"..."
Seeing Hu Zhihai's all-encompassing manner, Jiang Yu initially wanted to refuse. He opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out.
His situation was indeed quite difficult now.
In his second year of high school, Jiang Yu's parents both passed away due to illness, leaving behind a pile of debt.
Facing the creditors who kept coming to the door, his grandmother, over sixty years old, bearing the debts on her shoulders so that he could study at ease, worked tirelessly every day despite her old age and frailty.
Grandma had only one thought behind her relentless efforts, which was to clear the debts while she still breathed, not leaving this burden to the young Jiang Yu...
Every time he went home for the New Year, seeing his grandmother's increasingly bent back, Jiang Yu dreamed of earning money.
With money, he could pay off his parents' debts; with money, he could let his grandma not work so hard, allowing her to have a rest and lead a normal life like an elderly should.
Before, he was unwilling to accept help from others because he felt it wasn't necessary; a lot of difficulties could be solved if he gritted his teeth, though it would be tough, why bother others?
But this time was different. He finally had a skill that could make money, a chance to change his and his grandma's fate was right in front of him, and he couldn't refuse.
He was still young and could wait, but his grandma couldn't wait any longer...
As for Hu Zhihai's kindness, he could only remember it in his heart and repay it slowly in the future.
...
"Good news! Good news! Jiang Yu is going to open a bun shop in our school cafeteria!"
"Damn! Really? Lao Jiang is awesome!"
"The soup dumplings Jiang Yu makes are so delicious! The buns are filled with rich broth, a sip and the aroma fills your mouth, the meat filling is fresh, fragrant, soft, and tender, the dough is thin and chewy, a bite... Tsk tsk, that's truly a divine enjoyment! No more to say, I'm craving it again!"
"...Whoa! Lao Hu, are you kidding? Can Lao Jiang really have such skills?"
"Whether I'm kidding, you'll know when you try it, won't you?"
"Nothing more to say, I'll go back to school tomorrow, then I must try Lao Jiang's skills!"
"It's officially opening tomorrow, everyone in school remember to come and support, it's on the first floor of the second cafeteria!"
"..."
Jiangzhou University, first floor of the second cafeteria.
School was about to start tomorrow, the cafeteria was bustling again, and the staff were busily preparing to welcome back the teachers and students.
Jiang Yu's figure was among them.
Hu Zhihai's efficiency in handling things was high, it took him no more than two days to settle the cafeteria stall matter.
The stall wasn't large, only about twenty square meters, located just to the left as you enter the first floor of the second cafeteria.
After settling the storefront, Jiang Yu immediately quit the restaurant job, rushed to get all the paperwork done, and began preparing everything busily front and back.
Early this morning, he visited the nearby market, planning to find a few reliable food suppliers. After all, he couldn't go to the market every day for supplies, finding reliable distributors was the best choice.
Besides selecting suppliers, Jiang Yu also took the opportunity to purchase a batch of ingredients, after all, he was starting the official business tomorrow, and there was a lot of work that could be prepared in advance, or else he wouldn't be able to handle everything by himself on the opening day.
"I mentioned your opening of a bun shop in the cafeteria in our class group, those guys were so shocked their jaws almost dropped, and they said they must come and taste your skills when they get back."
Hu Zhihai leaned on the counter by the window, scrolling his phone non-stop, and laughed,
"Once they taste the soup dumplings you make, they will definitely regret it!"
"Why?"
"Isn't it obvious? They'll regret that they only found out about your amazing culinary skills in their senior year, and given they're about to graduate, if they work elsewhere, where would they find such delicious soup dumplings afterward?"
Hu Zhihai raised his eyebrows, looking smug,
"Anyway, I've already told my family, I won't intern at my dad's company this year, I have to make an effort and go for graduate school first!"
"You're going for grad school?"
Jiang Yu looked up, glancing at him suspiciously.
This guy hadn't attended a proper class since the freshman year, and if he didn't fail at the end of the semester, he had the course instructors' mercy to thank for it.
And with that, he's still planning to take the graduate exam?
Hu Zhihai confidently said, "Exactly, with this reason, I can rightfully stay at the school and eat the soup dumplings you make every day, can't I?"
Jiang Yu: "..."
Alright, the thought process of a foodie is indeed peculiar.
Ignoring Hu Zhihai, Jiang Yu categorized the fresh chicken feet, chicken carcass, pork, green onions, ginger, cooking wine, and other ingredients he bought, then started to get busy.
After cleaning the chicken feet and carcass and cutting them into small pieces, he first blanched them in cold water to force out the impurities in the ingredients, then took them out and washed them several times, then put them back into the pot with cold water, adding the prepared green onions, ginger, star anise, salt, and other seasonings, brought it to a boil on high heat, then simmered on low heat.
It takes some time to simmer the chicken soup, so Jiang Yu wasn't idle either, starting to prepare the meat filling.
He first sliced the cleaned meat, then chopped it into minced meat with a knife, then added an appropriate amount of salt, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and other seasonings, stirring quickly in one direction with chopsticks until well mixed.
"Hey, Lao Jiang, you're already starting to make meat filling, are you planning to open for business today?"
Hu Zhihai looked at the plate of seasoned meat filling, feeling hungry again, swallowed his saliva, quickly looked away to the outside of the cafeteria,
"It seems there aren't many returning students at this time!"
Jiang Yu replied, "Not opening today, mainly just warming up the kitchen."
Opening the kitchen for a new store is a tradition in Jiangzhou, similar to warming up a new house. The latter signifies that life gets better after moving into a new house; the former hopes for a prosperous business.
Of course, Jiang Yu primarily wanted to familiarize himself with the cafeteria's environment first to avoid being too hectic when officially opening tomorrow.
"Ah... So, I'm in for a treat this noon?"
Hu Zhihai was delighted, rubbing his hands and chuckling,
"Lao Jiang, remember to make a few more later, I didn't get enough last time!
Don't worry, it's not for free, when you open tomorrow, you'll surely be too busy on your own, I'll help you sell the dumplings!"
"Do you have a health certificate to sell dumplings?"
"You're underestimating me, I can't pass English Level 6, but I can't get a health certificate?"
Hu Zhihai stared, huffed, and said,
"Before the summer vacation, my mom planned to have me help out in her cake shop, so I got a health certificate back then!"
Jiang Yu pouted and said nothing more as he picked up the high-gluten flour from the side and prepared to knead the dough.
A delicious soup dumpling must have a thin and translucent skin.
To achieve a thin and translucent skin, two types of dough are needed: one with cold water and one with hot water, then combine the two in a 1:1 ratio and knead thoroughly to make the dumplings.
Jiang Yu first poured the flour into a cleaned stainless steel tray, added an appropriate amount of salt and sugar, then slowly added cold boiled water to the flour, stirring in one direction to knead the dough.
Adding salt to the dough makes it more elastic, while adding sugar makes the rolled-out dough skin more translucent.
As for the hot water dough, the steps are essentially the same as with cold water dough, just replacing the cold water with hot water.
After both doughs are combined and kneaded evenly, Jiang Yu covered them with a damp cloth to let them rest.
At this point, the chicken feet and carcass simmering on the stove were cooked to tenderness, Jiang Yu used a slotted spoon to scoop out all the chicken feet fragments and carcass bones from the pot, continuing to simmer on low heat until the broth turned milky white and thick before turning off the heat.
At this time, the small dumpling shop was filled with the rich and savory aroma of chicken soup, attracting the attention of the staff in the next stall.
"This chicken soup smells fantastic, why doesn't the old hen's soup I order at restaurants ever have this flavor?"
Hu Zhihai stared at the chicken soup in the pot, his throat moved involuntarily, and he cheekily said,
"Lao Jiang, this chicken soup must be delicious, right? Can you save some for me to try?"
Jiang Yu: "..."
He kept busy until after 10:30 in the morning before finishing his tasks, placing the wrapped soup dumplings on the steamer rack, starting to steam the dumplings.
The new stove's fire burned vigorously, and within a few minutes, steam enveloped the steamer. The white steam carried the aroma of dumplings, filling the entire stall with an enticing fragrance.
Hu Zhihai couldn't help but swallow his saliva, clutching his stomach and whining: "I'm doomed, my stomach is growling again, I feel like I could eat a whole cow right now!"