Gu Yumian's yawn got stuck in the middle.
There was a mountain of express parcels, stacked one on top of the other. Each parcel was very delicate, maintaining a precarious balance before the door was opened. As soon as the door was opened, they immediately rolled towards Gu Yumian like a landslide.
He picked up the one on the top, which had 'SKY' written on it. Even the most ignorant Gu Yumian knew that this was a brand of hovercraft, exclusively for the royal family and a few wealthy businessmen.
In his hand was the authorization card for the limited edition ultra-micro levitator.
Further down, the most fully equipped new optical computer, luxury brand high-end suits, ties, and watches, the access card for the single-family villa on the floating island in the upper city, and the transfer agreement of Elbet Restaurant were tucked in inconspicuous places.
Gu Yumian initially suspected that it was sent to the wrong address, but the name written on each recipient was indeed his, and the sender was left blank.
If you don't know, you might think that these luxury brands are desperate and have set up a promotional exhibition at Gu Yumian's door, offering items for ten yuan each, three for twenty yuan, and buy one get one free for thirty yuan with free shipping.
"Am I still not awake? Am I dreaming?" Gu Yumian had such a doubt in his heart.
The baby panda was still sleeping in the bedroom, and Gu Yumian was only accompanied by a clingy little snow leopard.
The little snow leopard lazily rested on Gu Yumian's shoulder, its furry ears rubbing against his. With its eyelids half-closed, it casually observed the subtle expressions of its human, judging his likes and dislikes for any gifts.
I like the optical computer quite a bit, the suit and tie are just okay, the levitation device and the villa access card are indifferent, and the restaurant transfer agreement... Frowning? Really dislike it?
Little Snow Leopard soon put the matter of bankrupting a restaurant on the agenda.
“…”
Of course, Gu Yumian was not targeting the restaurant transfer agreement.
It was only the name signed by the transferor on the transfer agreement that finally allowed him to know who the senders of these things were.
The expected and unexpected person.
Half an hour later.
Gu Yumian sat cross-legged in the living room and sent a voice message to Shuo Han:
"Shuohan, I'm sorry, why did you send these to me?"
The baby panda lay on Gu Yumian's lap, drinking milk from the bowl innocently.
The little snow leopard lazily nestled in Gu Yumian's arms. The screen of the children's optical computer was turned on, and the content was only visible to it and its guardian. Recently, it occasionally played some children's educational games on the optical computer, and the screen was full of kittens and puppies racing across the river, and it was no exception at this time.
Gu Yumian glanced at it casually without thinking much about it.
There was a reply soon.
【Shuohan: Thank you.】
Gu Yumian: "..."
It was almost right what he guessed.
He really didn't know what Shuo Han's background was, and searching for the surname "Shuo" online yielded no results.
To be able to casually spend billions on things, they must not be an ordinary family, aristocratic? A wealthy businessman? ...Royal family?
The royal family is strictly controlled, so it should be unlikely.
"If you want to thank me, that tattoo—well, that card will be enough, or you can give me two." Gu Yumian said:
"These are too expensive. I can't accept them. You're only twenty years old, so you should still be studying. Does your family have any objections?"
[Shuo Han: There is only one badge.]
The word family is well chosen.
The little snow leopard found these three words very pleasant to the ear and nodded slightly to show his satisfaction.
[Shuo Han: I have an opinion, but I don't intend to listen to him.]
Gu Yumian felt like he was facing a rebellious child who wouldn't listen no matter how much he tried to persuade him.
The two of them were in a stalemate again, and neither of them gave in. Shuo Han talked to him for a while and simply stopped replying.
At this time, the little snow leopard turned over and sat up, pressing one paw on Gu Yumian's cheek in displeasure. Gu Yumian absentmindedly held the little paw and kissed the little paw.
Alas, naughty child.
I wish everyone could be as well behaved as little Tangyuan.
The next second, Gu Yumian looked away and saw the baby panda burping while drinking milk from basins, touching its snow-white belly.
Just now, while he wasn't paying attention, little Tangyuan finished drinking the whole day's supply. His originally slightly plump body was increasingly showing a tendency to become spherical.
The panda baby tilted its head blankly and rubbed his palm: "Hmm?"
Gu Yumian decided to take back what he had said before.
No one is worry-free.
The compromise that Gu Yumian finally came up with was to store all these things in a bank safe under Shuo Han's name, which would be considered an unconditional gift from him and could be kept forever until the day Shuo Han was willing to accept them.
This is fine from a process perspective.
The only problem is the ownership of the Elbet restaurant, which cannot be saved.
Gu Yumian called the bank, and they cautiously sent a manager to communicate with him privately.
"If you sign, ownership will immediately become yours. Otherwise, the transfer will be considered a failure. If the transferor, Mr. Shuo, doesn't accept it... the restaurant might even declare bankruptcy, as the stock price has already plummeted."
What the bank man said was half true and half false, which just happened to match some information Gu Yumian had found, making him unable to make an accurate judgment for a while.
He did find out online that the stock prices of the main Elbet restaurant and its branches had plummeted to new lows and were even being acquired in recent days due to food poisoning incidents caused by the collective development of new dishes by the chefs, poor service attitudes, shareholder withdrawal, broken capital chains and other problems. He just didn't expect that the acquisition would be in his hands.
Of course, Gu Yumian didn't know that when Elbet restaurant was acquired, it was still an Internet celebrity restaurant with a market value of over 10 billion yuan. It was just that all kinds of problems came to its head overnight and its luck ran out.
If he didn't accept it, Shuo Han would most likely not take it over either. Would such a popular internet celebrity restaurant be going bankrupt? That would be too tragic, right?
But he also doesn't know how to manage a restaurant, let alone raise investment or sponsorship. It can be said that he knows nothing about it.
"but……"
If there were such a restaurant, some of his ideas would have a chance to come true.
I have to say, Gu Yumian was really moved.
Everything about this era was good, but perhaps due to years of war and a lack of information, lifestyle, diet, and other aspects were somewhat backward. Of course, Gu Yumian knew that given enough time, society and living standards would surely improve beyond previous levels.
But not yet.
When he first came here, he had thought about whether he could use his knowledge to do something for the animals here. Unfortunately, he couldn't even solve the problem of food and clothing at that time.
Now, the time seems to be ripe in all aspects, why not give it a try?
Of course, the focus is still on live streaming. Elbet also has a dedicated management team, and there is not much that needs to be done by them.
Gu Yumian held the little snow leopard, his fingers occasionally stroking its fur. The little snow leopard yawned. After the panda baby finished its milk, it fell asleep again, holding Gu Yumian's other hand.
"Let's try it first," Gu Yumian made a secret decision, "If it doesn't work, we'll talk about it later."
That afternoon, at Elbet Restaurant.
The owner of Elbet Restaurant contacted Gu Yumian that morning, and after careful consideration, Gu Yumian decided to come. Unsure how long the meeting would last, Gu Yumian brought along his two children, but little Tangyuan fell asleep again as soon as he left.
Gu Yumian walked into the restaurant with the dozing little snow leopard in his arms and pushing Tangyuan's stroller with his other hand.
It was visibly clear that the restaurant had become much quieter. Most of the small private rooms floating in the air were empty, and a few guests in the transparent rooms were hesitating whether to order food or just leave.
This is not surprising.
Gu Yumian encountered such a thing on his first visit to dine there. It was a very bad customer experience. He would not want to come again if he were in your shoes. Gu Yumian searched online and found a lot of bad reviews. It was amazing that a high-end restaurant that was so popular not long ago was on the verge of decline.
However, it can't be said that it happened overnight. In fact, the reputation of Elbet Restaurant had been slowly declining for two or three months, and there must be problems in all aspects of its management.
Gu Yumian was thinking when he heard a loud and clear voice:
"Hello, Mr. Gu!"
The former boss with a beer belly, along with all the senior executives and staff chefs, lined up on both sides of the corridor. The moment Gu Yumian walked in, they all bowed in an extremely serious manner.
Half an hour earlier, they had been repeatedly told two things: first, do not show your ears or tails, and do not be too affectionate with your new boss; second, respect your new boss and do not treat him as a special human being.
Before Gu Yumian came, everyone thought the second one was difficult, but until now... the first one is several times more difficult than the second one.
Several employees tried hard to hide their earlobes and bowed 90 degrees.
Gu Yumian: “…” Why are you acting like gangsters?
"Thank you, no need to be so high-profile," Gu Yumian coughed, "Everyone get up and go do your own things. I'll talk to Mr. Gill."
Jill was the original boss.
The boss wiped his sweat, walked up and accompanied Gu Yumian inside, while the others went their separate ways to do their work.
"Do all the dishes in our restaurant need to be prepared by the chef himself? Also, if something unexpected happens and the dishes can't be served on time, what compensation will be given to the customers? At least there will be snacks and side dishes, right?"
These were questions that puzzled Gu Yumian the last time he came as a customer.
"Of course," Jill explained. "Don't you know? Cooking is a very precious skill, because it comes from human heritage, and humans now..."
Most families are limited to cooking food, and some families even only drink nutrient solution.
Jill was halfway through her sentence when she remembered that the person next to her was also a human. "Well, anyway, we have very few chefs. The fact that our restaurant has fourteen head chefs is already a top-tier standard in the industry."
So if something happens to all the chefs at the same time, it will be a disaster.
"Is that so?" Gu Yumian was stunned. He unconsciously stroked the fur of the little snow leopard in his arms while thinking, "I don't have much experience in management, so I'll continue to rely on you for this. In terms of cooking and service, I hope you can follow my ideas and concepts in the future."
As they were talking, they had already walked to the kitchen.
Jill: "Well, for example?"
Gu Yumian let the little snow leopard sleep on his shoulder, then took down a brand new apron from the wall at the kitchen door, unwrapped it, and nodded:
"Just watch."
He stood at the kitchen door and looked around, then took the knife from an apprentice who was scratching his head, not knowing how to cook the synthetic prawns. He turned the knife between his fingertips, and cleanly and neatly peeled the shells, opened the backs and removed the threads. Then he changed the kitchen knife and chopped the shrimp into a paste, pressing it lightly with the back of the knife.
"Any cheese?"
Several apprentices around, including Jill, were stunned by Gu Yumian's actions. One of them quickly went to the food cabinet to get some cheese. Gu Yumian sniffed it and thought the taste was not right, so he cut the cheese into small pieces and mixed it with the shrimp paste.
He then sprinkled half a spoonful of salt into it, and asked his apprentice to get white wine from the wine cabinet and pour half a cup of it directly into it. He simply mixed it all together, put on disposable gloves, and pinched it into small and exquisite shrimp balls.
All these movements were smooth and neat, without any awkwardness.
At some point, all the chefs and apprentices in the kitchen stopped what they were doing, their eyes involuntarily drawn to Gu Yumian - his stuff was actually not fancy nor did he require any techniques, but just the right amount of strength and a well-organized and effortless feel that made people feel comfortable just watching it.
Everyone gathered around and whispered to each other.
"What is the new boss cooking? I've seen his live stream online, and it's really delicious. Hey, this looks pretty simple and crude."
"Cheese, shrimp... why is there white wine?! Does he even know how to do this? What's he trying to do with this mess?"
"Shh, Lao Yu, please give the new boss some face."
The one called Lao Yu was the most experienced of the fourteen chefs and had passed the senior chef certification. He had no objection to Gu Yumian being the boss, but he was very dissatisfied with the fact that a young man like him wanted to control their cooking skills.
Cooking requires years of training. What does this little brat know?
The little snow leopard lay on Gu Yumian's shoulder and glanced at the crowd nonchalantly.
Gu Yumian didn't care about other people's opinions at all and continued with his actions.
After processing the shrimp balls, beat the egg white in one direction with chopsticks until bubbles appear. Add appropriate amount of starch to make a paste, and coat each shrimp ball with a layer of paste like a coat.
"This is called batter and fried flour. You can always keep a little extra of this fried flour handy."
Then, Gu Yumian heats the pan with olive oil. Once the oil reaches 70% and begins to sizzle, he adds the battered shrimp balls and begins frying them. The shrimp balls are evenly coated in batter and gently tossed in the hot oil, quickly developing a rich golden color and an exceptionally crisp texture.
Even so, you can still see the transparent and slightly milky white shrimp meat through the golden surface. The sourness of the cheese is just overwhelmed by the sweet and mellow taste of the white wine, and the aroma of the fried shrimp balls seeps out bit by bit!
Including Lao Yu and several chefs who originally did not trust Gu Yumian, everyone couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
...It smells so good.
The little snow leopard woke up at this moment. Its nose moved and its long tail wrapped around Gu Yumian's wrist.
After a while, the shrimp balls were fried. After draining the oil, they were taken out of the pan and served on a plate. Gu Yumian put four small shrimp balls in each small plate, and there were six plates in total.
Gu Yumian then used the remaining oil to add rock sugar, salt, vinegar, pepper, and starch water and boiled and stir-fried, then poured in a little lemon. Soon the rock sugar turned brick red, and the liquid originally flowing at the bottom of the pot gradually turned into an orange-red and viscous texture.
"This is a sweet and sour sauce. You can keep it on hand. Just heat it up before use."
The sweet and sour sauce is evenly poured over the golden and crispy shrimp balls, and the sweet and sour cheese shrimp balls are ready. Under natural light, the sweet and sour sauce on the surface is alluring and shimmering, and the rich flavor alone is enough to make you salivate.
Everyone was stunned, and some people's stomachs even started growling uncontrollably.
The little snow leopard pawed at Gu Yumian's wrist, urging him to feed it one quickly. Gu Yumian, of course, saved some for his little baby. The baby panda was still sleeping. Gu Yumian took out one of the plates and picked up a small piece for the little snow leopard to taste.
After a while, the little snow leopard tilted its head back and squinted contentedly, its furry ears rubbing against Gu Yumian's chin, causing him to curl his eyes involuntarily.
Everyone: “…”
Dozens of envious eyes were cast towards the cub on Gu Yumian's shoulder. Not only because it could eat the shrimp balls, but also because it could be so close to Gu Yumian. What a happy cub.
Old Yu was really unwilling to believe it, so he walked over with a fierce face and asked Gu Yumian if he could try it. After receiving a positive answer, he also took a small plate back and gave it to a few chefs who were also half-believing and half-doubting. Everyone took a fork and tried it.
A moment later.
Chefs: “!!!!”
The crispy skin is not at all greasy against the backdrop of the sweet and sour sauce. Although the exterior is fried to a golden brown, the shrimp balls are still tender, fragrant and juicy inside, and the fragrant hot juice flows out with every bite.
The cheese, soaked in white wine, further enhances its milky aroma, blending with the wine's sweetness, blending seamlessly with the shrimp's natural freshness. The shrimp paste is springy and refreshing, with a sweet and sour flavor that's incredibly appetizing, satisfying both a slight hunger and building anticipation for the meal ahead.
"Delicious." Lao Yu murmured.
“The texture is great…and the flavor is not bad at all.”
"Is this really that cheese? It's completely different. It's very mellow."
——More importantly, the entire process was carried out under everyone's eyes. Gu Yumian did not hide anything, and everyone could see the process clearly.
The technique is simple, the production time is short, but the final effect is amazing.
Moreover, if you prepare the "fried flour" and "sweet and sour sauce" mentioned by Gu Yumian in advance, or even save the shrimp balls in advance to keep them fresh, then you can finish this whole dish in just a few minutes!
The chefs were savvy and quickly figured out the benefits. Even the somewhat stubborn and old-fashioned Old Yu couldn't help but admire Gu Yumian.
The likes and dislikes of craftsmen are very pure.
"Okay," Gu Yumian smiled, "Can you listen to me from now on?"
Everyone said in unison as never before:
"good!!!"
After dealing with restaurant matters for most of the day, Gu Yumian finally returned home with the children in the evening.
He lay on the sofa with a sore back. The baby panda also woke up, whimpering and sticking out its butt into Gu Yumian's arms. The little snow leopard had slept for most of the day and was not sleepy at all. It stepped on Gu Yumian's stomach and shoulders with its little paws.
Gu Yumian thought to herself, is this stepping on breast milk? But it was quite comfortable, like a massage, so she just let it be.
Exhausted, he logged onto the backstage of the Starry Sky Live Broadcasting Platform and soon received good news and bad news.
[Starry Sky Platform Newcomer Competition Team V: Mr. Gu, congratulations on directly advancing to the second round of the Newcomer Competition.]
This is good news, which means that he can be more relaxed during his live broadcasts until next week.
[Starry Sky Platform Newcomer Competition Team V: In addition, due to your exceptional performance, a hidden mission has been unlocked for you. You can choose whether to participate or not. Participation will receive generous rewards and discounts, and you will also be able to directly advance to the top 20 of the Newcomer Competition.]
In fact, the project team had previously discussed whether or not to advance directly to the championship - because the championship would most likely go to Gu Yumian, without any suspense, but then the competition would be meaningless.
Gu Yumian: "Hidden mission? What is it?"
[Starry Sky Platform Newcomer Competition Team V: Randomly select a location for live streaming, and enter the top ten of the weekly popularity ranking within a week. Of course, these locations will not be dangerous or prohibited, but will be our partners or safe indoor and outdoor venues.]
Gu Yumian: "Can I draw lots first and then decide whether to go or not?"
People from the project team: “…”
【Can. 】
Gu Yumian casually pressed the small program sent by the other party. After a few seconds, a line of words froze on it.
"Upper City, First Academy of Sciences."
Gu Yumian repeated these words.
He himself felt nothing, but was surprised by 'Uptown'.
Instead, the baby panda in his arms moved its ears ignorantly, and the little snow leopard stopped and narrowed its eyes slightly.
There is not only the Academy of Sciences in Shangcheng District.
There is also the Guo family's old house, and...
Imperial Palace.
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