Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 345 Internship Arrangements

As May arrives, the grass grows and the birds sing. Spring has come to Northeast China, and the mountains and fields are lush and green, with trees sprouting new branches and everything flourishing.

The first cohort of students at the vocational skills training center also began their internships in this warm month.

In fact, the chef training program had already started long ago. The students took turns helping out in the canteen, picking, washing, and chopping vegetables. They would discuss things with the cooks and then get on the stove to cook. Anyway, everyone would share what they made, and no one would say anything. Xiaowei's mom's canteen was much more relaxed during this time.

Now that all the theoretical courses are completed, all the chef trainees need to be properly assigned for their internships. There are dozens of people, and arrangements need to be made for them at the canteen, Jubinge Restaurant, and even Fengtian Anji Old Restaurant. Trainees can also arrange their own internship locations, just like Xiaowei did at the Cultural Palace, and then come back to take the exam.

The internship at the West Point Administration was also quite troublesome. As before, if there were too many people, they would all be out of work. In the end, it was Master Li Wenhe who came up with the idea of ​​dividing all the West Point trainees into three groups: one group to bake cakes, one group to bake cookies, and one group to practice piping. They would rotate every three weeks, which was how all the trainees were assigned.

Theoretically, the pastry training program is the simplest, but in reality, it's the most troublesome. A steamed bun shop doesn't have that much space, and you can't use that many people. Then there's the issue of sales volume—how many buns do so many people need to make in a day? And who will buy them? So, for a considerable period of time, the staple food for the more than one hundred trainees and workers will definitely be steamed buns, twisted rolls, dumplings, and baozi every day. Xiaowei is already thinking about finding places to open a few more steamed bun shops.

"The next period will be your internship. Everyone needs to work hard, observe, and use your brains. You must follow instructions and obey management. You must be serious; only by being serious can you learn real skills. Baking is the foundation of a cake shop. If you can't bake qualified bread and cakes, you can't open a cake shop. No matter how good your cake decorating skills are, you'll just end up working in a cake shop. Did you come out here to spend money to learn just to become a worker?"

"Besides, the cake shop industry is still in its infancy. In Northeast China, apart from our school itself, there aren't any decent cake shops yet. Where are you going to work as a laborer? If you want to open a cake shop, you need to be able to bake qualified finished products in every batch, understand?"

"The older women in the factory are older than you, and their education level may not be as high as yours, but they have been working for ten or twenty years. When it comes to manual skills, all of you combined are no match for them, understand? So be humble, listen to what they say, observe how they operate, memorize and digest the theoretical knowledge you learn, carefully observe the operation of the experienced masters, and practice your skills well."

"It's the same with cake decorating. Be meticulous, patient, use your brain and think more. Skills are honed through practice. No one is born better than others. Don't think you're smart and know everything. Half-baked skills will amount to nothing. Opening a cake shop is to make money, understand? It's not about playing the odds. If you want to open a shop, you have to make sure you have real skills. People aren't easily fooled."

"There are no geniuses in this world, and there are no sudden enlightenments in crafts. Some people may have stronger comprehension, some may have stronger hands-on skills, and some may have both strong comprehension and hands-on skills, but if you don't study and practice seriously, you're still doomed. If you want to be able to stand on your own in the future, then you only have one path: practice diligently. There are no second chances."

"Listen carefully, those of you who didn't learn or didn't learn well this time. We take no responsibility, understand? There's no sympathy here; what's needed is your ambition. If you didn't take it seriously and didn't learn well, it has nothing to do with us, understand? It won't help you find anyone else later."

"And I want to tell you very seriously here that if you feel you haven't learned well after one term and want to come back a second time, I'm sorry, I won't accept you. No matter how much money you offer, I won't accept it, do you understand? Because you're not cut out for it, and we can't help you squander your parents' hard-earned money. Also, I want to emphasize one point: no matter where you intern, if you're a troublemaker who doesn't follow instructions or listen to management, there are only two words for you: expulsion."

"If anything happens, you can come and talk to me, and I'll handle it, understand?" Xiao Wei stood on the podium giving all the trainees their pre-internship orientation.

"The same applies to students learning pastry making. You need to be serious. Only serious people can succeed. Making dough looks easier than baking bread and cakes, but it's not. The simpler something seems, the harder it is to master. From roughly preparing the dough and adding alkali, to kneading the dough for steamed buns and mixing the oil, to the dough and fillings for dumplings and buns—all of these require meticulousness and experience to do well. Why are you learning this? To make money, right? If it doesn't taste good, what money will you make?"

The students below laughed, some indifferent, others quietly pondering. Different strokes for different folks, and blisters on one's feet are earned through one's own efforts. Xiao Wei could only do his best; in the end, the result depends entirely on each individual. In this world, only two people are your parents; others have no obligation or inclination to indulge you.

"Hey chefs, you need to make a decision quickly. Do you want to go back and find a place to intern on your own, or do you want me to arrange it for you here? The school can't just wait for you to waste your time, and besides, it's your own time that's being wasted. Once you've made a decision, go to the office and fill out the form, understand? Write down your internship decision clearly, sign it, and put your fingerprint on it, so we don't have any trouble explaining it later."

"Those who stay here for internships, those with basic skills will go to Jubinge, and those without basic skills will practice in the cafeteria. Don't think that just because you're a chef you shouldn't be doing chores like picking vegetables. If you can't even handle vegetables, what kind of chef are you? If Chef Zhai from Jubinge tells me which one is good enough, I'll arrange for him to go to Fengtian."

"Chef Zhai is the first hurdle, and Chef Fan from Fengtian is the second. To be honest, Chef Zhai is the head chef of Lao Sihuang, and Chef Fan is an apprentice of Chef Liu Jingxian. They've cooked five-star meals. If they both approve of you, you'll definitely succeed."

"If any of you can get Master Zhai or Master Fan to take you on as an apprentice, I'm telling you, you'll be set for life, understand? You'll definitely be a future head chef, no doubt about it. But if you want them to recognize you, you have to show real skill and put your heart into it, understand? There are no shortcuts. Okay, that's all I have to say. Everyone will have two days off today and tomorrow. Starting the day after tomorrow, we'll start scheduling shifts to go to the factory. Those who have decided on their chef training can go and fill out the forms."

"By the way, a new batch of students will be joining next week. Don't take advantage of your seniority to bully the newbies. Just a heads-up, don't say I'll turn against you. Dismissed."

The boys whispered amongst themselves, and a group of girls screamed "Oh!" as they ran out of the classroom. They loved taking breaks and shopping the most.

Xiao Wei walked from the classroom to the office. He needed to determine how many chefs were left behind. If necessary, he would have to find them places to intern. The restaurant here simply couldn't accommodate more than a few people.

(End of this chapter)