The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World-Chapter 101 - 100: Is Spring Coming?

Zhao Meng made this personnel adjustment after much thought.

He doesn’t say it out loud, but he sees how his crew performs on a daily basis.

Two of them are quite diligent, but not particularly gifted.

One has too slow a pace and doesn’t produce much work.

Sun Qingning, relatively speaking, is smart and has some talent.

But he is inconsistent.

He has a girlfriend outside keeping him occupied, always thinking about swapping shifts and taking breaks instead of advancing.

Zhao Meng wanted Fu Yu to partner with him on orders, which meant Fu Yu needed plenty of opportunities to practice cooking. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Prepping and cooking at once could get too busy to manage alone.

That’s when someone quick and flexible is needed to assist as an understudy.

Sun Qingning fits the role well.

He’s quick to react and perceptive.

No ambition is perfect; he can just stick with Fu Yu and help out steadily.

But the rescheduling issue is a headache.

The store allows each person one day off per week, and Sun Qingning already took two extra days last month.

He even gave up on getting full attendance bonuses just to meet his obligations promptly.

Zhao Meng considered that if it doesn’t work, he’d find someone else to help Fu Yu when Sun Qingning needs time off.

Thinking about this, Zhao Meng glanced over the other three and more or less already had a plan.

The only unchanged piece in this adjustment was Fu Yu.

He’s already confirmed, and it’s only a matter of time before he takes orders and cooks solo.

Now, Zhao Meng assigned Sun Qingning to Fu Yu for assistance.

Fu Yu was quite pleased about it.

Having help meant his burden was significantly lighter.

Among everyone, Sun Qingning felt the biggest sense of imbalance.

The job Zhao Meng assigned to him was straightforward.

From now on, he’d be Fu Yu’s exclusive kitchen helper.

Simply put, it was the job Fu Yu used to do for Zhao Meng.

Passing dishes, cleaning kitchen tools, moving prep materials, helping servers with trays...

Fu Yu had now confirmed and became the main chef in the kitchen.

And Sun Qingning became his assistant...

Sun Qingning’s smile was forced as he tugged at his lips.

He asked himself honestly.

He quite liked Fu Yu and admired his cooking skills.

Fu Yu was much better than him, and he knew it well.

Knowing Fu Yu would likely do well in the kitchen, he intentionally tried to befriend him.

But now Zhao Meng directly assigned him to assist Fu Yu.

This treatment felt even worse compared to other lesser workers, which made Sun Qingning feel somewhat aggrieved.

After all, even as a helper, working under Zhao Meng is worlds apart from helping Fu Yu.

Others will rotate to assist Zhao Meng.

With Zhao Meng’s excellent culinary skills and years of experience, even a tip from him is immensely beneficial.

But what could he learn from aiding Fu Yu?

Fu Yu has only just confirmed and can’t even take orders independently yet.

Sun Qingning knew he had his flaws, especially thinking about meeting his girlfriend, longing for breaks during work.

But still, he didn’t want to end up like this.

It wasn’t that following Fu Yu was shameful for Sun Qingning.

But deep down, he felt that although Fu Yu was better, it wasn’t by much.

Ultimately, he couldn’t compare to Zhao Meng.

Continuing in this manner would leave him with no prospects.

Besides, he was a bit tired of working in the kitchen anyway.

The pay is low, rescheduling is difficult, confirming is hard.

Especially after annoying Zhao Meng, who seems to be making things tough for him.

Instead of dragging on like this, he might as well start a street food stall.

He heard that small stalls selling fried snacks can earn tens of thousands a month.

Even if it was tougher, at least the money would be better.

This thought gave him another option.

Sun Qingning was becoming increasingly restless.

If he couldn’t confirm by the next opportunity, he might as well resign.

Staying here was just wasting time.

Sun Qingning made up his mind, and his expression relaxed gradually.

Zhao Meng always had a decisive character.

With the personnel adjustment arranged.

From today, it’s all set in place.

Fu Yu had already practiced cooking, but Zhao Meng would pick the simple tasks for him.

Now it’s different.

Zhao Meng handed the order directly to Fu Yu.

For a table with eight dishes, Fu Yu would make three, and Zhao Meng five.

When the pace aligns, they would split it evenly.

Though Zhao Meng didn’t say it, his actions clearly showed his determination to train Fu Yu quickly.

Fu Yu suddenly got busy.

He needed to choose and prep dishes independently, cook, plate, and increase speed to match Zhao Meng’s rhythm.

Sun Qingning appeared somewhat slack.

Firstly, he was unfamiliar with the work and lacked teamwork with Fu Yu.

Secondly, he hadn’t adjusted to the mental disparity.

Despite understanding it, watching others who used to be his equals rotate to assist Zhao Meng was hard to accept.

While he worked, and listened to Zhao Meng’s reprimands due to unmet expectations, the feelings were uncomfortable.

Fu Yu didn’t specially console Sun Qingning.

After all, aside from your parents, no one would love you unconditionally.

Others treat you how you treat them.

Your effort determines others’ rewards towards you.

The key to mastering cooking is practice.

Working with Zhao Meng on orders, Fu Yu’s skills and techniques became more proficient.

Fu Yu’s rapid progress lightened Zhao Meng’s workload considerably.

August is oppressively hot.

The back kitchen, with several burners running, felt like an inferno.

Zhao Meng felt under the weather lately.

He usually enjoys spicy food, drinks little water because of work, and smokes a lot.

The hot weather only increased his discomfort, leading to constipation.

During a lull in customers, Zhao Meng excused himself to the restroom.

The moment he left, an order came in.

Gu Yunwu just took a small order from a table across the way.

The new order was for Zhao Meng’s side.

Noticing Zhao Meng gone, the server handed the order to Fu Yu.

Fu Yu glanced at the order.

The customer ordered four dishes: shrimp spinach salad, lemon crab claws, minced meat sea cucumber, and spicy crayfish.

They were all specialties.

Fu Yu smiled, "Alright, I’ll start right away."

The server, Jiang Mo, was grateful to Fu Yu for stepping in during a previous dispute, offering him a thankful glance.

Jiang Mo hesitated and called, "Chef Fu!"

Fu Yu looked up, "Hmm?"

Jiang Mo signaled him closer with a blink.

Fu Yu’s heart skipped a bit.

This is...

The servers were always attractive, tall, and persuasive.

Being responsible for money matters required outstanding personnel.

Jiang Mo had a delicate appearance and a curvy figure.

She could make the Qianlima uniform appear quite provocative, showcasing her impressive physique.

Fu Yu briefly got a bit carried away, but then noticed the [..] hovering over her head.

And suddenly had second thoughts.

[Two-year veteran serving as a front-of-house server. Status: Proactive, aiming to be the next front-of-house lead. Favorability: 45]

Fu Yu: "!"

Could this be my springtime coming?!