I Am A Gourmet: Just Eight And You Want Me To Start A Roadside Stall Novel! - Chapter 140
Chapter 140 Suppliers’ Mistake
In the middle of the night, the light from the lamp shone on the table. The door was pushed open slightly. Xu Le heard the sound and turned around.
“You’re not asleep yet? I heated some milk. Do you want it?”
Lu Yuxi walked in softly. The two of them glanced at Xu Tian who was sound asleep at the same time. After ensuring that she was not disturbed, they continued their discussion.
“I’ve listed out all the dishes for tomorrow. Let the supplier distribute the ingredients based on the standard of the first store. Remember, they must be fresh and top-notch. Don’t worry about the price fluctuations.”
“Okay.”
Lu Yuxi took the menu and asked with raised eyebrows. “With me around, you can rest assured… However…”
“Just say it.”
Xu Le thought that she was going to ask for a pay raise again. Just as he was about to agree, Lu Yuxi lowered her head and said gloomily, “I’m not sure how much longer I can work here. Perhaps, I’ll have to move to another city.”
“You’re leaving?”
Xu Le frowned. An unknown sense of anxiety surged in his heart.
“Mmm.”
Lu Yuxi grinned and said with a smile, “Thank you for taking care of me during this period of time. I’ll leave next month at the latest, but I will still do my best to help you.”
Xu Le’s temples were throbbing. He raised his hand and pressed between his eyebrows. “You raised this up so suddenly…”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely wait for you to settle everything before leaving.”
Xu Le’s response was stuck in his throat, and after a long while, he made an indistinct sound. The upper half of his face was covered in the darkness, and it was impossible to tell what expression he had.
“I’ll definitely come back in the future and visit Tiantian. It’s not like we won’t see each other ever again. Why are you so sad?”
Xu Le said stubbornly, “Who says I am?”
The two of them discussed about the new shop in a low voice and then went back to their rooms to sleep.
However, Xu Le, who was lying on the bed, was tossing and turning. He did not feel sleepy at all. He entered the system again and practised all the dishes on the menu to ensure that the texture would not be wrong.
When he tasted the Longjing shrimp, it tasted bitter on the tip of his tongue. This dish always had the fragrance of tea. This was the first time he tasted something different. Fortunately, his long time of practice in the system had greatly strengthened his body. His eight-year-old body had become similar to that of a strong young man. Otherwise, with only three hours of sleep, he would not be able to appear full of energy in front of everyone the next day.
“Goodness gracious…”
When Li Qing drove him over, he saw the long queue at the entrance and sighed. “You’re really popular. You didn’t even pay for advertisement, yet so many people had come at once. Tsk tsk.”
His sympathy was mixed with envy as he looked at Xu Le. His gaze seemed to say: You will be busy today.
“I’ll go to the first branch first. There’s only Auntie Liu and me today. Boss, hurry up and hire more people.”
“Alright, take care.”
Xu Le pushed through the crowd and finally opened the door. A group of people rushed in. Other than those who were holding their phones, some of them even carried cameras and pointed the cameras at him.
“Master Chef, who funded your opening of the restaurant? Who’s the investor?”
“Are there any new dishes today?”
“Get out of the way! I want to take a picture with the little Master Chef!”
“Who is this kid? Is he the celebrity Xu Le?”
Passersby squeezed in to join in the fun and looked at Xu Le’s handsome features. He was so young, but there was a hint of elegance in his eyes.
“I’m the investor.”
Xu Le’s expression was calm. In his rush, his voice sounded slightly childish. “Everyone is here to eat. Please sit down first. There is the code to scan for the online menu on the table.”
It was obvious that there was no effect at all. An influencer holding a mobile phone to live-stream held Xu Le’s shoulders and said enthusiastically, “My fellow viewers, hit subscribe and follow me as I broadcast the scene at the Master Chef’s new restaurant…”
“Move aside.”
Lu Yuxi appeared out of nowhere and took the influencer away. She said half-jokingly, “Who’s going to cook after kidnapping the head chef?”
Then, she took the opportunity to calm everyone down. Fortunately, most of them were rational, so they quickly took their seats.
Lu Yuxi looked outside the door with a worried expression. Finally, after making the call, she could not help but shout, “Boss Xu, what’s wrong with you? You said that you would send it over before nine o’clock, but you’re already late… Why?! Why? I clearly informed you last night, and you promised to…”
When Xu Le heard her surprised voice, he stood still. Lu Yuxi flipped her hair and said angrily, “Since there aren’t enough ingredients, why didn’t you tell me earlier? This way, I can be prepared… Forget it, give me as much as you have. Don’t break the contract.”
On the other end of the line, the speaker still sounded indignant, causing Lu Yuxi’s eyes to slowly turn red. After the busy tone sounded, she pouted and said, “It’s all my fault. I didn’t sign the contract personally and let them take advantage of the loophole. They said they wouldn’t send any ingredients over… I’ll go buy them now!”
“There’s some at the first branch?”
Xu Le made a guess and got an affirmative answer. He felt that something was wrong and said, “Don’t worry, let me see what dishes have been ordered.”
As soon as he took out the tablet, a series of orders popped up on the screen. Just the queue number alone had already reached 100.
“I…”
Lu Yuxi stammered but did not make a sound.
Both of them knew that even if they immediately went to the nearby supermarket to buy the ingredients, it would still be too late. They had just opened their shop that day and their reputation would be ruined!
Feeling increasingly guilty, Lu Yuxi rushed to the supermarket to remedy the situation.
Meanwhile, Xu Le sat calmly by the table, as if he was waiting for something. The influencer on the live-stream leaned forward again and questions shot out like bullets.
“Little Master Chef, why haven’t you started cooking yet? I see that your kitchen is clean and tidy, without any dishes at all. What do you want us to eat?”
“My queue number has reached over 100 so I even hesitated. Look, it’s already 104. When can you serve the dishes?”
Xu Le smiled politely. He was young and cute, and also a handsome guy. Coupled with his professionalism, the viewers immediately felt pity for him.
“Host, don’t make things difficult for children!”
“He’s already opening a shop at such a young age. So cute! Can I send my child to Xu Le for further studies?”
“Same here, my unfilial son is really infuriating.”
“Little Master Chef, you have to teach me more about cooking. I’m almost becoming a main chef at home after following your tutorial videos!”
The host was rendered speechless by his own fans. He scolded, “Are you still my followers? Why are you helping outsiders…”
Not long after, a man in a suit walked in. He looked like he was here for a banquet. He stood in the crowd and looked especially pompous.
He walked over quickly. “Long time no see.”
The man reached out and wanted to shake Xu Le’s hand.
Xu Le pretended not to understand and looked at him in confusion.
The man’s eyes were as cunning as a fox’s. His pupils were black and white, as if he had seen them somewhere before…
“Let me introduce myself, I’m Chen Yeqi.”
