Chapter 157: Here to Apply
Immediately, the others scrambled to ask their questions, afraid they wouldn’t get to eat if they were too slow.
Shen Lu smiled and gestured for them to quiet down. "There’s enough for everyone. Is this your first time? I’ll show you the way."
’More of Li Zexing’s fans.’
’Look at that. This is the love fans have for their idol. It’s just rain today, but even if it were raining knives, they’d find a way to come here and get their fix.’
At this thought, Shen Lu sincerely hoped Li Zexing would stay popular for a long time. It would let her keep reaping the benefits of his fanbase.
Before, Shen Lu hadn’t fully grasped the extent of Li Zexing’s fame.
It was probably because his movie hadn’t been screened for free in the Lower City District yet, so his influence was much stronger in the Upper City District.
But ever since the movie was shown in the Lower City District, Li Zexing’s popularity had truly exploded across the entire Imperial City.
And Shen Lu was cleverly cashing in on the coattails of his fame.
’Was it satisfying?’
’Extremely!’
She had thought she wouldn’t sell out of food today, but she’d sold out completely during the lunch rush. There were still dozens of fans who arrived late and missed out.
Seeing that they had braved the heavy rain to come, Shen Lu felt it was only right to give each of them a free cup of mint water.
She glanced at her popularity value. Whoa! It had already risen to 26,107.
Shen Lu started to wonder. ’Maybe I should get a few life-sized cardboard cutouts of Li Zexing made, preferably autographed ones.’
’Even though I’m not a fan of Li Zexing myself, his fans are just too dedicated. I should give them something back. Otherwise, I’ll feel a little guilty making all this money off them.’
[DING! Detected: Braised Pork Set Meals 330/330 sold, Kung Pao Chicken Set Meals 230/230 sold. Total revenue has reached 68,000 yuan, and customer satisfaction is three stars or higher. Mission complete. Reward: one Lottery Ticket.]
’Nice. Daily mission, complete. Another Lottery Ticket in the bag. Including the ones I’ve saved from the last two days, that makes three in total.’
’Maybe I should save up for a ten-pull?’
’Based on my experience from my past life, a ten-pull should have some kind of pity system, right?’
Unsure, Shen Lu asked the system, "Hello? Testing, one, two. Can a ten-pull guarantee I’ll get something good?"
’Another kitchen robot would be great, even a basic one.’
’Or maybe some materials to upgrade my kitchen equipment. That way I could get all my tools to Level 1 and speed up my cooking.’
[Host, this system does not have a ten-pull pity mechanic.]
"Well, I think you should consider adding one," Shen Lu said.
[But... there’s no need for us to implement that.]
The daily missions set by the system weren’t very difficult. As long as the host put her mind to it, she could almost always complete them.
Besides, other systems had pity mechanics to encourage players to spend money, but this system had never once asked its host to pay for anything.
"Fine," Shen Lu said.
’I guess I was being a little greedy.’
’But who isn’t greedy?’
After lunch, Shen Lu scurried upstairs to find Fu Cheng.
Shen Lu: "Fu Cheng, do you have Li Zexing’s contact info?"
Fu Cheng: I do. Why do you need it?
"Can you give it to me? There’s something small I need to ask him."
Fu Cheng wanted to tell her that if she ever had a problem she couldn’t solve, she could always come to him, and he would find a way to help.
He sighed internally but sent Li Zexing’s contact card to Shen Lu anyway.
Fu Cheng: If he doesn’t agree, let me know.
"Thanks." Shen Lu immediately opened the contact card and sent a friend request. ’He won’t refuse, will he? It’s just a small thing. He’d be pretty petty if he didn’t help.’
She was just asking for a few autographs, not for his head on a platter.
Shen Lu waited a few minutes, but Li Zexing didn’t accept her friend request. She couldn’t be bothered to wait any longer. She had to prep for the afternoon service, so she decided to get some rest first.
Li Zexing was in a short meeting with some people from his company. He didn’t see Shen Lu’s friend request until after it was over.
’Why is she adding me?’
Li Zexing accepted the request and sent a question mark.
Shen Lu: Hi, this is Shen Lu, the owner of Little Deer Cuisine.
Li Zexing: I know.
Shen Lu: This might be a bit forward of me to ask, but could you give me a few autographs?
Li Zexing raised an eyebrow. ’Is Shen Lu a fan of mine?’
’We’ve met a few times, and I never got the impression she had that kind of fan-like enthusiasm for me.’
Unfortunately, they were chatting online, not face-to-face, so Li Zexing couldn’t use his superpower to test if Shen Lu was telling the truth. He decided to just ask her directly.
Li Zexing: Are you a fan of mine?
Shen Lu: ...Sort of.
’I can’t just say no, that I only added him because I wanted some autographs. That would be way too blunt.’
Shen Lu: It’s just that a lot of your fans have been coming to my restaurant lately. Even with the heavy rain today, they came in completely soaked just to try the same meal set you had. I was hoping to do something nice for them.
Li Zexing let out a cold laugh.
’Shen Lu really is a dedicated boss, isn’t she?’
Still, the thought of Shen Lu’s cooking did make his mouth water.
It wasn’t the taste he craved, so much as the soothing feeling it brought to his Spiritual Sea.
It was even more relaxing than his treatments at the hospital.
Li Zexing: Alright. The company has plenty of merch. I can get some for you.
Shen Lu was pleasantly surprised. Li Zexing seemed unapproachable, but he was actually quite reasonable. Official company merchandise would definitely be better than anything she could come up with. She was totally getting the better end of this deal.
Li Zexing: You can come find me at New Star Company in the Upper City District tomorrow. But, Boss Shen, since I’m doing you a favor, you ought to return it, right?
’I knew it. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Big stars aren’t big saints.’
’What’s that saying? Even the rich have to cry poor sometimes.’
Shen Lu: I get it, I get it. I’ll pay you the market price for them.
Li Zexing: What I mean is, I want Boss Shen to make me lunch and deliver it. And it can’t be any of the dishes I’ve had before.
Shen Lu: ...Alright. But can we do it another time? How about the day after tomorrow?
She was going to the Bai Family’s place the day after tomorrow, so it would be more convenient to go to New Star Company from there. Having to cross districts tomorrow, especially in this heavy rain, was a hassle she didn’t want to think about. The very thought was suffocating.
Li Zexing was easygoing about it and agreed.
After ending the conversation, Shen Lu went back to focusing on her prep work. Wang Daguo slid open the kitchen door and announced that someone was here for a job interview.
"Really?" In this downpour? Shen Lu had figured anyone wanting to apply would wait for the rain to let up.
"There are two of them. Boss, you want to come out and meet them?"
Shen Lu put down her knife and rinsed her hands. "Alright, I’ll go see them."
In the waiting area, two men in their thirties were critically surveying the restaurant’s decor. When a young-looking Shen Lu walked out, the disdain in their eyes deepened.
’She really is just a kid who hasn’t even grown up yet.’
"This is our boss. You can just call her Boss Shen," Wang Daguo helpfully introduced her to the two men.
"Hello, please have a seat." Shen Lu took in their expressions. "Which of you would like to introduce yourself first?"
The man with the handlebar mustache spoke first. "My surname is Zhu. I’ve been a chef for twenty years. My last boss sold his restaurant to get into another line of business. I heard you were hiring, so I came to take a look."
The other man waited for Master Zhu to finish before speaking at a leisurely pace. "My surname is Luo. I’ve been in this line of work for twenty-one years. I was the head chef at the Ruixing Hotel in the Upper City District. I can cook all styles of cuisine."