Rebirth 07: Starting with Saving a Bankrupt Restaurant

Shi Ying looked at the Mapo Tofu Rice Bowl in Zhou Wen's hand and nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

Two new dishes were introduced this time, and Shi Ying, as a restaurant employee, naturally had to try them both. Zhou Wen had only given her a small portion of the minced meat and eggplant rice, so Shi Ying wasn't very full yet.

After Shi Ying finished eating the last bite of her meal, Zhou Wen worried that there might still be some lingering taste of minced meat and eggplant in the bowl, causing some lingering odors, so he went to the kitchen to get a clean bowl.

"Whoosh~ It's so hot." Shi Ying fanned herself with her small hands.

Zhou Wen smiled and said, "Eat slowly."

After taking a bite, Shi Ying said, "Mapo tofu tastes better."

After saying that, Shi Ying chuckled and explained, "Maybe I just like spicy food."

Zhou Wen smiled and didn't say anything more, then began to taste it himself.

Overall, it's savory, spicy, and numbing, with smooth and tender tofu that's well-seasoned.

Not bad.

at the same time.

Earlier, Ruyi Restaurant also welcomed their newly hired chef.

"Chef Liao, you've arrived," Ma Xianling said very politely.

The man known as Chef Liao is quite old, with some gray at his temples, but his hair is meticulously styled.

His face was deeply etched with wrinkles, and his eyes were calm and authoritative, exuding an air of authority without anger—truly befitting a master chef.

Chef Liao simply nodded in response to Ma Xianling's greeting without saying anything more.

Ma Xianling, speaking with a fawning tone to Chef Liao, whom he had finally managed to hire, said, "Chef Liao, please have a seat. I'll go pour you a cup of tea."

Ma Xianling had naturally sought out people to learn more about Chef Liao.

Chef Liao, whose real name is Liao Zheng, can be considered a semi-local.

Chefs like this can usually continue working as long as they don't want to retire.

However, since there is a new baby in the family this year, these older people naturally have a special fondness for the younger generation, and the baby's parents are unable to take good care of the child due to work.

In addition, having worked hard for most of her life, she quit her original job and returned to her home province to help take care of the children.

It was fine at first, but after a while I started to feel a little uncomfortable.

Liao Zheng was not fond of talking, so he was completely clueless about how to coax children. Because he often had a stern face, his own child would often cry.

So he thought about going back to work and finding another job, and since Ruyi Hotel was relatively close by, he felt like he had an advantage.

In the end, we chose this place.

"Is it reliable or not?"

"What's the rush? Let me pour the other chef a glass of water first. I'll let you know when the results are in," Ma Xianling said.

Without chatting with his wife any longer, afraid of upsetting the chef, Ma Xianling poured himself a cup of tea and hurried back.

"Chef Liao, please have some tea."

Liao Zheng nodded, took the tea, and placed it on the table without drinking it.

They then started chatting, but it was mostly Ma Xianling talking, with Liao Zheng only occasionally saying a few words or nodding.

"..."

"Chef Liao earns 3500 a month, just like we said before."

Liao Zheng took a sip of tea and nodded.

"Um... Chef Liao, could you show me a little bit of your skills? Of course, I don't mean anything by it, I'm just curious about the skills of chefs like you." Ma Xianling rubbed his hands together and said.

Liao Zheng stood up and said calmly, "Take me to the kitchen."

"Okay, sure." Ma Xianling didn't dare to delay and led Liao Zheng to the kitchen.

"Chef Liao, why don't you make a plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce? All the ingredients are here." Ma Xianling still couldn't forget about shredded pork with garlic sauce.

Liao Zheng didn't say much. After carefully wiping the knife, he quickly chopped the side dishes.

Ma Xianling, who was watching from the sidelines, gradually widened his eyes.

The chef truly lives up to his reputation; his knife skills are far beyond what I can match.

In no time at all, a whole carrot was cut into strips of almost the same size and length.

Ma Xianling leaned forward and wiped his eyes.

The size and length of these carrot shreds are almost identical.

Next came the green peppers. Liao Zheng first used a knife to gently make a slit in the green pepper, then laid it flat, and the seeds inside were easily removed.

Soon all the ingredients were chopped and set aside, the whole process was smooth and orderly.

Next came the cooking segment. If Zhou Wen were here, he could only say, "Master Chef."

Soon, a dish of shredded pork with garlic sauce was ready.

"Try it and see." Liao Zheng's tone remained calm and unhurried.

"Okay." Ma Xianling picked up a pair of chopsticks and began to savor the delicious and flavorful shredded pork with garlic sauce.

Ma Xianling had never tasted Zhou Wen's Yu Xiang Rou Si (shredded pork with garlic sauce), but had often heard of it. However, after tasting Liao Zheng's Yu Xiang Rou Si, she realized that...

Ma Xianling could only say that the taste of Zhouji Restaurant was probably the same as the taste of this plate of shredded pork with garlic sauce.

"Any other questions?" Liao Zheng asked, wiping his hands with a clean cloth.

"No problem, no problem," Ma Xianling hurriedly said.

Liao Zheng nodded slightly: "If there are no problems, then let's proceed as agreed before."

"Yes," Ma Xianling nodded.

After having some water and chatting in the lobby, Liao Zheng got up to leave, and Ma Xianling followed him for a distance before returning to the hotel.

"How is it?" Liu Fengru asked impatiently.

Ma Xianling didn't say much, but led Liu Fengru to the kitchen and handed her a pair of chopsticks, saying, "Try it yourself."

Liu Fengru took the chopsticks, picked up a piece, and looked surprised: "Was this made by Chef Liao?"

Ma Xianling nodded.

"Has the chef left?" Liu Fengru asked.

"Yeah, other people only start work tomorrow, so it might only be one day."

"I didn't expect Chef Liao to be so talented. Your shredded pork with garlic sauce is nowhere near as good as Chef Liao's."

After taking another bite, Liu Fengru asked, "Why didn't you ask Chef Liao to make a few more dishes?"

Ma Xianling's face darkened as he said, "Making one dish is about enough..."

……

noon.

After Zhouji Restaurant opened, the first customer to arrive was Zhang Liang.

"I'd like one of the store's newest items," Zhang Liang said after sitting down.

"We've added two new rice bowl dishes to the menu: one is eggplant with minced pork, and the other is Mapo tofu rice bowl. Both are 10 yuan," Shi Ying said.

"Two dishes?" Li Liang's eyes lit up when he heard Shi Ying's words: "Then bring one of each."

Shi Ying had a deep impression of this diner who had given her advice and had a large appetite.