"Take, for example, this West Lake Beef Soup. It’s a traditional famous dish in Hangzhou Cuisine, originating from the spicy soup of the Central Plains during the Southern Song Dynasty migration. It’s generally served first as a throat-soothing and appetite-whetting soup, and is deeply loved by the common folk.
This soup is fresh, sour, and unique in taste. Although it has undergone a long period of evolution and improvement, pepper is still an indispensable seasoning. Without it, it just doesn’t have that flavor."
"The school has already specifically emphasized that no dish can contain pepper. I certainly can’t prioritize taste over the athletes’ safety, can I?"
Jiang Yu turned to look at Jia Dequan, a confident smile on his face, and said with a laugh,
"Besides, even if we don’t use pepper, the taste might be a bit different, but as long as the dish remains fresh and delicious, isn’t that what really matters?"
Jia Dequan froze for a moment, then shook his head with a chuckle, and said:
"You’re right. As long as the food is delicious, what does it matter whether there’s pepper or not?"
"Alright, it’s about time now. I need to get someone to help deliver these ingredients upstairs, and then start preparing the dishes."
Jiang Yu took a deep breath, stuffed the menu into his pocket, and said to Jia Dequan,
"Besides this table, there are four more tables with guests who have pre-booked private rooms. It’s going to get busy soon."
"The more capable one should work harder!"
Jia Dequan said with a big smile, then turned back into the kitchen to help Jiang Yu call someone to move the ingredients.
...
Chen Lei and her group, accompanied by Jia Dequan and Xing Yongyang, originally planned to go to the Seventh Dining Hall to meet Jiang Yu and get to know him properly.
In fact, after listening to the introduction by Jia Dequan and others, Chen Lei was quite curious about this junior brother Jiang Yu, whom she hadn’t yet met. How could a college student have such excellent culinary skills?
Before retiring, Chen Lei could not cook. After retirement and starting a family, she seriously learned for a while. Yet, even if she followed the recipe step by step, the dishes she made were hardly edible.
This made the otherwise undaunted her feel quite dejected.
Chen Lei is a rather traditional woman who inherently believes that a woman should manage both the household and the kitchen. But her unpalatable cooking has been a sticking point for her.
Now that she heard about having such an outstanding culinary junior brother, she naturally wanted to meet him and see if she could learn something.
She didn’t expect to make dishes as delicious as his, but at least something she could swallow!
Unfortunately, before they could even get downstairs, they were stopped by Vice Principal He and other leaders who had suddenly returned to the school, so they had to sit back down and continue their meeting.
This meeting lasted until five in the afternoon. After Vice Principal He and other leaders left, Wang Dongkai and others gathered around Xiong Bingsheng, eagerly asking:
"Teacher Xiong, where are we going next?"
"Well, next, as you wish, we go to the Seventh Dining Hall."
Xiong Bingsheng knew that Wang Dongkai and others were already somewhat impatient, so he didn’t keep them guessing and said with a smile,
"We’ll walk over slowly, and at the same time, everyone can enjoy the campus scenery. Some of you haven’t been back for many years; the school has changed a lot.
By the time we get to the Seventh Dining Hall, it should be just about time to start dining."
Wang Dongkai sighed and said, "Ah, I originally wanted to meet Junior Brother Xiaojiang first!"
"After tasting his cooking, isn’t it the same as meeting him?"
Chen Lei didn’t think there was any problem, she interjected,
"After appreciating someone’s craft, when you get to know the person, you won’t underestimate him from not knowing, nor will you miss the chance to become good friends from underestimating him."
Wang Dongkai and the others were just impatient, but not fools, so naturally, they understood the meaning in Chen Lei’s words.
Wang Dongkai said with a smile:
"Sister Chen is right. Once we get to the Seventh Dining Hall later, don’t fight me for it, I’ve got to eat a few more bites and thoroughly savor Junior Brother Xiaojiang’s skills."
The group chatted and laughed as they slowly walked from the School of Sports toward the Seventh Dining Hall.
"Teacher Xiong, why do I feel like there are more and more people?"
As they walked, Lin Yahu noticed something was off. He pointed at the increasing number of students on the road, turned to look at Xiong Bingsheng, and curiously asked,
"When we came over earlier, there were only a few students on the road. As we’ve been walking, there have been more and more students, and they’re all heading east like us, but I don’t see any dormitories or teaching buildings that way!
What are they doing?"
Wang Dongkai also joked with a smile, "Maybe they’re going to eat like us?"
"Xiaokai is smart. They’re indeed going to eat."
Xiong Bingsheng smiled, glanced at Wang Dongkai, and explained,
"It’s already five o’clock. In half an hour, the Seventh Dining Hall will start serving, so the students are rushing over to line up!"
"Line, line up?!"
Wang Dongkai looked stunned and incredulous, and asked,
"Are there so many students in our school now? Do you need to line up to eat in the cafeteria?"
Chen Lei, Lin Yahu, and others also turned their surprised heads to look at Xiong Bingsheng, wanting to hear what exactly he had to say.
Under the gaze of many world champions and Asian Games champions, Xiong Bingsheng didn’t feel nervous at all, but rather a bit elated, and he said with a smile: