Su Chen shook his head helplessly.

Lu Yongliang, however, clapped him on the shoulder. "Friendship first! This is just a friendly exchange."

"You got it." Su Chen generously invited the old gentleman back into the kitchen.

Outside, Shang Mingke tapped his fingers on the table a few times. Having finished his meal, his former demeanor returned. "President Ling, out of respect for Boss Su, I’ll be frank with you."

Today’s meal had truly won Shang Mingke over, and he could also sense Ling Shuyu’s sincerity. There was no harm in saying a little more.

"In your professional capacity, I must admit you are exceptional. Whether it’s the proposal you prepared or your understanding of this bid’s requirements, you are outstanding."

Ling Shuyu lifted her head slightly. Her excellence had been recognized since she was a child!

"But I want you to try and imagine things from my position."

Ling Shuyu pulled herself together. For someone of President Shang’s stature to speak to her like this was a true sign of candor!

And what he was about to say would surely be a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity for her!

"The design for this bid will first be used on bus stops, road signs, and other places in the Capital City. Later, it will gradually be rolled out nationwide."

"It’s just an environmental logo. Do you think the people who love to litter are going to stop just because this logo exists?"

That sentence struck Ling Shuyu’s mind like a clap of thunder.

She... had never considered that question.

She had thought about the design’s aesthetic, the message it conveyed, and many, many other things, but she had never once thought about this.

Would people who don’t care about the environment suddenly change their ways because of a small logo on a bus stop?

"So... you think that if your work is good, we’ll use yours? And if his work is bad, we won’t use his? Is that how you think it works?"

Ling Shuyu didn’t know the answer to that question, but Shang Mingke’s words had completely overturned her understanding of the world.

From childhood to adulthood, her education had taught her that as long as you were good enough, you would be recognized.

On an exam, as long as you wrote the right answers, you would get a perfect score!

In the workplace, as long as you worked hard enough, you would get promoted and receive a raise!

But now, Shang Mingke was telling her that even if your work is good, they might not use it, and even if someone else’s work is bad, they still might use theirs!

"Alright, President Ling, thank you very much for this reception meal. I can also tell you’re not from this company, are you? Heh... I’ll have Xiaozhang settle the bill in a bit. I hope we’ll have the chance to work together in the future."

With that, Shang Mingke also got up and headed toward the kitchen.

Being able to watch Uncle Lu personally prepare this Wuchang Fish was a great pleasure in itself. He couldn’t miss out on something this good.

Leaving Ling Shuyu sitting there alone, her mind buzzing.

The deal... had failed.

’And the reason for the failure wasn’t because I wasn’t good enough...’

Ling Shuyu’s world had been completely turned upside down.

「Inside the kitchen.」

"Wait, why are you using two fish to make one fish dish?"

The old man and the young man had been in the kitchen for a while now, but the fish were still swimming around in the tank.

"Who made a rule that you can’t use two fish to make one fish dish!" Su Chen argued, his reasoning weak but his voice strong.

’I’m totally bluffing,’ he thought, feeling a little unnerved. ’I have no choice!’

To keep the fish in a constant state of steaming on the plate, Su Chen had to use two.

One to make the broth, and one to be eaten.

’It’s a bit wasteful, but if I give the first fish to my employees and charge them a few dozen yuan, then it’s not really a waste, is it?’

"Well, I’ll be! That’s a real eye-opener! Fine, fine. There are four fish anyway. I’ll use one, and you use two." Lu Yongliang was truly speechless.

He had been cooking fish his whole life—steamed, braised, grilled, he’d seen it all—but he had never seen someone use two fish to serve one.

He was curious to see just what kind of trick this Boss Su was playing!

"You got it!"

WHACK! WHACK!

The fish that had been swimming freely in the tank just moments ago were pulled out by Su Chen and knocked senseless.

With the bonus from his ’Fast, Fierce, Flawless’ badge, Su Chen’s knife flashed twice, digging the grime out of the gills. A quick pass with an electric scaler—ZZZT—and both fish were perfectly clean!

He aimed the tip of his knife, sliced gently open the belly, then reached in with one hand and scooped!

SWISHHH~~

He rinsed both fish under the tap, and the fluid, seamless motions left Lu Yongliang completely stunned!

"Boss Su, did you use to sell fish?"

"Nope." Su Chen tossed the cleaned fish onto the cutting board. "I worked at Da Run Fa for a few years."

Lu Yongliang: ???

Shang Mingke, standing by the door, was rather embarrassed. "Uncle Lu, Boss Su is just joking with you."

"Oh, oh." Lu Yongliang also stunned his fish and picked up his cleaver. He really didn’t understand the joke.

As another fish was dispatched, Shang Mingke watched from the side, finding the sight pleasing to the eye.

It had to be said, Lu Yongliang’s fish-cleaning skills were very practiced, but compared to Su Chen’s movements just now, they were still lacking a little something.

Su Chen’s technique gave off a feeling of, ’This is how a fish is supposed to be cleaned.’

’Don’t tell me Uncle Lu is going to mess up on this dish?’

The moment Shang Mingke realized what he was thinking, he secretly pinched the palm of his hand.

’What am I thinking!’

’Uncle Lu is a state banquet-level master chef!’

’His fish recipe was included in the "Wuchang Fish Recipes" section of *Catering Management* back in ninety-six!’

’Impossible. There’s absolutely no way he’ll mess up!’

After rinsing it, Su Chen placed one of the fish on a plate, sprinkled it with fine salt, green onions, and ginger, and put it directly into the steamer.

"Getting a bit impatient, Boss Su?" Lu Yongliang chuckled.

"Heh, this fish has another purpose. Just you watch, old sir!" Su Chen turned his attention to the other fish and, following the method he had practiced countless times, began to make his cuts!

Lu Yongliang glanced over, thinking, ’So this kid wants to compete with me on knife skills, does he?’

He had originally planned to just make a few simple diagonal scores, but now the old man’s competitive spirit was piqued.

’Watch me show you something really impressive!’

Lu Yongliang made a sharp, diagonal cut near the fish’s head, slicing it right off!

Then he began cutting along the fish’s back, each slice about a centimeter apart, stopping the blade just before it reached the belly.

Once the entire fish was cut, he bent it inward into an arc on the plate. Because of the diagonal cut, the head was easily propped up in the center.

"Let me show you this old man’s Peacock-Tail Fish!"

Su Chen looked over at the sound of his voice. Sure enough, the fish, arranged on the plate like that, really did look like a peacock fanning its tail. It was exceptionally beautiful!

Since his opponent had gone to such lengths...

Su Chen pried open the back meat of his own cut fish, stood the pieces up on the plate, and said without much confidence, "I call this... the Standing Fish!"

PFFT!

Neither Lu Yongliang nor Shang Mingke could hold back their laughter.

Su Chen’s fish looked strange... Two large pieces of fish flesh were pried out from the middle and then stood up on the plate. The decorative cuts on top fanned out because of the way the body was bent.

If you had to say it was beautiful, well, there was a certain aesthetic to it.

But looking at it as a whole, it was just plain weird!

Clearly, when it came to knife skills, the old master was a cut above!

Su Chen didn’t waste any more words. The proof would be in the pudding, wouldn’t it?

He immediately moved on to the next step of the preparation.