Chapter 28: Chapter 28 Giving You a Little Extra Reward
"My apprentice..."
Sensing the flicker of doubt in Zhang Jingdong's eyes, Chen Dalong continued, "Over the years, I've accepted three apprentices, two of which opened their own restaurants after less than a year of learning."
"Only this apprentice has followed me for 5 years. Not to brag, but he now possesses at least 90% of my skill."
Zhang Jingdong hesitated and asked, "Can he make a dish right now?"
Chen Dalong spoke with deep meaning, "Currently, 50% of the dishes in this restaurant are made by him, so you must have already tasted them!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Jingdong thought it over briefly and then said, "Alright, since you say so, I've made my decision!"
"I'll give him 30,000 a month, and if he performs well after two months, I'll raise it to 50,000!"
Unexpectedly, Chen Dalong shook his head at that moment, "We're in this profession, so we must follow the rules. With his current skills, he's only worth 20,000 a month!"
"Although you, Boss Zhang, are not short of money, I have a suggestion. If you really want to make a success of this restaurant, you need to get your accounts straight first!"
Zhang Jingdong did not expect the other party to be so meticulous and professional, not swayed by money.
He instantly realized that this was someone genuinely of the trade.
Now, even though Zhang Jingdong was wealthy, he also understood that money wasn't omnipotent in front of some people.
Especially since the other party truly had his best interests at heart.
Thus, he nodded with a face full of gratitude, "Thank you for your advice, I'll remember it!"
Afterwards, Chen Dalong went out for a moment and then brought in a young man who appeared to be in his twenties.
After retaking his seat, Chen Dalong introduced, "This is my apprentice, Han Xu."
"Han Xu, this is Boss Zhang."
Han Xu glanced at Li Yiran, then nodded to Zhang Jingdong, "Boss Zhang."
Zhang Jingdong responded with a smile, "Hello."
Chen Dalong then said, "Han Xu, you've been studying with me for five years and have some skills now. It's time for you to go out and make your mark!"
Han Xu was immediately surprised, "Master..."
Chen Dalong waved his hand and continued, "Boss Zhang has just opened a new restaurant. You can go there and be the head chef right away, and he'll give you 20,000 a month."
Han Xu hesitated, "Master, but I'm still far from being as good as you, I'm afraid..."
Chen Dalong's eyes also showed a touch of reluctance as he spoke, "In terms of craftsmanship, you're already adept. Like an eagle that has learned to fly, the final step is to jump off the cliff and strive to soar."
"Only by leaving my guidance and taking responsibility on your own will you finally unleash your full potential and succeed."
"Plus, you're still young. Going out into the world to see more can't be bad."
"If it really doesn't work out, you can come back, and by then I will hand over the restaurant to you!"
Finally understanding that his master had made up his mind, Han Xu said, "Alright, Master, I'll follow your lead!"
Once the negotiation was a success, Zhang Jingdong immediately took out the business cards he had just printed yesterday and drew out two.
He handed one to Chen Dalong first, "Boss Chen, thank you for your recommendation. If there is anything you need my help with in the future, just call me!"
Chen Dalong nodded and then took the business card.
Zhang Jingdong then gave the other card to Han Xu, "Take two days to handle your affairs, and call me next Monday!"
Han Xu nodded respectfully, "Alright."
Then he took the business card with both hands.
"Alright, Boss Chen, we won't impose any longer and will take our leave now!"
"Sure, take care!"
After bidding farewell, Zhang Jingdong stood up and left the restaurant with Li Yiran.
The two strolled down the street.
At this moment, the afternoon sun filtered through the dense leaves onto them, casting a sense of inexplicable harmony.
Zhang Jingdong exclaimed, "You really are my lucky star. I thought it would take me at least three to five days to find this expert. This morning I went to three different restaurants myself with no luck."
"But after meeting you, I only visited one restaurant, and we managed to seal the deal!"
Li Yiran was slightly startled and flattered: "You're exaggerating too much. I didn't even know you were looking for a chef, let alone that you were planning to open a restaurant. It was just a coincidence!"
Zhang Jingdong said nonchalantly: "Considering your luck today and your effective recommendation, I'm giving you a little extra reward."
As he spoke, Zhang Jingdong took out his wallet, pulled out about 3000 yuan, and handed it to Li Yiran.
Before Li Yiran could refuse, Zhang Jingdong said directly: "Not all of it is for you; some of it is for you to spend at Boss Chen's place these next few days!"
"After all, they have helped me out a lot, and they even gave up an apprentice for me, so I must show some gratitude! But if I go in person, it would be too obvious, so you'll have to go on my behalf!"
Upon hearing this, Li Yiran had no choice but to nod her head: "Alright then."
Zhang Jingdong then stuffed the money into her hand: "Okay, that's it for today. Are you going home or back to school? Shall I give you a lift?"
Li Yiran was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head: "No need, I'm going home."
Zhang Jingdong nodded, then stretched out his hand to hail a taxi.
"See you tomorrow!"
"...See you tomorrow."
Zhang Jingdong got into the car, and Li Yiran gradually disappeared in the rearview mirror.
Since it was still early, Zhang Jingdong went to the computer market first.
He assembled a desktop computer, bought a computer desk, and also purchased a Dell laptop, spending a total of less than twenty thousand yuan.
He hired people to transport them to his apartment in Spring Breeze Garden and then called someone to set up the internet.
By 8 pm, everything was finally in place.
He brought a pizza takeout to his computer desk, then opened a bottle of chilled Sprite, and happily started his life with internet access.
He spent half an hour reading news on Sohu, then due to a headline that read "Wife divorces husband obsessed with Japan's adult film actresses," he watched an hour of Japanese adult films.
Although there wasn't fast broadcasting at that time, the internet was wildest now. With just a bit of searching with special keywords, one could enter a special website and stream directly.
Well, future smartphones did the same.
After watching Teacher Cang's new film, Zhang Jingdong tidied up, packed the Clay Flute he bought from Xiao Fei's store into his bag, and returned to school.
When he reached the dormitory area, he suddenly saw a large crowd and ran into Lu Yuan and Sun Mian.
He immediately asked, "What's going on? It's quite lively!"
Lu Yuan excitedly said, "It's the dress rehearsal for the music festival. Didn't you know? This year, we've invited many talented people from other schools, even from Tsinghua and Peiking University. There are loads of beautiful girls, and the scene is magnificent!"
Zhang Jingdong's heart stirred: "Really? Then it sounds like there will be something to see tomorrow!"
At this moment, Sun Mian said, "Definitely! Not only will Xiao Fei be a judge, but she will also perform on stage!"
"What performance is she giving?"
Sun Mian smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out tomorrow!"
After the three returned to the dorm, they began discussing the music festival.
Sun Mian sincerely said, "Opportunities really are for those who are prepared. If I had known that I would experience such a grand music festival during my four years of college, I definitely wouldn't have wasted my time reading novels. I would have learned to sing or picked up an instrument or two!"
"Alas, you only realize you're lacking skills when you need them!"
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Zhao Long couldn't help but chime in: "Stop it, isn't it the same for all of us? If I'd known about this scene in advance, I wouldn't be working out so much every day!"
"Today, that Liu Fei from the Physics department, skinny as a stick, just played the guitar on stage. And yet, when he stepped down, girls were already giving him their phone numbers. It's just not fair!"
Lu Yuan then said, "Guys, don't lose heart. Even though we can't do anything special, we can't just go there for nothing tomorrow."
"There will be so many beauties on site, how many are really into music? We can take the opportunity to 'shoot rabbits in the grass.'"
"Here's the plan: Cast a wide net and fish slowly, and we're bound to catch one or two unsuspecting ones!"
Sun Mian sighed, "That's the only way, but even if we can't score any girls, as long as we get to see Xiao Fei's official performance and Lin Shishi's live hosting tomorrow, I'll be satisfied."
"That's true."
"Yeah, seeing the two campus beauties will be enough, what else do we need!"
Zhang Jingdong remained silent throughout.
But in his mind, involuntarily emerged the scene of chatting with Lin Shishi that day, and Xiao Fei's surprised expression when he finished playing the Clay Flute at the music store.