"By using a buffet approach, we can prepare the food in advance, which greatly reduces the manpower required. This frees up the women who help out, allowing them to spend the evening with their families and enjoy celebrating New Year's Eve together."
When Yu Yao said this, all the sisters-in-law present were stunned.
Every year during this time of family reunion, they get up early to start preparing and continue working in the kitchen until the evening when everyone in the family, young and old, is seated at the table.
When it was time to sit down for dinner, it was the New Year's Eve dinner they had been looking forward to all year, but looking at all the delicious food on the table, they were too tired to have any appetite.
They never imagined they could be present for the New Year's Eve dinner.
One of the sisters-in-law even had tears in her eyes, saying, "Every year during the Spring Festival, I'm busy from the afternoon until the evening. While the rest of the family is eating, I'm still busy cooking in the kitchen. I never thought I could spend the holiday with everyone like this."
Even they themselves never imagined that they could enjoy the New Year's Eve dinner with everyone.
Zhu Dan looked at Yu Yao with great satisfaction.
She definitely made the right choice in selecting Yu Yao.
Lu Ze looked at Yu Yao with tender eyes.
This is his Ayao; she is always so gentle, delicate, and soft.
Zhu Dan smiled and nodded: "Let's go with this method, let's do it the way Yu Yao suggested."
Everyone else nodded in agreement, and they genuinely found the model interesting.
Only Zheng Mei refused to admit it, saying, "Sister Dan, this method is too idealistic and impossible to implement. First of all, there's the menu. To make it diverse, there needs to be a wide variety of dishes. Which of you aunties can make dozens of completely different dishes without repeating any?"
This question stumped everyone. It's fine for them to cook other everyday dishes, but cooking for more than a thousand people, catering to different regional tastes, and making sure there's no repetition, is a real challenge for them.
They don't know that many menu items.
Yu Yao smiled and said, "Sisters-in-law, don't worry, the menu is not a problem at all. We can handle even a hundred dishes, let alone dozens."
It's worth noting that a single Manchu Han Imperial Feast has 108 dishes, and with ten dishes from each of the eight major cuisines, there would be eighty dishes in total. The menu is a piece of cake for her.
Did she waste all those years watching food videos?
"Heavens, a hundred? Comrade Yu, it's not that I don't believe you, it's just that you're exaggerating too much. This is a task assigned by the organization, and it can't be taken lightly."
Zheng Mei sneered inwardly. This Yu Yao really knew how to brag. A hundred dishes? Had she ever eaten so many different dishes in a row?
Yu Yao looked at her amusedly, "Comrade Zheng, how about we make a bet instead of playing games?"
Zheng Mei scoffed: "Fine, let's make a bet. How do you want to bet?"
Zheng Mei's aunt tugged at her, "Meimei, what nonsense are you talking about? Comrade Yu, she was just joking."
Zheng Mei said, "I'm not joking."
There are only a few dishes that can be made over and over again, so who's afraid of who?
She simply didn't believe that Yu Yao, a girl from the countryside of Qin Province, could cook more dishes than a country chef from Guangdong Province.
"Dear aunties and sisters-in-law, did you hear that? It was Comrade Yu who first suggested the bet. It wasn't me who asked for it." Zheng Mei finished speaking and looked at Yu Yao. "Since it's a bet, there has to be some kind of prize. If you can't come up with a hundred different recipes, you'll have to give up your position as the person in charge of the New Year's Eve dinner and let someone more capable host it."
Su Meihua and Sun Yu were both a little worried about Yu Yao. The standard of one hundred different dishes was not just what an ordinary head of household required; it would take a professional chef to do that.
“Yu Yao, you don’t need to make this bet with her. It’s just a few dozen dishes. If we all chip in, we can always come up with a solution.”
Yu Yao understood their concerns.
After all, information was scarce in those days, and many people learned their cooking skills from their mothers. Apart from common home-style dishes, they didn't know how to cook other dishes.
Seeing that the others were persuading Yu Yao, and worried that she might change her mind and then she would have no chance to get rid of Yu Yao, Zheng Mei deliberately said, "Comrade Yu, everyone has moments of boasting. It's not a big deal. If you're scared, you don't have to gamble."
"Don't try to provoke me. Since I brought it up, I'm not afraid. Bragging is not something I, Yu Yao, would do."
Zheng Mei was secretly delighted: "So you've agreed?"
"That's right, I agreed. I only mentioned what would happen if I lost, but I haven't mentioned what would happen if Comrade Zheng lost?"
“I lost, and I'm withdrawing immediately. Not only am I withdrawing, but I also apologize for my attitude just now. From now on, whatever you say goes in any activity in the family compound, and I will never dare to disagree.”
Yu Yao curled her lips into a smile. "You said it yourself, so don't blame me for slapping you in the face."
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