Chapter 165: Chapter 165: Kickoff Banquet

“Wow! It smells amazing! The fragrance of the sausage mixed with the rich aroma of wine, it’s intoxicating even before tasting!”

“You’re such a drama queen! Lao Jiang, you guys serve yourselves first, the rest is all mine!”

“…”

Jiang Yu looked speechless.

I cooked two bowls of rice and added so many dishes, this is enough for four or five people to eat till they are full. Lu Shuwu and I at most eat two bowls each, and there’s still so much left. Can you really eat it all by yourself?

Do you really think you’re a reincarnated pig spirit?

Jiang Yu simply couldn’t be bothered to respond to him. He grabbed a spoon, mixed the cooked food until evenly blended, took a small bowl, served himself a bowl of rice, then sat to the side and started eating on his own.

Sausage braised rice is actually a traditional local delicacy from Guangdong Province. Once prepared, the oils from the sausage become crystal clear, permeating the plump grains of rice.

The golden crust at the bottom of the rice cooker is the best part—crispy and crunchy with a strong sausage aroma, delicious and fragrant.

Of course, for those who love spicy food, Guangdong cuisine is aromatic but lacks the kick of spice.

Jiang Yu is also someone who enjoys spicy food. After eating a few mouthfuls of the fragrant braised rice, he couldn’t resist the urge for spice. He ran to the condiment room to grab a jar of homemade chopped chili, scooped a spoonful of bright red chili, and mixed it into the rice.

After mixing it well, Jiang Yu picked up his chopsticks and shoveled a big mouthful. His eyes instantly lit up!

The sausage braised rice is rich and flavorful, quite chewy, but for most people, it may feel a bit greasy. However, the fresh, spicy, and salty taste of the chopped chili perfectly counteracts that greasiness, making the braised rice taste even better.

Shoveling several big mouthfuls into his mouth, the small bowl of sausage braised rice was gone in no time. Jiang Yu still felt unsatisfied, so without a second word, he went to the kitchen, opened the rice cooker, served himself another bowl, and continued eating with chopped chili.

“What’s up with Lao Jiang? Eating while hiding away?”

Hu Zhihai was munching on a big bowl of rice crust, turned his head and saw Jiang Yu running in and out with a bowl of rice, immediately puzzled. He glanced at Lu Shuwu,

“Hey, Xiaowu, could Lao Jiang be hiding away to eat something delicious?”

Lu Shuwu kept his head down, continuing to eat, “Why don’t you go and check?”

“Sure, I’ll go!”

With that, Hu Zhihai carried his large bowl and headed to the condiment room. He went in and never came out again.

“Ah, so satisfying! This sausage braised rice is fragrant and delicious!”

A while later, Lu Shuwu felt a bit full, finally lifted his head and turned around, discovering not only Jiang Yu was missing, but Hu Zhihai too!

He immediately felt something was off, hurriedly got up and ran to the condiment room.

He pushed the door open and was instantly dumbfounded!

Jiang Yu was already full, sitting there playing on his phone, while Hu Zhihai was clutching his big bowl, with a jar of bright red chopped chili in front, enjoying himself to the fullest, his mouth glistening with oil!

The fat guy figured out that using chopped chili to mix with rice makes it more delicious, and didn’t even say a word!

Lu Shuwu was fuming, silently swore that next time something good happens, he won’t tell the fat guy!

Come on, it’s mutual harm now!

As for Jiang Yu not saying… well, he couldn’t blame him, as Jiang Yu didn’t tell Zhihai either, right?

The boss is still quite fair!

…

By half-past one, the staff members of the dining hall had all gradually arrived, including Yan Tongtong and the eight other part-time workers.

After the winter break, they were all happy to see each other again, gathered in the dining hall chatting incessantly.

Seeing how happy they were chatting, Jiang Yu didn’t go out to disrupt their fun, instead sent Lu Shuwu to call Ma Guoqiang, He Chunxiao, Qian Liwei, and the other chefs into the kitchen to talk about reopening the next day.

“School officially resumes the day after tomorrow, but most of the students have already returned to campus now. If we don’t reopen, it wouldn’t make sense.”

Jiang Yu smiled at everyone, continued,

“So, we’ll follow the original plan and officially open tomorrow. Breakfast will remain the same as before—soup dumplings, fresh meat buns, and vegetable buns. In the evening, I’ll prepare some hot braised food, and cook a few pots of porridge the next morning. This is basically how we’ll start.”

“Yeah, no problem, it’s what we were used to doing last year, nothing new.”

Ma Guoqiang responded with a smile and then asked, “By the way, boss, didn’t we say last year we’d renovate the second floor? Is it already done?”

Upon hearing the question, everyone turned their gaze towards Jiang Yu.

“Yes, it was done during the winter break. The renovations are complete.”

Jiang Yu glanced at everyone, nodded, and continued,

“This is the second thing I wanted to mention today.

The second floor has been divided into eight private rooms, each accommodating about 6 to 10 people. You can squeeze in 12.

For now, the second floor is not open. We’ll wait until the first-floor dining hall operates normally, and then start external operations.

Once the second floor opens, because of all the private rooms, most of my focus will likely be there. As for the first-floor dining hall, I might only be able to pay occasional attention.

Hence, when the time comes, Lu Shuwu will be in charge of daily menu creation, ingredient procurement, and various kitchen operations.

At that time, we’d need Uncle Ma, Sister He, and Ah Wei to cooperate more. If different opinions arise, discuss them together. If discussions fail, then come upstairs to find me.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not the first time we’re meeting, we’ve been working together for almost half a year now, who doesn’t know who?”

Ma Guoqiang waved his hand and smiled, turning to look at the others, he said with a laugh,

“Everyone will definitely cooperate well, right? We’ve worked hard to build up the reputation of the Seventh Dining Hall, and we won’t let it go backward, right everyone?”

“That’s true, I didn’t even know our Seventh Dining Hall was so famous. My son is still in middle school, and he has heard that the food at Jiangzhou University’s Seventh Dining Hall is very tasty!”

He Chunxiao also looked incredulous, speaking with a face full of amazement,

“My son heard that I make buns at the Seventh Dining Hall and proudly bragged about it to his classmates. He never used to think being a chef was anything impressive.

Boss, you really are amazing. We will definitely do a good job and not damage the reputation of the Seventh Dining Hall!”

“Haha, a few of my chef friends heard I work at the Seventh Dining Hall and they were all envious.”

Qian Liwei scratched his head, smiling a bit embarrassedly, and asked, “Boss, we’re not hiring chefs here, right?”

“Not at the moment, if there’s a need, I’ll let you know.”

Jiang Yu smiled at him and continued, “Alright, that’s all there is to be said. Let’s all work hard together; the better the Seventh Dining Hall does, the better it will be for all of us.

In a bit, let’s help clean up the dining hall. Once that’s done, we’ll have an opening feast tonight.

Everyone needs to eat well to have the energy to work hard!”

Ma Guoqiang, He Chunxiao, and the others immediately brightened up. They were still savoring that meal before the dining hall closed for the holiday last year!

The taste was so good it was hard to describe as anything less than the best meal they had ever had.

Who would have thought that coming back after a winter break, the boss would schedule an opening feast…

How could anyone not look forward to that?

Honestly, working at the Seventh Dining Hall, everything else was fine, but the boss’s cooking was just too good!

The best part is he is generous and easygoing, and occasionally personally cooks for everyone.

Where would you find such a good boss?

So even if not for others, they would still work hard just for the chance to frequently eat the boss’s cooking!

Otherwise, they’d be letting their stomachs down!

After Jiang Yu finished discussing business, everyone went about their tasks.

Hu Zhihai also came into the hall and assigned work to Yan Tongtong and others, starting a big clean-up.

Watching everyone bustling about inside and outside the dining hall, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but smile, he took his phone, walked to the side, and called Boss Zhao at the fresh produce delivery center.

The dining hall was set to open the next day, and apart from some rice noodles, rice, and preserved sausages and meats, there weren’t really any fresh ingredients. He needed to stock up in advance.

Moreover, there was the opening meal tonight. Without dishes, what were they all going to eat?

The Seventh Dining Hall wasn’t particularly large, and it had already been cleaned before the holiday. Since it hadn’t been in operation during the winter break, it was no more than a bit dusty now.

With more than ten people pitching in, within two hours the dining hall both inside and out was sparkling clean and spotless.

By then, Boss Zhao had also ridden over on an electric tricycle, delivering a full load of various fresh ingredients.

Everyone got to work, moving all the ingredients from the cart into the kitchen and then began preparations for the opening feast.

The chefs all gathered in the prep room, dealing with tasks like slaughtering chickens, cleaning vegetables, and slicing ingredients…

For a moment, everyone in the prep room was busy and having the time of their lives.

Jiang Yu, of course, wasn’t idle. While Lu Shuwu and others were busy with prep work, he was in charge of stir-frying.

Cooking a banquet for two tables by himself wasn’t a large number, but it was still quite busy.

So, he first prepared part of the steamed dishes like black bean spareribs, pearl meatballs, and chopped pepper fish head, ready to be steamed in the steamer.

Then he moved on to stewing dishes, like simmering pig’s trotters, stir-frying them first with water and spices, then slow-cooking over low heat.

Finally, Jiang Yu began cooking quick-fry dishes.

He arranged it like this for practical reasons, as generally, steaming takes the longest, stewing comes next, and quick-fry dishes take the least time.

By starting with the longest tasks, by the time the quick-fry dishes are ready, the steamed and stewed items are also about done.

This way, the timing for serving various dishes wouldn’t vary much.

There wouldn’t be issues of some dishes getting cold while others are still too hot to eat.

Nor would there be a situation where the first dishes served are all gone before the others are ready.

These were things Jiang Yu thought of when preparing to open a private room on the second floor to host outside guests.

Since he was now preparing the opening feast, he wouldn’t miss the chance to test his newly thought-out methods.

This, in fact, showed the disadvantage of Jiang Yu not having a mentor.

If he had an experienced mentor, they would directly advise him on how to handle such matters, sparing him the need to figure everything out on his own.

The number of dishes for the opening feast was about the same as the meal before the holiday, with more than ten dishes per table, which was quite a lot.

Jiang Yu was busy all over the kitchen, simultaneously using three stoves.

Even so, he worked until twilight before finally finishing the opening feast.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep