Siheyuan: I, an ordinary resident, the king of chefs

The diners who ordered the dishes also responded casually: "What activities are there in our city? It's just the same as usual."

But after hearing the customer's answer, the shopkeeper was a little confused. He asked with a smile:

"Today I see you all ordered the same dishes, and you said there was some kind of event?"

The guest sighed and then said to him:

"There's a new chef setting up a stall on this street, and the food is absolutely amazing."

"We have been queuing up at his place for the past two days, but by the time it was our turn, they had already prepared the dishes and cooked them, so we couldn't eat them."

"I just came to your house for dinner."

The shopkeeper smiled again and looked at the diners:

"Why haven't I heard of any chef coming to our street? Did he just move in in the last two days?"

The diners nodded:

"Yes, I heard from them that they just came here yesterday. The three brothers and sisters set up a stall together, and there was only one young man cooking there."

"A young man cooking?"

"He looks about 17 or 18 years old. Don't be fooled by his young age, his cooking skills are even better than those of a chef!"

The shopkeeper couldn't help but chuckle when he heard what the customer said, and then said to him:

"You are making fun of me, aren't you? How can a boy of 17 or 18 years old cook better than the chef? You are just being mysterious."

But after hearing what the shopkeeper said, the diners immediately became unhappy:

"Hey, I told you guys that your cooking is not as good as others, why are you still slandering them?"

"I've seen that the dishes cooked at their stalls are much better than those here!"

As the diners spoke, they picked at the dishes served in front of them:

"Take your spicy blood stew for example. You don't even need to taste it to know it's overcooked. Although it's tasty, the texture isn't good."

"Take a look at your stir-fried pig intestines. Not only are the pig intestines cut into uneven sizes, but the amount of chili is also very skimpy. It doesn't smell good at all!"

The diners nearby also noticed the conversation between the shopkeeper and him, and started to provoke him:

"Yes, boss, your fish-flavored pork shreds are not fried well enough, and the shredded radish still tastes raw."

"Not only is this spicy blood stew overcooked, it's also tasteless. We spent so much money, and you're going to let us eat food of this quality?"

"Yeah, yeah, the prices there are half the price of your restaurant, not to mention the taste is even better. Is this how you keep your business going?!"

The diners became more and more excited. The chef came forward and tried to comfort them with a smile, "I'm so sorry, everyone."

"Today, our chef in the kitchen left early for some reason. This dish was cooked by an apprentice. If you are dissatisfied with the taste, I apologize to everyone here."

"I'll be the boss today. I'll give everyone a 7% discount on all the dishes, plus a free side dish."

"I promise that you will be satisfied with the food next time you dine at Cuixuanlou!"

After hearing what the chef said, the diners finally quieted down and started eating the dishes in front of them.

The chef also pulled the shopkeeper to the front desk, and after the two sat down, they both had conflicted expressions on their faces.

The shopkeeper said with an unhappy look:

"What's going on in your kitchen today? Normally, you don't encounter so many customers complaining about it. Is the chef really off work?"

The chef nodded helplessly and said with a sigh:

"Yes, his child died early due to illness. Today's dishes were cooked by his apprentice Sha Zhu."

"When the young man is busy in the kitchen, he looks quite talented. I didn't expect that there are still so many problems with the dishes he cooks. He needs to gain more experience."

The shopkeeper heard what the chef said and shook his head and said:

"If you ask me, you are really nice to your friend. His son has only been an apprentice in our restaurant for a short time, but he has already started cooking and serving dishes."

"But today you said you wanted to give me a 7% discount. These costs will be lost. I can't let the restaurant lose so much money for nothing..."

The chef interrupted him quickly, patted his chest and said:

"Don't worry about this. All the money lost today can be deducted from my salary. I won't make things difficult for you, right?"

After hearing the chef's assurance, the shopkeeper finally nodded with satisfaction.

Then he thought of the conversation he had just had with the customer, frowned slightly and said:

"I just heard from someone that someone just came to our street to set up a stall to sell stir-fried dishes, and the chef is only about 17 or 18 years old."

"Have you ever heard of any chef in our city who has a master apprentice who is so young?"

The chef thought about it carefully, but couldn't figure out who it could be after a long time, so he could only shake his head and said:

"I really can't remember that there is such a person in our city."

"Anyway, they are setting up a stall on our street, so why not go and take a look?"

The shopkeeper also felt that what he said made sense, so he looked at him and said:

"Okay, go and have a look. If he's willing to work in our restaurant, we can hire him as a chef."

"If he doesn't want to, we have to think of a way. We can't just watch him steal our business."

When the chef heard what the shopkeeper said, his brows furrowed. Seeing that the shopkeeper didn't care about this matter at all, he said unhappily:

"I have a lot of things to do in the kitchen, why don't you go?"

The shopkeeper spread his hands helplessly at this time:

"You think I'm not busy with so many customers? I have to keep an eye on them here."

The chef ignored him and continued:

"I told you, our restaurant's business has dropped a lot in the past two days compared to usual. It's probably because of those three siblings who came here to set up a stall."

"If there is a problem with the business of this restaurant, can you, as the shopkeeper, escape responsibility? Do you know who the boss will find trouble with?"

"Don't mention that you have to watch over here. The boss may transfer you to a restaurant in another village."

"When you really leave, then I will be busy."

The chef's words hit the shopkeeper's heart, and his expression immediately became serious:

"You're right, this matter really needs to be taken seriously!"

When he said this, the shopkeeper stood up and prepared to walk out the door: "Please keep an eye on the business of the restaurant for me. I will be back soon."

"I want to see who this person is. How can he steal our business at such a young age? We must have a good talk with him and try to recruit him to work in our restaurant!"