Um, do you ladies have
something on your mind? Just say it already, you're starting to freak me out a bit.
The girls immediately stood up from their seats. One of them squeezed Aiden's arm and
kept shaking it as she said, Aiden, silly, we just want to try your new cake! Aiden looked
down at the hand gripping his arm and blushed slightly. Then he said with a dry mouth,
Let go of me first, I'll prepare it right away! Looking at Aiden's fleeing figure, the two girls
exchanged glances and giggled.
The two of them had wanted to try the premium apricot carrot cake for quite a while
now, but had been too shy to say so. The moment they'd seen Aiden give the whole cake
to Mr. K, their hearts had dropped. Aiden called his parents into the kitchen to help him
make a new cake.
After all, he had initially created this cake so that his parents could add it to their regular
menu, in place of the chicken noodle soup. Unless there was some sort of special
circumstance, he didn't plan to make it himself in the future. Everything would be
handed over to his parents.
After a few tries, the two of them finally managed to produce a cake on par with the
original. Although Aiden thought it tasted slightly different from the one he had made
before, it was still good enough to sell in Midnight Snack Corner. Aiden finished making a
large premium apricot carrot cake and brought it for the girls to take home with them.
Thank you for your hard work over the past two days, he said as he handed it over.
Aiden was indeed very grateful to them both for having helped his parents manage the
store. As the two girls began digging into the cake in their hands, they asked curiously, Aiden, will the chicken noodle soup be removed from the menu now? For now, yes, the
soup will be temporarily suspended.
We'll discuss it more after evaluating the situation and seeing what the feedback from
customers is like. Aiden felt rather helpless at this point. It wasn't that the chicken
noodle soup wasn't selling, quite the opposite, they were selling far too much of it.
If he continued to make the soup, he would have to bury his head in the kitchen every
day and wouldn't have time to make anything else. Now, he'd be free. Hmm, he
considered.
I guess I won't have much to do next weekend. When the two girls heard this, they
sighed regretfully. Aiden teased, don't tell me you both want to come here every
weekend.
The two girls flushed cherry red and quickly swallowed their cake before saying goodbye.
Looking at their flustered backs, Aiden scratched his head. Had he really hit the mark?
That night, the family of three decided to go out for a big meal to celebrate their large
sales from the weekend.
Morris and Aiden didn't care where or what they ate, but Clara had been wanting to go to
a newly opened French restaurant for the longest time now. Since they hadn't gone
before because it was so expensive to eat there, they decided that now would be the
perfect time to give it a try. But before they left, Aiden noticed that his mother was
carrying a bulging bag.
Mom, what did you bring with you? Why does it look so heavy? Clara blushed a little in
embarrassment and said, Oh, nothing. I just don't feel safe leaving behind all the money
we've earned over the past two days. Aiden stared at her in shocked silence.
With how many customers they'd had over the past two days, she had to be carrying at
least $200,000 in cash right now.
The French restaurant St.
Lancey's was on East Street. It was said to be well-regarded in France.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, they felt a wave of luxury. The interior
decoration was lush. The floor was sparkling clean.
All the waiters seemed elegant and refined. The woman who served them was a tall
blonde with blue eyes. She handed them three menus and asked what they would like.
They felt a little awkward as they looked at the dazzling menu. Morris and Clara
struggled to understand the differences between the various types of steak on the menu
and looked to Aiden for help. Although it was Aiden's first time in a French restaurant,
when he looked at the text on the menu, a system notification sounded in his mind.
Reading the menu. Cooking ability plus one. Proficient level cooking ability has been
activated.
Scan the dishes. Analysis of the dishes has been completed. Aiden was currently reading
the menu's brief description of the restaurant's filet mignon.
The process of making the filet mignon automatically appeared in his mind, from the
selection of ingredients to the cooking methods. All the information was available to him.
This cut of meat was tender and lean, with a delicate texture.
He was able to deduce all this from his new understanding of the cooking process. Aiden
did not expect his proficient cooking ability to have this kind of magical effect. In this
case, could it be that if he finished looking over the entire menu, he would be able to
learn how to cook all of the different dishes? Aiden's heart skipped a beat.
He slowly scanned down the pages of the menu. The waitress was able to maintain a
patient smile at first, but when she saw that Aiden was staring at each item on the menu
for minutes at a time, the smile gradually faded. At this moment, a man and a woman
sat down at a table nearby.
They were both around 40 years old. The man was very fat and wore a thick gold chain
around his neck. The woman opposite him was wearing thick makeup and gaudy jewelry.
When the blonde waitress saw them, she immediately turned impatiently to Aiden and
said, Sir, please make your decision quickly. I still have to serve the guests at the other
tables. Aiden frowned.
After reviewing the knowledge in his mind, he ordered two filet mignons cooked medium
well for his parents and a medium-cooked sirloin steak for himself. After they waited for
a while, three steaks were served along with three salad plates and three bowls of soup.
They were unaccustomed to fine dining etiquette and weren't sure where to start.
They started down at the multiple spoons, forks, and knives of differing shapes and
sizes. How could you possibly need two forks? Clara was so anxious that beads of sweat
started to form on her face. She felt like she might forget how to hold a fork and knife all
together.
Aiden was also rather unfamiliar with the strange silverware, at least in the beginning.
But then, as the system notifications sounded, a large amount of knowledge appeared in
his mind. Fine dining etiquette, plus one.
Current progress, one out of ten. Current level, beginner. After he understood what was
appropriate, Aiden taught his parents which utensils to use for the salad, which for the
soup, and which for the steak.
See? That's how you do it, he exclaimed. Clara finally understood. She was so excited
that she could barely control herself.
She let out a small shriek of joy. The high-pitched squeal reverberated through the quiet
restaurant. How uncivilized, spat out a cold voice from close by.
Aiden turned his head in the direction of the voice and saw the couple who had come in
earlier. When the fat man saw that Aiden had noticed him, he snorted with disdain. Clara
understood that most of the diners here were quote-unquote successful people.
She didn't want to offend them. She felt embarrassed and apologized to the man in a low
voice. I'm sorry.
By this time, the man had finished his meal. Coincidentally, it was the blonde waitress
that came to give him the bill. He opened his wallet and took out a stack of money.
After paying the bill, he gave the waitress a $100 tip. The blonde smiled and thanked
him politely. The man sneered at Clara as he paid the bill.
What's the use of apologizing? Look at your clothes. If you don't know anything about
food, then this isn't the place for you, honey. He turned to the waitress and said, St.
Lancey's standards seem to be slipping.
You can't allow just anyone to come in here. Clara's face was pale. She lowered her head
and stared at the tablecloth.
Her expression tore at Aiden's heart. He frowned. He said coldly to the man, Just because
we don't eat expensive food, does that mean we're trash? People don't have to eat at
fancy restaurants to be worth something, you know? I'm puzzled.
Since when did it become fashionable to eat according to those arbitrary rules? Maybe I
prefer to eat my steak with a salad fork. What's wrong with that? Aiden picked up his
steak with his hands and took a big bite out of it. He continued talking as he chewed.
Oh no! What have I done? Someone's eating with their hands! Call the police! Then he
turned to the fat man. Who does this man think he is, trying to puff himself up by
following these silly rules and yelling at people who are just trying to mind their own
business? Are rich men really so insecure? Aiden took another bite out of the steak.
Delicious! Delicious! You gotta try this, man! The fat man stared in shocked silence.
He clearly was unaccustomed to being spoken to in this way. His face turned red. The
waitress smiled at Aiden and said, Sir, you're being rude.
Aiden glanced at the waitress. He said lightly, You're right. Unfortunately, it's not your
place to say so as a waitress in a restaurant.
If I were your manager, I would fire you. As a server, it's your responsibility to stop a
fight between two parties and prevent the conflict from escalating, not take sides. Of
course, he gave you a hundred dollar tip, so it's understandable.
The waitress's smile suddenly froze. She was at a loss of words. The working class
people who came here were usually so polite to her.
She had never seen such