Chapter 105: What to Sell for Lunch Today
Shen Lu dried her hair and walked out of the bathroom. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon, its vibrant light pouring over the distant mountains with a magnificent, life-affirming energy.
"It’s a brand new day." The beautiful scenery lifted Shen Lu’s spirits, and she felt as if her whole body was brimming with energy.
When she went downstairs, Cai Su was already cleaning.
Shen Lu deactivated the privacy mode on the first-floor French windows, letting the sunlight stream in.
"Boss Shen, why are you down so early?" Cai Su glanced at the time. It wasn’t even six o’clock yet.
"You’re up early too, aren’t you?" Shen Lu picked up another broom. "We left a lot of work unfinished yesterday, and it has to get done."
With the permanent 80% cleanliness buff, cleaning was still relatively easy. The two of them tidied up the shop in no time.
Ye Fan sent her a message.
Ye Fan: Boss Shen, could you get breakfast for me and Lin Zhou? We’ll pay for it.
Shen Lu replied with an "Okay." In any case, the two of them were basically unofficial employees of the shop now. They were cooperative and willing to pay, so she didn’t mind.
"Let’s have braised shrimp noodles for breakfast," Shen Lu said to Cai Su. "There’s some braised shrimp left over from yesterday. It’s not enough to sell, so it’s perfect for us to use as a topping."
"Oh, right, can Xiao Lang eat spicy food?" Shen Lu asked. "The braised shrimp is a little spicy."
"He can, Boss Shen. But braised shrimp is very expensive," Cai Su couldn’t help but remind her.
"Expensive or not, it’s meant to be eaten. Go fill a pot with some water and put it on the stove to boil. I’ll show you how to portion out the noodles for everyone in a bit."
Shen Lu went up to the second floor and entered the spare bedroom.
Fu Cheng tilted his head slightly and looked at her.
After a night’s rest, Shen Lu looked full of energy, not at all like the pitiful little thing from last night who seemed to have had all her vitality drained.
Fu Cheng relaxed. He knew everything that had happened during the grand opening yesterday. On one hand, his heart ached that someone so young had to shoulder so much on her own; on the other, he was incredibly proud of her.
She really wasn’t like a typical seventeen-year-old girl. She was more resilient and steady than he had imagined.
"Can you eat spicy food?" This was what Shen Lu had come to ask him.
She felt that Fu Cheng’s condition had improved a lot, so he probably didn’t need to be on such a strict diet anymore. Eating something with a bit of strong flavor occasionally should be fine.
Of course, she was also just being a little lazy. If she could avoid making an extra dish, she would.
Fu Cheng blinked once, signaling that he could.
In truth, it didn’t matter to him whether the food was spicy or not; it wouldn’t affect his recovery.
As long as it was food brought by Shen Lu, it could heal his injuries.
"Okay, then you’ll have braised shrimp noodles this morning too. I’m going downstairs to make them now!"
Having gotten her answer, Shen Lu returned to the kitchen.
Cai Su, remembering Shen Lu’s rules, had already changed into her chef’s uniform upon entering the kitchen. Shen Lu was no exception. She changed her clothes first, then went to the refrigerator and took out the remaining braised shrimp.
Shen Lu shelled the shrimp one by one and set them aside in a bowl. She took some of the braising liquid, brought it to a boil, and added the shrimp to warm them up.
"Generally speaking, a single portion of noodles is about this much—what you can circle with your thumb and index finger." Shen Lu taught her a rather crude method. It wasn’t precise, but it was close enough.
Following her instructions, Cai Su added the noodles to the boiling water, one bundle at a time.
Considering the men would eat more, Shen Lu had Cai Su add two extra bundles. Just before the noodles were done, she blanched a handful of green vegetables. They then portioned the noodles into bowls, ladled on the braising liquid and shrimp, and the dish was ready.
Shen Lu sent a message to Ye Fan, telling the two of them to come to the shop for breakfast.
Ye Fan replied with an "ok" and sent a red envelope.
Shen Lu accepted it and carried two bowls of noodles upstairs.
Cai Su first took out the noodles for Ye Fan and Lin Zhou, then carried her and her son’s breakfast back to their dorm.
When Shen Lu brought breakfast into the spare bedroom, she found Fu Cheng repeatedly lifting his arm.
"Doing physical therapy?" Shen Lu asked.
Fu Cheng blinked, lowered his arm, and his gaze fell on the breakfast she had brought.
’It smells so good.’
Shen Lu set up the small tray table, turned on the TV, and switched it to the news channel.
The moment the picture appeared, Shen Lu froze. The TV was showing footage of her little shop’s grand opening from yesterday. She never thought she’d see the day she was on television.
Shen Lu said inwardly, ’That 24-hour traffic accelerator of yours is pretty effective.’
’It can even reach official channels like this.’
[It’s also because you were lucky, Host. The government has been cracking down on all sorts of unlicensed workshops lately. If you hadn’t produced your business license yesterday, you’d be the cautionary tale today.]
Shen Lu snorted smugly. ’That’s not luck. I was prepared.’
’I’m not legally illiterate; of course you need a license to open a shop.’
’The only reason I didn’t go through the process myself is because the system gave me the license. Otherwise, I would have found a way to get the paperwork done.’
The news briefly reported on the crawfish-eating contest held for Little Deer Cuisine’s grand opening, showed a few clips of contestants eating crawfish, and ended with a warning to the public not to buy Insect Cakes from unlicensed workshops.
Fu Cheng watched intently. Seeing it with his own consciousness was different from seeing the actual footage.
Shen Lu was feeding Fu Cheng, but his reactions were a bit slow, and he chewed sluggishly.
"Watching that intently?" Shen Lu muttered to herself, then complained with a hint of disdain, "Where did the TV station even get this footage? It makes me look like I’ve gained at least ten pounds."
Fu Cheng paused, glancing at Shen Lu out of the corner of his eye. The girl had a sharp chin, and her round, almond-shaped eyes looked even larger because of how slender she was.
’She’s so busy, waking up before dawn and not resting until the moon is high in the sky. There’s no way she could be gaining any weight.’
"But it doesn’t matter. ’A man dreads fame like a pig dreads fat.’ Being a little chubbier might confuse people," Shen Lu said, slurping up a big mouthful of noodles. As she ate, she reminded him, "Fu Cheng, if you don’t eat faster, the noodles will get soggy!"
Fu Cheng pressed his lips together lightly and quickened his pace of eating the noodles.
After they finished breakfast, Shen Lu helped Fu Cheng wash up briefly and then carried the bowls downstairs.
Wang Daguo had arrived for work. He was in the fast-food area, putting the long tables that had been moved back in their proper places.
"Morning, Boss Shen!" Wang Daguo greeted her with a booming voice.
Shen Lu nodded. "Morning. Have you eaten?"
"I have!"
Yesterday, Wang Daguo had asked Shen Lu if he could take a steamed bun home, and Shen Lu had simply told him to take all the leftover buns.
So, Wang Daguo had already eaten breakfast this morning—delicious, fluffy steamed buns!
Shen Lu thought for a moment, then asked, "If you come in a bit earlier in the morning, you can have breakfast with us."
"Really?" Wang Daguo was pleasantly surprised. He scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "Boss Shen, I have a pretty big appetite."
He needed to eat three Insect Cakes in one sitting to feel full, while Grandma Wang, Mrs. Wang, and his two younger sisters only ate three Insect Cakes combined for a meal.
"I only provide a normal person’s portion for one meal. If you’re still not full, you’ll have to figure it out yourself."
"Deal! I’ll come in earlier from now on, then. Is six o’clock okay?"
"That’s fine."
Shen Lu gave the bowls to Cai Su to wash and then sat at the front counter, sketching and scribbling. She needed to think about what to sell for lunch today.