Chapter 423: Substituting inferior goods for superior ones

Xintai Restaurant.

As a former high-end dining landmark, it is located in the city center.

But it's already dinner time.

There weren't many people in the store.

Logically speaking, with this geographical location, there should be no worries about business.

But at this moment, in the spacious and bright hall, there were only a few sparsely occupied tables of guests among the dozens of tables, and the waiters were standing idly by, with a hint of boredom in their eyes.

"Give me some spicy pig's trotters, sweet and sour pork tenderloin, and stir-fried bullfrog..."

"Two more king crabs, and two Boston lobsters, baked with cheese."

Su Qian's fingertips slid across the menu's pricey seafood section labeled "Treasure of the Shop," and she added nonchalantly, "One serving of Australian lobster sashimi, too."

The waiter's hand trembled slightly as he held the order tablet. His Adam's apple rolled before he spoke, "Ma'am, I'm so sorry, but we're out of king crab and Boston lobster. As for the spicy pig's trotter... we need to wait for the kitchen to confirm whether there are enough side dishes."

Behind her, the colleagues who were originally chatting suddenly fell silent, and their eyes all fell on Su Qian.

"Aren't these all the signs for your store?"

Su Qian frowned slightly.

If the signature dishes are out of stock, then why keep the business open?

"Sorry, sorry, I'll go to the kitchen to check."

The waiter quickly apologized.

She hurried to the kitchen in her black leather shoes that were almost worn out.

The intermittent voices of colleagues behind me drifted over: "It's over, it's over, I'm going to get scolded again."

"I told you all the signature dishes were sold out, and you still asked people to order."

"Those people in the purchasing department should really..."

…

Su Qian tapped the table lightly with her fingertips and glanced at the faded "Signature Dish Recommendations" poster on the wall.

"Logically speaking, the Su family's monthly purchasing budget for this restaurant is not low. Where did all this money go?"

Su Qian learned these two days that the food loss rate of this store has been as high as 35% in the past six months.

Customer complaints have increased tenfold.

Seafood was originally the store’s signature dish, with the main selling point being “fresh seafood air-shipped daily”, so there was no reason for it to be out of stock.

"It seems that this restaurant's business is dismal, and it's not just because the dishes don't meet the market."

After all, Lu Yao is an old monster who has lived for tens of thousands of years.

How could you not guess the trick?

The waitress Wang Juan quickly passed the customer's order to the kitchen.

"Ordering seafood at this time?"

The chef paused holding the cigarette, and the ash fell onto his greasy apron.

He glanced at the king crab and Boston lobster that Su Qian had ordered on the food delivery screen and sneered, "Tell the customer that the oxygen pipe in the water tank has burst and it can't support any living things."

"Chef...no smoking in the kitchen."

Wang Juan was a little embarrassed.

"Is it your turn to lecture me?"

The chef glared and was about to explode when the cell phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

I glanced and saw that the caller ID was my brother-in-law.

His irritable expression instantly eased, and he waved his hand to signal Wang Juan to leave. "Forget it, tell the guests that the ingredients will be here soon."

The stainless steel door of the kitchen slammed shut behind him, and the damp alley was filled with the stench of rotten seafood.

A dilapidated van was parked crookedly next to a trash can.

A shifty-looking man was squatting in front of the trunk of the car, wiping the foam box with a dirty rag.

"Brother-in-law! You came just in time!"

He grinned, revealing his half-missing front tooth. "These king crabs and Australian lobsters have only been dead for a day. I guarantee you won't be able to tell!"

The chef frowned and moved closer. The pungent fishy smell made him subconsciously cover his mouth and nose.

Most of the ice in the wooden box has melted. The king crab has taken on a strange bluish-gray color, and the lobster's tentacles are hanging limply.

“You…”

Just as he was about to speak, his brother-in-law immediately handed him a cigarette, and the flame flickered between the two of them.

"A fresh one costs over three thousand, but a dead one only costs eight hundred!"

The brother-in-law lowered his voice and tapped the box with his greasy fingers. "Didn't we sell the last batch of dead black star grouper? We call it reasonable utilization. The customers can't taste it anyway."

"Old rules, fifty-fifty split."

He squinted his eyes and took out a bulging envelope from his pocket and stuffed it into his pocket.

The chef's hand holding the envelope trembled slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he quickly stuffed it into his apron pocket.

They were already familiar with this kind of thing. They replaced high-priced ingredients with inferior goods, falsely reported losses, and then cashed in through the brother-in-law's seafood stall.

Just last month, I made an extra 100,000 yuan by using frozen shrimp to impersonate fresh shrimp dumplings.

"This won't happen again."

He muttered with a straight face.

But in my mind I was calculating how much profit I could make this time.

"rest assured!"

The brother-in-law swiftly closed the trunk. "Are you still not confident in my ability? I'll just move it in through the side door in the back kitchen. No one will notice!"

The chef carried two boxes of seafood towards the side door of the kitchen.

As soon as I entered the kitchen, I heard a loud and noisy sound.

The stainless steel door flung open, and the chef, wearing a high-end chef's uniform with a sullen expression, emerged with his collar askew. "Premium Wagyu? The temperature in the refrigerator is out of control, and the meat has gone bad! What are we going to feed the guests?"

"How about we use the regular Wagyu beef we have in stock first..."

Another chef suggested cautiously.

“Regular wagyu?”

The chef's voice rose a few notches. "Do you think the customers are all fools who can't tell the difference?"

"Who among those who can come here to spend money is a sucker? Last time you used ordinary wagyu beef without authorization, and the negative reviews on Dianping.com almost flooded the website!"

He kicked the stainless steel cart next to him, causing pots and pans to clang.

“If the dish is out of stock, take it off the shelves immediately and don’t mislead consumers!” The chef grabbed the rag on the chopping board and slammed it to the ground, splashing water stains on the “Quality First” sign on the wall.

The veins in his neck bulged as he stared at the kitchen helpers who were whispering around the refrigerator.

"Now, even top-quality Wagyu beef has gone bad. Are you waiting for the Industry and Commerce Bureau to shut it down before you're satisfied?"

The chef was standing at the door holding a wooden box.

The chef suddenly turned around.

His eyes were fixed on the two boxes. "What are you holding in your arms?"

"This... this is an emergency restock!"

Cold sweat broke out on the chef's forehead and he subconsciously took a half step back.

"Emergency restocking?"

The chef frowned, sneered, and took two steps to the head chef.

He grabbed the man's greasy collar, his nose almost touching the chef's evasive eyes. "Last month, you said frozen shrimp was an emergency, and the month before that, you said salmon was an emergency. How come you always manage to restock as an 'emergency'?"

"This is my acquaintance in the kitchen of the Royal Court Hotel. He was urgently transferred here!"

The chef had already thought of what to say.

"Don't delay me from steaming it, the customer is in a hurry."

As he said this, he tried to squeeze towards the stove with the box in his arms, but the chef grabbed him by the back of the collar and pulled him back like a chicken.

The foam box fell to the ground with a bang

"Open!"

The chef loosened his grip and raised his chin towards the box.

The chef cursed in his heart.

Did this big fool take the wrong medicine today?

He is not usually so serious.

The chef cursed and, regardless of how ugly his expression was, stepped forward and kicked over the foam box.

The box rolled twice on the tile floor.

Several bluish-gray king crabs rolled out of the box.