Su Chen also turned his attention to this dish.

The sea cucumbers in the dish were a brownish-white, accompanied by diced red ham, verdant scallion segments, and pale yellow bamboo shoots. The colors were harmonious, creating a visual effect that could be considered the pinnacle of culinary presentation!

Su Chen chose to pick up a wonton.

The deep-fried wonton, filled with pork and shrimp, immediately released a distinct umami flavor. Its skin was incredibly crisp.

After savoring a wonton and then eating a piece of sea cucumber, Su Chen’s sensitive palate immediately picked up on something.

’The old gentleman didn’t add slices of chicken skin when he made this...’

’So it isn’t as intensely savory as mine, but it has a cleaner, more fragrant taste...’

The flavor was subtle, yet magical—it had a certain elegance.

’Chicken skin is full of fat. While it enhances the savory flavor, it also makes an already rich dish even oilier. But whether you add it or not doesn’t affect the dish’s evaluation level...’

This dish had always been rated A Level in the practice room.

Su Chen silently made a mental note of this, planning to experiment with it a few times when he wasn’t so busy.

Meanwhile, the first dish Lu Yongliang tried was the Braised Shiitake Mushrooms with Scallops.

"The scallops are fresh, tender, and soft, while the shiitake mushrooms are crisp yet mellow and rich. It’s savory and delicious. Not bad!"

This was also an A Level dish.

He moved on from that dish and picked up a bit of the Slippery Three Shreds.

This time, Lu Yongliang’s eyes lit up. "The ham is fragrant, the mushrooms are tender, each with its own color and flavor, and it’s so smooth on the palate. Excellent!"

An ordinary person would eat the three shreds first, but a connoisseur like Lu Yongliang would always start with the accompanying ingredients before moving on to the main ones.

As Lu Yongliang picked up some shredded pork belly and placed it in his bowl, he caught sight of Shang Mingke out of the corner of his eye.

His chopsticks paused. "Mingke, what are you doing!"

Shang Mingke had, at some point, gotten up from his seat with his bowl and was now looking around.

"Uncle Lu, I need to get a bowl of rice. Eating all these dishes without rice just doesn’t feel right!"

Su Chen: ???

Rice?

’I worked my tail off to make A and S Level dishes, and you’re telling me they’re just side dishes for rice?’

Thankfully, the Delicious cafeteria always made a huge batch of rice in a large steamer at mealtimes, and today was no exception.

Shang Mingke paid them no mind, scooped a bowl of rice, returned to the table, grabbed a huge helping of caitai and cured meat, put it in his bowl, and then shoveled a mouthful of rice and toppings straight into his mouth!

If everyone didn’t know he was the head of a major construction company, he would have looked like someone who hadn’t eaten in days!

"Mind your image!" Lu Yongliang reminded him, speechless.

Shang Mingke was unconcerned, smacking his lips. "Unca Lu, I’ve been wan’in’ a bite of ’is for so long!"

He immediately grabbed another huge helping of caitai.

Unlike the speechless shock of Lu Yongliang and Ling Shuyu.

Seeing Shang Mingke act this way, Su Chen had some new thoughts.

What kind of person was Shang Mingke? Su Chen wasn’t entirely sure, but he knew he was definitely someone of relatively high status.

What couldn’t a person like that eat whenever he wanted?

But with so many dishes on the table, why was he ignoring them and just wolfing down that A Level caitai mixed with rice?

’I should stick to my own philosophy.’

’Delicious food is great, but a person’s state of mind and personal preferences are what matter most.’

’The delicious taste in Shang Mingke’s memory isn’t sea cucumber or scallops, but this everyday dish his family would make every spring.’

’The other dishes, though delicious, can’t satisfy that kind of emotional need. Sometimes... satisfying an emotional need allows a dish’s deliciousness to break through to a whole new level.’

Shang Mingke’s behavior further convinced Su Chen that the path he had chosen was the right one.

Although it went against traditional culinary theory, Su Chen had no intention of making a huge name for himself in the culinary world. Running this company that was just barely getting by, making good food, trying new things, and having daily battles of wits with his quirky employees—wasn’t that interesting enough?

Soon, Shang Mingke had single-handedly devoured the entire plate of Stir-fried Caitai with Cured Meat along with his rice!

Lu Yongliang, on the other hand, had taken a special liking to the Slippery Three Shreds.

The old man sure had a discerning palate. The A Level Braised Shiitake with Scallops didn’t grab him, but he was getting his face greasy eating the S Level Slippery Three Shreds!

As for Ling Shuyu...

She was popping the Fried Crispy Balls into her mouth, one after another.

They had the texture of brittle candy—sweet, fragrant, and rich, yet refreshingly light and not at all greasy. Filled with dried fruits, this dessert was being wolfed down like a main course.

This must be what a personal preference for a certain delicacy looks like!

Seeing his food so thoroughly enjoyed by these people with such discerning tastes, Su Chen felt a huge sense of satisfaction, even as his experience points skyrocketed.

「A moment later.」

Lu Yongliang wiped his mouth in satisfaction. "Excellent. To be able to eat such authentic Hubei Cuisine in a foreign place... this trip to Jingzhou was worth it!"

Shang Mingke stretched lazily. "Boss Su, we really troubled you, making you cook so many dishes by yourself."

Ling Shuyu sat to the side, not daring to speak, her thoughts a tangled mess.

She was clearly the one who had invited them, but now she’d become a total nobody, while Boss Su had become the star of the show.

And... President Shang was clearly far more interested in Boss Su’s cooking than in her proposal.

’I should’ve become a chef instead of a designer!’

’It’s probably not too late, even now...’

While everyone was relaxing after the satisfying meal, Ling Shuyu mustered her courage. "President Shang, about our proposal for today, what are your thoughts...?"

Talking about work now?

Lu Yongliang stood up. "All these dishes were excellent, I’ve eaten my fill! There’s still one last signature dish left, haha. You two talk, I’m going to go and ’compare notes’ with Boss Su!"