Of course, Qian Liwei didn't think Jiang Yu's suggestion to compete with Du Guangning in cooking was a bad thing; instead, he thought it was a good opportunity for Du Guangning.

He and Du Guangning had basically grown up playing together, and their relationship had always been pretty good.

To be honest, Qian Liwei understood Du Guangning quite well. He was upright and honest, but sometimes too straightforward, which made him something of a "one-track mind," or "stubborn."

With such a personality, it's hard to get along anywhere, because it's too easy to offend people. You could just say something casually and accidentally offend someone.

That's precisely why Qian Liwei thought of bringing him over to the Seventh Dining Hall.

The Seventh Dining Hall is different from other places; everything here is decided by the boss, so there's no intrigue or factional struggles.

There are no differences in positions or levels here. In this place, there are only two types of chefs.

One type is like the boss, and the others are just other chefs.

That's right, they're all just one of the other chefs!

With that in mind, what's the point of forming cliques or engaging in power struggles?

Besides, the boss's cooking is so delicious that everyone is too busy trying to get a taste to bother with any of those things.

Qian Liwei thought that for someone like Du Guangning, the Seventh Dining Hall should be the best place. It would let him showcase his skills without being ostracized.

Plus, he could occasionally taste the boss's dishes. How lucky could one be to have such an opportunity?

And since the boss was willing to set a "trap" for Du Guangning to jump into, didn't that just show the boss's interest in him?

If the boss was interested in him, it meant Du Guangning was one step closer to joining the Seventh Dining Hall.

How could this not be a good thing?

"Of course, it's true. For such a small matter, why would I need to lie to you?"

Jiang Yu didn't think as complexly as Qian Liwei did; it was just a routine assessment.

If Du Guangning was just someone with high ambitions but little skill, then of course he wouldn't be kept.

Although the Seventh Dining Hall is a student cafeteria, it's not a charity that would accept just anyone.

When the Seventh Dining Hall first opened, they were seriously understaffed. Only he and Lu Shuwu were in the kitchen, so when hiring chefs, they didn't care about the level as long as someone could cook homestyle dishes.

But now it's different. There are already so many people in the kitchen, and this time the hire was for someone to work as an assistant on the second floor, so their skills must be up to standard.

Therefore, for this recruitment, Jiang Yu's principle was "We'd rather have none than something subpar."

After listening to Jiang Yu, Du Guangning calmed down and looked at Jiang Yu suspiciously, tentatively saying:

"Boss Jiang, if we're really going to compete in cooking, who will judge? The chefs in the cafeteria are all under your command!"

Isn't he known for being headstrong and straightforward?

Why is he suddenly so cautious upon coming to the Seventh Dining Hall?

Seeing his cautious and suspicious demeanor, anyone could tell he's been taken advantage of by people joining forces against him before.

He was worried Jiang Yu might use the same trick against him!

If that were the case, it would be better not to compete and just admit defeat directly, wouldn't it?

Jiang Yu glanced at the time on his phone — it was getting late. He didn't have a lot of time to waste on Du Guangning, so he waved his hand indifferently and said:

"You can choose whoever you think is suitable to be the judge. If they're not nearby and far away, you can wait until they have time and come over. As long as I still need people then, I'll give you this opportunity to compete."

Having said that, he was ready to turn and leave.

After all, a chef whose level is still unknown doesn't deserve much of his time.

After all, four private dining rooms of the Seventh Dining Hall were expecting guests for lunch soon. If he didn't go up and make some preparations, everyone would be hungry, waiting.

He had just taken a couple of steps when he heard Du Guangning behind him getting anxious and calling out:

"Hey, Boss Jiang, let's compete now instead of choosing another time. I know you're busy, and I don't want to waste your time."

Tsk, tsk, isn't he pretty articulate?

Clearly, he was eager to find something to do, but he pretended to be considerate of Jiang Yu. Would someone with low emotional intelligence say something like that?

Jiang Yu turned his head to give him a glance and asked with a half-smile, "You're not looking for a judge anymore?"

"I am, I'll pick Ah Wei, I trust him!"

Du Guangning glanced at Qian Liwei standing beside him and said earnestly,

"Boss Jiang, you might as well appoint a judge too, to be fair."

"No need to be so troublesome; just let Ah Wei be the judge. Otherwise, if we each pick one and it's a tie, then what?"

Jiang Yu couldn't help but laugh, motioning to the two behind him as he started walking forward and saying,

"Let's go, we'll head to the upstairs kitchen. Xiaodu, think about what dish you're going to make. I don't have much time, so let's settle this quickly."

Du Guangning and Qian Liwei remained silent as they followed Jiang Yu upstairs to the second floor.

Du Guangning didn't have much thought about it; he's been through such things many times and doesn't feel this time would be any different, so naturally, there's not much fluctuation in his heart.

But it's different for Qian Liwei. As he followed them upstairs, he felt as if he were stepping on cotton, each step feeling unreal.

At this moment, his mood was both nervous and excited.

The fact that he was chosen by Du Guangning as a judge for this competition wasn't surprising because he was the only one Du knew here at the Seventh Dining Hall.

But the fact that Boss also chose him as the judge, and the only judge at that, made Qian Liwei a bit nervous.

Even though the contest hasn't begun, he already believed the result was predetermined.

However, he wasn't sure what effect Boss wanted to achieve. If he accidentally ruined Boss's plan, wouldn't the image he painstakingly built in Boss's mind be destroyed all at once?

The reason for his excitement was even simpler. He regretted not getting to taste the spring rolls Boss made before, but unexpectedly Boss immediately "compensated" him by choosing him as the sole judge!

Does this mean he can enjoy an entire plate of Boss's dishes by himself?!

This, this, this is just too awesome!

As the three of them walked upstairs, when passing by the service desk, the new Xiaoma started chattering as soon as he saw Jiang Yu:

"Boss, this morning many people called to book private rooms, but I replied to them one by one, telling them that our restaurant is temporarily suspending reservations, and will only resume accepting bookings in half a month."

"Hmm, well done, thanks for the hard work. If you take too many calls, make sure to drink some warm water, or else your throat might hurt."

Jiang Yu smiled at her and added, "By the way, the first-floor dining hall has some new baked spring rolls. If you haven't had breakfast yet, you can ask Xiaoyan to bring some up for you."

"Baked spring rolls?"

"Yes, baked with less oil, and there's also a fried version, just in case you ladies are worried about gaining weight."

Jiang Yu nodded, jokingly saying, "If you're not afraid of getting fat, you can also ask Xiaoyan to bring you some of the fried spring rolls."

"Huh? I, I, I don't eat fried foods."

Upon hearing this, Xiaoma shook her head like a rattle drum. After stopping, she realized Jiang Yu and the others were already heading towards the kitchen.

She couldn't help but pout and mutter to herself,

"So much oil, eating too much will definitely make you fat! But just tasting one shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Whatever Xiaoma said later, Jiang Yu and the others who had walked away obviously couldn't hear, but this exchange made Du Guangning even more determined and made Qian Liwei almost drool.

Over in the kitchen, Pei Guofu, along with apprentices Deng Zehang and Ma Wendong, had already arrived earlier; the four private rooms for lunch had their orders placed in advance, so they were busy preparing ingredients according to the menu.

"Xiaodu, have you decided what to cook?"

Once in the kitchen, Jiang Yu turned around with a smile, looking at Du Guangning.

Du Guangning nodded, answering seriously:

"I'm a native of Jiangzhou, so I'll make a traditional Jiangzhou dish, Red Braised Pork."

"Great, then I'll make the same dish as you."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "That way, it will be simpler for Ah Wei to judge."

Du Guangning frowned, skeptically asking:

"Boss Jiang, from your accent, you don't sound like you're from Jiangzhou. You probably haven't eaten Red Braised Pork many times. Are you sure you want to make this dish?"

"Absolutely sure."

Jiang Yu walked to the sink, washed his hands carefully, and nodded, saying,

"Rest assured, if I really lose, I'll keep my word and let you be the head chef here.

Let's not waste any more time; let's get started.

At this moment, Pei Guofu and others who were washing and chopping vegetables seemed to catch on to something, and couldn't help but pause with a face of surprise, occasionally stealing glances at Du Guangning.

This unkempt and scruffy man wants to be the head chef of Dining Room Seven?

He actually dares to challenge his cooking skills against our boss?

Who gave him the courage to be so audaciously reckless?

"Xiaodeng, you two help with prepping ingredients. You should be familiar with Jiangzhou's famous dish, Red Braised Pork, right?"

Jiang Yu, ignoring the surprised looks from Pei Guofu and others, instructed,

"Make sure to move quickly; we'll need time to prepare lunch for the guests in the private rooms."

"Oh."

Despite their surprise, upon hearing Boss's instructions, both Deng Zehang and Ma Wendong immediately sprang into action.

Within them, there was a faint sense of excitement:

Looks like there's going to be a good show today!

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