The dining services at Finance University were also decent, with similar stir-fried dishes frequently available. But he had never expected such an ordinary dish of minced meat and vermicelli to be delicious to this extent, even exceeding his understanding of vermicelli.
"Who cooked today’s meal? It’s really delicious."
He chatted with the head chef next to him while eating.
"Oh, it was cooked by Chef Qin—Qin Wei. Chef Lin praised your cooking."
In a corner not far away, a young chef who was hunched over his bowl, shoveling rice into his mouth, looked up, gave Lin Xu a timid smile, then lowered his head and continued eating. He was probably about twenty-six or twenty-seven, thin and refined-looking, not resembling a chef so much as a somewhat melancholic folk singer.
The chefs nearby started to tease, "Our Chef Qin is as bashful as a young maiden; he doesn’t like to mingle, nor does he like parties."
"He’s quite reserved and uncommunicative; sometimes he doesn’t say a word all day."
"Right, he’s more introverted, unlike us who are all a bit rough around the edges."
When Lin Xu inquired about Chef Qin, everyone chirped in with information about Qin Wei.
Lin Xu smiled at Qin Wei. He was just about to eat when he suddenly thought of poaching staff, so he summoned the system to check the list of chefs available for recruitment. Then he saw that Qin Wei’s name was highlighted.
TSK. TSK. TSK... He truly hadn’t expected to find a recruitable chef on his very first day at work. So, what was he waiting for? Time to start poaching!
He put some minced meat and vermicelli into his bowl, added a couple of chopsticks’ worth of cabbage, and then cheerfully sat down next to Qin Wei. "Chef Qin, how did you make this minced meat and vermicelli? The flavor is absolutely incredible, isn’t it?"
Qin Wei hadn’t expected Lin Xu to come over. He coughed lightly, a little uncomfortable. "It’s... it’s nothing special... I just... I just casually... you know... stir-fried it... and... and it was... done..."
He stammers? Is that why he’s so shy?
Lin Xu said with a laugh, "Don’t be nervous, I’m just making small talk. When you have time, how about you teach me how to make it?"
Both men continued to eat their rice, exchanging a few words now and then. Although Qin Wei still stuttered, he was much better than when they’d started talking. Especially when he noticed that Lin Xu didn’t tease him at all, he relaxed considerably.
「After the meal.」 Discover more novels at NoveI~Fire.net
Lin Xu said goodbye to Qin Wei and put his bowl and chopsticks in the dishwashing basket.
After returning to his own cooking station, he made another batch of Crab Buns. Just as he placed them in the steamer, his phone suddenly rang.
He took it out to look. Shen Jiayue’s family had arrived.
He hurried to the front desk, seeing his mother-in-law holding Dundun and asking if the little guy was happy about the change of place, while Shu Yun was introducing the historical anecdotes of Building Two to Shen Guofu. The only one relatively idle was his own Shen Baobao. She was leaning near the decorative rockery with a water feature by the front desk, amusing herself with the little goldfish inside.
Upon seeing Lin Xu come over, the girl immediately rushed towards him. "Are the Crab Buns ready?"
"Yes, they’re ready, and they taste quite good. I’ll bring them out for you in a moment."
Today, Shen Jiayue wore a light blue sleeveless dress. Such attire is difficult to pull off, but with her tall stature and good figure, not only did she carry off the dress perfectly, but her skin, so exquisitely fair and smooth, also made the dress seem ethereal. Unfortunately, Lin Xu was wearing his chef’s uniform from Fishing Platform, complete with a tall chef’s hat. Standing with Shen Jiayue, it created the awkward image of a chef who had run off with a wealthy young lady.
"Ah, Xu is here. Let’s take our seats then," Shen Guofu said.
Earlier at noon, Shen Guofu had his secretary, Ms. Zou, make a reservation here and even pre-ordered some of the restaurant’s signature dishes. Well, although his son-in-law worked here, he had no intention of taking advantage of that. He intended to pay the full price, just like any other customer.
Arriving at their table, after they were seated, the waiter first brought over the pre-meal tea and snacks. As the tea was poured, Lin Xu picked up a cup and took a sip. The tea had a mellow and fragrant flavor, and after he finished, a faint, sweet aftertaste lingered in his mouth. Clearly, this was good quality tea.
Shen Guofu curiously asked, "How is it?"
"It’s excellent. Tastes wonderful."
"Then the more than one thousand yuan spent on it was well worth it."
Lin Xu was floored. This small pot could hardly hold 300 milliliters, yet it costs over a thousand yuan? That means each sip is several tens of yuan! Good heavens! How can I possibly afford to drink this?
He finished the tea in his cup, stood up, and said, "The soup buns should be almost ready. I’ll go to the kitchen to check. If they’re ready, I’ll have them brought over for you to taste."
Indeed, this was an important task he couldn’t forget.
When he reached the back kitchen, the second batch of Crab Buns had just finished steaming. Lin Xu pulled the steaming tray from the steamer, then took several clean plates and began plating. This was not an easy task, as the skin of the buns was so delicate it could break with the slightest touch, and they were filled with scalding broth, so lifting them directly could easily cause them to tear. Successfully getting the buns onto the plates required some skill.
He pinched the top knot of the soup bun between his middle and index fingers, his fingertips supporting the upper skin, his thumb the skin on one side, his pinky the skin on the other, while the lower part of his palm cradled the bottom. After securing all sides, he gently lifted. This way, the entire bun was lifted. His left hand, holding a plate, quickly slipped it underneath, and the soup bun was steadily settled onto it.
Thank goodness for Heartless Iron Hand. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dared to touch these freshly steamed soup buns.
After plating three buns per dish, he placed each plate into a small steamer basket and asked a food runner to deliver them to his father-in-law’s table.