Chapter 1495: Chapter 272: Someone to Look Out For! (Part 2)
Growing from a kitchen helper picking vegetables and washing dishes into a chef not only requires diligent learning and hard work but also opportunities.
Han Xiangning snapped back, thought for a moment, and asked with a smile, "And then what happened?"
Recalling the experiences of recent years, Xiang Aidong said with some embarrassment, "The business at that place got better and better. The boss wanted to expand, so he trusted a friend’s advice and opened a large restaurant in Chen City. But Chen City isn’t like the county; there are so many restaurants there. Back in the county, we made mostly home-cooked dishes, nothing unique, and didn’t have regular customers.
The rent and wages were so high, and a lot of money was spent on decoration. Our pricing for dishes wasn’t very affordable, and there weren’t many customers each day. The place closed in less than three months. The boss ended up losing all the money he made from the store back home and owed a lot of money to others."
"Sis, Ai Tong and I met at that restaurant." Zhang Hongmei chuckled mischievously, then murmured, "That boss still owes us a month’s salary, we don’t even know where he’s hiding, and it’s impossible to collect that money."
Han Xiangning nodded and continued to ask, "And then, what happened after that?"
"After the restaurant closed, we didn’t want to go back home, so we looked for work in Chen City. We worked at several places and met many people." Zhang Hongmei turned to her boyfriend, smiling with embarrassment, "I’ve always been a waitress, and Ai Tong has always worked in the kitchen. We even worked at a five-star hotel."
"There aren’t many five-star hotels in Binjiang. Why did you stop working there?"
"Large hotel kitchens are contracted out like construction crews. The head chef contracts the kitchen, bringing chefs, sous chefs, station chefs, and kitchen helpers to work. After working for a while, it was either because wages weren’t paid on time or the hotels wanted to change dishes, flavors, or people. You can’t work long at a big hotel, and the pay isn’t high there."
"Ai Tong, have you ever contracted a large hotel kitchen?"
"No, I’ve always worked under someone else."
As they chatted, Han Yu returned.
Han Yu, like Han Xiangning, was shocked by the delicious dishes prepared and the neat, clean living room, couldn’t help but laugh, "Ai Tong, Hongmei, I was about to take you to the cafeteria to eat, but you ended up buying groceries and cooking for us instead!"
"We went to the wholesale market this afternoon, saw many people selling vegetables and seasonings, and bought some to make ourselves."
"You went to the wholesale market after trying the dishes this afternoon?"
"I... I wanted to see what vegetables and seasonings were available here."
Truly loving the work one does.
Han Yu realized that his little cousin was more mature and capable than he had imagined, and was about to ask how his afternoon talks with a few restaurant owners went when his little cousin plated the braised pork and urged him and Han Xiangning to eat first.
"No rush, we’ll wait for you, let’s eat together."
"Don’t wait for me, I’ll be ready shortly."
Zhang Hongmei placed the flavorful braised pork on the table, picked up a bottle of juice, and called back, "Sis, brother-in-law, let’s eat first, really no need to wait!"
Mom always liked to watch others eat the dishes she cooked at home.
Han Yu understood the sentiments of chefs, washed his hands, and sat down with a smile, "Alright, we’ll eat while we wait."
It was evident that professional chef skills exceeded those of a mother-in-law who was an amateur chef.
The Spicy Chicken was spicy, numbing, and delicious, the garlic mashed meat was not greasy at all, and the Red Oil Ear Strips were fragrant and crisp.
Han Yu’s favorite was the pickled fish made by his little cousin, with the fish sliced thinly, without many bones—very tender, flavorful, and instantly melting in the mouth. The thick fish soup was even tastier, especially appetizing...
"San’er, weren’t you the one who doesn’t eat fish?" Han Xiangning saw him devouring it non-stop and couldn’t help but ask with a laugh.
"This is pickled fish, the fish is delicious, and the pickled vegetables are also good!"
Han Yu took a sip of the soup and looked up with a smile, "Ai Tong, don’t pour out this soup later; save it for me to cook noodles tomorrow morning. Fish soup with noodles must be delicious."
"Sure!" With his cousin and cousin-in-law enjoying his dishes, Xiang Aidong felt a sense of accomplishment.
Han Yu laughed, "I almost forgot to ask, how many places did you talk to in the afternoon?"
Han Xiangning was confused and asked instinctively, "Talk about what?"
"Job discussions, Ai Tong and Hongmei went out to look for work today."
"Did you go out to find work yourselves?"
Without waiting for Xiang Aidong to speak, Zhang Hongmei naturally said, "We always find work ourselves, sometimes friends introduce us, but mainly we find it ourselves."
Han Xiangning couldn’t believe her ears, asked in shock, "How do you find it?"
"By going around, hotels tend to put up recruitment signs at the door, so we go in and ask the boss directly. Agencies are misleading; before, the restaurants we worked at never used agencies to recruit, yet agencies collect fees from restaurants, providing them with staff."
"Did you find one?"
"We did, we visited a few places and talked to several, in the end, we felt the small restaurant behind Wenfeng Mall that is undergoing renovation was the best."
Little cousin and his girlfriend found jobs just like that!
Han Xiangning was stunned, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Han Yu then asked with a smile, "Why do you think that place is good?"
Xiang Aidong took a small sip of his drink and explained, "Although the place is small, there are several large malls around, many phone stores, it’s a good location with lots of people, as long as the dishes are good and priced reasonably, business won’t be bad. The boss making money is necessary to pay us."
"Ai Tong, you have the skill and insight, you can open your own restaurant and be the boss!"
"Brother-in-law, our goal is to open our own restaurant in the future." Zhang Hongmei turned to look at her boyfriend, filled with beautiful hopes for the future.
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