Chapter 14

Zhao Mengxiang ran very fast, but unfortunately, she was still a step too slow.

Before she could reach, the big man and his family of three had already started to eat the fish, sending pieces of fish meat into their mouths one after another.

Seeing the family of three eat the fish, Zhao Mengxiang, Su Zhenhong, and Liu Shu all sighed inwardly—this was it, the end. Su Zhenhong personally carried a plate of freshly steamed large yellow croaker out of the kitchen, already prepared to face the customer's complaints, hoping that the customer wouldn't be too difficult to deal with.

"Wow... not bad." The big man praised, then picked up another piece of fish and put it in his mouth, nodding repeatedly.

"The skills of this restaurant are really good; it's worth the wait." The middle-aged woman also praised. As for the little boy, he was too busy eating to speak, taking large bites.

"Hey!" Seeing this scene, which was completely opposite to what they had expected, Su Zhenhong, Zhao Mengxiang, and Liu Shu all had question marks hanging over their heads. According to reason, the customers should have complained immediately after eating the dishes made by Su Jing. Could it be that their taste buds were different?

"Is the steamed lobster I ordered not ready yet?" A customer who had been waiting impatiently stood up and waved to Zhao Mengxiang.

"Alright, alright." Su Jing quickly walked over and placed the whole lobster on the table.

When the lid was opened, the aroma spread, and the customers around the table immediately started drooling, picking up their chopsticks and tasting it. The dissatisfaction that had risen due to the long wait instantly disappeared.

"What, can't I improve my cooking skills?" Su Jing looked at the still stunned Su Zhenhong, Zhao Mengxiang, and Liu Shu, and smiled.

"Good kid, you've got it." Su Zhenhong patted Su Jing's shoulder and smiled, "If you have time, come and lend a hand. I'm really swamped. Your dozen or so lobsters have attracted too many people."

Actually, not everyone was there for the lobsters. After all, they were quite expensive, and many people couldn't afford them. However, even those who couldn't afford them still felt that a restaurant that served lobsters must be of a higher class.

"I won't be your assistant; I want to do it myself." Su Jing smiled.

"But I don't have two sets of kitchen tools or space." Su Zhenhong found Su Jing's overconfidence both amusing and exasperating.

"I'll go home and cook, then bring it back." Although Su Jing's cooking skills were steadily improving, they were far from the point where he could abandon the heat source. Without the heat source, the dishes he made would likely not be worth the price, so he had to go home to cook. He couldn't bring the heat source over, as it would be hard to explain if someone saw it.

"Alright, when you get tired of running back and forth, just stop. And before you cook the lobsters, ask Mengxiang if there are any orders, so you don't make too many." Su Zhenhong instructed, as the lobsters were too expensive, and wasting even one would be a significant loss.

"Okay." Su Jing found Zhao Mengxiang and asked for the order list, taking on a few dishes. He then ran back home, cooked the dishes, and brought them back to the seafood restaurant. Although running back and forth was time-consuming, it did help to ease Su Zhenhong's workload, and the business in the restaurant was even better, with almost no empty seats.

Su Jing's cooking skills were also steadily improving. In fact, he had a certain talent for cooking, but with his uncle and father being so skilled, he had few opportunities to cook. Occasionally, when he did, the gap between his dishes and those of his uncle and father was too wide, and the whole family couldn't get enough to eat, so he lost motivation. Cooking only a few times a year, even with some talent, his skills couldn't improve.

"Boss, boss." A young man with an oily face suddenly called out.

"Hello, what do you need?" Zhao Mengxiang quickly walked over. This table seemed to be wealthy, having ordered the most dishes, including two lobsters, so she needed to serve them well.

"Do you have two chefs? The same dish has two different flavors." The young man wiped the oil from his mouth with a napkin as he asked.

"Ah?" Zhao Mengxiang's heart tightened, thinking that the dishes made by Jing had been recognized.

"Don't be nervous. Although there are two flavors, both are good. One is worth the price, and the other is definitely more than worth it. To eat such delicious seafood in this small place is rare." A middle-aged man at the table chuckled and said, "However, although both are worth the price, we still want the best. We'll order another oyster dish, and one more..."

"Okay, please wait a moment." Zhao Mengxiang went into the kitchen.

"What's wrong? Are the customers dissatisfied?" Su Zhenhong and Liu Shu saw Zhao Mengxiang being called over by the customers from the kitchen.

"A few customers recognized the dishes made by Jing and are not very satisfied. Dad, you should personally make these dishes." Zhao Mengxiang handed the order to Su Zhenhong.

"Alright, don't tell Jing about this. Don't discourage the kid. To have improved so much in cooking and to have the customers take so long to notice the difference from my dishes is already quite impressive. Keep learning, and he'll eventually be my successor." Su Zhenhong smiled.

"Don't forget, Jing graduated from a prestigious university. He's just back for a short visit and will eventually return to the outside world to make his mark, not to be a chef." Liu Shu smiled and countered.

"That's true. Jing will definitely have a bright future; being a chef would be a waste of his talent." Su Zhenhong scratched his head awkwardly.

After a while, Zhao Mengxiang brought the dishes made by Su Zhenhong to the table, and the customers eagerly picked up their chopsticks.

However, they did not show the satisfaction Zhao Mengxiang had expected. Instead, they all frowned.

"We said we wanted the best. Why are these still second-rate? Do you think we can't pay? Call your best chef to cook for us." The young man was a bit angry.

"We're not trying to be difficult. It's fine to pay a bit more; we just want to eat something good." The middle-aged man was still polite, taking out a large wad of cash, paying the bill, and giving an extra 200 yuan as a tip.

"I..." Zhao Mengxiang held the money but was a bit flustered, thinking that these dishes were clearly made by Dad. How could they be second-rate? Could Dad's cooking skills have suddenly declined? What should she do? These generous customers couldn't be neglected.

"What's going on?" Su Zhenhong saw the argument and walked over.

"Are you the boss or the chef?" The young man asked.

"I'm both the boss and the chef." Su Zhenhong replied.

"Then please serve us the best dishes, like this one, this one, and this one..." The young man put on a serious face and moved a few empty plates to the side.

"Huh?" Looking at the plates the young man had picked out, Su Zhenhong and Zhao Mengxiang were both stunned. These plates clearly had different patterns from the others. If they remembered correctly, these were the plates from Jing's home, which meant...

Zhao Mengxiang suddenly opened her mouth wide, her expression a mix of realization and disbelief.

(ps: Thank you to Xiaocongbandoufu1984 for the 200 yuan tip, Jimei, Qingdongya for the 100 yuan tip, Huanghunhouderainji for the 50 yuan tip, Yuzhouf, YDFFH, and 0Daminguoxingye0 for the 10 yuan tips.)

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