The heavens set sail from the courtyard

The people in the kitchen of the second canteen who tried Wang Gang's dishes all praised them highly and gave him a thumbs up, especially Yao Guofa.

Unlike others, Yao Guofa understood that the more outstanding Wang Gang's culinary skills were, the more beneficial it would be to his career.

"Junior brother, come with me." Yao Guofa warmly took Wang Gang's hand and led him back to the office.

The other two chefs in the kitchen, Su Hou and Chef Qin, had different expressions when they saw Yao Guofa's actions.

Master Qin knew that Yao Guofa wanted to give Wang Gang an important position, but he wasn't jealous. He was close to retirement and had long passed the age of being competitive.

As for Su Hou, he was consumed by jealousy.

Su Hou originally thought his cooking skills were about the same as Wang Gang's, but today's two dishes completely shattered Su Hou's "fantasy".

"How come Liu Hongchang's cooking skills have improved so much?" Su Hou thought bitterly, "Could being cheated on improve one's cooking skills?"

Wang Gang naturally had no idea what Su Hou was thinking, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.

Given Wang Gang's abilities, it's impossible for him to be confined to the small No. 2 canteen. Once he has accumulated some money and reputation, he will definitely resign.

Yao Guofa warmly led Wang Gang back to his office, grinning as he said, "Junior brother! Were you hiding your skills before? If I had known you were such a good cook, I wouldn't have let Chef Qin cook when we were hosting guests."

Wang Gang laughed and said, "Senior brother, I don't know what happened either. It's like I suddenly had a breakthrough. My skills have improved a lot in the last two days."

Yao Guofa's eyes darted around and he said, "Tonight the cafeteria is hosting several city leaders. You'll be in charge of cooking. Write down what dishes you want and I'll approve it."

Wang Gang nodded and said, "No problem, the cafeteria has a full range of dishes, it's just that the seasonings are a bit lacking."

Yao Guofa said confidently, "What seasonings do you want? I'll have the purchasing agent buy them, and we'll have them all ready for you before this afternoon."

Wang Gang asked for paper and pen, wrote down the seasonings he needed, and handed them to Yao Guofa.

"Senior, could you ask the purchasing agent to check if we can get these items?"

“No problem.” Yao Guofa accepted the note.

"Senior brother, what about participating in the cooking competition?" Wang Gang asked.

"Leave this to me," Yao Guofa said, patting his chest. "I'll risk my reputation to get you a spot in the competition."

Wang Gang chuckled and said, "Senior, if I really win a prize in the provincial competition, wouldn't that also improve the cafeteria's reputation?"

“Of course,” Yao Guofa laughed. “But the competition has to be held in the city first. Only the top two teams in the city are qualified to compete in the province. The pressure is considerable.”

Wang Gang said confidently, "Don't worry, senior brother, I definitely won't let our second canteen down."

Yao Guofa laughed and said, "With your current skills, as long as you don't underperform, you should have no problem in the city competition."

The city where Wang Gang is currently located is just a small place in Northeast China, and there aren't many chefs with high-level skills. This is why Yao Guofa has confidence in Wang Gang.

"Alright, then, senior brother, I'll go get back to work now. I'll draw up the menu for tonight's reception dinner this afternoon and let you take a look."

“Your injury hasn’t fully healed yet, so leave the work at noon to Su Hou and Master Qin. Your main focus should be preparing the dinner for the leaders tonight. If you treat them well, you’ll secure a spot in the competition,” Yao Guofa said.

"Don't worry, senior brother, I'll make sure everything is taken care of."

Yao Guofa personally escorted Wang Gang back to the kitchen and instructed Su Hou and Chef Qin not to let Wang Gang do heavy work.

Knowing that Wang Gang was now Yao Guofa's precious darling, Master Qin readily agreed.

Although Su Hou was unwilling, he knew that his cooking skills were inferior to others, so he could only swallow his anger.

And so, during the busiest time of noon, Wang Gang openly slacked off, moving a chair to sit in the back. However, he wasn't completely idle; he just talked without lifting a finger.

"Liu Zi, prepare ten more portions of dried sliced ​​beef." "Chef Qin, the guests at the sixth table are urging us to order their food. Could you please make a sweet and sour pork dish for them first?"

"Xiao Li, hurry up and cut the potatoes."

Wang Gang seemed to be an executive chef, directing the work in the kitchen. At first, Su Hou was a little unconvinced, but later he found that under Wang Gang's guidance, the allocation of kitchen staff was more reasonable, the speed of food preparation was significantly faster, and his work became much easier. In the end, he had no choice but to follow the arrangement.

Yao Guofa had been observing the kitchen at noon and immediately saw the potential in Wang Gang.

"Junior brother, this isn't just enlightenment, it's like your Ren and Du meridians have been opened!" Yao Guofa exclaimed. "From now on, the kitchen can be completely handed over to him, and I only need to focus on the front."

Yao Guofa left with peace of mind. Wang Gang finished his lunch break and had a few hours of rest before 5 p.m.

Wang Gang had already written out the menu for the reception meal and handed it to Yao Guofa for review.

“Hey, junior brother, your menu spans Sichuan, Guangdong, Huaiyang, are you sure you can pull it off?” Yao Guofa asked as soon as he saw the menu.

"Don't worry, senior! These are all dishes I'm confident I can make, I guarantee you and the leaders will be satisfied," Wang Gang assured him, patting his chest.

Yao Guofa didn't say anything more, returned the menu to Wang Gang, and called over the canteen purchasing agent, asking him to help Wang Gang buy seasonings.

The purchasing agent was called Sister Han. She was a woman in her thirties. She wasn't pretty, but she was very capable and had Yao Guofa's deep trust in her.

Wang Gang called Liu Zi over and asked him to ride the canteen's tricycle to take him and Sister Han to buy ingredients and seasonings.

The three of them were busy until 4 p.m. before they returned.

Yao Guofa informed him that the leaders would arrive around six o'clock sharp, so Wang Gang hurriedly asked someone to prepare a meal.

The trainees in the kitchen didn't want to miss this opportunity, but Wang Gang only asked Liu Zi for help, which made Liu Zi so happy that he almost jumped for joy.

Liu Zi is Liu Hongchang's apprentice. He has been learning cooking skills from him for several years, but he has not yet graduated.

Wang Gang knew that Liu Zi was not a bad person and was willing to mentor him.

Business at the second canteen wasn't as good in the evening as it was at noon, so Wang Gang focused his energy on preparing meals for guests, putting in seven-tenths of his effort.

Although it was only rated seven out of ten, the delicious dishes, each bursting with color, aroma, and flavor, still amazed everyone when they were served.

When Wang Gang made a dish of "Wensi Tofu" and "Nine-Turned Intestines", Su Hou, who was originally a little jealous, was completely convinced and could not have any other thoughts.

Everyone in the kitchen realized that with Wang Gang's current culinary skills, he wouldn't be able to stay in the second canteen for long. Even if he wanted to stay, the second canteen was too small to accommodate such a great figure as Wang Gang.

The happiest person was naturally Yao Guofa. Today's banquet made him look good in front of the leaders, and Wang Gang's participation in the competition was naturally secured.

Before leaving get off work, Yao Guofa specifically sought out Wang Gang, telling him to prepare well for the city competition a week later, and if he qualified, he would go to the provincial capital for the competition next month.

In a great mood, Wang Gang didn't go home after get off work, but went to No. 22 Fengxiang Hutong instead.

Wang Gang left in a hurry and didn't bring any spare clothes with him. He's currently wearing his older brother Liu Yunchang's clothes.

Other clothes are one thing, but Wang Gang really can't stand wearing other people's underwear.

When Wang Gang returned to Fengxiang Hutong, he found that the lights in his house were on and He Wenyuan was doing his homework inside.

"What are you doing in my house!" Wang Gang said angrily, "Get out! Get out of my house!"

Seeing that Wang Gang was not flustered at all, He Wenyuan shouted, "What do you mean 'your home'? This is my eldest sister's home. Why can't I come here?"

Wang Gang frowned! (End of Chapter)