Chapter 192 Competition
The next day, An Xin got up early on purpose, but did not go to make breakfast right away, because today was the day Chen Hongyan would go to the exploration team to compete for the position.
An Xin deliberately made time to wait for Chen Hongyan to come over. If there was anything she didn't understand, she wanted to teach her on the spot.
But surprisingly, Chen Hongyan came to the exploration team very quickly, but she had no intention of asking Anxin for advice. Anxin walked to her old mother uneasily and said uncertainly.
"Mom, the competition for the exploration team doesn't start until eight o'clock. You're asked to make a few dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you're still unsure about a dish, it's still early. Let's go to the dormitory and I can teach you on the spot."
It is now a little past six o'clock, but less than seven o'clock. If Chen Hongyan has any concerns about cooking, Anxin can teach her on the spot.
Unexpectedly, Chen Hongyan seemed very calm about this competition. She just looked at her daughter silently and shook her head.
"It's already this late. There's no need to cram. You've already taught me what I need to teach you. From now on, I'll perform at my normal level. Let's go into the exploration team's kitchen. If we can't go in, it's God's will."
An Xin came back from the provincial capital these days, and she taught him how to cook when she had nothing to do. She had learned most of it. It was already this time, if she really couldn't learn it, then she couldn't learn it. Why waste time and make herself nervous?
An Xin: “…”
Well, she was superficial, her mentality was unstable, not even as stable as her old mother's.
At this time, another candidate who had signed up for the chef position in the village also arrived. He was a middle-aged man with gray hair named Liu Daqian. It was said that he used to be a chef in a restaurant in the county. After he walked in, there was no expression on his face. He just found a seat in the corner and sat down quietly.
Because it was just a small exploration team that signed up for the chef election, the three people knew each other. There were only Liu Daqian, Chen Hongyan and Chen Saozi next door.
Because Chen Hongyan and Liu Daqian were from the same village, when she saw Liu Daqian coming in, Chen Hongyan said something to An Xin, then walked straight over, sat down with Liu Daqian, and started chatting about family matters.
Time passed by minute by minute, and Mrs. Chen finally came over from the staff family dormitory like a proud peacock. She glanced at Liu Daqian and Chen Hongyan, who were sitting in the corner, with the corner of her eye. She snorted and found a chair to sit down first.
Bai Yichen got up early in the morning and went to the provincial capital to pick up the exploration team's direct leader. After a while, he drove a jeep back to the exploration team.
After getting off the car, Bai Yichen saw his young wife standing in the crowd at a glance. After nodding to An Xin from a distance, he turned around and opened the door of the back seat. The provincial leaders got off the back seat one by one, nodding to everyone with a stiff smile.
Bai Yichen walked in front, leading the leaders into the office to rest and drink tea. When passing by An Xin, he whispered a few words to her.
"Relax, our mother's strength should be no problem. I'll go in and greet the leader first."
An Xin's cooking skills are so good and the dishes she makes are so delicious. She has been teaching Chen Hongyan for so many days. Chen Hongyan is a person who loves to learn and has a good comprehension ability, so naturally she won't be too bad.
Anyway, in Bai Yichen's heart, her mother-in-law's cooking skills are beyond everyone else. Naturally, she doesn't take the noodle-rolling skills of Mrs. Chen next door seriously. Chen Hongyan's biggest rival is Liu Daqian from their same village.
It is said that he was a chef who worked in a restaurant. I have never met him before and I don’t know how good his cooking skills are?
So in Bai Yichen's opinion, as long as Chen Hongyan can successfully kill Liu Daqian today, the position of chef in the exploration team will be hers.
Of course, Bai Yichen could naturally think of An Xin. At the moment when the two passed each other, An Xin gently squeezed the other's broad hand to let him rest assured.
Originally it was an intimate action between the young couple, but to outsiders, it was not the case. Mrs. Chen sat on the chair, looking coldly at the intimate interaction between Bai Yichen and An Xin, a hint of coldness flashed in her eyes, and she said resentfully.
"Look at you two young people, no matter how much you communicate, you will have to show your real skills when you go on stage. What kind of dishes can a country girl like Chen Hongyan make? She will be outdone in a few moves."
In Mrs. Chen's heart, her cooking skills are unmatched in the world and definitely number one.
In her eyes, no one can be considered an opponent.
Of course, Mrs. Chen's self-confidence is unrivaled.
Several leaders walked into Bai Yichen's office? After walking around inside, they each found a chair and sat down, while Bai Yichen was busy making tea.
Speaking of this little bit of tea, it was An Xin who gave it to him this morning. It was said that he got it from a friend in the provincial capital. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any tea in his office.
It's also poor enough.
Nowadays, everyone's office is rather simple. The chairs in Bai Yichen's office were brought to him yesterday by Wang Aiguo from various departments. Otherwise, these leaders would have no place to sit in the office.
After all the leaders sat down, Bai Yichen hurriedly brought the tea one by one. A senior leader in a Zhongshan suit took the tea, took a sip, and praised sincerely.
"Xiao Bai, this tea is pretty good. Is it a treasure from your private collection?"
For a person in a higher position, the quality of tea can be distinguished by the first sip. Although Bai Yiyuan’s tea-brewing skills are not very good, But this tea tastes sweet and refreshing, not astringent, it is a rare good tea.
An organization like their exploration team, which was short of money, couldn't afford to buy such good tea and could only keep it for themselves.
Another leader heard that the tea was very good, so he took a sip of the tea and agreed.
"Well, this tea is really good. If I'm not mistaken, it should be Longjing before the rain!"
Longjing tea before the rain is not cheap. Bai Yichen took out all his private collection and gave it to them to drink. He must have taken the leaders to heart. Although the people present did not drink tea, they felt comfortable.
After all, everyone likes subordinates to take themselves, the leader, to heart, to think about them in everything, and to be the first to offer them delicious food and fun things. It makes you feel good just thinking about it!
In response to the compliments from the leaders, Bai Yichen stood aside, straight in body, and responded neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"No, no, no! I hope the leaders don't mind. This tea is from my wife's private collection. It is said that a friend in the provincial capital gave it to her."
At this moment, the leader who had started drinking tea and pointed out that the tea was good said with a smile on his face.
"Oh, your wife is quite capable and considerate of you. She even gave you a small amount of tea she had hidden away. You must treat her well in the future."
The other leaders echoed.
"Yes, I heard that Xiaobai got married a few days ago. It's the perfect time for love. How can you treat your wife badly?"
"Haha, I heard that Xiaobai's new wife is a famous beauty. We must meet her properly later."
"Yes, he even took out his private stash of tea and gave it to Zhan He. It's time to meet him later."
The corners of Bai Yichen's mouth curled slightly, with a little arrogance on his face that was difficult to conceal.
"Well, after the chef selection is over, I will let my wife come out to meet everyone, and let her show off her skills to the leaders and cook a few side dishes to go with the wine."
Just now, he deliberately gave the credit for the good tea to An Xin, just to make everyone have a good impression of his wife, and when he gives scores to Chen Hongyan later, he would give her more impression points out of love for her.
Although the competition is conducted on the principle of fairness and justice, impression points are very important in the actions of Chinese people.
At this moment, a leader who had been silent put down the teacup in his hand and spoke to everyone present.
"That's great. I'll ask your wife to braise some meat for us and stir-fry some of her signature dishes so we can have a good meal."
Having said that, she looked at everyone present with an expression as if to say, "You don't know yet, so I'm telling you." and continued.
"I heard that Xiaobai's wife is very good at stewing meat and braising pork. Everyone should try them carefully later."
When everyone heard this, they immediately looked at Bai Yichen with shining eyes and said.
"Oh, really? Then Xiaobai really married a treasure!"
"Yes, then Xiaobai's wife will be responsible for lunch later."
Nowadays, people's living standards are generally not high, and there are only a few kinds of dishes. If someone can use limited resources to make delicious dishes, he or she will naturally be welcomed.
Things have come to this point, Bai Yichen had no choice but to jump out and express his opinion.
"Of course. I will ask my wife to show her special skills later so that all the leaders can appreciate them."
At this point, one of the leaders suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke.
"Hey, I heard that one of the people who signed up for the chef election this time is your mother-in-law."
As soon as this person said this, everyone's eyes turned to Bai Yichen. Bai Yichen remained calm and thought.
After talking for a long time, he presented the tea and praised his wife, and finally got to the point.
Finally, the time came for him to flatter his mother-in-law without making a sound.
So, a son-in-law raised his head seriously, met the gazes of the leaders, and said in a serious expression.
"Yes, there is a girl named Chen Hongyan, she is my mother-in-law. The reason why my wife is so good at cooking is because of what my mother-in-law taught her since she was a child."
Sure enough, as soon as these words came out, everyone present fell silent, and then the leader said.
"If that's the case, why didn't you just let your mother-in-law come to work in the exploration team's kitchen? Why bother us with such a trip?"
In fact, these days it’s just selecting a non-staff contract worker. As long as Bai Yichen says a few good words in front of those leaders, the person will be chosen!
After all, Bai Yichen's work ability is there. He led the entire exploration team and completed many exploration tasks without complaint. The leaders would not deliberately make things difficult for him. Bai Yichen still has the right to appoint an outside contract worker.
But they didn't do that and instead handed the right of choice to the leaders. This is a bit interesting.
However, the leader's words did not change Bai Yichen's expression at all. Instead, he became more serious than before. He stood up, straightened his body, and said to the leaders.
"How can that be possible? As a government employee, I need the approval of all leaders to hire any employee, even if they are non-staff employees. They must have strong qualities and professional knowledge and must be hired with everyone's approval. How can I let selfish people do that?"
When saying this, Bai Yichen's voice was sonorous and powerful, his eyes were firm, without any personal emotion.
All the leaders present were silent. Bai Yichen's integrity and kindness were exactly what they wanted.
Even though the people present didn't say anything, most of them looked at Bai Yichen with admiration.
The scene fell silent. Finally, a leader picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea, coughed, and broke the silence.
"Ahem, yes, Xiaobai's integrity and kindness are worth learning from. Then, let's uphold the principle of fairness and justice and start selecting a talented and capable chef for the exploration team!"
When saying this, the leaders exchanged glances in the air, and they all understood what each other wanted to say but had not said.
With such a good subordinate, they naturally cannot treat his family unfairly. If Bai Yichen's mother-in-law's cooking skills are really good, then they will make a prompt decision to keep this person.
It is not easy to train a good employee, and they cannot let their good employees feel discouraged.
Bai Yichen stood there straight, calmly watching the conversation between everyone, pretending that he saw nothing, but he already understood in his heart.
This was all he could do for Chen Hongyan. He believed that as long as Chen Hongyan could perform normally as the chef of the exploration team, she would be his.
Time passed quickly. The leaders were in the office, and after just a cup of tea, it was time to select the chefs.
Bai Yichen led the chefs to the designated written test location, asked the leaders present to sit on the podium, and announced the start of the competition.
Since there were only three people participating in the selection, and the exploration team had enough kitchen utensils for all three to use at the same time, there was no drawing of lots and they all went on stage together.
Bai Yichen stood on the stage and after obtaining the consent of the leaders present, he spoke in a loud voice to the three people present.
"Dear participating employees, today we will select a chef for the exploration team from among the three of you. Based on the principle of fairness and openness, the first competition will begin now. Please prepare a breakfast for four people on the spot. You can bring your own ingredients. There is no limit to the variety of food you can prepare. The time is half an hour. Please start!"
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