Chapter 187: Chapter 187: When Even I’m Convinced, What Right Does He Have to Be Arrogant?

The first day of official business at the Seventh Dining Hall passed amidst much merriment.

The restaurant’s business hours usually run late, but since this is a school, even though the outside guests drank, they remained somewhat restrained and didn’t get overly drunk.

The guests in the private rooms generally left before nine o’clock.

There aren’t any high-class hotels near Jiang University, so most diners who came from out of town had to rush back to the city center. If they left too late, they probably wouldn’t even find a ride back.

By this time, the dining hall on the first floor had actually already closed, and most people, after having dinner, went back to rest.

But Jiang Yu and Yan Tongtong, among others, were still hungry, not having had time to eat dinner yet.

Jiang Yu thought for a moment, then said to Yan Tongtong and the others:

“Xiaoyan, you guys quickly tidy up the private rooms. I’ll cook a few dishes, and we can just eat on the upper floor.”

“Oh, okay!”

The waitstaff, including Yan Tongtong, couldn’t help but become excited upon hearing this.

Although they had been busy all day, after hearing Jiang Yu’s words, they suddenly felt a surge of energy and quickly ran off to get to work.

To be honest, working as a waitress on the second floor was a bit of a torture.

All those delicious dishes, which not only could be seen but also smelled, yet they couldn’t eat them…

They could only watch helplessly as these tasty-looking dishes were served into private rooms, triggering excited screams and scrambles.

They were so tantalizing!

Their mouths were practically watering.

To be honest, working as a waitress here was harder than going to jail, akin to torture!

Now, with Jiang Yu, the big boss of Jiang University, saying he would cook a few dishes for everyone to eat together, how could they not be excited?

While the waitstaff were busy tidying up the rooms, Jiang Yu quickly started frying the dishes.

Since the time before the New Year, Jiang Yu had actually done quite a few banquet dishes.

Banquet dishes are different from the large pot dishes in the cafeteria. Although large pot dishes are in bigger quantities, they don’t really have a time constraint.

Banquet dishes are different. Except for cold dishes that can be prepared in advance, most hot dishes are made and fried on the spot and served hot to the table.

This requires the chef to be quick and clean in their actions because if you delay, there might not be any dishes for the guests to eat.

As a restaurant owner, making guests wait too long for food is never a good thing, right?

Therefore, after this period of practice, plus the system’s own bonuses, Jiang Yu’s skills in knife work, control of heat, seasoning, tossing, and plating have greatly improved.

For example, in terms of knife work, he used to look down while cutting potatoes. Now, he doesn’t need to look at all.

He takes a round potato, slices it into pieces with a few quick “swish, swish, swish”, then stacks the potato pieces diagonally, holds them with his fingers, and cuts them swiftly with the knife in the other hand, “thud, thud, thud, thud”.

Before you realize it, he’s already finished cutting.

He lifts the shredded potatoes with the knife and places them in a basin of clean water, stirring them around.

The potato shreds, as thin as hair, unfold beautifully in the water like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

Yan Tongtong and the other girls, each taking charge of a private room, soon had all the private rooms cleaned up.

When they smelled the aroma and returned to the kitchen, Jiang Yu had already cooked several dishes.

Sour and spicy shredded potatoes, stir-fried meat with peppers, braised chicken feet with Mei Gan Cai, fish-flavored shredded pork, mapo tofu, Gannan stir-fried fish, and a big serving of sour and spicy soup.

These dishes were genuine dishes to go with rice: fish and meat, meat and vegetables, six dishes and one soup filled the table, looking appetizing.

The steaming hot dishes were emitting waves of attractive aromas, making people feel even hungrier.

“Everyone’s here? Then wash your hands and come eat quickly!”

Jiang Yu turned around to see Yan Tongtong and the others standing by, staring intently at the dishes on the counter, gulping down their saliva. He couldn’t help but laugh, waving them over and saying,

“Oh, by the way, there’s still a pot of hot drink left from tonight. Xiaoyan, go grab it and share it with everyone, it will spoil tomorrow.”

“Okay.”

Yan Tongtong responded and quickly went to fetch the hot drink.

The other waitstaff also hurried to wash their hands at the sink, wiped them with kitchen paper, and sat around the counter, a bit uneasy.

Most of them had just joined through the work-study program a couple of days ago. Even though they’d seen Jiang Yu before, they weren’t familiar with him, so they felt slightly awkward.

“Everyone should just relax and make yourselves comfortable.”

Jiang Yu took a bowl and chopsticks, served himself a bowl of rice, sat down, and smiled at the waitstaff, saying,

“There aren’t that many rules here with me. As long as you do your duties well, no one will bother you about anything else.”

As he spoke, Yan Tongtong returned with a large pot of freshly squeezed corn juice, which instantly livened up the others.

The meal was lively and cheerful, bringing everyone closer together.

As the saying goes, to win a man’s heart, you must first conquer his stomach.

But this saying actually applies to girls too.

For example, right now, Jiang Yu has just conquered the stomachs of a lot of girls; their gazes at him have become quite infatuated.

Jiang Yu probably hasn’t even realized it himself, but right now, he’s not only handsome and wealthy, but also has a great personality and can cook delicious dishes. There are countless charming little women at Jiang University who want to throw themselves at him and be his girlfriend.

Of course, even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t care, as he currently has no intention of finding a girlfriend.

Women would only slow down his chopping speed.

After finishing the meal and tidying up the kitchen, Jiang Yu didn’t rest just yet.

He went downstairs to the first-floor kitchen and saw Lu Shuwu still busy stuffing soup dumplings alone; he hadn’t even started cooking the hot stew yet.

“We really need to hire that chef soon, or at this rate, I fear the dining hall will be overwhelmed.”

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but shake his head. He washed his hands, prepared to help out, and asked,

“By the way, did you find time this afternoon to ask about the prep cook and apprentices?”

“Yeah, I already made some calls. There’s one prep cook who will come by tomorrow morning to take a look. It’s getting hard to find experienced prep cooks these days.”

Lu Shuwu nodded and said,

“There are two apprentices, introduced by Uncle Ma, who will come along with him tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, that’s alright then.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu breathed a sigh of relief and asked another question,

“What did Ah Wei say?”

“He also made several calls, came back to tell me there’s a chef with decent skills willing to work with us for a while, but he worries the person might not stay long…”

Jiang Yu was taken aback, and asked, “What do you mean by not staying long?”

“Um, Ah Wei said, this person has the skills, but is a bit arrogant, always thinking they’re better than others.”

Lu Shuwu clapped his hands to dust off the flour and continued,

“Ah Wei is worried he may not get along with others in the kitchen, and conflicts might arise.”

“Oh, I see…”

Jiang Yu frowned. A kitchen with many people may have some cliques or small groups, but on the surface, everything appears harmonious, at least not affecting work.

However, if one person has a bad temper and is arrogant, constantly arguing, that’s definitely not acceptable. It affects everyone’s mood and dampens the work enthusiasm of others.

Simply put, such a person is like a catfish in a fishpond, stirring up chaos.

How can we let such people in?

Especially since the Seventh Dining Hall doesn’t even have clique issues, the work environment is light-hearted and united.

Just as Jiang Yu was about to speak up and refuse, he suddenly changed his tone,

“Alright, let’s have him come and give it a try; if it doesn’t work out, we can find someone else.

Our working environment here is great, everyone is united, and we can’t let anyone ruin it.”

Lu Shuwu was briefly stunned, forgetting to respond to Jiang Yu.

He initially thought that someone with not much skill but heavy arrogance would be directly rejected by Jiang Yu. He never expected Jiang Yu to be open to giving this person a chance.

Has the situation in the kitchen become this dire already?

“Don’t overthink it. I have other plans for letting him try.”

Jiang Yu pulled up a chair, sat down, picked up a sheet of dough, and skillfully began making soup dumplings. While wrapping, he said,

“The restaurant on the second floor has only me cooking. Even if we get the prep cook and apprentices, they would only assist Uncle Ma and the others.It’s already tough keeping up with four private rooms. Opening eight would be exhausting.”

“So, I need a chef upstairs who can help with dishes, so I can at least relax a bit.”

He paused, exhaled, and smiled as he added,

“From now on, there’ll be a maximum of four private rooms open at any time, and we’ll only work five days a week, leaving two days to relax.

You can’t make money forever, and what’s the point of making it if you don’t have time to spend it?”

After hearing this, Lu Shuwu realized Jiang Yu’s true considerations. On second thought, he agreed.

No matter how arrogant, any chef who encounters such a prodigy in the culinary world as Jiang Yu would probably have to bow their head willingly, right?

Seriously, how could the chef Ah Wei introduced even compare in pride?

Even I am docile now; what right does he have to be so arrogant?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep