Maverick Chef - Chapter 2：The Great 5-Star Restaurant

“This wasn’t what we ordered.” The three of them did not move their chopsticks, while they looked at Bai Lu with discontent.

Bai Lu spoke calmly. “Try it, if it’s not tasty, then take it as my treat to you.”

“Ok.” Since the boss said it like this, the three of them started eating.

After they ate a single bite, all three of them were dazed. They could not believe it. Slowly chewing their food, they took a glance towards each other and then towards Bai Lu in unison. When they finished swallowing their food, one of them asked, “Is this even real?”

What he meant was whether the food was indeed that delicious? “That unbelievable level of deliciousness! In those books and movies that I have read in the past, it would always be described how delicious a certain dish would taste. Like how Pigsy from Journey to the West would eat a ginseng fruit and all the pores over his body would burst open. However, it always seemed too incredulous and exaggerated,” he thought. But at this moment, just a bowl of cold noodles and a few side dishes were enough to let them experience the feeling of a gastronomic experience fit for the gods.

Bai Lu laughed, “Yes, it’s real.”

None of them felt like talking anymore. They extended their chopsticks, like a landing craft creating a path of destruction, they began chowing down on their food.

In an instant, they swept up all the food on the table, but they were still unsatisfied. “Boss, one more serving of the same dishes, plus three bottles of beers.”

Bai Lu responded. “Guys, sorry for the inconvenience, but you can only order one serving each. If you want to eat more, then please come earlier tomorrow. And also, there’s no alcohol for sale here.”

“Boss, this is unacceptable, how could a restaurant not sell alcohol?”

“Let’s put aside the issue with the alcohol. Boss, make us one more serving, please. How could a restaurant not sell food,” another guy said.

Bai Lu walked over, and he said, “Even if it’s the best food in the world, you should not overeat. Isn’t it better to stop eating at the right time?”

“Not right at all, we are not even full yet.”

“Already 70% full. The point of eating is to make the body healthy. Overeating would harm it instead.”

“We don’t want to listen to your great philosophy. We want to eat. How much is it? Can’t we pay extra?”

Bai Lu laughed and said, “In the first place, the problem is not about the money. Why not let the desire grow and come back tomorrow to eat again. Isn’t that a form of happiness?”

Seeing the determination with Bai Lu to not provide another serving, the skinny lad with glasses sighed. “Boss, I have to say, no one does business like you… Fine, let’s settle the bill.”

“$5 for a bowl of chilled noodles, $2 for the Mantou, $15 for the marinated prawns, $5 for each of the side dishes. That’s a total of $57, but $50 will do.”

“How much?” The three youngsters were a little surprised.

“$50.” Bai Lu repeated.

The skinny lad with glasses took out $50. “Boss, don’t mind me saying, you are terrible at business.” A plate of prawns for only $15, with a total of $50 for three people, indeed it was a little bit too cheap.

Bai Lu received the money. “Just a reminder, only 10 people daily would be served. If you want to eat again tomorrow, please be early,” he said while clearing the empty plates.

The three of them listened, and hurriedly asked, “Do you accept reservations? We would like to reserve some tables right away… ”

“Sorry, reservations are not accepted.”

“Did you mean ten customers separately for lunch and dinner, or only ten customers for the whole day? Boss, just ten customers, that’s too little. There’s already three of us in one table, can’t you make some changes to it?”

Bai Lu looked around the shop. There were a total of six tables that could each accommodate four people. He thought for a while and said, “You guys are my first customers. I have decided to adopt your suggestion and change it to six tables for lunch and another six tables for dinner, how about that?”

“That’s also not a big difference. Look at big restaurants, with several dozen tables for lunch, and there’s still a need for table turnovers. In small restaurants and ramen shops, the turnover rate is even higher.

“Just six tables.” Bai Lu responded.

“Fine, just six tables then. What are the operating times for lunch and dinner?” Encountering such a delicious and cheap restaurant, the three of them would not give up this opportunity that easily.

“Lunch starts at noon and dinner starts at 6:00 pm.”

“Boss, how about this. We could help you with creating a sign for advertisement, hanging it on the door with the rules and operating hours carved on it. However, you do not have to compensate us with money, but instead, you have to reward us with three table worth of meals. One table for each of us. In other words, within the quota of twelve tables per day that you have decided, if we come and visit, you will have to make an extra table for us, with only a total of three uses. Are you ok with that?”

Bai Lu contemplated, “Actually it’s quite troublesome to make an advertisement signboard, but it’s much easier to cook,” therefore he agreed to it and said, “Deal, it’s confirmed then.”

The three of them hurriedly took out their phones. “Boss, so what’s your number?”

“There’s no need for that. Aside from writing the operating hours and rules on the sign, please include the exception that the restaurant will not be selling any alcohol. Only plain boiled water would be provided for free.”

Such arrogance, there were probably no other restaurant owners that are so arrogant. Not even the best world-class restaurants were like this.

The three youngsters combined their efforts, and after a short amount of time, they finished typing the words on the phone. Bai Lu examined it and nodded. Then he said, “Let’s use this then, thanks for helping out with the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all.” The three of them said a few more niceties, exchanged their names and then they left.

Watching them leave, Bai Lu secretly felt relieved. “Not bad, not bad, at least it wasn’t an empty day with completely no customers,” he thought.

The skinny lad with glasses was called Tong An Quan. Next day afternoon he delivered a wooden signboard. With black wordings carved onto an antique wood, which was much more elegant than the red paper that Bai Lu had used.

At the very top were five golden stars, which were a reference to the restaurant’s name. Below, the information decided yesterday was copied onto the board, although a few modifications were made. The restaurant will only serve six tables of customers for lunch and another six tables for dinner daily. No additional customers would be entertained. We seek your understanding. Anorexic customers would not be bound by this restriction and would be eligible for 20% discount if a doctor’s confirmation can be provided. However, each person is entitled to only one serving per meal.

Operating hours are as follows, 12:00 – 13:00 for lunch, 18:00 – 19:00 for dinner.

Also, our restaurant will not sell alcohol, and we do not accept reservations. The boss also has the authority to close the shop anytime he wishes. We seek your understanding again.

The sign was big and beautiful. It replaced the red paper that was written previously. A few knocking sounds “Tong Tong Tong” were made and the signboard was fixed permanently onto the wall. Tong An Quan said, “Master Lu, start cooking, the other two will be here soon.”

Looking at the new signboard, Bai Lu was delighted. He went back in and started cooking.

They started making a commotion outside the door, to attract passersby. After reading the signboard, some of them laughed and some despised. As more and more people saw it, after a while, almost everybody on this street knew about the advertisement.

The older woman that was seen yesterday barged into the kitchen to look for Bai Lu. “Why is there such a huge commotion? Where is your uncle?”

“2nd Uncle has already gone to the desert; why are you looking for him?”

Her name was Wang Ruo Mei. She was dazed for a while, and she cursed secretly in her heart, “This damned son of a b*tch. He took advantage of me and just left without a word.” She stared at Bai Lu angrily, then left in a huff.

At this moment, the other two friends of Tong An Quan arrived. The one that was slightly taller was named Wang Xiao Peng, while the other that was somewhat chubbier was called Huang Feng. They shouted as they entered the restaurant. “Master Lu, it’s mealtime.”

Bai Lu did not even ask what they wanted to eat. He just merely made four dishes and a bowl of soup, then he served it up right away with three bowls of rice.

The three of them ate it, and they praised repeatedly. “It’s too delicious!”

Huang Feng said, “This meal is not included in the three promised meals, how much should I pay?”

“$78, make it $70, thanks for your help.”

Huang Feng handed over the money, and he said, “From now on, we shall always eat here for lunch. How about a budget of $20 for each of us?”

Bai Lu laughed and said, “As long as you could occupy a table, I have no issues with it.”

“Why can’t you be a little bit more flexible? We are still your first customers. There should be some privilege, VIP or something…”

At this moment, outside the door, somebody said, “This boss must be crazy.”

“You don’t understand. That is called Hunger Marketing.”

“Marketing my ass, it’s just a small and lousy restaurant. Get back to work.”

They said a few words and left. Through the glass door, it could be seen that they were a bunch of chefs. They walked towards Tian Xiang Restaurant located just a hundred plus meters diagonally opposite. Tian Xiang Restaurant was the best restaurant along this street. It was rumored that the head chef commanded a monthly salary of more than five figures.

“What kind of chefs are they, if they do not have the discerning eye to recognize such a hidden gem.” Tong An Quan defended Bai Lu against the unfair judgment.

Bai Lu laughed. “Finish eating and leave immediately.”

“You are getting out of hand, how could you chase the customers away?” Tong An Quan felt indignant. Speaking with a tone of familiarity like with old friends, he muttered and left.

“Please come early tomorrow.” Bai Lu collected the bowls and chopsticks.

The operating hours of the restaurant in the afternoon was from 12:00 to 13:00. Even though the signboard attracted quite a buzz, many people only paid lip service, without actually coming in to have a meal. It was apparent that this place was within the Third Ring. With office buildings all around, countless white collared workers yearned for a cheap and good meal, but it was not an easy task. Speaking of which, even the Gou Bu Li dumplings store and the Ramen shop would be overcrowded during lunchtime, yet the Great 5-Star Restaurant remained empty.

From this it could be seen, just how shrewd a businessman 2nd Uncle Wang Mu Dun was. By grinding for so many years, he managed to turn a simple restaurant into a place where no one dared to enter.

Time flowed by like water, mid-day became the afternoon, then the afternoon became the night. In just a blink of an eye, the television was already broadcasting the Xin Wen Lian Bo news. Bai Lu stood up to close the shop. Including yesterday and today, the restaurant made a total of a few hundred dollars. Only Tong An Quan and friends ate here twice.

Bai Lu contemplated, “Why not go out and finish some errands while business is scarce.”

When he left the desert, his prison mate, Zhang Lao San, pleaded with him to search for his daughter. The remuneration he offered was the hidden location of his stolen treasure after years of plundering.

Bai Lu couldn’t care less of those treasures. The old guy once mentioned, that even though they were precious, most of them were extremely hard to liquidate for cash. What Bai Lu cared about were the feelings of the old guys in his cell. Even the newest member was known for at least ten years. More or less there was a mutual development of feelings, so what was entrusted to him, must be carried out.

There was only one big problem; he had no money. All in all, he had just more than a thousand bucks, which could not even afford a slightly better phone. If Zhang Lao San’s daughter were poor, he would not be able to help, so what could he do even if he had made the trip to visit?

The most pressing issue now was to accumulate more cash. Therefore, Bai Lu decided to dig for the treasure first.

Early morning the next day, he lowered the shutter door and posted a new sign, saying that the shop would be closed for several days.

Bai Lu left the city alone.

From Zhang Lao San’s instruction: “Leave the Northern City and head west. Approximately a few hundred kilometers away lies a mountain range. Behind the most dangerous peak that looks like an old man, there’s a forest with a piece of huge rock with the initials Lao San carved onto it. Walk a hundred meters to the right to reach two trees that are intertwined together. Dig two meters deep in front of the trees, and that’s the location of the treasure.”

Thus, Bai Lu journeyed to the west. Because of the digging operation, he first went to purchase a detachable military shovel. Luckily it could be found all over the street, so he bought one easily. Then he packed it into a small bag and headed into the mountain.

Bai Lu took the public transport and even had to walk. After more than two hours, he looked at the mountain and exclaimed, “What kind of bloody place is this, there’s actually a ticketing booth?”

The towering mountains were enclosed by just a few little fences, with a tar road that led straight through into the mountain range. Along the way were full of restaurants and small shops, like for fishing and rural tourism and more. In the front stood a giant billboard: Welcome to the forest park.

“The desert is so much better; one can freely walk around. As long as one lives, there’s no need to pay for a ticket.”