However, Yuan Zhou had truly overestimated the capacity of his box. In just half a day of that afternoon, the paper slips almost overflowed from the carton. During that time, the five piles of blank paper prepared by Yuan Zhou had already been used up.
The remaining was prepared by the customers voluntarily and everybody was unprecedentedly enthusiastic about this activity.
Besides, they even started to call up their friends and some also make comparisons.
“Have you heard of that? Boss Yuan says he will cook the characteristic delicacies from our hometown. Even thinking of that makes me drool.” While taking the documents in her arms, a girl with a ponytail said to her colleague beside her in an office.
“You are mistaken. Undoubtedly, he’s going to cook the delicacies from my hometown, Wuzhong. But you are not from Wuzhong.” A short-haired girl beside her immediately contradicted her.
“How could that be? He’s apparently going to cook the delicacies from my hometown, Huizhou.” The ponytail girl said, being reluctant to show weakness.
“You are both mistaken. Boss Yuan says he will choose one and cook it.” A man that passed by couldn’t bear anymore, thus he said that directly.
“What do you know? I have gone there to vote for the delicacies from my hometown?” The ponytail girl immediately held up her head proudly and answered.
“Humph. Me, too.” The short-haired girl also revealed a look of shrewdness.
“You are so proactive!” The man sighed with emotion and said.
“We are not the only people. I saw you also vote.” The ponytail girl unmasked the man right away.
“Hey-hey. If only Boss Yuan can cook the delicacies from my hometown. I’d be very proud of that.” The man stroked his own head and said with embarrassment at once.
“How could that be? It will definitely be the one from my hometown.” The short-haired girl immediately contradicted him.
“No, no, no. I think the delicacies from my hometown conform to Boss Yuan’s requirements best.” The ponytail girl shook the head and then said affirmatively.
“It might be the delicacies from my hometown.” The man felt it was not appropriate to participate in their debate, but he still believed he would be more likely to win.
Such kind of debates took place many times within a day in the company, not to mention the debates on the internet.
Everyone had the honor of being chosen by Boss Yuan now. After all, Boss Yuan’s craftsmanship was there for all to see. If he chose the delicacies from one’s hometown in the end, the person would feel very proud. Besides, he could also eat the delicacies from his hometown in Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
Most importantly, Yuan Zhou would have cooked the delicacies because of him. Even thinking about that made people excited.
The consequence was that the box had been full before dinner time commenced.
“Alright. If I choose one, I will cook it directly tomorrow. Thank you all.” Yuan Zhou stood in front of the carton full of papers and said earnestly.
“Okay.” It was said by those who had voted for their delicacies.
“These people really move quickly. I haven’t voted yet.” Of course, it was said by those who hadn’t got time to vote.
Then, Yuan Zhou carried the box and walked into the restaurant.
When Shen Min greeted the customers who came for the liquor after the dinnertime, Yuan Zhou took a seat in the kitchen and began to check the recommendations.
Along with the sound of “Dong Dong Dong”, the footsteps passed to him. It was Shen Min who finished the work on the second floor.
“Boss Yuan, can I help you? I read quickly.” Shen Min stood steadily for a while and then asked.
“No, you don’t need to. Go upstairs and do your homework. The final exams are coming very soon.” Yuan Zhou refused directly without even raising his head up.
“Never mind. Exams in the college aren’t so difficult.” Shen Min shook the head and said earnestly.
Of course, Shen Min didn’t tell the truth as she really wasn’t that clever. It cost her all her efforts just to keep up with the courses and meet the passing score, unlike Zhou Jia who can get very good scores in the self-study examination even if she had dropped out of school.
Besides, Zhou Jia didn’t actually study as hard as Shen Min. But still, Shen Min wanted to help Yuan Zhou.
She saw Yuan Zhou carry a full box of paper back personally. The workload was way too heavy.
“Um. Go back and read books.” Yuan Zhou raised his head this time and said to Shen Min while looking at her.
“Okay. Please do tell me if you need my help, Boss Yuan. I really do read very quickly.” Seeing Yuan Zhou refuse her so decisively, Shen Min had to agree.
This time, Yuan Zhou didn’t say anything, but just nodded.
“Dong Dong Dong”, the footsteps of Shen Min were gone.
Then, there was only the sound of flipping the paper left, which sounded quite pleasant.
“Shrimp fish? What’s this?” Yuan Zhou was taking a piece of paper with the graceful handwriting written on.
The system displayed, “Shrimp fish is a kind of fish that originates from Suzhou. It actually has nothing to do with the shrimps.”
“Interesting, but it doesn’t conform to the requirements.” Yuan Zhou put the paper aside.
That’s right. The paper slips that Yuan Zhou had read weren’t discarded, but instead stacked orderly and neatly at the side. He was prepared to put them away. The place was more spacious now and thus he had sufficient room to store these things. Moreover, these were all his customers’ precious opinions.
“It really helps to increase my knowledge to read these things. Some never even appeared in books before.” Yuan Zhou read the paper slips and made comparisons at the same time before he judged if it was usable.
Time flew by quickly. Most of the recommendations were some snacks that appeared to be peculiar but were actually worthy of their names, or else, some that were more similar to their name than in reality but didn’t conform to the requirements.
“Caul fat Roll?” Again, Yuan Zhou saw a type of food that he had never seen before.
The system displayed, “Slice up the pork tenderloin or the pork kidney; wrap it with the pig’s caul fat; add some sweet bean sauce; then cover it with the grease and roast it. After that, it’s done.”
“Sounds great, although it doesn’t conform to the requirements.” Yuan Zhou checked the cooking method and became interested. However, it didn’t conform to the requirements of the system.
He paused for a while and took the next paper slip, on which a similar thing called Caul Fat Wrapper was written.
“Are they the same thing? Or is the cooking method is different?” Yuan Zhou looked up the information and then asked.
The system displayed, “The various diced ingredients like ham, tender bamboo shoots and lentinus edodes, etc. must be wrapped in the pig’s caul fat first in order to make the Caul Fat Wrapper. Then add the soy sauce inside and make it into the shape of fruits. Finally, deep-fry them. After that, it’s done.”
“The cooking method appears to be more or less the same, but the ingredients used are quite different. Interesting!” Yuan Zhou grumbled softly.
Each cooking method that Yuan Zhou had never heard of would be studied carefully by him. Luckily, it was just obtaining general knowledge instead of studying them deeply.
Fortunately, Yuan Zhou had the title of Master of Cooked Wheaten Food and also other various culinary skills. From the previous two years of working experiences in the hotel, he knew many kinds of dishes. Plus, with the backup of the system, Yuan Zhou got through them fairly quickly.
There were only 1/3 of the paper slips left in the face of Yuan Zhou before the pub was closed. Of course, Shen Min always took the final bus back to her college at this time of day.
All was quiet at dead of night now. Yuan Zhou was still going through the paper slips and appeared serious.
Fortunately, it didn’t cost Yuan Zhou too much time to find what he wanted.
“Crow Head? Interesting. I have to check it carefully.” Yuan Zhou took the paper slip and showed a look of interest.
He needn’t ask the system this time as he had an indistinct concept in the heart. Therefore, he directly opened the book and started to check the information.
“Haha. It’s really this thing. It seems that I can cook this tomorrow morning. So interesting.” Yuan Zhou stretched himself and became very happy.
…
① Crow Head: In Chinese, it’s called 老鸹头. For your reference, please check the pictures at: http://www.canyin88.com/zhuanlan/shancaizhuanlan/2017/0612/49703.html