Two days before the May Day holiday, Vice President Wu, who is in charge of logistics, actually brought a teacher named Liu to the third canteen to check on their preparations for participating in the university food festival.
It was the first time that such a senior leader came to the third canteen. Chef Sun was very excited and nervous. The others had their own work. Chef Du was about to take the steamed buns out of the oven, Ye Tian was cooking, Xiao Li and Aunt Liu were moving the cooked dishes to the hall, and they didn't pay much attention to the vice-president.
Vice Principal Wu shook hands with Master Sun and saw that the kitchen was very busy. A little girl turned around and smiled at them, then continued to stir the wok, so they didn't go in and get in the way.
From the entrance, they could see that everything in Canteen No. 3 was in perfect order. All the ingredients needed for the food festival were fully prepared and stored in the warehouse, and the necessary kitchen utensils and tools were also neatly arranged. Seeing this, they felt reassured.
They also sent a banner with the school's name, which they would hang on the stall. Vice Principal Wu explained that the school had already arranged transportation, so the Third Canteen could rest assured and focus on preparing the food. The school would take care of all the other logistical support.
It was almost lunchtime. Seeing that Vice Principal Wu and his accompanying teacher, Teacher Liu, showed no signs of leaving, Master Sun suddenly said, "How about Principal Wu and Teacher Liu have lunch in our cafeteria and try our cooking?"
"Ah... eating here?" Vice Principal Wu was momentarily confused, but then he smiled and said to Teacher Liu, who was accompanying him, "I've never eaten in the Third Canteen. I usually eat at home or in the staff canteen. By the way, Xiao Liu, do you have your meal card? Please swipe it for me first, and I'll give you the cash later."
Teacher Liu mechanically searched his pocket and actually took out his meal card.
Master Sun knew that Vice Principal Wu wouldn't eat a free meal, but he was embarrassed to ask his superior to queue outside, so he said, "How about we serve the food to you two in the kitchen first?"
"No need, let's go outside and play. The students are all lining up. You guys go about your business, there's no need to follow us out!" Vice Principal Wu asked Chef Sun to go back to the kitchen.
After saying that, the two of them actually went to the hall to line up. The door had just opened and some students were already arriving.
"Vice Principal Wu!"
"Teacher Liu!"
"Are you guys coming to the third cafeteria to eat too?"
Some students recognized Vice Principal Wu, and others recognized Teacher Liu from the logistics department.
A student whispered in the back, "I see. The Third Canteen is representing the school in the University Food Festival. Principal Wu is definitely here to inspect it and test the cooking skills of the Third Canteen chef."
"That's possible. I'm afraid they'll keep coming back after eating it once, just like those young teachers."
"You can't say that. The cafeteria is for the teachers and students of the school. Can we not let the teachers come to eat?"
…
The students in the front took the initiative to give up their seats to Vice Principal Wu and Teacher Liu, allowing them to get their meals first.
"No, no, just come in order. We're not in a hurry." Vice Principal Wu waved his hand.
When it was almost their turn to get food, Vice Principal Wu kindly asked the other students in the back, "Classmates, this is my first time here. Which dish do you think is delicious? Please recommend it to us!"
The students behind us all said, "Dongpo pork is a specialty of the San Canteen. You must try it!"
“Stuffed tofu, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and smashed cucumber are also delicious.”
“The deep-fried hairtail fish and shredded cabbage are both good.”
"Your introduction is the same as no introduction at all. There are only six dishes in total, and you talked about them all and said they were all delicious." Teacher Liu laughed when he heard this.
A boy at the back scratched his head and said, "It's true that every dish in the third cafeteria is very delicious. We have a hard time getting our food every day. We really want to take everything back, but then we can't finish it."
Vice Principal Wu and Teacher Liu simply ordered dishes according to their own tastes. Vice Principal Wu chose Dongpo pork, stuffed tofu, and shredded cabbage, while Teacher Liu chose Dongpo pork, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and a cold cucumber salad.
"I made today's fried hairtail. Would Principal Wu and Teacher Liu like to try it?"
Li Bing wanted to introduce their dishes, but seeing that the students were very enthusiastic in introducing them and he was busy serving the dishes, he stopped talking. But he saw that the leaders did not serve the hairtail fish he made. Could it be that his hairtail fish always looked so bad?
"Oh, since it was made by this young man, I'll get a portion of hairtail fish and share it with Teacher Liu later." Vice Principal Wu smiled, with fine circles around the corners of his eyes, which made him look even more gentle and elegant.
"Okay!" Li Bing happily ordered a portion of hairtail fish for Vice Principal Wu.
"Young man, how many dishes did you cook today?" Principal Wu asked as he took the plate.
Li Bing replied: "I made the hairtail fish and the cucumber salad, and the remaining four were made by my chef."
"Is your master Chef Sun?" Vice Principal Wu asked curiously.
"No, it's Master Xiao Ye. She's a freshman at our school and works part-time here to support her studies," Li Bing said proudly. Aunt Liu, who was serving lunch to another group of students, also felt proud.
"Oh? Teacher Liu, do you know about this? Tell me about it." Vice Principal Wu was surprised. He turned his head to look at Teacher Liu, then walked to the dining table at the innermost part of the hall with the plate in his hand.
The two found a seat against the wall and sat down.
"Principal, I heard from other teachers that before Master Yun resigned, he helped this student Ye apply for a salary increase, saying that she was the chef in the third cafeteria. Last time when the two cafeterias competed, it was said that she also made the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and the teacher who tasted it said it was delicious." Teacher Liu answered Vice Principal Wu's question while recalling the past.
Vice Principal Wu picked up his chopsticks and said, "She's quite talented despite her young age! Let's try her cooking and see how good it is."
"This cabbage is crispy, spicy and tasty, and it's no worse than the ones made in restaurants outside! This Dongpo pork! This...this! This student Ye is extraordinary, the Dongpo pork is so authentic!" Vice Principal Wu felt the fresh and fragrant taste of the Dongpo pork, and the fat melted in his mouth.
"The tofu and the meat filling are very well blended. And you see, the size of the tofu blocks, the size of the holes in the middle and the size of the meat filling inside, are almost exactly the same for each block! This classmate Ye must be from a family of culinary experts. This hasn't been learned overnight." He ate another piece of stuffed tofu and said to Teacher Liu next to him.
"Xiao Liu, please lend me your meal card. I need to get another meal for my wife. I'll tell her now not to cook at noon!" Vice Principal Wu took out his cell phone.
Teacher Liu just kept nodding, with the shredded potatoes still in his mouth and he hadn't had time to swallow them.
During the last competition, Teacher Liu didn't try the three dishes from the cafeteria. Another teacher represented him in the tasting. Later, Teacher Liu heard that the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was particularly fragrant and delicious, but he wasn't entirely convinced. He wondered how good the cafeteria food could be. After so many years of eating there, he was already tired of it.
After trying the Third Canteen today, he found himself slapped in the face! He felt extremely regretful and sincerely admitted that the Third Canteen lived up to its reputation. He also needed to change his preconceived notion of canteens.
In fact, he had heard a long time ago that several young teachers in the school often came to the third canteen to eat. He had even made fun of them before, thinking that they had never eaten any good food.
At this time, Teacher Liu seemed to sense something. He looked at the queue for food and said: Oh my god, aren’t those teachers coming over there to get food?
He pretended not to notice and continued eating. Potatoes were his favorite vegetable, and he had never expected the shredded potatoes in the third cafeteria to be so sour, spicy, and crispy. He really wanted to eat there every day!
Li Bing's cucumber salad and deep-fried hairtail were also good, but the two dishes tasted a bit fishy when eaten together. Teacher Liu always felt that if Ye Tian were to cook them instead, the two dishes would taste even better. Although this was only his first time eating Ye Tian's cooking, he had this blind faith in her.
The cafeteria had prepared a large meal today, so Vice Principal Wu bought disposable lunch boxes and packed some food to take home with his wife. Teacher Liu, a loner, wanted to pack a portion of shredded potatoes, but he decided against it, thinking that the food would become soft and stale by the afternoon.
"Teacher Liu, please discuss with the logistics department and give student Ye a salary increase. She is probably at the level of a top chef. It is really a waste of her talent to work in the cafeteria. As the school, we can't take advantage of the students!" Vice Principal Wu said as he walked with a lunch box.
Teacher Liu replied, "Okay, I'll go back and check the salary standards for school chefs and recalculate Ye's salary accordingly."
"By the way, I spent a total of 48 yuan on you and transferred it to you via WeChat." Vice Principal Wu picked up his phone.
Teacher Liu quickly refused: "No, no! It's only a few dozen yuan."
"That won't do. It's already been transferred. Remember to click to receive it." Vice Principal Wu was quite quick.
"Oh!" Teacher Liu had no choice but to agree.
After walking a few more steps, Vice Principal Wu suddenly realized, "It suddenly occurred to me, isn't this student Ye the one who won the provincial calligraphy competition?"
"Now that you mention it, I think it's her. That's her name, Ye Tian! She was just darker and thinner before, but now she's whiter. I guess it's because of the sunburn from the military training at the start of school." Teacher Liu is good at finding excuses.
Ye Tian was eating in the cafeteria, carrying her lunch box and giving Li Bing some feedback on his cucumber salad. "You put too much sugar in it today. The sugar is for the flavor, not to make the cucumber sweet."
Li Bing also picked up a piece of cucumber and ate it. "I don't think it's sweet. Master Xiaoye, you have such a keen taste. You can taste even the slightest difference. You're born to be a chef!"
"Don't flatter me. Remember to practice more. You will be the one making stuffed tofu after May Day!" Ye Tian pretended to be serious, but after all, she still had a childish face and looked not very intimidating even without a smile.
Li Bing nodded seriously. This opportunity wasn't something everyone had. He felt like he had great vision, finding a great master who even introduced him to a girlfriend. How could he be so lucky?
Two days later, after collective discussion among the three canteens, they decided to bring a large bucket of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, 500 qingtuan (green rice dumplings), and 2,000 skewers of Bobo Chicken for the first day of the food festival. Ye Tian stayed behind to make the soup base for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and Bobo Chicken the next day, while Chef Meng stayed to make qingtuan (green rice dumplings), so neither of them went on the first day.
The people who went that day were Chef Sun, Xiao Li, Xiao Du, and Zuo You. Aunt Liu took a break, while Ye Tian and Chef Meng stayed in the cafeteria. They were very concerned about the results of the food festival and wanted to know how the sales were so that they could prepare food for the next day.
However, Xiao Li, who had said he would send them the video of the scene, has not made any move.
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