Chapter 155: Chapter 155: The Taste of Childhood

“Mmm! This crab meat lion’s head is so fragrant! It’s smooth and tender, melts in your mouth, and the broth is delicious with an endless aftertaste! I’ve never tasted such a delicious lion’s head, it’s so fresh!”

“The three-cup chicken is the best, the chicken is tender and smooth, the sauce is aromatic and rich, spicy and fragrant, with a full aroma of wine, in one word, delicious!”

“I love this steamed bass, the fish is tender and juicy, both fragrant and sweet, it’s so fresh I could swallow my tongue!”

“…”

In the private room, after Niu Wenlin, Xiong Bingsheng, and others toasted, they didn’t care much for drinks anymore.

They picked up their chopsticks and started eating quickly, savoring dishes they had never seen Jiang Yu make before, while nodding their heads in appreciation, lost in the taste of each dish.

These dishes are actually quite common and can be found in most restaurants, but when Jiang Yu makes them, there’s a significant difference.

When others make these dishes, they’re at most just good, flavorful, but once Jiang Yu’s hands are on them, these ordinary dishes completely transform.

It’s not about whether they’re tasty or not, it’s about how dull life would be if one can no longer eat these dishes in the future!

Of course, they haven’t realized this “serious” problem yet, as they are wholeheartedly enjoying this delight of the human world!

Niu Wenlin, Xiong Bingsheng, and Jia Dequan are slightly more mindful of their image, and their eating pace is not fast; they will comment as they eat.

But Hu Zhihai, Lu Shuwu, and Ma Guoqiang don’t care about that; each sits in their seat, unwilling to even lift their heads, continuously pushing various dishes into their bowls with chopsticks.

When the bowl is about to overflow, they eat like they’re having a meal, picking up the bowls filled with dishes and stuffing them into their mouths, soon eating until they are flushed, with oil all over their mouths.

“Emmm, delicious! So delicious!”

“Wow! The lotus blood duck is so spicy, it would be perfect with some rice!”

“The braised lamb is fantastic! It’s a perfect mix of lean and fat, aromatic and tender, and not gamey at all!”

“…”

At Jiang Yu’s table, except for Jiang Yu, everyone ate ravenously, oil dripping from their mouths, with no care for their appearance.

While at Yan Tongtong’s table, it was as if a great battle had taken place, with plates and bones scattered everywhere.

Sitting at this table are part-time students, who usually eat with Jiang Yu and Lu Shuwu, but they are always pressed for time and almost never have time to enjoy a meal properly.

The cafeteria is always busy with many things, and after eating, they have to clean up plates and bowls, as well as clean the entire cafeteria, leaving no time for leisurely dining.

But today is different, today is the cafeteria’s dinner gathering, and tomorrow is a holiday, with a table full of sumptuous dinner, a variety of delicious dishes emitting a tantalizing aroma…

If we don’t eat now, when will we?!

This dinner lasted until nearly ten at night before they stopped, each with a belly so full they could barely walk.

The two tables full of dishes were completely cleared, not even the sauce was left, as it was mixed with rice and eaten.

If there’s a clean plate campaign, these two tables are probably the most thorough execution of it.

After the meal, everyone sat in the private room for a while to rest before slowly leaving one by one.

The people from the cafeteria hadn’t left yet; they all worked together to clean the dishes and plates, then tidied up the private room, ensuring the cafeteria was spotless before bidding farewell to Jiang Yu.

“Boss, see you next year!”

“Happy New Year in advance, Boss!”

“See you next year, Senior!”

“…”

“Okay, see everyone next year!”

“Wishing everyone a happy new year!”

Jiang Yu stood at the cafeteria entrance, holding a stack of large red envelopes, handing one out to each person.

These are the year-end bonuses for the cafeteria employees, with their salaries already credited to their bank cards in advance.

Jiang Yu decided to personally hand out these bonuses, as holding the large red envelopes feels different.

A sense of complete satisfaction!

“Lao Jia, Happy New Year, wishing you health and growing younger with each passing year!”

With a smile on his face, Jiang Yu handed over a large red envelope.

“Thank you, thank you! Happy New Year to you too, and may your career continue to soar!”

Jia Dequan smiled broadly, nodding, and when he saw the large red envelope handed by Jiang Yu, he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned,

“This, this includes me? I’ve come here, eaten and drunk for free, and contributed nothing!”

“How could you not have contributed?”

Jiang Yu smiled and said,

“The value of an elder in the family is like a treasure, and not to mention, Brother Xiaowu and Qian Liwei progressed so quickly because of your culinary guidance!

This large red envelope is well-deserved!”

“If you put it that way, then I won’t be polite!”

Jia Dequan laughed, reached out for the large red envelope, and without looking, tucked it into his pocket,

“Just in time, I can give some New Year’s money to the younger ones when I return home for the New Year!”

At the end, even Hu Zhihai received a large red envelope, making Fatty Hu grin widely,

“So I get one too!”

Jiang Yu joked:

“Of course, mainly to thank you for helping the cafeteria increase costs over the past six months. If it weren’t for you eating so much, the cafeteria could earn a bit more.”

When Hu Zhihai heard this, he immediately put on a bitter face and mumbled:

“That’s not my only contribution, right? At least I’ve proven that the cafeteria food is healthy and safe. You see, I’ve eaten so much and never had an upset stomach…”

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter, and even the cafeteria was filled with an atmosphere of joy.

After the laughter, everyone gradually dispersed.

Starting tomorrow, the Seventh Dining Hall will be on break. Next year’s Seventh Dining Hall will definitely be more lively and exciting than this year’s.

…

The next day, after a whole day of work, Jiang Yu slept until he naturally woke up. He turned his head to look outside the window; it was actually still dark.

Only the streetlights in the distance were emitting dim light, working hard to dispel the surrounding darkness.

Turning over in the warm bed, Jiang Yu initially planned to go back to sleep, but once he closed his eyes, he couldn’t fall back asleep and instead became more awake.

“Sigh!”

Unable to help it, Jiang Yu sighed, decided not to sleep anymore, and sprang out of bed, quickly putting on clothes and shoes. He then hurried to the bathroom to wash up and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

It was only five in the morning, with some time before dawn. Jiang Yu thought for a bit and decided to make himself a bowl of fresh meat wontons for breakfast.

Ever since binding the Gourmet System, he had made a lot of food, but every time it was for others to eat, and it seemed he had never truly made something good for himself.

Thinking about it now, he’d really been a bit unfair to himself.

He remembered his childhood when both parents were still alive, and occasionally his mom would take him to the town market when she was free.

The market back then was really lively, teeming with crowds, with shoulder-to-shoulder bustling. Everywhere baskets of food were being sold, making onlookers drool.

At that time, what Jiang Yu loved most were the open-air stalls in the market, with a small coal stove beneath a pot.

Amidst the steam and smoke, mixed with stir-fried noodles or rice with chili powder, they flew up and down in a greasy small pot, and the aroma mixed with the pot steam hit the nose, making people’s mouths water.

However, compared to stir-fried noodles or rice, what Jiang Yu loved most was the clear soup.

The so-called clear soup was actually just a thin layer of dough; unlike wontons, they usually had no filling inside. Occasionally finding one with a bit of meat filling was like finding a treasure.

After cooking a small spoonful of dough skins, they were poured into a bowl, with broth added. A small dab of white lard was put in the broth, plus salt, MSG, soy sauce, a sprinkle of chopped green onion, and a pinch of chili powder.

Then, a spoon was used to stir it all, releasing the lard’s fragrance into the hot soup.

Every time at this moment, Jiang Yu would grab the vinegar bottle and pour two full spoons of Lao Chen vinegar into the clear soup, stirring it to create a strong vinegar aroma that made him salivate intensely.

A hot sip of broth—sour, fresh, fragrant, and spicy—was simply delicious!

However, over the years, the town markets gradually declined, with original open-air fairs replaced by neat and organized agricultural markets. The open-air snack stalls commonly seen in childhood have also gradually disappeared.

Even if Jiang Yu missed that childhood taste, it was probably hard to taste it again.

Reflecting and reminiscing, Jiang Yu quickly kneaded the dough, took some pork belly from the fridge to chop into filling, and began making wontons.

Calling them wontons, but actually, they were still the kind of clear soup he had as a child; not much meat filling, just enough to scrape on the dough with chopstick tips, then with two fingers pulling, a clear soup dumpling was made.

As he busied himself, the door to the pantry suddenly opened, and Lu Shuwu popped his head in with bags in hand, curiously glancing around and asking:

“Boss, I’m about to leave! Oh, what are you making?”

“Making clear soup.”

Jiang Yu replied casually and suddenly remembered Lu Shuwu might not know what clear soup was, so he added an explanation,

“It’s a bit like wontons, just with less meat filling.”

“Oh, isn’t that just dough skin!”

Lu Shuwu understood immediately, licking his lips and smiling,

“I wasn’t planning to eat breakfast, but since you’ve already made it, I’ll reluctantly stay and join you.”

“Thanks a lot!”

Jiang Yu glanced at him speechlessly.

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome!”

Lu Shuwu didn’t understand what courtesy meant at all, he said,

“Boss, you keep cooking, my little sister is waiting outside. I’ll call her in.

And you don’t mind one more person joining for the meal, right?”

“If I minded, would you not call her?”

“That’s not possible. Even if I don’t eat, I can’t let my little sister go hungry. She’s so beautiful and sweet!”

With that, Lu Shuwu opened the door and rushed out to call Lu Shuyao.

As Jiang Yu expected, shortly after Lu Shuyao arrived, Hu Zhihai also came.

So, originally intended to make one bowl of clear soup for himself, Jiang Yu ended up making breakfast for four people.

Looking at the three people in front of him, leisurely chatting while waiting for breakfast, Jiang Yu suddenly felt a bit weary:

“As a chef, why is it so hard to make a meal just for myself?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep