Seventh Dining Hall, in the kitchen.

Jiang Yu had just finished a large pot of beef fried rice noodles. Without resting for a moment, she turned and went into the ingredient room, took out several large pieces of pork tenderloin from the fridge, cleaned them in the sink, slightly drained the water, and started cutting them on the chopping board.

"Boss, aren't you going to eat something first?"

Lu Shuwu was holding a large plate of hot and fragrant beef fried noodles, slurping as he ate, standing at the doorway of the ingredient room, curiously asking,

"Breakfast is almost over. Isn't there no need to cook now?"

"It's not for now; it's for lunch."

Jiang Yu continued her work without stopping, slicing the meat while saying,

"This dish is quite complicated. I'll cut the meat first. If I start near noon, it might be too late."

Lu Shuwu's eyes instantly lit up upon hearing this and quickly asked, "What dish is it?"

"Sour Soup Crispy Pork."

"This, this dish is delicious!"

Upon hearing the name of the dish, Lu Shuwu nearly drooled, quickly lifted his sleeve to wipe his mouth, and grinned foolishly,

"The pork is tender, the soup is fresh, tangy and appetizing, perfect for soaking rice—it's fantastic!"

Sour Soup Crispy Pork is a famous dish from Henan Province, but Crispy Pork is widely known throughout Huaxia.

Crispy Pork is not only a local snack in Shanxi and Shaanxi Provinces, but it's also common in Zhangjiang, Jing Chu, Sichuan, and Ningzhou. Due to varying local dietary customs, the flavors of Crispy Pork differ.

Yet remarkably, the methods for Crispy Pork don't vary much, with the crucial step being the battering.

The complexity of Sour Soup Crispy Pork lies in making the Crispy Pork first and then turning it into a soup dish.

Crispy Pork itself is already a dish, and turning it into Sour Soup Crispy Pork makes it another dish.

The reason Jiang Yu chose to make Sour Soup Crispy Pork was ultimately to practice the fundamental skills of battering.

Culinary skills require frequent hands-on practice for quick improvement.

She laughed and said, "Since it's so tasty, eat less fried rice noodles and save some room for Sour Soup Crispy Pork rice at noon."

"Uh... I think, I think beef fried rice noodles are also delicious!"

Lu Shuwu sensed something amiss in her words and quickly slipped away with his rice noodles.

Would he let the good food in hand escape?

Wouldn't that betray the reputation of a big foodie?

"..."

Jiang Yu couldn't help but shake her head and laughed, not bothering with Lu Shuwu, continuing to focus on cutting the meat.

After cutting all the meat, Jiang Yu took a clean stainless steel bowl, put the meat slices in, added chopped ginger, salt, crushed Sichuan pepper, mixed well, and covered it with plastic wrap to marinate in the fridge.

The meat must marinate before battering, so there's no hurry. Jiang Yu washed her hands at the sink, dried them with a towel, and went out to eat.

Having just eaten and filled her stomach, Jiang Yu was about to return to the ingredient room to continue her work when Yan Tongtong suddenly ran in, panting and said:

"Senior Brother, there's an old man looking for you!"

"Old man?"

Jiang Yu paused; she seemed not to know any old men at school in the past few years.

Could it be a teacher from one of her courses?

Thinking of this, she hurried towards the door, asking while walking, "Xiaoyan, did he say who he is?"

Jiang Yu walked quickly, and Yan Tongtong jogged alongside, stuttering:

"Ah? He, he didn't seem to say. He just mentioned something important to tell you."

"No worries, once I meet him, I'll know."

Jiang Yu, having known Yan Tongtong for a while, understood that she tended to stutter when nervous, so she quickly comforted her.

After coming out of the kitchen, Jiang Yu glanced through the window into the dining hall and soon spotted an old man in his sixties, hands behind his back, standing calmly by the window, looking around the hall with a casual demeanor.

This old man was unlike some seniors who were lethargic and lifeless; he stood upright, his face rosy, looking more spirited than many young people.

Opening the door and stepping out of the kitchen, Jiang Yu quickly came to the old man's side, scrutinized him, and greeted with a smile:

"Hello sir, I heard you were looking for me for something?"

"You, you are the owner of this dining hall?"

The old man was indeed Jia Dequan, who was eager to join the ranks of "cooks."

While eating breakfast in the dining hall, tasting the renowned Seventh Dining Hall Soup Dumplings, he was instantly amazed and firmly decided to join the dining hall kitchen.

If he worked with the dining hall owner, wouldn't he have access to a plethora of delicious dishes anytime?

His later years would indeed be blissful!

Thus, after breakfast, Jia Dequan didn't leave nor immediately seek out the owner in the kitchen. Having been a chef himself, he knew how busy the kitchen could be, realizing they wouldn't have time for him then.

However, he didn't rush, patiently waiting in the dining area.

After breakfast hours concluded, Jia Dequan leisurely stood, went to the window to find Yan Tongtong, requesting her help in finding the owner.

Now, he's met the dining hall owner, but what he never expected was that the owner was so young!

Completely dumbfounded!

He's so young, how did he make such delicious food, and such tasty soup dumplings?

Could it be he started learning to cook while still in the womb?!

Jiang Yu also saw Jia Dequan's amazed expression, but didn't think much of it. Most people react like this when they first meet him, he's seen it many times.

He nodded and said casually, "Yeah, I'm the owner of this cafeteria."

"So, so you made all the dishes in the cafeteria? And the soup dumplings too?"

"I made some of the dishes in the cafeteria, but most are made by my colleagues. However, the soup dumplings are indeed made by me."

Jiang Yu patiently explained, then said,

"Old man, if you really have business with me, you can say it now, if not..."

As he spoke, he glanced over to the kitchen.

The meaning was clear, if there was no business, he would head back to the kitchen, with a lot of things waiting for him to do!

"There's business, truly!"

Jia Dequan wasn't stupid, he could understand, and didn't get angry. He took a deep breath, smiled, and said,

"Boss Xiao Jiang, I've eaten quite a few meals here in the cafeteria, and I've actually tasted most of the dishes. I think you might be missing a chef here."

"Old man, what do you mean?"

"You see, there are more than ten dishes each meal in the cafeteria, but compared to your dishes, the taste of those made by others is rather lacking!"

Jia Dequan shook his head and continued,

"Actually, you should have noticed too, almost every meal, your dishes are sold out the fastest, and the students only buy others' dishes when they have no other choice. Even then, quite a few dishes are often left over.

I think you should find a chef whose skill is comparable to yours, at least not too far off. This way, the taste of the cafeteria's dishes will greatly improve, not only boosting sales but also reducing waste due to leftovers. What do you think?"

"The old man has a point."

Jiang Yu thought for a moment and nodded.

Actually, he had considered this problem long ago, but it's basically unsolvable. Finding a high-level chef isn't easy, not to mention whether anyone would consider such a small place like a school cafeteria, even if they did, he might not afford the salary.

So, now he can only rely on Lu Shuwu and Qian Liwei to continuously improve their skills through daily work, hoping their cooking will get better and better.

He carefully looked at the old man, smiled, and said,

"But to solve this problem, as it stands, I'm incapable right now, it can only be addressed in the future."

"Why make it so complicated? Since I raised the problem, of course, I have a solution!"

Jia Dequan laughed heartily, looked smug, and said,

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My surname is Jia, Jia Dequan. Boss Xiao Jiang, just call me Lao Jia, no need for 'old man, old man', I don't feel very old."

"Oh, okay, Lao Jia. I wonder if you have any advice?"

"No need for advice."

Jia Dequan waved his hand and smiled,

"Actually, I've been a chef for many years, busy at the stove for decades. When it comes to cooking, I know a bit. If you don't mind, I could join the cafeteria to help."

"Ah this..."

Jiang Yu was a bit troubled to hear that Jia Dequan wanted to join the cafeteria. Jia Dequan was quite old, first of all, there's a question of whether he can handle the physically demanding work of a chef, not to mention the psychological barrier.

"What? You think I'm too old to cook?"

Seeing Jiang Yu's expression, Jia Dequan understood his thoughts. He couldn't help but laugh, and walked to the kitchen,

"Come on, come on, if I don't show you something today, you'll suspect I'm pretending to get free meals!"

Seeing that, Jiang Yu hurriedly followed, while walking and still trying to explain:

"Hey, Lao Jia, I didn't say that!"

"This kitchen is nice, clean and sanitary, pretty good!"

In the kitchen, Jia Dequan looked around, nodded satisfied, and asked Jiang Yu,

"Boss Xiao Jiang, where is the prep room?"

"This way, this way!"

Seeing Jia Dequan really intending to cook, Jiang Yu didn't stop him.

Honestly, it's just one dish, even if it's poorly done, it doesn't matter much.

After leading Jia Dequan to the prep room, Jiang Yu suddenly noticed Lu Shuwu making faces, as if he had something to say.

He felt puzzled, what's this guy up to again?

After checking to see Jia Dequan was busy searching for ingredients around the refrigeration cabinets and not noticing him, Jiang Yu walked over to Lu Shuwu and asked:

"What's up?"

"Wow! Boss, where did you invite this legendary figure from?!"

Lu Shuwu looked surprised, glancing towards the prep room, speaking quietly but excitedly,

"This guy, this guy is the Hubei Cuisine master Jia Dequan!"

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