The NO.1 Food Stall in the Wasteland novel Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Chapter 304: The Boss’s Cooking Is Still the Best

"Because now we have something to study," Fu Cheng said, looking out the window. "With this data, meteorologists can figure out how to make predictions. It’s like a sharpshooter—he can only make his most accurate shot after the target appears."

Shen Lu shrugged. ’Well, I don’t really get it, but it’s good that we have it, I guess.’

According to the latest weather forecast, there would be gale-force winds all day, with an 80% chance of rain at night.

Shen Lu pinched the bridge of her nose. In weather like this, she’d be lucky to get over a hundred customers.

But in all likelihood, they wouldn’t get a single one.

After clearing their noses, Wang Daguo and Xin Yu washed their faces and hands, put on their uniforms, and got to work with a grunt.

The vegetables Zhao Qian sent were tomatoes and celtuce. The chicken wasn’t the breast meat she had ordered, but whole chickens. The pork wasn’t the layered belly she wanted, but pork leg. The fish was the most outrageous of all—he’d even sent the wrong species. Instead of grass carp, he’d delivered palm-sized crucian carp.

Shen Lu could only laugh in exasperation. Thank goodness she had other suppliers now. Otherwise, Zhao Qian would have been the death of her.

Figuring there’d be no business for lunch, Shen Lu decided to grab Xin Yu for some special training.

"Huh? Break down a chicken? Can I do it?" Xin Yu rubbed his hands in anticipation. He was the slowest to improve; he was still wrestling with julienning potatoes.

"Everyone has to start somewhere," Shen Lu said, handing him a knife. "Let’s begin with sharpening this."

Sharpening knives was a task Xin Yu knew how to do. After all, he was the one who sharpened most of the knives in the kitchen.

It wasn’t that you couldn’t cook a whole chicken, but doing so didn’t maximize its value.

Every part of the chicken can be made into a different dish, and each commands a different price. For instance, the breast meat used for Kung Pao Chicken is relatively inexpensive. Wings are also separated into drumettes, flats, and tips, with the flats being the most expensive part.

The cheapest part is the remaining chicken carcass after deboning. A skilled person can strip a carcass so clean there isn’t a scrap of meat left—even a dog would turn its nose up at it.

But these carcasses are perfect for making stock, and a good stock is a huge asset in the kitchen.

Shen Lu ordered only breast meat to save time and effort. Otherwise, breaking down that many chickens every day would be too much for the kitchen staff to handle.

Shen Lu first dismantled one chicken with a few quick moves—KUKU! Her movements were fluid, without a single pause. After a few flips in her hands, the chicken was neatly butchered and sorted onto different plates.

Xin Yu’s mouth fell open. "Boss, you’re too fast..."

His eyes had learned the motions, but his brain hadn’t, and his hands were even more hopeless.

Shen Lu turned off the recording. "That take wasn’t for you."

’That’s today’s filler video for my half-assed update schedule.’

"Oh, okay! Can I try now?" Xin Yu was eager. Thinking it over, ’it didn’t seem that hard.’

"Go ahead."

Mimicking Shen Lu’s technique, Xin Yu grabbed a chicken and placed it on the cutting board.

’What was the first step again? Something about taking off the wings?’

Muttering to himself, Xin Yu waved the knife over the chicken a few times, trying to find the right spot. He brought the blade down. CRACK! He hit bone.

’No need to panic. This is normal.’

Xin Yu braced himself and put his weight into it, cutting the wing off in one motion. But the angle was completely off—he hadn’t just removed the wing, he’d lopped off a piece of the neck along with it.

"Uh, well..."

"Finish breaking down the rest of it first. Then I’ll show you what you did wrong," Shen Lu said calmly from beside him.

"Okay."

Xin Yu steeled himself and continued. In the time it took him to butcher a single chicken, Shen Lu had already done three and had even taught Cai Su how to do one.

"I’m done, Boss," Xin Yu said sheepishly.

Shen Lu picked up the carcass Xin Yu had butchered. "There’s enough meat left on this carcass for me to stir-fry a whole dish."

"The knife just wouldn’t go where I wanted it to."

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