Chapter 169: Chapter 169: Dining Room No. 7

“Let’s call it Number One Restaurant. It sounds so prestigious!”

Hu Zhihai was very excited, completely ignoring Jiang Yu’s speechless expression. He slapped the table and said loudly,

“There are restaurants all over the country, but ours is the Number One Restaurant. The others are just in line behind us—now that’s impressive!”

“Too tacky!”

Lu Shuwu looked disdainful, glanced sideways at Hu Zhihai, and said dismissively,

“You’re a philosophy student, yet you came up with such a plain and tacky name. How did you think of it?

Even if you name it Jiangnan Pavilion or Jiang Family Cuisine, it’d sound much better than Number One Restaurant!”

“Calling me tacky? Then come up with an elegant name for us to hear!”

Hu Zhihai wasn’t having it when he heard that, glaring with wide eyes,

“I’d like to see what kind of elegant name you, a descendant of a Xiang Cuisine family, can come up with!”

“Hold on, hold on!”

Jiang Yu, seeing the two “rivals” about to clash again, felt overwhelmed and quickly stopped them, saying,

“Let’s just pick a name, something easy for others to call. Brother Xiao Wu is right; we can’t have people saying ’Second Floor of the Seventh Dining Hall’ all the time.

I think we should simply call it Seventh Restaurant Room.”

Hu Zhihai didn’t get it:

“Why call it Seventh? Isn’t Number One better?”

This guy just can’t let go of the idea of ’Number One’!

“Seventh Restaurant Room sounds great!”

Ma Guoqiang, who had been sitting aside, enjoying the conversation, chimed in with a grin,

“We are part of the Seventh Dining Hall, right? So having a Seventh Restaurant Room on the second floor of the Seventh Dining Hall just makes perfect sense.

This way, when you mention the Seventh Dining Hall, you’ll think of Seventh Restaurant Room, and vice versa—a perfect synergy!”

Lu Shuwu heard this and nodded repeatedly:

“This name is indeed nice!

Translated, Seventh Restaurant Room is basically a private room within the Seventh Dining Hall!

Plus, Seventh Restaurant Room does have a nice ring to it!”

“The way you all put it, it does seem like this name has some depth to it.”

Hu Zhihai seemed to mull it over and nodded thoughtfully, turning to Jiang Yu, saying,

“I never noticed, Lao Jiang, you sure have a quick mind!”

Jiang Yu: “…”

Embarrassed! Embarrassed!

I just said it casually.

Jiang Yu didn’t think twice when he suggested the name, but Ma Guoqiang’s words made it seem like he had pondered it deeply, bringing the name to life.

He couldn’t help but marvel, no wonder when he was in school doing reading comprehension, he often got it wrong—perhaps the authors never thought that deeply when writing the text!

With approval from the “Four Great Giants” in the kitchen, naturally, no one else had any objections, and thus, the name was decided.

Hu Zhihai was all proactive action, and with the name settled, he eagerly rushed to find a sign shop he knew to select better materials for the restaurant sign.

Jiang Yu didn’t stop him; since finishing his graduate exams, he’d been idle, almost growing mold—letting him get out and about wasn’t bad.

After discussing the name, they sat chatting for a while before diving full force into dinner preparations.

Based on lunchtime numbers, dinner would likely see even more people. Without ample preparation, the kitchen would surely be a whirlwind of chaos…

…

In the self-study room at Jiang University Library.

Though the semester had just started, diligent students were never in short supply. The vast self-study room was bustling with heads, full of students reading.

A pair of students, seemingly a couple, sat facing each other, earnestly working through practice questions.

Both were seniors planning to take civil service exams, now engaged in their final sprint.

After finishing a mock test, the male student raised his head and sighed with relief. He seemed encouraged by the effectiveness of his review, having answered corresponding questions correctly on the mock test.

Feeling good, the male student lightly tapped the female student’s hand opposite him and said softly,

“Shall we treat ourselves at First Dining Hall today?”

The female student looked over curiously and said, “Did you say it wrong? To eat well, shouldn’t we go to Seventh Dining Hall?”

“No, let’s go to First Dining Hall today!”

The male student’s face was beaming as he quietly said,

“The second floor of First Dining Hall just opened a new buffet restaurant. It’s all seafood and barbecue, something Seventh Dining Hall doesn’t have.”

“Buffet? Isn’t it expensive?”

“Not expensive at all, 58 yuan per person, and if we both go, there’s a discount.”

The male student seemed a bit impatient, getting up as he said,

“Don’t be frugal, it’s just an occasional treat. We’re not having it every day!

“It’s almost noon, let’s hurry over. If we go too late, there might not be anything good left.”

“Alright then.”

The female student couldn’t resist the male student. After tidying up her books and materials, she stood and followed him out.

…

“Did you hear? The Second Dining Hall opened a big new hotpot place. Word is, the flavors are really good!”

“Really? There wasn’t one last year!”

“It’s true, true! I’ve checked it out myself! The Seventh Dining Hall is too crowded—why don’t we try the hotpot today?”

“Hmm, alright, if it doesn’t taste good, I’ll go back to the Seventh Dining Hall next time!”

“…”

After the school term started, the Seventh Dining Hall remained steadfast, but the other dining halls at Jiang University had already begun to make changes.

No other reason than the Seventh Dining Hall being too fierce; didn’t you see that the Fifth Dining Hall was out of business?

If they don’t strive for change and attract more students to eat there, they might accidentally become “Second Fifth Dining Hall”.

Only heaven knows how effective their efforts will be.

…

For three consecutive days, the not-so-spacious hall of the Seventh Dining Hall was packed with people at mealtime.

Although Jiang Yu and the others were prepared and had made nearly twice as much food as usual, in the end, some people still couldn’t buy any food.

Even if someone complained, Jiang Yu could only apologize; the chefs in the kitchen were so tired that their hands were cramping, what else could they do?

He can’t exactly cook with his feet, can he?

Not to mention that the chefs don’t have that skill; even if they did, would you dare to eat it?

By the fourth day, whether the school received news or for some other reason, the school gate finally strengthened management again, strictly limiting the entry and exit of external vehicles and personnel.

This “tightening spell” worked immediately.

That same noon, the number of diners at the Seventh Dining Hall sharply decreased by more than 30%, and it was the first time since the term started that no additional dishes were prepared.

Lu Shuwu, who had been thoroughly exhausted these past few days, finally sighed in relief, patted his thigh, and said:

“Thanks to the school, our pressure was relieved immediately, otherwise, if it continued like this, I might die of exhaustion at the stove.”

Hu Zhihai sat in a chair, cracking sunflower seeds, and said:

“I think this is just one of the reasons, there must be other factors.”

Lu Shuwu asked, “What other factors?”

Jiang Yu also turned around to look at Hu Zhihai.

This chubby guy never talks nonsense; if he said that, he must have heard something.

“We’re the Seventh Dining Hall; there are six other dining halls in the school!”

Hu Zhihai spat out a shell with a “puh” and said,

“Think about it, ever since our Seventh Dining Hall opened in the second half of last year, how many students have we attracted?

As our reputation gets better, the pressure on other dining halls increases, so they have no choice but to step up their game.

If they don’t make their dining halls more unique and delicious, they might end up like the Fifth Dining Hall, with doors sparsely attended, needing to shut down!”

“Xiaohu is right, several dining halls have taken new steps!”

Ma Guoqiang took a sip of tea, nodded, and said,

“Just the other day, when the school first started, I walked past the First Dining Hall and saw their staff handing out flyers. It seems they’re turning the second floor into a seafood barbecue buffet, 58 RMB per person, with discounts for couples!

And over at the Second Dining Hall, a few stalls have teamed up to open a ’Jiang University Spicy Pot’ shop.

You know, spicy pot is a famous snack in Jiangzhou, and many girls love it; they’d skip meals just for it!”

“I’ve been in the Seventh Dining Hall all these days, even living here, so I didn’t know about these things.”

Hearing what the two said, Lu Shuwu frowned.

He had bragged to Jiang Yu before, promising that after Jiang Yu’s Seventh Cafeteria Room opened for business, he would ensure the ground floor dining hall would be bustling, just like Jiang Yu last year.

But now that other dining halls are fiercely competing, it’s apparent that they threaten the “status” of the Seventh Dining Hall.

What to do?

“Let other dining halls compete; we’ll just focus on doing our job well.”

Seeing Lu Shuwu looking anxious, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but chuckle silently.

He’s just overthinking.

Other dining halls don’t just start new projects today; if a huge number of students were drawn away, it wouldn’t all be just now.

Don’t forget, the Seventh Dining Hall was still bustling just a few days ago.

He continued,

“With the current number of diners, we still need to put in more effort to cope; if there are more, everyone will be exhausted.

What, haven’t you been tired enough these past few days, and finding it unsatisfying?”

“True, we’ve got only so many people, and the dining hall is only so big, so if there are too many people, we’d have to worry about not having enough bowls!”

Upon hearing Jiang Yu’s words, Lu Shuwu immediately realized and said with a laugh,

“Besides, why does the First Dining Hall do a buffet and the Second Dining Hall do spicy pot?

It’s because they know very well that when it comes to stir-fried dishes, they can’t compete with our Seventh Dining Hall, so they have to take another route!

Speaking of which, in running a dining hall, stir-frying is king!

Those students might try out the First and Second Dining Halls to taste something new, but can they keep eating those things?

In the end, they’ll still come back to our Seventh Dining Hall for meals!”

“Xiaowu makes a good point!”

Ma Guoqiang nodded in agreement, smiling as he said,

“We southern folks live on rice, how can you not have dishes with your meals? The dishes from other dining halls can’t compare to ours at the Seventh Dining Hall; with similar prices, even a fool knows what to choose!”

“Alright, let’s leave it at that.”

Jiang Yu waved it off; no matter how much other dining halls compete, it doesn’t affect the Seventh Dining Hall, so why care about what they do?

He has more important things to do!

He checked the time on his phone, stood up from his seat, and said to Lu Shuwu and the others,

“I have to go upstairs to the second floor to make some preparations; the Seventh Room is welcoming its first guests tonight, and I can’t afford to ruin my reputation.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep