Chapter 54 The Greedy Girl

When Lin Xiangnan arrived, Wu Cuicui was already waiting at the restaurant entrance. Upon seeing her, Wu Cuicui instructed, “Park your bicycle in the backyard. Come with me to meet Manager Zhao and Chef Zhang.”

“Okay.” Lin Xiangnan responded with a respectful attitude.

Before even joining the company, she had to make a good impression.

After getting hired, she could reveal her true self.

Since they were related, Wu Cuicui was very thorough in her explanation. Before meeting the others, she reminded, “Our West District Restaurant has five people: Manager Zhao Youliang, Chef Zhang Dapang, apprentice Zhang Yong, and another helper like me, Ye Feiyan. The restaurant is small but has many people, so it’s not tiring.”

A helper was basically someone who did odd jobs, like chopping vegetables, washing dishes, and serving as a waiter during meal times.

Even pregnant Wu Cuicui could handle it, so Lin Xiangnan certainly wouldn’t have any problems.

“Zhang Yong is a reliable kid, he’s always willing to take on any task. Sister Ye is also quick with her hands, just a bit careless, but they’re both easy to get along with.”

“Although Manager Zhao Youliang is the manager, Chef Zhang Dapang is the real decision-maker. He decides what dishes the restaurant orders and what meals are served. Sometimes, the manager even has to appease Chef Zhang to get things done. The person you can’t offend in this restaurant is Zhang Dapang.”

“So Chef Zhang’s cooking must be pretty good.” Lin Xiangnan licked her lips, her mouth watering. “I haven’t eaten at this state-owned restaurant in West District yet. I’ll have to try it properly today.”

“Of course, Chef Zhang is the signature of our restaurant.”

Lin Xiangnan felt lucky that she wasn’t taking over as a chef. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even dare to come.

The potatoes she had carefully stewed last night, even her least picky brother, Lin Xiangxi, could only manage to say, “Such a strong potato flavor. It’s truly authentic!”

He couldn’t praise it any further.

But this restaurant’s Chef Zhang had an ancestor who was an imperial chef.

Before liberation, this restaurant was owned by Zhang Dapang. He sold cold dishes in summer and mutton soup in winter, and his business was good. Later, during the public-private partnership, the organization assigned a manager and two helpers, and Zhang Dapang only worked as a chef in the kitchen.

The city was so big, there was obviously more than one restaurant, but Zhang Dapang’s cooking skills were among the best in the city, especially his stews, which were always in high demand every winter.

Zhang Dapang was in his fifties, tall and stout, with a round face, a round head, and no hair, looking like a glowing fat boiled egg.

During the famine, cooks never starved, and Zhang Dapang’s family’s living standard had always been at the forefront, making it difficult for him to lose weight.

Seeing Wu Cuicui bring a new recruit, Zhang Dapang happily said, “You’re so big with your belly, you should be resting at home. It’s just that we don’t have the conditions now. When my wife was pregnant, I would stew chicken for her every few days. My daughter was born white and plump, so adorable.”

Wu Cuicui quickly introduced, “Uncle Zhang, this is my niece, Lin Xiangnan. I’m going home to rest, and she’s taking over my job. You have to take good care of her from now on.”

Lin Xiangnan didn’t want to complain about her generation anymore, so she could only smile and greet, “Grandpa Zhang, just call me Xiaonan. If you need anything, just tell me.”

She was putting on a good act first, whether she could actually do it was another matter.

“What grandpa, just call me uncle. We’ll address each other according to our own generations.” Zhang Dapang looked Lin Xiangnan up and down and said, “This girl looks blessed. I like her. Alright, don’t delay here, go find Zhao Youliang.”

The kitchen helper’s job wasn’t difficult, and Zhao Youliang didn’t ask much, directly agreeing to Lin Xiangnan taking over. He had her and Wu Cuicui fill out a form, and that settled the matter.

Wu Cuicui took the remaining five hundred yuan and went home to rest, while Lin Xiangnan picked up a cleaver and prepared to chop vegetables.

“You peel the garlic. I’ll chop this.” Zhang Yong took the meat from Lin Xiangnan’s hand, refusing to be refused.

Lin Xiangnan was amused by his words, but it was her first day of work, so she politely said, “No need, I can chop it.”

Sister Ye, who was peeling potatoes, laughed and said, “Xiaonan, just give it to him, he’s practicing his knife skills.”

No wonder Wu Cuicui called Zhang Yong reliable. Lin Xiangnan now saw him as handsome, and happily gave him the meat, taking a bowl of garlic to peel.

There were only three dishes for the day: shredded potatoes, tomato scrambled eggs, and cold chicken.

Zhang Yong handled all the tasks that required knife skills, while Lin Xiangnan and the others only needed to cut the tomatoes into pieces and slice the onions, which involved no technique at all.

While working, Ye Feiyan chatted with Lin Xiangnan, “How old are you… where do you live… are you married… what’s your relationship with Wu Cuicui…”

“Sister Ye, I’m working, I can’t be distracted, otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll cut myself.”

“You’re so slow, it’s obvious you don’t do much work at home. It’s just a tomato, why cut it so neatly, two or three cuts will do.” Ye Feiyan wanted to give Lin Xiangnan some work, but seeing her speed, she couldn’t help but purse her lips.

At this time, Zhang Yong interjected, “Xiaonan, you shouldn’t learn from Sister Ye. She doesn’t even cut off the stem of the tomato, Master will scold her again.”

“So what if he scolds? It’s not like it’s missing a piece of meat. Zhang Dapang is just being fussy.”

Ye Feiyan worked fast but her technique was rough. When peeling potatoes, she would skip over the sprout eyes, and when washing vegetables, she would just rinse them once.

When Zhang Dapang saw the garlic Lin Xiangnan had peeled today, he knew immediately.

“I don’t need to ask, I know this was peeled by the new employee, it’s clean.”

Ye Feiyan disagreed, “It’s clean, but it’s slow.”

Work that usually took half an hour took forty minutes today.

“What’s wrong with being slow? We’re not in a hurry.” Zhang Dapang glared at her.

Ye Feiyan was used to being scolded, so she didn’t care, sniffed, and asked, “Master Zhang, did you braise something again today? Give me some braising broth, I’ll take it home to cook with, it’ll have a meaty flavor.”

It wasn’t easy for him to put together a pot of braising broth. You just want to take it for free.”

“It’s so hot, your braising broth won’t keep anyway. Give me two bowls, okay?” Ye Feiyan asked, licking her lips, “Did you braise pork today? Do we need tickets for the meat today? If not, I’ll pay for it.”

A person’s monthly ration was only half a catty of meat and three ounces of cooking oil. Even working at the restaurant, Ye Feiyan couldn’t eat meat twice a month.

The current trend was that if you tried to take advantage of the public, you would be criticized.

They had to pay money and tickets to eat at the restaurant, but they could definitely get a little more in terms of portion size. A single serving of food could be packed and taken home for two or three people to eat, which was about the same cost as cooking at home.

Zhang Dapang glanced at Ye Feiyan with disdain, “Lucky for you. The meat today doesn’t need tickets, just money. I’ll give you half a catty later.”

Some of the restaurant’s ingredients were part of the plan, requiring tickets to purchase. Some were outside the plan and could be purchased with money.

Like the two pigs raised by Second Uncle in the countryside, one pig was to be purchased by the supply and marketing cooperative, which was planned meat. The other was his own, and when sold to the supply and marketing cooperative, it was considered unplanned meat.

Lin Xiangnan didn’t lack meat, but she craved Chef Zhang’s braised meat, so she also raised her hand and shouted, “I want some too.”

Zhang Dapang shook his head at her, sighing, “Another gluttonous girl has joined the restaurant.”