Chapter 33: To Each Their Own

Wang Can was indeed skilled in the kitchen. Aside from the lessons taught by his fake "relatives," he had no family in his previous life and had been forced to learn out of necessity; his culinary abilities were truly quite decent.

However, cooking was an incredibly time-consuming and exhausting chore. He had no intention of cooking for Xia Kewe every single day—he just needed to find a way to get his foot in the door first.

Xia Kewe was slightly tempted after hearing his offer.

The place where she had studied abroad was widely recognized as a culinary desert. Pork pies, jellied eels, haggis, and the infamous "Stargazy Pie" were the local "delicacies" they took such pride in. Dining there was purely a matter of maintaining vital signs.

Since returning home, she had either been dining out at restaurants or ordering takeout, desperate to make up for all the good food she had missed over the past three years. But continuing like this wasn't a sustainable solution; it was unhealthy and calorie-dense.

In just a few months, she had gained several pounds, and some of her shirts were starting to feel tight. Yet, she had absolutely no talent for cooking; she could turn even the simplest egg fried rice into a culinary disaster. Hiring a private chef was out of the question, as she wasn't comfortable with a stranger entering her private space every day. This was one of the reasons she had chosen to move near Shenhai University—at least the cafeteria food looked decent.

Still, no matter how good the cafeteria was, one would inevitably grow tired of it eventually. But could this guy in front of her be trusted?

"I want to test your cooking," Xia Kewe finally decided, crossing her arms.

Seeing an opening, Wang Can patted his chest and smiled, "Just name your dishes. I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

"Hmm..." Xia Kewe rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment. "Crystal shrimp, sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried eggs with tomatoes... and finally, a lotus root and pork rib soup."

*You certainly know how to order—picking all the labor-intensive dishes.*

Thinking this to himself, Wang Can maintained a professional smile on the surface. "Do you want the stir-fried eggs with tomatoes to be sweet or savory?"

"Sweet, of course."

"Sweet isn't authentic. Traditional chefs always make it savory," Wang Can couldn't help but let his professional habit take over.

Xia Kewe lifted her chin and shook two red hundred-yuan bills she had pulled from her wallet. "I'm paying, so it's whatever flavor I say it is."

"Well, I... certainly can't argue with that."

...

After collecting the payment for the day's meal, Wang Can took his leave.

Xia Kewe did not go with him; she had to negotiate the acquisition of a framework for a live-streaming website today. The price had already been settled, so it didn't matter if Wang Can was there or not. Besides, today was the grand opening of his chicken cutlet shop, and he needed to oversee it personally.

The morning campus was still shrouded in a thin mist. Wang Can walked across the empty, tree-lined path, heading straight toward the Second Cafeteria.

There weren't many students out for breakfast at this hour, as most were still fast asleep.

As he pushed open the glass door of the chicken cutlet shop, he bumped into Gu Xinmei, who was there to deliver supplies. She was bent over, counting the inventory, and looked up when she heard the noise.

"Sister Gu, you came yourself," Wang Can greeted her with a smile. He had a good impression of this woman who had so readily accepted his order.

"Yes, it wasn't a large delivery, so I felt better bringing it myself." Gu Xinmei straightened up, fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes. "You can just call me Auntie Gu from now on. My daughter is about your age."

After a few days of contact, Gu Xinmei already knew that Wang Can was a freshman at Shenhai University.

"Let's stick to our own ways of addressing each other." Wang Can waved his hand, smiling. "But judging by your grace, Sister Mei, your daughter must be very pretty. Which university does she go to?"

Mentioning her daughter, a look of pride immediately appeared on Gu Xinmei's face. "She's at the Shenhai Conservatory of Music, a freshman this year too."

"An art student?" Wang Can's eyes lit up. He joked, "Then you'll have to get me an autographed photo when you go back. If she becomes a big star one day, I can brag about it."

Gu Xinmei laughed. "When I'm busy, she might fill in for me and deliver goods a few times. You'll have to look after her for me when that happens."

Wang Can nodded, thinking to himself that if your daughter is truly beautiful, I'll look after her for a lifetime.

After seeing Gu Xinmei off, the two staff members hired by Xia Kewe arrived at the shop one after the other.

One man and one woman, both carrying the grit of the working class.

The man was in his early forties, his temples already graying, with sparse stubble on his chin that looked like he hadn't had time to trim. After entering the shop, he let his gaze linger on the young boss for a few seconds before finding a corner to sit in, clutching a chipped glass tea mug and sipping from it with a slurping sound.

According to Xia Kewe, this master was named Guan Guoqing. He had been grinding away in the deep-frying business for over a decade and was somewhat well-known; she had specifically poached him from an established shop.

The woman was named Liu Xiuying. She looked to be about the same age as Guan Guoqing, with a simple smile on her round face and rough hands that clearly showed she had been working with ingredients for years. She would be primarily responsible for the preliminary processing of the raw materials.

Wang Can greeted the two of them and then took two printed sheets from a drawer, handing one to each of them.

"This is the store's workflow. While we wait for the customers, please take a moment to familiarize yourselves with it. We need to follow this once we officially open at noon."

Guan Guoqing glanced at it carelessly and nodded, saying, "Got it." His tone carried the typical perfunctory attitude of an old hand.

Liu Xiuying, however, took it seriously, nodding as she read through it. Wang Can took note of their reactions but didn't say anything more.

Soon, Zhang Bailan arrived at the stall for his shift.

He was stunned when he saw Wang Can, and a surprised smile immediately broke out on his face. "Brother Can, are you working a part-time job here too?"

Wang Can gave a crafty smile. "I'm the handsome boss."

"?"

Zhang Bailan widened his eyes, pointed at the shop's sign, and raised his voice an octave. "You're saying this shop is yours?"

"Right." Wang Can shrugged. "If you don't believe me, go check the business license yourself."

Zhang Bailan rushed over to the license. When he saw "Wang Can" clearly written in the proprietor column, his mind went blank. Wasn't this guy eating steamed buns just like him a few days ago? How did he become a boss in the blink of an eye?

Zhang Bailan suddenly felt like backing out. The idea of working for his roommate made him feel incredibly awkward, and just thinking about having to address him as "Boss" made him uncomfortable. He stammered as he walked toward Wang Can, "Brother Can, I..."

Just then, a girl with chin-length hair rushed over in a flurry.

"Boss, I'm sorry!"

Fang Fei stood still, out of breath, clutching a stack of flyers. "I went to the First Cafeteria to hand out flyers this morning, so I'm late."

"How many did you hand out again?" Wang Can couldn't help but look at this girl with newfound respect. He had received her text last night saying she had handed out 400 flyers over the weekend, but he hadn't expected her to put in extra hours this morning.

"Not many." Fang Fei caught her breath, beads of sweat still glistening on her forehead. "There weren't many people out in the morning, so I only did 50."

"That makes 450. At 30 cents a flyer..." Wang Can did some quick mental math and pulled two red bills from his pocket. "Here is your pay, and the rest is a bonus for the overtime."

It was worth encouraging employees who volunteered for extra work.

When Fang Fei took the money, her face was filled with joy. "Thank you, Boss!"

Standing to the side, Zhang Bailan couldn't help but swallow hard, his eyes glued to the red hundred-yuan bills, unable to look away.

"Bailan." Wang Can turned around, looking at him with a half-smile. "What were you saying earlier?"

"I... I was going to say, Brother Can, I'm definitely taking this part-time job!"

*Fine wine flushes the face, and wealth moves the heart—the ancients never lied.*