"Has the Seventh Dining Hall started operating?"

"I don't think so. Look for yourself; the door is closed!"

"Ah~ Senior Brother Jiang probably won't open until the day after tomorrow when school starts, right? Ooo, what's the point of returning to school early then?"

"At home, I was thinking every day about the food from the Seventh Dining Hall, and I thought I'd be able to eat it as soon as I got back..."

"..."

As lunchtime approached, suddenly a group of students gathered around the Seventh Dining Hall, each peeking in from outside.

These people either came here specifically for food or "just happened" to pass by, but seeing no sign of the dining hall opening, they instantly became dejected.

They had been on winter break for nearly a month, and having gotten used to the flavor of the dining hall's food, lunchtime felt like torture—it was really too painful.

If they hadn't been unbearably hungry, they truly wouldn't want to eat the food made at home.

Now, having finally endured this painful period and returned to school, they thought they'd be back to eating dishes made by Senior Brother Jiang!

Who knew the Seventh Dining Hall wouldn't open at all!

How can one not be angry about this?!

But getting angry is useless; the dining hall isn't even open, so what can they do?

They're really helpless, too—in the end, all they can do is wait, right?

After a moment, this group of students who came excitedly all left dejectedly, each one seeming as if they'd lost their soul.

Just as they left, another batch of students came energetically rushing in from another direction.

Their target was still the Seventh Dining Hall...

...

Although the gate of the Seventh Dining Hall was closed, Jiang Yu and Hu Zhihai, Lu Shuwu, and others were actually inside the kitchen.

As it was almost noon, they didn't plan on leaving, and prepared to make something casual to fill their stomachs.

After eating, they'd call the part-time students who'd returned to school over and clean up the dining hall inside and out, getting ready for the official opening tomorrow.

"Uncle Ma and Sister He, should we let them come over too?"

Lu Shuwu, taking advantage of Jiang Yu's break while prepping the ingredients, inserted the suggestion,

"Tomorrow morning we have to make breakfast, and if they don't come over, many things can't be explained clearly by phone."

"Alright, notify them all once then."

Jiang Yu thought for a moment, nodded, and said,

"When we were on break before the year, it was said to officially open the day before school starts; then this afternoon we definitely need to meet up at least, or many tasks can't be arranged."

"Okay, you cook and I'll call them, just to remind them."

Lu Shuwu responded, took out his phone, and went outside to make his calls.

These past few days, even though Jiang Yu had been coming to the dining hall to cook for himself daily, he hadn't prepared many ingredients. Especially today, he hadn't had time to go to the market, so there were even fewer fresh vegetables in the prep room.

He looked at the two carrots, a handful of fresh mushrooms, plus two potatoes and an ear of corn he had pulled from the cooler, and for a moment didn't know what dish to make.

Searching through his mental recipe book for a bit, Jiang Yu thought about it, and decided to save some trouble by making sausage rice.

That way, he'd skip the stir-fry entirely!

Saying he'd do it, he carefully looked over the sausage rice recipe, and then followed the steps from memory to start working.

He first took two sausages and sliced them into thin pieces, peeled the potatoes and carrots, and chopped them together with the mushrooms into dice, then cut the green onions into sections.

Carrying the prepared ingredients to the operating area, Jiang Yu began heating oil in the pan.

Once the oil was hot, he added the onions to release their aroma, then added the sausages to give them a small stir-fry to release oil, followed by tossing in the potatoes, carrots, corn kernels, and mushrooms to stir-fry.

Then he added an appropriate amount of soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and other seasonings to the pot, continued to stir-fry over low heat for two minutes, and then turned off the heat.

Afterward, Jiang Yu put the washed rice into the rice cooker, added an appropriate amount of water, placed the stir-fried sausage and vegetables inside, and pressed the cook button.

At this point, Jiang Yu had done everything he could; the remaining rice cooking he left to the rice cooker.

He cleaned the small pan used for stir-frying and put it away, wiped his hands dry, and took out his phone to sit and play games.

Having completed his graduation thesis, with no courses scheduled this semester, he could say that the second semester of his senior year was the most leisurely period of his entire college life.

Originally, Jiang Yu had neither the time nor mood to play games, but now, he could occasionally relax and find a way to enjoy himself.

Of course, he didn't play online mobile games, as he was never interested in those monster-slaying treasure-hunting games.

He didn't understand why his previous male classmates were so passionate about it, even managing to spend days chopping away for upgrades at their computers.

He himself downloaded a chess game from the app market, not the online version, but a mode where you play against the computer, selected a medium difficulty level, and started a match while waiting for the rice to cook, playing all the while.

Just as he was playing, Lu Shuwu came in after making calls, looking around somewhat confusedly while pocketing his phone, and asked:

"Boss, I've notified everyone. Except for Lao Jia, who's still at home, everyone else will come over around 1:30 in the afternoon.

So, you haven't started cooking yet?"

"Rice? Isn't it cooking now?"

Jiang Yu raised his head to glance at him, pointed at the rice cooker with its light on, and replied,

"Lao Jia comes or not, it's up to him. Don't persuade him not to come and certainly don't push him to come.

"He's already so old, staying here all alone. If I were his family, I'd be worried too."

"Yeah, I didn't rush him. I called just to give him my regards for the New Year, passing on greetings from Grandpa, nothing more."

Lu Shuwu nodded, but couldn't help walking over to the stove to take a look and then asked,

"Just a meal? Should I whip up a few dishes?"

"Are there any ingredients in the pantry? Cook dishes..."

Jiang Yu glanced at him sideways and said with mild annoyance,

"Take a seat and rest, will you? You won't go hungry."

"..."

Lu Shuwu didn't dare argue with Jiang Yu. Technically, he was still Jiang Yu's apprentice.

How could he compete with "Master"? Wouldn't he continue to learn cooking?

After only a short while, white steam started coming out of the rice cooker, the rich aroma of sausage mixed with an enticing hint of wine radiated throughout the kitchen, making mouths water.

Lu Shuwu couldn't resist and swallowed hard, eyes gleaming as he asked,

"Boss, did you put sausage in the rice?"

"Yeah, it'll be ready soon."

Jiang Yu nodded, casually exited the game interface, and stood up, stretching.

He was really not talented at chess. He learned the basics early on, but over the years, his skill remained quite poor.

Playing against the computer at medium difficulty, he couldn't win, losing two knights, a rook, and a cannon to be checkmated by a rook and knight in mere minutes.

Seems like he overestimated himself. He should try simple mode next time. He ought to win a match then, right?

Thinking of this, Jiang Yu couldn't help but chuckle, leaving Lu Shuwu beside him slightly baffled.

What's the deal with the boss suddenly laughing out of the blue?

Luckily this was broad daylight; otherwise, in the dead of night, it'd be quite eerie...

Jiang Yu didn't mind Lu Shuwu's change of expression. He looked around and didn't see Hu Zhihai, prompting a questioning "Huh?":

"Where's the fatty?"

"Oh, he's outside making a call. It's been a while; he should be back soon."

"Talking for so long?"

Jiang Yu shook his head in puzzlement, ready to say something, when suddenly he heard a "pop." Turning around, he saw the rice cooker had switched to "keep warm" mode.

He opened the lid, sprinkled in the chopped green onions, and covered it back up to keep steaming.

Before he could turn around, quick footsteps approached, followed by Hu Zhihai's excited shout,

"Such a fragrant sausage smell! I could smell it from the entrance! Lao Jiang, are we having sausage rice for lunch?"

"Yes, sausage-steamed rice."

Jiang Yu looked back at him, then asked,

"You seem so happy; is there good news? Did your family set up a date for you?"

"What date? I'm so handsome, dashing, and secure; do I need a date to find a partner?"

Hu Zhihai scoffed, dismissively, then continued,

"We're graduating this term, right? My dad heard my chances of passing the postgraduate exam are slim, so he plans to send me abroad to study...

Will I agree to that? Of course not!

Going abroad, eating bread, roast meat, mashed potatoes every day, I'd starve!"

After a pause, he continued,

"I've just successfully persuaded my mom to let me attempt the exam again next year.

But, this year can't be wasted. I still have to attend the weekly company meetings to get familiar with the operations."

Lu Shuwu sighed, couldn't help patting Hu Zhihai's shoulder with a heavy heart, saying,

"Brother, I sympathize with you! Ultimately, you're carrying it all, forced to go home to inherit the billion-dollar assets..."

"Ugh! Do you think I'm willing? I'd rather be a playboy, carefree and enjoying life with wealth!"

Hu Zhihai scoffed, then reached out with his big hand to heavily pat Jiang Yu's shoulder,

"Brother, I've sacrificed a lot for you!"

Jiang Yu: "..."

Get out of here!

"Stop with the nonsense, it's all for the good food and drink!"

Jiang Yu slapped Hu Zhihai's fat hand away, struggling not to rub his shoulder.

This chubby guy not only gained weight but also strength. That slap nearly broke him apart.

"Hurry up and eat; there's still lots to do after lunch!"

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