Fu Yu’s deep-fried squid was entirely modeled on the appearance of the squid in the female customer’s memory.

But he added an extra Qianlima takeout box, which the food runner sent to the front hall first.

And he carefully instructed: "It’s best to eat this grilled squid while it’s hot; it won’t taste the same when it cools down."

The food runner did as instructed, carrying the grilled squid out of the kitchen.

Zhang Jinyu wanted to say something but hesitated.

This is clearly deep-fried squid!

It wasn’t even put on the grill!

Soon, however, the food runner returned with the customer’s feedback.

"Chef Fu, I explained to the customer as you said and took them to the dining area. After tasting it on the spot, the customer said this grilled squid was exactly what she wanted to eat. Although the taste was a bit different, it was still very delicious. If she craves it again, she’ll come back to the restaurant."

Fu Yu was completely at ease.

After all, he could only see the food’s appearance and couldn’t taste its flavor.

He relied entirely on his own exploration during cooking. The presentation could be imitated, but the taste depended purely on luck.

Fortunately, although the taste was somewhat different this time, the customer found it delicious and was willing to continue visiting, which was good enough.

Fu Yu returned to the barbecue area, replacing Sun Qingning, and continued taking orders for grilling.

Busy with work, he quickly pushed previous matters out of his mind.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuqing was waiting for orders in the front hall and happened to see the couple leaving after their meal.

The two were carrying a large bag of takeout boxes, having packed almost all the dishes they ordered.

When approaching the front desk to pay, they no longer argued. The woman carried the takeaway bag, and the man stepped forward to pay.

The cashier took the bill and quickly calculated the amount.

"The total is 2,735 yuan. Would you like an invoice?"

The woman’s face changed instantly upon hearing this: "This, so much!"

The man replied awkardly: "They serve seafood here, so it’s bound to be a bit pricey."

As he spoke, he pulled out his phone for the cashier to scan.

The man instructed: "Please issue an invoice."

The woman whispered: "What’s the use of an invoice? Your company can’t reimburse it anyway."

The man also whispered: "The invoice can be used for a lottery; what if we win!"

The woman said nothing, but her face looked somewhat displeased.

The cashier printed out the invoice for the man and also gave him a complimentary small gift from the restaurant.

The couple took their things and left, murmuring as they walked: "Three thousand yuan for a meal; are these dishes gold-plated?"

The man smiled awkwardly: "Their dishes are inherently expensive, and we did order a lot. But it’s alright; we packed it all, nothing wasted."

Hearing this, the woman immediately glared at the man: "If you didn’t pack such expensive food, would you be out of your mind?"

After saying this, she remembered something and became angrier, unable to help but complain: "How could you eat such expensive food and not feel guilty! Don’t you have a conscience? One plate is enough to feed our whole family for two or three days!"

This instantly reignited the couple’s conflict!

The woman’s moment of soft-heartedness vanished without a trace.

She was simply furious!

"If you spend money at a place like this next time, I’ll fight you!"

The man laughed awkwardly: "I won’t. I promise I’ll socialize less in the future!"

With that, he took the heavy takeaway bag, pulled the woman along, and couldn’t help but silently sigh in his heart.

Earlier, during the meal, the woman tasted every dish twice and kept praising the flavors.

Then she couldn’t bear to eat more, muttering about packing it up so the children and elders could try it too.

Seeing this, the man felt even guiltier, thinking he had been a bastard in the past!

He led the woman out, speaking earnestly: "Honey, I was wrong. I won’t spend money recklessly anymore. I’ll be sure to live well with you."

The woman was obviously stunned, looking at the man, her eyes slightly reddened.

But she didn’t resist any further, letting the man pull her away from the restaurant.

Liu Yuqing craned her neck for a moment and couldn’t help shaking her head.

Jiang Mo noticed her expression was a bit odd and asked curiously: "What’s up?"

Liu Yuqing sighed: "Oh, it’s nothing. Just feels like finding a husband is like buying a lottery ticket – all about luck."

Jiang Mo laughed: "Why are you so sentimental? With your conditions, you’ll surely find a good husband to your liking in the future."

Liu Yuqing was amused by this: "Then I’ll count on your good words!"

...

The takeout orders today were decent; Fu Yu rarely had to juggle between the two sides.

Even Zhao Meng jokingly said that after the New Year, when the renovated store was ready, the boss might directly promote him to be the head chef, putting him in charge of the grill area.

After all, Fu Yu was solely responsible for this area now. The orders were almost all from old customers, practically monopolizing the seafood barbecue takeout orders.

However, Fu Yu knew Zhao Meng’s joking tone meant it was practically impossible.

After all, there is a significant gap between the treatment of the head chef and a regular cook with a handle on the stove.

He just got a full-time position two months ago, so even if there was a chance to become head chef, it would be years down the line.

By then, who knows where he might be.

For now, it’s best to focus on the present tasks.

After work in the evening, Fu Yu arrived on time at the Shangshi Private Kitchen.

Through the front hall’s floor-to-ceiling glass window, he could see the lively scene in the neighborhood.

Fu Yu, along with Wang Yulong and Liu Zhangpeng, was busy at the kitchen counter from 6:30 in the evening until now.

Wang Yulong and Liu Zhangpeng handled orders for over a dozen tables’ worth of dishes, with plates on the automatic rotating table being sent to the front hall one after another.

To be precise, Liu Zhangpeng coordinated with Wang Yulong to handle orders and cooking, while Fu Yu... Fu Yu was just an assistant helping out.

He didn’t get much chance to handle cooking himself and mainly watched the cooking procedures from the sidelines.

Ever since he inadvertently triggered the back kitchen artisan’s apprentice skill, Fu Yu had been hoping for another chance to learn.

However, the artisan skill in the kitchen required certain triggering conditions.

The more involved he was during cooking, the more likely he was to learn cooking skills from others.

Although the chance seems not particularly high, even a small gain is worthwhile!

Furthermore, during cooking, only by personally being involved from start to finish could he grasp the specific operations of cooking the dish and know what details needed attention.

For example, earlier when Liu Yunong was guiding him in tying and deboning operations.

But now, just tagging along and not even getting to touch the spatula was truly frustrating.

The chance to learn skills was too low.

It wasn’t that Wang Yulong and Liu Zhangpeng were deliberately making it difficult for Fu Yu while Liu Yunong was away.

But the Shangshi Private Kitchen’s menu changed daily.

Every day featured new dishes, which Fu Yu had never seen, let alone cooked.

Even if they wanted him to try his hand at cooking, he first needed to know how!