Chapter 94: The Culinary Tycoon

Recruiting Apprentices

Lord Cai was busy with government affairs and stayed in Tongshan City for a few days. Taking the opportunity, he inspected the local administration before returning to Yunzhou.

Jiabao’s name on his household registration was restored to his original name. However, everyone still preferred to call him Jiabao as it sounded more affectionate. He had grown accustomed to this name, so everyone took it as his nickname.

By acknowledging Lord Cai as his adoptive father, Jiabao gained an additional family. He now had a grandfather, Lao Mo, Yifu (adoptive father), an older brother, and a younger brother. Cai Yunwei, his younger brother, was one month younger than him.

After a period of adjustment and with the care and companionship of everyone, Jiabao’s smile gradually returned to his face. He wasn’t alone anymore; he had many people who cared for him and cherished him. He felt their support and had no reason not to regain his spirits.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

The days are not much different from before, except that Lord Cai and his wife, as well as Cai Yunwei, come to the snack shop more frequently.

“Brother, let me handle the payment for you!” Cai Yunwei just finished breakfast and bounced to the counter, enthusiastically offering to help his elder brother. “I can do math too.”

Seeing Cai Yunwei about to get an abacus, Jiabao quickly said, “Yunwei, you talk to Grandpa and Lao mo. I can handle things here.”

“No problem, they’ll take a while to finish eating. You calculate one, I’ll calculate one, and we’ll be done quickly, right?” Cai Yunwei said cheerfully, then turned to another customer behind him and said, “Sir, can I handle your payment?”

That customer was a regular and often saw Cai Yunwei at the snack shop. He smiled and said, “How can I dare to trouble Young Master Cai? I can wait for a while.”

Cai Yunwei’s health improved, and he was no longer sickly and sluggish. He had become more lively in personality. He smiled and said, “There’s no need to hesitate. By helping my elder brother, I can make sure you have your breakfast earlier. Isn’t that great?”

After considering for a moment and seeing that Cai Yunwei had no intention of causing offense, the customer replied, “Alright, then I’ll trouble Young Master Cai.”

Cai Yunwei took the bamboo token from the tray and said to the person, “Sir, you got it wrong. I’m currently the third in my family. This is my elder brother.” As he said that, he casually put his arm on Jiabao’s shoulder, showing their close relationship.

The customer was surprised and asked, “Is that so? What’s going on with you guys?” He was still trying to wrap his head around the situation.

Cai Yunwei happily replied, “My father recognized him as his adoptive son, so he’s my elder brother now.”

“Oh… I see! I underestimated it.” The customer looked at Jiabao, unable to fathom why Lord Cai would recognize this young man as his adoptive son. Wasn’t he just a little helper at the snack shop?

“Here you go, sir, a total of twenty-eight wen.” Cai Yunwei was skilled with the abacus and quickly calculated the bill while speaking.

Jiabao had been watching him calculate the whole time and felt relieved when he saw that he hadn’t made any mistakes.

“Do you think we’re getting faster like this?” Cai Yunwei smiled and asked Jiabao.

Jiabao nodded, and the two young men proceeded to settle the bill together.

Old Madam Cai looked at his increasingly lively grandson and said to Old Master Cai, “Look, even Wei’er can help people now.”

Old Master Cai nodded and said, “I agree. We can hire a tutor for him.”

Old Madam Cai gave his spouse a sideways glance and said, “He has just recovered his health, and he’s finally in good spirits. Now you’re already thinking about causing trouble!”

Old Master Cai became dissatisfied and said, “What do you mean by causing trouble? I’m thinking for Wei’er’s sake. Previously, due to his poor health, we could only hire one tutor to teach him the basics. He’s already several years behind other children from prominent families. Don’t forget, when Xi’er was his age, he was already a scholar.”

Old Madam Cai paused for a moment, feeling somewhat helpless, and said, “I don’t care. At least until Wei’er fully recovers, we can’t push him too hard. And he has to agree to it himself!”

Old Master Cai glared and said, “Aren’t you afraid that if Wei’er doesn’t achieve anything in the future, Wenyi will blame you? You weren’t so lenient with Wenyi before.”

Old Madam Cai shrugged and said, “I think it’s fine not to hold an official position. Just look at Fu Lei. If he hadn’t pursued an official career, their family would still be doing well now.”

“…,” Old Master Cai couldn’t argue with his wife anymore and sighed, “Ah, forget it, I’ll ask Wei’er about it later.”

Two days later, when Old Madam Cai and the others came over in the morning, they didn’t see Cai Yunwei. Jiabao curiously asked about it. Old Madam Cai didn’t answer, but Old Master Cai smiled and said that they had found a tutor for Cai Yunwei, so he was busy and couldn’t come.

Jiabao nodded, murmured an acknowledgment, smiled, and didn’t ask further.

Meanwhile, Yu Qingze, Chang Le, and Grandpa Chang discussed for two days and decided to select two apprentices from the helpers to learn making dim sum. They didn’t have the resources to train apprentices in cooking at the moment, so they had to postpone it.

After observing them for several months, the selected helpers had good character and were hardworking, deserving of proper training.

That day, after closing the shop, Yu Qingze discussed the matter with everyone during the meeting.

“Everyone, you’ve all worked hard in the past six months! Thanks to everyone’s joint efforts, our snack shop has been getting better and better. Now, with the increasing number of customers, I have more and more things to handle. So, in the kitchen, I plan to find two apprentices to teach them how to make pastries. In the future, Brother Chang and his mother will be in charge of the kitchen together.”

Upon hearing this, the staff became excited. It was a great opportunity! Now, the whole Tongshan City knows that Yu’s food is delicious. If they could learn the craft, they would master a valuable skill.

“Boss Yu, what kind of apprentices are you looking for? Any specific requirements?” asked Brother Qing.

“Yeah, we’re all willing to learn. But if it’s only two people, tell us what kind of requirements you have,” they said.

Yu Qingze replied, “Let me make it clear first. The work in the kitchen is extremely demanding. You have to wake up twice in the middle of the night when the rooster crows, and there are various tasks to handle. Currently, we have over thirty different types of items on our menu, including ones we have previously introduced but are not currently selling. Each one has a different recipe, and the apprentices need to learn them all. Once they have mastered everything and meet my requirements, I will promote them to the position of dim sum chef, and their wages will also increase.”

As they listened, everyone started to calculate in their minds, considering whether they could endure this hardship, especially having to wake up in the middle of the night.

Yu Qingze continued, “There are three main requirements. First, you need to have good physical stamina and strength. Many of the recipes require kneading dough. Currently, most of the dough kneading tasks are done by Brother Le because he has the strength for it. But for us, it’s important. Brother Le won’t be helping in the kitchen indefinitely, so before you sign up, you need to think carefully about whether you have the physical stamina and strength for kneading dough.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions on everyone’s faces became serious. Several individuals felt disappointed, as these conditions clearly favored men.

After observing their expressions, Yu Qingze continued, “Second, you need to be able to endure hardship and be diligent. I don’t need to explain this; I believe you all understand. Third, you need to be able to live in the shop. This can be considered a benefit because traveling back and forth is very tiring. We have two small rooms in the shop, which can accommodate four people. Both dim sum chefs will be living in the shop. That’s about it. You can think about it today, and if you’re interested, come and register with me tomorrow. The registration deadline is three days from now, and I will select two individuals to start training. Do any of you have any questions or anything you don’t understand?”

Everyone looked at each other, and after a while, Tie Zhu asked, “Boss Yu, I have the strength and the willingness to learn, and I can endure hardship. However, I have never made dim sum before, and I’m afraid I might be too clumsy and my hands might not be nimble enough to create such beautiful decorations. Can I still do it?”

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. It was true that these dim sum had an attractive appearance, and the intricate decorations were pleasing to the eye. Skill in handiwork was indeed important.

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “Learning a few things won’t be a problem. When I first started learning to make dim sum, my dumplings didn’t look good either. But after learning some techniques and practicing more, it improved. So, don’t worry about it.”

Tie Zhu scratched the back of his head and said, “In that case, I’m fine. I want to sign up.”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Good, I got it. Does anyone else have any questions?”

“Alright, if there are no further questions, we’ll end here for today. Everyone, tidy up and go back.”

In the evening, after Yu Qingze and Chang Le lovingly spent some time together, they lay on the bed and chatted. Sometimes they discussed their feelings about the “Harmonious Activities” and tried to improve each other, while other times they talked about various matters, both related to the shop and their home.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

While massaging his wife, Yu Qingze asked, “Darling, were you satisfied just now? How did that position feel?”

Brother Le nodded and gestured, indicating that he was satisfied but a little tired.

Yu Qingze kissed the ear beside his mouth and said, “Then we’ll try a new one tomorrow. You can pick one from the small album we brought here on our wedding night.” Yu Qingze had brought the booklet of various positions to the shop and was enthusiastic about exploring new poses.

Brother Le found it enjoyable and had become more daring, cooperating willingly. He nodded and gestured, indicating that they should return home in a few days.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?” Yu Qingze asked.

Brother Le nodded and gestured, saying that Xiao Hao’s birthday was on April 29th.

Yu Qingze looked up and asked, “Xiao Hao’s birthday? That’s in just five days. We should think about what gift to give him. How have you celebrated in previous years? What kind of gifts did you give him?”

Brother Le gestured, explaining that they would usually buy some meat and have a meal together. In the past, their conditions were not good, so they couldn’t afford expensive gifts.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze said, “Then let’s celebrate his birthday properly this year.”

The next morning, when they arrived at work, two other men in the shop, Xiaoshu and Er Niu, came to Yu Qingze to sign up.

After discussing with their families, they all felt that they shouldn’t miss this opportunity and decided to go for it.

Yu Qingze also preferred having more men on the team as the work was quite strenuous for Brother Le.

Since there were three candidates, Yu Qingze decided to conduct a simple interview, allowing each of them to introduce themselves and talk about their strengths and weaknesses.

After speaking with the three of them, Yu Qingze decided to hire Tie Zhu and Er Niu as apprentices since they had a more steady and reliable personality. Xiaoshu, who had a quick mind, would continue with his previous duties of taking orders. Yu Qingze planned to train him towards becoming a restaurant manager, as they planned to open a restaurant in the future.

With the apprenticeship settled, Yu Qingze immediately hired two more helpers and assigned them to Brother Le. Then he began teaching the apprentices how to make dim sum.

On the day before Xiao Hao’s birthday, someone unexpected returned.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Who is it? Who could it be?