Ye Tian confirmed the number in the bank card again, and there was actually 300,000 yuan. It was obviously a six-digit number with a decimal point at the end.

I remember when she first came, she only had more than 100 yuan in her mobile phone, but she managed to make it through.

She firmly believes that as long as she can eat well, dress well, and not compromise herself in difficult times, then she will not be afraid of any difficult days.

Although she now has some savings and her tuition loans are fully repaid, she still remembers the warmth her roommates gave her, the work-study opportunities the school offered her, and the care provided by several colleagues in the Third Canteen. These kindnesses will never be forgotten. This is what motivates her to cook in the canteen herself every day, passing on this love and preparing heartfelt meals for everyone.

She is also grateful to Master Yun, her master, and her master's wife. It is precisely because she met so many people who helped and appreciated her in different time periods that she was able to adapt to this era more quickly.

Her thoughts raced through her mind, but she finally lowered her head to read. She had the CET-4 exam coming up soon, and she hoped she could pass it. The final exam was also approaching, so she had to study hard.

She had too many personal matters to attend to this semester. Although she tried her best not to miss classes, she still had much less time to study after class and could only rely on cramming before the exams.

"Tiantian, you have finished all the reading materials in the book I recommended. You will definitely have no problem with the reading part of the exam. Believe in yourself. Your English foundation is actually quite good and you will definitely pass it." Li Yue encouraged Ye Tian before entering the examination room.

"Yeah!" Ye Tian also clenched her fists. If she was as confident in English as she was in cooking, she wouldn't have to worry about failing the exam.

Anyway, Ye Tian finally finished the CET-4. She felt that she had done the test quite smoothly and the probability of passing was over 60%. It all depended on her luck.

After that came exam week, and another round of intensive review. For her, going to the cafeteria to cook a dish at noon was actually a time to relax.

After all the exams were finished, it was time for the wonderful winter vacation. The three partners of the Third Canteen happily divided the profits and gave bonuses to other employees. They could also take a month-long vacation like the students.

Ye Tian still had to go to the capital during the winter vacation. Before leaving, she paid the rent to the landlady, but the landlady refused to take it, saying that Ye Tian helped Xiao Ou with his studies and taught him how to cook, so she refused to take any more money.

Seeing she couldn't argue anymore, Ye Tian bought a more expensive heater and gave it to the landlady. In the south, without heating, winters can be very cold for a month or two. A few days ago, she saw Xiao Ou's hands were red from the cold. With a heater at home, the cold wouldn't be so severe, and he could sit at his desk and do his homework in comfort.

…

"Our big star is back!" Chef Yu joked with Ye Tian as soon as he saw her, adding, "You're back just in time. Help promote our restaurant. From now on, you can film your cooking videos in the kitchen, hahahaha... Use our plates for serving. I saw, wow! Jinghua Hotel, huh?"

"That's definitely no problem, as long as you don't mind me taking too many photos and posting too much. The main thing is that our restaurant is famous, and the food you and my chef cook is delicious. My further publicity can only be icing on the cake." Chef Yu was so interesting that Ye Tian started talking more unconsciously.

"You are taking advantage of my apprentice. How are you going to pay him the promotion fee?" Chef Luo said to Chef Yu half-jokingly.

"How can I charge money for promoting my master?" Ye Tian interrupted.

Chef Luo winked at Ye Tian, and Ye Tian immediately stopped talking. Then Chef Luo said, "You don't have to pay, but Lao Yu, you have to teach Xiao Ye how to cook two more dishes."

"You old fellow, I guessed what you were thinking. Okay, I'm planning to add the old Guangdong eel hotpot to the menu recently. Why don't you make it together and try it. If it's ok, I'll officially put it on the new menu." Yu Hai was actually prepared.

"Actually, in my hometown, we often say that everything can be sizzled, and there are many dishes that can be sizzled. But our store already has a lot of dishes, and we can't add too many sizzling pots, so I chose my favorite yellow eel. After sizzling, the eel segments are refreshing and chewy, and absolutely delicious." Yu Hai explained the reason why he wanted to make this dish.

Chef Yu took a clay pot, added oil, and added a generous amount of sliced ginger and whole garlic cloves, sautéing until fragrant. He then topped it with the processed eel, added the sauce, and covered the pot. Surprisingly, he then sprinkled a layer of Maotai liquor around the lid, filling the kitchen with its aroma.

"Since we are using a clay pot, I will make a mixed fish stew for us to eat later. Even though these are cheap fish and the prices are not high, these small fish are fresh and they are hard to buy. If we use fish caught directly from the sea to make this stew, it will be better than the taste of gods." Yu Hai's eyes began to shine as he looked at the several kinds of mixed fish in the basin.

Chef Yu then used a similar method and put the miscellaneous fish into the casserole, and then there was another burst of Moutai aroma.

"Old Yu, the cost of your dish is very high. Don't you know that Moutai costs 3,900 yuan a bottle now? You must have used one or two ounces of it these two times, which is 390 yuan. Even if you sell the dish for 188 yuan, you will still lose money." Chef Luo deliberately mocked Chef Yu.

"You stingy guy, we are just eating by ourselves today. Also, this bottle of wine is my own stock. Let's drink some together later?" Yu Hai knew he was joking.

"Forget about it at noon. I won't drink. I'll be busy this afternoon." Chef Luo said seriously.

The zezhe pot is ready very quickly, and it needs to be cooked quickly at high temperature to achieve this feeling and to have the wok aroma. When it is cooked, it can be served directly to the table without opening the lid. As soon as the pot is opened, you can hear the "sizzling" sound of the oil, which is very tempting.

"Chef Yu, your jelly sauce tastes so delicious. Is it your exclusive recipe?" Ye Tian's love of learning came back.

"Xiaoye, you have good taste. This is a recipe I've been researching for several years. Try it and see what's in it."

Ye Tian really rolled her tongue, feeling it carefully, and then said with certainty: "The main sauces should be seafood sauce, peanut butter, Chu Hou sauce, and Shacha sauce. The ingredients are fermented tofu, oyster sauce, green onions, garlic, a little chili, a little sugar, and some other strong-flavored sauces. I wonder if they are homemade or ready-made? There are no green onions or garlic in the sauce. It must be boiled oil, right?"

"Great! That's almost right. I also added a little ready-made clay pot sauce, which makes it easier. If I had to make all the sauces myself, it would be too much." Chef Yu affirmed Ye Tian's judgment.

He then shared his experience: "Actually, we sometimes need to be good at utilizing ready-made ingredients. Professional ingredients are made by professionals. And we chefs need to be good at finding the best ingredients, such as good soy sauce for steamed fish or our favorite oyster sauce. These are ingredients we need to carefully select. Different seasonings have a huge impact on the dish."

Ye Tian felt the same way and nodded continuously. She also liked to study various seasonings and would definitely choose the best within her ability.

She also discovered that chefs who can become famous restaurants are not ordinary people who can only cook simple dishes. Every popular dish in the restaurant is the result of their experience and wisdom.

…

"Wow, the Royal Hotel!"

"The zezhe yellow eel pot looks so authentic. I've eaten it in Guangdong before. I didn't expect there's such an authentic one in the capital. I must try it someday."

"Tiantian's master is the head chef of the Jinghua Hotel, otherwise how could she be chosen to record "Private Restaurant"? She is back to work after winter vacation."

"Master Xiao Ye is so arrogant. He teaches classes at school, cooks in the cafeteria, and records variety shows on weekends. He doesn't even take a break during winter break and comes back to work at the restaurant. In comparison, I'm nothing!"

"Everyone's a salted fish. I'm lying down, looking at my phone and craving the dishes Tiantian made..."

"Wow, Chef Luo's Maoxuewang makes my mouth water!"

"I'm going to cry because of greed..."

…

As soon as Ye Tian posts a new video, there will be a lot of comments and barrages.

She already has over 500,000 followers on her video account. It seems like only yesterday that she was at a loss when she first started this account. She never expected it to develop like this. If she already has 500,000 followers, then 1 million shouldn't be far away, right?

Ye Tian's working hours are relatively flexible. She is not a regular chef who receives a salary in the store, nor does she have to do odd jobs. She just cooks occasionally and can ask for leave at any time if she has something to do.

Just now, she helped make two servings of sizzling yellow eel stew at noon. This dish was very popular as soon as it was launched. Chef Yu was too busy to handle it, and his apprentice was busy making other dishes, so Ye Tian took over.

Seeing that the number of customers had finally decreased, Ye Tian asked for leave and went out. She met with her business manager Li Yun to discuss some promotional matters.

She and Li Yun had met twice. Li Yun had a baby face and didn't seem as mature as when she was texting or making phone calls, but she was actually very professional.

Ye Tian now trusts her deeply, feeling that being a small-time internet celebrity chef is unfair to her. She deserves to be a top star, negotiating deals with first-tier brands. Instead of helping Ye Tian contact this rice cooker manufacturer or that steamer manufacturer, she's been asked to help her. However, there's a recent crossover promotion: hand cream.

"We both tried this hand cream, it's pretty good. The manufacturer wants to integrate it into daily life, and it doesn't look like an advertisement. How do you plan to shoot it?" Li Yun asked Ye Tian.

"You definitely can't use hand cream when cooking. The scent will affect the taste of the food. How about taking a video of turning over the bag?" Ye Tian thought for a moment.

"Why are you rummaging through bags for no reason? That's not appropriate."

"Then tell me directly after you finish cooking. After washing your hands, do you like to use this hand cream to protect your hands?"

“Isn’t this an advertisement?”

"This won't work either. I can't remember. Can you help me think of what to do?" Ye Tian started to act like a spoiled brat.

Li Yun pretended to be angry and said, "I knew you were relying on me. I'm not only responsible for business, but now I'm also responsible for advertising creativity."

"Thank you, Sister Yun, you must have a good idea." Ye Tian continued to flatter her.

"Okay, okay, actually I don't have any particularly good ideas, so how about this..."

Ye Tian smiled triumphantly; she no longer had to work so hard on her own. She felt Li Yun was someone she could rely on, and sometimes she couldn't help but deliberately push difficult problems onto her. She always seemed impatient, but she always handled them perfectly. Perhaps compared to Ye Tian's small matter, the artist she was responsible for had more problems to deal with.

Li Yun also said that in the new year she would strive to achieve a revenue of 1 million for Ye Tian's business. Ye Tian herself felt that it was unlikely, but Li Yun was full of confidence.

The celebrity she represented probably made over 5 million RMB a year. Even if Ye Tian took on a 1 million RMB ad, she would only receive a 200,000 RMB commission. Yet, Li Yun remained incredibly dedicated. Ye Tian felt incredibly lucky to have met Sister Yun, and of course, she also wanted to thank Sister Hua for the recommendation.

Ye Tian didn't realize that she was a very likable girl. Not only did the opposite sex appreciate her, but her same sex also liked her seriousness and down-to-earthness, her ability to endure hardships, and her lack of pretense.

In fact, when she just left the restaurant at noon, a guest in a private room said he wanted to meet the chef who made the sizzling yellow eel pot.

After Chef Yu came over, the customer seemed a little disappointed, but still politely thanked Chef Yu, praised his sizzling pot and said he would recommend it to his friends when he returned.

Chef Yu returned to the kitchen and pondered for a long time: What on earth does this customer mean? Doesn't he just think the food is delicious? No, the jelly pot in this private room seems to be made by Ye Tian. There shouldn't be anything wrong with it, but I've tried it too!

He scratched his head, puzzled.