Chapter 884 - Sun Ming's Arrival

Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

After Yuan Zhou said those words, Cao Zhishu was feeling less apologetic. It was replaced with admiration instead. He now understood why Yuan Zhou could be a master at such a young age.

“Don’t worry. I will definitely finish my meal.” Cao Zhishu laughed before continuing, “What fine words. A portion for one.”

“Enjoy your meal,” Yuan Zhou said. In fact, he did not get what Cao Zhishu was laughing about.

Cao Zhishu ate about two mouthfuls of the food before he spoke again, “Boss Yuan, this is a bad rule. How can anyone ever fail to finish such delicious food? I think people will only want more of it rather than not finishing it.”

Anyone would be pleased to go along with something good. At this time, Cao Zhishu was very willing to flatter Yuan Zhou. Although he spoke with the intention to flatter, it was also undeniable that the Spicy Boiled Fish was really delicious.

Ever since eating the Spicy Boiled Fish, Cao Zhishu nearly asked for Yuan Zhou’s recipe then and there.

“Head Chef Cao is overpraising me. There is still room for improvement,” Yuan Zhou said. He was not being modest. Rather, he was being completely earnest. After all, the Spicy Boiled Fish was not a dish rewarded by the system. Thus, this entire dish was something he created himself, including the fifth flavor, sweetness, and the sixth flavor, living fish.

In Yuan Zhou’s opinion, this Spicy Boiled Fish still had a lot of room for growth. At the very least, there was a lot of room for growth in terms of the ingredients used.

Fortunately, Cao Zhishu was unaware of Yuan Zhou’s thoughts. Otherwise… he would start cussing unceasingly.

Cao Zhishu gave a serious reply, “Head Chef Yuan is really too modest. This Spicy Boiled Fish is definitely the best I have eaten. I am telling the truth. Head Chef Yuan’s cooking skills are definitely outstanding. As a representative of the Shu Restaurant, I acknowledged that the restaurant for this year’s Sichuan Cuisine Exemplary Restaurant should definitely be your restaurant.”

Yuan Zhou did not know what to say. He could only stand there with a smile on his face.

Cao Zhishu continued praising Yuan Zhou. From his cooking speed, his food decorations, to the taste of the selected ingredients, everything was praised.

Cao Zhishu was unaware that Yuan Zhou was truly not angry at Little Zhao. After all, Little Zhao was speaking the truth and Yuan Zhou had never cared about people knowing where he used to work. The beautiful Queen Jiang had once said something that Yuan Zhou greatly agreed with.

Beautiful Queen Jiang said that in this world, any lawful source of income that one toiled for the sake of putting food on the table would not be an embarrassment.

Due to his current status, Yuan Zhou was able to face his past magnanimously.

Nevertheless, Yuan Zhou was still happy to receive the praise of a great chef like this. To be precise, he was feeling smug, especially when Cao Zhishu acknowledged that Yuan Zhou’s restaurant would definitely be selected for the Sichuan Cuisine Exemplary Restaurant.

And thus, Yuan Zhou started smugly calling out to the system, only to be completely ignored.

“There’s really no helping it. I can’t help being so amazing, to the point even the system has to move aside in the face of my brilliance,” Yuan Zhou muttered inwardly, his smugness growing. Of course, he did not let any of it show on his face, still smiling and nodding politely.

“By the way, Head Chef Yuan, your sixth flavor is truly a transformative flavor, an exceptional favor, taking the lead among all the flavors in this dish,” Cao Zhishu lamented while he ate.

“Although I can’t cook something like this, but I can still appreciate the greatness of it,” Cao Zhishu said proudly.

“You will probably know how to cook it after eating it once,” Yuan Zhou said.

“Not necessarily. But your combination of plain white rice and Spicy Boiled Fish is simple yet extremely matching. To be precise, they are a perfect match,” Cao Zhishu said.

“To make a meal complete, rice is necessary,” Yuan Zhou said.

“True. So true,” Cao Zhishu smiled and nodded. The combination of the two could only be described with the word delicious.

The two continued talking about cooking, and before long, Cao Zhishu finished eating.

“Head Chef Yuan, the rice you use is very good as well,” Cao Zhishu said as he recollected the fragrance of the rice lingering in his mouth. He was already proud of the rice his restaurant used, even feeling like they had the best rice in Sichuan. But today, Yuan Zhou’s rice had opened his eyes.

“Yes, the rice is good,” Yuan Zhou nodded.

“Ok, I won’t stop bothering you. Head Chef Yuan, feel free to visit my restaurant for a tea when you have the time. Thank you for the meal,” Cao Zhishu stood up and said solemnly.

“You’re welcome. Will do,” Yuan Zhou replied.

“Ok. I’ll be sure to get that kid to apologize to you,” Cao Zhishu said.

“No need for the trouble,” Yuan Zhou shook his head and said seriously.

“Head Chef Yuan has a big heart, but we still have to abide by proper etiquette,” Cao Zhishu said.

“You’re too polite,” Yuan Zhou replied, knowing he would not be able to change Cao Zhishu’s mind.

While talking politely, they walked out of the restaurant.

“Alright, you can stop sending me off here. I will be leaving. Since there is nobody watching over your restaurant, don’t bother sending me further,” Cao Zhishu said with a wave of his hand.

“Ok. See you, Head Chef Cao,” Yuan Zhou nodded.

“We’ll have tea next time,” Cao Zhishu said as he walked away.

Yuan Zhou did not reply. He nodded and stood there until Cao Zhishu left the street before he went back into the restaurant.

“The amount of courteous words I have spoken today is probably equivalent to the total amount I would normally speak in a year,” Yuan Zhou muttered.

Yuan Zhou was never one who enjoyed speaking courteous words. But due to the incident with Little Zhao, Cao Zhishu apologized repeatedly, forcing Yuan Zhou to keep speaking those courteous words.

“It’s not tiring to cook, but talking sure is tiring. Good thing it’s over,” Yuan Zhou said. Socializing was indeed very tiring.

Clink. Clank.

Yuan Zhou started cleaning up the table and the countertop used earlier.

Due to the incident with Little Zhao, the exchange today ended early. It was not even 4:00 pm yet. Of course, there was no time left for Yuan Zhou to sharpen knives. Therefore, he decided to practice sculpting for a bit.

Right at this moment, a familiar voice sounded outside the restaurant.

“Compass, you are cleaning again? I see you are busy every single day. Why don’t you hire more people?” Sun Ming walked in and teased when he saw Yuan Zhou wiping the countertop.

“Sun, you’re here,” Yuan Zhou spoke in a familiar tone, directly calling him by his nickname, just like how Sun Ming was calling him Compass.

“Compass, this is very unfriendly of you. I am here visiting you but why are you calling me names?” Sun Ming continued teasing.

“Visiting?” Yuan Zhou stared at Sun Ming’s empty hands.

What he meant was obvious. He was doubting Sun Ming’s words since he had came empty-handed.

“You are a restaurant boss and you have everything you need. And anything you don’t need, there’s no point in me gifting them to you anyway. But I have been here for a bit, why haven’t you welcomed my arrival yet?” replied Sun Ming. He was a person who was well-trained in the art of shameless. Therefore, he would never feel embarrassed. He immediately turned the situation around and started picking on Yuan Zhou instead.

“I already greeted you,” Yuan Zhou said.

“Can that even be considered a welcome?” Sun Ming said resentfully.

“Sure, the next time your goddess…” Yuan Zhou started speaking indifferently and calmly.

“No, please, I got it. There’s no need to welcome me. We are such close friends anyway,” Sun Ming quickly waved his hands. His goddess was his fatal weakness.

“It is not business time yet,” Yuan Zhou gave Sun Ming a kind reminder. It was impossible for him to get a free meal.