Chapter 601: Two Sides of the Coin (4)
Chapter 601: Two Sides of the Coin (4)
Standing beside Chloe, Ella wore an angry expression as she looked at Catherine. Chloe was her favourite aunt, but all the attention and affection seemed to belong to Catherine instead. Yet Catherine was too charming to resent properly, leaving Ella unsure of how to display her frustration.
Chloe noticed the mixture of emotions on Ella’s face and smiled warmly at her. She gently placed Catherine in Janet’s arms, then beckoned Ella over. “Ella, come here.”
“I’m fine. I’m not a baby,” Ella replied stubbornly.
“I never said you were a baby. I said, Ella!”
“I don’t want to be hugged like a baby.” Despite her words, Ella glanced at Chloe’s outstretched arms and, as if it were natural, settled onto her lap. As Chloe stroked Ella’s chubby cheeks, Anderson asked, “So, what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your work. Are you planning to stay jobless?”
“Well, sometimes being jobless isn’t so bad.”
Chloe wondered if being jobless really suited her nature. She was the kind of woman more comfortable as a housewife than a corporate employee or professional chef. Enjoying a relaxed daily life suited her better than battling through a competitive world.
“But when I see you all, I feel like I should find a job.”
Chloe withdrew her hand from Ella’s cheek, clearly troubled by Anderson’s question. This was not the first time she’d pondered what to do next. While her friends were busy advancing, she found herself uncertain about how to move forward.
Her worry was fundamental. She was someone who cooked to find happiness. But if work brought no joy, how could life be fulfilling? That was her core dilemma.
“If you were in my position, what would you do? Would you open a restaurant or work for someone else?”
“Aren’t you considering other options?”
“I’m trying, but nothing comes to mind.”
Chloe sighed quietly. She didn’t need to worry about finances—Irregular Lab was thriving, and opening another branch could earn even more. Plus, she had made plenty from broadcasting. Money wasn’t the issue.
It was actually Anderson and Janet who should be more concerned, raising a baby without steady incomes like Minjoon, Kaya, or Chloe had.
Janet offered a suggestion to save her effort. “Why don’t you focus on Irregular Lab?”
“I've thought about that. But if I focus there, I might end up just a restaurant owner or a cuisine researcher, not a chef...” Chloe said.
“You don’t like being a cuisine researcher? That seems perfect for you.”
“To be honest, yes. It suits me. I wouldn’t get so busy that the days feel too short, and I could still cook and potentially make a lot of money.”
She could make tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars with one successful recipe. Ordinary people would struggle with that, but Chloe’s celebrity made marketing recipes easier. A 10,000 one under her name.
But is that really okay? To put it bluntly, that life felt like a free lunch. In many ways, she could live comfortably if she wanted, but seeing her friends work hard in a restaurant made her uneasy.
What does money really matter? She had seen just how mean and petty many nouveau riches were through Irregular Lab. Money brought neither dignity nor happiness.
“I want to be a chef,” she admitted, acknowledging her own greed. “I want to say confidently later in life that I really worked hard as a chef.”
There was, however, one worry. Being a chef meant she couldn’t control her life as she wished. The thought of endless repetition exhausted her. It had been tough working at Irregular Lab.
She never told Kaya this. Catching up to Kaya was hard—Kaya wasn’t an ordinary chef but one of the best. Chloe worked hard daily not to be overshadowed, which stressed her greatly.
“Well, that’s selfish greed—wanting to eat food but not wanting to pay for it. Maybe you miss when your mum fed you whenever you said you were hungry.”
“Yeah, you already know the answer,” Anderson said in a sullen tone.
Chloe looked at him in confusion, then her eyes widened in realisation. He was right. She had just said she wanted to be a chef.
“There’s no job that isn’t tough. But don’t be afraid before you even try. Just do it, no matter what. You only have to decide whether to open a restaurant or work for someone else. Wait—how about joining Lotus Bridge?”
“Why should I work there?” Chloe responded with a bitter smile.
She was bold enough to manage Irregular Lab with Kaya, yet she no longer wanted to be brazen. She had decided to treat Minjoon as a friend, and didn’t want to hover around Lotus Bridge, monitoring his moods.
Maybe I’d feel differently if I didn’t like Minjoon.
But that was a pointless thought now.
Lotus Bridge was a new restaurant. If it were just a branch of Rose Island, things might be easier. But Minjoon rejected that, wanting to build the restaurant from scratch.
His top priority was securing good suppliers.
A high-quality restaurant maintained excellent noodle makers and bakers, but most importantly, it had good connections with quality ranches. At least, that was the case in California.
The key was selecting a good ranch.
“I heard this place sells the sexiest cows in California,” Minjoon remarked.
He looked to the other man and asked, “Do you have a minute?”
The other sighed, “We don’t sell cows.”
“Excuse me?”
“We don’t sell cows. I know you’ve come far, but I’m sorry.”
He was sincere, not negotiating.
“May I ask why?” Minjoon pressed cautiously.
“Because we don’t have any.”
Though he said this, cows were bawling behind him.
Seeing Minjoon’s perplexed face, he sighed again. “I know what you’re thinking, but they’re all sold to someone else.”
“So, they’ve contracted all the cows here?”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
Minjoon exhaled heavily.
He knew this ranch from recommendations not just from Rachel, but also famous California chefs like Fabio and Amelia. They praised Green Pearl Ranch for its "sexiest cows." Besides cows, it grew many vegetables and raised chickens and rabbits, but cows made the ranch valuable.
“Can’t you raise more cows? I’ve heard many say this ranch is amazing…”
“Well, cows aren’t commodities to be grown overnight. Each barn is already at full capacity. We’d need more barns to raise more cows.”
“I see.”
“Let’s go somewhere else,” Kaya said in a sour tone.
Minjoon turned to her. She didn’t like coming here, having heard the ranch owner was overly meticulous. He understood—she hated bowing to anyone. Perhaps her self-esteem wasn’t quite strong enough yet. Sometimes, she seemed scared, thinking she had an attitude problem even when others treated her roughly.
Though Minjoon did not voice this, the owner’s attitude probably made Kaya very uncomfortable. He was about to give up and nod in agreement when the ranch owner suddenly spoke.
“Since you’ve come all this way, would you like to dine with me?”
“Dine with you?”
“As you said before, our cows here are pretty damn sexy,” the owner said calmly. “Aren’t you curious about how they taste?”