Chapter 92: The Young Lady is a Real Sweet-Talker
Shen Lu woke up on the soft, spacious bed feeling more refreshed than ever before.
Today was the last day of her novice benefit month. As much as Shen Lu wanted to sleep in, she still forced herself to get out of bed.
After today, she would no longer be able to scavenge trash in exchange for ingredients from the store.
After quickly washing up, Shen Lu went to the guest bedroom to check on Fu Cheng.
The man opened his right eye as she came in. Shen Lu turned the TV, which had shut off automatically, back on. Then she adjusted Fu Cheng’s pillow to make him more comfortable.
"Did you sleep well last night?" Shen Lu asked.
Fu Cheng just watched her, silent.
’He hadn’t slept well.’
’Compared to this soft, spacious bed, he missed the hard plank bed in that tiny rental apartment.’
’Even though they were still under the same roof, it wasn’t the same as before, when they were squeezed together on a single bed.’
Shen Lu had only asked casually. She knew Fu Cheng couldn’t speak, so she didn’t expect an answer.
"It’s getting late. I’m going downstairs to make breakfast."
Shen Lu went downstairs and walked into the back kitchen. Cai Su was already up, awkwardly heating Insect Cakes in a pan.
Cai Su looked a little sheepish. "Boss Shen, I’m sorry. I used the stove without asking your permission."
"Insect Cakes have no nutritional value. You should stop eating them," Shen Lu said, walking into the pantry. Inside were some of the non-perishable ingredients she had stored yesterday.
She brought out a bag of noodles, some scallions, eggs, and a few heads of bok choy. "Since we’re living together, let’s have our three daily meals together from now on. Consider it a perk for full-time employees."
"But..."
"Sister Cai, you seem pretty interested in cooking. Would you like to learn from me?" Shen Lu didn’t want to beat around the bush with Cai Su, so she didn’t give her a chance to refuse, immediately changing the subject.
Sure enough, the idea of learning to cook caught Cai Su’s attention. She hadn’t expected Shen Lu to bring it up herself.
"I’d love to learn, Boss Shen! I’ll be sure to study hard!"
"Alright, let’s start today. You’ll be making our breakfast this morning, and I’ll be right here to guide you."
Shen Lu had her own selfish reasons, of course. It was true she loved to cook, but stir-frying hundreds, even thousands, of portions every day... if the exhaustion didn’t kill her, the monotony would.
Training a capable assistant would cut her workload in half. Teaching Sister Cai to cook was something she had planned to do for a while.
Cai Su gasped. ’St-starting today?’
’She didn’t know the first thing about cooking! Would anything she made even be edible?’
’What if she wasted the ingredients?’
"We’re having simple noodle soup for breakfast. It’s very easy. Start by chopping the scallions."
Shen Lu stood by her side, giving careful instructions. Cai Su had a pretty steady nerve; she quickly calmed down and followed Shen Lu’s directions step-by-step.
Chopping the scallions, frying the eggs, bringing a pot of water to a boil, then adding the right amount of noodles and bok choy.
She prepared a simple seasoning mix in a bowl, then ladled in some of the hot noodle broth to dissolve it. Finally, she transferred the noodles, bok choy, and fried egg into the bowl.
"Did I really make this?" Cai Su stared at the bowl of noodle soup in front of her, finding it hard to believe. It felt like magic.
With Shen Lu’s guidance, she had actually managed to make something edible.
"You have a knack for it," Shen Lu offered as a fair assessment.
Simple noodle soup was, of course, easy to make, but someone with no talent at all would still fail on their first try.
They made six bowls of noodles in total. Shen Lu carried two bowls upstairs, sent a message telling Lin Zhou and Ye Fan to come to the restaurant for breakfast, and left the last two bowls for Cai Su and her son.
Shen Lu moved a small table to Fu Cheng’s bedside. She would take a bite, then feed one to Fu Cheng, all while watching the morning news.
The noodle soup wasn’t bad. With Shen Lu watching over her every step of the way, it would have been a miracle if it had turned out poorly.
When she went downstairs after finishing her meal, carrying the empty bowls, she saw Wang Daguo arriving with Mrs. Wang and his two younger sisters.
Grandma Wang, figuring she was too old to be of much help, hadn’t come with them.
Once everyone had gathered, Shen Lu began to assign tasks.
"Brother Wang, Sister Cai, you two will head to the dump again. I’ll meet you there around ten." According to the system’s rules, only she and her employees were allowed to scavenge there.
Shen Lu needed to stay behind to lead the others in processing the crayfish, so the only ones who could go to the dump were Wang Daguo and Cai Su.
"The rest of you will stay here at the restaurant and work with me. I’ll give you your assignments."
Hearing she would be separated from Wang Daguo, Mrs. Wang grew anxious. "Let us go to the dump with Daguo. We don’t know anything about cooking."
"It’s all simple work, but if you don’t want to do it, I won’t force you." Shen Lu’s tone wasn’t harsh—it was actually quite gentle—but Mrs. Wang didn’t dare say another word.
Wang Daguo quietly spoke a few words of instruction to Mrs. Wang, then gave some directions to his two sisters.
"Just listen to Boss Shen. Work hard, and if you don’t understand something, ask right away. Got it?"
"We know, brother."
Cai Su, holding her child, and Wang Daguo, carrying his tools, left the restaurant.
Shen Lu had the remaining group wash their hands thoroughly before leading them into the back kitchen.
The crayfish competition was tomorrow, and Shen Lu had decided that braised crayfish would be the best dish to prepare.
The process wasn’t complicated: clean the crayfish, deep-fry them, and then soak them in a braising liquid to absorb the flavor.
She would be in charge of mixing the braising liquid and frying the crayfish. Both tasks required a high level of skill, and she didn’t trust anyone else with them, fearing accidents or an off-flavor.
The rest of the steps, however, could be delegated.
"Aunt Wang and you two girls will be in charge of deveining the crayfish. Ye Fan and Lin Zhou, you two can divide the other tasks. One of you will put the crayfish in the washer, then take them out and hand them over to Aunt Wang’s group. The other will put the deveined crayfish into the braising liquid to simmer. And if you have any free time, you can give me a hand."
Ye Fan nodded. "Okay, Lin Zhou and I will figure it out as we go."
Wang Xiaoci was more outgoing. Compared to her somewhat socially anxious mother, she was like a little adult, asking Shen Lu a few questions: "Boss-Sister Shen, what do crayfish look like? Are they mean? Do they bite?"
Shen Lu loved being called "Boss-Sister Shen." The little girl was a real sweet-talker.
"You’ll see in a minute. Crayfish are a little aggressive, but I’ll teach you how to handle them."
Shen Lu walked into the pantry alone. After closing the door behind her, she used the ten-thousand-catty crayfish voucher.
[Does the Host wish to redeem this voucher now?]
"Yes," Shen Lu said.
Before she had even finished speaking, countless crayfish rained down from the ceiling, instantly flooding the pantry. In the blink of an eye, she was submerged up to her knees.
’Big mistake!’
’I should have sent them to the System Warehouse first and then taken them out in batches.’
Luckily, she was protected by her Rebound Privilege. Otherwise, with a pincer from every single crayfish, she would have been pinched to death.
The pantry door was right behind her. She opened it and fled as fast as she could.
The group standing outside the door was startled by the aggressive army of crayfish that came pouring out. Mrs. Wang and Wang Xiaohui shrieked and clung to each other, hiding at the very back. Wang Xiaoci, on the other hand, was much braver. She bent down to get a better look at the crayfish as they brandished their claws.
Ye Fan and Lin Zhou were stunned for a moment before snapping into action. One of them rushed to protect Shen Lu, while the other moved to contain the crayfish that were attempting to scatter in every direction.
"Quick, close the door!"