Halfway up the mountain, the wind was a little stronger.

It was almost noon and the fog had dispersed. The sun hid behind the clouds, occasionally showing its head.

Standing on the terrace beside the pavilion, they looked down, able to see almost half the city. Tall buildings were densely packed together, and the city landmarks were only slightly taller than the others.

Standing on the platform, although I don’t have the heroic feeling of “standing on the top of the mountain and overlooking all the mountains”, I can still appreciate the truth that “the higher you stand, the farther you can see”.

There were stone tables and stone benches on the platform. Zhao Yu was quick-eyed and quick-handed and found an empty stone table. They sat down and started eating the food they brought.

A curious tourist noticed that their food was unusual. While others were eating bread and other similar items, they were eating qingtuan (Chinese glutinous rice dumplings), which looked delicious. They even approached and asked where they bought them. They smiled and replied that they made them themselves, leaving the tourists disappointed.

The summit is still some distance from the halfway point, but there are no developed roads to the top, so you can only take the off-road path, which is usually only used by mountaineering enthusiasts. After resting, eating, and taking photos, Ye Tian and her friends started to descend the mountain.

The journey down the mountain was much easier, and Lu Xinyi no longer complained of being tired. By the time they happily returned to the foot of the mountain, it was already noon!

Luckily, they brought beef jerky, qing tuan (a type of rice dumpling), and a bunch of snacks, otherwise they would have fainted from hunger. Too tired, they skipped the bus and called a ride-hailing service back to school.

Back in the dorm, Lv Xinyi collapsed on her bed, exhausted. She didn't usually exercise, and after a workout, her legs ached terribly. Aside from eating and showering, she stayed in bed for two days without leaving the house.

Zhao Yu usually loves running around, so she wasn't too bothered. Ye Tian, who also works physically in the cafeteria, found the climb quite refreshing and energetic. The next day at noon, she was still full of energy and ready to go to work.

There are fewer students eating in the cafeteria during holidays than usual, but since the taste of the dishes in the third cafeteria has been upgraded, there are always more people.

Zuo You's family lived out of town, so he didn't go back this time. He and Ye Tian now had separate shifts, which allowed for a more even distribution of staff between the morning and evening shifts in the cafeteria.

Today's menu features a dish on the cafeteria's menu, a perennial takeout favorite. Its sweet, fragrant flavor with a hint of spiciness makes the chicken tender and smooth. Adding mushrooms, bean curd sheets, and potatoes is a welcome addition, and the flavor rivals that of chicken. The price is also quite affordable, making it incredibly popular.

Braised chicken with yellow sauce is a common dish in Shandong cuisine, with a history of hundreds of years. Ye Tian has also made braised chicken in the past. Although it is slightly different from the modern braised chicken, it is still the same.

It is best to use chicken thighs, as they have fewer bones and are more substantial. To avoid the fishy smell of the chicken, be sure to blanch it in water after cutting it into pieces.

When frying, add a little more ginger slices, and keep the green onions, star anise, peppercorns, and rock sugar as normal. Fry the chicken pieces for a little longer to bring out the aroma and color, and make the chicken more firm.

Ye Tian uses soybean paste, seafood sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce and dark soy sauce to make her own braised sauce.

When the chicken is almost done, add the prepared braised sauce and stir-fry. Add potatoes, mushrooms, bean curd sheets and other side dishes, then simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes. When the pot opens, add some green and red peppers for color matching, stir-fry and it is ready to serve.

Because of the soybean paste and light soy sauce, the dish does not require additional salt, otherwise it will be too salty.

This dish is actually very homely. If you find it troublesome to prepare the sauce yourself, you can buy ready-made braised sauce and the result is also good. But for Ye Tian, this is not necessary. She prefers to control the proportions of various seasonings herself and likes everything to be just right and perfect.

Today, the cafeteria has added fried bacon with garlic sprouts and cabbage. The bacon has a salty and fragrant taste with a smoky flavor, and the cabbage is crispy and refreshing, which is also very popular among students.

Ye Tian thought that Lu Xinyi was unable to get up from the dormitory because of leg pain, and Zhao Yu had gone out to play with his high school classmates, so she prepared a meal for her in advance and brought it back after get off work, and the two of them ate together in the dormitory.

"Tiantian, you are so nice, I love you so much!" Lu Xinyi knew that Ye Tian would help her bring food.

"I love braised chicken and rice the most! I love bacon too!"

"The braised chicken is amazing! It's a hundred times better than the takeout I order. I wish you could make braised chicken more often every week!"

“It’s such a blessing to be a student of our school!”

"But it's happier to be your friend, hahaha..."

Before Ye Tian could say a word, Lu Xinyi had already said several words excitedly.

Ye Tian also thought today's braised chicken was excellent, even if it was just one dish. It had both meat and vegetables, and was nutritionally balanced. She especially enjoyed the soup, pouring it over the rice and mixing it. The rice soaked up the broth, making it incredibly flavorful, and she could easily have an extra bowl of rice.

After dinner, they discussed the video account. Lu Xinyi has tens of thousands of fans, but Ye Tian only has a few thousand. What is the problem?

Lu Xinyi felt that Ye Tian’s videos were not very good, and her update frequency was not high, only one or two posts a week. Most importantly, she did not show her face.

Ye Tian doesn't want to invest too much energy in this at this stage, and plans to continue working on it slowly. She earns about 1,000 yuan per month from one promotion, which covers her daily expenses. As for whether she'll show her face in the cooking videos, she hasn't decided yet.

…

The three-day holiday ended quickly and the campus became lively again.

Chen Chi accepted the task assigned by Mr. Chen and came to Ye Tian specifically to ask her about her summer work arrangements.

They met at a self-service barbecue restaurant. Chen Chi insisted on treating them. Originally, Ye Tian thought that if there was anything to talk about, they could just talk about it in the cafeteria.

Chen Chi wanted to take the opportunity to let Ye Tian experience different styles of food. The restaurants he chose had all been inspected by his picky mouth, and the raw materials and products were more guaranteed.

As soon as Ye Tian saw the menu, she knew that this place would not be cheap. Sure enough, 498 yuan per person, and 996 yuan for two people, which is really an unpleasant number!

The most expensive item in the set meal is the M12 Marbled Wagyu Beef, but the quantity is limited to 50g per person. Other seafood, meat and drinks can be consumed as you like without any restrictions.

Chen Chi was more familiar with this place, so he first ordered a sashimi platter and two separate servings of sea urchin sashimi, and let Ye Tian take her time to choose the rest.

Ye Tian definitely had never been to such an expensive restaurant. She usually just had some skewers near the school or simply grilled some in an air fryer.

You don’t need to grill the food yourself in this restaurant. There is a waiter who will take care of the grilling process and customers just need to eat.

"The marbling Wagyu beef is really tender!" Ye Tian squinted her eyes and slowly felt the quality of the beef.

The dishes she cooks in the cafeteria are also delicious, but due to the actual conditions of modern times, vegetables are grown in greenhouses and meat comes from large-scale farming. Many things have lost their original taste, which directly affects the quality of the dishes.

Of course, there is no other way around this. We can only use seasoning to enhance the taste of the dish.

"Top-quality ingredients only require the simplest cooking methods... This kind of top-quality fatty beef only needs to be grilled. Ordinary dishes require a sophisticated cooking method, hahaha!" Chen Chi couldn't help but laugh. "So, it's truly remarkable that someone like Sister Ye can use ordinary ingredients and still make such delicious dishes!"

Ye Tian didn't find Chen Chi's flattery funny, she did remember the past.

At that time, she also liked to purchase the best Han sheep to make roasted whole lamb. The fat dripped down the grill, and the flames on the charcoal rose, stirring up a burst of fragrance. She liked to buy the freshest and tenderest river fish to make fish sashimi, cutting it into slices as thin as snow. It was extremely delicious and attracted many nobles in the city.

As soon as she arrived, she realized the food wasn't very good, but she felt it was inevitable due to social development. If she had the funds, she would rent land and start a vegetable garden, growing organic vegetables and raising poultry to supply her own restaurant. For example, Chen Chi's family also has a breeding and planting base, so the vegetables used at Xiyuan are much better than those sold outside.

"Try the sea urchin sashimi. It's very delicate and has a rich milky flavor. They're made with the freshest sea urchin flown in daily," Chen Chi politely introduced to Ye Tian. "It's also great for sushi, steamed eggs, or dumpling fillings."

"It's great to be rich!" Ye Tian rarely sighed like this.

Chen Chi didn't react for a moment, because Ye Tian has always been positive and rarely expresses his idea of making money so directly. Does that mean that the task assigned to him by his father is expected to be completed?