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On the first day of the official launch, Su Yi and her team arrived at the kitchen just at dawn.
They successfully received the ingredients and seasonings they needed.
Xu Xiaoqin was in charge of handling the vegetables—washing them, soaking, cutting, and blanching.
Zhang Tianhua took on the task of preparing the meat dishes, which took quite a bit of time just for cleaning.
Su Yi focused on preparing the braising spice mix. Once Zhang Tianhua had finished with the meat, Su Yi poured everything into the large pot to simmer.
After that, Su Yi concentrated on making the sauce.
Garlic, small chili peppers, cilantro, Sichuan pepper powder, and soy sauce—all the seasonings had to be included.
The sauce Su Yi prepared was a perfect blend of five parts freshness, three parts spiciness, and a hint of sour sweetness.
In the sweltering summer heat, it was incredibly appetizing.
Su Yi used the sauce to mix with some of the chopped vegetables and had the other two taste it.
After trying it, both of them were reassured and their earlier concerns disappeared.
They could hardly wait for mealtime!
“Sister Su Yi, are the braised meats ready yet?”
Su Yi planned to have Zhang Tianhua manage the braised dishes in the future, so she had him observe closely while she was preparing them. “Different parts require different cooking times.”
“These should be cooled down first, then cut into thin slices or small chunks. Just like the vegetables, they should be neatly arranged, so it’s quicker to mix when serving.”
“Got it!”
Once all the ingredients and sauces were prepared, Su Yi trained the two on how to mix the dishes.
When mealtime approached, a swarm of people rushed into the cafeteria.
Many people didn’t notice the changes at the cold dish window in the corner and instead headed straight to the hot dish line at the entrance.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to their section, Xu Xiaoqin became anxious. “Sister Su Yi, our window is too out of the way. What if no one notices?”
Even Chef Wang, usually busy at this time, took a moment to ‘check in.’
“Xiao Su, with so many people in the cafeteria, you haven’t sold a single cold dish yet, have you?”
Su Yi twitched her lips. “We didn’t want to make a big announcement, fearing that if we prepared too few, there wouldn’t be enough to go around, and that would be problematic.”
Chef Wang snorted, seemingly exasperated by Su Yi’s audacity. He thought that eventually, she’d have her moment of regret!
Seeing that no one was coming over, Chef Wang went back to his own station.
Xu Xiaoqin and Zhang Tianhua were both sweating with anxiety.
Only Su Yi kept her eyes fixed on the door, as if waiting for someone.
Xu Xiaoqin couldn’t help but ask, “Sister Su Yi, what are you looking at?”
Suddenly, Su Yi spotted familiar figures in the crowd and cheerfully said to the others, “They’re here! Quickly, get ready.”
As soon as she finished speaking, they saw Aunt Yao and Aunt Zheng arriving with a few children.
Behind them, several other women from the compound followed along.
“Why are today’s cold dishes so varied? And there’s meat too?”
“These dishes look so appetizing. I’ll take a portion!”
“I want one too!”
Before they even reached the window, they were already enthusiastically talking about the dishes. Su Yi couldn’t help but smile and quickly introduced the options to them.
“We have both vegetarian and meat assortments today. Just take as much of what you like!”
Seeing the crowd arriving, Xu Xiaoqin and Zhang Tianhua immediately sprang into action, their enthusiasm surging.
They eagerly helped with the introductions and quickly began preparing the dishes.
The commotion at the cold dish window quickly attracted attention from the people lining up at other stations.
Curiosity got the better of them, and they began to look over.
“What’s that new dish over there? I remember the cold dish window being quite plain before. Why are there so many people now?”
“Let’s go take a look. We’ll be waiting here for a while anyway.”
As a small group moved over, they saw Xu Xiaoqin and Zhang Tianhua mixing the dishes.
The bowls were filled with a rich variety of vegetables, and the sauce looked incredibly appetizing.
Standing behind them was the young woman who used to cook for Elder Mo.
It was said that Elder Mo had delayed his return to Beijing simply because he didn’t want to part with her cooking.
Now that Elder Mo had just left, this girl had been assigned to the cold dish window.
Given Elder Mo’s high praise, people were eager to try the dishes for themselves.
Soon, everyone lined up behind them, excited to see what all the fuss was about.
As the line continued to grow longer and the bowls of ingredients dwindled, Xu Xiaoqin started to worry.
“I should have made more! Now so many people are waiting in line and might not get any. What if they get upset and never come back?”
Su Yi smiled, “Silly girl, who would hold a grudge against delicious food?”
“The harder it is to get, the more appealing it becomes!”
She then called out to the back, “There are only five portions of cold dishes left! The rest of you should stop lining up and come back in the evening!”
The first five people in line were overjoyed, feeling like they’d struck gold.
The others further back, disappointed, gradually left.
Those who managed to get the cold dishes quickly spread out in various corners of the cafeteria.
Their delicious-looking meals caught the attention of others nearby.
“It looks really good! How about we come earlier tonight and head straight to the cold dish window when we arrive?”
“I think that’s a great idea. We can line up for the cold dishes first and then get the steamed buns. We could even add the cold dishes to the buns. I’m already drooling just thinking about it!”
On the other side, the three of them who had finished selling all the cold dishes were already starting to clean up.
Chef Wang, who had been busy at the front and had missed the action, finally arrived. He had intended to come over and see them making a mess, and maybe even hold Su Yi accountable.
He was ready to calculate any financial losses and deductions.
However, when he arrived, he found that the three had already cleaned up swiftly.
“What about the dishes?”
“What dishes?”
“The ones in those bowls?”
“Oh, they’re all sold out!”
Su Yi replied with the calmest demeanor, while Xu Xiaoqin and Zhang Tianhua were thrilled.
Chef Wang stared in disbelief, rummaging around to check.
The bowls were completely empty! Not a single dish left!
“How is this possible? I didn’t see anyone come over!”
Su Yi smiled and said, “It happened so quickly that they were all snatched up. But don’t worry, Chef Wang. Come by early in the evening to see for yourself.”
After saying that, the three of them left.
Chef Wang was left alone, staring blankly in the spot.
……
In the following days, the line for the cold dish window grew longer and longer.
The amount of food that needed to be prepared each day increased, but fortunately, Xu Xiaoqin and Zhang Tianhua were becoming more proficient.
They got better and quicker at mixing the dishes.
Su Yi felt confident leaving the window to them while she focused on developing new recipes in the back kitchen.
In a couple of days, she also planned to request from Master Ma the addition of cold noodles at the main dish window.
The noodles wouldn’t need extra condiments—just some white noodles that had been cooled.
Pairing these with the cold dishes would make for a perfect combination.
That noon, while Su Yi was busy in the back kitchen, Xu Xiaoqin suddenly ran over from the front where she was working with the big dishes.
“Su Yi, we’re running low on sauce!”
Su Yi quickly replied, “I’ll take care of it and bring it over right away.”
After preparing the sauce and delivering it to the window, Su Yi happened to run into Qin Yunfeng and Bai Ruolin, who were in line for the food.
It had been a long time since she’d had a direct encounter with them, and she almost thought she had escaped their storyline.