At 4:57 a.m. the next morning, Zhou Qi appeared outside Xu An's yard on time. He was startled by Liang Dani, who was squatting at the gate of the yard, and almost fell off the car.
It took him a while to remember that Xu An had mentioned another employee would be coming in the morning, but he had forgotten in his rush to get there.
Liang Dani was unaware that Xu An had hired another person, and a sense of crisis rose in her heart when she saw Zhou Qi.
Have I been slacking off at work lately? Is my boss dissatisfied with my performance? Is my boss planning to fire me?
Thinking about this, Liang Dani's gaze towards Zhou Qi became somewhat strange.
Zhou Qi was still reeling from the shock and didn't notice Liang Dani's gaze. He was still caught up in the anxiety of his first day at work.
The alarm clock rings, I turn it off; a knock sounds, I open the door; a new day, a beautiful day begins!
Xu An suddenly noticed that Liang Dani was working exceptionally hard today.
He was about to ask Xu Heping to bring in some firewood when Liang Dani understood and quickly carried two large bundles of firewood into the kitchen.
He had just called out to Zhou Qi and hadn't said anything when Liang Dani came running over, staring at him intently with bright eyes.
...
Even if Xu An was slow to realize something was wrong, he could sense that something was amiss.
"Da Ni, come here for a second." After Liang Dani responded to him before anyone else could react, Xu An finally couldn't help but call out to Liang Dani.
Liang Dani followed Xu An to the corner of the yard, her mind filled with words like "Oh no!" and "We're doomed!", briefly losing her ability to think.
"Da Ni, is something the matter?"
Liang Dani, still unable to think clearly, shook her head blankly.
"Are you really okay? I feel like something's off about you today."
Upon hearing the words "something's not right," alarm bells went off in Liang Dani's mind, and she instantly realized what was happening: "Boss, are you satisfied with my work?"
As a boss, Xu An's first reaction upon hearing Liang Dani's words was that she wanted a raise.
Before Xu An could answer, Liang Dani said in a pitiful tone, "Boss, if there's anything you're not happy about, you can tell me, and I can fix it!"
What are you dissatisfied with?
Xu An was a little confused by Liang Dani's words. At this moment, he noticed Liang Dani's gaze, which kept looking towards the kitchen.
Following Liang Dani's gaze, Zhou Qi suddenly appeared before him.
Okay, I get it. It seems Liang Dani thought Zhou Qi was here to steal her job.
Xu An explained to Liang Dani with a mix of amusement and exasperation. Only then did Liang Dani belatedly realize that Xu An had rented a shop and was about to open one. After a moment of excitement, she asked nervously, "Boss, will you still need me after the shop opens?"
"Yes, you can keep doing it as long as you want." Xu An readily agreed, after all, Liang Dani was efficient and had a good work attitude, and it was not easy to find such an employee.
"Will you sign a contract?"
"sign!"
Hearing Xu An's assurance, Liang Dani finally returned to the kitchen to work, completely satisfied.
This time, she stopped taking other people's jobs and started chatting and laughing with Zhou Qi.
This sudden change left Zhou Qi somewhat flattered.
Although Xu An knew that Zhou Qi would become the owner and head chef of a popular restaurant in the future, he was not sure about Zhou Qi's current cooking skills and could not hand over all the work to him right away.
Today, Zhou Qi's main task is to cook a vegetarian dish—scrambled eggs with tomatoes.
Zhou Qi breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the task.
Since entering the courtyard, he had been preparing the dishes with everyone. As he prepared, he discovered that there were some dishes he had never made before. He immediately became uneasy, fearing that the boss would ask him to make the dishes he didn't know how to make.
He applied for a cook position! How embarrassing for a cook not to know how to cook!
Fortunately, the last task assigned to me was scrambled eggs with tomatoes, a dish I knew how to make.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Zhou Qi stood in front of the makeshift gas stove that Xu An had set up yesterday afternoon, picked up a spatula, and began to stir-fry vegetables.
If Xu An's cooking style is simple and unpretentious, then Zhou Qi's cooking style is flamboyant and unrestrained.
The flames leaped three feet high, and the heavy iron pot came to life in Zhou Qi's hands, rolling up and down in the flames, while the spatula danced, leaving afterimages.
Every now and then you can see the tomatoes and eggs being tossed into the air, tracing a beautiful arc before returning to the pot.
If Zhou Qi was making one or two portions, Xu An wouldn't be surprised.
But this time Zhou Qi made forty or fifty portions, plus the iron pot, which weighed twenty-three pounds, yet he was able to treat it as nothing and manipulate it with ease.
It looks like the protagonist of "MasterChef Ninja" has come to life; his wok skills are truly outstanding!
Although in the eyes of Xu An and others, Zhou Qi's actions seemed incredibly swift and effortless.
But Zhou Qi went to great lengths to achieve this effect.
Seeing everyone staring blankly at him with no reaction, Zhou Qi panicked.
Clap! Shouldn't they be clapping and praising their own awesomeness at this moment? Why are they all standing still and looking numb?
Just then, Xu Kang and Xu Le recovered from their shock and burst into enthusiastic applause.
Zhou Qi finally added seasonings to the scrambled eggs with tomatoes and took it out of the pan, completely satisfied.
For the next two pots, he behaved himself, occasionally tossing the pot, but he didn't make as much noise as he did with the first pot, nor did he have the energy to make that kind of noise again.
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