Married the Tough Guy After Transmigrating

Chapter 176: Chapter 177: Go to Find Director Wang

“Let’s hurry inside then,” Manager Zhang said anxiously, and he rushed to take Xu Ying to the director’s office.

Sun Er Ming walked ahead of him with a smile.

Suddenly, Manager Zhang smelled a tantalizing aroma of meat mixed with oil. He took several deep breaths, salivating at the scent.

“Did you guys smell something delicious?”

“What smell?” Sun Er Ming looked puzzled, not detecting any scent of perfume.

“It’s really fragrant, makes you salivate!” Manager Zhang said, and swallowed with a gulp, his face turning red with embarrassment.

Upon hearing this, Sun Er Ming immediately understood and quickly lifted the basket in his hand, “Is it this?”

As the basket was abruptly raised to Manager Zhang’s face, the meaty fragrance intensified. Manager Zhang took a deep breath, his eyes lighting up as he frantically nodded, “Yes, exactly this! What is it? How can it be so fragrant?”

Xu Ying smiled and spoke up, “Manager Zhang, this is my newly developed ‘Universal Fried Goods.’ I simply fried some of them today. Please, taste and see how they are.”

Manager Zhang swallowed his saliva wildly, a bit embarrassed as he glanced at Xu Ying, his eyes shining, “Then I won’t be shy about it.”

Lifting the cloth that covered the basket for insulation, the fragrance instantaneously became even richer.

The fried goods inside looked golden and immensely appetizing.

Manager Zhang picked up a small piece of fried mushroom and put it in his mouth. A crisp sound followed by a crispy and fragrant taste.

“What is this? It tastes like mushrooms but seems to have a meaty flavor too. It’s incredibly delicious!” Manager Zhang’s face beamed with enjoyment. This was much tastier than the chicken soup his wife made at home.

“These are fried mushrooms, and we also have fried chicken strips, small crispy meat, fried potato slices, and fried meaty lotus roots,” Xu Ying explained one by one.

Manager Zhang kept salivating as he listened to the names.

But these were meant for the director to taste, and he did not dare to eat too much. If it all got eaten, the director wouldn’t get any, and if their cooperation fell through, he would be in big trouble.

Initially only fifty percent confident, now Manager Zhang felt almost ninety percent certain.

“Let’s go, let’s find the director.” Manager Zhang walked forward confidently, his demeanour entirely different from the nervousness he had felt at the start.

The three of them walked quickly, and within a few minutes, they reached Director Wang’s office.

Manager Zhang took a deep breath and knocked on Director Wang’s office door, “Director, I’ve brought Master Xiao Xu from the State-owned Restaurant.”

Hearing that Master Xiao Xu from the State-owned Restaurant was here, Director Wang raised his eyebrows, puzzled why Manager Zhang had brought the chef from the State-owned Restaurant.

Nevertheless, he cleared his throat and said, “Come in.”

Manager Zhang then opened the door and walked in with Xu Ying.

Upon lifting his head, Director Wang saw a young girl about seventeen or eighteen and immediately frowned—Zhang, what are you doing bringing a young girl here?

But as Xu Ying approached, the fragrance of the fried goods from her basket wafted out, and Director Wang couldn’t help inhaling.

So fragrant.

“Director Wang, greetings, I am a chef from the State-owned Restaurant. Manager Zhang mentioned you want to collaborate on our Universal Fried Goods?

Today I brought some for you to try before we discuss our cooperation.”

After speaking, Xu Ying placed the basket directly in front of Director Wang’s desk, opened it, and began laying out small plates of fried goods.

As she took them out, the aroma quickly filled the air, making Director Wang swallow hard.

Immediately, he recalled how his wife had recently been raving about a young chef at the State-owned Restaurant who cooked delicious meals—could it be this young girl in front of him?

Director Wang scrutinized Xu Ying, his eyes emitting a sharp light, as if he could see through everyone’s thoughts.

Xu Ying was not intimidated at all and faced his scrutiny composedly.

Before, Director Wang of the Department Store had been a soldier and even a leadership cadre in the military camp, and he only retired due to an injury.

Ordinary people, when stared at by him, would feel a sense of oppression and dare not look him in the eye.

But Xu Ying had weathered many storms and was not afraid at all.

However, Manager Zhang and Sun Er Ming were somewhat afraid, shrinking their necks and trying to reduce their presence.

“Director Wang, why don’t you try this first?” Xu Ying promptly spoke up, saving Manager Zhang and Sun Er Ming. “These fried items have just been made and are still hot. If they cool down, they won’t taste as good.”

“Well then, I’ll have a look. This fried food looks appealing, and it must taste even better,” Director Wang put away his stern demeanor and turned with a playful smile.

Xu Ying placed a pair of chopsticks in the basket. Manager Zhang had seen them just now and knew what was happening, so he didn’t dare to use them.

Now, Director Wang picked up the chopsticks and reached for the fried pork and lotus root. The meat Xu Ying chose for the pork and lotus root was 30% fat, 70% lean, which made the taste even better.

With the refreshing flavor of the lotus root combined with the umami of the pork belly, one bite left an unforgettable taste.

Director Wang’s eyes lit up and he could not help but praise aloud, “Delicious! You truly are a great chef, this dish is superb.”

Next came little crispy pork, fried chicken strips, and potato chips…

Manager Zhang and Sun Er Ming watched enviously as they salivated.

At this moment, Director Wang didn’t care about his image at all and started eating heartily.

He single-handedly finished several plates of fried food!

Even then, he was not satisfied; he even licked the seasoning off the chopsticks.

If it weren’t for the presence of others, he would have wanted to pick up every bit of crumbs from the plate and eat them too.

After eating his fill and letting out a satisfied belch, Director Wang looked up, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He awkwardly rubbed his fists, looking extremely pleased with Xu Ying, “Master Xiao Xu, this fried food is truly remarkable.

But isn’t this a ready-to-eat dish? Your State-owned Restaurant can totally sell these yourselves!”

Xu Ying responded with an open smile, “Indeed, we can make and sell them ourselves, but these fried items are time-consuming to make, and our State-owned Restaurant has many other dishes to prepare too.

Not to hide it from you, Director, this fried food is actually processed and made at a food factory.

These items can be well preserved through refrigeration or freezing, and whenever people want to eat them, they can just take them out of the freezer, thaw them, and fry them immediately.”

Director Wang had been in a rather good mood, but his spirits dampened instantly when he heard the words “food factory.”

Looking at Xu Ying he felt a great pain inside, though he had no choice but to reluctantly let go of the idea, as if Xu was not part of the food factory, he would significantly consider a collaboration.

After all, the fried food was too delicious, and as Xu described, if it could be frozen and fried at one’s convenience, surely many would come to buy.

Although not many people had freezers, they could buy in smaller amounts and fry them at home.

Or perhaps their Department Store could specifically arrange a place to fry these items.

Such delicious fried food would certainly attract business.

But considering it was produced by a food factory, Director Wang glumly stated, “Mr. Xiao Xu, our Department Store does not collaborate with food factories.”