Seventh Dining Hall Entrance.

"Why are you still at school?"

Jiang Yu hung up the phone and came straight here. He originally thought that this kid Hu Zhihai should still be at home putting on weight, but who knew he was still staying at school, focused on supervising the construction team at work.

He gave Hu Zhihai a once-over and couldn't help but laugh,

"Tsk tsk, it's rare, over half a month without seeing you, you seem to have lost weight."

"I can't eat well or sleep well every day, how can I not lose weight?"

Hu Zhihai looked like a resentful housewife, full of grievance,

"The weight I painstakingly gained was lost in just these few days, I lost seven or eight pounds!"

"Losing a bit is good. You don't want to have 'three highs' at such a young age, do you?"

Jiang Yu glanced at him, chuckled lightly, then turned his head to look at the second floor and asked,

"How's the renovation going on the second floor?"

"Still under construction, but most of the rooms have been partitioned. There are also two rest areas reserved for you at the innermost position."

Hu Zhihai said as he led Jiang Yu upstairs,

"The kitchen on the second floor isn't that big, after all, most of the time, it's just you using it. The whole kitchen is partitioned with tempered glass, clean and fresh."

The upstairs was still under construction, everything was in chaos, you couldn't even figure out where to step, so Jiang Yu didn't go in further. He just stood at the top of the stairs, glanced around, and then turned to go back downstairs.

Before the renovation of the second floor, someone was specifically hired to do the planning and design drawings. The plan was very clear, so as long as the construction team didn't mess around and followed the drawings strictly, the renovation shouldn't turn out badly.

Besides, with Hu Zhihai here supervising every day, Jiang Yu wasn't worried at all.

After coming downstairs, Jiang Yu continued walking towards the kitchen while saying to Hu Zhihai:

"You've worked hard during this period, tonight we'll eat something good as a reward for you!"

As soon as Hu Zhihai heard this, he almost drooled and quickly caught up, eagerly asking:

"Is it braised pig's trotters? Before you left, you said you'd make braised pig's trotters for me when you got back!"

"Did I say that?" Jiang Yu frowned.

"You did, you said if everything goes smoothly, you'd make braised pig's trotters for me when you return!"

"Oh, everything going smoothly… but hasn't everything been not so smooth?"

Jiang Yu pouted and continued heading towards the kitchen,

"When the second floor renovation is complete and can be used, then that's what I'd call everything going smoothly!"

"…"

Hu Zhihai was dumbfounded.

This, can things be phrased like that?!

Though Jiang Yu said that, when he actually returned to the kitchen, he still made three or four dishes in a row to properly reward "big supervisor" Hu Zhihai.

"This, this, this, the garlic pork belly tastes so good, crisp skin, fragrant meat, rich and not greasy, strong garlic aroma, spicy and delicious, one bite at a time… oh, it's great!"

"The eggplant and beans are so delicious I could cry, tender and flavorful, spicy and fragrant, perfect to mix with rice!"

"Is this salt and pepper ribs? The ribs are crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, salty and flavorful, it's incredibly tasty!"

"…"

The long-missed rich aroma of the dishes, the fresh, spicy, numbing taste, instantly made Hu Zhihai forget all about the braised pig's trotters.

A dish was just brought out when it disappeared in no time under his ravenous attack, even the leftover sauce was mopped up with rice.

"Are you a pig? You ate three whole plates of food by yourself? And you even ate two bowls of rice?!"

When Jiang Yu brought out the last dish and saw the three clean empty plates on the table, he was dumbfounded.

How can you not get fat like this?

In just this short while, Hu Zhihai ate so much food, the quantity was enough to fill up a family of three!

"Uh, is this my fault?"

Hu Zhihai slumped in his chair, lifted the hem of his shirt, revealing his plump little belly, and gently rubbed it with his hand while giving Jiang Yu a sideways glance,

"If you hadn't left suddenly for vacation and didn't leave any food for me, would I have lost so much weight?

I was even considering, if you hadn't come back soon, I'd go to your house to find you!

Now that I've finally waited for you to come back, don't I have to eat to make up for it?"

"Give me a break!"

Jiang Yu put the dish he was holding a bit further away before picking up his bowl and chopsticks, pulling up a chair to sit down, eating as he spoke,

"I left you plenty of sausages and cured meat in the kitchen. If you were a little more diligent, slicing some sausage and steaming it on rice, then adding some soy sauce and chili oil, it would be a delicious dish.

But you were lazy, if your stomach didn't get hungry, whose would?"

"…"

Hu Zhihai suddenly sat up straight, his face twitching a little with bitterness,

"You, you left me sausages and cured meat? How come I didn't know?!"

As he spoke, he suddenly sniffed and turned his head sharply to look at Jiang Yu,

"What dish are you eating? It smells so good!"

He stood up, craning his neck to look at the plate in front of Jiang Yu. The broth was golden and enticing, the thin slices of meat were translucent, a few circles of cut fresh red chili and tender green scallions were scattered on top, making one hungry at just a glance.

"What are you looking at? This is sour soup sliced meat."

Seeing Hu Zhihai's greedy look, Jiang Yu said, amused,

"The meat slices were marinated for flavor, then coated with a layer of tenderizing powder, and finally pounded into thin slices with a rolling pin. They are so tender and smooth that they just slide down the throat without needing to be chewed.

Oh, the soup is fresh, and the meat tender, sour and spicy to whet the appetite. I rushed back today with little appetite, so I made this appetizing dish to eat."

Hu Zhihai smelled the aroma and was already tempted. Hearing Jiang Yu's explanation, he couldn't help but swallow hard and said with a dry laugh:

"Can I have a spoonful to try?"

"You've already eaten three dishes and two bowls of rice, and you still want more?"

Jiang Yu glared at him and said irritably,

"Be careful, or you'll eat yourself to death. If you're not embarrassed, I am!"

Hu Zhihai pursed his lips and muttered softly:

"Being able to eat is a blessing! Not being able to eat when you want to, that's the real suffering!"

Jiang Yu was too lazy to pay attention to him and started eating on his own.

Hu Zhihai ignored Jiang Yu and went to get a ladle, scooped himself a small bowl of sour soup pork slices, and sat down to happily enjoy it.

While eating, he kept exclaiming:

"Wow! This soup is amazing! It's sour and spicy, whetting the appetite and cutting through the grease. After just one sip, I feel so much more comfortable in my stomach!"

"Oh my god! The meat slices are really smooth and tender. If you're not careful, they'll just slide right down your throat!"

"The enoki mushrooms are also delicious, sour and spicy, tender and crisp, the more you eat, the more flavorful they get!"

"..."

Listening to Hu Zhihai's continuous exclamations, almost breaking into a dance, Jiang Yu couldn't help but curl his lips.

This guy is doomed, he's already become a captive of food!

After dinner, and cleaning up the kitchen, the two didn't stay on at the Seventh Dining Hall.

By then, it was completely dark. The workers on the second floor had already finished and gone home. Jiang Yu and Hu Zhihai locked the main door of the dining hall and headed towards the dormitory building.

On a cold winter night, the chill wind swirled and blew against them, making them shiver involuntarily.

Most students hadn't returned to campus yet, making the vast campus seem a bit deserted. They walked a long way without seeing more than one or two people.

As they walked, Jiang Yu suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to glance at Hu Zhihai, asking:

"Have the results for your initial graduate exam come out?"

"Huh?"

Hu Zhihai was caught off guard by the sudden question. It took a while for him to react, and he shook his head repeatedly,

"Initial exam results? No way, it's too soon. At least until mid to late February to find out."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but laugh to himself, "I did so poorly this time, I probably have no chance, not even for a retest."

"..."

Jiang Yu looked speechless, thinking this chubby guy is just spouting nonsense. If you could make it to the retest, what's the difference from passing?

Jiangzhou University's Department of Philosophy isn't exactly a prestigious major. Every year, the enrollment quota has to be filled by transfer students. Once you make the retest, there's no way the school would cut you.

As he pondered over this, Hu Zhihai suddenly asked, "Hey, Lao Jiang, I heard you got a guaranteed admission?"

"Who told you that?"

"In the class group chat, our class president said it, he also got guaranteed admission."

Hu Zhihai looked at him with a complicated expression, as if trying to confirm something, and asked,

"Is what the president said true?"

"It's true."

Jiang Yu responded frankly, nodding earnestly, "I got a guaranteed admission to our university."

"Since when? How come I didn't know?"

"Just some time before New Year's Day."

Jiang Yu thought about it and said with an indifferent attitude,

"It's no big deal anyway, just a guaranteed admission, isn't it normal for you not to know?"

"..."

Hu Zhihai looked dejected, gritting his teeth as he said,

"Just a guaranteed admission? I worked hard doing exercises for half a year and still didn't pass, yet you get to run a dining hall, make money, and get a guaranteed admission...

Is this even fair?"

Jiang Yu: "..."

I didn't expect to get a guaranteed admission either, is that my fault?

Originally, Jiang Yu thought Hu Zhihai would be upset about this for a while, but before they even reached the dormitory building, he was cheerful again.

No other reason, just because Jiang Yu said that tomorrow they'd go to the market to buy a big pork knuckle to make braised pork knuckle for him.

"After eating this braised pork knuckle, I'll definitely be filled with fighting spirit again!"

Hu Zhihai turned around, walking backward while making a cheering gesture, confidently saying,

"Give me another year, I refuse to believe I can't pass the graduate exam!"

"..."

Hearing this, Jiang Yu couldn't help but be speechless.

This chubby guy, clearly wanting to eat good food every day, yet insisting on making it sound so inspirational...

Aren't you even a little ashamed?

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