Chapter 94: Please, They Have Their Dignity Too
Luckily, Shen Lu remembered this in time. Filming it now wouldn’t cause any delays.
Shen Lu asked Lin Zhou if he could use his superpower to seal the entrance to the ingredient room while keeping the barrier transparent. She needed to film a scene.
Lin Zhou: ’...Right, right, right. So this is how my control superpower is meant to be used?’
Lin Zhou felt like he was being insulted, but he had no proof.
"Fine..." For the sake of Shen Lu’s food, which could soothe his Spiritual Sea, Lin Zhou agreed despite his reluctance.
’A real man knows when to yield and when to stand firm, after all.’
Shen Lu successfully filmed a room full of crayfish crawling around, followed by the washing process.
Lin Zhou and Ye Fan both refused to be on camera. ’Please, they had reputations to uphold. If word got out that they were not only working as security guards but also washing ingredients, how could they ever show their faces again?’
So, Wang Daguo stood in for both of them on camera.
The first batch of braised crayfish was ready. Shen Lu brought over a large iron platter and had Wang Daguo use a large slotted spoon to scoop them out onto it.
Meanwhile, she filmed the crayfish tumbling onto the platter from several different angles.
Of course, the video ended with a taste test. From the previous two videos, Shen Lu had discovered that Wang Daguo had a real talent for food vlogging; it seemed that no matter what he ate, he made it look exceptionally delicious.
"M-Me? I get to eat?" Wang Daguo pointed to his own nose, both happy and surprised. "Boss Shen, crayfish are really expensive..."
"That’s right. You were the star of the last two videos, and they turned out great." Shen Lu lied through her teeth. Wang Daguo didn’t have a Light Brain and couldn’t get online, so he’d never know the truth. "From now on, whenever I film, you’re my designated leading man."
Wang Daguo rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Okay, no problem for me! But... how do you eat this crayfish? I’ve never had it before."
It was clearly everyone’s first time seeing one up close. Crayfish were so expensive that only upper-class citizens could afford them. For lower-class citizens like them, even getting to eat regular food wasn’t easy.
Shen Lu demonstrated how to do it. But Wang Daguo’s fingers were thick and his grip was strong; he tried peeling two and completely mangled them.
"Brother, be more gentle," Wang Xiaoci whispered, looking pained. "You’re crushing the meat inside the shell every time."
Wang Daguo’s face flushed bright red. He couldn’t believe he’d messed up something so simple.
"It’s fine, we can edit it. I’ll just get a few shots of you pretending to peel them later," Shen Lu, quick-witted as ever, came up with a solution.
She personally peeled a bowl of perfect crayfish tails and set it aside, then told Wang Daguo to start eating.
Wang Daguo continued to make a mess of peeling them. Shen Lu handed him the bowl she had peeled, pretended he had done it himself, and filmed a few more shots from different angles. That was basically all she needed for the day’s video.
Wang Daguo didn’t dare to eat any more of the crayfish Shen Lu had peeled for him. Instead, he quietly divided the mangled pieces he had peeled himself between his two sisters.
Wang Xiaoci and Wang Xiaohui gulped but shook their heads at him.
"It’s fine. If you don’t eat it, then I’ll just have to eat it myself."
’Boss Shen has high standards. There’s no way she’d sell the ones I mangled to customers.’
Shen Lu noticed the interaction between the three siblings. Hearing his words, she nodded. "He’s right, go ahead and eat them. There’s a bowl of peeled ones here, too. Everyone, have some. If you think anything could be better, let me know so I can tweak the flavor."
Ye Fan and Lin Zhou were the first to jump at the offer.
The aroma of the braised crayfish was overwhelming. After spending all morning in the kitchen, they were practically drooling.
If not for their professional integrity, they would have seriously considered grabbing the pots of crayfish and making a run for it.
The moment the springy crayfish meat entered his mouth, Ye Fan was so blown away by the flavor he nearly stumbled.
The braising liquid, made with a base of pork bones and whole chicken, was already rich and flavorful. With the addition of various spices, the broth was unbelievably delicious.
After being stewed and soaked, the crayfish had completely absorbed the flavors. Because they were so fresh, the meat was perfectly springy and had an extraordinary taste that left you wanting more.
"Boss Shen, this crayfish is amazing," Ye Fan said, giving her a thumbs-up. "It’s just... there’s so little of it. I swallowed it before I could even properly taste it."
Lin Zhou chimed in with a deadpan expression, "He’s right. For such a big crayfish, you get so little meat. It’s hard to get a real taste."
Shen Lu: ’...Do you two really think I can’t read between the lines?’
"Ahem, we’ll be having lunch soon, so you’d better save some room."
There wasn’t much to eat on these braised crayfish anyway; between the head and the shell, you didn’t get much meat.
Shen Lu didn’t dare pretend to be generous and let them eat their fill.
She would bet that if she gave them the green light, everything she’d braised this morning would be gone in an instant.
A pang of regret shot through Ye Fan and Lin Zhou.
’Shen Lu might look young, but she’s not easy to fool.’
Cai Su and Mrs. Wang also each got one. Being mothers, they were both in the habit of saving the best things for their children.
Cai Su put hers in a bowl, planning to give it to her son, Xiao Lang, when she picked him up that afternoon.
Mrs. Wang, meanwhile, broke hers in half to give to her two daughters.
Wang Xiaohui and Wang Xiaoci refused, telling her to eat it herself.
"We’ve already had some, Mom. You try it, it’s really good."
When her daughters refused, Mrs. Wang tried to give it to Wang Daguo.
Wang Daguo refused as well. "I’ve already had several, Mom. You eat it."
Only then did Mrs. Wang finally eat it herself.
It really was delicious.
She stole a glance at Shen Lu.
’Boss Shen is so young, but her skills are incredible.’
’If she really is just in the restaurant business, working for her would definitely be a good thing for Daguo.’
Shen Lu fried a few more batches of crayfish and put them in a deep pot to braise.
Seeing that it was 12:00, she started preparing the staff meal.
Before, she didn’t have the resources, so she usually just scraped something together for lunch or skipped it entirely.
But now she had a shop and a big kitchen. Three square meals a day were a must.
Shen Lu showed Cai Su how to use the large, multi-function rice cooker.
"It’s okay to make a little extra. Whatever we don’t eat today can be used for fried rice tomorrow."
"Just fill the raw rice to this line here. The rice will expand as it cooks, so you need to leave enough space, or it’ll boil over."
"This is all pre-washed rice, so you can just add the water directly. Yep, that’s right, add water up to this line. Simple, right?"
Cai Su carefully committed Shen Lu’s instructions to memory. "It’s not hard."
’It’s practically foolproof,’ she thought. ’Just remember which lines to fill the rice and water to. Anyone could do it.’
For lunch, Shen Lu planned to make three dishes: shredded pork with green peppers, pickled vegetable and tofu soup, and hand-torn cabbage. She wasn’t making a wide variety, but she was making a ton of each.
"You can cut the green peppers. Just do it like this."
Shen Lu demonstrated, and Cai Su stood to the side, watching intently, her own hands mimicking the motions.
Shen Lu demonstrated again, going from slow to fast, then let Cai Su take over.
"Don’t worry too much about the size. Knife skills are something you get better at with practice. Just be careful not to cut yourself."
"Mhm." Afraid of getting distracted and cutting herself, Cai Su didn’t dare say much more to Shen Lu.
Shen Lu slipped over to Ye Fan’s side. He was getting more and more skilled at frying the crayfish, and she wanted to check if he was doing anything wrong.