Poor rich beat the world with system

"Wife, what do you think about that small shop..." Li Sheng stood on the balcony, staring at the suddenly "enlightened" shop downstairs like a conflicted sentry, his voice even softer than a mosquito bargaining.

"Hmm? What's the matter? Isn't it that dark cuisine place? You're not trying to say..."

Liu Aunt, who was clearing the dishes, nearly made a porcelain bowl perform an "aerial stunt" with a flick of her hand.

"How about, for our mother's birthday feast..."

"Stop right there!" The dishrag in Liu Aunt's hand slapped down on the table as if swatting a fly.

"You mean that shop which hasn't been able to cook a salted fish without turning it into charcoal for half a year? Have you been standing on the balcony for too long and let the moonlight make you foolish?"

Li Sheng scratched his head awkwardly, like a schoolboy caught by the teacher.

"But look at how good their business is now, those delivery guys are about to wear down the threshold..."

"Can he consider himself a Michelin chef just because he can boil noodles?"

Liu Aunt rolled her eyes, her expression more professional than their picky old cat.

"Did you forget the shredded pork with green peppers he made last month? I swear that was the most charcoal-like dish of its kind I've ever seen!"

Suddenly, her eyes brightened as if she had discovered some peerless treasure: "Right! Our cousin Xiao Sheng is now a chef in the Island Country!"

"The one who graduated from Lanxiang Technical School?"

"Exactly!" The more Liu Aunt talked, the more excited she got, waving the dishrag in her hand like a conductor's baton.

"He's a proper professional! As soon as he graduated, he was headhunted by a well-known restaurant in the Island Country. He's quite famous there now, often interviewed by food magazines!"

She wiped the plate, her voice full of pride.

"Unlike some people who were scaring the neighbors with dark cuisine yesterday and today dare to call themselves kitchen gods. Such shops that suddenly become popular are probably just hiring people to praise them!"

"You're right..." Li Sheng glanced downstairs again.

For such an important event as his mother's 90th birthday, entrusting it to someone who was still researching "how to stir-fry shredded potatoes into dried earthworms" the day before yesterday would be making a joke of the old lady's birthday feast, wouldn't it?

"Then let's invite our cousin back?"

"That's more like it! Oh, you're the only one who believes that his little shop can produce a phoenix!"

Liu Aunt said, her expression more triumphant than if she had won the lottery.

"Then we'll set up two big tents and let the neighbors taste the real skill. Those who always boast about foreign cuisine should also see what our family can do!"

She put down the rag, as if already seeing the guests' astonished expressions at the birthday feast.

"You say, a chef returning from the Island Country, specially arranging a birthday feast for our mother. How prestigious that would be! It's beyond comparison with those wild roadside shops."

Li Sheng silently withdrew his gaze.

The small shop downstairs was still lit, that warm light appearing especially lonely in the night, like a forgotten fairy tale.

But now, no one takes this "fairy tale" seriously anymore.

"By the way," Liu Aunt eagerly took out her phone.

"I'll call Xiao Sheng right now. If he shows his skills for our mother, won't the neighbors be envious to death? It will ensure that those who always praise internet-famous shops also taste what real skill is!"

Li Sheng vaguely responded, following his wife into the house.

After all, who would entrust an important birthday feast to a wild roadside chef who was still researching "how to boil twice-cooked pork into leather shoes" last week?

That would be slapping one's own face, wouldn't it?

The next morning, Liu Yang posted a job notice at the door, the paper was still new, and the handwriting was so clear as if afraid others couldn't see it:

"Recruitment: One kitchen apprentice, experience not necessary, salary negotiable. The most important thing is: must be able to endure hardship and have passion."

This small piece of paper immediately became the new topic of conversation among the neighbors after dinner.

Li Sheng from the building across the street went downstairs to buy groceries and saw the job notice, unable to resist teasing: "Oh, are you upgrading your equipment? Yesterday you were a solo guerrilla fighter, and today you're going to form a regular army?"

Liu Yang just smiled, too lazy to even roll his eyes—after all, this man was his regular customer, although he often came to eat his dark cuisine.

Old Zhang from the stationery store next door also came over, wiping his glasses that were as thick as the bottom of a beer bottle, and said with emotion: "Young man, you have ambition! You're going to do a great business." Although there was a teasing tone in his words, his tone was full of happiness for him.

Throughout the day, the shop was as lively as a temple fair. When the neighbors heard that his cooking skills had suddenly improved, they all came to taste the fresh dishes. Every time a dish was served, it was met with exclamations of amazement.

"This is what twice-cooked pork should taste like!"

"The heat control of this shredded pork with green peppers is perfect!"

"Shredded potatoes, wow, this taste, it's just like my mother's cooking when she was young!"

Liu Yang was so busy that he didn't even have time to drink water, rushing in and out of the kitchen as if he was in a battle.

It wasn't until closing time in the evening that a young man pushed the door open. He looked to be in his early twenties, dressed neatly but not fancy, with a bit of unease on his face, like a college student going for an interview.

"Boss, I saw the job notice you posted..." He said nervously, rubbing his hands.

"Oh?" Liu Yang put down the rag in his hand, "And you are..."

"My name is Xiao Li, and I'm a graduate of Lanxiang Technical School."

Liu Yang's eyes brightened. Of course, he knew Lanxiang Technical School; it was the most famous cooking school in the area, and its graduates could basically get into big restaurants. Why would he come to apply at his small shop?

Seeming to see his doubt, the young man gave a wry smile: "Boss, you may not know, but that school is actually..." He paused, as if organizing his words, "To put it bluntly, it's a playground for rich kids."

He talked about the dark side of the school that was unknown to others: rich kids with average talent could enter big restaurants through various connections, while ordinary families like his, even if they studied hard, could only end up disappointed.

"My family scraped together to support me through school, but after graduation, I couldn't even get into a proper restaurant's kitchen," he laughed self-deprecatingly, "So when I saw you hiring, I wanted to give it a try."

Liu Yang looked thoughtfully at this young man. He suddenly remembered his previous arrogant life as a rich second-generation and looked at this young man full of dreams but beaten by reality, and an inexplicable sense of empathy welled up in his heart.

"Why did you choose my small shop?" he asked.

The young man's eyes brightened: "Because I tasted your dishes today! The taste of that twice-cooked pork was amazing! Even more authentic than what we learned at school."

Liu Yang couldn't help but laugh. If this young man knew that he was still researching "how to boil twice-cooked pork into charcoal" yesterday, who knows what he would think.