The Gourmet Customizer

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: A Change of Mindset, Everything Back on Track

She had gone over the proposal thousands upon thousands of times. There were absolutely no issues.

Ling Shuyu had also personally created the presentation PPT, and naturally, she would be the one to present it.

The meeting’s agenda was flawless. From the seating arrangement to the selection of tea, Ling Shuyu had personally overseen every detail, even down to the distance between the gel pens and the notepads.

She had even called in colleagues from other departments of Xinghui Company to Delicious first thing in the morning.

They performed a thorough cleaning of the entire space, from the elevator entrance to the office interior!

"Everything is ready. As for the rest..." Ling Shuyu sat in the car, stroking the Lina ragdoll on the passenger seat. ’Boss Su, you have to do your best, too!’

While the meal wasn’t the deciding factor for success, it was definitely a crucial part of the reception. A good meal could earn them bonus points, but a bad one would certainly lose them points.

Ling Shuyu was waiting anxiously at the airport, and back at the company, Su Chen was just as anxious with his preparations!

He had thought everything would go smoothly according to plan. He had even done a full run-through of the process himself back in the Gourmet Practice Room.

But when it came to the actual preparations, all sorts of problems inevitably cropped up.

For instance, while preparing the Sautéed Shredded Trio, Aunt Fang mistakenly mixed the chicken breast with the chicken thigh meat meant for another dish. If Su Chen hadn’t discovered it in time during his inspection, it would have been a real disaster when it came time to cook.

Eventually, Su Chen simply shooed everyone out of the kitchen.

"Fifteen courses, and the boss is in there working all by himself while we just sit out here. Isn’t that a bit wrong?" He Shuting asked, feeling very uneasy.

When she came to work this morning, she had felt that the atmosphere in the company was off.

Those people from Xinghui Company were bustling about, cleaning, checking all the equipment, and setting up the meeting room.

Meanwhile, Su Chen had been busy in the kitchen since early in the morning. Following their usual routine, the rest of them had gone to the kitchen to help with prep.

But as soon as He Shuting picked up a kitchen knife and started chopping a head of garlic, Su Chen stopped her. She remembered his words clearly. He had said:

"Your garlic has no form. It’s not suitable for this kind of dish."

That had really gotten He Shuting down at the time.

Later, when Bai Xiaobo offered to help Su Chen process a few of the cleaned fish, he was also stopped.

"This fish is for making fish balls. The way you’re kneading it will ruin the meat’s springiness. Stop."

Even Aunt Fang, who was usually quick and nimble, was chided by Su Chen.

"Aunt Fang, even though chicken breast and chicken thigh are both chicken, their textures are completely different. Mixing them together will cause a major problem."

And so, the five of them were kicked out of the kitchen by Su Chen.

"The boss is right," Liu Shengnan said, sitting ramrod straight. "These dishes are different from what we usually eat. I was just doing the math."

Liu Shengnan took out her small ledger. "We left with fifteen thousand. After travel expenses and the cost of ingredients, we still have twelve thousand left."

Most of the money was actually spent on travel. The actual cost of buying local ingredients was negligible. Besides, Su Chen didn’t buy a lot of ingredients—just enough of each to make two or three servings of every dish.

"Aunt Fang spent a little over a thousand at the wholesale market. Not including the service fee, our budget is thirty thousand. Why would a customer pay that much for fifteen dishes? The boss is right to be this strict."

When Sister Shengnan spoke, no one dared to argue.

Ever since Su Chen had decided to lead them in reviving the company, Liu Shengnan’s demeanor had changed day by day. She had become stronger and more resolute, growing more and more into her name.

"But... this makes us seem so useless," Bai Xiaobo could only say as he lowered his head and picked at his fingers.

The boss still hadn’t talked to him about the incident where he’d turned off his phone, preventing Su Chen from getting various messages immediately. This left Xiaobai feeling a little on edge.

Liu Shengnan let out a breath. "If you know that, then work hard to improve yourself. The boss hasn’t said he’s getting rid of you, so why are you giving up on yourself first?"

Seeing everyone looking down silently, Liu Shengnan knew they all felt guilty for not being able to help the boss with something so important.

People are like that sometimes. If the boss were idle and just watched them work all day, they would start to feel rebellious.

But when the boss was busting his butt all by himself while they sat around with nothing to do, they felt indebted.

"Since we can’t help the boss with this, isn’t it better for everyone to just focus on their own jobs? Xiaobai, you can use this time to reorganize your client list. It would be best if, after this reception is over, we can make our company’s three-meal service more streamlined. That would save Brother Chen a lot of effort."

Sister Shengnan’s words seemed to open up a new path for Bai Xiaobo. Xiaobai nodded emphatically. "Yeah!"

"Then what about me..." He Shuting said, a bit embarrassed.

’I’m probably the most useless person in the company,’ she thought.

’I used to think that a woman’s greatest advantage was being pretty, but now... it seems completely worthless.’

"Shuting, didn’t you used to edit videos in addition to live streaming? The boss won’t let you help with the cooking, but you can go shoot some videos and edit them. You can post them on our company’s TikTok account. Popularity is built up bit by bit."

He Shuting thought for a moment, then nodded with great determination. "Okay! I’ll shoot more videos from now on!"

Aunt Fang stood up. "Don’t look at me. I don’t understand any of that stuff you’re talking about. I’ll go tidy up the boss’s office."

Xiaobin, who had nothing to do either, said, "I’m going to go work on some practice problems..."

Seeing everyone find a task, Liu Shengnan finally breathed a sigh of relief and went back to checking the ledger.

And at that moment, it seemed the mindset of the Delicious employees was beginning to undergo another significant change.

Su Chen heard the kitchen door open and merely lifted his eyelids to glance over.

"Boss... while you cook, can I shoot a few videos?"

Su Chen nodded. "Don’t film my face."

After a moment of disarray, everyone at Delicious was back on track.

Meanwhile, at the airport, Ling Shuyu finally met the legendary client—the one who was said to hold immense power and be extremely demanding!

The moment she saw Shang Mingke, Ling Shuyu’s nervousness returned.

In just the few steps from the gate to the arrivals area, the sheer presence Shang Mingke projected as he walked was completely different from everyone else!

However, Ling Shuyu keenly observed that even a man of his stature was accompanied by an elderly gentleman.

And every time Shang Mingke spoke to this gentleman, he would unconsciously dip his head slightly, showing immense respect.

’And this is...’

The contact sheet didn’t specify who the old gentleman was, but if even President Shang had to respect him, his status couldn’t be low.

"President Shang!" Ling Shuyu took the initiative and extended her hand. "I’m Ling Shuyu, the Design Director for Xinghui Company."

Shang Mingke reached out for a light handshake and gave a slight nod. "Let’s begin."

Huh?

Ling Shuyu froze for a second. ’It’s starting already?’

"We’ve prepared at the office..."

Shang Mingke raised a hand, cutting her off. "Start now."

With that, he turned to the side with a smile. "Uncle Lu, sorry to have troubled you to come along."

"Hah! You young people go about your business. Don’t mind me. I’ll just go have a cup of tea and wait for you," Lu Mingliang said casually, completely unfazed by his surroundings.

"In that case... President Shang, this way, please."

Zhang Li led the way, while Ling Shuyu, holding the proposal, walked quickly to keep up with Shang Mingke’s side, beginning her presentation as they went.

"The theme for our design this time is environmental protection, and the core concept utilizes..."

The group got into Xinghui Company’s business van, and Ling Shuyu struggled to keep her voice at a steady, even pace.

Shang Mingke simply listened, occasionally giving a slight nod and asking one or two minor questions.

The vehicle slowly drove off in the direction of the High-Tech Development Zone!