Chapter 188 - Malicious Competition (1/2)

“Why?”

Li Qing came behind them in his chef’s uniform. Xu Le looked helpless as he pushed him into his shop. “There are so many customers waiting, and you have the cheek to leave the kitchen to those apprentices? What if there’s a problem with the taste of the dishes?”

Li Qing asked, “Tell me quickly, why can’t they operate for a long time? How long will it take for them to close down?”

“It’s said that it can cook many types of cuisine, but the ingredients are all frozen and not fresh enough. I saw a lot of defrosting ingredients in the sink beside just now. The taste between live and frozen seafood is vastly different. Even if they add more seasoning to enhance the freshness, it will be difficult to hide what they are lacking deep down.”

“If they went to so much trouble to try to make our business, why did they cut down on the quality of ingredients?”

“It’s expensive.”

Xu Le said in concise words.

Li Qing entered the kitchen doubtfully. It was almost time for dinner and there were more people entering the store. Lu Yuxi stood at the front desk and helped. Xu Le washed his hands, put on his apron and hat, and entered the kitchen to start cooking.

Li Shengsheng had just eaten breakfast and was quite full. However, when he saw the plates of fragrant dishes, he couldn’t help but say, “I want to eat them too! This West Lake Vinegar Fish and Lotus Chicken Slices are my favorite!”

“Wait, wait, wait. There are a lot of customers. Wait a minute.”

Xu Le waved his hand to ask him to wait. Li Shengsheng looked at the hall that was almost full and said, “No!”

“There’s the Crispy Yam Duck here. I guarantee that the taste will definitely stun you. Take it first. It’s from the table that ordered too many dishes.”

Xu Le handed the plate over. Li Shengsheng looked at the six or seven golden bars on the plate. He pursed his lips and said, “Petty, is that all you’re giving me? Are we still good brothers?”

“Don’t eat it if you don’t want it.”

Xu Le pretended to take it back when Li Shengsheng snatched it away.

“Who said I don’t want it anymore?”

As he spoke, he found a nearby spot and started tasting the dish. The golden yam on the outside was crispy and fragrant, and the duck meat inside was moist and sweet. There was a hint of gravy, and there was a lingering taste left behind.

In less than five minutes, the plate of Crispy Yam Duck was completely gone. Li Shengsheng wiped the oil off his fingertips, feeling satisfied and shocked.

“It’s too awesome! I’ve eaten at a lot of stores. The duck is even more sauce-flavored. Whether it’s fried, steamed or wrapped in scallions and roll, I’ve eaten all kinds of duck before, but this is really the best I’ve ever eaten!”

Li Shengsheng was full of praise and his eyes became fixed. If not for the fact that his stomach was really too full to eat, he would definitely order another serving of something else.

“How much?”

He took out his phone and was about to pay when Xu Le said, “There’s no need. We’re all friends. You can come to my place to try anything in the future, but you have to queue.”

“But there’s such a long queue?” Li Shengsheng did not stand on ceremony and said. “Then I’ll freeload at your house in the future.”

After saying that, he wanted to help carry the plates, but Lu Yuxi stopped him with a crying face. “Sit down, please! Be careful, don’t get into any danger.”

Li Shengsheng had a very serious blood clot. Once he had a small wound, it would not stop the bleeding and he would need to be hospitalized. The situation was much worse than imagined.

Soon, Zhang Tong returned with news that the situation had stabilized. Other than the storeowner coming over arrogantly to mock him, nothing serious happened.

After being busy for more than an hour, Xu Le realized that the chefs he had recruited were all very reassuring. They were smart, hardworking, and had high comprehension skills. Hence, he changed out of his chef’s uniform and said, “I still have something on today, so I’ll go back first. Call me if anything happens.”