Ye Chen walked into the kitchen and started cooking.
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo were a little curious—what would Ye Chen look like when he cooked?
In their minds it had to be a messy, sorry sight.
So the two of them tiptoed to the kitchen doorway.
Seeing them peek, Ye Chen almost laughed aloud.
He rinsed the rice, washed the vegetables, and got everything ready.
Since two beauties were spying, he'd put on a good show.
Ye Chen dropped the chopped cabbage into the colander and scrubbed the two potatoes clean.
Suddenly he lifted one potato in his hand.
The next instant the knife in his right hand danced like the wind.
In a flash all they could see was a blur of white steel.
In mere seconds the potato was peeled perfectly clean.
The skins sailed straight into the trash can.
His movements were fluid; peeling two potatoes took him barely ten-plus seconds.
So fast!
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo stared, mouths agape.
Ye Chen acted as if he hadn't noticed their shock and sent the knife flying again.
The potato was swiftly diced into perfectly even cubes.
Then his cleaver glided lightly across the board.
The cubes seemed glued to the blade; with a flick of his wrist every last one arced into the colander.
Next he demonstrated carving ribs and shredding cabbage.
To Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo, watching Ye Chen cook was pure enjoyment—an art form.
Within minutes all prep was done.
Ye Chen started stir-frying.
Braised ribs with potatoes, poached pork slices, and green-pepper pork—each dish came together under his juggling motions.
Soon the kitchen was filled with mouth-watering aromas.
Throughout the whole process Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo stood frozen at the doorway, utterly dumbstruck.
Ye Chen's technique was simply unbelievable.
This was no instant-noodle High-Schooler; even top-tier chefs might not match his skill.
"Ladies, care to taste my cooking?"
Ye Chen set down three dishes and a soup.
The two girls were already drooling from the smell.
They snatched up chopsticks and each popped a cube of potato into their mouths.
The moment the potato touched their tongues their expressions changed.
Surprise, delight, and bliss spread across their faces.
They eagerly reached for the ribs next.
"Incredible."
One bite and juices burst out, flooding their taste buds.
Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo forgot all reserve; their chopsticks never stopped.
They swept through the three plates like a whirlwind, leaving them spotless.
Whether the braised ribs, the poached pork, or the green-pepper stir-fry, every bite was perfection.
Only when the plates were bare did they remember Ye Chen hadn't touched a bite—he'd been smiling as he watched.
Now only a few potato cubes floated in the rib gravy, the poached dish was just broth, and the green-pepper plate was empty.
"Sorry, Ye Chen—it was just too delicious."
Both girls blushed scarlet.
They realized they must have looked like ravenous ghosts.
Ye Chen merely smiled. "As long as you enjoyed it, I'm happy."
The following days, Ye Chen, Xia Yingluo, and Li Sitong spent every spare moment preparing for the restaurant's opening.
Hot Pot equipment: ¥200,000 spent, ¥2,000,000 rebate.
Renovation: ¥200,000 spent, ¥2,000,000 rebate.
Before the doors even opened, Ye Chen had netted another ¥5 million.
He couldn't help sighing: in this world, farming the system's cash was still the fastest way to get rich.
Watching Ye Chen spend again and again, Xia Yingluo felt more and more pressure.
After a month of frantic renovation, the Hot Pot Restaurant finally opened.
The speed was thanks to Dean Zheng overseeing everything—after all, the three of them still had classes.
Plus, Ye Chen was willing to splash out, so the crews worked with extra hustle.
Why wouldn't he spend freely? Spend ten thousand, get back a hundred—only a fool would hesitate!
At last the restaurant opened on a Sunday.
Early that morning Ye Chen, Li Sitong, and Xia Yingluo arrived at the shop.
Although the ribbon-cutting was set for 10:18, a crowd had already gathered outside.
The main culprit was the eye-catching décor.
Floor-to-ceiling glass walls and, inside, one long communal table lined with Hot Pot stoves!
To the people of Jiangcheng at that time, this style was unheard-of.
The visual impact was huge.
Passers-by couldn't help stopping for a second look.
It made Ye Chen a bit nervous.
Had he been too avant-garde copying Xiabu Xiabu's style?
What if it proved so popular he couldn't lose money?
Everyone was curious.
After all, no one had ever seen dozens of people sharing one giant table for Hot Pot.
Song Yuyu and the others were stunned when they saw the place.
"This is our restaurant? It looks so high-end and classy."
This time the older kids from the Orphanage all came to help.
The staff totaled sixteen, each wearing the uniforms Ye Chen had supplied.
His "sexy-uniform" idea had been shot down outright by Li Sitong and Xia Yingluo.
The final outfits were designed by the two girls themselves.
White shirts and short skirts that on seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girls looked fresh and bright.
Privately, Ye Chen still preferred his own "uniform temptation" concept!
Before opening they had brainstormed every scenario and prepared contingency plans.
Yet once the doors opened they were still run off their feet.
Still, the restaurant opened successfully.
At 10:18 sharp Ye Chen, Xia Yingluo, and Li Sitong pulled away the red cloth covering the signboard.
Chen-Si-Luo Hot Pot!
Each character taken from one of their names.
The moment the doors opened, right at mealtime, customers flooded in.
Song Yuyu and the other waitresses were soon in a flurry.
None of them had ever served in a restaurant before; with so many people they panicked.
Fortunately the floor had an experienced supervisor—Han Jiaqi.
They had met Han Jiaqi while sampling Hot Pot at another place.
Impressed by her attentive service, Ye Chen poached her with a fat salary.
Though her previous restaurant was well-established, Ye Chen could sell a dream.
He laid out the grand blueprint he'd once used to charm Xia Yingluo, sweetened it with generous pay, and Han Jiaqi jumped ship.
Facts proved that money had been brilliantly spent.
After a brief scramble, under Han Jiaqi's direction everything became orderly.
Some servers greeted guests at the door, others ferried ingredients from the front.
With Han Jiaqi's guidance the whole team instantly ran like clockwork.
Yet Ye Chen noticed something that delighted him.
Plenty of people came to gawk, but few actually sat down to eat.
The reason was simple: Ye Chen's prices were sky-high.
One Hot Pot set cost about sixty or seventy yuan.
In Jiangzhou that was steep—add a bit more and four people could feast elsewhere!
Older customers in particular took one look at the menu and fled.
A very promising sign!