Chapter 65: Wonderful, Terribowl

Boss Cui felt that his investment of trust had been misplaced after all.
He had truly thought Chen Zhou knew a thing or two about antiques.
Yet, upon second thought:
"Well, that makes sense. A chef comes to buy a knife, and I assumed you had your eyes on that She inkstone right from the start."
Chen Zhou scratched his head. "I really don't understand any of it. I couldn't even catch what you were saying about the inkstone."
Boss Cui smiled as well. "Then he couldn't possibly trick you."
Thus, Chen Zhou earnestly began to haggle with the stall owner: "Boss, I only want the kitchen knife, not your inkstone. Give me a better price; three thousand is much too expensive."
The stall owner dropped the act as well:
"Fine, fine. Take it for eighty. I only got it for fifty."
Chen Zhou nodded. "Eighty it is."
In the antique market, this kitchen knife was probably genuinely worthless; the previous customer, the stall owner, and even Boss Cui none of them had thought anything of it.
Yet, in the eyes of a chef, this kitchen knife held immense value.
Chen Zhou also conveniently purchased the whetstone from the same stall owner.
The stall owner used a few promotional flyers handed out on the ancient culture street to simply wrap up the kitchen knife and the whetstone, then handed them over.
Money paid, goods delivered; a pleasant transaction without any mutual cursing.
After buying the knife, the two walked back, and Boss Cui struck up another conversation with Chen Zhou:
"Everyone thinks they're the clever one and everyone else is a fool. Blinded by sudden greed, they completely miss what's right in front of them."
Chen Zhou nodded. His own takeaway from the experience was:
"It's always better to be straightforward in business—more sincerity, fewer tricks."
The two weren't quite on the same wavelength.
They were practically talking about two entirely different things.
Afterward, Chen Zhou extended an invitation: "Drop by sometime to try my steamed buns."
Boss Cui was actually rather curious. "Where is your shop located?"
"On the ground floor of Sunshine City residential area, not far from here. It's a small storefront called Community Canteen."
"Alright, I'll drop by when I have the time." Boss Cui had a rough idea of where that was, then asked, "How should I address you, brother?"
Chen Zhou joked with him:
"Chen Zhou. Chen as in the ear-side radical, Zhou as in the boat passing thousands of peaks."
"Cui Hong," Boss Cui replied politely, completely missing the punchline of Chen Zhou's joke.
With the knife and whetstone in hand, Chen Zhou went to find his wife and daughter.
Madam Lin looked at the promotional flyers for a male health hospital and a new housing development in her husband's hands, showing a trace of curiosity: "What on earth are you holding?"
"Bought a kitchen knife."
Madam Lin uttered an "oh" and paid it no further mind.
Chen Taotao, however, handed her father a piece of fried pastry and expressed intense interest in what her dad was holding: "Daddy, I want to see."

Chen Zhou unwrapped the package, finally getting a chance to show off:
"My girl, look at this knife. It has a legendary background. Legend has it that..."
Once the three of them returned home, Chen Zhou set about sharpening the knife.
After some considerable effort, its true appearance was finally revealed.
This kitchen knife lacked any complex patterns or decorations; it only bore small English and Chinese characters engraved on both sides, suggesting it was indeed an export model.
The front side bore the characters: "wonderful Wangdefu."
The reverse side bore: "terrible Tairuibao."
The underlying message was that whether one cooks well or poorly rests entirely within the single thought of the person wielding the blade.
Chen Zhou washed the kitchen knife clean and tested it on a white radish.
Peeling and slicing were both effortless.
Once gripping the handle, it felt as though he wasn't holding anything at all, as if it had simply grown out of his arm. As the old saying goes: as flexible as one's own fingers.
For Chen Zhou, it could be summed up in two words: "Handy."
Much like matching a keyboard and mouse for a game, or getting a pair of sneakers before heading out to play a sport—for a chef, a truly good knife is a genuine joy just to look at.
Chen Taotao watched the whole process from the side, her old father busy at work while wearing a broad smile.
Naturally, she found herself laughing along foolishly.
The little girl was five years old this year, and the couple was beginning to cultivate her simple self-care skills—dressing and changing shoes by herself, washing up, and doing whatever household chores she was capable of.
Chen Taotao declared, "Daddy, I want to learn how to use this."
A knife was indeed dangerous, but the day would eventually come when she, too, would pick up a knife to cook for herself—perhaps for her own meals, or perhaps for her future husband and children.
Under her parents' supervision and with proper safety awareness, letting her gradually come into contact with it was fine.
Of course, she wouldn't be using this particular kitchen knife.
She could be given a small fruit knife instead, just to slice up some ham sausages.
Chen Zhou instructed:
"When holding a knife, never point the tip at people, and keep the blade far away from your other hand."
Chen Taotao cautiously made an attempt. Holding the knife with both hands, there was no way she could cut herself.
Within a few motions, she sliced the ham sausage into several pieces.
"It's super simple!"
Quite the talent, indeed... Chen Zhou told the little girl:
"Alright, then today Daddy will teach you how to carve a lotus flower out of a white radish."
With his knife skills elevated to near-professional levels, Chef Chen spoke with absolute confidence.
...
The next day, the breakfast shop resumed operations.
The small shop returned to its daily routine, with customers enjoying a satisfying meal and subsequently leaving glowing reviews for the boss.
As noon approached, the personnel from the takeout business expansion department mentioned in the intel arrived at the shop one after another.

The guy in red and the guy in yellow arrived almost back-to-back...
Competitors in the same industry were enemies, but down to individuals within the companies, they actually shared quite a few common topics.
The young man in yellow asked his counterpart who had just stepped out of the shop: "Hey, how did your talk with the boss go?"
The man in red replied: "Business is booming here, and the boss has zero interest in doing takeout. I doubt you'll be able to close the deal either."
"Got it." The young man in yellow nodded, already having a mental grasp of the situation.
Casually, he asked again: "Didn't you try the food? I heard the steamed buns here are quite good."
"I'm in a rush to get to the next place."
The young man in yellow thought to himself: You guys are just too green, lacking in work experience.
A shop that doesn't do takeout usually means their in-store business is too bustling to keep up, so they don't care about those few extra takeout orders.
And thriving business generally implies great flavor.
He had to try it for himself.
Inside the shop, the junior apprentice saw the young man in yellow enter and sidled up to Chen Zhou:
"Boss, here comes another one."
...You don't understand, if they hadn't come today, the intel would have expired.
Chen Zhou decided to take the initiative and speak with him directly, sparing both sides any wasted time.
The young man in yellow shrugged. "I'd like to try the steamed buns."
Chen Zhou smiled. "No problem at all. Just wait a moment, your buns will have to wait for the next steamer basket."
The young man in yellow found a seat inside the shop and sat down.
The buns were steamed to order, made with fresh dough and fillings. Even from outside the kitchen, anyone could tell they were hand-wrapped by the boss himself.
The shop was small, but neat and clean. The waitress was diligent as well, keeping everything tidy and orderly.
After sitting down, even before tasting a single bun, the young man in yellow already felt quite favorable toward the establishment.
His eyes wandered casually.
Turning his head, he caught sight of the tableware used by customers for takeout orders.
He was quite familiar with this item.
Yet, the tableware specifications used by this shop were remarkably high; the quality of the spoons and chopsticks was impressive, reaching the standard of larger restaurants. Of course, the small shop lacked custom packaging.
The costs were undoubtedly slightly higher, but customers certainly found them pleasant to use.
No wonder business was so good.
Before long, the young waitress served him the steamed buns and porridge.
The young girl looked cheerful and bright.
Working here even seemed to be a joyful affair.