Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Du Shaojie fell in love with this courtyard at once. The tiled house was newly built the year before last, and the kitchen and bathroom had been renovated, but the price was a little higher.

In the end, he bought the property for 1.8 yuan, plus some subsequent expenses, the total was about yuan.

Before he knew it, he already owned properties in multiple cities.

Afterwards, he asked Yi Chunmei to help find a few people to thoroughly clean the house from inside to outside, repaint the walls, and renovate the ceiling and floor.

The key is that the kitchen needs to be demolished and rebuilt according to the standards of a professional kitchen, and the bathroom should also be renovated at the same time.

That morning, Du Shaojie met the chef introduced by Liao Yongxin in the hotel. He was not tall, but looked very capable, and was about 35 years old.

"Boss Du, my name is Liao Chen, and my fourth uncle Liao Yongxin introduced me here."

"Hello, Master Liao. Have you had breakfast? If not, let's go together."

The other party arrived very early, and Du Shaojie had just gotten up.

It just so happened that neither of them had breakfast, so they just had a quick bite outside.

Then, Du Shaojie took the other party to Yi Chunmei's place, just to try the food.

"My fourth uncle and I are distant relatives. He taught me how to cook. Last time he wrote to me and asked me to go to Guangzhou. I wanted to go, but I have an old father who is paralyzed in bed at home. I really don't dare to go to such a far place."

While preparing the ingredients, Liao Chen briefly introduced himself.

He and Liao Yongxin are relatives, but they are already five generations apart. However, the two families have a good relationship. He is a special level 3 chef and used to work in a big hotel, but he has been at home taking care of the elderly most of the time in the past two years.

"How is your father's illness? Do you want to come to Rongcheng to see him?"

Du Shaojie could understand why the other party didn't want to be away from home. If he was too far away, he wouldn't be able to get back if something happened at home.

Since they were talking about this, he asked about Liao Chen's father's condition.

"His illness is not curable. He had a stroke and can only recover slowly. He couldn't get out of bed for the first two years. Recently, he has gotten much better. Although he can't work, he can walk a few steps now."

When Liao Chen said this, he smiled at Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie immediately understood what the other party meant. Since his father didn't need him to take care of him at home, he naturally had to go out and make money.

Otherwise, if we end up spending all our money, what will happen to our family?
In addition, Liao Chen told Du Shaojie everything as soon as they met, probably with the intention of gaining his trust as quickly as possible.

After that, neither of them said anything else, and Liao Chen began to concentrate on cooking.

It didn't take long before a delicious dish of [Fish-flavored Shredded Pork] came out of the pot.

Du Shaojie tasted it and it tasted quite good. Moreover, Liao Chen's knife skills were very good and his operations were very standardized. It was obvious that he had been practicing in a big restaurant.

"Master Liao, welcome to join [Xichuan Restaurant]. From now on, the kitchen of the restaurant will be handed over to you. Pay more attention. I will not treat you unfairly."

Liao Chen's skill level is quite good, no worse than Yan Dabao.

Du Shaojie immediately accepted the other party and gave him the position of head chef of [Xichuan Restaurant] Rongcheng branch.

The salary and benefits were good, which was a bit beyond Liao Chen's expectations and made him very satisfied.

Du Shaojie has already rented a dormitory in advance. People like Liao Chen will definitely live in a single room. From now on, he will participate in the preparations for the opening of the new store.

The decoration of the store has been basically completed. After cleaning, the purchased facilities and equipment can be delivered.

He transferred six people from Huang Tingting and arranged them in the kitchen. The lobby manager and waiters were all recruited locally. Chu Linlin also went to Chengdu to provide induction training for the new employees.

After communication between Du Shaojie and Dong Jun, the other party agreed to serve as the manager of the Chengdu branch of Xichuan Restaurant.

The second and third kitchen staff were hired locally, and with Liao Chen in charge of the kitchen, there shouldn't be any problems.

Everything was ready. On the third day after Du Shaojie moved into his new home, Xichuan Restaurant opened smoothly in Chengdu. Although Feng Qingsong himself did not come, he arranged for Chen Ziang to present a gift on his behalf.

After a few days of bustling business, the restaurant's business became slow.

Du Shaojie was not in a hurry and taught Liao Chen and Dong Jun some methods of recreating old dishes every day. The second and third kitchens did not have this treatment for the time being. After they passed the inspection, Liao Chen would teach them.

"Brother Dong, if you are not used to living apart from your wife, I will find a way to transfer her to the catering company. If she is willing to take a leave of absence, she can come and stay with you."

Du Shaojie sat in Dong Jun's office and chatted with him about family matters.

Dong Jun's wife Yang Li works in the Chinese restaurant of Guangyuan Hotel. She can be transferred to the catering company, but she cannot be arranged at the Chengdu branch of Xichuan Restaurant.

When a couple works together, they are bound to be criticized.

However, with Dong Jun's current income and family background, it didn't matter if Yang Li didn't work to earn money. After they got married, they had a boy, who was usually taken care of by Yang Li's parents.

"She also wants to come, but the matter of children is a bit troublesome. After all, it is not a good thing for children not to be with their parents all the time." Dong Jun was very conflicted. He was a man who loved home more. If Du Shaojie's attitude had not been very firm this time, he really would not be willing to leave his hometown and run so far away.

"Why don't you bring the child with you? He can go to kindergarten and school when it's time. Don't worry, I'll help you with the child's admission, and I'll make sure it's all done properly."

Du Shaojie dared to say this, so he had the confidence.

He was not idle during this period and got to know many staff members in this area through Yi Chunmei.

I may not be sure about big things, but small things like this will definitely be no problem.

Dong Jun was immediately moved and called back to discuss with Yang Li, and the two decided to do so. As for Yang Li's work after she came, it was easy to deal with. Du Shaojie had already informed Yi Chunmei, and she was willing to help.

The business of Xichuan Restaurant gradually improved, and Dong Jun arranged for the kitchen staff to take turns to receive training on Standardized Management. The training location was at Yi Chunmei's cooking school, which was one aspect of the cooperation between the two parties.

Du Shaojie would also take time to give demonstrations to everyone. His principle was that no one could rest on their laurels but must continue to learn and improve.

"Boss Du, it's a pity that I can't afford you. If you could be a trainer here, I wouldn't have to worry about recruiting students."

Yi Chunmei had seen Du Shaojie's cooking skills, and now she saw him teaching his employees, and she was simply filled with admiration.

The training school's business was actually pretty good, but it lacked core competitiveness. However, her cooperation with Du Shaojie had given her a lot of insights. She was originally a place to train junior and intermediate chefs, and she couldn't invite real chefs to teach.

"Sister Yi, these are two different things. A chef who can cook may not be able to give a lecture. By the way, I still owe you a meal. How about coming to my house tomorrow and having a seat?"

Du Shaojie has been studying various Sichuan dishes these days, including rare main dishes, popular street stir-fries, and even some local dishes.

"Jianghu cuisine" is another name for innovative dishes created by "unconventional" chefs. They usually use several or even dozens of times more seasoning than the norm to bring out the flavor of the dish to the extreme, leaving "orthodox" chefs stunned and amazed.

At the same time, it makes diners inexplicably excited, fearing and loving it at the same time.

For example, Maoxuewang, a representative of Jianghu cuisine, is such a dish.

He was busy with this and that all day and had no time to fulfill his promise. Today was just the opportunity to settle the matter.

"That's great! I'll go to your house for dinner tomorrow night."

Yi Chunmei quickly nodded and agreed. If she missed this opportunity, who knows if there would be a next time?
Du Shaojie then notified Dong Jun and his wife that it would be more lively if more people were present for the meal.

The next day.

Du Shaojie had made preparations in advance, and when Yi Chunmei, Dong Jun and Yang Li came with their children, he started cooking.

There are not many dishes today, including [Maoxuewang], [Stir-fried Kidney and Liver], [Geleshan Spicy Chicken], [Laifeng Fish], [Stir-fried Celery and Lily], and [Minced Meat and Egg Custard].

The egg custard is for children, the vegetarian dishes are for refreshing taste, and except for the [Stir-fried Kidney and Liver], the other three dishes can be classified as "jianghu dishes".

"Boss Du, the dishes today are really delicious! After all, he is a top-notch chef, his level is extraordinary. This is the first time I have eaten such delicious dishes."

Except for the children, everyone else can eat spicy food, especially Yi Chunmei, who enjoys it very much.

There weren’t many varieties of dishes today but the portions were large, so everyone ate to their heart’s content.

"It's not a very good dish. I've recently learned a lot about Jianghu cuisine, so I'm going to cook it today. Serious chefs don't like Jianghu cuisine, but it's definitely worthy of the word 'full of flavor.'"

Du Shaojie felt helpless and a little emotional.

Nowadays, Jianghu cuisine is not considered elegant enough and even slightly upscale restaurants are unwilling to serve it.

Therefore, Jianghu cuisine can only be eaten in small restaurants.

"What's the point of being serious? Taste is the most important thing."

Although Yi Chunmei owns a chef training school, she is not a chef after all and does not agree with those statements.

What is the purpose of food? Isn't it just for people to eat? In her opinion, there is only a difference between delicious and undelicious dishes, not between decent and indecent ones.

Dong Jun glanced at Du Shaojie and revealed a smile that was uglier than crying.

Of course, he himself is an orthodox chef, and he learned from Zhong Fuxiang, so he naturally does not approve of the messy methods of Jianghu cuisine. But these dishes are made by Du Shaojie, and they are so delicious that his inherent ideas have been shaken a little.

His wife Yang Li didn't care about all this. She took care of the children while eating happily herself.

"Sister Yi is right. Taste is the most important thing! How about I add these dishes to the menu of [Xichuan Restaurant]? Do you think customers will buy them?"

Du Shaojie had this idea a long time ago, but it was not until he recently mastered the preparation of these dishes that he planned to put it into practice.

Today is just a small test, he will go back and improve the level of his "jianghu dishes". (End of this chapter)