Chapter 52 Is fried chicken really that delicious?
"Ouch—Sis, why did you kick me!" The young duty manager, Meng Cong, suddenly woke up, rubbing his eyes. A few tufts of his messy blond hair stood up. He groggily raised his head, and only when he saw Su Yingxue standing at the front desk did he suddenly perk up and instantly become alert.
"Hey, miss, you're here for a job interview?" He sat up abruptly, his previously dazed eyes instantly brightening as he sized Su Yingxue up and down, a professional smile involuntarily spreading across his lips. "Welcome, welcome! Our Golden Harbor is the oldest and largest—uh, entertainment venue—in Fucheng! Being a waitress is a great job, high pay, good benefits! But..."
His gaze swept over Su Yingxue without restraint, and his smile widened. "It's a shame you're a waitress. How about I ask around and see if you can develop into a marketing manager?"
“You look like a female celebrity I’ve seen on TV… what’s her name again?” He scratched his head, seemingly trying hard to remember.
Su Yingxue glanced at him expressionlessly, didn't say anything, and walked straight past him into the building.
"Hey, miss, don't go! Do you know the way?" Meng Cong quickly chased after her, still chattering on and on.
"I don't know, but I'm here to apply for a chef position, so of course I need to see where the kitchen is first," Su Yingxue said without turning her head, her tone calm but revealing an undeniable firmness.
"Oh! Right, right, the kitchen!" Meng Cong scratched his head as if just waking up. "You're here to apply for a chef's job?? Um... the kitchen is on the first floor, I'll take you there!"
At this moment, Su Yingxue had already stepped forward, her gaze sweeping over the several bright red characters on the wall—"Reject pornography, gambling, and drugs." She smiled slightly, thinking to herself, "At least this one is still hanging on the wall."
First floor kitchen.
Meng Cong led Su Yingxue through a slightly dimly lit corridor, past several not-so-new fire doors, and into the KTV kitchen area.
Although it's called a "kitchen," the space isn't very large, only about twenty square meters. One side has an old deep fryer and oven, while the other side has a sink, a work surface, and a few simple storage shelves. The incandescent light bulbs overhead flicker, and several yellowed hygiene inspection forms and fire safety diagrams are pasted on the walls. In the corner, there are also several boxes of unopened tissues and plastic tableware.
The overall environment wasn't great, but it wasn't dirty or messy either—at least the ground was clean, and although the equipment was old, most of it was still operational.
Su Yingxue stood at the door, glanced around, and didn't say anything.
She gently placed her suitcase in the corner, clapped her hands, walked straight to the countertop, opened a drawer, checked the knives and spice jars inside, and then went to the refrigerator and opened the door.
Inside, several boxes of semi-finished ingredients were neatly arranged: frozen chicken wings, French fries, popcorn chicken, fish fillets... all typical pre-made dishes for KTVs. There were also a few pieces of pork belly.
There were some frozen vegetables deep inside the refrigerator, but not many.
There was also a large pot of braising liquid in the corner.
She glanced at it, nodded slightly, and showed no surprise or disdain.
"Looks like this is the current situation," she muttered to herself, then rolled up her sleeves and began to tidy up.
She first cleaned up the scattered plastic bags, old sauce bottles, and used rags on the worktable, then wiped the worktable clean with a damp rag. Next, she arranged the knives in the order of use, categorized the seasonings, and even carefully brushed away the oil stains in the corners with an old brush.
In less than ten minutes, the small kitchen, which was not dirty but slightly messy, was transformed into a brand new, clean and orderly space, even exuding the neatness of a professional kitchen.
Meng Cong, standing at the door with his arms crossed, was originally just routinely "watching over" the new chef, but now he raised his eyebrows slightly.
"This young girl... actually started cleaning?" he murmured, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "I thought she was just here to 'experience life,' but who knew she'd start working right away, and she's doing it quite well..."
He was about to say something more when suddenly, the receipt printer on the wall beeped and then popped out an order receipt.
Meng Cong walked over and glanced down:
Room A10 – Order: Fried Chicken x1, Cola x2
Order placed at: 16:23
Notes: None
"Hey, we've got a job." Meng Cong grinned and turned to Su Yingxue, who was already dressed and marinating chicken wings. "Little Su, first order! Room A10, the customer ordered one serving of fried chicken and two Cokes. You take care of it, I'll deliver it to you."
Su Yingxue nodded, her hands still busy, carefully coating the marinated chicken wings with breadcrumbs, then neatly arranging them on a plate, waiting to be deep-fried.
She turned on the deep fryer, adjusted the temperature, and waited for the oil to reach the perfect temperature before placing the chicken wings into the pot one batch at a time. Her movements were neither hurried nor slow, but extremely precise. She controlled the heat, flipped the wings evenly, and ensured that each chicken wing was fried until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, golden and tempting.
Before long, a rich aroma wafted from the oil pan, carrying the unique charred fragrance of fried food and the savory flavor of meat juices, quickly filling the entire kitchen and even faintly drifting into the corridor.
Meng Cong was standing to the side, originally planning to scroll through his phone for a while, but when the aroma wafted over, he couldn't help but sniff: "...Hey, this smells pretty good, doesn't it?"
Inside the private room, A10 – Wang Wei & Fatty Miao
"Hey, I can't sing anymore, I need to take a break." Wang Wei leaned back on the sofa, holding a microphone in one hand and fanning himself with the other, and said with a smile to his old friend across from him.
"You little rascal, you took a day off and came to sing karaoke without even telling me beforehand. I'm still busy at my barbecue shop, and you came right over." Fatty Miao sat casually next to the karaoke machine, a bottle of Coke clutched in his hand. He took a swig and burped. "What snacks are you ordering? I heard from Meng Cong that this lousy KTV only has pre-made fries and stuff like that besides drinks. Are they even edible?"
"Since we're already here, let's order something. I'm craving fried chicken." Wang Wei smiled, picked up the remote, pressed a few buttons, and ordered fried chicken and two Cokes.
"Fried chicken? You really believe the chefs here can make anything good?" Fatty Miao curled his lip. "If I were you, I'd rather wait for me to go back and I'd grill chicken wings for you, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, much better than this."
Wang Wei laughed and didn't refute, but said, "After singing a few songs, my throat is hoarse. I should eat something nice and drink something sweet. Just make do with this."
A moment later, there was a knock on the door of the private room.
"Please come in—"
Meng Cong pushed open the door and entered, carrying a tray with a plate of golden fried chicken on it and two glasses of cold cola next to it.
"Your fried chicken and cola, please enjoy." He smiled, put down the tray, and then left, closing the door behind him.
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