Chapter 56: Hiring a dishwasher, smilax glabra, mung bean and old duck soup...
Busy until after 7:40 p.m., Gu Qingqiu checked the remaining ingredients in the kitchen and called Sister Zhou over to hang a wooden sign at the store entrance that read "Ingredients Sold Out," refusing to let any more customers come to take a number and wait in line.
She cooked all the remaining dishes ordered by the customers in the restaurant according to the order of the menu, and then had Sister Zhou take them to the serving table before she simply prepared dinner for the two of them.
The ingredients were all prepared in advance, and the cooking methods for each dish were memorized. I had been cooking from noon to night until I almost developed muscle memory for it. Now I was stir-frying without any emotion, relying entirely on skill.
When making the braised ribbonfish, I deliberately added a few extra pieces and set them aside after stir-frying. The pork belly rolls with potatoes were made using the same method. The milk chicken strips were freshly cooked; the chicken strips were marinated in advance, fried until crispy, and then simmered in milk before serving.
Braised cabbage and tofu is quick and easy to make, and the yam, carrot and pork rib soup was prepared in advance. Gu Qingqiu quickly prepared a rich and delicious meal for two.
She walked to the glass window and looked into the dining room. Most of the tables were halfway through the meal, and there wasn't much meat or vegetables left on the plates. There shouldn't be any problems for a while, so she rang the bell to signal that Sister Zhou could come and have dinner.
Sister Zhou quickly came over and helped move out a small table and set it up. Gu Qingqiu brought over the dishes one by one, and she went to get two bowls of rice to eat.
Seeing the full array of dishes on the table, Sister Zhou couldn't help but say, "Boss, we can just have something simple tonight. You've been busy all day, you don't need to cook so many dishes."
The greatest happiness of working in a restaurant is being able to eat delicious meat dishes for lunch and dinner. Even if the dishes are basically the same, you never get tired of them.
Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I made extra dishes like braised ribbonfish and pork belly rolls with potatoes when I was cooking for the customers. I was just craving them."
Sister Zhou nodded and said, "Okay, thank you, boss. I love your cooking the most. I was resisting the smell of the food in the dining area. Now I always feel that my cooking at home is just so-so. Fangfang has also been saying that she wants to eat the meat dishes at your restaurant."
"That's easy. Just bring Fangfang over for dinner this weekend when she's off work. Besides, Sister Zhou, your cooking skills are definitely pretty good. I've heard Fangfang praise you several times," Gu Qingqiu said.
Sister Zhou laughed and said, "It's just that Fangfang doesn't mind that my cooking is bad. There's no harm without comparison. She's eaten your cooking and sometimes she'll say, 'Mom, you've been working at the restaurant with Sister Gu for a month, how come your cooking still tastes the same?'"
As she said this, her smile grew even wider, clearly a lighthearted exchange between mother and daughter.
Gu Qingqiu was amused and, after exchanging a few words with Sister Zhou, the two began to eat.
The braised ribbonfish was very tender, with a savory and sweet flavor. The pork belly rolls with potatoes were rich in flavor, with the aroma of meat and potatoes blending together, creating a savory, soft, and tender dish that was fragrant but not greasy.
Both dishes were quite appetizing, and Gu Qingqiu ate a lot of them. Her favorite was the slightly novel milk chicken strips.
She found the dish novel when she saw it in a health recipe book, never expecting that milk could be cooked with chicken strips.
According to the recipe, milk can replenish deficiencies and benefit the lungs and stomach, and has the effect of promoting body fluid production and moistening the intestines. Combined with ginger, which warms the stomach, and fragrant jasmine, and cooked with chicken strips, it is not only delicious but also healthy, making it very suitable for people with insufficient qi and blood, dry skin, and those who want to improve their complexion. [Note 1]
She thought the dish was quite interesting, so she added it to today's menu.
It's quite surprising that searching on Xiaohongshu, Weibo, or Baidu only yields one or two simple recipe tutorials in this era where cooking is taught all over the internet.
It can only be said that this dish is not yet widely developed. Gu Qingqiu did not give up the idea of making this dish because of this. She thought she would try making it in the morning to test the taste.
If it doesn't taste good, just make it a couple more times. You'll eventually get the hang of it. It's not a very difficult dish after all.
Fortunately, Gu Qingqiu succeeded on her first attempt at cooking milk chicken strips this morning. The taste was quite good, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She made it again later, and it tasted even better.
Enjoying the milk chicken strips, you can taste the rich aroma of milk with a hint of jasmine. The chicken strips are slightly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a savory flavor.
The perfect combination of tenderness, crispness, aroma, and rich flavor creates this novel, healthy, and delicious milk chicken strip dish.
Gu Qingqiu ate several milk chicken strips in a row, occasionally eating them with rice, and only tried other dishes after she had eaten her fill.
The braised cabbage and tofu was cooked with plenty of peanut oil, making it moist and not greasy, adding just the right amount of aroma and smoothness.
The cabbage is soft, tender, and sweet, while the tofu is smooth and delicate. The aromas blend together, creating a rich and savory flavor that pairs well with rice.
After finishing a bowl of rice and a lot of meat and vegetables, Gu Qingqiu then ladled out a large bowl of soup for herself.
The broth is rich, sweet, and has a meaty aroma. It's refreshing and cleanses the mouth, leaving you feeling quite refreshed.
She drank several mouthfuls of soup, then picked up her chopsticks and ate some yam pieces and carrot chunks.
The yam and carrot chunks are soft and sweet, cooked until very tender and easily broken into small pieces. They also absorb a lot of broth from being soaked in it for a long time, making them very moist to eat.
She didn't take out the pork ribs when she was looking for soup earlier because she had eaten quite a lot of meat and was a bit full.
After finishing the yam and carrot chunks, Gu Qingqiu picked up the bowl and drank the rest of the soup. She let out a satisfied sigh: "I'm full. Sister Zhou, you can eat slowly."
Sister Zhou also ate with great relish, especially the braised fish chunks and pork belly rolls with potatoes. The milk chicken strips were also quite good. However, she couldn't quite adjust her mindset, always feeling that milk was for drinking, and it was a bit strange to cook it as a meat dish.
However, from noon until just now, after serving so many tables of customers in the dining area, almost every table gave feedback that the milk chicken strips were very creative and delicious.
She ate quite a bit of braised cabbage and tofu. This dish was cooked so well that it was hard to tell whether the cabbage or the tofu was better; it just tasted delicious when eaten together.
Sister Zhou had a great appetite. After finishing one bowl of rice, she went to get another half bowl and continued eating. She also ate plenty of meat and vegetables. Today's dishes were especially good with rice.
She still had room in her stomach for half a bowl of soup. Just as she finished preparing the soup, she heard the owner's words and smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll be ready soon too."
I finished half a bowl of soup in a few gulps. The rich and sweet aroma of the soup spread from my mouth to my stomach. After drinking it, I felt warm and comfortable all over, and my body and mind felt relaxed.
She put down her chopsticks and helped the boss collect the empty bowls and plates into the sink. When she came back, she was about to put the dining table away.
Gu Qingqiu interrupted her: "Sister Zhou, I saw customers waving over to the dining area. You can go out and get busy. I'll take care of things here."
Sister Zhou looked over and saw a customer waving in their direction. She responded with a "hello" and quickly ran out, afraid of neglecting the customer.
Gu Qingqiu folded the dining table and put it back in its original place, thus completing her work for the evening business hours.
She went to the stove, gathered up the used spatulas and put them in the sink to soak in water, and then took a damp cloth with dish soap to wipe the stove area.
After wiping it once, Gu Qingqiu rinsed the rag to remove the grease and detergent. She then wrung out the rag again and wiped the stove area twice. Once it was completely clean, she washed the rag and hung it up to dry.
Around 8 p.m., while other restaurants were bustling with business, Gu's Private Kitchen had already seen off its last table of customers and closed its wooden doors to end the day's business.
Sister Zhou collected the remaining dishes and chopsticks from the dining area and put them in the kitchen sink. She also took out a damp cloth with dish soap to wipe all the tables, and then took out a clean damp cloth to wipe the dining table clean.
She wiped it two or three times before it was clean. She greeted Gu Qingqiu and went into the kitchen to get the pots and pans.
Gu Qingqiu casually found a chair in the dining room and sat down, finally having a moment to take out her phone and play for a while.
She re-downloaded Snake these past two days and got quite addicted. Now she opens the game and enters endless mode, using her left hand to control the direction and her right hand to control whether to accelerate. The short blue snake moves around, eating the scattered points. Occasionally, when she encounters an opportunity, she rushes over and whips her tail to kill other snakes, then frantically devours snake meat to grow longer and longer.
If you score over 100,000 points in each game, you can join the provincial team for that day, which is an honor. Gu Qingqiu set it as her daily game goal.
I'll turn the phone to landscape mode, hold it in each hand, and once the game starts, I'll focus all my attention on the phone screen.
In the very first game, they were surrounded and killed by other snakes right at the start.
In the second game, when I reached over 30,000 points, I encountered a colorful fish that rushed over and devoured me. However, it ran into a snake that was being devoured by the opponent. The opponent turned around, and my snake was finished.
In the third round, she was surrounded by the Snake King at the start. She controlled the little snake and waited for an opportunity. After circling for a while, she finally got her chance. She rushed over and swung her tail, successfully killing the Snake King. She quickly and frantically ate the snake meat, and her points also skyrocketed. She jumped over the 100,000-point mark and achieved her goal for the day.
The day before yesterday, during my break, I played a game called "Snake King" where countless snakes would crash into me every moment. I could eat snake meat at will and gain tens of millions of points.
Having experienced the loneliness of being invincible, Gu Qingqiu had no lingering attachment to the game. She directly controlled her 120,000-point snake to crash into the boundary wall and end the game.
She looked at the results screen after the battle ended, clicked off the reward for reaching 100,000 points and joining the provincial team, and silently exited the game.
Having had her fill of fun, Gu Qingqiu opened Xiaohongshu, switched to the official account, and started reading the comments, most of which were related to the menu notes she had posted that day.
[It's getting cold: Haha, it's finally my turn to post food photos today! Gu's Private Kitchen's meat dishes really lived up to my expectations, even better than I imagined!]
The braised ribbonfish was salty and sweet, and incredibly fresh. The pork belly wrapped with potatoes was absolutely delicious; the aroma of the meat and potatoes blended together perfectly, making it incredibly satisfying and flavorful.
Braised cabbage and tofu will probably be my favorite vegetarian dish for a while! The cabbage is cut into sections and tastes sweet, while the tofu is smooth and delicate with a bean flavor. It's oily, savory, and has a rich aroma. Like the meat dishes mentioned earlier, it's a great dish to eat with rice.
That's right, I ate two bowls of white rice (smile).
In addition, Gu's Private Kitchen has always had a good reputation for its soups. The yam, carrot and pork rib soup I had today was very good. The ingredients were of particularly high quality. The pork ribs were the kind that could be used to make meat dishes. The soup was mellow and sweet, which was very refreshing.
The milk chicken strips were quite surprising. When I saw the menu in the morning, I was a little skeptical that milk and chicken strips could really be paired together (I was full of questions at the time).
It wasn't until I went to the restaurant at noon and ordered the milk chicken strips that I realized how naive I had been. This dish was actually quite delicious, and I can always trust Gu's Private Kitchen!
The dish has a rather cool color scheme, with slightly golden and crispy chicken strips floating in pure white milk, and garnished with white and pale yellow jasmine flowers and a few bright red goji berries.
The chicken strips picked up with chopsticks were still dripping with milk sauce, and the first thing you tasted when you put them in your mouth was the rich milky flavor. Even though the chicken strips were soaked in milk, they were still slightly crispy when you bit into them, and the meat inside was very tender, with a hint of jasmine fragrance.
Eating this dish made me feel calm and peaceful. It really feels like a very refreshing dish. If you're interested, you can try it at the restaurant. If you can't go to the restaurant, you can try making it at home, but I feel like there's a high chance of it going wrong.
If all else fails, braised cabbage with tofu is highly recommended. Just add a little more oil, and the aroma will bring tears to your eyes, really!
Braised ribbonfish.jpg; Pork belly rolls with potatoes.jpg; Braised cabbage with tofu.jpg; Yam, carrot, and pork rib soup.jpg; Milk and chicken strips.jpg
This is undoubtedly a long review, with netizens responding sincerely, commenting on each dish in detail, and the food photos they shared are very tempting.
This comment did not disappoint the patience and time spent by the netizen, and it floated at the top of the comment section with high praise. Other netizens even built a 99-story nested thread in the comments section.
Gu Qingqiu clicked on it and glanced at it casually.
[Blue Sunflower: Great! You're a good commenter, OP. This makes me even drool! Thank you!]
[All in my favorite: Waaaaah, another day of being tempted! I booked a flight to Jiang City at the end of the month, and now I'm counting down the days (sigh)]
[The curly hair looks so good: *slurp slurp slurp* I'm going to slurp until I can't slurp anymore! When will they release a holographic helmet? Then I can look at these food photos on my phone screen and imagine tasting the aroma of Gu's Private Kitchen's meat dishes in my mind—it'll be so exciting!]
[Want to Lie Down: I knew the dishes would be great today! I was a bit skeptical about the milk chicken strips, but after reading your review, I absolutely want to try them. They look amazing!]
[Just waiting to die: Waiting to eat and sob: I was most interested in the milk chicken strips throughout the whole thing, I want to eat them, I want to eat them, I want to eat them, but I'm afraid they'll turn out badly, so I'll just stick to making braised cabbage and tofu myself (crying)]
Gu Qingqiu noticed that the milk chicken strips on today's menu were the most discussed item. Perhaps it was because the combination of milk and chicken strips was novel, and everyone was curious whether the dish was really that delicious, especially since this netizen who wrote a long review praised it as something absolutely unique.
She looked at the comments for a while before going to read the other comments, picking and choosing some to reply to, thus increasing the interaction and activity in the comment section.
After replying to about ten comments, Gu Qingqiu exited this note and switched to the messages section. She then clicked on the comments and interacted with some other notes.
After finishing her work on Xiaohongshu, Gu Qingqiu switched to Weibo to pick out some comments to reply to.
Over the past month and a half, both Gu's Private Kitchen official accounts have accumulated some followers. In addition to customers who come to the restaurant specifically search for and follow the account to learn about today's menu, there are also customers recommending the account to each other and spreading the word online. Every time Gu Qingqiu posts today's menu, the comment section is quite lively.
Overall, the restaurant is more popular on Xiaohongshu than on Weibo, which can be seen from the number of followers – 26,000 on Xiaohongshu and just over 10,000 on Weibo.
Gu Qingqiu thought about it and realized that it was probably because she had triggered more of Xiaohongshu's recommendation mechanism when she first started her account, and the platform gave her a lot of recommended traffic. In addition, she had a foundation built up by the account operated by that female college student customer that recommended her restaurant, so she suddenly became popular.
Moreover, the image and text sharing format on Xiaohongshu may be more suitable for recommending and sharing food articles. These days, many netizens like to search for food exploration notes on Xiaohongshu to eat, drink, and have fun, while there are relatively fewer on Weibo.
However, for a restaurant that had just reopened and had been operating its online accounts for a little over a month without specifically buying traffic or recommendations, Gu Qingqiu was quite satisfied with the data achieved on both Xiaohongshu and Weibo accounts.
After leaving Weibo, she turned to job postings and opened a recruitment app. These days, even hiring hourly dishwashers with a slightly higher-than-market hourly wage can attract a lot of inquiries.
Over the past few days, I've replied to several job applicants' questions. Either the applicants weren't satisfied with the job conditions I offered, or I sensed something was amiss from their questions and responses. Sometimes, hiring between people depends on fate, and none of them made it to the interview stage.
There were six or seven job applicants sending inquiries in the job posting section. Gu Qingqiu opened each message, read them, and then replied.
When Sister Zhou came out of the kitchen and went to get the mop and bucket to clean the floor, Gu Qingqiu finally logged out of the recruitment app.
She looked up and smiled as she shared, "Sister Zhou, I've arranged for two people to come over tomorrow morning at ten o'clock to apply for a part-time dishwasher job. If all goes well, someone will be able to help with the dishes by noon."
Sister Zhou was delighted to hear this: "Really? That's great!"
When she went home, she told Fangfang about her boss's plan to hire part-time dishwashers to lighten her workload, and Fangfang was overjoyed.
That way, Mom won't be so tired, and she'll have more time at home. After finishing the floor cleaning and mopping in the evening, she can go home earlier.
Just as Sister Zhou had thought, Fangfang happily supported the latter option: to continue doing these jobs with a raise or to continue receiving her previous salary to reduce the workload of washing dishes.
The child is quite mature now: "Mom, think about it, if you do less dishwashing work for the same salary, it's much easier, which is equivalent to a raise. You should thank Sister Gu."
Sister Zhou smiled and agreed, and she was also looking forward to the arrival of the new part-time dishwasher, which would lighten her workload and make things much easier.
She grew to love her job more and more, and she felt incredibly lucky to have such a considerate boss.
Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "You should be here at the interview location tomorrow. You can help me take a look and give me some advice."
Sister Zhou smiled and agreed, stuffed the mop into the mop bucket to soak it in water, then placed it on the drain hole and turned it to wring out the water before starting to mop the floor.
In the evening, after washing up, Gu Qingqiu stayed in her room looking through books on health and medicinal cuisine and looking at some recipes, thinking about what to do for tomorrow.
She lay in bed, covered herself with the blanket, and played on her phone for a while. When she felt sleepy, she put the phone aside, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
The next morning before nine o'clock, Gu Qingqiu returned to the restaurant with a grocery cart in each hand. She had just finished packing the ingredients she would use that evening into the freezer when the ingredients she had ordered earlier by phone arrived.
She walked to the restaurant entrance to sign for the twenty old ducks, twenty chickens, and twenty jin of hanging tenderloin she had ordered, and scanned the codes to pay for each item.
Gu Qingqiu also put half of it in the freezer and took the rest into the kitchen.
On the left side of the cutting board were fresh noodles that she had signed for at eight o'clock in the morning. She had first ordered them by calling the noodle shop in the Huicui Market that had the best noodles. This time, she ordered fifteen catties of noodles plus rice noodles. She was going to make a stir-fried beef noodle soup today, and she would keep the rice noodles for herself later.
Thinking about setting aside time to interview the dishwasher applicants at 10 o'clock, Gu Qingqiu didn't sit down in the dining room to rest and play on her phone as usual, but instead got busy in the kitchen.
Sister Zhou arrived at work before 10 o'clock, and as usual, she started by cleaning the dining area.
She had only been busy for a short while when she heard a knock on the door. When she looked up, she saw a woman who was slightly older than her, wearing a simple white T-shirt and black pants, with a kind face, smiling and nodding at her.
"Hello, is this a job opening for a part-time dishwasher? I'm here to apply."
Sister Zhou smiled and nodded: "Yes, this is the place. Please come in and have a seat. I'll call the boss out."
She invited the person in and told them to find a table to sit down before walking to the nearest glass window and calling out, "Boss, someone's here to apply for a job!"
Gu Qingqiu responded to the voice and then marinated several bowls of chicken with seasonings. She then checked the temperature of the Smilax glabra, mung bean and old duck soup that was cooking on most of the stoves to see if it was right, made some adjustments, and then left the kitchen.
As soon as she came out, the middle-aged woman who had been sitting down quickly stood up and greeted her with a slightly nervous expression.
"Hello boss, I'm here to apply for a part-time dishwasher job. I contacted you before on Pinyouku."
After Gu Qingqiu came out, he began to observe her. She was dressed neatly, her hair was tied up, and although she spoke a little nervously, she was still quite polite. Judging from her appearance, she seemed to be easy to get along with.
She smiled and nodded: "Hello, I'm the owner of Gu's Private Kitchen. I've clearly written the details of this dishwasher job on the job posting. Please sit down. Since this is our first meeting, please introduce yourself."
Gu Qingqiu invited the job applicant to sit down.
Even after sitting down, the other person sat upright, displaying a very respectful and solemn demeanor.
"Hello boss, my name is Tang Sujuan, and I am 50 years old. I used to work as a dishwasher in a restaurant in my hometown, a small county town called Nanshi. Last year, I came to Jiangshi to live with my son, and our home is nearby. I can't sit still, so I thought I would come out and find some easy work to earn some money to supplement my family's income. Please believe me, I am capable of doing this job."
Tang Sujuan said sincerely, then looked at the boss, her hands hanging uneasily at her sides.
Gu Qingqiu nodded after listening, then thought for a moment and asked, "Hello, Sister Tang, our dishwashing hours are from 12 noon to 2 pm and from 7 pm to 9 pm. If we finish early, we can leave work. But these are all mealtimes, so we might not be able to have dinner with your family. Have you considered this?"
Tang Sujuan nodded: "Boss, I understand. I've discussed it with my son, and we both agree. To be honest, my son wasn't too keen on me coming out to work at first. It was because I couldn't stay idle and wanted to do something. He even helped me register this job."
“My son eats lunch at the company and often works overtime in the evenings. I can have meals with him during my rest time. Besides, I can see him in the morning and evening, and I also have time to clean the house. This job is very suitable for me in terms of both time and intensity.”
"As for myself, I used to wash dishes in restaurants. Although washing dishes doesn't require any special skills or experience, I can guarantee that I can wash the pots and pans in the restaurant well and do this job well."
While listening attentively to her answer, Gu Qingqiu also noticed that Tang Sujuan's nails were neatly trimmed and very clean. From her clothing and appearance to her personal habits and qualities reflected in small details, she met the store's recruitment requirements.
She nodded and smiled, "Okay, Sister Tang, since you and your son have agreed on the working hours, then there's no problem. We pay thirty yuan per hour, which you should already know. If there are no issues, go back and wait for our notification. We'll give you a reply today."
Tang Sujuan was pleased to hear this, feeling that her chances of being hired were quite high, judging from what her boss implied.
She smiled and nodded, "Okay, thank you, boss. I'll wait for your notification."
Sister Zhou smiled as she saw Tang Sujuan out of the restaurant.
When Gu Qingqiu returned, she asked, "Sister Zhou, what do you think of this Tang Sujuan?"
Sister Zhou thought for a moment and replied, "Boss, I think this person is not bad. He seems to be quite clean, speaks kindly and logically, and his hands look like they've been soaking in water washing dishes for a long time. He should be a capable worker."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and said, "I think it's pretty good too. Let's see how the other one is."
If there was only one interviewee, she would have made the decision immediately. But there's another candidate later, and she can't just schedule an interview and then tell them they don't need to come; that would be unfair to the other candidate.
Sister Zhou nodded to indicate that she understood, knowing that the boss still thought highly of Tang Sujuan from earlier.
Gu Qingqiu checked the time; it was 10:08. The other interviewee was scheduled for 10:10.
She sat and looked at her phone for a while, and then the other person came over.
The middle-aged woman, wearing a black plaid dress and with her hair down, looked to be wearing lipstick and had a good complexion. She smiled and nodded in greeting: "Hello boss, I'm Wu Wenxiu, who contacted you on Pinyuxing. I'm here to apply for a part-time job."
Gu Qingqiu also asked her to introduce herself.
Wu Wenxiu said she is 48 years old this year. She used to work in a textile factory workshop. Last year, she resigned from the factory and came to Jiangshi to take care of her daughter-in-law during her postpartum period. Now that her mother-in-law has come to help take care of the child, she wants to find a part-time job.
The other person spoke casually about washing dishes: "I've never washed dishes before, but we wash dishes at home all the time. It's not difficult, I'm sure I can do it."
Then he added that if the restaurant is doing well and there are a lot of dishes and chopsticks to wash, it would be best to increase the hourly wage.
After listening to Wu Wenxiu's words, Gu Qingqiu had already made up her mind and directly refused: "I'm sorry, our restaurant may not be able to meet your expectations. Thirty per hour is enough to match our workload for now. Please find another suitable job."
Wu Wenxiu panicked a little and quickly changed her tune: "Boss, it's okay if you can't raise my hourly wage for now. I'm quite satisfied with thirty per hour now. I mean, in the future, you'll be happy if business is good, right? I wash dishes very cleanly, so please give me this opportunity."
Gu Qingqiu shook her head and refused: "I'm very sorry, our restaurant is not suitable for you. Please find another place."
Wu Wenxiu could tell from the young boss's resolute tone that the matter was beyond change. Her face darkened, she stood up, and without saying goodbye, stormed off, her low heels making a clattering sound.
After the man left, Sister Zhou tentatively asked, "Boss, did you refuse Wu Wenxiu because of her unstable family situation?"
Gu Qingqiu nodded: "Yes, for families like this where children need to be taken care of, even if in-laws help take care of them and free up time for part-time work, it's easy to be unable to work because of childcare, and it's not sustainable."
"Moreover, she had never done dishwashing in a restaurant before. Although our restaurant doesn't have a lot of pots and pans during lunch and dinner, it's still not something she can adapt to right away."
"In comparison, Tang Sujuan is a better fit for our restaurant, both in terms of her experience in washing dishes and her personal qualities."
Sometimes, hiring really does depend on a bit of luck. Wu Wenxiu's language and conversation left a slightly worse impression on her, while Tang Sujuan performed well in all aspects, so there was no doubt about who she should choose.
Sister Zhou nodded in understanding, and seeing that there was nothing else to do, she continued cleaning the dining area.
Gu Qingqiu opened the Pinyou app on her phone, clicked on the communication page with Tang Sujuan, and directly selected to contact her by phone.
The call was quickly answered, and Tang Sujuan's slightly nervous yet polite voice came through: "Hello, is this the boss?"
Gu Qingqiu: "Hello, I'm the owner of Gu's Private Kitchen. I just interviewed you. I'm calling to let you know you've been hired. Come to work tomorrow."
She originally planned to have the successful candidates start working at the store on the same day after the interviews, but the fact that two people were invited for interviews slightly disrupted her plans, though it didn't matter much.
Tang Sujuan on the other end of the phone was very excited: "Okay, okay, thank you boss. If the shop is in a hurry, I can start today. I've only just walked a short distance from Suli Street."
Even though it was only a short time, she didn't go far because she was thinking about the interview results, and her home was nearby.
Gu Qingqiu was pleased to hear this and readily agreed, "Sure, if you're free, you can come to the shop for a while, or you can come before noon. Also, our restaurant includes lunch and dinner."
On the other end of the phone, Tang Sujuan happily replied, "Okay, okay, I'm free right now, I'll be right there."
Gu Qingqiu smiled and agreed. After hanging up the phone, she told Sister Zhou that Tang Sujuan would be coming over soon, and then went into the kitchen to get busy.
At 11 a.m., the restaurant opened for business, and customers immediately came in to eat.
Sister Zhou started to get busy, and Tang Sujuan didn't just sit there either. She followed along to help get bowls, chopsticks, and tea, even though these weren't her responsibilities.
Sister Zhou couldn't stop her.
Tang Sujuan smiled憨厚ly: "It's nothing. I came early today and had nothing else to do, so I'll help out if I can. Just don't think I'm clumsy. It'll be good for me to get more familiar with the restaurant."
Sister Zhou could only smile and agree.
I must say, having someone else help with getting bowls, chopsticks, plates, washing utensils, and serving tea makes things a lot easier.
Tu Nanzhen walked all the way to the entrance of Gu's Private Kitchen. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there were still two empty tables inside. She quickly went in, occupied a small table, and sat down, looking up at the menu on the wall.
Today's menu:
Winter melon sauna chicken, 58 yuan;
Oyster tempura NT$58;
Stir-fried beef noodles: 58 yuan;
Dry-pot cauliflower, 28 yuan;
Smilax glabra, mung bean and old duck soup, 58 yuan.
Tu Nanzhen was alone and couldn't possibly eat all the dishes, even though she really wanted to order them all.
She waved to the shop assistant: "Hello, I'd like a hot pot of oysters and cauliflower, and a soup with smilax glabra, mung beans and old duck. Thank you."
The clerk smiled and agreed. After asking what kind of tea they wanted, the clerk went to the cashier to print out a menu and brought it over. Then another clerk came over with bowls, chopsticks, plates, washing utensils, and a pot of iced lemon water.
Tu Nanzhen washed her bowl, chopsticks, plates, and water cup with hot water, then picked up the teapot and poured herself a glass of iced lemon water.
In this kind of weather, a sip of something ice-cold is especially refreshing. The sweet and sour taste is just right, with a lemony aroma that is refreshing and helps to cut through any greasiness.
After taking three or four sips, she put the remaining half-cup aside and picked up her phone to check it.
Seeing her round face reflected on the phone screen, Tu Nanzhen's previously relaxed smile vanished instantly, and her determination to finally come and eat Gu's Private Kitchen seemed to waver.
She had been troubled by her weight for a long time. She was 1.65 meters tall and weighed 160 kilograms. She tried everything from controlling her diet and exercising to paying for gym workouts and personal trainers, and going to the hospital to see doctors for guidance on weight loss plans, including diet, exercise, and sleep. She also tried some medical weight loss methods such as thread embedding.
Logically speaking, given her starting weight, she should be able to lose weight quickly by simply controlling her diet and perhaps without even needing to exercise.
Tu Nanzhen didn't do anything like openly trying to lose weight while secretly indulging in hamburgers and cola, but her weight was still very difficult to lose, taking four or five days to lose a pound.
Her most successful weight loss was only eight pounds, and she gained it all back as soon as she relaxed a little.
After persisting in losing weight for four or five years, Tu Nanzhen gradually began to understand.
Life is only a few decades long. For the first twenty years, you're controlled by your parents and can't eat whatever you want. For the next twenty years, your teeth are decayed and you can't eat anything. For the next few decades, you can't eat all sorts of things because you're trying to lose weight. What fun is there in that? [Note 2]
Despite her thoughts, Tu Nanzhen didn't indulge in all the foods she wanted. Instead, she adopted a more lifestyle-oriented approach to weight loss, consistently following methods like the 16+8+211 eating regimen.
By sticking to this routine, my weight has remained relatively stable overall. I can lose two or three pounds over a period of time without gaining it back. Occasionally, I will lose a little weight after indulging in a treat, and now I am maintaining a weight of just over 150 pounds.
Tu Nanzhen had heard from a colleague that a new restaurant called Gu's Private Kitchen had opened on Suli Street and that the food was particularly delicious. Every time she went there a little late, she had to queue up. If she went there at 7:30 pm, she could forget about eating because all the ingredients were sold out.
My colleagues also said that this store is quite popular in the local area on Xiaohongshu now, with many customers sharing and recommending it. It doesn't look like the kind of posts that are paid for promotion; it's very genuine. Just looking at the photos of the meat and dishes makes them look delicious, making you want to go to the store and have a big meal.
They said that Gu's Private Kitchen has official accounts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu, and posts the menu every day. If you don't have time to go there, you can also look at the pictures posted by other netizens in the comments section and satisfy your cravings by inhaling the aromas wafting from those photos.
Tu Nanzhen didn't react much at the time, but she secretly followed Gu's Private Kitchen's Xiaohongshu account.
Back then, I would spend the whole night scrolling through Gu's Private Kitchen's official WeChat account. How could a restaurant's official account post such an attractive daily menu note?
Even without pictures of meat and vegetables, just reading the text makes it sound delicious. Scrolling through the comments section, I couldn't help but click on each picture posted by netizens and imagine eating it. Some of the comments were particularly witty, making my mouth water just looking at them.
That night, Tu Nanzhen almost broke her vow of abstinence and wanted to order takeout to find a cheaper alternative.
At that moment, she couldn't help but complain about why Gu's Private Kitchen didn't offer delivery, otherwise she could have just ordered it directly.
As her reason returned, she couldn't help but laugh and shake her head. Let alone the lack of takeout, even if she ran to Gu's Private Kitchen on Suli Street right now, she would probably come away empty-handed, since they had already used up all their ingredients by 7:30.
Tu Nanzhen used this to convince herself that if she couldn't eat Gu's private kitchen, eating other substitutes would only make her fat and wouldn't give her any emotional value; she would definitely regret it afterward.
So she spent a night of hunger and hardship, and when she woke up the next day, she had lost 0.2 kilograms.
After a week or two of this, the designated day of indulgence finally arrived, and Tu Nanzhen happened to be on leave to come over to Gu's Private Kitchen for a meal.
Since she was already there, and smelling the fragrance wafting around her, her mood improved slightly. She turned on the screen, ignoring her round face, and started scrolling through her phone.
Soon, the waiter came over and served a soup with Smilax glabra, mung beans, and old duck. The large soup bowl contained clear, amber-colored broth, with a few specks of oil floating on top, which didn't make it greasy but rather quite flavorful.
The mung beans floated and swirled in the soup, and pieces of duck meat were partially visible above the surface. As for the Smilax glabra, I couldn't see it; it was probably sunk to the bottom of the soup.
Tu Nanzhen was tempted. After finishing the last two sips of iced lemon water in her glass, she put it down, brought the bowl closer, picked up a soup spoon, and ladled out some soup, including duck meat and mung beans, to eat later.
Tu Nanzhen recalls having drunk many soups made with Smilax glabra, a great ingredient for making soup, but she has never eaten Smilax glabra herself, assuming that it is not something she should eat.
She pushed the bowl of soup she had prepared back onto the table in front of her, and the rich, sweet aroma of the soup was already wafting through the air.
Tu Nanzhen scooped up a spoonful of soup, felt the heat rising up, blew on it before bringing it closer to drink.
The soup I tasted was much richer and more delicious than the aroma I had just smelled, with a subtle sweetness that spread throughout, and it was also very refreshing.
The Smilax glabra soup is always quite sweet, and the refreshing taste probably comes from the mung beans. Tu Nanzhen thinks that if the soup cools down a bit, the cooling sensation from the mung beans will be more noticeable.
She also tasted the aroma of the duck meat, and the overall flavor was sweet and delicious. There is no doubt that this Smilax glabra, mung bean and old duck soup is a delicious soup, and the ingredients are also excellent, making it well worth the price.
Tu Nanzhen scooped up a spoonful of soup, blew on it, and drank it slowly, savoring the rich and delicious flavor of the broth. The sweet taste wasn't strong, but it was sweet enough to warm the heart, making one feel good after drinking such a delicious soup.
Feeling that the soup wasn't so hot anymore, she picked up the bowl and drank it in big gulps, quickly finishing the bowl of soup.
Tu Nanzhen held the bowl in her left hand and used her chopsticks in her right to scoop some mung beans from the bowl and eat them. The mung beans were cooked until soft and tender, with a smooth and chewy texture, and even a hint of sweetness from the broth, which was quite nice.
The two pieces of duck meat in the bowl were cut quite evenly; they were the kind of good cuts that, although bone-in, were very meaty.
Tu Nanzhen took a bite of the duck meat. Because it had been simmered for a long time, it was quite soft and tender, with a hint of sweetness from the broth.
She thought the duck meat and soup complemented each other perfectly. The duck meat released its aroma during the simmering process, making the soup rich and delicious. The duck meat was tender and soft, easy to chew, and had a great texture.
Tu Nanzhen usually prefers to eat duck prepared in flavorful ways, such as roast duck, braised duck, and three-cup duck. When she looked through the previous dishes of Gu's Private Kitchen, she particularly liked the sour plum duck.
But then she suddenly realized that duck meat, which should have been bland after being cooked in soup, tasted quite good. It still retained its tender texture and absorbed some of the soup, making it moist and sweet.
Tu Nanzhen was very satisfied with the soup, thinking that it was indeed the Gu family's private kitchen dish that her colleagues had been longing for, and that she had stayed up countless nights to eat it. She was also even more looking forward to the next two meat dishes.
Tu Nanzhen couldn't help but do the math. The soup wasn't too oily, and the duck meat in the soup was relatively low in calories. Although the oysters were deep-fried, they were still seafood, so they were lower in calories than pork and other meats. They could barely be considered high in protein. The dry-pot cauliflower was also acceptable.
With that thought, the burden of going out to eat disappeared instantly. Tu Nanzhen felt that indulging in a meal at Gu's Private Kitchen was absolutely perfect!
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