"Lucky draw!"

Despite the current bustle in the store, Lin Xu was in no mood to wait. He immediately chose to do the lucky draw.

A lottery wheel appeared on the mental screen, densely packed with dish names. Lin Xu spun it into motion without taking a closer look.

Then, two buttons appeared next to it.

One was for a single draw.

The other was for three consecutive draws.

Behind the option for three consecutive draws was a note in parentheses: choosing this option offers a chance to yield unexpected surprises.

Unexpected surprises?

Lin Xu decided to give it a try.

After a sincere prayer, he pressed the button for three consecutive draws.

Quickly, a golden light flashed through his mind.

The system's prompt sounded:

"Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Perfect Level dishes—Alcoholic Peanuts, Sweet and Sour Pork Fillet, and Egg Yolk Baked Pumpkin. Since the Host has already mastered the Sugar and Vinegar Technique, an additional Perfect Level Dish Upgrade Card is awarded."

One cold dish, two hot dishes, along with a Perfect Level Dish Upgrade Card.

It felt pretty good.

The only thing was, the 'unexpected surprise' from the triple draw didn't appear.

Recalling mobile game advertisements promising a chance at five-star cards from ten consecutive draws, Lin Xu sighed softly.

He hadn't expected that even this seemingly honest system would learn bad habits from those unscrupulous game companies.

Putting those thoughts aside, he began rolling noodles, pondering which dish to use the Perfect Level Dish Upgrade Card on.

Having just acquired the classic Sweet and Sour Pork Fillet, there was no need to upgrade another dish using the Sugar and Vinegar Technique. It wouldn't do to have two dishes with such similar flavor profiles.

As for steamed dishes with black bean sauce, he could add some.

But the capacity of the steamer was limited.

Buying another steamer just for one more dish was not worth the cost.

That left dishes with ginger sauce.

The Ginger Marinated Century Eggs he made last time had turned out quite well, but that was a cold dish. With Alcoholic Peanuts already on the menu, it was unnecessary to add so many cold dishes at once.

Eventually, Lin Xu decided to introduce a water-boiled dish.

The current dishes in the restaurant were either sweet and sour or light in taste. It was time to introduce a spicy, appetizing dish that paired well with rice.

Of course, all of this depended on Niu Chuan showing up for work and proving himself capable.

Unfortunately, making hand-rolled noodles was too labor-intensive.

If someone else could take charge of making the hand-rolled noodles in the restaurant, Lin Xu figured he could even manage to introduce three new dishes.

「8:30 in the evening.」

The customers in the restaurant finally began to leave gradually.

Xie Baomin, who had been busy all day, also bid farewell, his cleaver in hand, and headed home.

This executive chef was truly worn out today. However, thinking of the competition at the end of the month, a smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

I worked so hard today; my junior brother will surely be just as committed on the day of the competition, right?

I'm really looking forward to seeing the looks on the faces of those people from Building 10 when they're defeated.

Ha-ha, it will be spectacular!

"Boss, today's revenue is 53,249 yuan, which includes the 1,000 yuan from Manager Chen for the Shakima."

Lin Xu nodded.

Although today's revenue had broken fifty thousand yuan, it was due to drawing on the expected revenue of the next few days, particularly from the Tiger Skin Chicken Feet. Many customers had bought them by the bagful to take home today.

He felt that in the coming days, sales of Chicken Feet wouldn't be very high.

Hmm, starting tomorrow, I'll reduce the quantity of Tiger Skin Chicken Feet and Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce to avoid leftovers.

As Xu Xinhua and Che Zai cleaned the kitchen, Lin Xu started making the dough for the Black Sugar Shakima.

With the aid of the Perfect Level technique, just after nine o'clock, he had already pressed the syrup-coated Shakima into the mold.

By that time, the staff had already finished work and gone home.

Lin Xu tidied up the kitchen, and just as he was about to go back to shower and rest, he suddenly remembered the British Shorthair blue cat he had seen in the neighborhood today.

He wondered if the little fella was lost or had been abandoned.

It must still be hungry, right?

After some thought, he retrieved a can of luncheon meat from the storage room, opened it, diced the meat, and put it into a takeout container. He also filled another container with some clean water. Then, he turned off the lights, locked up, and walked into the neighborhood with the luncheon meat and water.

He arrived again at the same spot where he had left the meal box that afternoon.

No sooner had he put down the water and luncheon meat than the British Shorthair blue cat, its plump body swaying, emerged once more from the depths of the holly bushes.

"Huh, what a coincidence."

The little fella still had that arrogant look on its face.

But this time, it didn't shoo Lin Xu away; instead, it bowed its head and devoured the luncheon meat in the bowl.

After eating a few bites, it would extend its crimson tongue to lick the water from the nearby container, looking utterly content.

Just as Lin Xu was about to take a photo with his phone, voices suddenly came from the direction of the neighborhood entrance. To avoid attracting the attention of the residents, he quietly left the holly bushes and went upstairs to bathe and rest.

「4:30 in the morning.」

When Lin Xu came downstairs, he saw that the luncheon meat container was empty, though half a container of water remained.

He picked up the empty luncheon meat container and tossed it into the trash, then went to the neighborhood entrance, scanned a shared bicycle, and rode towards the market.

After purchasing the regular items, he went to the grain and oil shop and asked the owner to deliver three large bags of high-quality peanuts to his store later.

"Are you planning to introduce a new dish, Boss Lin?" the grain and oil store owner greeted him warmly.

"I plan to serve some Alcoholic Peanuts today. Uncle Zhang, if you're not busy, you should come and try them. I guarantee they're great with drinks."

"Oh, then I absolutely must come and try them! I don't have many hobbies, but I do enjoy a little drink now and then."

Not long after he returned to the store, the peanuts were delivered.

Lin Xu promptly set up a wok to boil water. Once the water heated, he added a spice sachet containing Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies, letting it boil on high heat for fifteen minutes to infuse the water with their aroma.

Next, he rinsed the peanuts and poured them into the pot to cook for ten minutes before turning off the heat.

Alcoholic Peanuts require peeling. The conventional method is to soak them for an hour until the skins wrinkle and can be easily rubbed off.

However, to save time, restaurants usually boil them briefly. Adding Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies during this process allows the numbing and spicy flavors to permeate the peanuts, making the resulting Alcoholic Peanuts more flavorful and delicious.

After turning off the heat, he first removed the spice sachet. Then, he vigorously stirred the peanuts in the pot with a large skimmer, causing them to rub against each other and shed their outer red skins.

He then scooped out the peanuts, removed any remaining skins from those that weren't fully peeled, spread them on a tray lined with paper towels, and used a fan to dry their surfaces.

Next, he divided the peanuts into small portions, sealed them in food-grade bags, and placed them in the freezer.

Freezing the peanuts causes their internal moisture to contract, which makes the finished Alcoholic Peanuts even crispier.

「Two hours later.」

After finishing breakfast with Old Master Gao, Lin Xu opened the refrigerator.

He took out the thoroughly frozen peanuts, poured them into a basket, and carefully rubbed them between his hands.

The purpose of this was to rub off any surface frost, preventing hot oil from splattering during frying. Additionally, this rubbing action helped split the peanuts in half.

When making Alcoholic Peanuts, the peanuts are typically split to make them more flavorful and help them absorb seasonings better. For an even better taste, meticulous cooks even remove the peanut germ to prevent any bitterness.

But in a restaurant preparing tens of pounds at a time, there's no time for such detailed work.

After rubbing the peanuts again, he set up a wok, poured in peanut oil. Then, before the oil heated up, he poured all the peanuts into the wok.

Peanuts cook easily and have a high oil content. Therefore, whether stir-frying or deep-frying, they should be added to cold oil. This way, the peanuts cook through gradually as the oil temperature rises.

While he was busy, the store's door opened.

Xu Xinhua and Che Zai had arrived for work.

"Boss, Niu Chuan is here; he's at the door. We managed to persuade him last night. He's decided to come work at our store, but he has a small request..."

A small request?

He's being offered such a high salary and still making requests? Isn't that pushing his luck a bit?

Lin Xu wiped his hands and asked curiously, "What request?"

"He wants to learn from you how to make hand-rolled noodles..."

——————

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