In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

"You two didn't see it, that bastard Ma Dayong was really enjoying my spit! He was even enjoying it with his eyes closed! When I tell him, his face will turn red enough to open a dye shop, hahahahaha—"

Wu Xiaochun's mouth was stretched almost to the back of his ears, his expression like that of a mouse that had stolen oil. He gestured wildly and almost knocked over the oil can on the stove.

Chen Wei and Lin Jun remained quite calm.

Lin Jun would occasionally ask a couple of questions about the details, while Chen Wei never looked up.

He kept his head down, stirring the mung bean soup in the pot with a large ladle.

"Are you done talking?"

"That's all! Brother Chen, why didn't you ask? That bastard even praised it at the end, saying the dish was definitely made by a reclusive master! A reclusive master, my foot, hahaha—"

Wu Xiaochun was clearly not done talking yet, laughing and slapping his thighs loudly as he spoke.

Unexpectedly, Chen Wei immediately interrupted his excitement, throwing down the large ladle in his hand and turning his head to point to the two baskets of cucumbers placed next to the stove.

"Now that you've finished talking, hurry up and start chopping the vegetables! These are the vegetables we'll be using tomorrow. Given your high rate of wastage, I've prepared an extra 200 jin for you. You have to chop them all tonight."

"Huh?" Wu Xiaochun's smile instantly froze on his face.

Looking down at the huge basket of cucumbers on the ground, I felt my arms were about to ache just looking at it.

He quickly pleaded with a wry smile, "Brother Chen, please let me go! Jun'er will help you, won't that be enough? I've been cutting all day, I'm exhausted. How about... you cut again tomorrow?"

"Lin Jun cut it, Lin Jun cut it, you cut it, you cut it! Didn't you tell me before that you wanted to be a kitchen helper? If you want to be a kitchen helper, how can you convince others without some skills? Do you want to be pointed at and accused of getting in through connections like Ma Dayong did?"

Chen Wei remained expressionless, and with a single sentence, he silenced Wu Xiaochun.

Wu Xiaochun's words were cut off, and he immediately put on a mournful face, reluctantly picking up the kitchen knife.

There's nothing he can do. He doesn't care whether he's a kitchen helper or not, since he's only responsible for his own livelihood. Whether he gets a raise or not is just a matter of whether he can go out and brag a little.

But he couldn't let Ma Dayong and his gang keep talking behind his back!

Those people are incredibly mean-spirited. It's one thing to insult him, but they also drag Chen Weiquan into it. If Wu Xiaochun can't do a good job on his own, it becomes that everyone in their kitchen got promoted through nepotism.

Who could swallow this insult!

"Knock knock knock knock—"

With a resigned sigh, the kitchen fell silent again, followed by a series of sounds of knives striking the cutting board.

Meanwhile, Chen Wei was diligently teaching Lin Jun how to season food.

Although Lin Jun can only be taught how to season the cold dish of shredded radish in lamplight at this stage, he is probably still quite lacking in cooking skills.

But Chen Wei understood perfectly well that once Lin Jun learned how to season cold dishes, wouldn't that mean that Chen Wei's proficiency with the large ladle would be able to improve with Lin Jun's conversion rate?

To test this idea, Chen Wei plans to teach Lin Jun before leaving get off work today.

He spoke very patiently, taking a rough porcelain basin from under the cutting board as he spoke.

"I've already stir-fried these radish shreds until they're dry. Now all that's left is to prepare the sauce. Look at my technique: you can't just memorize the ingredients for this sauce; you have to adjust it slightly depending on how much food you're cooking today. That way, you can always make something new and different."

As he said this, Chen Wei poured soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and Sichuan peppercorn oil into a bowl in turn, then casually mixed the seasonings together and poured them over the stir-fried radish shreds in the pan.

The amber-colored sauce swirled around the edge of the pan, seeping into the shredded radish piled up inside.

"This first layer of sauce is to give the shredded radish a base flavor. After pouring the sauce over, let it marinate for a while before stirring."

As Chen Wei stirred, he explained the process. Once the shredded radish in his hand was almost marinated, he poured all the sesame oil and two large spoonfuls of chili oil into the pot.

He then explained, "This final step is to bring out the aroma of the radish, enhancing its flavor and improving its texture. The finished product should look something like this. Let it sit for another half hour, then chill it. Come and try it!"

Lin Jun used Chenwei's chopsticks to taste a bite of the freshly mixed shredded radish.

Sure enough, the freshly mixed radish shreds didn't taste as good as the chilled ones, and the sauce hadn't fully penetrated the radish, making it a bit bland.

However, the sweet, sour, and spicy flavors of the sauce have already lingered on the tip of the tongue, and it's clear that the final product is not much different from the original.

He was slightly startled. He had just seen Chen Wei add some very ordinary seasonings, but the final product had such an effect. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

However, the next moment Chen Wei directly handed the large ladle in his hand to Lin Jun.

"Alright, you can adjust this next one."

Lin Jun took a deep breath and quickly suppressed the tension in his heart.

He desperately tried to recall Professor Chen's instructions on the seasonings and proportions, and then added the seasonings in the exact order they had been added. His hands trembled slightly, but his eyes were focused to the extreme, as if he were performing some kind of mysterious ritual.

Chen Wei frowned, thinking to himself that Lin Jun was still too nervous. As soon as he added the ingredient, Chen Wei knew that the ingredient was not added correctly.

Sure enough, after Lin Jun added all the ingredients, he mixed the shredded radish evenly according to Chen Wei's method. He first carefully tasted it himself, and then immediately frowned.

"The taste is wrong! This..."

He became even more nervous and quickly looked at Chen Wei.

But the other person calmly pressed his hand down: "Seasoning isn't about adding or subtracting, it's about feeling! You should have slowly poured the vinegar down from the side of the pot so it could penetrate the radish's fibers more effectively. The sugar should have been sprinkled evenly on the surface, then immediately mixed well..."

Chen Wei explained the steps to him again, tossed the failed sample aside, and took out an identical small enamel basin, which still contained a portion of shredded radish.

Lin Jun didn't complain and obediently did as instructed, adjusting the seasoning again.

After this round, it looks a little better.

After mixing, Lin Jun hesitated for a moment, then dipped his finger in the sauce and put it in his mouth.

My eyes lit up. The four flavors of sour, sweet, spicy and numbing intertwined on my tongue. Although it was a bit chaotic and lacked the refreshing quality of Chenwei, it was still a good match.

[Ding—, Ladle Proficiency +1]

Apprentice worker Lin Jun's skill conversion rate is 55%.