No matter how carefully you plan things in advance, mistakes and oversights are inevitable. It's only when you actually start doing something that you discover all the problems.

The same goes for the Seventh Dining Room.

Before it opened, Jiang Yu thought he had considered everything thoroughly. But once the restaurant was truly open, he realized he had been a bit naive.

Take staffing issues, for example.

Initially, he planned to have Ma Guoqiang, He Chunxiao, and others help with cutting and preparing ingredients for the Seventh Dining Room. When Liu Shurong hosted guests before, things seemed fine.

However, once the Seventh Dining Room officially opened, he discovered it wasn't that simple.

For instance, take the current four tables of dishes, the smallest table has at least four dishes and a soup, while the largest table has even more – four cold dishes, eight hot dishes, a main dish, and a soup, totaling fourteen dishes!

All four tables added together, there are nearly forty dishes, averaging ten dishes per table!

What takes the most time in the kitchen?

Naturally, it's handling ingredients—washing vegetables, cutting them, and then preparing them. Actually, the stir-frying process after the ingredients are prepared isn't as labor-intensive.

Some quick dishes can be done in four to five minutes, while more complex ones might take around ten to twenty minutes.

Even braised or steamed dishes take no more than an hour.

Of course, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a different story; it's not your typical dish.

It's said that the longest preparation for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall involves simmering for 72 hours!

As for how it tastes when it's done, only those who've tried it would know.

Back to the point.

For these forty dishes, Jiang Yu entrusted Ma Guoqiang, He Chunxiao, and others with handling, cutting, and preparing the ingredients. Even though there were several people helping in the first-floor kitchen, it still took a long time.

After preparing the Seventh Dining Room's dishes, Ma Guoqiang and the others also had to attend to the preparations for the dishes sold at the first-floor cafeteria window.

Those are another fifteen dishes, and they're large portioned dishes…

After such a busy round, it would be strange if Ma Guoqiang, He Chunxiao, and others weren't tired.

Although Ma Guoqiang and the others didn't complain or show dissatisfaction, Jiang Yu, as the boss, couldn't help being more thoughtful.

If he really exhausts them, he wouldn't feel good about it and also wouldn't be doing justice to their trust in him.

Therefore, on the first day of opening the Seventh Dining Room, Jiang Yu decided to hire a few more prep cooks and apprentices.

Ideally, they would have work experience, and if they've worked in a high-end restaurant kitchen, that would be perfect.

Previously, Qian Liwei had told Jiang Yu that several chefs he knew wanted to work with him.

While they didn't need more chefs at the moment, asking Qian Liwei to help find a few prep cooks and apprentices shouldn't be too difficult.

Having made up his mind, Jiang Yu stopped thinking about it and started preparing for the four tables of guests arriving at noon.

...

Busy at the company until ten-thirty, Duan Yiming finally solved a problem that had been troubling him for the last couple of days.

After several retests and finding no errors, he breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair to take a break.

Even he couldn't help but be a bit amazed. Just by booking a private room at the Seventh Dining Room, he managed to spark his inspiration, find another way, and solve the problem.

It seems that the idea that delicious food can inspire creativity and a desire to create is indeed true.

After pondering for a moment in his chair, Duan Yiming hurriedly got up and went to the office restroom for a good shower.

Recently, he'd been cooped up every day in the office of the research department. Forget about showering, he barely washed his face, and he was covered in a mix of sweat and tobacco odor.

If he didn't wash up properly, how could he have the nerve to dine at the Seventh Dining Room later?

After his shower and changing into clean clothes, Duan Yiming felt much more invigorated. Just as he was about to blow-dry his hair, his phone on the desk suddenly rang.

A quick glance showed it was a call from Deng Linhui. He checked the time and saw it was already eleven-ten.

It seemed Deng Linhui had already driven downstairs.

Duan Yiming decided to skip blow-drying his hair, grabbed a dry towel to rub it dry, picked up his phone, and headed straight out the door.

Reaching downstairs at the company, Deng Linhui's car was parked to the side. Seeing Duan Yiming looking freshly groomed—obviously just showered and changed clothes—he couldn't help but tease,

"What's up? You're going out for a meal, and you've got to shower and change clothes? Don't tell me you're off to a blind date?"

"Do I, being so handsome, dashing, and charming, need blind dates?"

Duan Yiming opened the passenger door, plopped down, and chuckled,

"Back in my Jiangzhou University days, how many junior girls crowded around me just to get me to smile?"

"Hmm, keep bragging. It's not like there's a tax on it."

Deng Linhui shook his head in semi-exasperation as he started the car and slowly drove out of the innovation park towards Jiangzhou University. He thought for a moment and asked,

"It's just the two of us, right?"

"How could it be? With just two people, how many dishes could we order? I went to great lengths to arrange this so we could try more gourmet dishes!"

Duan Yiming turned to look at Deng Linhui and said,

"Besides us two, I invited He Xiaowei, and we agreed to meet at the gate of Jiangzhou University.

"There's also Jiang University's Xiaozhu. We've troubled him many times, let's use this opportunity as a thank you."

Deng Linhui agreed wholeheartedly: "Well said!"

The two chatted casually along the way, and the car soon arrived at Jiang University's gate. He Xiaowei was already waiting there and, seeing Duan Yiming and the others arrive, he greeted them excitedly:

"Haha! Lao Duan, who would've thought you'd have such dumb luck!

I called in early this morning to book a private room, only to find out all rooms for the week were already booked!

It's driving me mad!"

"Let's stop chatting outside, hurry up and head in. We'll have plenty of time to talk once we're at the restaurant."

Duan Yiming didn't waste any more time. With 11:30 quickly approaching, it was better to head over directly.

"Oh, okay! You guys lead the way in front, I'll follow in the car."

He Xiaowei nodded and returned to his car.

The two cars, one following the other, approached Jiang University's entrance only to be stopped by security.

Duan Yiming quickly provided the reservation number he received when booking the private room. After verifying, the security personnel surprisingly allowed them in.

The group gave a sigh of relief and slowly drove towards the Seventh Dining Hall.

...

Lunch service was already underway, the first floor of the Seventh Dining Hall was bustling and lively.

Each student grabbed their meal at the counter, eagerly balancing trays brimming with fragrant dishes, before finding a place to sit in the dining area, diving right in.

Since the Seventh Dining Hall began operations, Jiang Yu was no longer responsible for the first-floor meals. Most of the dishes were now prepared by Lu Shuwu and Qian Liwei.

Lu Shuwu's cooking skills were already good, and coupled with Jiang Yu's recipes, the taste of his dishes was remarkably close to Jiang Yu's.

The meals remained delicious and unforgettable.

However, since they weren't Jiang Yu's creations, there was still a slight difference in taste and texture.

No matter how gifted Lu Shuwu was, he couldn't match Jiang Yu, who possessed a system enhanced culinary ability, in terms of flavor and texture.

Though such minor differences go unnoticed by most people, who still found the dishes delightful and fulfilling.

Yet among these students, there were always one or two exceptionally talented individuals who could detect the nuances.

Luo Xiaoyu was such a person.

He was a sophomore at Jiangzhou University, just like Lu Shuwu's cousin, Lu Shuyao, Luo Xiaoyu was innately sensitive to taste and had always been attuned to different flavors.

While others could discern good from bad, distinguishing two different dishes crafted by the same chef was generally tricky for discerning taste.

Yet Luo Xiaoyu could easily tell the difference.

Because of this, many friends and family praised Luo Xiaoyu's extraordinary palate, believing he could make a name for himself as a gourmet.

However, Luo Xiaoyu didn't have such aspirations.

In reality, being sensitive to taste can be painful. It's challenging to find satisfying food, and their heightened senses often amplify flaws in food.

What others perceive as slightly bitter, his taste magnifies ten or even a hundredfold—who can bear that?

Fortunately, Luo Xiaoyu came from a wealthy family, never short of money since childhood. When dining out, he always chose renowned restaurants, avoiding food-related misery.

During his first year at Jiangzhou University, he never ate at the dining hall, opting to drive to the city for all meals.

It wasn't until the Seventh Dining Hall opened and the meals there captivated everyone that Luo Xiaoyu decided to give it a try.

This one instance made Luo Xiaoyu realize what truly exquisite cuisine was.

From then on, he never left campus, satisfying all meals at the Seventh Dining Hall.

Even if he couldn't secure a spot, he'd pay a scalper for a seat to eat there.

This particular noon, Luo Xiaoyu joined a few roommates to fetch meals, carrying trays brimming with food, and sought an empty spot in the dining area.

Sitting down, they were already famished, picking up their chopsticks and devouring the food.

While devouring large bites, the boys commented:

"In this cold weather, enjoying these warm, fragrant black bean steamed ribs really warms the soul!"

"What nonsense! On chilly days, mixing rice with chopped pepper fish chunks and broth is spicy, sweat-inducing—that's invigorating!"

"Stop the shouting! I believe being able to enjoy Senior Brother Jiang's meals every day, is the real pleasure!"

"Huh? Xiaoyu, why aren't you saying anything? You seem a bit unhappy."

"..."

Luo Xiaoyu sat aside, brows deeply furrowed.

He picked at his food with chopsticks, taking a piece of succulent pork belly, chewing slowly.

Then sighed softly, disappointment etched on his face,

"I'm not unhappy. But you all were mistaken, these meals weren't made by Senior Brother Jiang!"

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