Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Before Chen Ran Ran Away, She Even Learned to Make Sounds...

The policeman who was dispersing the crowd suddenly saw a familiar figure in the line.

“Director Yan… why are you here too…”

The person called Director Yan was an old man who looked about sixty or seventy years old, with white hair, waving his hand.

“Don’t call me Director Yan. First, I’ve already retired. Second, even if I hadn’t, I’m just the deputy director.”

The former Director Yan spoke kindly, but his words were serious.

He stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the policemen standing on the steps: “What’s this? Does the police station below no longer emphasize law enforcement for the people? Let me ask you, you received a public report, have you verified it?”

Of course not yet, another policeman who came with him had just entered.

The policeman was sweating profusely.

“Not yet…” he defended himself, “but the informant was very detailed, saying this place was originally just a KTV, but because the fried chicken is so delicious, there’s a huge crowd every day, which is a bit strange…”

“Oh? A bit strange, and you’re dispersing the customers in the store? Who’s responsible if these customers can’t buy anything? Or are you responsible if the store’s business is affected today?”

The retired director’s tone was gentle throughout, but his words were hard for the young policeman to bear.

“Sorry… sorry,” the young policeman’s forehead was drenched in sweat. “Then we’ll wait here for the kitchen inspection results first, is that okay?”

He looked at the retired former director: “After all, it’s a report, quite a big matter involving food safety for so many people. If we don’t verify…”

The retired director barely nodded, watching the young policeman, sweating heavily, rush into the store.

Huang Renshou patted this old regular customer on the shoulder: “Alright, you really come in handy at critical moments!”

Director Yan calmly accepted the compliment, nodding vaguely towards the inside of the store: “It’s gotten like this! Unbelievable!”

He glanced at the KTVs on both sides: “If you ask me, these places should be inspected. Who knows what kind of filth is hidden there…”

“Should be checked!”

Huang Renshou said righteously: “If you ask me, this report might have been set up by some competitor… adding poppy seeds? They’re really scheming! If adding that stuff made food delicious, who’d bother learning to cook properly?”

Director Yan smiled, found a contact on his phone, sent a few messages, then put the phone away.

A group of people waited outside; in the line was a retired former deputy director, and the two policemen inspecting inside were under huge pressure.

Especially since they had just received a phone call.

“Chief… yes, no, we’re not framing anyone!”

The young policeman answered the call, sweat dripping down his forehead. Gao Shuxian quickly handed him a bottle of ice-cold cola, but he repeatedly waved it off, not daring to take it.

“Really no issues, Chief, just a normal police response. Yes… I was just thinking that normally KTV snacks shouldn’t be this popular…”

“Yes yes, no problem found, I’m withdrawing now… ah, you said what, sweep tonight—”

The young policeman almost slipped and revealed the operation information, quickly covering his mouth.

After hanging up, he smiled at Gao Shuxian: “Sorry, we’re just responding normally, came to take a look. We checked the seasonings, no problem. You can continue normal business, okay?”

After the two policemen left, the queue in front of Swan KTV slowly started moving again.Huang Renshou finally got to the front of the line! When he entered with his regular customers, he ran into quite a few acquaintances.

“Oh wow, Boss Huang is lining up here too? What about your private kitchen restaurant?”

“Taking a two-day break! So what, can’t a chef eat out?”

Thanks to Gao Shuxian’s persistent contact over the past two days, the small carp fish was finally being supplied on time! And the finally completed snack set changed from being supplied individually to being supplied as a whole set.

“Come, have a taste! Just one bite and you’ll know, we’re not letting you shine for nothing.”

“How can this be called helping,” the retired Yan Guangrao said sternly, “this is solving problems for the people, it’s what we should do… oh, crispy!”

It must be said that eating the four individual snacks was already quite delightful, but putting them together created an indescribable harmony.

Unlike Huang Renshou, who had different tastes, the health-conscious Yan Guangrao especially liked the vegetarian meatball.

“This vegetarian meatball is really good. I’ve never eaten this kind made by frying tofu before. Next time I make it at home, I’ll have him try it too—though I wonder if I can fry it to match this young chef’s flavor…”

“That’s tough,” Huang Renshou said honestly to his old friend, “At first, I thought, this young chef is so talented, should I take on an apprentice? No one in my family knows cooking, and my private kitchen restaurant can’t find anyone to help.”

He took a bite of the small fried fish, shaking his head and sighing: “But after seeing his real skill, in another two years, who knows who’ll be apprenticing to whom!”

“Look at all those people lining up outside, I just asked around, quite a few have followed him all the way here.”

“So you’re saying this young chef is already good enough to be on the famous chefs list?”

Huang Renshou never qualified for the famous chefs list in his lifetime. Hearing his old friend say this, he was a bit stunned.

“Maybe… even if not now, in another two years, surely.”

Taking a sip of wine, the old man sighed wistfully: “Honestly, when I was her age, I didn’t have such patience…”

As they talked, a sudden commotion erupted outside.

But no matter if the sky fell, neither of them would give up the delicious food in front of them! After drinking a few sips together, a waiter hurried over to explain.

“Dear customers, please don’t worry. It’s just the few KTVs next door being raided… has nothing to do with our place. Please enjoy your meal and press the call button if you need anything.”

Shunzi quickly explained to several private rooms, then went outside to check on the customers waiting in line. When she returned to the KTV, she saw the boss standing by the door, looking thoughtful.

She couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Gao, what’s wrong?”

Usually, Gao Shuxian tried not to talk about these matters with the staff. But today, she really felt a bit lonely, yet somewhat free.

“Look, the other KTVs in my family were raided… they said it involved prostitution…”

She had heard before that the family business was not very clean, but back then, she was still dependent on her family for survival, so she somewhat believed it but dared not truly believe it.

Remembering what the older sister just told her, Gao Shuxian firmly decided she must leave this family!

After this month’s KTV closes, taking the business revenue with her, where couldn’t she go?

“Good that they’re investigating,” Shunzi, who had worked at the KTV for several years and seen plenty of dirty dealings, said energetically, “It should’ve been checked long ago!”

Watching Shunzi rush into the kitchen, Gao Shuxian took a deep breath, picked a bottle of ice-cold sugar-free cola from the fridge, and headed to the kitchen to find Chen Ran.

Chen Ran was seasoning the braised chicken legs in the kitchen. Since her seasoning skill upgraded to S-level, she enjoyed adjusting the ratio of the braised spice packets even more.

Each batch of chicken legs had a different condition. According to the state of each chicken leg, she adjusted the proportion of each spice accordingly, so the final chicken legs came out in the best condition.The kitchen used to be very hot, but last night Gao Shuxian even came over to install air conditioning for the kitchen. Wang Jinghan also came by from time to time to bring her wet towels to wipe the sweat. The working environment here was much better than the small restaurant in Yanglianshan before.

Chen Ran happily threw the prepared spice packet in. When she looked up, she saw Gao Shuxian handing her a bottle of cola.

“Okay, thank you.”

Although she still couldn’t taste the flavor, she especially liked carbonated drinks now. The little bubbles popping and disappearing in her mouth simulated part of her lost sense of taste very well.

Squinting, she took a big sip of the cola. The aunt helping with work also came over to help fry the chicken legs. Chen Ran comfortably sat down in an armchair specially added for her in the kitchen.

Suddenly, Gao Shuxian came over.

“Ranran, don’t you feel sad inside?”

Sad?

Chen Ran turned her head and saw Gao Shuxian’s big eyes full of concern.

Every night, Chen Ran stayed with Gao Shuxian upstairs in the Swan building. She brought very few things, rushed every day, and was even forced by Gao Shuxian to do face masks and skincare.

Naturally, the two girls of similar age exchanged many secrets.

Including Chen Ran’s family.

“It should be... very sad, right?”

Chen Ran lowered her head and thought. Her father’s betrayal, her mother’s lack of backbone, Great-Grandpa Zeng’s abandonment... and the loss of her sense of taste, which was fatal for a chef.

She recalled when she first encountered these things, she was like a puppet, running straight to Great-Grandpa Zeng without thinking. Her first reaction was to panic and repay debts, rather than solving her scumbag father’s debts...

“Actually, my whole life has been very lacking. I never had an early romance, never chased after idols... not even addicted to novels or dramas.”

In all these years of her life, the only hobby supporting her was cooking.

Such a life made her initially like a soft bun... but it was precisely this kind of life that, after going through such hardships, still kept her going.

She could still hold a knife! She could still cook! She still had the system!

Her father never loved her, Great-Grandpa Zeng’s love was fake, her mother’s love was fragile — none of that mattered.

Her love for cooking was real, and the love given back by diners who ate her food was also real.

“But compared to cooking, none of these matters anymore.”

Chen Ran pointed far outside at the long line of customers waiting: “Even now, I think it’s a strange and incredible thing to be chased by so many people everywhere. Is the food I make really that good?”

She had no sense of taste, and could only judge her dishes by the system’s appraisal skills.

And all she could do was put more sincerity into the food.

At kindergarten, she deboned chicken legs for the kids, made tastier fried eggs; when undercover in the food truck, she made pancakes as fast as possible so everyone waiting in line could eat the pancakes they wanted.

Also, carefully making every pork knuckle, cleaning every small carp when making crispy fried carp...

Of course, she also had recipes from the system.

With the system, she was already lucky!

Should she feel sad now?Of course, she could feel sad. But that sadness was useless.

What she needed to do was work hard to improve and put her heart into making every dish well.

Chen Ran reached into her pocket and felt the ebony business card that Chang Nian had given her.

Not only Chang Nian... but also Ms. Wang, Wang Zhaoshan pushing behind the scenes, that little assistant whose name she hadn’t remembered, and Chen Shihan, who still reminded her every day to exercise her wrists.

“A person is their day-to-day actions. If I want to be called a great chef, then all I need to do is cook well every day.”

Chen Ran tilted her head back and drank the last of the cola in the bottle. The rich bubbles surged in her mouth.

She closed her lips tightly, feeling the bubbles burst quickly, which reminded her of the spicy taste she needed every day before losing her sense of taste.

Gao Shuxian took the bottle from Chen Ran’s hand and, seeing her lively energy as she picked up that simple kitchen knife again, couldn’t help but ask, “Ranran, will you just keep working like this? Will you open a restaurant in the future?”

“Of course!”

The system’s missions didn’t include opening a restaurant, but Chen Ran firmly believed that one day she would definitely have her own store!

Her restaurant must use the freshest, highest-quality ingredients to present freshly cooked delicious food to customers!

Maybe the restaurant wouldn’t be very big, but it absolutely wouldn’t be like Uncle’s banquet hall, charging hundreds per dish while customers end up eating so-called “central kitchen” controlled pre-made meals.

Gao Shuxian summoned courage: “Then I’ll be your accountant!”

Chen Ran almost cut herself as she chopped, turning around in surprise.

Just as Gao Shuxian worried she was too abrupt and wanted to take back her words, she saw Chen Ran smile.

Usually, Chen Ran’s most frequent expression was a blank face; she was always cooking or practicing in ways they couldn’t understand.

But today, Chen Ran smiled more than usual.

“That’s not impossible... but then I have to work hard. You’re from 985 university, majoring in accounting, right? If I hire an accountant like you, how big would my banquet hall have to be...?”

Chen Ran calculated in her heart: a banquet hall that could afford an accountant like Gao Shuxian would probably have to be on the level of Chen Boduan’s Zhìwèizhāi.

Shunzi happened to come in to pick up vegetables, heard the tail end, and couldn’t help laughing: “Hey, Chef Chen, you really don’t know how many people outside want to eat your food. If you open a restaurant in the future, it’ll be easy! Save me a spot, I’ll be your head waiter!”

Shunzi dashed out like the wind. Gao Shuxian felt a little embarrassed, patted Chen Ran on the back, then left too. Only Chen Ran remained, opening the small carp’s back while smiling uncontrollably.

She couldn’t help but nag the system.

“System, you sent me to work at this KTV, not just to find me an accountant, right?”

“Although the mission is to work at a hundred places, you actually want me to open a restaurant, don’t you?”

She remembered the system saying it wanted to get that spatula back. If that was really the goal, either she would inherit the Chen family, or she would outright defeat them.

She would never go back to the first option. For the second, sooner or later she would open her own store.

The Chen Cooking God from back then eventually opened his own store, and its name was both arrogant and sincere.

“Food is Heaven!”

This name showed respect for diners — “people regard food as heaven” — and also carried a proud spirit of being number one.

Chen Ran thought the system would stay silent, but unexpectedly, a mission finally popped up.【Hidden Main Line Activated】

【Reopening “Food is Heaven” in the Capital】

【Mission Conditions: Host must have all skills at least at 2S level, collect enough S-level and above recipes and special-effect recipes】

【Additional Mission Condition: Loyal Employees (2/N)】

【Mission Reward: “Food is Heaven” Plaque】

【Additional Reward: Starting Capital (distributed according to number of employees)】

Chen Ran recalled that the “Food is Heaven” plaque in the Chen family ancestral hall was leaning against the ground. She once asked Chen Yuncong why, and he said the original plaque was lost during the turmoil years; the current one was just a replica.

She put the prepared small carp into the basin to season, quietly laughing: “So it was you who put it away...”

Unexpectedly, after such a long time, the system finally revealed this trump card to her.

But now was good.

Back when she was driven out of the Chen family, that miserable Chen Ran who could only numb herself by practicing knife skills every day at the kindergarten was gone.

Now, she had enough confidence to take back that plaque!

The diners outside didn’t know about the chef’s change, but they could taste the difference in the chicken legs.

The first chicken leg Chen Ran made was ordered by An Jishan, and to her, the change was especially obvious.

“Yaoyao, don’t you think this chicken leg tastes... better?”

Li Yao took a small bite of the edge, chewed hard, and finally nodded with some puzzlement: “Seems like it. I feel like the flavor of this chicken leg has more layers!”

She even learned to describe chicken legs using the word “layers”!

The one who felt it more deeply was Huang Renshou.

By now, the White Swan KTV had become a local internet-famous check-in spot. He was busy with his private restaurant during the day and only came back here again after more than a week.

Still had his granddaughter queue up early.

Still arranged to come with Yan Guangrao, and by the time the two finally sat in the private room, they were both sweating heavily.

Shunzi came in, saw the two old men sweating, and thoughtfully turned up the air conditioning a bit, afraid it would give them headaches.

As usual, when the snack set was served, Huang Renshou took the first chopsticks of small carp.

Yan Guangrao was talking about what he saw on the way: “Those few KTVs on this street have been almost completely inspected. I heard they said it will take some time for rectification before reopening. Some places were seriously dirty, and quite a few people were arrested.”

He took a big bite of the chicken leg before saying: “This kind of thing must be thoroughly cleaned up! With stuff like that around, how many girls get led astray...”

“Hey, let’s not talk about that. It’s good they got caught. But with those places shut down, it’s easier to line up at White Swan now, hahaha. I just saw those closed stores put chairs outside and even have some ‘Queue Committee’?”

He said a few words, then seeing Huang Renshou didn’t respond, couldn’t help but ask: “What’s wrong? Stunned?”

Yan Guangrao was also an old customer of Huang Renshou’s private restaurant. These days, he keenly noticed that the old man had actually removed his vinegar-fried small carp dish from the menu.

This old man, got hit hard?

He couldn’t help but comfort his old friend: “A strong punch fears the young. Cooking is a physical job too! Look at that young girl, she’s even taller than you...”As soon as those words came out, Huang Renshou, who had just been spacing out, immediately glared at the retired bureau chief opposite him.

“I’m just shrinking because I’m old! When I was young, I was tall and strong…”

He sighed and didn’t continue the topic, instead fiercely biting into the small carp and taking a hard swig of wine.

“Taste it, can you tell?”

Yan Guangrao might not have felt much, but as a professional chef, he sensed it immediately.

This small carp… had improved even more compared to the first time he ate it!

The original small carp was crispy and fragrant, with fish bones so crisp they could be swallowed whole.

Now the small carp was still crispy and fragrant, but while preserving multiple layers of aroma, it amplified the natural sweet fragrance unique to the carp.

As a lifelong veteran chef, Huang Renshou couldn’t even imagine how deep this seasoning skill truly was.

He recalled that a supplier friend had complained a few days ago that this small KTV alone could consume thousands of jin of small carp per day!

With so many carp fed through, this young chef’s skill improvement was inevitable.

Huang Renshou suddenly sped up eating the dishes, surprising his old drinking buddy who asked, “What’s up? In a hurry to free up space for the people behind?”

“No, I’m going home to put that vinegar-fried small carp back on the menu!”

Though he was over seventy years old this year, it didn’t mean there was no room for improvement!

Yan Guangrao laughed: “That’s more like it. Don’t get me wrong, this crispy fried carp is delicious, but I do like your vinegar-flavored one. We just love a bit of sour!”

The two of them quickly finished their snacks and drinks. When leaving, Huang Renshou old man went back to the kitchen once more.

He handed a small note to Chen Ran: “It’s nothing special… just thought I’d give it to you, maybe you can make it better.”

Chen Ran was a bit surprised. Watching the old man leave hurriedly, she looked down and found it was a recipe.

The recipe for vinegar-fried small carp.

She smiled, carefully folded the small carp recipe and put it in her pocket.

She wasn’t allowed to give away the system’s recipes on her own. But one day in the future, she could create her own recipes, and then she could share with this old man.

During these many days at White Swan KTV, she had gained friends, seasoning skills, a snack set, and finally even a recipe like this.

Chen Ran was very happy.

Also, Gao Shuxian—after more than half a month of business revenue, she was financially independent from her family.

Moreover, the Gao family’s shady business had taken a heavy hit, so her timely withdrawal could avoid collateral damage.

She shyly discussed with Chen Ran: “I was thinking on the last day to give back to the customers, what do you think? And also tell everyone that you’re leaving… so no one gets fooled when the KTV returns to the family.”

“No problem!”

After discussion, the way to give back to customers on the last day became that any receipt from any day could be exchanged for a serving of Lion’s Head meatballs.

Of course, after Chen Ran’s strong objection, the “last day” was changed to the store anniversary.

Once this news spread, Chen Ran’s whole fan group was thrilled!Teacher Deng’s husband, Wu Kang, was the most excited!

Losing something once isn’t the most painful; briefly experiencing it and then losing it again is the worst!

Last time he came to White Swan and ate a Lion’s Head meatball, he was thrilled—only to be told by the waiter that it would soon be taken off the menu?

This time the Lion’s Head was back on the menu, still at the low price of ten yuan each. Wu Kang was so excited he felt like flying!

Unfortunately, it was still limited in quantity...

Not just Wu Kang, the film emperor who finally found time to come was also very excited.

He had already seen everyone’s craving for the Lion’s Head in the fan group, and the special “0.1 Lion” rating standard made him even more curious about what this classic delicacy would truly taste like.

However, he didn’t have a previous purchase receipt and had to buy half of one from Brother Green Pepper.

That half alone almost brought him to tears!

The S-grade Lion’s Head recipe, combined with Chen Ran’s current S-grade seasoning skill, finally showed its true power!

If the kindergarten version of the Lion’s Head mainly attracted people because of its texture, now the flavor was so good that people could even overlook the texture!

“I can’t take it anymore, this soup has to be soaked with rice!”

The film emperor couldn’t help himself, holding the leftover food box and running to the convenience store to buy rice. But unfortunately, he was immediately recognized there.

Others were the same, but some felt something was off.

Wan Jiaxin had become a minor admin in Chen Ran’s fan group. Though her experience was a bit less than Ji You’s, she had spent more time there.

Especially since producer Wang Dajun had specially instructed her to maintain a good relationship with Chen Ran. In some sense, Wan Jiaxin’s fandom was publicly funded.

“Something’s wrong, why aren’t there any fried snacks today?”

Wan Jiaxin’s eyes shifted, and she deliberately took a shallow fall on the steps. Having long mingled in various drama and program crews, her fall had about a 90% success rate like some young idol’s act.

“Oh no, what happened? Come, let me help you inside to sit.”

Wan Jiaxin tried her best to act, and while the front desk girl went to find a spray bottle, she quickly glanced into the back kitchen.

Chen Ran wasn’t in the kitchen at all! Only a seventy-something old man was happily watching the cooking.

They had been fooled again!

Wan Jiaxin quickly reported in the group chat. Meanwhile, the first batch of diners who finished the Lion’s Head also reacted in the group.

“The boss said there will be a new chef tomorrow; no need to come here anymore!”

“Yes, I received the same feedback! And the boss is very sneaky—after eating, they make us leave through the back door!”

“Everyone split up and try to find Chef Chen!”

“My Ran Ran sister, who did you learn to play tricks from? How could you lead us on a wild goose chase!”

“It’s just a few Lion’s Heads, yet you’re all drooling so much you can’t even keep an eye on her!”

But by now, Chen Ran had already gone far away.

These past few days had really worn her out. Before these diners caught up with her again, she hoped to relax and take it easy for a few days.However, her next workplace had already been confirmed by the system.

Perhaps because her seasoning skill had finally reached S-level, this time the system’s suggested job would obviously bring more dish challenges.

Chen Ran glanced at the time; she had arrived a bit early, so she bought a bottle of cola by the roadside and waited.

Fortunately, the other party seemed eager to pick up the new chef and arrived about ten minutes earlier than the agreed time.

A large RV, looking like it came out of some sci-fi show, stopped.

A young man with slightly messy hair and a somewhat familiar face jumped out.

“You’re Ran Ran, right? Sorry to keep you waiting. My mom told me to come early to pick you up, but the car had some trouble and needed fixing. Come, come, give me your luggage!”

Chen Ran followed him onto the vehicle, looking at the tables and chairs filling the cabin, and couldn’t help but ask, “Are banquet setups this powerful now? How many tables can you fit in this car?”

The young man was called Shu Jianmin. The aunt Chen Ran worked with before at Yanglianshan small restaurant was his mother.

“Don’t underestimate this car—I’ve got forty sets of tables and chairs loaded! Plus, if the locals chip in, we can manage about fifty tables no problem. But the kitchen staff... a bit lacking…”

“Nowadays there are many rural banquets, especially ours that can roam around anywhere and provide tables, chairs, and bowls—business is great, all booked into next year! This month alone we have three villages lined up.”

The young man smiled honestly: “Ran Ran, don’t worry, my mom told me to charge you the highest price!”

“Get seated, I’m about to drive!”

With a roar, the RV started moving!

Chen Ran couldn’t help but look back at the direction of White Swan KTV and smiled.

This time, it won’t be easy to chase after her, right, everyone?