Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 126 The Swallows Are Flying Away
the next day.

Du Shaojie continued to rest.

As the company gradually got back on track, it also became busier. The next weekend, the Chinese restaurant took on 10 banquets, so he took today off.

After breakfast, Xiaomei and Xiaoya went to school together.

After Du Shaojie waited for Wang Yuxiu to clean up the house, he took two [Dezhou Braised Chickens] and took her to the People's Hospital.

It took a lot of effort to persuade her mother to go to the hospital for a check-up, but fortunately, Wang Yuxiu finally agreed.

"Mom, please sit down for a while. I'll be right back."

Du Shaojie asked his mother to sit on the first floor for a while, and he first sent the two chickens to Wang Liwen's residence.

When I came back, I happened to see Wang Liwen talking to her mother.

It was agreed in advance that Wang Yuxiu should be brought in for a physical examination. Wang Liwen left the office when she saw that the time was almost up, and sure enough, she saw Wang Yuxiu on the first floor.

The next step was to register and do the examination. Wang Liwen took care of me throughout the whole process, which saved me a lot of time. However, the means of examination were limited these days, and the examination items were not very many.

After the results came out, Wang Liwen went to see the director of internal medicine for help.

"Nothing serious, just a few chronic diseases. I'll prescribe some medicine for you to take for a long time. Pay attention to rest and nutrition, and don't overwork yourself."

In the past two years, Wang Yuxiu's health has improved significantly, but she still cannot do heavy work.

But she didn't want to be idle. Since she had a sewing machine at home, she would take on some small cutting and sewing jobs from time to time, and Du Shaojie couldn't stop her no matter what he said.

Now that he had heard the expert's advice, he felt relieved.

After thanking them, Wang Liwen went to pay the bill and get the medicine, and then sent Du Shaojie and Wang Yuxiu out of the hospital.

"I brought you two [Texas Braised Chicken] and put them in the house."

Before parting, Du Shaojie whispered to Wang Liwen.

Wang Liwen was delighted, as she could just add a dish to her lunch. Coming to a new company, she also needed to build good relationships with her colleagues, and bringing some delicious food to share with everyone was a good way to do so.

As the weather got colder, a heavy snow came unexpectedly.

After breakfast, Wang Xuejun asked everyone to stop what they were doing and go shovel snow outside the hotel. The snow was higher than their calves, and if Du Shaojie hadn't stayed in the dormitory at night, he wouldn't have been able to ride his bike to work.

The busy work lasted until 11 o'clock in the morning. Du Shaojie and others returned to the kitchen without taking a rest and quickly started preparing various ingredients for lunch.

"Master Du, someone is looking for you outside."

Du Shaojie was busy when he heard someone calling him.

He quickly ran out and saw Qi Yan standing in the lobby with a smile on her face.

"Shaojie, I got the admission letter, majoring in education at Beijing Normal University."

Looking at Du Shaojie walking towards her, Qi Yan took out the admission letter and waved it gently in her hand.

Du Shaojie felt that Qi Yan was shining all over at this moment.

Qi Yan's already beautiful face was filled with confidence and pride, making her radiant with charm. Everything around her seemed to become her foil, and she was the most dazzling.

Du Shaojie was dazed for a moment, then he calmed himself down and took the admission letter from the other party.

After reading it carefully twice, he couldn't help but laugh: "Congratulations, Yan Zi! Not only did you get into college as you wished, but you were also admitted to such a good school."

"Shaojie, you have contributed a lot to this. If you hadn't urged me to pick up my studies, if you hadn't predicted that the college entrance examination would be resumed soon, maybe everything would be different!"

Qi Yan looked at Du Shaojie tenderly, spoke softly and expressed her true feelings.

Du Shaojie waved his hands, not caring at all: "It has nothing to do with me. You are where you are today entirely because of your own efforts."

It was not until this moment that he truly understood the true meaning of what Wang Liwen said that day.

Yes, the swallows are really going to fly away, flying to the vast sky. From then on, the worlds of the two will no longer be the same.

Perhaps noticing Du Shaojie's change in mood, Qi Yan slowly stopped smiling and asked, "Can I take a leave now? Or I'll come back when you get off work at noon. I want to go out for a walk with you."

"I'm busy right now, so it's hard to ask for leave. Why don't you go sit in my dorm for a while? When I'm done, I'll get some food and we can eat together."

Du Shaojie smiled, then gave the dormitory key to Qi Yan and told her the specific room number.

Qi Yan took the key and went to his dormitory happily.

Du Shaojie calmed himself down and went back to work.

"Xiao Du, who is that girl to you? She's really pretty. If you need anything, you can leave after the big plate chicken is ready. I'll take care of the rest."

Dong Yunxian had seen Qi Yan before and thought that girl might be Du Shaojie's girlfriend.

In fact, at present, Du Shaojie's personal conditions are still very good, and he is definitely a son-in-law that his mother-in-law likes very much.

He has good looks and is already a second-level chef at a young age. If you marry him, are you afraid that you won't have a good life in the future?

"She is my classmate. Thank you, Master Dong. I will leave after I finish making the [Big Plate Chicken]. Please help take care of her."

Du Shaojie did not explain too much, but accepted Dong Yunxian's kindness. Nowadays, [Big Plate Chicken] has become a specialty dish in the hotel's Chinese restaurant, and basically has a relatively fixed sales volume every day, so he needs to make a large pot.

After finishing, Du Shaojie packed two meals and went to the dormitory.

"Yeah, it's great to have [Big Plate Chicken] to eat!"

When Qi Yan saw the big plate of chicken and belt noodles, her big eyes smiled into crescent shapes.

She grabbed a portion of food without hesitation and started eating, with an intoxicated expression on her face, which made Du Shaojie laugh.

"Yanzi, when are you going to report to school?"

Du Shaojie knew approximately when the college entrance examination would be resumed, but he didn't know about some of the subsequent events.

Because this year's college entrance examination was held in winter, and the normal school season is in autumn, he was a little confused about the situation.

"We will have to leave after the Spring Festival next year, probably around the Lantern Festival, and must report to school before the end of February."

Qi Yan told him that their class would start in the spring and the school system would remain unchanged.

Du Shaojie exclaimed "Ah" in understanding. This situation will be unique in the next few decades.

The two of them ate and chatted. After they finished eating, Qi Yan went to wash the dishes, and then they left the dormitory together.

After the snow, the sky cleared up. Du Shaojie and Qi Yan were in a good mood. The snow on the road was basically cleared. He rode his bicycle with Qi Yan and rushed to Chunfeng Lane at a leisurely pace.

"Shaojie, will you come to school to see me?"

"I will definitely go if I have the chance. I also want to visit the capital."

"Yes, I'll take you to all the scenic spots in the capital when you get there. It's a pity there's no place to cook, otherwise I'll definitely let you show off your cooking skills."

It didn't take long before they arrived at Qi Yan's home.

She jumped off the bicycle, waved to Du Shaojie, and walked into the house.

Du Shaojie took a deep breath, and instead of going home, he rode his bike directly back to work.

He actually had a lot to say to Qi Yan, but in the end he didn't say anything.

The other party is a well-deserved "chosen one". This time, 570 million people took the college entrance examination across the country, and only about 24 were finally admitted.

Four years later, these people will move on to new jobs and become the envy of everyone.

Of course, Du Shaojie himself would not underestimate himself. He thought that if they were destined to meet, they would see each other again in four years. As for going to Beijing to visit Qi Yan in the meantime, he did not know if there would be a chance.

There is probably no chance.

However, things often work wonderfully. Within a few days, he saw hope of fulfilling his promise.

That afternoon, Du Shaojie was busy in the kitchen when Wang Xuejun called him to Yao Liwen's office.

"Master Du, according to the notice from the superiors, the Ministry of Commerce will take the lead in organizing the National Youth Vocational Skills Competition for the Catering Industry. The competition will be divided into several competition areas, and we belong to the Northwest Competition Area.

The preliminary and semi-finals will be held in each competition area, and the winners will go to Beijing to participate in the semi-finals and finals. This is a rare opportunity, and the bureau has decided that you will represent your unit in the competition. The preliminary round will be held on January 3 next year."

Yao Liwen didn't say much nonsense. After briefly explaining the situation, he handed the document to Du Shaojie and asked him to read it himself.

Du Shaojie read it, put the document on his desk, and said with a smile: "There is no problem with participating in the competition, but I can't guarantee what kind of results I can get in the end."

"Okay! Just do your best. The company will create all the necessary conditions for you. The semi-finals will be held in the ancient capital of Chang'an. As long as you enter the semi-finals, you can be fully off work. Do you understand?"

"understood."

Du Shaojie quickly figured out the competition system. The five northwestern provinces belonged to the same competition area. The preliminary rounds were held by each province, and the winners would go to Chang'an to participate in the semi-finals.

However, he automatically ignored Yao Liwen's last sentence. What does it mean that you can be fully off work as long as you enter the semi-finals? If you go to Chang'an to participate in the competition, can you still work at the same time?
But he soon realized that he was superficial.

From now on, Du Shaojie will only work half a day, working normally from morning to noon, and he can practice cooking freely in the afternoon. You can practice whatever you want and make your own arrangements.

If you are practicing cooking, you can choose any dish ordered by the customers to cook, as long as you don’t damage the restaurant’s reputation.

It is also possible to study outside, but this competition covers the entire catering system, and each individual represents the honor of the unit. It is estimated that at this critical juncture everyone will put the interests of the unit first.

A few days passed quickly.

New Year's Day of 1978 arrived.

Du Shaojie was on his day off today. He went to the kitchen early in the morning to check the [Dezhou Braised Chicken] in the soup bucket. The quality was still as stable as ever.

He spent New Year's Eve in the kitchen at home. Su Dapeng brought 20 white-striped chickens yesterday and also fetched water in advance to fill two large vats.

“Is this guy really selling [Texas Braised Chicken] outside?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Dapeng walked in from outside.

Su Dapeng heard what Du Shaojie was talking to himself in the kitchen, so he curled his lips as soon as he entered the kitchen:

"How much can we get if we sell it? This is called resource exchange, understand? The profit is huge."

(End of this chapter)