Liu Yunong turned heavily and went back to her room.
Just two steps out, her phone suddenly rang.
She quickly took it out, and saw it was a call from Liu Yuqing.
At the same time, Liu Yuqing also heard the phone ringing and ran out from the bedroom.
"Sis!" Liu Yuqing was a bit surprised: "So you’re back! I was worried, normally you’d be home around this time."
As she spoke, without waiting for Liu Yunong to reply, Liu Yuqing happily took over the takeout box and shopping bag from her sister.
Sure enough, they were heavy in her hands.
"Sis, what did the restaurant make today?"
Liu Yuqing asked with a bit of probing.
But Liu Yunong, being unsettled at the moment, didn’t catch on, and just answered truthfully: "National banquet-style Dongpo pork. I thought you like it, so I brought you a portion. It’s too late now, warm it up and eat it tomorrow morning."
Liu Yuqing was delighted upon hearing that.
This national banquet-style Dongpo pork was a family recipe of theirs.
The meat is made to be tender and flavorful, fragrant without being greasy.
And it truly is a secret dish. In this, her sister was not lying.
Liu Yuqing originally wanted to ask more, but seeing her sister’s exhausted face, she considerately helped bring the meal box to the kitchen.
While walking, she reminded, "Sis, I’ve run the water in the bathtub, go soak for a bit. The change of clothes is all on the rack!"
Liu Yunong looked at her caring and doting sister in front of her, and couldn’t help but feel a warmth in her heart.
Oh well!
Daughters growing up can’t be held back!
Moreover, Liu Yuqing has already graduated from college, and is of the age to start dating.
Rather than her finding someone unknown outside, it might as well be Fu Yu.
At least, she could keep an eye on them.
If Fu Yu dared to treat her sister poorly, she would definitely be the first one to not let him off.
With this thought, she felt somewhat relieved.
Liu Yunong looked at her well-behaved and considerate sister, her once heavy heart eased slightly, and she smiled, "Got it, when I was coming back today, I went to the supermarket and bought milk. Later, just warm it up and drink it, then go to bed early."
Liu Yuqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, her sister didn’t bring it up directly. Otherwise, she wouldn’t know how to explain.
She quickly nodded, took the takeout box and shopping bag, and jogged into the kitchen.
Liu Yunong had bought fresh milk.
Fresh milk is a highly nutritious milk. There’s a particular way to boil fresh milk.
Pour the milk into a pot, bring it to a boil over high heat, then immediately remove from heat.
Let the milk settle, reheat, and repeat this 3-4 times.
This method can lock in the nutrients so they won’t be lost.
If you slow cook, it will only destroy the vitamins and proteins in the milk.
...
Pouring the boiled milk into a bowl, Fu Yu blew on it while sipping noisily.
The fresh milk was bought by Liu Yunong when she stopped by the supermarket on her way home, saying her family usually drinks milk at night, and they’d just run out.
Unexpectedly, after coming out of the supermarket, Liu Yunong handed a bag to Fu Yu.
On regular days, at this time, Fu Yu would definitely just take it straight to the kitchen’s cold storage to keep.
But today, his mood was excited, unable to sleep, and having been frozen outside for so long, the thought of drinking a bowl of hot fresh milk interested him.
Perhaps it was the warm milk that worked its magic, Fu Yu slept exceptionally well that night.
Upon waking up in the morning, as soon as he opened his eyes, Fu Yu received a message.
It was from Liu Yuqing, reminding him not to forget to make shredded chicken noodles in the morning and specifically arranging to come to work early today.
Fu Yu squinted his eyes and replied: [Alright]
Unexpectedly, Liu Yuqing sent another message.
[Next time someone asks if you have a girlfriend, say yes, okay?]
Just one message, but it made Fu Yu jump out of bed in excitement.
Got a girlfriend?!
Fu Yu read the message twice, overwhelmed with joy.
...
The few people on the morning shift in Qianlima’s kitchen each got a bowl of hot shredded chicken noodles this morning.
A full large bowl of noodles, chicken tender and delicious.
Eating a bowl in the early morning, fatigue was completely washed away.
They ate while praising, deeply grateful for Fu Yu’s efforts in preparing breakfast.
But Fu Yu just laughed it off, his attention fully on Liu Yuqing, who was head down on the serving counter eating noodles.
The front hall attendants, if they didn’t have time to eat breakfast during the morning shift, usually came over to the kitchen for a bite.
So no one was surprised to see Liu Yuqing in the kitchen early.
What drew attention was Fu Yu’s evident focus on Liu Yuqing, sometimes helping her with more chicken soup, other times making fresh fried eggs.
Though everyone got a fried egg, it always seemed like Liu Yuqing’s was the biggest and the best, with a runny yolk...
After breakfast, everyone in the kitchen busied themselves with prepping ingredients.
As the New Year approached, the restaurant’s business grew increasingly booming.
The helpers’ workloads soared, with more ingredients to prep.
Before, they could sneak a few moments beside the cooking station to learn culinary skills, but now they could only focus on their work.
Besides the helpers, the chefs with ladles were also incredibly busy.
With many diners and numerous orders, both the front and back of the house saw frequent issues and surprises of all sizes.
Yesterday, with Fu Yu on break, Zhao Meng had to rely solely on himself and Sun Qingning to manage the cooking, spreading themselves thin.
The BBQ area, without Fu Yu, left Yao Yihang and the others struggling and overwhelmed.
Today with Fu Yu back, everyone sighed in relief, genuinely eased.
Even the serving staff beamed when they saw Fu Yu.
"Chef Fu, are you on the morning shift today?"
Wang Yuxuan, also on the morning shift, hurried over to greet when he saw Fu Yu while clocking in: "Great, I received two orders from your loyal customers yesterday, both are large banquet orders."
Fu Yu smiled, waiting for Wang Yuxuan to finish clocking in before stepping up himself.
[Ding! Checked in!]
In the next instant, an electronic alert sounded in Fu Yu’s ear:
[Ding! Daily task: Successfully complete ten table banquets and receive customer satisfaction and praise. Reward for completing task: A mysterious treasure box.]
Fu Yu routinely claimed the task.
After bidding Wang Yuxuan goodbye, Fu Yu headed towards the kitchen, pondering how today’s daily task seemed different!
Successfully complete ten table banquets and receive customer satisfaction?
This is a normal thing, right?
Hardly seems difficult at all?
Could he be overthinking it?
With these thoughts, Fu Yu returned to the kitchen, assisting Zhao Meng in checking the marinate of small dishes, and inspecting all condiments and kitchen utensils.
...
Yu Han, age thirty-seven, unmarried, had two relationships, one lasted seven years, the other five.
Both ended due to the women cheating, ending without closure.
Deeply hurt by love, he became indifferent towards relationships.
He felt that love was just so-so!
Living alone was actually quite good.
When lonely, he’d throw himself into work, earning money tirelessly, expending all his energy on his hectic job.
With money, he’d take a vacation, embark on a spontaneous trip.
This time in Bei’an happened purely by chance.
He booked a ticket to save money, planning to transfer at the provincial capital, then fly south.
But upon arriving at the capital, during the Spring Festival travel rush, tickets were scarce.
Unable to buy a ticket, it completely disrupted his original plan.
Thus, he decided on a whim to tour around the province, winding east to west, and eventually arriving in Bei’an.
To get to know a city, besides touring and visiting local scenic spots.
The most direct and tangible sense of local characteristics and atmosphere is through the local cuisine.
So, he inquired and tasted, reaching his third stop at a well-known local seafood restaurant in Bei’an, Qianlima.