Chapter 612 - Two Sides of Coin (4)
Standing next to Chloe, Ella looked at Catherine with an angry expression.
Chloe was her favorite aunt, but it was Catherine, not she, who got all her love. But Catherine was too lovely for her to hate, so she was at a loss on how to express her resentment.
Chloe peered into Ella’s mixed feelings on her face. She smiled at Ella. She then placed Catherine in Janet’s arms and beckoned to Ella.
“Ella, come here.”
“I’m fine. I’m not a baby.”
“I didn’t call you a baby. I called you, Ella!”
“I don’t want to be hugged by somebody like a baby.
Even though she said that, Ella cast a glance at Chloe’s open arms like a baby.
After all, Ella sat down on Chloe’s lap as if she took it for granted.
When she was touching Ella’s chubby cheeks, Anderson asked her, “What are you going to do from now on?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean your work. Are you going to stay as a jobless woman?”
“Well, I think being jobless sometimes is not that bad.”
Chloe wondered if being jobless was really in her element. In fact, Chloe was the type of woman who was more of a housewife than a company employee or professional chef. Enjoying a comfortable daily life was more suitable for her than living fiercely in a competitive society.
“But when I see you guys, I feel like I have to find a job.”
Chloe put down her hand while stroking Ella’s cheeks. Obviously, she was troubled by Anderson’s question. To be honest, this was not the first time she agonized over what she would do next. While her friends were busy thinking about how to move forward, she was occupied with what to do next.
As a matter of fact, her angst was something fundamental. She was a woman who got by in order to cook but to be happy. But if she just kept working without ever feeling happy, how could she enjoy her life? That was her fundamental angst.
“If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you like to open a restaurant? Or would you work for somebody?”
“Aren’t you considering any other option?”
“Well, I’m trying to, but I just can’t think of anything in particular.”
Chloe let out a sigh. In fact, she didn’t have to worry about making money because Irregular Lab was doing good business now. If she opened its branch, she would be able to make even more money. Besides, she made a lot of money while she was working as a broadcaster, so she didn’t have to think about making money by finding a job.
It was rather Anderson or Janet who should be more concerned about making money as they had a baby. They had no steady income like Min-joon, Kaya, and Chloe. Was it because of that?
Janet suggested something that could save her money.
“Why don’t you focus on Irregular Lab?”
“I’ve thought about that, too. But if I focus on that restaurant, I’m afraid I may end up being a restaurant owner or cuisine researcher rather than a chef…”
“You don’t like being a cuisine researcher? I think that’s pretty much your thing.”
“To be honest, yeah, that’s my thing. I don’t have to get so busy that a day feels so short. And I can still cook and make lots of money if I’m lucky…”
As she said, she could make tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars with one successful recipe. Ordinary people would find it very hard to do it, but Chloe could do it easily because she could make use of her celebrity while marketing her recipes. For example, a $1000 recipe could sell for a $ 10,000 recipe under her name.
‘But is it okay if I do that?’
To describe it badly, that kind of life would be something like a free lunch. In some respects, she could live a very comfortable life if she wanted. But she didn’t want to pursue that life when she looked at her friends working hard at a restaurant.
‘What’s the big deal even if I have lots of money?’
As a matter of fact, she clearly witnessed how mean and cheap those nouveau rich guys were while running Irregular Lab. Money didn’t come along with any dignity or happiness.
“I want to be a chef.” She knew it’s her greed, but she couldn’t give it up. “I want to become a chef like you, who can say confidently later in my life that I really worked very hard as a chef.
Of course, there is one that bothers me. If you become a chef, you can’t manage your life as you wish. When I think I have to repeat this kind of life endlessly, well, I’m already exhausted. To be honest, it’s tough when I worked at Irregular Lab.”
She didn’t say that to Kaya. But she found it hard even to catch up with Kaya. Kaya was not an ordinary chef, but a chef who was said to have the best in terms of cooking skills. So she worked really hard not to be pushed over by Kaya everyday, which inevitably made her stressed out.
“Well, that’s a bit selfish greed. In other words, you want to eat food, but you don’t want to pay. You might still miss the days when your mom used to feed you anytime whenever you told her you were hungry.”
“Yeah, you already know the answer to your problem,” said Anderson in a sullen voice.
Chloe, who was looking at Anderson with a puzzled expression, immediately opened her eyes wide. Come to think of it, he was right. She clearly said a moment ago that she wanted to be a chef.
“There is no job that is not tough. But don’t be afraid of anything before you even try it. Just do it, no matter what. All you have to think about is whether you should open a restaurant or work for somebody else. Wait a minute. How about joining Lotus Bridge?”
“Why should I work there?” Chloe said, with a bitter smile.
In fact, she was brazen enough to run Irregular Lab with Kaya. So she didn’t want to be brazen anymore. She already decided that she would treat Min-joon as a friend, so she didn’t want to hang around at Lotus Bridge while checking his moods or expression.
‘I might have felt differently if I had not liked Min-joon.’
In that case, she might have seriously considered joining Lotus Bridge.
But this was a meaningless assumption for her at this point.
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Lotus Bridge was a new restaurant. If it was Rose Island’s branch, things would be different. But Min-joon rejected such an option, he had to lay the foundation for the new restaurant from the beginning.
The most important thing among his priorities was securing retail stores.
A good restaurant usually maintained good noodle makers and bakers. And at the same time, a good restaurant had good connections with good ranches. That was the case at least in California.
The most important of them was probably choosing a good ranch.
“I heard this place sells the sexiest cows in California.”
Min-joon looked at the other person, and said, “Do you have a minute?”
The other party said with a sigh, “We don’t sell cows.”
“Pardon?”
“We don’t sell cows. I know you have come a long way, but I’m sorry,” he said with an apologetic expression. Obviously, he was serious. He was not acting for a better deal.
So Min-joon said cautiously, “May I know why?”
“Because we don’t have cows.”
Even though he said that, cows were crying behind him.
Watching Min-joon make a perplexed expression, he said with a sigh, “Well, I know what you’re thinking, but they are already sold out to somebody else.”
“You mean they contracted all the cows here?”
“Yes. Unfortunately.”
Min-joon sighed at his words.
He came to know this ranch easily. Not only Rachel but also Fabio and Amelia and many other famous California chefs that he knew recommended this ranch. The reason was simple. They said this was a ranch where he could find the sexiest cows. It was called Green Pearl Ranch.
Green Pearl Ranch also sold other stuff. They grew quite a few vegetables, and they also raised chickens and rabbits. But it was the cows that made this ranch the most valuable.
“Can’t you raise more cows? I’ve heard a lot of people say that this ranch is so great….”
“Well, cows are not things. Even if I want to grow more, I can’t do it overnight. What’s more, each barn is already full of cows according to its standard. I have to build more barns to grow more cows.”
“I see.”
“Let’s go somewhere else,” Kaya said in a sullen voice.
Min-joon turned to her. Actually, she didn’t like to come here because she heard the owner of this ranch was so fastidious. He understood her feelings. She really hated bowing down to somebody. He thought it was perhaps because her self-esteem was not yet high enough.
He sometimes found her scared, thinking she, not the other party, had an attitude problem when the other party treated her roughly.
Although Min-joon didn’t express his feelings, the ranch owner’s attitude now might have made her very uncomfortable. So he thought he had to give up today and almost nodded at him in a sullen mood when the owner opened his mouth suddenly.
“Since you’ve come all the way here, would you like to dine with me?”
“Dine with you?”
“Like you said before, our cows here are pretty damn sexy,” he said calmly. “Aren’t you curious about its taste?”