Chapter 75 : I have never seen such a beautiful, young girl killing fish

After saying that, she went to stand at the counter.  

Song Shiwei carried the bucket to the back kitchen entrance, set everything down, and told Sun Zeyan that her children were still waiting outside, she needed to go check on them.  

Sun Zeyan happened to be heading to the factory to pick up the leaders, so he left with her.  

As soon as she stepped out of the state-owned restaurant, the two children and Xiao Zhang rushed to her side. She had been inside for so long that they were getting anxious, afraid something had happened to her, and were about to go in to check.  

When Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin saw her, they hurried forward.  

“Mom, why did you take so long?”  

“How did it go? Did you sell the food?”  

Song Shiwei smiled and nodded. “I sold it, but they don’t know how to cook it. I have to help them cook the anglerfish!”  

Xiao Zhang’s gaze fell on Sun Zeyan, who was standing next to her, and he nodded politely.  

But Sun Zeyan was a little taken aback.  

Even though he had never served in the military, he was familiar with the ranking system. The man before him was wearing a naval uniform and addressing Song Shiwei respectfully as “sister-in-law.”  

A thought crossed his mind, could this young woman be the wife of a high-ranking military officer?  

But she was so young! She didn’t look the part.  

However, he didn’t dwell on it and quickly left in a hurry.  

Since Song Shiwei still had to cook, and the midday sun was scorching, she decided to have Xiao Zhang take the children inside to wait.  

Wang Zhenzhu, watching from the side, noticed that she had come with two children and a man in a naval uniform. Judging from his rank, he was clearly just an ordinary soldier.  

Her disdain only deepened.  

Were they planning to eat for free?  

Bringing men and children to mooch a meal, how shameless!  

She was already plotting to spread rumors about her if she dared to let them eat without paying.  

Meanwhile, Song Shiwei told Xiao Zhang to find a table for Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin.  

“If you’re hungry, go ahead and order something to eat first!”  

It was almost eleven, and after traveling back and forth on buses and boats all morning, she worried the kids were starving.  

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin, while curiously glancing around the restaurant, still shook their heads.  

“Mom, we’re not hungry!”  

“Yeah, Mom, don’t worry about us! Go do your thing first!”  

In reality, they were hungry. They had eaten breakfast early, and as growing kids, they digested food quickly. Their stomachs had been rumbling for a while. But they didn’t want to eat without her, they wanted to wait and have lunch together.  

How could Song Shiwei not see through them?  

She smiled and told Xiao Zhang, “If they get hungry, let them order something to eat!”  

Xiao Zhang nodded with a grin. “Don’t worry, sister-in-law. If Xiaocheng and Xiaolin get hungry, I’ll take care of it.”  

Only then did Song Shiwei feel at ease and head to the kitchen.  

At this time, the restaurant kitchen was already bustling.  

After all, it was lunchtime, and customers were starting to arrive.  

She saw six or seven people working inside two washing vegetables, two chopping ingredients, one kneading dough, and another standing with his hands behind his back, inspecting everything with a serious expression.  

If anyone made a mistake, he would immediately step in with corrections.  

Song Shiwei quickly understood, this was likely the head chef, the one in charge of all the cooking.

Manager Zhou was standing at the back door, checking accounts with a young man. At his feet were baskets filled with vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, and meat.  

The chickens were all alive, about four or five in a basket, ready to be slaughtered and cooked fresh.  

The fish were also lively and flipping around.  

There was about half a slab of meat, probably enough to last for the day.  

Just as Song Shiwei walked in, Manager Zhou finished checking the accounts. He pointed at her and said to the head chef, Sun Quan, in the back kitchen, “Master Sun, this young comrade is helping Director Sun cook the fish. We don’t know how to cook it, right? But she does!”  

Sun Quan had actually noticed Song Shiwei the moment she walked in, but he deliberately ignored her.  

After all, if even he couldn’t cook this dish, how could some young girl possibly know how? That didn’t sit well with him.  

Besides, looking at her porcelain-white skin, delicate hands she didn’t seem like someone who had ever done real kitchen work.  

If she had been an older woman who had spent decades by the stove, maybe he would have believed it. But a young girl like this? He figured she was just bluffing.  

Well, whatever. It was Director Sun’s dish, not his. Whether it turned out good or bad had nothing to do with him. It wouldn’t hurt his reputation.  

He pointed toward the stove in the farthest corner.  

“You, use that stove. But let me make one thing clear, no one is going to help you!”  

What he really meant was: If you don’t know what you’re doing and end up asking for help, don’t bother. No one’s going to save you.  

After all, if they got involved and the dish turned out terrible, it could offend the high-ranking officials. Then his job would be on the line!  

But Song Shiwei didn’t care about his attitude. She understood where he was coming from.  

That said, she didn’t need their approval. She knew whether she was capable or not. She didn’t need validation from anyone else.  

Carrying her bucket, she walked straight to the innermost stove.  

She pulled out the ugly monkfish with its massive mouth.  

The kitchen staff immediately gasped in surprise.  

“What kind of fish is that? Can you even eat it?”  

“Yeah, why does it look so weird? It won’t poison anyone, will it?”  

“I don’t know if this little girl can handle it. Hope nothing goes wrong!”  

Manager Zhou and Sun Quan also stared in shock.  

To be honest, this was the first time they had ever seen such a strange-looking fish.  

But Song Shiwei was quick and precise. She knocked the fish unconscious with her knife, scooped up a bucket of water, and poured it over the fish. Then, with a clean, practiced motion, she slit the fish open and reached inside, pulling out the liver intact.  

Her movements were so swift and efficient that Manager Zhou was nearly dumbfounded.  

This little girl looks delicate, but I didn’t expect her to be so skilled!  

The younger kitchen helpers were just as stunned.  

Sun Quan cleared his throat and barked, “What are you all staring at? Haven’t you seen someone clean a fish before? Get back to work!”  

The young kitchen staff quickly turned back to their tasks.  

It wasn’t that they had never seen someone butcher a fish before, they did it every day.  

But they had never seen such a young and beautiful girl handle a fish this fast and skillfully.  

Her movements were smooth, precise, and confident like she had done this a thousand times before.  

At that moment, Wang Zhenzhu walked in to hand over a new order.  

She happened to catch sight of Song Shiwei’s skillful work and the way everyone around her was watching with admiration.  

Immediately, jealousy flared up in her heart.  

She muttered to herself, What a show-off! So what if it looks impressive? If the food doesn’t taste good and Director Sun ends up embarrassed in front of the big boss, she’s the one who’ll have to deal with the consequences.  

She shoved the order slip at Sun Quan.  

“Master Sun, here’s a new order from a customer. Hurry up and get cooking!”  

Sun Quan took the slip, glanced at it, and quickly called out to the kitchen staff, “Move faster! We’ve got a lot of dishes to make!”