The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

But Fu Yu’s attention quickly shifted to the elderly woman.

The old lady looked about sixty, with gray hair and a small handbag in her hand. She spoke softly and her demeanor was cultured.

This order was Jiang Mo’s responsibility. When she saw that the person coming from the kitchen was Fu Yu, she was instantly relieved.

She quickly greeted, "Chef Fu!"

Fu Yu nodded and turned to the old lady, greeting her politely before asking, "Ma’am, is there anything I can help you with?"

Upon seeing Fu Yu, the old lady hastily said, "Oh, I just wanted to ask where your restaurant sources its turtles from?"

Fu Yu was taken aback, unsure of the lady’s intention behind the question, but he answered honestly, "Our ingredients are procured by our buyer, but I assure you all our produce is fresh daily, maintaining quality and quantity."

The old lady seemed skeptical, "Then call the buyer over, I just want to know where this turtle is purchased!"

Fu Yu was puzzled.

Why was this old lady so keen on learning about the restaurant’s supply chain? Could she be from a competing business wanting to match supplies?

Fu Yu could only ask, "Ma’am, why are you asking about this?"

The old lady sincerely replied, "My husband just got out of the hospital, and the doctor said he could have some turtle soup. Your restaurant’s is authentic, so I want to order some."

On hearing that the lady wanted to order, Fu Yu felt relieved and quickly said, "Our turtle soup is brewed with an ancient recipe, freshly killed and cooked, so rest assured when placing your order."

The old lady said, "I heard yesterday was the day Bodhisattva Guanyin became a monk, and many people released turtles into the reservoir. But some unethical ones secretly fished them back."

The old lady was indignant, "Everyone is saying that the reclaimed turtles ended up back on the market!"

"Who knows if your turtles are bought from the ones set free? My husband just got out of the hospital, and what if consuming such turtles affects his fortune and longevity?"

"The turtles released during the ceremony are certainly not to be consumed. They’ve been shown the way by the Bodhisattva Guanyin, who would dare to sip soup from her bowl?"

"Oh dear, that would be a curse!"

What a situation we’re in!

But he had heard of this story, too, and could understand the old lady’s concerns. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

As for her request, it wasn’t difficult to handle.

Amused yet helpless, Fu Yu had to say, "Alright, since that’s the case, I’ll get in touch with the buyer now to explain to you where our restaurant’s turtles are sourced from."

Addressing a customer’s doubts is no problem, but there’s no way they could actually show the procurement list. Otherwise, the cost of the restaurant’s ingredients would be revealed.

This issue had arisen before; Sun Wei had promptly turned to the owner of the turtle farm on WeChat, showing the old lady the harvesting video he sent.

"See? Ma’am, I’m telling you, these turtles are shipped from afar. From harvest to loading, we have videos proving it. The turtles we use aren’t second-hand from fish markets, but directly long-distance transported."

The old lady earnestly watched the video.

Moreover, Sun Wei showed her the chat records with the farm owner about today’s shipment.

"This batch of turtles was delivered early this morning, with timestamps displayed showing the long journey."

Sun Wei’s eloquence as a buyer was undeniable.

"Rest assured, they’re certainly not fished from the reservoir. The turtles released from captivity aren’t as big as ours; these are all over two years old!"

"And you may not know, our boss is also a believer in Buddhism. We have an altar right at the best spot, between the front hall and the kitchen. You can go and have a look. We wouldn’t do such unethical things, as businesses believe in these too."

"Not to mention fishing out others’ released turtles; our boss is just too busy, otherwise he’d join in releasing them himself!"

The old lady couldn’t resist Sun Wei’s eloquence, being swayed and finally nodding, "Alright, so your boss believes in Buddhism too! Then I’m relieved."

Fu Yu: "..."

The most noticeable spot in the corridor between Qianlima’s front hall and kitchen hosts Dong Jun Tian’s self-made lavish fortune tree.

The only other revered entity is the God of Wealth statue behind the cashier.

Fu Yu secretly marveled at Sun Wei’s silver tongue, and quickly stepped forward to help select a turtle that looked larger.

Once the order was placed and weighed, Fu Yu returned to the kitchen to prepare the turtle soup.

The new server quietly asked her colleague who was guiding her, "Sister Jiang, who was that chef who just came in?"

Jiang Mo casually replied, "Oh, that’s Chef Fu. He’s called Fu Yu, a really nice guy! Plus, he’s extremely skilled in cooking!"

Saying this, Jiang Mo remembered something and reminded, "Oh, also, Xiaoqing, you don’t know how to use the scale yet, right? Perfect, come watch how I do it."

Liu Yuqing quickly followed, studying attentively.

Fu Yu returned to the kitchen and instructed Zhang Jinyu to start prepping ingredients.

Zhao Meng asked with concern, "Everything alright?"

After Fu Yu recounted what happened, Zhao Meng was a bit speechless, "You call that releasing? That’s destroying ecological balance, deserved to be fished out!"

Zhao Meng had recently been obsessed with a fishing streamer on a platform, frequently engaging in discussions about environmental protection.

With a lull in work, Zhao Meng took a smoke break by the back door.

Sun Qingning finally found a chance to chat with Fu Yu: "Hey, Chef Fu, did you see the new server in the front hall just now?"

Fu Yu nodded, "Yeah, I saw her."

"How is she! Is she really pretty?" Sun Qingning suddenly got excited, "If she’s alright, we in the kitchen, being this close, can’t let this opportunity slip to an outsider!"

Before Fu Yu could respond, Zhang Jinyu interrupted, "You better stop daydreaming! Flirting around all day long, watch out or your girlfriend will dump you!"

Sun Qingning quickly retorted, "Don’t jump to conclusions! My loyalty to my girlfriend is as clear as day, I’m just looking out for my single brothers here!"

At this point, Jiang Mo came over, delivering the order slip.

Sun Qingning casually inquired, "Xiaojiang, I heard there’s a new employee with you guys?"

Jiang Mo nodded, "Yes, today is her first day."

Sun Qingning perked up and asked, "What’s her name?"

Jiang Mo replied, "Liu Yuqing."

Fu Yu was startled, the name sounded somewhat familiar...