"The person making braised beef, come and collect your food. The hind leg of beef has been cut into three sections for your convenience. It weighs 121 jin (66.5 catties) in total. Please deliver it to your head chef as soon as possible."
Jiang Hexi was so busy that her butcher's knife kept chopping away. She weighed and bagged the cut beef brisket, pointed to the tomatoes that the aunt had just brought up, and said to the people who came up:
"Forty catties of beef brisket and fifty-three catties of tomatoes, take them all, next one."
Jiang Wenjing slowly walked to the long table and stood there.
Jiang Hexi was busy tidying up the cutting board, and without looking up, she stretched out her hand and said, "Bring the form over."
"Hey little sister, what should I do if I don't have any orders?"
"Second Brother, what brings you here?"
Jiang Hexi looked up and saw Jiang Wenjing. Her surprise lasted only three seconds before her face fell, and she waved him away without any hesitation.
"I'm busy preparing ingredients here, so please stand to the side and don't delay my work."
Jiang Wenjing stood there with his hands in his pockets, refusing to leave. He stared intently and asked, "Have you had breakfast?"
"have eaten."
Have you had lunch yet?
"I didn't eat."
Jiang Hexi slammed the butcher knife into the chopping board, threatening him with fierce momentum, "Second brother, if you keep causing trouble like this, don't blame me for not sparing your life."
"That's perfect, I haven't eaten either, let's have a proper lunch together."
Ignoring her resistance, Jiang Wenjing ripped off her apron without a word, forcibly dragged her to the side, and said with displeasure:
"With so many people here, can't we function without you doing the work?"
Jiang Hexi was relieved that there was no live broadcast during this time, as the PD who was filming her had been reassigned to help out at the open-air plaza; otherwise, she would have had a live broadcast mishap.
Seeing that he was angry, she immediately backed down, wanting to avoid trouble, and said, "Brother, I'll have lunch with you."
The ingredients for the Thousand Family Banquet are supplied strictly according to the chef's menu.
Each dish has a specific range of ingredients available. Too many or too few, or the wrong ingredients provided, will affect the preparation of subsequent dishes.
If the fifteen home-style dishes cannot be served according to the pre-ordered menu, causing dissatisfaction among tourists, an apology is a minor matter; damaging the reputation of the Thousand Families Banquet is a major one.
That's why Yan Jie arranged for his own people to personally oversee every crucial step.
Jiang Hexi was forced to leave the stall and had to call the aunt over to cut meat and prepare vegetables.
She instructed the woman to prepare the dishes according to the menu, and only after the woman repeatedly assured her that she understood did she dare to leave.
Shi Jianan came over with a boxed lunch. "This is a big pot of stir-fried dishes from the open-air square. Try it and see how it tastes."
Jiang Hexi clearly hadn't expected him to be here.
She mentally cursed Jiang Wenjing a thousand times, deciding to teach her brother a lesson later. Only then did she accept the lunchbox from Shi Jianan's hand and politely say:
"Thank you, Mr. Shi."
The three people sat in a row under the banyan tree, each eating a boxed lunch.
The large pot of stir-fried beef was served with blanched lettuce at the bottom of the boxed lunch. The beef, drizzled with hot chili oil, was fresh, fragrant, and smooth, and its rich flavor immediately amazed the taste buds.
Shi Jianan exclaimed, "I haven't had such a wonderfully wok-fried dish in a long time."
"Because we use firewood to heat the stove and large iron pots to cook, the food has a real smoky flavor."
Jiang Hexi introduced them to the following:
"The seven chefs we invited this time are all veterans of cooking village banquets in the surrounding area. When cooking for the villagers, they must show their best skills and not let themselves be outdone by their peers. Otherwise, they will not be able to hold their heads up in the village in the future."
"Who came up with this idea? They have a real business mind."
Jiang Wenjing put down the lunchbox and said, "Gathering seven head chefs together to prepare a banquet for a thousand families creates competition and stimulates their inner potential, which will raise the quality of the dishes to a certain level."
"Yan Jie".
After Jiang Hexi said the name, Shi Jianan suddenly felt that the beef didn't smell good at all.
"Second brother, how come you're with Mr. Shi?"
“When my grandfather heard that I was coming, and since Mr. Shi happened to have a motorhome and it was also the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, my grandfather let us come together.”
Jiang Wenjing's words were reasonable and completely absolved him of any involvement in the matter.
The queue in front of the stalls grew longer and longer.
Jiang Hexi listened to the auntie reciting the order of ingredients with unease, glancing over every now and then.
Seeing the older woman take a piece of beef tenderloin to make beef meatballs, she immediately put down her lunchbox, got up, and went over:
"Auntie, this piece of beef tenderloin is to be used for making steaks. It's clearly written on the list. They're going to make beef balls. You just need to cut a few pounds of foreleg meat."
The woman hurriedly replied, "I understand."
Yan Jie happened to come looking for her at that moment and asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Jiang Hexi said worriedly, "The beef can't be cut randomly, otherwise we won't be able to cook the next few dishes. If you don't want to, I'll do it."
Yan Jie reached out to stop her, "It won't make a difference if we have lunch first."
Jiang Hexi looked at the plastic bag he was carrying and asked, "Is this my lunch?"
"What, you've already eaten?"
Yan Jie immediately guessed what was going on when he saw her glossy red lips. He then glanced at Jiang Wenjing and Shi Jianan sitting under the banyan tree, and his suspicions were confirmed on the spot.
"Eating now."
"Let me see what you've eaten."
Yan Jie carried the lunchbox over and politely greeted Jiang Wenjing and Shi Jianan.
He glanced discreetly at the boiled beef, then sat down next to Jiang Hexi and handed her the boxed lunch.
"Would you like to see what's for today's lunch?"
Jiang Hexi was completely captivated by his charm.
He handed the lunchbox forward, saying, "Open it and take a look."
She couldn't resist taking the lunchbox, lifting the lid to reveal a whole braised pork knuckle inside. Just by looking at the glossy, crispy skin, she could imagine its melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.
Yan Jie broke the chopsticks apart and handed them to her, saying, "This is your work lunch. Try it and see how it tastes."
Jiang Hexi took a bite of the braised pork knuckle, and the aroma of the sauce filled her mouth. It was so delicious that she couldn't stop eating it.
Yan Jie opened his lunchbox, which contained two braised pork knuckles. He politely said:
"I have an extra braised pork knuckle here, would you like to try it, Mr. Jiang?"
Jiang Wenjing was about to decline his offer, but the man simply handed him the pork knuckle; the unsolicited hospitality left him no choice but to accept.
Thank you.
The brother and sister were gnawing on a pork knuckle when they suddenly heard Yan Jie speak apologetically:
"I'm sorry, Mr. Shi, how could I forget about you? I'll definitely make up for it with the braised pork knuckle at the banquet tonight."
"Mr. Yan, you're too kind. I don't eat braised pork knuckle." Shi Jianan refused him firmly.
Jiang Hexi couldn't help but feel that there was some kind of grudge between the two. Just as she was wondering if it was just her imagination, Yan Jie pressed on, saying:
"Xi-mei, which dish tastes better, boiled beef or braised pork knuckle?"
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