Chapter 55: They Are All Foodies

When eating, Lin Xiangnan ran very fast, but when it came to working, Lin Xiangnan was not motivated.

The restaurant's business hours at noon are from 11:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Guests arriving before 11:00 a.m. will not be served.

If someone who came early urged him, Lin Xiangnan would not reply at first. But if they urged him too much, he would reply coldly, "It's not time yet. Please queue up first."

Ye Feiyan's attitude was fierce, "Didn't you see the sign saying we open at 11 o'clock? You come so early and rush us, aren't you causing trouble for our colleagues in the store?"

Sometimes she forgot to ask someone to pick up the food, but Ye Feiyan didn’t blame them for not hearing her.

When it was seven o'clock in the evening, Ye Feiyan would not pay attention to anyone who came, and would not take orders even if they wanted to. She had to clean the kitchen and was not cooking, as it was too late and would affect their get off work.

At this time, the waiter in the store had such a fierce attitude.

Lin Xiangnan's indifferent attitude is already considered a model in the service industry.

Usually when Lin Xiangnan went shopping, she complained about other people’s bad service attitude, and when it was her turn, she was no better.

Guests can come or not. If fewer people come to dine, they will feel more relaxed.

Except for the store manager Zhao Youliang who pays attention to the turnover, no one else in the store cares about it.

When they finished cleaning up and had a meeting in the evening, Zhang Dapang said directly: "The kitchen is too hot. It's too hot to cook. Let's prepare two cold dishes tomorrow."

"Doesn't it depend on what vegetables the supply and marketing cooperative has? I can't make the decision." Zhao Youliang was helpless.

Zhang Dapang was playing it safe, "I don't care anyway. If I get a fever, Zhang Yong will have to take care of the kitchen chores."

Some people are reluctant to take half a day off, while others wish they could work only half a day a month.

Zhang Dapang is a lazy person who doesn't like to work. He is an old widower, and his three daughters are all married, and they all marry well. They send him money every month. If he wants, he can retire and live with his daughters.

He stayed in the restaurant to work, firstly because it was his own business when he was young and he couldn't bear to leave, and secondly because the restaurant could get a lot of in-demand ingredients that didn't require a ticket. Without the convenience of a restaurant, it would be hard to buy things even if he had money.

Zhao Youliang knew what kind of person he was, so he could only compromise, "Okay, okay, I'll prepare more cold dishes for you tomorrow."

Hearing this answer, Fatty Zhang nodded with satisfaction, "Then let's adjourn the meeting. Let's go to my place to share the braised meat."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone took their lunch boxes or enamel pots and followed Dapang Zhang obediently to the backyard.

The entire hotel originally belonged to Zhang Dapang, so he lived in two rooms in the backyard. For privacy, he built a wall to separate the area where he lived now, installed a door, and locked it separately.

As soon as Lin Xiangnan walked in, he saw several large jars and many small jars placed in the corridor outside the kitchen.

Seeing her curiosity, Zhang Yong said, "The first jar is pickled vegetables, the second jar is bean paste, the third jar is salted duck eggs, the fourth jar is boiled green pepper oil, and the fifth jar is plum wine..."

As expected of a chef, what Zhang Dapang prepares in his own kitchen is richer than the ingredients prepared in the restaurant kitchen.

"What's on that big dustpan? Is Master Zhang growing grass at home?"

"That's wheat. It's used to make maltose."

Zhang Dapang's salary was spent every month, and even his daughter's allowance was spent on these foods. Seeing Zhang Yong's detailed description, he proudly urged, "Little bastard, stop thinking about my things and come in to scoop up the brine."

Lin Xiangnan sniffed, couldn't resist the temptation of the braised meat, and didn't dare to delay any longer. He rushed into the kitchen to divide the meat.

Ye Feiyan and Zhao Youliang each got half a pound of braised meat and a bowl of brine. Lin Xiangnan asked for a pound of meat, a few chicken feet, and a pig's ear, but Zhang Dapang refused, saying he wanted to keep it for himself.

The dish in the restaurant today is cold chicken, and Zhang Dapang bought all the chicken feet.

The braised chicken feet smelled too delicious. Lin Xiangnan covered the lunch box with one hand and started to eat the chicken feet with the other.

After taking a bite, Lin Xiangnan was amazed by the rich aroma and fresh taste. She hadn't tasted such authentic braised food for a long time.

"Delicious!" Lin Xiangnan gave Zhang Dapang a thumbs up.

"Needless to say, our Master Zhang's cooking skills are second to none." Ye Feiyan said regretfully, "Every month, all our meat coupons are given to Master Zhang! We don't save any of them."

Upon hearing this, Fatty Zhang raised his chin proudly.

He didn't make any money from distributing the braised meat. Ye Feiyan and the others paid whatever price the meat cost. In the end, Fatty Zhang even had to pay for the braised meat.

But he was happy to do these things.

He has been cooking the dishes served in restaurants for decades, but to him, they are meaningless.

His three daughters all have good jobs and have not learned much about cooking, so when he teaches Zhang Yong, he does not have any intention of hiding anything. He just hopes that Zhang Yong can get the hang of it quickly and cook a few more dishes so that he can have an easier time.

Zhang Yong was short of money, so he didn't ask for meat and only filled a bowl with marinade. But Fatty Zhang still gave him a chicken claw and said, "Try it yourself. Tell me what marinade you used tomorrow."

"Thank you, Master."

Zhang Yong was just feeling touched when Lin Xiangnan spoiled the mood by asking, "Uncle Zhang, can you give me some more brine? I want to stew more things."

Lin Xiangnan weighed his cooking skills and asked curiously, "Uncle Zhang, can beef tendon and pig's trotter be braised together? How long should it take? Do I need to add salt when braising?"

Zhang Dapang's eyes lit up, "You want braised beef shank?"

"No. I just asked." Lin Xiangnan just wanted to eat all by himself and share some with his family at most. He didn't want to show off his wealth in public.

Fatty Zhang nodded, and without asking any more questions, he just said, "If you need it, I can make you another bag of ingredients. But you have to pay for it, it's not free."

"Okay." Lin Xiangnan agreed straightforwardly. She was really fed up with the food made by the food processor. It was delicious, but the taste didn't change at all. She had long been tired of it.

Zhang Dapang slowly went to get the dried tangerine peel and star anise from the cabinet. After Ye Feiyan and the others had left, he pretended to ask casually, "How much meat are you going to braise? I'll prepare the ingredients for you."

Lin Xiangnan was stunned for a moment. Her first reaction was that the fat man was trying to trick her, but after she came to her senses, she thought, this is a good cook. If she wanted to eat something delicious, shouldn’t she ask the chef for advice?

"Five pounds of beef tendon and four pig's trotters."

"That's a lot." Fatty Zhang raised his lips slightly and suggested, "When you're done stewing, give me half a pound of beef tendon. I won't charge you for it. Is that okay?"

"OK."

The two looked at each other and smiled in tacit understanding as food connoisseurs.

It's not easy for everyone to make something delicious.