Strange Chef

Chapter 4: The hotel is in trouble

When Bai Lu arrived home, it was a little after four in the afternoon. Not long after entering the door, Tong Anquan came. "Where did you go? Yesterday, I came to eat. You weren't here. Today at noon, I came again. You still weren't here. There's no way to do business like you."

Bai Lu smiled. "For a meal?"

"Nonsense. Did I come to play chess?" Tong Anquan wasn't much older than Bai Lu. His tone of speech was a bit casual.

Bai Lu laughed. "It's not time yet. I won't serve."

"You're so unreliable. Yesterday, I brought my colleagues from work. Not only did we get a closed door, but it was also so embarrassing. You have to compensate me with a meal. So I'll have two meals myself. Xiaopeng and Huang Feng will also have two meals each."

"Okay." Bai Lu agreed.

"This meal today doesn't count." Tong Anquan called Huang Feng.

"Ask and see. What do you want to eat? I'll go buy groceries." Bai Lu interjected.

...

Soon it was six o'clock in the evening. The restaurant opened for business. Wang Xiaopeng and Huang Feng led five or six people in. As soon as they entered, they said, "Combine the tables."

"Combine them." When customers came, Bai Lu went to the kitchen to cook.

"Hey, order food." A handsome guy with a bit of a rich and handsome air spoke loudly.

Tong Anquan said, "This place is rather special. You don't order food. Also, they don't sell alcohol."

"No alcohol? What kind of crappy place is this? Eating without drinking is no fun at all. Let's change places. Don't worry. I'll treat." The rich and handsome guy stood up.

Tong Anquan's face looked a bit bad. Looking at a beautiful girl, he said, "It's really delicious. You'll know once you eat it."

"How delicious can it be? Can it be better than what's made in the state guesthouse?" The rich and handsome guy was disdainful.

Seeing that Tong Anquan's face didn't look good, the beautiful girl made peace. "Let's eat here. It's hot outside and I don't want to walk anymore."

Since the beautiful girl said so, the rich and handsome guy snorted lightly and sat down.

There were nine people in Tong Anquan's group. Four women and five men. They all knew each other. They should be colleagues from work. While waiting for the food to be served, some were chatting, some were playing with their mobile phones. Tong Anquan wanted to talk to the beautiful girl, but unfortunately, they were too far apart. Instead, the rich and handsome guy was sitting next to the beautiful girl and kept whispering.

Huang Feng patted Tong Anquan on the shoulder and shook his head with a smile. Tong Anquan sighed. "I want to drink."

After about twenty minutes, Bai Lu called out, "Come and carry the dishes."

Nine people. Eight dishes and one soup. After the food was served, no one touched their chopsticks. The beautiful girl frowned. "All vegetarian?"

Tong Anquan took a look. Except for cabbage and tofu, it was all potatoes and celery. He said to Bai Lu, "Bring a plate of shrimps." He liked the pickled shrimps he had eaten last time.

Bai Lu smiled warmly. "There are no shrimps today. Eat."

The rich and handsome guy slapped the table. "Are you kidding us? Do you still want to do business?"

Bai Lu maintained his warm smile. "Yes."

"If you want to do business, remake it. Beef, shrimps, and then a fish soup..."

Bai Lu still kept smiling. "Try it first. If you really can't eat it, then we'll talk."

As the saying goes, you don't hit a smiling person. Bai Lu had said it to this extent. The rich and handsome guy couldn't lose his temper either. Tong Anquan took the lead and started eating. Holding a bowl in one hand and chopsticks in the other, he ate quickly.

No matter what dish it was, Bai Lu's cooking was delicious.

Seeing Tong Anquan start eating, Wang Xiaopeng and Huang Feng were not willing to be left behind. They quickly followed and ate.

Seeing these three people eating like crazy, a girl tentatively picked up some food with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. After one bite, she immediately beamed with joy. Without eating rice, she kept putting food into her mouth.

The others noticed something was wrong and started using their chopsticks one after another. After a moment, only the rich and handsome guy hadn't eaten.

Seeing the beautiful girl beside him eating happily, the rich and handsome guy finally couldn't resist and tasted a mouthful of green vegetables. Then he couldn't stop either.

Eight dishes and one soup were eaten up in five minutes. Everyone shouted that it was delicious. A girl said, "Boss, bring the same thing again."

"There's no more." Bai Lu came over. "Altogether it's one hundred and ten yuan."

One hundred and ten yuan? For eight dishes? The girl exclaimed softly. "So cheap?"

"It's not cheap." Bai Lu said seriously. "That's it for today. If you want to eat tomorrow, come early."

“Why not sell anymore? We haven't had enough.” The rich and handsome guy took out a stack of money. There should be two or three thousand. “Make another one just like before. This money is yours.”

“Sorry. The business philosophy of this store is to depend on the boss's mood, not money.” Taking the 110 yuan for the meal from Tong Anquan, he started to clear the empty plates.

“You!” The rich and handsome guy was a bit angry. “Ten thousand. Will you do it?”

“Ten thousand.” Bai Lu pretended to think for a long time. “Suddenly, I'm in a good mood. Take out the money.”

The rich and handsome guy despised him. “Didn't you still do it? Aren't you still greedy for money? Despise you! Wait for me.” He went out to find a bank to withdraw money.

After he left, Bai Lu asked Tong Anquan, “How much do you earn in a month?”

With a beautiful girl beside him, Tong Anquan was embarrassed to say. Bai Lu didn't ask further. “Spending ten thousand on a meal. Won't his dad beat him?”

The people at the table laughed. A short-haired girl said, “His family is quite rich. He drives to and from work.”

Soon, the rich and handsome guy came back and threw ten thousand yuan on the table. “Boss, serve the dishes quickly.”

Bai Lu smiled and took the money and went back to cook. Twenty minutes later, the same eight dishes and one soup were placed on the table. This time, no one was polite. As soon as the dishes were on the table, a group of white-collar workers started to compete fiercely. This time, it was even faster. The battle was over in less than three minutes.

After eating this table of dishes, the girl patted her little belly and said she was full. The boy said he hadn't had enough. The rich and handsome guy asked the beautiful girl, “Have you had enough? If not, have another one.”

Bai Lu interjected, “No problem. Absolutely fine. My rule is six tables of meals. You just had two tables. You can still have four tables. But it's a bit expensive. Ten thousand yuan per table.”

“You're extorting people.” The rich and handsome guy spoke loudly.

“I'm really not extorting people.” Bai Lu was clearing the empty plates. The gold brick couldn't be sold in a short time. He had to find some money to go see Zhang Laosan's daughter.

“I'm full. But it's really delicious. When did such a delicious restaurant appear near our company?” The beautiful girl didn't like arguing.

“I'll take you back.” The girl was more important than arguing. The rich and handsome guy stood up.

“Look at the notice outside. Six tables of guests are served at noon and in the evening. If you come late, I won't serve.” Bai Lu spoke lazily.

A group of people went out to look at the notice. “This is so cool. But only six tables of guests are served. Even if it's a hundred yuan per table, after deducting costs and expenses, it's not profitable at all. The rent isn't even enough.”

“We'll come again tomorrow.”

A group of people chattered for a while and left one by one. Only Tong Anquan and the other two were left in the room.

The beautiful girl left with others. Tong Anquan was a bit disappointed. Bai Lu sat next to him and spoke in a tone of someone who had been through it. “Women need to be chased. If you like someone, confess.”

Tong Anquan looked at him in surprise. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“If you don't have one, what are you talking about?” Tong Anquan went out and went home. Huang Feng and his brother followed.

“I saw it on TV.” After everyone left, facing the empty room, Bai Lu spoke alone.

Probably due to luck. Today, only Tong Anquan's table was the only customer again. When the familiar opening music of “News Broadcast” came from the nearby small store, Bai Lu got off work.

He went to the small store to buy a bottle of beer. He took a chair and sat at the door. While drinking, he watched the people coming and going on the street. The busy life of urban people and the neon lights of the bustling city. He felt very unreal. He didn't belong to this city.

After spending more than an hour drinking a bottle of beer, he went to the small store to return the bottle. When he came back, he saw a black car parked at the door. The door opened and Gao Yuan, who had just spent ten thousand yuan on a meal, got out.

That guy walked towards Bai Lu with his head held high. “I'm Gao Yuan. Make another portion of those dishes just now.”

Bai Lu shook his head. “I'm off work. I won't make it.”

“Do you want to extort me again?” Gao Yuan spoke coldly. “That's enough. This time, I'll give you two thousand yuan. Pack it up and take it away.”

The price was very fair. But Bai Lu did things according to his mood. He refused. “I won't make it. Even if it's twenty thousand yuan, I won't make it. If you want to eat, come early tomorrow.”

“Do you want to die? Two thousand yuan for a bunch of potatoes and cabbages. You actually won't sell? Believe it or not, with one phone call, I can make you unable to run your store?” Gao Yuan was very angry.

“Yes, I believe it. But do you think I care very much about this restaurant?” Bai Lu replied softly.

Gao Yuan was stunned for a moment. People who care about the restaurant won't sell a table of meals for a hundred yuan. Nor will they refuse customers. After thinking for a while, he said in a low voice, “It's still ten thousand yuan. Four dishes and one soup will do. Whatever you make. As you said on the signboard, patients with anorexia get a 20% discount. I don't want the discount. I just want one portion of food.”

The rich and handsome guy actually lowered his head? Bai Lu was a bit uncomfortable. “Do you have anorexia? I can't tell. Is it someone in your family?”