The Northern Stories of Chef Lao Tan

Chapter 88
After coming out of the kitchen, Zhang Yu called Xia Juan and Yan Dahu, and Lao Tan and Mulan came to a relatively famous barbecue restaurant in Bayi Market of Hohhot to meet Lao Tan and Mulan.

There is already a woman who has ordered grilled lamb chops and various skewers in advance and is waiting.

The woman's surname is Guo, and her name is Guo Xiaoying, Zhang Yu's business friend.

Guo Xiaoying has fair skin, a delicate face, fashionable clothes, and a kind of intellectual beauty.

She greeted Lao Tan and Mulan politely in standard Mandarin, and warmly invited them to the table.

After the six people sat down, Zhang Yu said first, "To meet Master Tan and Manager Mu, I haven't been with Xia Juan and Dahu for a long time. Today is just right, let's have a lively and lively time together."

Everyone raised their glasses together and drank the first glass of wine.

Xia Juan stood up and took a knife to skillfully disassemble the lamb chops, and handed one to each of them.

The lamb chops were not as good as Mulan's previous dry Mongolia restaurant, and they were a little black.

Zhang Yu took a sip, then picked up the wine glass and said to Old Tan: "Master Tan, I have heard about you from Old Wu a long time ago, and I have never had a chance to meet you. Come, let's have a drink."

Old Tan smiled and raised his wine glass to touch him, and drank it down in one gulp.

After putting down his wine glass, Zhang Yu said: "The situation here is like this. The restaurant has been in business for six years, and the business was really good in the first few years, and it made a lot of money. After it started dumping coal, I didn't have time to take care of it, and the business began to decline."

Then he pointed to Xia Juan and Yan Dahu, and continued: "They have been here for a long time, Xia Juan has been here for more than two years, and Dahu has been here for a year. I am not in the restaurant, they are in charge. Xia Juan is an affordable person. We from Northeast China have absolutely no problem with our character. We treat restaurants like our own. Big tigers are fine too, but they don’t like to talk and they know what they are doing.

Our family mainly serves Northeastern dishes, with Sichuan and Hunan dishes attached.Dahu cooks Sichuan and Hunan dishes well, but he is not familiar with Northeast dishes.In the past, there were two northeastern cooks in our family who did a good job, but later they got into a fight and ran away.Now the Northeast cuisine is not good, Master Tan, please observe for two days to understand the situation.

Dumb is in the kitchen every day, ask him if he doesn't know, he will cooperate with you.If you feel that the food is not good, you can adjust the food, if the cook is not good, you can change the cook. Anyway, I don’t care if you come, and I can’t let you go. "

Zhang Yu smiled narrowly after speaking.

Old Tan didn't say anything, just nodded with a smile.

Zhang Yu went on to talk about the front desk: "The problem with the front desk is that the service can't be improved. Xia Juan's work is fine, she's almost in charge of people, and she's a knife mouth. This time Manager Mu is here, take her with you. Xia Juan, you and Manager Mu studies hard, he is old and powerful."

Xia Juan said modestly: "I promise to study hard."

"Xia Juan has a good temper, and she can say whatever she wants." Zhang Yu reminded after finishing speaking, "Xia Juan, this time I will find you a master to express my gratitude."

Xia Juan understood, raised her wine glass and said to Mulan, "Manager Mu, bring me with you more in the future, and I'll toast you."

Mulan was a little embarrassed, and said quickly: "You're welcome, I can't do it either, we both learn from each other."

Mulan and Xia Juan were drinking, and Guo Xiaoying suggested that Zhang Yu and the three of them had a drink.

The head chef, Yan Dahu, didn't speak a word, didn't drink much, and was a little depressed.He felt that Zhang Yu brought Lao Tan here because he began to distrust himself, and at the same time denied the work he had done before, which made him very uncomfortable.And also felt a threat, feeling that if he didn't cooperate with Lao Tan, he might be laid off.

No one likes to be laid off, let alone he is comfortable working here.The boss is not in the restaurant, the kitchen decides what it wants to do, and there are several people under one person, like an emperor.

Now that Lao Tan is here, the good times are coming to an end, which is unacceptable to him.So what I think about now is not how to cooperate with Lao Tan, but how to get Lao Tan away.

After drinking for a while, Zhang Yu said to Lao Tan: "I don't really work in restaurants. My daughter-in-law goes to work every day and doesn't care about restaurants. Lao Wu told me last year that the dumpling restaurant you built in the provincial capital was very good. At that time, I wanted to go there. Check it out. Hey, I'm so busy every day that I don't have time to spare.

After the Chinese New Year this year, I thought about it, and saw that the decoration of the hotel was outdated, so I thought about tidying up and redecorating for the New Year.Wait for the decoration to go over and inspect, and choose a good project by the way. "

Old Tan said: "That's fine, don't worry."

"Master Tan, please stay here for a few more days and help me tidy up the hotel. I don't have time, so I will leave the hotel to you. I have to go to Ordos tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and I have to come back in a week at the earliest. What's the matter?" Let's talk on the phone, you should work harder when you're not at home, it's hard work." Zhang Yu said sincerely.

Lao Tan raised the issue of accommodation, and he and Mulan could not stay in hotels all the time.It happened that Guo Xiaoying had an apartment in the community behind the hotel, which had been vacant, so Lao Tan and Mulan lived there temporarily.

We didn't drink too much wine, and we talked for a while after talking about the business, and then it was over.

After arriving at the hotel, Mulan said that she was not full and was a little hungry.Lao Tan wasn't full either. In fact, the two of them had only one staple meal today, which was breakfast.Lao Tan wants to eat a bowl of noodles.

The two searched outside for a long time but couldn't find a restaurant that was still open, but there were two karaoke halls that were brightly lit.Finally, after passing the traffic post that I arrived during the day, I walked forward for a while before I found a small alley with six or seven restaurants that were still open.

These six or seven restaurants are not large in scale, about [-] square meters, but the business of each family is very hot, and there are no seats when they are full.The two had no choice but to pack two bowls of noodles and two side dishes.

When she arrived at the hotel, Mulan bought a few more bottles of beer in the small supermarket.

Eating noodles and drinking beer with side dishes is also considered an alternative.

"Master Tan, you are here with me. If I come by myself, I promise to go back tomorrow." Mulan said.

"You're not used to it. I was the same way when I first came to other places. I felt that I was unfamiliar with the place. I felt lonely. I didn't want to look at anything. I didn't want to do it. It's fine when I get familiar with it." Old Tan said.

"This is the first time for me to travel so far, and I felt homesick when I got off the train—" Mulan smiled, and then said: "I saw that Boss Zhang was very honest during the meal just now, and he took us two seriously. Yes, I decided to do it here."

"Boss Zhang is not bad, and he is quite affordable." Old Tan said.

"You have to straighten things out for me before you leave. I can't do anything if you leave." Mulan said seriously.

"Just do it normally." Old Tan smiled at Mulan, and said, "You just came here with a careless heart, and you'll be fine after two months. This is like a new wife. If you don't enter the bridal chamber, it's your husband's family. It's home."

Mulan was amused by Lao Tan's metaphor.

"Go ahead, take care of you, you can do it." Old Tan encouraged.

"I can't do anything about it. I'm alone. Why don't I do it? I have to support myself. I'm thinking about working for two more years while I'm young, so I can save some pension money." Mulan said softly.

"You're not yet forty, find another one that suits you."

Mulan sighed, and said: "It's hard to find, high or low, how can it be so easy to touch?" After speaking, she asked Old Tan: "Master Tan, you always work outside and don't want to go home?"

Old Tan said: "I think, why don't you think about it, just like you, there is no way to support a family, otherwise, what should I do?"

"You are better than me. You have a wife and children. I'm alone—"

"A good, easygoing one."

Lao Tan and Mulan started to work.

12 people at the front desk.

Xia Juan is the foreman, five waiters, three waiters, one bar counter, one cleaner, and one laundry.

When Mulan appeared at the front desk in business attire, everyone's eyes lit up and they were all excited.

Mulan in business attire is a completely different person from yesterday.Yesterday she was a middle-aged woman, today she is a workplace beauty with a strong aura, she looks like a manager at first glance, and she is a very strong type.

The waiter, the waiter, Xia Juan, and the bar were all a little stunned.

Looks like she's doing a good job.

Lao Tan was still dressed as yesterday, first looked at the front desk for a while, and then went to the kitchen on the second floor.

There was only one chef on the stove, Yan Dahu and the other chef were not there.

The three chopping boards were chatting and cutting things, and they didn't pay much attention to Lao Tan coming in.

Two lotus tables are sliced ​​with onion, ginger and garlic.

The cold dish Baojun nodded to Lao Tan with a smile. Lao Tan asked where the chef was, and he said it might be in the backyard.

Lao Tan went down from the kitchen to the first floor and opened the back door.

This is a backyard, separated from the community behind by an iron fence.

Yan Dahu and another chef were sitting on a small bench chatting, and stood up together when Lao Tan came over.

"This is my younger brother." Yan Dahu introduced.

Lao Tan sized up Yan Dahu's brother, the two brothers did not look alike, his brother had big eyes and double eyelids.

Yan Erhu greeted Lao Tan and went upstairs.

Yan Dahu moved the small bench his younger brother was sitting on to Lao Tan, and handed him a cigarette.

Old Tan sat down, took out his lighter and lit his cigarette.

"Is it the first time for Master Tan to come to Hohhot?" Yan Dahu asked.

"Well, it's the first time." Old Tan nodded.

"Have you known the boss before?" Yan Dahu asked tentatively.

"I don't know him, I'm familiar with his comrade-in-arms." Old Tan didn't hide anything, telling the truth.

"Oh—Master Tan doesn't plan to work here?" Yan Dahu continued to probe.

"Well, I'll be leaving in two days."

"Oh——" Yan Dahu nodded thoughtfully, and then asked: "The boss wants to strengthen the Northeast cuisine. Master Tan cooks Northeast cuisine, right?"

"Well, I'm from the provincial city." Lao Tan answered the question, telling himself from the side that he is a native of the Northeast, and you said that he cooks Northeast cuisine.

"How long have you been working?"

Old Tan smiled, feeling a little helpless at Yan Dahu's questioning, and said: "17 years——" Then he asked: "How is our Northeast cuisine?"

Yan Dahu was embarrassed——
(End of this chapter)