Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 386 - 251: "God of Culinary Arts" or "King of Bluster"?

Chapter 386: Chapter 251: "God of Culinary Arts" or "King of Bluster"?

Seventh Dining Hall, first-floor dining area.

Lunchtime had long passed, and now the dining hall was empty, not a single student in sight.

Chen Fugui and the other part-timers had already cleaned the dining area. Though the air still carried the lingering aroma of lunch, overall it seemed quite clean and tidy.

"Boss, these are the pastry boxes I ordered online. They’re food-grade, and the seller included food-grade plastic inserts. They’re ready to use for the pastries."

Hua Xiaoling picked up a folded paper box from nearby and handed it to Jiang Yu, saying,

"Why don’t you check out this box first?"

"Mm."

Jiang Yu nodded and reached out to take the paper box, inspecting it carefully.

This paper box was actually a gift box, similar to a shoe box. The lid was beige, adorned with a hand-drawn image of bamboo and peach blossoms, quite striking.

At the center of the lid, in bold black calligraphy, were the characters "Peach Blossom Pastry". On the left side was "Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall" in smaller characters, and on the right a line of poetry:

"Peach blossoms glide out with a fence-top smile, half-opened are most endearing."

This ancient verse is from Song dynasty poet Wang Zao’s work "Spring Day".

The box itself was yellow and had compartments inside, perfect for holding six Peach Blossom Pastries.

The whole box was about 25 cm long, 17 cm wide, and 6 cm high, slightly smaller than a shoe box.

Jiang Yu picked up a plastic insert with a lid to examine and nodded with satisfaction, saying to Hua Xiaoling,

"Not bad, quite nice, looks pretty classy."

"Boss, since we didn’t order many boxes, there are only 100 sets on sale as ’fan benefits’, so I didn’t buy too many at once, just 120 boxes."

Hua Xiaoling chuckled and pointed to the pile of tightly sealed boxes on the dining table, explaining to Jiang Yu,

"The extra 20 boxes are in case we break some while figuring out how to fold them, so we have spares.

Also, aside from the 100 sets for sale, the boss might want to give some pastries as gifts, and having a box makes them look nicer."

She finished speaking with a radiant smile, eagerly looking at Jiang Yu, asking,

"Boss, am I smart or what?"

"Yes, you’re indeed very smart, very thoughtful."

Unable to hold back his laughter, Jiang Yu praised her without hesitation, nodding approvingly.

However, he hadn’t expected Hua Xiaoling to seize the opportunity with enthusiasm. Upon hearing his praise, she excitedly asked,

"Then boss, can I have a few more Peach Blossom Pastries later? I really love them!"

Jiang Yu: "..."

So this is the real Hua Xiaoling!

No wonder your livestream fans call you "flower-crazed", you’re captivated by ’flowers’, even ’peach blossoms’ aren’t spared!

"We’ll talk about it later!"

Jiang Yu glanced at her, smiling faintly, then said,

"Go see if Xiaoyan and the others are done upstairs. If they’re finished, have them come down to help you fold these boxes."

"Alright! Just watch me do my thing, boss!"

With those words, Hua Xiaoling turned around and dashed upstairs, ready to call for help with the box folding.

Watching Hua Xiaoling’s cheerful figure retreat, Jiang Yu couldn’t help but shake his head and chuckle, then turned and headed back to the first-floor kitchen.

Everyone in the kitchen was still busy making Plum Pork Pastries, and he couldn’t just stand around doing nothing.

The group worked tirelessly all afternoon, not finishing their task until four thirty, finally completing all the pastries.

This time, they had made both the sweet Peach Blossom Pastries and the savory Plum Pork Pastries, quite a substantial amount.

However, aside from the Peach Blossom Pastries baked in the morning, the afternoon batch was yet to be baked; Ma Guoqiang had to look after these.

Fortunately, the pastries were baked using an electric oven, so Ma Guoqiang only needed to place the pastry trays inside, not too labor-intensive.

Otherwise, with so many pastries to bake, it’d be too much for him alone.

After assigning the baking to Ma Guoqiang, Jiang Yu didn’t have time to rest. He rushed to the second-floor kitchen to start preparing dinner.

By then, Hua Xiaoling and the others had already folded the pastry gift boxes.

Yan Tongtong and the others returned to the second floor to host guests dining in private rooms, while Hua Xiaoling brought her laptop to a first-floor private room. She uploaded the "fan benefit" Peach Blossom Pastries to the sales page of the "Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall" restaurant reservation app, waiting for them to go on sale at eight o’clock sharp.

...

Near eight o’clock in Chang’an, night had already fallen.

Perhaps due to the rain, there were few pedestrians on the streets, only cars speeding by, making the night seem even more desolate.

Zhu Yaxue sat by the window, listening to the "pitter-patter" of rain outside, watching the hesitant pedestrians in the rain, imagining the stories that unfolded in their lives.

Were these stories sad, or heart-wrenching?

After pondering for a while, Zhu Yaxue quickly pulled back her gaze, returning her attention to the phone screen in her hand.