"I choose... Mission One!"

After work, all the other employees went home. Su Chen was like an empty-nester, but he wasn’t bored.

[Main Quest: Well-Rounded. Your restaurant is starting to take shape. To put the restaurant on a path to sustainable growth, you’ve decided to create some higher-priced dishes. Please sell 100 dishes, each priced at 88 yuan or more, within one week.]

[Quest Reward: Active Skill, White Jade Hand.]

The reason he didn’t choose Mission Two was simple.

Based on Su Chen’s culinary philosophy, if a dish sold for an absurd price like 9,999 yuan, then frankly, it couldn’t be considered a delicacy.

At best, that just meant you were eating a rare ingredient, nothing more.

Besides, the objective of Mission One coincided perfectly with his recent plan to raise the prices of his dishes. He wouldn’t have to go out of his way for it; he could just let it complete naturally.

This suited Su Chen’s personality well.

After making his choice, Su Chen took a walk around the company. The side effect of his long afternoon nap was that he was wide awake now.

He’d also spent the entire lunch tasting dishes with the VIPs and hadn’t eaten much himself. Rubbing his stomach, he went to the kitchen to see what was left. There were still plenty of ingredients from the reception earlier.

’Time to make some dinner for myself, hehe!’

Su Chen found an electric grill in the kitchen that hadn’t been used in a long time.

He sliced the remaining pork belly into thin, 3mm-thick pieces, then placed them in a bowl. He added cooking wine, salt, five-spice powder, cumin powder, chili powder, and a splash of light soy sauce, gave it a stir, and put it in the fridge to marinate.

He also washed a whole head of lettuce, planning to use the leaves to wrap the grilled meat later.

’Has this beer expired?’

In the kitchen’s small storeroom, Su Chen found a large number of cheap, green-bottled beers—the kind that sold for three yuan a bottle.

They were covered in dust, but they were clean once he tore off the plastic wrap.

He grabbed a case of beer, then heated some oil in a pan. He dropped raw peanuts into the medium-hot oil to Blast them, then sprinkled them with salt.

A glistening plate of "fight till dawn" peanuts was ready.

Finally, he grabbed a handful of large prawns, sliced a block of firm tofu, and got a small bowl of button mushrooms.

Su Chen wasn’t a huge fan of these, but eating only meat would be too monotonous. They would be a nice addition for some variety.

As for the dipping sauce, there was none ready-made in the kitchen, but that wasn’t a problem for Su Chen.

He mixed a bit of soybean powder, peanut powder, spicy seasoning powder, and sunflower seed powder. To that, he added a blend of sesame, salt and pepper, and cumin, plus a dash of chicken powder and MSG. Just like that, an incredibly aromatic dry dip was ready.

Oh, right, and some Cilantro powder!

Su Chen planned to move all the ingredients to the floor-to-ceiling window in his office. He’d open the window to vent the smoke, pour himself a beer, start grilling the pork belly, and read the *Gourmet Food Supplier* manhua on his phone.

SSSS!

The very thought was bliss.

No sooner said than done!

DING DONG.

It was the sound of his phone.

Are you taking orders?

’Who places an order this late at night...?’

Su Chen grumbled to himself. ’And why are they messaging the boss instead of the product manager?’

He checked his phone.

Whoa! It was Ling Shuyu!

He’d ignore an order from anyone else, but he had to take one from Ling Shuyu. She was a major client; who knew when she might bring another huge deal his way.

Su Chen: I am!

Ling Shuyu: Budget is flexible. Requirements are flexible. No dietary restrictions. Just make... whatever.

What a strange order.

Everything is flexible, then...

Su Chen: I was just about to have some grilled meat. If you want to join, it’s on me.

After the reception, Shang Mingke had paid the three-thousand-yuan bill, a fact Su Chen hadn’t had a chance to mention to Ling Shuyu yet.

But that was a separate matter, so there was no need to bring it up.

He could certainly afford to treat her to a small barbecue meal!

Ling Shuyu: Thanks. Give me 5 minutes.

Su Chen put down his phone. After a moment’s thought, he decided to move everything into his office after all. He also grabbed two small rugs and spread them on the floor so they could sit comfortably.

The office was spacious, so there was no need to worry about things looking inappropriate.

There... all set!

A short while later, Ling Shuyu arrived in her heels. The CLACK-CLACK-CLACK of her footsteps was especially loud in the empty office.

The lighting was dim, but Su Chen could still tell that she looked exhausted. The usual sparkle in her eyes was gone, replaced by a somewhat vacant stare.

"Come over here, you can see the night view."

The two entered the office. Ling Shuyu took off her shoes, leaned against the window, and sat down cross-legged.

"Didn’t go home tonight?"

Ling Shuyu turned her head to look out the window. "I rarely go home. I often sleep in the office."

"Such a workaholic. By the way, how did your pitch go today?" Su Chen asked as he used a pair of tongs to place some sliced onions on the grill.

"It failed."

Ling Shuyu’s reply was curt, her voice devoid of emotion.

"Huh?" Su Chen paused, tongs hovering over the grill. "But those two seemed so happy. How could it have failed? Was there a problem with the proposal?"

Ling Shuyu shook her head and didn’t speak again, so Su Chen also fell silent.

The one downside to an electric grill is that you have to oil it, otherwise the meat sticks easily.

Su Chen simply sprayed a layer of vegetable oil directly onto the meat in the bowl. This would keep the meat tender while also preventing it from sticking to the grill.

He pushed the small bits of onion around, then placed the slices of pork belly, now marinated to a light, savory brown, onto the hot surface.

SZZZLE.

The pork belly curled up instantly on the hot grill. Su Chen pressed down on it lightly with his tongs, and visible trickles of fat ran down the grooves of the grill plate into the drip pan below.