Rebirth: Starting from the Cafeteria

Chapter 3: A life of cheating and a sad reality
Du Shaojie looked down at the little sister, smiled, and reached out to rub her hair.

Then he opened the door and went to the kitchen.

Wang Yuxiu was cutting vegetables. Du Shaojie stretched his head to take a look. A large cabbage had been washed and was lying on the chopping board, gradually turning into shredded cabbage. A few peeled potatoes were soaking in a basin on the ground.

"Xiao Jie, are you awake? Are you feeling better? We'll have cabbage and potatoes for lunch."

When Wang Yuxiu saw her son, a smile appeared on her lips.

But when he turned around and looked at the dishes he had prepared, the light in his eyes dimmed a little. The whole family relied on his son's meager salary to make ends meet, and the food at home was really poor.

The winter in the Northwest is long and cold, and every household has winter vegetables stored in their cellars, including cabbage, green radish, yellow radish, onion, potatoes, etc.

Fresh vegetables were a luxury, and side dishes were scarce. As for meat, that required careful budgeting, and it was good enough to have meat once or twice a month.

Fortunately, Du Shaojie worked in a big canteen, so he was able to make some money and bring some home occasionally, so the whole family didn't have to always envy others.

After making the last cut, Wang Yuxiu walked towards the stove carrying the vegetable basket.

"I'm much better now. I'll fry the potatoes later."

Feeling Wang Yuxiu's concern, Du Shaojie suddenly felt a warm feeling in his heart.

He was an orphan in his previous life, and had to rely on his own efforts to have a relatively stable life. This kind of care from an elder was a novel experience.

He felt that he should do something, so he rolled up his sleeves, scooped up the potatoes from the basin, and started cutting them into shreds on the chopping board.

He plans to make a dish of [Spicy and Sour Shredded Potatoes].

Both the original body and himself had cooked this dish before. It is a widely spread home-cooked dish that is sour, spicy and delicious and goes well with rice.

This dish is both simple and difficult. It tests one's knife skills and control of the heat.

Du Shaojie's knife skills are pretty good. After all, he is an apprentice with two years of work experience. He has learned all 21 knife techniques. He is not very proficient, but it is definitely enough.

Slice the potatoes first, then use a regular straight knife to cut the potato slices into shreds before frying.

Cut the main ingredients and prepare the side ingredients, including chili peppers, green onions and garlic. It’s done quickly.

At this time, Wang Yuxiu had already fried the cabbage and took the dish to the main house, leaving the kitchen to Du Shaojie.

Du Shaojie cleaned the iron pan and started heating it.

The coal stove had enough firepower, but it was not easy to adjust the firepower. However, it was not a big problem for him.

First, grease the pan with oil, then add a small amount of rapeseed oil. When the pan starts to smoke, pour the small ingredients into the pan, stir-fry for a few times, and then pour in the chopped potato shreds and start frying.

Then start seasoning, pour vinegar and soy sauce from the side of the pot, then add salt and a little bit of MSG, continue to stir-fry for a few times and it is ready to serve.

A plate of fragrant spicy and sour potato shreds was freshly cooked, but Du Shaojie suddenly froze in place.

【Ding! 】

【Bound chef: Du Shaojie】

【Level: Apprentice (third year)】

【Current work: Spicy and sour potato shreds】

[Overall evaluation: poor]

[Bonus: Current dish teaching materials]

[Reward: Lamb with bones (1 kg)]

[Special Reward: None]

Note 1: The comprehensive evaluation is divided into top-notch, top, average, average-low, low, very low and not up to standard. Works that are up to standard and above can receive free teaching materials.

Note 2: (For the same dish) rewards are given once a day, and are reset at midnight every day. Rewards are randomly distributed based on the overall evaluation.

Note 3: Triggering a special event is a prerequisite for special rewards.

The sudden sound stimulated Du Shaojie's nerves, and lines of text appeared clearly in front of his eyes.

After digesting the above content quickly, the corners of his mouth slowly curled up, and finally he grinned silently. What else is there to say? As expected, his golden finger came unexpectedly.

"It seems that this system is a bit simple, huh?"

While feeling happy, Du Shaojie also felt a little regretful.

Well, the golden finger was not as powerful as he imagined, and it did not allow him to directly reach the pinnacle of life.

Your career has not yet been successful, comrades, you still need to work hard!
“Take a look at the teaching materials.”

Du Shaojie amused himself for a while, then focused his attention on the teaching materials.

On the light screen that does not exist in reality, the words faded, and a middle-aged man whose face could not be seen clearly began to make "Spicy and Sour Potato Shreds".

The voice-over provides a detailed explanation, elaborating on every aspect from food preparation, knife skills, production process, heat, seasoning, etc., covering every detail, which can be described as nanny-level teaching.

He was amused after taking a few glances. Isn't this the stream-of-consciousness "New, Eastern, and Oriental"? Look at his cooking skills. He is definitely a great chef.

"Brother, why are you standing here so silly? It's time for dinner."

The older sister Du Xiaomei rushed in and looked at her brother suspiciously, feeling that something was wrong.

But she didn't think much about it. She just reached out, picked up the plate of shredded potatoes and walked out.

Obviously, she hadn't discovered Du Shaojie's secret at all.

Du Shaojie put away the light curtain. He would not let anyone know about this. Then he cleaned up the kitchen and went to the main house.

Today's staple food is steamed corn bread, and the side dishes include stir-fried Chinese cabbage, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and a plate of mixed pickles (Qie Lian).

The current food supply has improved somewhat compared with previous years. At the most exaggerated time in previous years, the ratio of coarse grains to fine grains reached 7 to 3, of which cornmeal accounted for the majority.

The family of four took their seats, and Wang Yuxiu placed a grayish and black white flour steamed bun in front of Du Shaojie.

Steamed buns are made of eight-sided flour, which is darker in color. The white seven-five-sided flour can only be eaten when making dumplings during festivals.

This is considered special treatment at home.

Little sister Du Xiaoya was younger after all, and unlike her elder sister who just focused on eating, she stared at the white flour steamed buns eagerly and couldn't help swallowing her saliva.

Wang Yuxiu saw this and said helplessly, "Your brother is usually busy with work and works very hard, so let him eat it this time. I'll make a few more steamed buns next time. Be good and eat quickly."

"Oh"

Du Xiaoya didn't have any other thoughts. She knew that the whole family depended on her brother's salary to survive, so she responded and lowered her head.

How could Du Shaojie bear this? Suddenly, a bitter feeling came over him. He stretched out his hand and broke a white flour bun into two halves, placing them in front of his two sisters.

"Brother, you eat it, I don't want it."

Du Xiaomei was very sensible and quickly shook her head.

Du Xiaoya also wanted to refuse, but her brother glared at her and she dared not say a word.

"Just eat what I tell you to eat, don't be so long-winded."

Du Shaojie grabbed the steamed bread from his two sisters' hands and took a big bite.

In the era before he traveled through time, cornmeal steamed buns were considered health food, and their price was higher than that of white flour steamed buns if eaten out.

But now is the 1970s. Eating too much whole grains will not only sore your throat but also cause acid in your stomach.

As there are many people in the family and the income is low, part of the fine grains supplied have been replaced with coarse grains. After all, coarse grains are cheaper and can fill the stomach in large quantities.

Du Shaojie felt that since he had taken over the original body, he had the obligation to take care of the family.

When Wang Yuxiu saw this scene, she didn't say anything. She felt both happy and sad.

I am happy that my son has finally grown up, but I am sad that I have been ill since my husband passed away and cannot give my children a relatively affluent life.

(End of this chapter)