Chapter 370: Eighties Gourmet System (8)

"Off work, off work! I'm starving to death!"

"Which Canteen are we going to for lunch today?"

At 11:30, the Gad Steel Factory rang the meal bell.

The workers filed out of the work area, lunchboxes and utensils in hand, discussing as they walked quickly toward the Canteen.

"I'm going to Er Shitang today; I've been craving their Chili Scrambled Eggs."

"I'm going to Er Shitang too. The main dish at Da Shitang today is definitely going to be offal. I went to the director's office to report progress around nine o'clock and ran into the delivery truck from the breeding farm; I could smell the stench of offal from far away."

"Then I'll go to Er Shitang too... Huh! What is that smell? It's so fragrant!"

"So fragrant! Which Canteen is it drifting from? Er Shitang?"

"Er Shitang couldn't be drifting this far, could it?"

"Then could it be Third Canteen? It certainly can't be Da Shitang."

"But to me, it smells like it's drifting from Da Shitang?"

"I also smell it drifting from the direction of Da Shitang."

"Whoa! Could it be that Lao Fan cooked meat today?"

"Why don't you guess it's Lao Lou?"

"Impossible for Lao Lou! He asked for leave today; he even had Wang from our workshop bring the leave note. It seems his wife slipped and fell, which affected her pregnancy."

"Then it must be Lao Fan. Speaking of which, when did Lao Fan get such good skills? It smells so good! With this fragrance, I could eat six taels of rice!"

Confirming the fragrance was drifting from Da Shitang, the workers who had originally planned to go to Er Shitang or Third Canteen turned around and headed straight for Da Shitang.

"Chef Fan! What delicious food are you making today? It smells so good!"

"Lao Fan, where have you been for advanced training lately? Your skills have improved!"

"Chef Fan, are we having meat today? My nose is sharp; one sniff and I know that rich, savory sauce must be Braised Pork. Give me two taels quickly! I have one last Meat Coupon left for this month, it's yours!"

"Lao Fan?"

"Chef Fan?"

Chef Fan at Yi Chuangkou remained expressionless.

Seeing his expression was off, everyone then caught a whiff of that familiar, pungent odor unique to offal. Looking down, they saw that Yi Chuangkou had no rich, savory Braised Pork at all—it was just like the middle of every other month: Plain Boiled Pork Liver and Braised Intestines!

The workers all slammed on the brakes at once.

That's not right! Then where was this fragrance drifting from? It was even more fragrant and rich than when they first left the workshop; they couldn't have been wrong, it had to be in Da Shitang!

But Yi Chuangkou didn't have it, could it be...

With a hint of disbelief, everyone turned their heads in unison to look at the neighboring Yi Chuangkou.

Sure enough, at the main dish window of Yi Chuangkou sat two large basins of dishes in a rich, savory sauce; the fragrance they had been smelling the whole way was drifting precisely from these two basins.

Xiao Fu, who was in charge of serving, poked his head out from the main dish window and shouted with a full, resonant voice:

"Stir-fried Pork Liver with Chili, tender and odorless, spicy, delicious, and goes great with rice!"

"Dry-pot Intestines, not too tough or too soft, spicy and fragrant; one bite and you'll finish a bowl of rice!"

Before Xiao Fu could shout a second time, the workers who had come to their senses were already holding their lunchboxes and rushing toward Yi Chuangkou:

"Give me one tael of pork liver and one tael of intestines! And four taels of rice!"

"I'll have the same as him!"

"Me, me, me! I want one tael of pork liver and three steamed buns!"

"I want two taels of intestines and half a catty of rice!"

"..."

This scene was something Xiao Fu had never encountered since he started working here.

In the past, when he was the only one responsible for the main dish window, he was not only at ease but even had the leisure to use a flyswatter to swat flies.

Not today! Today he experienced true chaos.

Seeing that Xiao Fu couldn't handle it alone, Xie Yang got up to help, but was stopped by Xiao Rong.

"Sister Xie, I'll go. You must be tired from stir-frying; sit down and rest, have some tea."

After saying that, he trotted over to the serving window to help.

Today was all thanks to Sister Xie stepping up; she not only taught them how to process the intestines and pork liver so they would be tender and fragrant without any fishy smell, but she also demonstrated the whole process.

The two dishes, stir-fried quickly in the wok, were perfect in color, aroma, and taste, making Xiao Rong, who usually hated offal, completely forget that this was the offal that used to have a strange smell.

He couldn't help but taste a bite when it came out of the pot and was instantly amazed, immediately scooping a portion of Dry-pot Intestines and Stir-fried Pork Liver with Chili into his own lunchbox to savor properly after he finished working.

Xiao Fu was the same.

This was their perk as Canteen staff.

But in the past, they only filled their lunchboxes first when big fish and meat dishes were made; they weren't very enthusiastic about other dishes.

Especially offal; they generally wouldn't touch it.

At most, before getting off work, they would divide up the leftover offal from the day and take it home to either serve as a snack for their old man's drinks or as a treat for the dog.

Today was the first time.

It turned out that offal wasn't unappealing; it was just that Chef Lou hadn't cooked it right.

Chef Fan was the same.

The offal they made was only enjoyed by the older generation who weren't picky; the young workers rarely bought it.

However, today even the old men and women who weren't picky were lining up in front of Yi Chuangkou, while Er Chuangkou was deserted.

Yi Chuangkou had won big!

It's just a pity that no one knows what Chef Lou's mood will be when he finds out.

Yi Chuangkou had finally won decisively against Er Chuangkou for once.

Yet it was not he who was manning the ladle.

It was the inconspicuous Temporary Worker, Xie Yang, who was manning the ladle!

Truly, one cannot judge a person by their appearance!

Xiao Rong sighed from the bottom of his heart.

Looking at such a slender woman, she tossed the wok as if it were child's play; at a glance, it was the stance of an expert.

I fear even Master Lou does not know that such a culinary god with extraordinary skills is hidden among the ranks of the Temporary Workers, right?

At this moment, Xiao Rong suddenly felt an urge to take Xie Yang as his master.

However, he also knew that now was not a good time to apprentice, as Xiao Fu at the serving window was already so busy he was running off his feet.

He had to hurry over to help!

Xie Yang was not tired, just thirsty.

She sat in the back kitchen, slowly drinking old Chen tea brewed with coarse tea stalks.

These coarse tea stalks were also one of the benefits for Canteen staff.

It was just that Temporary Workers were not originally qualified to drink them.

Perhaps because she had been a big help today, Xiao Rong generously brewed a pot for her.

He even said, "Sister Xie, tomorrow I'll swipe some good tea from my grandfather's tea canister to brew for you. My grandfather's tea is quite good; someone brought it to him when they went on a business trip to Jiangnan."

If contributing a few recipes could harvest a few privileges, Xie Yang felt this Trading was not bad.

Going home and telling Shuisheng the preparation process for these two dishes could also help him clear a Task and earn some practical ingredients to make the little guy happy—killing many birds with one stone.

Of course, once Master Lou returned, she would no longer be qualified to sit in the back kitchen leisurely drinking tea and resting.

After all, Master Lou was the head chef of Yi Chuangkou, and she was just a lowly Temporary Worker.

"The stir-fried pork liver with chili peppers is gone!"

"What? You want even the little bit of sauce at the bottom of the basin? To pour over your rice?... Fine then!"

At this time, the voices of Xiao Fu and Xiao Rong came from the front:

"There's only one last ladle of dry-pot pork intestines left!"

"Hey, don't fight over it! There will be more tomorrow! There really will be!"

Hearing this, Xie Yang held her tea mug and raised her eyebrows slightly.

How about using these two dishes to get herself promoted to a Formal Worker?

She dismissed the thought as soon as it crossed her mind—

Wasn't the plan to go be a self-employed individual? How could a Canteen employee have the freedom of a self-employed person?