"These soup dumplings are quite well made and look beautiful. Not only is the skin thin as paper and tightly sealed, but each one has seventeen or eighteen pleats, looking just like a flower."
Jiang Yu stood by the workbench, carefully observing the soup dumplings Lu Shuwu made, and couldn't help but exclaim,
"With such skill, it's definitely impossible to achieve without two or three years of hard work."
"Boss, you're too kind!"
A slight pride inadvertently flickered across Lu Shuwu's face, but he quickly suppressed it and said modestly,
"The soup dumplings I made don't look as good as the boss's in terms of appearance. The most crucial thing is that the dough I roll isn't as soft and elastic as the boss's, so I didn't dare to put as much filling inside as the boss did, for fear that it wouldn't seal properly and would leak once steamed."
What he said was true, but this was also the most puzzling part for Lu Shuwu.
You know, when he learned to make soup dumplings in Bianzhou, he really put in hard work, with a master chef from a famous restaurant by his side constantly correcting him whenever he made mistakes.
Even so, he persevered for three or four years to reach his current level.
However, what he made was still not as good as the boss's; the gap was obvious.
The boss was even younger than him and was currently a senior student at Jiangzhou University. Where did he find the time to learn all this?
Even if he had the time to learn, how did he achieve such a high level in such a short time?
Moreover, what kind of master is required to train such a highly skilled apprentice?
After racking his brains, Lu Shuwu couldn't figure it out, and in the end, he could only attribute it to natural talent.
Natural talent, isn't that just a freak?!
"These are all minor issues. Take your time, no need to rush. After making more in the future, you'll naturally get better."
Jiang Yu smiled and didn't say much else. He pulled a chair and sat on the other side of the workbench, starting to busy himself as well.
He was quite satisfied with Lu Shuwu's performance.
With his level of skill, he's much better than the seasoned workers at the bun shops outside. As for the slightly thicker dough and slightly less filling in the soup dumplings made by Lu Shuwu, in his eyes, it wasn't really a big problem.
In fact, this easily noticeable difference among industry insiders is completely indistinguishable to the average diner.
When the soup dumpling reaches their mouth, all they'll hear in their mind is:
Whoa! So fresh! So fragrant! So delicious!
So, what Jiang Yu needed to do was personally handle the seasoning of the filling to ensure every soup dumpling maintained the same taste.
As for who actually wrapped the soup dumplings, that didn't matter anymore.
While Jiang Yu and Lu Shuwu were wrapping dumplings in the kitchen, Yan Tongtong was picking and washing vegetables, and Hu Zhihai was running in and out all by himself, busy collecting the steamers and soup bowls scattered around the cafeteria and bringing them back to the shop to clean and sanitize them one by one.
No one spoke in the store, and only the soft sounds of running water and footsteps could be heard from time to time. Everything seemed busy yet fulfilling.
They were all silently preparing for the upcoming dinner.
...
"You all probably won't believe it when I tell you—our school's cafeteria actually hides a 'gastronomy god.' The soup dumplings and hot and sour soup sold in his store are just incredible!"
"Haha, Xiao Xin, you're boasting again. You once claimed to be the most handsome guy in our high school too!"
"Hahaha, yeah so true, and he also said all the girls in high school wrote him love letters!"
"...I'm serious this time, absolutely not bragging! If you don't believe me, come over right now, and I'll treat you to dinner. If anyone says it's not tasty, I'll run three laps around campus in a dress!"
"Screenshot taken! No backing out!"
"Come on, stop teasing Xiao Xin. I think he's serious this time. Why don't we go try these soup dumplings and hot and sour soup he mentioned, maybe they are delicious?"
"Yep, Xiao Xin has always wanted to wear a dress and just couldn't find a good excuse for it. As a fellow student, we should support him."
"Hahaha, alright, I'm heading out, will be there in half an hour!"
"I'm coming too..."
...
"Jia Yi, look, this is our school. The scenery is quite nice, but definitely cannot compare to your Modu University since Shanghai is such an international metropolis after all."
In her dorm room, after sending her dad off, Liu Sili took a few campus scenery photos and casually sent them to Cheng Jiayi.
Although Cheng Jiayi always competed with her and even sent selfies before to provoke her, Liu Sili figured things out and decided not to be angry anymore.
Gaokao isn't the end; life is long.
No one knows what might happen in the future, so there's no need to trouble herself over this.
"Wow, Jiangzhou University is actually quite beautiful, worthy of the only '211' university in the Zhangjiang Province, living up to its name!"
Every word of the message from Cheng Jiayi was sharp.
"No, no, our school is quite average; otherwise, it wouldn't accept transfers."
Liu Sili thought for a moment, quickly typed another line and sent it,
"However, although our school is ordinary, the cafeteria is truly something else. Can you believe it, Jia Yi? Every classmate I meet says there's a 'gastronomy god' hiding in our cafeteria!"
"A 'gastronomy god'? Haha, the classmates you've met must be country bumpkins who haven't tasted anything good, right?"
"Hmm, there might be some truth to what you say, so I didn't believe it either and went to check out the cafeteria."
Saying this, Liu Sili quickly sent several short videos in succession along with her typing,
"Jia Yi, look, that's the 'Jiang Family Soup Dumpling' shop, and I was shocked as soon as I entered. Oh my God, I've never seen a line this long just to eat at a cafeteria, at least wrapped around the entire hall!"
"..."
"Jia Yi, look, there are even people unwilling to wait in line willing to spend 100 yuan to buy a spot! Aren't those resellers 'scalpers'? Unbelievable, 'scalpers' are even coming to our school cafeteria!"
"..."
"I really can't understand, these people with money willing to spend 100 yuan for a spot, what good food can't they buy? Yet they come to the university cafeteria. Jia Yi, do you know why?"
"..."
"Listen, Jia Yi, the whole cafeteria is discussing it, saying the soup dumplings are so delicious and the hot and sour soup is so good! They all look so excited, it's like they've never seen the world before!"
"..."
"Look, Jia Yi, these are the soup dumplings, wow, with just a small bite, rich and fresh soup oozes out, really fragrant and fresh!"
"And the hot and sour soup is also very good, with a perfect balance of sour, spicy, fresh, and fragrant. Just a sip, and all the pores in your body open up, feeling so comfortable!"
"..."
"It's really a pity, Jia Yi, you're too far at Shanghai University, you can't taste these delicious foods now. Otherwise, I would definitely invite you to try them too."
"..."
"Eh, Jia Yi, where are you? Jia Yi, why aren't you responding?"
"..."