Chapter 35: Changed Timeline
No, who are you, buddy? Did I ask you?
Zhao Menghua collapsed, his face completely red and warm like Rambo saying "Warning, warning", several dirty words were already churning in his stomach.

If it weren't for the fact that there were two pretty girls sitting next to Lu Mingfei, and if he hadn't cared about his own image, he would have already poured those words onto Lu Mingfei's ugly face like a farmer applying fertilizer.

Zhao Menghua took a deep breath and stared at Lu Mingfei. Just when he was about to burst like a fully inflated balloon, his view was blocked by the executive chef who suddenly took a step forward.

As the executive chef of Judequan, he has been in charge of the restaurant for four or five years since he took over the brand from the master chef.

He knows clearly what changes have taken place in Judequan in the past four or five years.

Although in the eyes of outsiders, Judequan is still booming and a must-visit tourist spot, it is still planning to go public.

But only insiders like him knew that Judequan was actually on the decline.

The most obvious point is the decline in the quality of all Jude dishes.

Because the business is so booming, Judequan has opened branches in several places in the capital to accommodate people from other places.

However, a signboard can be copied, but a chef cannot be replicated, and the quality of a restaurant's dishes often follows the chef.

A good chef can turn a small restaurant into a famous one, while a bad chef can ruin a century-old restaurant.

Because there were too many tourists, the turnover rate was too high, and the chefs were not good enough, so the first thing Judequan did was to reduce the production process of the dishes. Even the signature roast duck was not guaranteed to be divided into 108 pieces.

In order to be consistent with the branches, the chefs at the head office were also asked to reduce the preparation steps of the dishes.

Although he was unwilling as the executive chef, he was powerless to influence the opinions of the top management and was forced to go with the flow.

But the capital is full of hidden talents. If the quality of your food declines, other restaurants will take the opportunity to catch up.

The "Dong Da" mentioned by the boy in front of him is one of the most difficult competitors of Judequan at present.

This boy looked young and seemed to be from another place, but he knew a lot about the capital's cuisine and his comments were quite like those of a gourmet.

Executive Chef Zhengshen decided to listen to Lu Mingfei's advice.

"Lu Mingfei, what does Minglu roast duck mean?" Liu Miaomiao held the chopsticks in her slender hands, her curiosity aroused by Lu Mingfei's words just now.

Lu Mingfei pondered. What did Lu Mingze say just now?

"There are two ways to cook Imperial Capital Roast Duck: roast duck cooked in an open oven and roast duck cooked in a stewed oven. Judequan is the ancestor of roast duck cooked in an open oven." Lu Mingfei spoke with confidence.

"What's the difference between roast duck in an open oven and roast duck in a stewed oven?"

"The biggest difference between roast duck in an open oven and roast duck in a stewed oven, apart from the different fuels, is the taste. The stewed oven has a door, which traps the water vapor inside, so the roast duck meat is soft and tender. The open oven, on the other hand, lets the water vapor out, so you get the crispness of the roast duck."

"Yes, absolutely!"

The executive chef finally couldn't help it and interrupted the conversation between Lu Mingfei and the others, looking excited.

"I never thought that you, at such a young age, would have done so much research on Imperial Capital Roast Duck."

Lu Mingfei was embarrassed: “Hahaha, I only understand a little bit, just a little bit.”

"Could you please give me some more advice?" the executive chef asked humbly.

"Ah?" Lu Mingfei was stunned.

The executive chef pointed to the other dishes on the table and said, "For example, please try this dish of crab and see if there is anything wrong with it. Also try this dish of four-joy meatballs and give me some suggestions."

Lu Mingfei was sweating profusely. He felt under tremendous pressure under the expectant gazes of the executive chef, Qiao Yiran, and Liu Miaomiao.

No, how would I know? Lu Mingze didn’t tell me the lyrics.

Lu Mingfei suddenly regretted arguing with the little devil in the illusion just now. This feeling of pretending to be cool is like when you are eating a big piece of steak and suddenly a piece of meat gets stuck in your teeth and you can't get it out no matter how hard you try. And why is Lu Mingze so arrogant? Isn't it said on the Internet that arrogant is out of fashion? If it is out of fashion, then you should change your personality.

Lu Mingfei's thoughts raced, and suddenly a divine light flashed through his brain. Then, Lu Mingfei threw away the napkin in his hand, sighed, stared into the chef's eyes, and said:

"I think you should start with your signature dish, roast duck, and don't aim too high. If you can't even make roast duck well, what's the point of making other dishes well?"

This sentence seems to make sense, but it is actually very empty. It seems to say everything, but also seems to say nothing.

Lu Mingfei finished reading the lyrics that Lu Mingze had given him, and he really didn't know how to comment sharply, so he said such an empty and pretentious remark.

But this sentence really stunned the executive chef of Jude Quantangtang.

Yes, for a restaurant that is famous nationwide for its roast duck, shouldn’t you make the roast duck first and then consider other dishes?
The executive chef was deeply impressed and felt that Lu Mingfei's knowledge of food was unfathomable.

Lu Mingfei saw the executive chef staring at him. Just when he was afraid that he would ask more questions, he saw the executive chef said apologetically:
"Thank you for your advice, classmate. It is true as you said that there are some things we haven't done well in the dishes. I will give you a free meal for your table as a token of my gratitude for your advice."

Seeing the executive chef leave, Lu Mingfei scratched his face, thinking that he could get a free meal by memorizing a few lines.

Suddenly someone patted Lu Mingfei's shoulder gently.

Turning her head, Liu Miaomiao's eyes were sparkling with some surprise.

"Lu Mingfei, I didn't expect you to know so much about food."

Lu Mingfei rubbed the back of his head and continued to pretend to be a gourmet: "I just like to eat. As I eat, I slowly understand the history and culture of food."

In fact, only the first half of the sentence is true. Lu Mingfei does like to eat, but it is not his responsibility once the food is in his stomach. It is the case that he only cares about the food but not the rest.

As for understanding food - even if you blindfold him, he may not be able to taste the difference between Wuhan hot dry noodles and Shaxian mixed noodles, so forget it.

Those are all words of the little devil, Lu Mingfei thought secretly in his heart.

But after what happened today, Lu Mingfei thought that he would have to give in to the little devil a little more in the future, otherwise it would be too uncomfortable to be at a loss for words when trying to pretend to be cool.

"Okay, okay, now that the executive chef has left, we can have a good meal."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Mingfei, who was really hungry, reached out and touched the roast duck. It was already cold as he had been talking for too long.

I looked around and was about to ask the waiter to help heat it up when I suddenly saw that the Zhao Menghua table next to me was no longer occupied and the waiter was clearing the table to make room for the next table of guests.

“Damn, eating so fast?!” Lu Mingfei muttered.

He didn't notice at all that Zhao Menghua couldn't help but walk away when the executive chef walked past him and started talking to him.

However, although there were many unexpected events along the way, at least Zhao Menghua was prevented from chatting up Liu Miaomiao today.

But if I wasn't here today, would Liu Miaomiao accept Zhao Menghua's invitation to share the table? Lu Mingfei pondered secretly.

If there had not been this scandal between Liu Miaomiao and himself, the seat-changing incident would not have happened, and the person sitting next to Liu Miaomiao would have been Zhao Menghua.

Then maybe Liu Miaomiao would agree to Zhao Menghua's invitation to share a seat.

Just because of my rebirth, all the above possibilities remain only possibilities and have not actually happened.

Lu Mingfei suddenly had a feeling.

Maybe I have changed the course of some things unintentionally.

　I worked overtime until 8:30 today and then got off work. After returning to the dormitory, I hurriedly finished the second chapter. It's a little late, I'm really sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)