Free Web NovelChapter 76: Chapter 76: Demon Fruit
"Manager Uncle..." Chen Ze heard this voice in the kitchen, and when he poked his head out, he indeed saw the Nafi siblings sitting in a corner of the restaurant.
"Elena~ long time no see, why didn’t you come these past few days?" Betty seemed to also be fond of the two human children, smiling as she reached out to ruffle Elena’s hair.
"Sister Betty... my... my hair is too dirty..." Elena shyly dodged away, having realized after coming to this restaurant just how smelly she and her brother were.
However, Chen Ze and Betty had never said anything about it, so Elena particularly liked it here.
"Betty, take them up for a bath first, you know how to turn on the hot water, right?" Chen Ze also came out of the kitchen and handed the Nafi siblings two hot towels.
"Yes, Manager Uncle, thank you very much." The older brother Andrew respectfully gave Chen Ze a deep bow.
Chen Ze’s mouth twitched. He truly hadn’t expected that he, not even 27 years old, could already be uncle material. If he could choose, Chen Ze would much rather be called brother.
Betty, looking at a slightly depressed Chen Ze, couldn’t help but laugh a little, then took the Nafi siblings upstairs, though Chen Ze didn’t mind the siblings’ smell. In the restaurant, it was always important to consider the feelings of other customers.
"Human, this meal was quite nice." Lafra watched the whole process from the side, then patted her little skirt and stepped down from the chair.
"I’m glad you like it, Lafra, here is your twenty-pack takeout curry pork rice." Chen Ze came out of the kitchen carrying a big bag, which was carefully filled with twenty lunch boxes.
Lafra nodded her head and, seemingly without doing anything, a blood-red magical energy appeared in the air, enveloping the entire bag and vanishing inside the restaurant.
"Here’s the payment for this meal; a goblin servant contributed it to me." Lafra pulled out a bottle of liquid from her pocket and handed it to Chen Ze.
Chen Ze curiously took it and had a look. The stuff inside the bottle looked similar to beer—transparent bottle, slightly glassy, but with lots of bubbles.
"What’s this?" Chen Ze asked out of curiosity, as it was his first time seeing water from another world.
"This is wine brewed from the core of a Demon Fruit, seems to be pretty expensive stuff too?" Lafra didn’t particularly like drinking it, but since the goblin servant contributed ten bottles at once, she planned to use them all for her meals.
William nearby swallowed hard. Demon Fruit? He knew of it, a specialty of the negative planes, worth ten thousand gold coins each, and that was without the core.
"We welcome you to come again." With Betty not there, Chen Ze had to take on the responsibility of seeing off the guests, sending Lafra on her way.
"Manager, it’s time to settle the bill." William finished his first meal at the Dream Restaurant nervously.
The taste was great, and the cuisine was particularly unique, but eating here could make one feel too tense. Just the thought that the Blood Ancestor and the Monarch of Undead frequented this restaurant made William want to run away.
He wouldn’t stand a chance against either of those two if they were to lift a pinky finger, and he figured his own master wouldn’t have much chance against them either.
"Sure, would you like to pay with gold coins or exchange with ingredients?" Chen Ze clapped his hands, considering the swordsman-dressed gentleman in front of him seemed quite wealthy.
"I’ll pay with Gold Coins, I didn’t bring much in the way of ingredients." William shook his head, he had brought a considerable amount of magical defensive ornaments with him today and had also put on his best armor, but he simply hadn’t carried much food.
"Alright, five special recommended set meals, that will be..." Chen Ze was pondering over how much to charge.
"I was very satisfied with my meal today, manager. Here is the payment for my meal." William smiled contentedly, as it was the first time since becoming the Emperor that he could eat without any constraint.
William then placed a bag on the table, and Chen Ze could only smile as he accepted it. Chen Ze planned to look for a newcomer next time, someone who did business in another world, to buy some ingredients from them. Otherwise, he would never be able to spend all these Gold Coins in a lifetime.
As soon as Chen Ze received the bag, he noticed something was amiss, not that it lacked Gold Coins or was filled with rocks, but the purse was heavier than he had expected.
William picked up his sword and strolled out. He liked the cuisine here a lot, and despite the presence of those two strong individuals, he planned to come back again.
After William had left, Chen Ze opened the bag and looked inside. The bag appeared to be a Spatial Artifact, and from the small purse, Chen Ze pulled out more than five thousand Gold Coins.
Chen Ze examined the Gold Coins, noticing that the ones given by William were different from those given by Sebastian. Sebastian’s Gold Coins were larger and had a nicer luster.
"It’s time to prepare today’s dishes for Elena and the others." Chen Ze stretched languidly and collected the bowls and chopsticks, as for washing them? That was Betty’s job. Chen Ze only intended to help Betty clear away the bowls and chopsticks.
Before long, Chen Ze had prepared two more special recommended set meals, one of which was a curry pork chop rice with a particularly large portion, equivalent to two normal bowls, intended for Andrew.
The other was a dessert with an increased portion, made especially for Elena.
Similarly, these two special recommended set meals had also achieved a temporary enhancement in effect, which pleased Chen Ze. He was now slowly mastering the trick of temporarily enhancing his cooking.
It might sound strange, but Chen Ze indeed had a vague sense of the method: to cook for the guests. He called this trick "Heart of the Chef."
The same dish may please some people and not others, which is the principle behind the saying "you can’t please everyone." But to create a dish of perfect quality, one has to start from the perspective of the guests, considering their preferences to tailor personalized dishes for them, thus elevating the dish to perfection. freeweɓnøvel.com
While it sounds easy, it’s quite challenging in practice. For instance, with the Nafi Siblings, Chen Ze was aware of their identities, which allowed him to ponder and craft dishes suited for them. For other people, Chen Ze couldn’t quite figure it out.
"Tsk, I’ve realized after becoming a chef that being a good one isn’t easy." Chen Ze stretched again and then poked his head out to look around, only to see Betty leading the washed-up Nafi Siblings down the stairs.
"Uncle Manager!" Elena, wearing her shoes, threw herself into Chen Ze’s arms, and he reached out to tousle her hair.
"Go eat, it’s ready." frёewebnoѵēl.com
"Oh! Time to eat!" Elena’s stomach was growling. She walked over, sat down at the table, and then turned to look at her brother Andrew, not touching her spoon.
"Thank you, Uncle Manager. Andrew will never forget your kindness." Andrew was much more composed.
"Go ahead and eat. It’s not a big deal." Chen Ze smiled and shook his head, heading back to the kitchen.
