Where on Earth Is She!
The customer didn’t insist. Watching Sun Miao pack up her table and leave, she couldn’t help but feel a bit empty inside.
She was a person who cherished talent and felt that for someone with those culinary skills to be running an outdoor stall was a reckless waste of God-given talent. A chef like this should be put on a pedestal.
Moreover, she cherished Sun Miao’s innate gift even more.
The seasoned seasoning techniques and the rigorous crafting process all told her: before her stood a genius.
The customer used to dislike geniuses, feeling they lacked the beauty of experience accumulated over time. But after being taught a lesson by her master, she had a sudden awakening: in fact, she herself was also a genius in the eyes of others. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to obtain the title of Huaiyang Cuisine Master at such a young age.
But that young lady was clearly even more outstanding than her. And she didn’t even have a master. If she were to become an apprentice to a grandmaster, training year after year, day after day, and inherit the entirety of Huaiyang cuisine, she could perhaps become a brightly shining star in the domestic culinary industry.
Most importantly, she was also a woman.
The customer had a natural affinity for women, especially women in the culinary profession. The proportion of women in the culinary profession is very small. Although many women in the country cook and are constantly around cooking fumes, very few actually enter this profession.
Among top-tier head chefs, women are even rarer.
This has a lot to do with the “pass down to men, not to women” culture of ancient China, but things have improved in recent years, with more and more female chefs shining in the industry. But the customer never minded having more women contribute their talents to this industry, so she greatly valued Sun Miao’s ability.
If she could take me as her master, I would definitely protect and guide her, and ensure she has smooth sailing1 in the industry…
Thinking of this, she shook her head. With her skill level, taking me as a master? I’m the one who wants to take the stall owner as my master.
Just then, the woman of a similar age who had entered Yuanfu Lou with her earlier walked over. “Jiang Ping2, how was it? Was the stuff that little lady made edible? If it was bad, I’ll have someone chase her off. Setting up a stall at the entrance of Yuanfu Lou to sell bad food, that’s ruining my reputation.”
Listening to her tone, she was clearly the owner of Yuanfu Lou.
The customer, who was Yuanfu Lou’s newly arrived Huaiyang cuisine head chef, Jiang Ping, smiled. “It wasn’t just ‘not bad,’ it was unbelievably good. So good that I want to become her apprentice and learn from her.”
The Yuanfu Lou owner’s eyes widened. “You’re not kidding me, are you?”
“I’m not kidding. I’m telling the truth.”
The Yuanfu Lou owner was now curious. “Is it really that good?”
“It really is.”
After Jiang Ping’s affirmative answer, the Yuanfu Lou owner turned to leave. Seeing her posture, Jiang Ping knew she definitely wanted to go buy some Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, but Jiang Ping stopped her. “Don’t bother going. She’s sold out and has already packed up and gone home for the day. But she’ll be back tomorrow, so you can come buy one and try it then.”
Only then did the Yuanfu Lou owner stop and nod. She and Jiang Ping stood shoulder to shoulder, walking toward Yuanfu Lou’s back kitchen. She also looked down at a Mini Program3, Yuanfu Lou’s own.
Jiang Ping knew what she was looking at and immediately said, “The original price of 588 for the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe was indeed expensive. But for it to suddenly be on sale for 188 is certainly a bit strange. I’d estimate its value at around 288.”
The Yuanfu Lou owner hummed in agreement. This was also why they had come today. Jiang Ping wasn’t officially employed yet; she only came on weekend evenings to cook a dish or two. The Boiled, Shredded Dried Tofu4 that Yabi Mei ate before was made by her.
The Yuanfu Lou owner was simply concerned about the sudden price drop. Yuanfu Lou rarely had promotions. Its reputation was well-established, its customer base was fixed, its recent revenue was quite stable, and it wasn’t a holiday season.
No application for a promotion had been submitted in advance, nor had she been informed. Yet a promotion had started directly. It was only this morning that the owner found out from her daughter that there was a promotion for the Lion’s Head Meatballs with Crab Roe, and it was specifically mentioned that it was personally made by the restaurant’s head chef.
Abnormal events betray a sinister cause5. The owner felt something was wrong and came directly to Yuanfu Lou.
She had her assistant go and check what exactly was going on.
Coming today wasn’t just for this one matter. Yesterday, she had received a call; an important guest was looking for her. That important guest was currently in a private room, toasting with his guests6. The owner had a waiter go and speak to the important guest’s assistant. After some time, the important guest came to the owner’s reception room.
The owner had a smile on her face. “CEO Su7, long time no see. You’ve been visiting our Yuanfu Lou less often. I haven’t greeted you in a while, how is your esteemed wife doing recently?” The owner opened by asking about CEO Su’s wife, because everyone in their circle knew that CEO Su was a “love-brain,” and asking about his wife was never a mistake.
CEO Su had a smile on his face, but it didn’t seem to hold much mirth. “It’s embarrassing to say, but I’m mainly here today to seek justice for a junior member of my family.”
Su Ruixi’s father never expected that one day he would receive a call from his own daughter to complain. Especially since she hadn’t said a word when Zhang Qiang gave her a hard time before, choosing instead to suffer in silence for many days. He had thought he would never receive a call from his daughter complaining in his entire life.
But… Su Ruixi called to complain to him, her voice filled with grievance, explained the detailed situation, and even said, “Now even a restaurant manager and a head chef dare to bully me.” At that moment, Father Su was fired up. His own daughter had actually complained to him; he would definitely stand up for her!
Su Ruixi had never called him for help with trouble before. He had to handle this matter beautifully for her!
He probably didn’t know that the reason Su Ruixi was able to complain was because of Sun Miao. If it weren’t for Sun Miao being there and suffering the injustice with her, she wouldn’t have been able to do such a thing. Moreover, it was because of Sun Miao that Su Ruixi’s mindset had changed. Previously, she didn’t like to throw her weight around using her family’s background, unlike Hip-hop Mei.
Now she had figured it out. If you have a background, use it. Why suffer in silence?
Father Su also didn’t know that Sun Miao was actually present that day. He only knew there were four young women, two of whom had often played with Su Ruixi since they were little. If he knew it was actually for Sun Miao, that “bad person” who had led his daughter astray, Father Su… would still have to help, but definitely not with this much dedication.
After understanding what had happened, the Yuanfu Lou owner’s expression turned serious. “I will definitely give your esteemed daughter a satisfactory explanation8 for this matter.”
At this point, there was more or less no need for Father Su to pursue the matter further. After all, it was an internal issue at Yuanfu Lou. The owner said she would give an explanation, which meant she would definitely deal with the manager and the head chef. He clasped his hands behind his back and gave a faint “Mm.” If Sun Miao were here, she would surely exclaim: that seemingly indifferent demeanor really resembled Su Ruixi’s.
After Father Su left, his assistant also gave the Yuanfu Lou owner Su Ruixi’s contact information. The Yuanfu Lou owner took it, understanding what that meant. Soon after, she first figured out what had happened that day. She watched the surveillance footage and questioned the staff. After learning the specifics of the matter, she couldn’t help but sigh.
The manager and the head chef were also old-timers at Yuanfu Lou. No restaurant can be this big from the very beginning, and they had accompanied the Yuanfu Lou owner all the way from her humble beginnings; they were true founding members. But the Yuanfu Lou owner was a person with a long-term vision. She knew the original head chef was still lacking, which is why she had poached Jiang Ping.
She also knew that the manager was not entirely clean behind the scenes. In consideration of his past contributions, she didn’t mind his petty pilfering. But to think he would collude with the head chef behind her back to do such a thing. The Yuanfu Lou owner was seething inside. She first composed herself before calling Su Ruixi.
A long while later, she put down her phone.
Su Ruixi’s meaning was clear: these two people had to be dealt with, especially the manager. His misappropriation of company funds and lining his own pockets had to be investigated. At the very least, he had to pay the price and go ‘inside’ to wait on a sewing machine for a few years9. However, all this had to happen after their bet had concluded.
The Yuanfu Lou owner was actually very curious about that little stall. What kind of stall could earn the trust of the Su family’s young lady and even make her own highly-paid Huaiyang cuisine head chef, Jiang Ping, feel inferior? The owner was actually a foodie herself. The reason she opened such a restaurant back then was because of her love for fine food.
Now, her own appetite had been thoroughly whetted10. But that little stall was very willful, packing up and going home right after selling out.
It wasn’t just the Yuanfu Lou owner who thought Sun Miao was willful; it was also the student crowd. After going back the day before yesterday, everyone started to debrief11. Soon, someone discovered a pattern:
【She set up her stall at the school gate for seven days before, then she left. I later visited the area near the wonton seller and learned from morning runners that she set up her stall on the third day after leaving the school gate, and then again for seven days. Based on this, we can deduce that she usually sets up in one place for seven days, disappears for two days in between—presumably to rest—and then finds a new location to set up for another seven days. So, these two days, she should be resting. She’ll continue to find a place to set up her stall on May 30th.】
This student had already touched upon the truth of the matter, but some people still had different opinions:
【Your sample size is too small to prove this pattern. And how do you know she’s resting in between? Isn’t that a bit too willful?!】
However, there were still clever students who followed the clues12顺藤摸瓜 | shùn téng mō guā | An idiom that literally means “to follow the vine to find the melon.” It means to track down clues to get to the bottom of something.[/ef_note] and found something: 【But if we trace it back further, we can find that the person selling the beef pancakes was most likely this Miao Miao’s Mobile Food Bar. I think the pattern summarized by the student above is very practical. Most importantly, for these last two times she set up her stall, she was always under the second lamppost next to the entrance.】
【If the ‘second lamppost’ rule is correct, then our search becomes much simpler. We just need to go and see if she’s near one, and if not, we leave.】
The student crowd really racked their brains to find Sun Miao. But this time, the possibility of them finding her was exceptionally slim. After all, who would have thought that a street vendor would run off to set up a stall at the entrance of a high-end private kitchen restaurant where the per-person cost is several thousand yuan, and not even get chased away.
【Damn it! Where on Earth is she!】
The student crowd wailed. As Sun Miao was driving home, she couldn’t help but sneeze again. She blamed this one on the head chef.
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