birthday celebration

"A golden platter presents auspiciousness~" Old Man Li dragged out his words as he began to serve the first dish.

This is a cold dish, a combination of braised honeycomb tripe and braised beef. Wang Yao spent two or three hours ensuring that the honeycomb tripe and beef were fully flavorful.

However, when people see this dish, the first thing they notice is not the honeycomb tripe and beef, but the elaborate presentation on the plate.

Finely shredded lettuce and endive cover the bottom of the plate, sprinkled with small flower petals of various colors, before placing the tripe and beef on top. Around the tripe and beef are several flowers of different colors, which are clearly not real flowers but hand-carved.

Although everyone can tell at a glance that the flowers on the plate are hand-carved, it is still enough to amaze everyone.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is really beautifully arranged, it's almost as good as a high-end restaurant."

Indeed, when Wang Yao was carving flowers in the kitchen, several people in the shop gathered around to watch. Although they didn't have special carving knives, everyone was amazed to see how Wang Yao transformed carrots, white radishes, and red radishes into lifelike flowers with each stroke of her knife. Chen Xiu even told Wang Yao that she should teach her when she had time.

The old lady chuckled and said, "It doesn't matter if the food looks good; what matters is that it tastes good. Everyone, pick up your chopsticks and eat!"

At her command, everyone started to reach for their chopsticks.

The first impression upon tasting it is its aroma—the aroma of braised food and the aroma of meat. Those who eat the honeycomb tripe will find it chewy, tender, and savory, while those who eat the beef will find it firm, tender yet not crumbly.

In short, no matter which type of food they ate, everyone's instinctive reaction was to grab another bite. Unfortunately, with ten people at the table, there were only ten slices each of tripe and beef. Some people managed to grab two or three slices with a single bite. So, the quickest people could manage a second bite, while the slightly more reserved ones hadn't even swallowed their meat before their plates were left with only flowers and vegetables!

"Oh dear, I haven't even tasted it yet, how come it's gone?"

"Yeah, how much did this meal cost? How come it's gone after just one chopstick per person? The portions are too small!"

It's no wonder the portions were small. Although there were only ten slices of tripe and beef each, each slice was cut into palm-sized pieces, so they ate quickly. The reason they were so quick was because they were wolfing it down like Pigsy eating ginseng fruit.

However, the kitchen didn't keep everyone waiting; the second dish was served as soon as the first one was finished.

May you have abundance every year!

As you can tell from the name, it's a fish dish. This dish doesn't have many fancy features; it's just a simple steamed sea bass. The sea bass is cut into one-finger-wide crisscross patterns on its belly and spread out on the plate like a peacock's tail. Then, shredded scallions and red chili pepper pieces are placed on the back of the fish. The overall look is festive and lively.

The third dish is "Golden Abundance," which is particularly special. After blanching corn, green beans, and shrimp to infuse flavor, they are placed in a tofu cloth bag, and the bag is tied with green scallion leaves to create the effect of a full granary.

Not only did the children get excited and shout with delight upon seeing this dish, but even adults marveled at it, repeatedly praising the chef's ingenuity.

Then there are five meat dishes: Reunion and Happiness (Four Happiness Meatballs), Good Fortune (Braised Pork), Rising Step by Step (Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs), Prospering Day by Day (Steamed Pork with Rice Flour), and Golden Ox Celebrating Longevity (Braised Beef Brisket). There are also two vegetarian dishes: Golden Melon Bringing Blessings (Jade Pumpkin Soup) and Five Blessings Arriving at the Door (Vegetarian Platter).

Each dish was served to different people. Those with weak teeth raved about the braised pork and steamed pork with rice flour. Those who preferred lighter flavors praised the vegetable platter, especially since many vegetables were no longer available. The vegetable platter on the table was something Liu Xiaomei had painstakingly put together by visiting every vegetable market and small supermarket in the county.

The only soup served was turtle soup, a symbol of longevity. However, those who had complained about the small portions were already so full that they started to loosen their belts by the time the turtle soup was served.

"Quickly, this clear turtle soup looks very nourishing, let's each have a bowl."

"Oh dear, don't give me any, I don't want any, I really can't take it anymore."

"I don't want it either. I can't drink any more. The food in my stomach is all stuck in my throat."

"That won't do! One bowl per person, it has to be divided. Who complained about having less food? The person who complained the most gets the most!"

Everyone waved their hands repeatedly, insisting that it wasn't them.

Seeing that everyone really couldn't drink anymore, Section Chief Ji had no choice but to pack it up. But as soon as he mentioned packing it up, everyone got excited again.

"Give me the leftovers. My dog, Dahuang, hasn't eaten yet. I'll take them home and make him some leftovers to eat."

"This turtle soup is so good, are you going to pack it up for your dog to drink? Is your dog going to become an immortal? Don't give it to him, give it to me, I'll take it home and eat it tonight."

"That's right, I can tell this soup is incredibly delicious at a glance. Don't try to take it from me. My wife isn't home today, so I won't have dinner tonight. This soup should be mine."

Section Chief Ji ignored them all, intending to take them back and eat them himself.

"Mr. Liu, Mr. Liu, please pack this up for me."

Upon hearing Section Chief Ji's voice, Liu Xiangmei rushed over and saw that everyone was sitting with protruding bellies, so she knew they must have enjoyed a good meal.

She reminded him, "Section Chief Ji, there's one last serving of staple food, it'll be served shortly, please wait a moment!"

What about staple food? Yes, we completely forgot about staple food.

Section Chief Ji felt so full that his brain couldn't function properly. He patted his forehead and asked, "What's the staple food?"

"The main dish is the longevity noodles we ordered that day. Because the noodles are thin, they cook quickly, so we'll cook the noodles after you've finished eating."

For some reason, when he heard that the noodles hadn't been cooked, Section Chief Ji breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly said, "If the noodles aren't cooked, then don't cook them. Just pack them up. Pack the turtle soup for me too."

What does this mean? Who would serve longevity noodles as a second meal instead of the main birthday celebration?

Liu Xiangmei didn't understand, but she wouldn't ask. If the guests asked for the food to be packed up, she would pack it up. Judging from the appearance of the people in the private room, they probably couldn't hold on any longer.

Wang Yao prepared handmade chicken broth noodles, so the longevity noodles not only had to be packed up, but also the chicken broth, plus turtle soup. When Madam Ji left, she took a big bag with her.

Of course, it wasn't just Mrs. Ji; several people in the other two private rooms also packed up their leftovers. In this day and age, packing up leftovers is a very common practice, especially since today's dishes were all amazing, and it would be a complete waste not to pack them up.

When Section Chief Ji paid the final bill, he praised Liu Xiangmei extensively, saying that he would definitely come back to the restaurant next time he wanted to treat someone to a meal. What surprised Liu Xiangmei even more was that several people asked for her phone number before leaving. Although they were a little unhappy that they could only book banquets on Sundays, they still insisted on writing down her phone number.

Unfortunately, the restaurant didn't have a telephone line yet, so Liu Xiangmei gave them the phone number of the convenience store next door. This made Liu Xiangmei decide to get a telephone line installed in the restaurant as soon as possible, otherwise it would be inconvenient to always go to the convenience store next door to make a call.

After seeing everyone off, Liu Xiangmei hurriedly ate a bowl of chicken noodle soup and started to do the accounting. She found that after deducting costs, banquets were indeed more profitable than buffets. However, she did not plan to stop the buffets because, apart from Wang Yao, no one else in the restaurant was capable of putting on such a beautiful banquet.

Therefore, she believes that the best model is to run a buffet from Monday to Saturday, and then accept banquets on Sundays if there are any, and continue running the buffet if there are no banquets.

Liu Xiangmei found the best business model for the store, but Wang Yao couldn't find the best way to improve performance.

With the semester halfway over and midterm exams approaching, all students from grades 10 to 12 have been preparing for the exams for the past week.

Generally speaking, the students with the best and worst grades are not too nervous, while those whose rankings are in between are the most anxious.

As the second-to-last student in the class, Wang Yao should theoretically be the type who isn't too nervous. However, she has recently reached the point where she can't eat. This is not only because it's the first time she's taken an exam in decades, but also because her homeroom teacher has already said that there will be a parent-teacher conference after the midterm exams.

From childhood, she had always been among the top students in her class, and her mother was always proud of her achievements. However, after entering the county's top high school, she became the second to last in her class, a fact her mother remained unaware of.

She hoped to improve her ranking in this exam so that she wouldn't be so embarrassed when her mother came to the parent-teacher conference. However, she didn't know if she could do it, so she could only study every knowledge point even harder.

Wang Yao's nervousness also affected those around her. Niu Ling saw that Wang Yao was skipping lunch to save time and was doing her homework while eating instant noodles, so she advised her to relax and that it was just an ordinary exam and she didn't need to take it so seriously.

Wang Yao didn't hear what he said, but Guan Qian, who sat at the table in front of her, did.

During this time, Guan Qian kept Cheng Ting's words in mind. No matter how much she wanted to criticize Niu Ling, she held back. Now that Cheng Ting wasn't around, she spoke up again, saying smugly, "What's the use of cramming at the last minute? If you're not smart, it's all for nothing. You can't rely on shortcuts when it comes to grades. I thought it would be like what was in the newspaper last time... Wang Yao, are you crazy!"

Wang Yao was feeling dizzy and confused by the monsoons and ocean currents in geography, and Guan Qian kept nagging beside her. She couldn't help herself and threw her geography textbook at Guan Qian.

Guan Qian had been ambushed by Wang Yao many times, so she reacted quickly this time, dodging the attack with a quick movement, but she was still startled and screamed.

Wang Yao didn't care whether Guan Qian was frightened or not. She took out a folding knife from her desk drawer, played with it, and walked over to Guan Qian to pick up her textbook.

Guan Qian knew Wang Yao was strong, but she didn't expect Wang Yao to be so crazy as to dare to take out a knife. Even a ruthless person is afraid of a kitchen knife, let alone Wang Yao, who was just a cowardly bully. She didn't dare to utter a word and fled in panic.

Actually, if it were someone else brandishing a knife in front of Guan Qian, she might not be afraid. She was intimidated by the murderous aura emanating from Wang Yao. Others might just be gesturing with a knife, but Wang Yao made her feel that the knife might actually be used against her.

Wang Yao scoffed lightly and returned to her seat as if nothing had happened.

Niu Ling, who was watching from the sidelines, was once again filled with admiration. If it were her, she would probably have had hundreds of rounds of verbal sparring with Guan Qian, getting furious and still not necessarily winning. But Wang Yao didn't say a word, and Guan Qian ran away with her tail between her legs. What a role model!

Wang Yao continued to study the monsoon currents with her head down, while Niu Ling studied Wang Yao's folding knife next to her.