After coming out of Room Seven, Duan Yiming, Deng Linhui, and He Xiaowei were all excited, even walking with a swagger.

The difficulty of booking a private room at Room Seven, after fermenting throughout the morning, was probably known to everyone who cared about it.

But for such a hard-to-book Room Seven, I can come once a month, and I don't even have to struggle to compete with others for a reservation!

Just ask yourself, am I awesome or what?!

The three of them laughed and chatted loudly on their way, discussing when to come next month and what dishes to order, attracting the attention of students who had just finished eating at the Seventh Dining Hall.

The strange look in their eyes was clearly conveying a message:

These three must be fools, right?

The three of them didn't care at all; compared to having a green pass to Room Seven, what does this matter?

Duan Yiming and the others were in high spirits and felt as if they had accomplished a huge deal at the company, feeling happier than ever.

But when they turned around, they realized that Zhu Youfeng, who had been following behind, didn't seem as happy and hadn't said much along the way.

Duan Yiming waited for him to catch up, patted him on the shoulder, and said heartily,

"Xiaozhu, why do you look a bit unhappy?

We can come here to feast once a month now; that's something worth celebrating!

Don't worry, brother here won't forget you, and will definitely bring you along in the future!"

He Xiaowei also joined in, grinning and saying,

"Exactly, Xiaozhu, don't worry, just come with us to eat in the future. A group meal is more lively!"

Deng Linhui also nodded at Zhu Youfeng with a smile, "Yes, we're all familiar with each other, not strangers, nothing to be embarrassed about."

"No, no! Why would I be unhappy?"

Zhu Youfeng forced a smile and said,

"This is a good thing; many people can't even get a reservation for a private room!"

"Great, it's best if you're not unhappy!"

Duan Yiming patted his back again, laughing,

"Then we'll head back to the company first, you can go back to the dormitory and rest for a while. I'll call you next time when I'm coming."

"Okay."

Zhu Youfeng responded, standing by the roadside watching Duan Yiming and the others get into their car, driving away slowly.

Once they were far gone, Zhu Youfeng let out a long sigh of relief and sat on a bench by the road.

He wasn't really unhappy before, but he did have something on his mind.

He had no idea how much that meal cost, but with such exquisite presentation and delicious taste, it couldn't have been cheap.

Meals like this, if Duan Yiming treats once or twice, Zhu Youfeng could mentally accept it, but if those three always paid, and he tagged along just for free meals, as a man, he couldn't accept it.

So, it's just this time, and come next month, even if Duan Yiming really calls him, he'd have to find an excuse to decline.

But, the dishes Senior Brother Jiang made were so delicious, once tasted, it's unforgettable and impossible to resist.

Even dreaming at night, that taste lingered in his mouth, and if he couldn't eat it again, who could stand it?

So, Zhu Youfeng was actually worried about this, anxious about not getting a reservation and what to do if he couldn't eat it in the future.

Moreover, though his family was decent, he couldn't make frequent visits to Room Seven; once or twice might be fine, but going often would wipe out a semester's living expenses!

Sitting there pondering, Zhu Youfeng still couldn't think of a good solution, and he couldn't help but sigh again.

If he had known this, why couldn't he resist joining Duan Yiming for that meal?

The food on the first floor of the Seventh Dining Hall used to be quite satisfying too, didn't it?

People!

Always looking for something better, never satisfied...

As he was thinking, two classmates approached hastily, chatting as they walked:

"The city job fair has started already, will we make it in time?"

"By bus, probably not, but a taxi might get us there!"

"Taxi? That far, it's expensive, right?"

"What's to be afraid of? If we find one or two more classmates heading to the city and share the ride, it'll work!"

"Carpooling? That works!"

"..."

In just a few lines, those two classmates hurried past.

Zhu Youfeng was taken aback, remembering it's almost March, and in three months, the seniors would graduate.

Now, they're all busy job hunting!

In another year, it'll be his turn; whether he should work or go for civil service or a master's degree, needs to be decided this semester.

Thinking about this, he suddenly felt some urgency, realizing the carefree time left was indeed running out.

Thinking of Room Seven again, suddenly an idea popped into his head: "carpooling"?

If cars can be "carpooled," why can't private rooms be?

Surely there are students like him in the school, who want to eat but feel it's too much to afford alone?

They're all classmates, maybe not acquainted, but from the same school. Having a meal together isn't a big deal, you'd get to know each other after the meal, wouldn't you?

Moreover, everyone gets along so well, maybe we could even study together, take exams for civil service or postgraduate entrance together, or even look for jobs together!

Wouldn't that just motivate everyone even more?

It's a fantastic opportunity to kill two birds with one stone!

The more Zhu Youfeng thought about it, the more feasible it seemed, and he couldn't help but get excited. He immediately stood up from his chair and headed back to the dorm.

Once back, he would post on the campus forum to find like-minded classmates and create a group!

Oh, right!

He should use a second account to post. His main account, Duan Yiming, is known to others, and he definitely shouldn't let him see this.

Otherwise, who knows what he'd think...

...

After sending off the four tables of guests on the first day of business at Seventh Dining Hall, Jiang Yu finally let out a long sigh of relief. He had been busy in the kitchen alone all morning, and everyone left satisfied at last.

It was already one o'clock in the afternoon, and not only him, but the few servers upstairs hadn't had a chance to eat lunch either.

He went into a private room and saw Yan Tongtong helping to tidy up the chopsticks and dishes on the dining table, so he said:

"Xiaoyan, tell everyone to stop for a moment and come downstairs to the kitchen to eat something and fill their stomachs. Once we've eaten, there will be plenty of time in the afternoon to clean up the private rooms."

"Oh, alright, Senior Brother!"

"By the way, the kitchen prepared extra black sesame paste and purple sweet potato peanut walnut soup. Take them with you so everyone can try some. They change flavor when they cool down."

"Okay, okay!"

"I'll head downstairs first. You all better come quick or else there won't be anything left!"

After giving Yan Tongtong a few instructions, Jiang Yu turned around and went downstairs.

It was just as busy downstairs in the dining hall, with quite a few late-arriving students sitting there, eating large bites of food, their mouths stuffed full, with satisfied expressions on their faces.

Seeing Jiang Yu coming over, they hurried to swallow the food in their mouths and greeted him with smiles:

"Hello, Senior Brother Jiang!"

"Senior Brother Jiang, are there any discounts for our school's students in the private rooms upstairs?"

"I can smell the aroma of the food coming from upstairs while sitting here. I really want to eat!"

"Senior Brother Jiang..."

A group of students chattered away, leaving Jiang Yu unsure of who to respond to first, so he could only smile and nod at them while quickening his pace through the room.

Entering the first-floor kitchen, Lu Shuwu had just finished stir-frying the dishes, and no one had eaten yet. Seeing Jiang Yu coming down, Hu Zhihai came over quickly, smiling:

"How was it? Pretty busy upstairs, right?"

"Not bad, but we could use a few more hands."

Saying this, Jiang Yu waved over Qian Liwei and asked,

"Ah Wei, didn't you say last time you have a few chef friends interested in working at our dining hall?

How are they doing now? Have they found jobs yet?"

"It's been a few days, I'm not really sure."

Qian Liwei replied, wiping his hands with an apron,

"Is the boss planning to hire? Is it urgent? If it's urgent, I can make a call right now to ask."

"It's not too urgent."

Jiang Yu waved his hand, smiling,

"Now that our Seventh Dining Hall on the second floor is officially opened, the staff shortage is quite noticeable.

Just saying, there are only you and Lu Shuwu as Red Chefs in the first-floor kitchen, it's really tough on you, so we must hire another one.

Also, I've been thinking it's better to operate the first and second floors separately. Occasionally having Uncle Ma and the others help with some dishes is okay, but when there are too many guests upstairs, the number of dishes increases, and Uncle Ma and the others would be too stressed.

Therefore, for the second floor, it would be best to hire two more food prep workers and if we can find two apprentices too, that would be even better."

Upon hearing this, Qian Liwei couldn't help but scratch his head, looking troubled:

"I do know a couple of chefs, but they're not the kind with formal training or a mentor, basically they're like me, trained in small restaurants.

As for food prep workers and apprentices, I don't have contact with any larger hotels or restaurants, so I really don't have much to go on."

"No worries, if you can introduce one or two chefs who can cook, that would be fine."

Jiang Yu nodded, not expecting to solve all problems at once — things are always done step by step, right?

"As for other staff, I'll think of something else."

"What other staff? Food prep workers and apprentices?"

Lu Shuwu had already finished preparing lunch for everyone and came over,

"That's easy. I'll ask a few Xiang Cuisine restaurants in the city for help, they can find a few people to come over, not as difficult as finding chefs."

"Alright, I'll leave that to you then."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yu raised his hand and patted Lu Shuwu's shoulder, saying with a smile,

"I won't interfere with hiring chefs here in the first-floor kitchen. Once Ah Wei brings people over, you can just check them yourself."

"No problem. Our family's restaurant kitchen gets new people every year, I've seen it quite a few times, haven't eaten pork, but have seen pigs run, right?"

Lu Shuwu heard this, laughed, and said with a carefree attitude,

"This task, I'll definitely handle it perfectly!"

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