Stay Home Daddy: I Was Reborn After My Daughter Passed Away
Chapter 710 - 705 Confidence shattered

Chapter 710: 705 Confidence shattered

It was visible to the naked eye that she was very nervous at the moment.

"Don’t be too nervous, relax, it’s not such a big deal." Seeing how nervous he looked made Gu Chen feel a bit embarrassed.

If he had known it would be like this, he wouldn’t have put so much pressure on Xiao Ping.

"Boss, I think I did alright, I’m just not completely certain."

Xiao Ping was clearly lacking confidence in herself right now, especially since yesterday when Gu Chen had mentioned that her cooking was just average.

"It’s okay, let me have a taste. There’s not much of a problem actually; the flavor difference in this dish is not distinguishable by the average person. As long as there’s nothing wrong with the chicken wings and the skin is a little crispy, it’s considered well-made."

It wasn’t solely about this dish, in fact, Gu Chen believed that the majority of guests wouldn’t notice any difference between his cooking and Xiao Ping’s.

Compared to others, this Cola Chicken Wings dish was an unpopular one, which meant that no matter how it was prepared, there was quite a bit of leeway.

Since thus far, only Qiwei Vegetarian in Haicheng offered this dish, no other restaurant could serve it. So, how this dish was to be cooked, what was considered delicious, and what counted as qualified were all up to Gu Chen himself to decide.

That was why she told Xiao Ping not to be too nervous and not to take this matter too much to heart.

"Boss, I mainly don’t want to ruin our restaurant’s reputation. I’ll work hard. If I don’t get it right the first time, I’ll do it a second time, and if not the second time, then a third. I believe sooner or later I will succeed."

Xiao Ping seemed especially diligent, and for her, failure was not an option. She felt that if she failed, she would let down Gu Chen’s trust in her.

Gu Chen felt somewhat guilty when he saw this.

"Xiao Ping, you need to be a chef, but remember not to put too much pressure on yourself.

If one day you fall ill because of cooking, that’s when I’ll truly be disappointed.

After all, if you can’t even take good care of yourself, how can you expect to cook a good dish?"

Gu Chen said this earnestly to her.

After hearing this, Xiao Ping understood what Gu Chen meant,

"Boss, I got it. I’ll take good care of myself and, under that premise, I’ll try my best to cook the dishes well."

Now Xiao Ping couldn’t go two or three sentences without mentioning cooking, and for a moment Gu Chen didn’t know what to say. She was even beginning to doubt herself, wondering if letting Xiao Ping learn to cook was a good or a bad thing.

She always felt she had changed Xiao Ping, but in doing so had made Xiao Ping’s life even more dull and, to some extent, tired.

While Gu Chen was doubting herself, Xiao Ping didn’t stop trying.

Gu Chen stayed with her the entire morning, tasting every attempt. The taste wasn’t much different each time, not even Gu Chen himself could control it to such a precise degree when cooking.

For Gu Chen, this was actually quite normal, but for Xiao Ping, it wasn’t. To Xiao Ping, it seemed she truly did not allow herself any mistakes.

Every time after she finished a dish, she would start looking for her own shortcomings.

This was strange and made people wonder what she was really thinking.

Watching her do this, Gu Chen truly felt sorry, but she couldn’t really say anything.

Finally, when it was almost time to close for the day, Gu Chen couldn’t help but say to her, "Alright Xiao Ping, that’s enough. You don’t have to keep going; what you’ve done is pretty good, totally up to standard."

Gu Chen spoke very sincerely to Xiao Ping then.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ping didn’t show much joy, but rather a bit of doubt.

"Boss, are you serious? You’re just comforting me, aren’t you? I’m still a little off the mark, right?"

Xiao Ping seemed to struggle with self-doubt; despite Gu Chen’s reassurance, she spoke in such a self-critical manner.

The moment he heard her words, Gu Chen didn’t even know how to respond.

"How could you think that way? If I said you’ve made the grade, then you’ve definitely made it. Don’t you trust what I say?"

After Gu Chen spoke those words, Xiao Ping’s face finally showed a hint of relaxation.

Seeing her like this, Gu Chen sighed. If it were like this day after day, Xiao Ping would exhaust herself.

This made Gu Chen second-guess himself; should he bother to introduce any new dishes?

If he experimented with new dishes and Xiao Ping struggled to learn, wouldn’t that mean she’d have to work tirelessly day and night as she does now?

"Xiao Ping, why don’t you wrap things up and head home to rest? When you have time, treat yourself well. If you’re thinking of travelling, I can give you some extended leave. Go out, have fun, and relax."

Gu Chen suddenly suggested she should take a break for herself, and he could give her some time off.

For Gu Chen, it was a simple matter; seeing her so exhausted, giving her some time off was the least he could do.

But once Xiao Ping heard what he said, the message seemed completely different to her.

"What are you trying to say, boss? Is there something I’m not doing well enough?" she asked Gu Chen anxiously.

Gu Chen was momentarily stunned. When had he ever implied that?

"Forget it, just pretend I never said anything just now. Honestly, you’re overthinking things," he said, sighing with resignation, without delving further into the issue.

He felt he needed to be more cautious when speaking with her in the future.

Otherwise, if he misspoke, Xiao Ping might overthink again.

"Don’t worry about me, boss; you don’t need to be concerned. I’m fine," said Xiao Ping, who seemed to have realized something, hurrying to reassure Gu Chen.

"Alright then, take care of yourself. I won’t say much more. I have something to attend to tomorrow, so I won’t keep you any longer," he said.

Gu Chen had to rush off now; he couldn’t afford to waste too much time in the restaurant. He needed to prepare for the upcoming perilous meeting.

Before heading to Haicheng, Gu Chen found it vital to have a talk with Old Yuan.

When it came to Qianyang Commerce, curiosity and confusion were what Gu Chen felt the most.

He was well aware of the dangers posed by Qianyang Commerce. If he went, it was likely that he’d end up in more harm than good.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, he believed he had to be extra cautious.

It was high noon, the perfect time for Gu Chen to arrange a meeting with Old Yuan at a restaurant.

But it wasn’t just the customers at Qiwei Vegetarian who took the restaurants for granted, even Gu Chen himself, the owner, had started to dismiss them.

The food served at these restaurants simply didn’t appeal to Gu Chen anymore.