Chapter 163: A Little Tempted, But Not Much
Questions came one after another, leaving Shen Lu feeling a little overwhelmed.
She composed herself and answered them one by one.
"Thank you, everyone, for enjoying my food."
"Yes, I have a shop. It’s called Little Deer Cuisine, and it’s at the very end of Gold Street in the Lower City District."
"There are no special ingredients or cooking methods. They’re all common things. I suppose everyone just has different tastes. Personally, I prefer spicier dishes."
"I’m not taking on any outside jobs for the time being. The shop has been pretty busy lately. I’ll only have free time once things calm down."
Someone else wanted to hire Shen Lu as their family’s private chef, but before she could refuse, Bai Wanwan rolled her eyes at him.
"Give me a break. We didn’t even have the nerve to ask, and you think you can just poach her?"
Feng Chao rubbed the back of his neck. "I was just asking. What if she wanted to?"
Of course, Shen Lu wasn’t interested. Being someone’s private chef left no room for freedom. She much preferred being her own boss.
"Thank you, but I’m happy running my own shop."
"Oh, so you’re the young owner who held that crayfish competition a while back!" Jiang Feifei suddenly exclaimed. "No wonder I thought you looked familiar! I’ve come across your videos online."
Prompted by Jiang Feifei, the crowd used their Light Brains to look up videos of Shen Lu, and sure enough, it was her.
"So, is this crayfish dish the same one from the competition?" someone asked eagerly.
Shen Lu replied, "No, the flavors are different. The dish for the competition was braised crayfish."
"Is that one better?"
"They both have their own merits. Everyone has different tastes, after all. Some people love cilantro, some people hate it. If I had to choose, I’d say they’re both delicious."
"Do you sell that braised crayfish at your shop now?"
"I don’t, no. The cost of crayfish is too high, so it’s a tough sell in the Lower City District."
"Then you should open a branch in the Upper City District!"
Another person was trying to convince her to open a shop in the Upper City District. In fact, everyone now staring at her with eager eyes seemed to have the same idea.
Shen Lu was a little tempted, but not by much. Still, she had to give a polite, noncommittal answer.
"I’ll consider it for the future."
The random mission was completed with ease. Right as Shen Lu was answering questions, the system chimed, notifying her that the mission was complete and the reward had been granted.
[Ding! Detected successful acquisition of three-star reviews from 30 diners. Mission complete. Reward: 500 popularity value.]
’Just as I thought.’
’It seems the rewards are proportional to the mission’s difficulty. Simple missions give average rewards, while more complex ones offer higher-quality prizes.’
’So if I finish the hidden mission, what kind of amazing treasure will the system reward me with?’
Shen Lu was filled with anticipation.
Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they followed Bai Lei to the next activity.
Bai Wanwan grabbed Shen Lu, insisting she join them for some fun.
"I think I’ll sit this one out, I have something I need to do. By the way, could I borrow your kitchen for a bit? And I’ll need some ingredients, too."
"What for?" Bai Wanwan asked.
Shen Lu didn’t hide it. "I’m going to New Star Company to see Li Zexing."
"You’re seeing Li Zexing?" Bai Wanwan’s eyes lit up. "What for? Hey, didn’t Li Zexing eat at your restaurant a few days ago?"
"You pay a lot of attention to him?"
Bai Wanwan was at a loss for words. Of course she paid attention to Li Zexing. He played Dog Hero!
If she didn’t love Dog Hero, she wouldn’t have bought a replica of his sports car.
It was just that, as a young lady from a prestigious family, her pride wouldn’t allow her to ’stan’ Li Zexing like some uninhibited, crazy fan. She chose a more low-key way to show her support.
She had wanted to go introduce herself to Li Zexing at Shen Lan’s birthday party, but Princess Ruoxin was there, and she didn’t dare risk causing trouble.
Today was different. She could tag along with Shen Lu for a private meeting with Li Zexing. What fan could resist the temptation of getting up close and personal with their favorite idol?
Bai Wanwan, for one, couldn’t resist.
"Ahem, as it happens, I have to go out for something later, so I can give you a ride," Bai Wanwan mumbled, already pushing Shen Lu toward the kitchen. "Right, you needed to borrow the kitchen, didn’t you? Just let me know when you’re done, and we’ll leave together."
Shen Lu replied, "...Alright."
’A free ride isn’t bad, I guess.’
It was already past lunchtime, so Shen Lu decided to make some afternoon tea to bring with her.
Before she began, she sent a message to Li Zexing to make sure he was at the office. Only after he confirmed did she start mixing the batter.
That’s right. She was going to make egg waffles.
Not the plain kind she sold at her shop, but a deluxe version: ice cream egg waffles.
She had seen tubs of ice cream in the Bai Family’s freezer yesterday, and the sight had sparked an idea.
The fragrant, sweet, and warm egg waffles paired with cool, refreshing ice cream—a dessert of two temperatures—made for a perfect afternoon treat.
The batter was something she had redeemed from the System Mall. She hadn’t gotten much, just enough to make three or four servings.
While the batter rested, Shen Lu looked through the Bai Family’s tea selection.
Black tea, green tea, white tea, Pu’er... there was quite a variety. After a moment’s thought, she chose the black tea.
’Black tea would go better with the ice cream egg waffles,’ she thought.
A simple cup of black tea would be too plain. Shen Lu sliced a fresh lemon, squeezed in some honey, and put it all into a thermos.
You could never go wrong with lemon black tea—sweet, slightly tart, and bursting with the fresh scent of lemon. Shen Lu was fond of the drink herself, so she made extra and sipped it leisurely.
Once the batter had rested enough, Shen Lu took an egg waffle maker from her System Warehouse and cooked the waffles. She placed them in a container, added three scoops of different flavored ice cream, and garnished them with sprinkles, Oreo cookies, and some fruit, which enriched both the color and the taste.
Worried the ice cream would melt and ruin the texture, Shen Lu attached a nano-freezer to the side of the container. In less than half a second, the entire dessert was flash-frozen.
There was no need to worry about the texture; it would return to its original state as soon as the nano-freezer was removed.
Finally, Shen Lu packed up the braised snacks she had set aside earlier. This afternoon tea spread—with sweet and savory, hot and cold options—was quite complete.
’This should be more than enough to trade for a few autographed posters from Li Zexing, or maybe even a life-sized cutout.’
Shen Lu sent Bai Wanwan a message, telling her she was ready.
Bai Wanwan replied quickly and came running to meet Shen Lu at the main entrance.
"Are you heading to some major event later?" Shen Lu asked in surprise, looking at Bai Wanwan, who had changed into a new, meticulously styled outfit. She was dressed formally enough to attend a state banquet.
Bai Wanwan blushed slightly. She pretended not to hear Shen Lu’s question and just urged her to get going.
She hadn’t known she would see Li Zexing at Shen Lan’s birthday party, so she had dressed casually. But today, knowing she was going to meet him, Bai Wanwan had put in 120 percent effort to get ready.
’Ahem... so maybe it was a bit much. But when you’re going to meet your idol, there’s no such thing as being too dressed up!’