Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 519 - 284: This Flavor Should Only Exist in Heaven; How Seldom Is It Smelled on Earth? (Part 2)
The interview was about to start soon. As the boss, I couldn’t possibly go to an employee interview smelling of sweat; that would be somewhat disrespectful to others.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yu didn’t waste any time. After leaving the kitchen, he went straight up to the second floor, grabbed a set of clean clothes, and headed into the bathroom for a shower.
...
Although the notice from the Seventh Dining Hall stated that the interview time was at 9:00 a.m., Xiong Zhengtao dared not be careless. He got up at 6:00 a.m., hastily tidied up, and took a bus heading to Jiangzhou University in the northern suburbs.
Sitting on the bus, watching as the scenery outside changed from bustling urban districts to sparsely populated outskirts, instead of feeling disappointed, he became even more excited.
This was the Seventh Dining Hall, after all. Even though it was tucked away in a suburban university with inconvenient transportation, it was still a place countless people yearned for.
To savor the heavenly delicacies prepared by Jiang Yu, many were willing to spend a fortune, but many more, even with money, couldn’t get a taste and could only sigh in frustration.
Now, the place he was going to was Jiang Yu’s Seventh Dining Hall, and there was a good chance he’d become a part of it!
How could he not be excited about this?
Just a day before, Xiong Zhengtao had officially resigned from Qingshan Restaurant and completed all the resignation formalities.
He still remembered that when he handed the resignation documents to He Donglai, the chef in charge at Qingshan Restaurant, for his signature, He Donglai threw the pen down with a somber face and left behind a sentence:
"Kid, if you don’t know what’s good for you, you’ll suffer for it. You better pray you get into Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall; otherwise, I guarantee you won’t get into any restaurant or dining establishment in Jiangzhou!"
"With your skinny arms and legs, you think you can take me on? You’re thinking too much!"
Listening to He Donglai’s unrestrained "threats," Xiong Zhengtao didn’t even bother to look at him, picked up the signed resignation report, and left his office without a word.
It wasn’t that he didn’t believe what He Donglai said. Someone like him, who had been in the Jiangzhou culinary scene for decades and held a considerable position, indeed had far more connections and a bigger circle than Xiong Zhengtao did.
If He Donglai really wanted to make things difficult for him, he truly wouldn’t be able to get into those big restaurants and dining establishments.
But so what? Even if he didn’t get into the Seventh Dining Hall, he didn’t believe that offending He Donglai would starve him to death.
If worst came to worst, he’d just leave Jiangzhou.
But no matter what, Xiong Zhengtao would not give up this opportunity to join Jiang University Seventh Dining Hall!
With these thoughts in mind, time flew by quickly. In no time, the bus stopped at "Jiangzhou University Station," and Xiong Zhengtao took a deep breath, stood up from his seat, and quickly exited through the back door.
It was just past seven, and the campus of Jiang University seemed to be just waking up, surrounded by quietness.
The rain that had just fallen in the early morning made the cement pavement slightly damp, and dew hung on the defiantly growing wild grass by the roadside, crystal clear, bending the tender blades of grass.
On the wide campus boulevard, only a few early-rising students were either jogging or hurrying along with books in hand. Occasionally, one or two people could be seen holding breakfast, eating while heading toward the school gate, for some unknown errand.
Xiong Zhengtao didn’t look much, showed the interview message from the Seventh Dining Hall to the security guard at the gate, and went straight in, heading towards the Seventh Dining Hall.
He had been here once with a friend before, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with the Seventh Dining Hall.
But the last time was as a customer, and this time it was for an interview. Although both were at the Seventh Dining Hall, his mindset was completely different.
In this chef recruitment, 10 people were shortlisted for the interview, but only 3 would be hired in the end, which made Xiong Zhengtao somewhat nervous.
He wondered from where the other 9 people came? What were their culinary skills? Which cuisine were they good at? What were their signature dishes?
Could his culinary skills stand out among the 10 people and be chosen by Boss Xiao Jiang?
About all this, Xiong Zhengtao was completely uncertain and could only take it one step at a time.
All he could do now was adjust his mindset, face this competition in his best state, hoping to perform at his utmost level.
As for the final result, he could only leave it to fate.
With this thought, Xiong Zhengtao soon arrived at the Seventh Dining Hall.
It was the dining hall’s business hours. Although the vacation was approaching, and many students had already left early, there were still many people coming to eat at the Seventh Dining Hall. At a glance, the entire dining hall was bustling with activity.
Along the long row of business counters, there was an array of steaming foods, with the aroma of buns, hot braised dishes, and rice porridge wafting through, making it hard for one to resist.
Having left early without time for breakfast, Xiong Zhengtao could hardly hold himself back upon smelling the food aroma.
Without saying a word, he returned to the queue at the food-getting counter and lined up obediently.
When deciding to apply for the chef position at the Seventh Dining Hall, he had thoroughly researched it beforehand, so he certainly knew that eating there required queuing.
Although Xiong Zhengtao was not a student of Jiang University, he didn’t want to break the rules here.
After all, he was here for an interview; if he broke the rules by cutting in line and it happened that Boss Xiao Jiang found out, he probably wouldn’t even need to attend the interview and would be immediately eliminated.
