Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Your Fried Chicken… No, Your…

Chen Ran looked left and right. On this entire street, only this KTV was hiring.

However, the storefront of this place looked like it hadn’t been renovated in ages. The door was open, but hardly any singing could be heard from inside. No matter how she looked at it, it seemed like this was the worst-performing business on the street.

She tried summoning the system in her mind: “Are you sure I can upgrade my skills here?”

The system continued to pretend to be aloof.

Chen Ran was already quite experienced in dealing with the system. She glanced around, hunching her shoulders a bit, watching the drunken people stumbling out of the KTV, and asked quietly in her mind, “But this place looks kind of unsafe… Do I really have to go in?”

The system remained silent for a while, then suddenly popped up a task:

【Series Task: Traditional Snack Set – Four Items】

【Task Step One: Successfully apply for the kitchen job at White Swan KTV】

Traditional snack set?

So there were four steps total?

Having successfully extorted a task out of the system, Chen Ran took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

It was already evening, the lights were coming on — the time when KTVs should be at their peak business hours.

At this time, every KTV should have its doors wide open, with muffled yet still audible wails and howls leaking out despite the soundproofing.

But this one… was oddly quiet.

The front desk girl was slumped over scrolling on her phone, giggling as she swiped. Chen Ran had nearly walked right up to her before she startled and stood up a bit flustered.

“Hello, how many in your party? What kind of room would you like? We’ve got small—”

Chen Ran quickly interrupted before she could finish the sales pitch. She pointed to the job posting on the door: “I’m here to apply for the kitchen job. Are you still hiring?”

Looking at the store’s pitiful business, she felt it necessary to ask again.

“Oh, okay, wait a sec. I’ll go call the boss for you.”

The front desk girl looked quite young and quickly returned to her listless demeanor. She said a few words into the intercom, and soon, a girl in a white suit dress came down the stairs.

“Hello, you’re here for the kitchen job?”

The boss didn’t look much older than Chen Ran, with neatly braided bangs tucked back into a low bun. Everything about her gave off the vibe of a well-bred young lady.

Her voice was soft and gentle, and before Chen Ran could even bring up the topic of the job’s duration, the girl spoke first: “However, I can only offer you one month of work. If you’re okay with that, I can increase the pay a bit more. Would that work for you?”

To be honest, Chen Ran could be considered socially anxious, not to mention being inexperienced in business. Even when her family ran a restaurant back then, she never paid much attention to the business side of things.

But even she could tell — this young lady was clearly not cut out for doing business!

Isn’t she just setting herself up to be taken advantage of?

Chen Ran began to respond, “One month is fine—”

Before she could finish, the gentle young lady reached out and grabbed her hand: “Great! To make up for the inconvenience of job hunting afterward, I’ll add another 1,500 to your salary. Let me show you the kitchen now!”

Hired just like that?The system quickly popped up a task notification.

【Application successful, series task step one completed】

【Task reward: Old-fashioned fried chicken drumstick】

【Task step two: Break through zero, bring the first customer to the KTV】

This task sounded... not good.

Break through zero? This KTV had zero customers?

Led by the boss to the kitchen, Chen Ran finally recovered from her shock and then grew worried — could this KTV really not survive even the one month she was supposed to work there?

“Look at the kitchen? It’s very clean, right?”

Chen Ran glanced at the kitchen; indeed, it was very clean, and the various cooking utensils all looked high-end and easy to use.

She walked over and opened the fridge; there were plenty of ingredients inside, even so many that it didn’t quite look like what a KTV kitchen would normally stock.

Which KTV would keep pork belly in the kitchen fridge? What would they use pork belly for?

The boss was still introducing herself: “My name is Gao Shuxian. You can call me Sister Gao or Sister Shuxian. If you need anything else, just tell me and I’ll buy it. But I have one condition: the food must be fresh and clean.”

Noticing Chen Ran looking back at her, Gao Shuxian smiled a little shyly: “The previous chef was really dirty, even when cutting fruit, I couldn’t stand it and fired him. That’s why I’m hiring again. You’ll mostly be making snacks and cooking two meals a day for the staff.”

This boss seemed quite kind and approachable; safety didn’t seem to be a problem. What needed worrying about was something else.

— Could this KTV really make money? She just said she could only offer one month of work. Could the KTV be planning to close after a month?

Could it really last a month?

Chen Ran silently asked in her mind, “System, if this KTV closes halfway, will my task completion still count?”

The system again forcefully popped up the series task notification.

No way — could it be expecting her to bring customers to this KTV?

Seeing Chen Ran say nothing, Gao Shuxian bit her lip and couldn’t help explaining: “This store is managed by my family. I don’t want to get married so soon. My dad said if I can manage this shop well, he’ll let me study abroad.”

“But now...”

Gao Shuxian sighed but quickly comforted Chen Ran: “Don’t worry, the month’s salary will definitely be fine. You don’t need to worry about accommodation either; you can stay upstairs with me.”

Her situation was just as Chen Ran guessed — obviously a pampered young lady, someone who had been sheltered so much she didn’t know how cruel the world could be.

“Okay,” Chen Ran looked at the system task and was really curious about what the traditional snack set included, no matter if the KTV could keep running or not, “Have you eaten dinner? Should I start working now or tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow, please. I haven’t eaten dinner yet today, but I can call someone to send some food over.”

Such a spoiled young lady!

Chen Ran waved her hand helplessly: “Don’t bother calling, I’ll cook something. You’ve got so much fresh meat and vegetables in your fridge; it’d be a waste not to use them.”

She had just glanced again; that big chunk of pork belly was actually from a fresh market delivery, dated yesterday.

Chen Ran looked again in the fridge — besides pork belly, she took out a head of cabbage, a bunch of chives, and some eggs — these eggs even had sterile egg labels.

This young lady must have lived in a vacuum before, right?Watching Chen Ran skillfully wash the vegetables and meat, Gao Shuxian also came over to help.

These days, the KTV’s business had been terrible — almost no customers ever came in. Her mood was suffocating, but she couldn’t complain to the other employees.

Every time she went home, she was met only with her two younger brothers’ sarcastic remarks and her mother urging her to go on blind dates.

She didn’t want to get married!

But before she took over, the business was clearly doing well.

Could it be because she canceled those dirty and shady deals? Or maybe because of the posters she put up in the store?

Chen Ran checked the kitchen’s ingredients and found there was not even any cooking wine. Going out to buy some now was unrealistic, so she decided to pick a bottle of beer as a substitute.

“Can I go pick a bottle of beer for cooking?”

Gao Shuxian nodded and followed Chen Ran to the small supermarket by the bar, watching as Chen Ran picked up and examined every bottle of alcohol.

There was even yellow wine here!

Chen Ran happily chose a bottle of yellow wine to cook with. Then she noticed a poster stuck in a hidden corner.

It read: “If you feel unsafe / are being followed / notice something odd about your drink, please call a staff member and ask why there isn’t a song called Labour. Our waitstaff will escort you out through the back door.”

She glanced at Gao Shuxian and gave a thumbs-up.

“Not bad, boss!”

Before applying, Chen Ran was a little worried — the KTVs on this street seemed hit-or-miss, not like the ones she used to go to with classmates.

She applied partly because of the system’s temptation, and partly because she trusted that the system, valuing her as its heir, wouldn’t put her in danger.

Sure enough, with a boss like this, what was there to worry about?

Gao Shuxian smiled, then heard Chen Ran ask, “Has this song been used? What kind of song is it? I’ve never heard of it.”

“You can listen to it, it’s very nice and the lyrics are great,” Gao Shuxian first answered about the song, then continued, “It was used twice, but because of this issue, it caused a big rift between me and my father. Since then, the business hasn’t been good…”

The girl she saved from being drugged was brought by her father’s business partner.

Half of the businesses on this street belonged to her family.

When she was in school, Gao Shuxian vaguely heard classmates gossiping about her family’s business, but she was always busy learning flower arranging, piano, and even baking, so she never paid attention.

After graduating, she realized her family just wanted to groom her into a pretty vase to be married off through a political marriage. That’s when she started paying attention to the family business.

She proposed managing a KTV to her father to gain autonomy over her marriage — a naive hope that by running a good business, she could prove she could make money!

But…

She looked around. This month was the last month agreed with her father. The confident sales figures she promised back then now looked like a joke.

Her father was even willing to slash prices across all other KTVs just to get her to give in.

But she didn’t want to bow her head.

Chen Ran didn’t understand the details but saw the boss looked down, so she didn’t ask much.

She just needed to cook well.The tasks assigned to her by the system were never ones she couldn’t complete. And all the tasks only required her to cook well.

“All right, boss, I’m going to use this bottle of wine now. I’ll make some meals for the staff and also prepare some snacks. Are there any rules about the types of snacks?”

Gao Shuxian shook her head. With business like this, what rules could there be?

“As long as it’s clean, you can make whatever you want! But I want to approve the pricing.”

“Okay! Then just wait for the food!”

Chen Ran picked up the yellow wine and headed to the kitchen. Her lively expression contrasted sharply with Gao Shuxian’s worried look.

Gao Shuxian watched her back with a bit of envy, then sighed again.

But before she could sigh, Chen Ran suddenly turned and pointed to the front door: “For business, the front door should be open.”

After all these days, all the KTVs around were offering discounts, and Gao Shuxian had already promised her father they wouldn’t compete by lowering prices. She was used to no customers; what use was opening the door?

However, seeing the new chef so full of life, Gao Shuxian felt embarrassed to refuse.

She personally went to open the glass door, noticing it was a bit dirty, and called the cleaning lady over to wipe it.

After all these days, the cleaning lady was already used to this boss’s good temper. Muttering as she took the rag, “No one’s coming anyway, why bother cleaning so thoroughly?”

Her voice was soft and she spoke the truth. Gao Shuxian couldn’t bring herself to refuse her. But the receptionist couldn’t stand it and blurted out, “What’s wrong with wiping a glass door? What are you saying?”

There weren’t many people in the entire KTV; some employees were sleeping in private rooms, others sat on sofas in the lobby.

Gao Shuxian stood to the side, listening to the chaotic chatter. Hungry and anxious, she rubbed her arms unconsciously.

Someone heard from the front desk that they had hired a chef in the afternoon and asked, “Sister Gao, did you try the new chef this afternoon? Is the food good? What can she cook?”

Gao Shuxian suddenly realized she had forgotten even these basic things and had directly hired Chen Ran.

Seeing her expression, the employees said matter-of-factly, “Sister Gao, you didn’t forget about this, did you?”

Gao Shuxian got a little nervous but explained, “It’s fine. I let her cook staff meals first. Whether she stays depends on this staff meal. The announcement also said the probation period is three days…”

“Okay, hope the food is edible.”

While the employees were chatting, a very delicious smell suddenly came from the kitchen.

If Zhu Chenchen were here, she would definitely recognize it — this was the Lion’s Head meatballs that Chen Ran had unbeatable skills with in Xinhua!

The deep-fried Lion’s Heads were simmered on low heat, then the heat was gradually increased to reduce the sauce, and the aroma spread slowly.

The receptionist sniffed and said, “This smells so good...”

Not only her, the employees who had just been slumped on the sofas all sat up straight and looked toward the kitchen.

“Is it braised pork? Doesn’t quite seem like it... smells better than braised pork.”

“There’s a bit of a fried smell too...”

“Wait, I think I smell braised chicken too? That earlier scent was pork, right? This chef really went all out? Today we’re in for a treat!”

“It’s not braised, it’s marinated flavor. Could she be making duck dishes?”

In the kitchen, Chen Ran had already lifted the lid off the pot, letting the Lion’s Heads slowly reduce the sauce while releasing a strong and rich aroma.The tasks the system assigned to her she had little clue about, but she knew what she could do and what she could do well.

She could cook very well!

The Lion’s Head meatballs were slowly reducing the sauce, and the aroma was becoming increasingly intoxicating. Chen Ran washed and chopped the napa cabbage and chives, then evenly coated the braised chicken legs she took out with cornstarch.

The ingredients this young lady bought were all very fresh—even these small “pipa” chicken legs were chilled fresh, perfect for the recipe the system had just given her.

The system’s recipe was somewhat old-fashioned; for example, this fried chicken was a very classic, traditional style. It was completely different from the Western-influenced Korean fried chicken or fast-food fried chicken popular now.

The small pipa legs were first blanched, then braised, which already made them irresistibly fragrant. Now, after being coated with cornstarch and fried, the aroma almost surpassed the limits of imagination!

Just looking at the cornstarch-coated chicken skin, one could imagine how crispy it would be!

And the aroma from braising before frying combined the best of both worlds—it was the ultimate fragrance!

The receptionist had already rushed into the kitchen!

She couldn’t describe the aroma of this fried chicken; it was completely different from any fried chicken she had eaten before. Some fried chicken smelled good but faintly carried a dry, oily smell.

But this fried chicken, just by smelling it, she could even sense a salty, savory fragrance!

She arrived just in time to see Chen Ran scooping the fried chicken legs out.

In the silver strainer, the chicken legs’ color was somewhat distinctive—not the usual reddish-brown of regular fried chicken. The braising and frying process gave these legs a slightly brownish hue.

But it was exactly this color and the slightly curled-up chicken skin that let one imagine the texture of these pipa legs at a glance!

The receptionist, a fried chicken lover, stood still, eyes glued to the scene.

She could almost imagine that the first bite would reveal chicken skin that was crispy—not flaky, but clean and crisp!

Then, the outer layer of the chicken leg meat was even slightly crunchy, with a strong salty, savory braised flavor, chewy in a way that could be as addictive as beef jerky.

This crispy coating and the high-heat frying technique guaranteed a crispy outside and tender inside! The inside chicken meat should be like premium braised chicken—tender and juicy...

“Give me one!”

Chen Ran was startled!

The receptionist looked very young; her bangs were pinned neatly to one side with a white hairclip, but her small body held an intense craving for the chicken leg.

“Wait a moment, it’s too hot!”

At the same time, the Lion’s Head meatballs, which had previously been unbeatable in kindergarten fights, were almost ready!

The sauce had already thickened somewhat, making the aroma even more enticing. The two rich fragrances intertwined indistinguishably, bursting out from the kitchen and flowing all the way out to the street.

Yes, standing at the door, Gao Shuxian felt that the aroma should be described as “flowing.”

Such a tangible aroma made one feel as if a single breath had swallowed the savory meat juice whole.

The staff could no longer resist; several rushed into the kitchen, and people began to pause at the KTV entrance.

An Ji Shan had just finished work. This street was a daily route for her and her colleagues. On Friday after work, the two would sometimes go to the KTV to shout loudly and release their inner pressure.

However, she had never entered this KTV with a beautiful white swan on the signboard.

After all, recently, for some unknown reason, all the KTVs on this street were holding promotions—stacking all kinds of coupons—and sometimes singing for two hours wouldn’t even cost tens of yuan.But why does this seemingly deserted KTV smell so good inside?

The immense work pressure had long made An Ji Shan give up controlling her weight. After a day of battling wits with the manager, only high-fat, high-carb foods could heal the wounds in her heart!

Just like this smell now...

Two girls stood at the entrance of the White Swan, sniffing repeatedly. They looked a little silly but super cute.

“I feel like it’s the smell of braised Lion’s Head meatballs?”

“No, it has to be fried chicken! And not that kind with a thick batter coat...”

“Lion’s Head!”

“Old-fashioned fried chicken! That kind that’s crispy outside but tender inside, the old-fashioned fried chicken!”

They sniffed for a long time but couldn’t convince each other, finally stepping up the stairs together.

An employee from another nearby KTV saw this and quickly came over to hand out flyers: “Customers, come check out our place! Our small private rooms are now on limited-time discount, and we’re giving away chips!”

An Ji Shan didn’t hesitate at all and pushed the flyer away.

What a joke, did she work so hard all day just for a bag of chips?

Could the luxurious aroma of meat lingering at her nose compare to a bag of chips and a discount?

Whether this smell was braised Lion’s Head or fried chicken, she needed to get it into her mouth immediately!

Under Gao Shuxian’s slightly surprised gaze, the two girls quickly walked into the hall.

“How much is your fried chicken... no, how much do your private rooms cost... no…”

Walking into a KTV looking for food, this kind of contrast made An Ji Shan’s words come out awkwardly.

Her colleague quickly took over: “Alright, let me just say it! What is this aroma? How can I get to eat it?”