Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 125 Chef Chef

Liu Hongliang was stunned. He stared blankly at Xiao Wei for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table and said, "Fine, that's what you said. Starting tomorrow, I'll carry a stick and guard the restaurant entrance. Anyone who tries to cause trouble will be taken down. Okay, boss?"

Xiao Wei said, "What? A door god? How can we not open for business? Besides, if you're standing there every day, who's going to take out the trash and do the dishes?"

Liu Hongliang stared wide-eyed, pointed at his own nose, and asked, "What else do I have to do?"

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Yeah, if you don't do it, who will? What would I do?"

Liu Hongliang suddenly went limp and slumped onto the table, groaning. He said to Sister Zhang, who was sitting next to him, "Sister Zhang, team leader, please be the judge. Is the boss giving me a hard time?"

Sister Zhang nodded and said, "Yeah, I could tell he was teasing you."

Liu Hongliang waited a while, but Sister Zhang remained silent. He sat up and asked, "What's over? And then?"

Sister Zhang gave him a strange look and said, "Are you done? He was just teasing you. What's wrong? What do you want me to say?"

Liu Hongliang scratched at the table with his fingers and said, "Sister, please uphold justice! Justice!"

Sister Zhang looked at Xiao Wei and said, "He's the boss, he makes the decisions. What's fair? The boss is the fairest."

Xia Maosheng nodded and said, "Yes, it's leveraged."

An Laowu wiped his hands and came out from behind, throwing the rag on the counter and walking over to this side, saying, "It'll be ready soon, don't rush. I made an extra lamb chop for you, I saw you really like it."

Xiao Wei nodded and said, "Okay."

Liu Hongliang glanced at An Laowu and asked, "Are extra dishes free?"

Xie Na said, "That dish costs tens of yuan, is the owner crazy or is he giving it away for free?"

Liu Hongliang said to Xiaowei, "Boss, if everyone in our family had someone like you, we'd be rich."

An Laowu said, "You're all here together? Is your restaurant all set up?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Fifth Brother, these older sisters and brothers are our restaurant employees. Today is the first time we've met, so we've come here to celebrate."

Sister Shang said, "Fifth Brother, our boss said your dumpling filling is really good, and he wants me to learn from you. How about we switch? Ask me if you don't know anything about pastries."

Old Man An nodded and said, "Okay, come over whenever you're free, and I'll talk to you. Actually, it's not a big deal once it's explained, they both already know the rest. By the way, Xia, when does your place open?"

Xia Maosheng paused for a moment, looked at Xiao Wei, and asked, "When will it open?"

Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "A few days later, at the earliest it will be the end of the month."

An Laowu said, "What are we waiting for? Are we going to find someone to choose an auspicious date?"

Xiao Wei said with a wry smile, "What do you mean by 'date'? We have so many things to do, and now we don't even have a chef. How are we supposed to open?"

Sister Zhang asked, "You didn't hire a chef?"

Xiao Wei said, "It was only settled the day before yesterday. I'm here today to take over the house and you all. How could I have had time to look for it?"

Sister Zhang glanced at Sister Shang, thought for a moment, and said, "Well, didn't you ask Manager Liu? Our old chef was really good. If we go find him, he might come back. He's also a construction worker, so we can just give him a raise. You can find someone from outside whose background you don't know, and the pay won't be small. Besides, what about us? Can we work well with the chef we find? We don't want someone who comes back from out of touch with us, and then it'll be awkward and uncomfortable for everyone."

An Laowu said, "Cooks are easy to find. Many of my former colleagues have gone out to work. If all else fails, we can just hire someone in Jinzhou. By the way, Xia, aren't you a cook? Don't you have anyone suitable at your company?"

Xia Maosheng said, "Ours isn't good enough."

An Laowu shook his head and said, "The chef has to be good. Your place is not like mine. I just cook bones and stews. Once you're skilled, there's not much difference. If you want to cook proper Chinese food, you definitely can't do it without a good chef. If the skill level is not good, the quality will not be up to par, and you'll be doomed."

Sister Zhang said, "Why don't you, young boss, go and talk to Manager Liu and ask him to call him for you?"

Bozi called from the kitchen doorway, "Uncle, the food is ready!"

An Laowu turned around and said, "Bring it over, we're all family here."

Sister Shang asked, "Who is this kid? Looks like he has to do everything here. Why don't you hire a couple more people? You don't even have a waiter."

Old Man An laughed, offered cigarettes to Xia Maosheng, Xiao Wei, and Liu Hongliang, and said, "This is my nephew, my third brother's son. He's the one who'll be running this restaurant. How can he manage without training? He has to do everything and understand it, otherwise he'll be nothing. That's how I got started. Besides, do I look like I'm that stingy? The waitress is on leave for the next couple of days, so one of me is enough. If she has to go, I can just fill in myself. It's only for a few days anyway."

Bozi brought over the dishes, grinned, put them on the table, and then started jumping around, blowing his fingers. An Laowu kicked him in the butt: "Are you stupid? Couldn't you find a rag to put on?"

While blowing on his hands, Bozi said, "I've always seen you serve things like this, right?"

An Laowu said, "I got those from burns. Look at these calluses on my hands. Do you have any? You look like a fool all day."

Everyone laughed. Xia Maosheng urged everyone to start eating, and Xiao Wei opened the wine and poured some for everyone, regardless of whether they wanted to drink it or not.

Bozi blew on the glass a few times, rubbed his hands together, and asked, "Uncle, are you talking about finding a chef? Isn't Yingzi's dad a chef?"

An Laowu paused for a moment, then slapped his thigh and said to Xia Maosheng, "That's right, you've overlooked the obvious. Xia, my waitress's dad is a chef, quite famous. He used to work for the government, at that state-run restaurant on the old street, the one with the four signs. He later left and has been staying home lately. Yingzi's mom is sick, and the two of them are staying home with her. Why don't I ask him for you? There aren't many chefs in Longcheng who dare to use the four signs."

Xia Maosheng blinked and asked, "Four decoys?"

Old Man An nodded and said "Ah".

Xia Maosheng glanced at Xiao Wei and said to An Laowu, "Are you free right now? Let's go over there."

An Laowu blinked and said, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Xiao Wei looked at this and that, then asked, "What are you all doing here?"

Xia Maosheng said, "The chef at Lao Sihuang, you know?"

Xiao Wei shook his head: "What's 'Fourth Brother'?"

Xia Maosheng slapped his forehead and said, "You've forgotten everything in your haste! You're a country bumpkin, you don't know anything. Fifth Brother, will you come with me to the capital?"

An Laowu walked towards the kitchen and said, "Looking for Bozi, that's the young wife he's taken a fancy to. He's been going to her house every day, and I don't even know where she lives."

Xia Maosheng turned to look at Bozi, who waved her hands and ran towards the kitchen, saying, "I have work to do, I'll do it." She then went into the kitchen.

Xiao Wei looked around and asked, "What happened?"

Sister Zhang said, "A while ago, restaurants would hang up signs, those red ones, have you seen them? They were hung at the entrance of the restaurants."