Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 120

Bring the Boss Over

The difference in taste was already very telling. Those who came to Yuanfu Lou were, in fact, coming for the head chef. Moreover, these people were from wealthy families; otherwise, who could afford a 1888 yuan Yangzhou Fried Rice? Of course, occasionally, there were food bloggers who would come, drawn by the “sky-high price of 1888” for the dish.

But Yuanfu Lou wasn’t particularly keen on gaining fame this way. So, after some persuasion, coupled with pressure from the owner behind the scenes, videos of it would never circulate online. Thus, the main clientele remained this group of wealthy patrons.

And since they were wealthy patrons, how could they not have professional chefs at home? The reason they came was mostly to eat something with a different flavor from what they had at home. The fact that they kept coming back, like the Hip-hop Yabi Duo and Zhou Ling’s family, meant they had acknowledged and approved of Yuanfu Lou’s taste.

For Yuanfu Lou to play such petty tricks was something they definitely couldn’t accept.

Did we shortchange you? It’s 1888 yuan either way, and we don’t even get to see the cooking performance with takeout. And you’re going to slack off on quality control? The moment Hip-hop Mei saw Sun Miao’s brow furrow, she knew there was definitely a problem with the taste, and she immediately jumped up.

She feared nothing and no one, having been doted on and spoiled since childhood. At home, she had an eldest sister, ten years her senior, who pampered her exceptionally and served as the family’s pillar, allowing her to live without pressure. In this environment, she was like a little devil king. She immediately called for a waiter: “Get your boss over here for me!”

Hip-hop Mei didn’t even bother calling for the manager; she directly demanded the boss. The waiter couldn’t make that decision and called the manager over instead. Before the manager could even speak, Hip-hop Mei shot back, “Where’s your boss? Can a shifty-eyed and rat-faced guy like you even make the decisions?”

Listening from the side, Sun Miao almost wanted to laugh. Shifty-eyed and rat-faced, a truly vivid description.

It was this very man who had given Su Ruixi a soft but firm rejection earlier. At that time, they had no evidence and couldn’t say anything, but now that the evidence was right in front of their faces, how could they possibly swallow their anger and stay silent?

Her attitude was a bit better than Hip-hop Mei’s, but not by much. “You can’t make the decision, so get your boss over here.”

But the manager stubbornly stood his ground, craning his neck. “Is the customer still dissatisfied with the Yangzhou Fried Rice? But the taste of the takeout is also…” The manager didn’t finish his sentence. Sun Miao’s position had been slightly blocking the takeout container. She now shifted a little, and the manager saw their restaurant’s takeout box and the Yangzhou Fried Rice inside.

The manager knew they had come prepared. His words suddenly caught in his throat, but with a quick roll of his eyes, he switched to a different script. “If the customers want compensation, you can just say so. Why bring in fried rice from outside and claim it’s from our restaurant?”

Su Ruixi was a relatively reserved person who disliked using her family background, but Hip-hop Mei was the complete opposite. She was a standard second-generation heir¹, whose motto was: what’s the point of having a family background if you don’t use it? She slammed the table directly. “Cut the f#cking bullsh#t! Does This Lady look like she’s short on your paltry compensation? Even if you offered me this entire Yuanfu Lou, do you think I’d want it?!”

“This Lady doesn’t change her name or surname. You should go and ask around about my name, Xu Zi’an², before you dare to speak to me like this?!”

Hip-hop Mei lost her real name, but Xu Zi’an was a nice name too. Zi’an, zi’an, hoping the child would be safe and sound. Just like Su Ruixi’s name, it carried the beautiful wishes of her parents.

Hearing the three words “Xu Zi’an,” the manager finally realized he had kicked an iron plate. But his expression remained unchanged, though his heart was pounding wildly. “Even if it is Miss Xu, we…”

“Bring the head chef over. Ask him if he was the one who made this Yangzhou Fried Rice,” Sun Miao spoke up, receiving the support of Hip-hop Mei and Su Ruixi. The manager had no choice but to call the head chef. He was actually secretly pleased. Facing the four of them alone was indeed difficult, but if the head chef was present to help mediate, he would at least have an ally.

He even stepped out, claiming to “go and call him personally,” but Sun Miao felt he was just taking the opportunity to add fuel to the fire, to make the head chef hostile towards them before he even arrived.

During the time the manager was out, Hip-hop Mei’s mouth didn’t stop, constantly grumbling about him. “Seriously, what kind of manager does Yuanfu Lou have now? How dare he treat customers like this? Is his brain not working properly?”

Yabi Mei was playing on her phone on the side. Without even looking up from her screen, she said, “There’s no shortage of idiots in this world. Maybe he’s been skimming off the cost of ingredients and lining his own pockets. Once he’s fed himself, he starts thinking he’s hot sh#t. Wasn’t there a video that went viral before, about some family’s restaurant that got boycotted by the entire internet because of the manager’s terrible service attitude?”

Hip-hop Mei actually knew about this. “Oh, I know that one. Their family spent a lot of money on that restaurant, and that manager’s salary was fifty thousand a month. But his service attitude was atrocious, giving people the feeling that the restaurant was bullying its customers because it was famous.”

“Mhm, it’s the same thing here. There are too many idiots,” Yabi Mei commented.

Hearing their complaints, Sun Miao and Su Ruixi exchanged a glance. Sun Miao secretly gave Su Ruixi a thumbs-up, as if to say: You really didn’t pick the wrong people.

Su Ruixi returned a small, proud look. While the two of them were having a moment, Hip-hop Mei was pestering Yabi Mei for a chat. Yabi Mei occasionally looked up and saw the two of them being all lovey-dovey. Yabi Mei glanced at Hip-hop Mei again. Why did you have to drag me along to eat dog food³?

She sighed softly, and Hip-hop Mei immediately asked, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

“It’s none of your business. Just keep an eye on things. This time, you can consider it helping both me and Su-jie vent our frustrations.”

“Hah, what’s the big deal?”

She was about to continue boasting when Yabi Mei said, “This also counts as a favor for Little Boss Sun. Maybe she’ll invite you to her home for a meal later?” At that moment, Hip-hop Mei suddenly felt she had a sacred mission. Nothing else mattered; with the prospect of that meal dangling in front of her, she was going to make sure Yuanfu Lou couldn’t get off the stage⁴ today!

After a short while, the manager returned with the head chef in tow. Who knows what the manager said, but the chef looked furious. Sun Miao was the one who stepped forward to negotiate. She had taken on this task herself, leaving Hip-hop Mei feeling a little resentful that she couldn’t be the one in the spotlight.

Sun Miao took on this role for two reasons. First, Su Ruixi was her girlfriend; if she didn’t step up, who would? Second… the three behind her were all second-generation rich kids, each one prouder than the last. Needless to say about Su Ruixi and Hip-hop Mei, their pride was written all over their faces.

Su Ruixi seemed easy to get along with, but she was actually very proud. Yabi Mei appeared calm and detached, but Sun Miao knew she was a proud person as well.

They had the capital to be proud, so why shouldn’t they be?

But Sun Miao still felt a sense of camaraderie between chefs, and she knew the manager would definitely try to stir up trouble. So she decided to step forward and speak nicely, to clarify the matter first. But before Sun Miao could say a word, the head chef spoke up. “The Yangzhou Fried Rice I make has absolutely no problems. I guarantee it with my Special Grade Chef⁵ qualification. I don’t know where your fried rice came from, but please do not insult me.”

Sun Miao’s brow furrowed. She first explained, “This Yangzhou Fried Rice was bought from Yuanfu Lou, but its quality is worlds apart from the one you just made here. We’re not insulting you; we just want an explanation. My friend has ordered takeout from Yuanfu Lou many times, and she doesn’t want to be deceived.”

The head chef’s brow was also tightly furrowed. He looked at the Yangzhou Fried Rice on the table, and his expression turned sour. Sun Miao’s portion was more than half-eaten, but Su Ruixi’s was untouched. In addition, of the two Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, one was half-eaten, while the other had only been tasted lightly.

Not to mention the Three-Nesting Duck; it had just been served and was barely touched. Because of this, the head chef felt that they were here to cause trouble. He wasn’t very familiar with Xu Zi’an’s name. He had been invited here by the owner of Yuanfu Lou, and he was used to being praised and hearing good things. He was very confident in his culinary skills and immediately believed what the manager had told him.

“Are you looking for compensation? How much do you want? You might as well just say it.”

The head chef thought his tone was very good, but in reality, Su Ruixi was already feeling very displeased, and Hip-hop Mei was jumping up and down. “I’ve already said the same thing! Am I short on your paltry sum⁶?!”

The tone on both sides was hostile, and a conflict was about to erupt at any moment, while the manager seemed to have become invisible. Su Ruixi keenly noticed this and gave Yabi Mei a look, telling her to hold Hip-hop Mei back, before stepping forward herself.

“Fine, compensation.” Su Ruixi let out a laugh, but it was tinged with coldness. It was a similar feeling to when Sun Miao had first met her, and she was dealing with that bizarre man.

“One takeout order of Yangzhou Fried Rice is 1888 yuan. If it’s fake, you pay ten times the price⁷, which is 18,800.”

The head chef’s expression changed. From Sun Miao’s perspective, he seemed to be saying: See, I knew you were here to extort us.

But Su Ruixi’s next words made him feel like they were making an exorbitant demand⁸. “I’ve ordered takeout from Yuanfu Lou. I’ve probably ordered the Yangzhou Fried Rice five or six times.”

Yabi Mei chimed in, “I’ve had it eight times.”

“Me, me, me! I… I don’t think I’ve ordered it, but my sister definitely has. She orders a lot, at least twenty times for sure. I’ll have her send me the order history in a bit.”

Su Ruixi included this in her calculation. “So let’s count it as thirty times. That’s 540,000 yuan. You can figure out how you’re going to pay that.” As expected of a businesswoman, she was quick with arithmetic. Sun Miao was still doing the math in her head when Su Ruixi had already stated the answer.

At the same time, she couldn’t help but marvel: 540,000 yuan, that’s so much. I’ve never seen so much money in my life. She had bought a small two-story building, but that was with a loan. She had saved up a down payment of over two hundred thousand, and that was the most money she’d ever had.

If Sun Miao had to pay this amount, she would probably say: Then you might as well just take my life.

As for the head chef and the manager, both wore expressions that screamed, “Are you insane?”

Su Ruixi was unconcerned, lightly flicking her hair. “What, can’t afford it? If you can’t afford it, then get your boss over here.”

The head chef tried to hold back his anger, but he couldn’t. After all, the problem had arisen with his Yangzhou Fried Rice. He really didn’t want such a major incident to happen on his watch. If they really paid the money and word got out, how could he continue to survive in the industry?

The manager was in the same boat. It was impossible for him to pay so much money. Yuanfu Lou was profitable, yes, but not to the extent that they could casually hand over more than half a million yuan to dismiss someone.

---

---