to knead dough. At the very least, Wang Daguo had brute strength; he’d be able to get the dough kneaded one way or another.’
Although Shen Lu had agreed Wang Xiaoci could trade metal for steamed buns, the choice was limited to either buns or Star Coins.
She couldn’t just make steamed buns today because they asked for them, and then make baked flatbreads tomorrow if they asked for those.
’I might as well make a large batch of steamed buns all at once tomorrow and store them in the System Warehouse, ready to be taken out whenever needed.’
"Okay, I’ll come in early tomorrow," Wang Daguo readily agreed.
In the blink of an eye, it was dinnertime. While prepping ingredients in the afternoon, Shen Lu had also put a pot of chicken soup on to simmer. She used the simplest method as always, adding only ginger slices and salt.
She then stir-fried some minced pork with pickled vegetables, steamed some eggs, and made a side of bok choy, and dinner was ready.
Shen Lu plated the food and had Wang Daguo deliver it to Granny Jin.
Not daring to delay, Wang Daguo grabbed the lunchbox and jogged all the way, arriving at Granny Jin’s house in less than ten minutes.
"Grandma Jin, it’s Wang Daguo." He knocked on the door. "I’m here to bring you dinner."
Two minutes later, Granny Jin opened the door, a look of exasperation on her face. "I’m not eating it. Take it back and tell Shen Lu to stop sending food."
Wang Daguo hung the lunchbox on the doorknob, turned, and bolted. "Boss Shen said if you don’t eat it, just throw it away! I don’t dare bring it back, or I’ll get my pay docked!"
Even if she weren’t sick, Granny Jin would never have been able to catch up to a man in his prime like Wang Daguo, let alone in her current state.
"You kids!" Granny Jin was stunned. ’Who forces people to accept things like this?’
’Throw it away?’
’Wouldn’t that be a waste of food?’
Being naturally frugal, Granny Jin couldn’t bear to waste food, so she had no choice but to take the lunchbox down and bring it inside.
The lunchbox had three tiers: one with chicken soup, one with steamed eggs and bok choy, and one with rice. It was a standard meal for someone who was sick.
"These kids, honestly..." Granny Jin’s eyes grew moist, and the corners of her thin lips turned up unconsciously. The cloud of negative emotions that had settled over her due to her illness quietly dissipated.
’I have to get better quickly,’ she thought. ’I can’t let these kids keep worrying about me.’