60 Han Guishan (1/2)

Mr. Han couldn't stop himself from staring at the Cornmeal Dumpling.

No matter how Mr. Han looked at it, it was a normal dumpling that was almost identical to the ones he had when he was little. The only difference was that the cornmeal that was used when he was a kid was coarser than the one that could be found in the dumpling.

Yet, the dumpling reminded Mr. Han of his late mother.

His mother was the daughter of a cook, but she could make the best Cornmeal Dumpling with Stuffed Vegetables in the world.

”Who made this dumpling?” Mr. Han asked.

…

The one who had made the dumplings was crying because of the spicy Stir-fried Chicken with Pepper.

Jiang Feng could not even recall how many cups of water he had drunk. All he knew was that he had to drink water whenever he took a bite into the chicken.

He could even tell that his lips were swelling because of the heat.

As a daughter in a Sichuanese family, Wu Qimin could not sympathize with Jiang Feng's pain. She found it hard to understand why Jiang Feng could be in so much pain just from the Stir-fried Chicken with Pepper. She even used less chili because they were made for children.

In Jiang Feng's 20 years of life, the spiciest food he has ever had was the Grilled Lamb Skewers behind his high school that was introduced to him by Chen Xiuxiu. He even got admitted into the hospital for two days because of that. But compared to Wu Qimin's Stir-fried Chicken with Pepper, the lamb skewers were child's play.

Yet, even though Jiang Feng's lips were swelling to the point as if they were stung by bees, Jiang Feng managed to finish the chicken dish.

”Are we making dinner too?” Wu Qimin asked excitedly.

Unlike Jiang Feng, who got to practice his cooking skill daily, Wu Qimin never had the chance to cook in a professional kitchen ever since she started college. Cooking at Zephyr Primary School was her first time cooking in A City.

Jiang Feng could tell Wu Qimin was eager to take advantage of the chance.

But Jiang Feng's reply put out that eagerness. ”No. We don't need to make dinner.”

Wu Qimin's face was filled with disappointment.

”I really envy you…” Wu Qimin sighed. ”You are lucky that your family restaurant is right next to the campus.”

Jiang Feng thought of the lunch he just had, and an idea came to his mind.

”Do… do you have a lot of classes?” Jiang Feng asked, knowing that Wu Qimin was majoring in Food Nutrition, which was a major with a lot of classes and projects.

”I don't go to classes that often,” Wu Qimin shook her head. ”I thought the major was about learning different ingredients, but it's actually just all chemistry.”

”…”

Jiang Feng was speechless as to how Wu Qimin was trying to justify skipping classes.

Aren't you supposed to go to the New Oriental Cuisine School if you want to learn about ingredients?

”Well, since you're skipping… since you don't have a lot of classes, why don't you come and help out at the restaurant?” Jiang Feng coughed and asked. ”We have four stoves that you could use freely.”

Jiang Feng invited Wu Qimin because the Healthy Restaurant still needed someone good at making Sichuan Cuisine.

And since Jiang Jiankang had a sweet tooth, none of the dishes in the restaurant were spicy.

”I can use those stoves freely?” Wu Qimin asked as her eyes lit up.

”Only when a customer makes an order.”

”I'm in!” Wu Qimin exclaimed. She has been dying to work in a kitchen ever since school started.

After the 7-day long National Day of the People's Republic of China holiday had ended, Wu Qimin had not touched a chef knife for three months. She would even dream of cutting carrots from time to time.

From another's point of view, she was a cooking maniac.

”Then, you can come whenever you're free,” Jiang Feng smiled while not mentioning her pay.

Wu Qimin did not realize that Jiang Feng was actually asking her to work as a chef in the Healthy Restaurant. Moreover, she was thankful that Jiang Feng gave her a chance to practice her skills in a real kitchen.

What was more was that Wu Qimin did not have any problem with money. Even though her grandfather was very strict with everyone in the family, he never restricted their money use as long as no gambling or drugs were involved.

After coming to a deal, the two of them walked around the campus.

Since the students from the College of Music and Dancing were going to perform after lunch, Jiang Feng decided to proceed to the hall earlier so that he could get a good seat. The reason behind Jiang Feng's decision was because any performance from that particular college was very crowded. Even getting one or two seats by the aisle would be considered as lucky.

That was why Jiang Feng decided to get a seat where he could drool over the beauties that would be dancing on the stage.

But before Jiang Feng could locate the hall, the all-knowing Ms. Chen appeared out of nowhere and pulled Jiang Feng away.

”Mr. Han is asking for you,” Ms. Chen said as she pulled Jiang Feng to the hall.

Lucky for Jiang Feng, Mr. Han was waiting for him at the performing hall, which was Jiang Feng's destination from the beginning.

”Mr. Han?” Jiang Feng raised a question.

”He's one of Zephyr's 5 school board members. He wanted to talk to you about the dumplings you made.”

Jiang Feng was shocked when he heard it was about the dumpling.

Wait… Did he get sick or something because of the dumpling? But I didn't even use any coarse cornmeal…

Jiang Feng uneasily followed Ms. Chen to where Mr. Han was waiting.

As soon as Jiang Feng arrived at the hall, he could see kids decorating in it. Some were placing flowers on the chairs, while the others were putting up decorations. Judging from the ugly looking decorations, Jiang Feng could tell they were handmade.

Jiang Feng did not see any students from the A University in the crowd and deduced they were helping out backstage.

Jiang Feng has heard from others that the students from the College of Music and Dancing had been preparing for weeks.