Free Web NovelChapter 527: Chapter 439: Invisible Barriers, the Head Chef’s Responsibility
Several women chatted as they walked into the restaurant, turning on all the lights in the front hall and powering up the coffee and beverage machines.
The restaurant’s setup didn’t need much attention; every night before closing, everything was arranged neatly to allow for a bit more sleep in the morning.
"Did you see the truck parked at the entrance?"
Nicole opened the door and shouted to the women outside, "Why does it look familiar?"
"Truck? What truck?"
"Huh, isn’t that Daniel’s car he drives every day? Why didn’t he leave today?"
Dais walked to the window, glancing at it briefly, and immediately recognized it as Daniel’s car.
At the same time, she saw Su walking over, equally puzzled, casting glances at the truck parked there.
Su was different from them; she had a family and went straight home to sleep after work every day.
Nicole’s room had long been vacated; she now slept on the couch in their room every night. Luckily, the sofa was big, very comfortable, and elastic enough for a little girl like her to sleep comfortably.
"Daniel hasn’t left?"
Upon learning this, everyone was a bit curious but too lazy to go to the kitchen to check. After all, it wasn’t a big deal.
Maybe Chef Lin had something to discuss?
It was reasonable to park the car elsewhere to avoid blocking other suppliers.
"I’ll go ask about the menu."
Seeing nothing left to do outside, Dais, as the front hall manager, spontaneously picked up the whiteboard and headed to the kitchen.
"Chef, what’s the filling for today’s dumplings?"
As soon as she spoke, she froze at her spot, blinking in disbelief.
Who is this young woman that looks so young????
The sudden female voice instantly caught Lin’s attention, prompting her to instinctively turn, reflecting a curvy and alluring figure in her pupils.
A height of nearly 1.7 meters, slightly curled long hair, exquisite facial features, a high nose bridge, red lips, paired with a voluptuous bust, slender waist, and inward waist-hip curve and long legs.
She almost drooled just looking at her!
"Is this the standard for high-end restaurant waitstaff?"
After this idea flashed through her mind, Lin was supremely thankful she chose to try the kitchen first.
If she had opted to test as a waiter first, surely she’d be embarrassed enough to want to die, wouldn’t she?
The momentary eye contact between the two women made Lin instantly avert her gaze, unwilling to continue eye contact, silently cutting the ingredients in her hands.
Lin Chen was already working on wrapping the dumplings and, seeing Dais’s confused face, waved her over with a smile.
Once she was near, Lin Chen quietly said, "That’s Daniel’s sister, Lin. They’re both off today and wanted to bring Lin to try working here."
"Originally, she was going to try being a server, but Daniel said she usually cooks, so I let her try the kitchen first."
Although he didn’t explain in detail, he blinked and hinted at Dais to not overreact.
Dais was stunned momentarily, quickly realizing the true meaning Lin Chen was trying to convey.
All of them knew about Daniel’s background, making it easy to guess the kind of personality his sister might have.
If she were to be an intern server, even just for an assessment, it would likely cause dissatisfaction among the other applicants.
Even though no one has approached them yet.
"Alright, I’ll inform them later."
Dais nodded and raised the whiteboard in her hand. "So today’s dishes are?"
"Fresh meat and bamboo shoot dumplings, shrimp and bamboo shoot dumplings, and mushroom and bamboo shoot dumplings, either steamed or fried."
As he spoke, Dais noted down ’Pork and Bamboo Shoot’, ’Shrimp and Bamboo Shoot’, ’Mushroom and Bamboo Shoot’ in three lines, adding two cooking methods below.
Even though Lin Chen sees this menu every day, he still found this translation approach peculiar.
The translated names seemed so... low-grade?
Western cuisine translated to Chinese often sounds grand, why does other countries’ cuisine translated into Western names feel so low-grade?
It must be that the English language lacks depth, yes, that’s it!
"Prices?"
"Uniformly 1 Euro per dumpling, a minimum of ten. You can mix flavors, and it’s easier for pricing that way."
He initially considered setting different prices; one Euro for pork sounded fair, five cents more for shrimp, but then the vegetarian option would have to be priced lower.
Setting 0.5 felt too low, so he made them all the same price.
This batch of dumplings isn’t as large as the potstickers previously made, so the price is relatively lower but won’t affect the final income.
Before, he used to work alone and couldn’t make many potstickers.
Now, with three people working, all are experienced, income might not increase five or seven times, but definitely three times is achievable.
Given these foreigners’ appetite, ten dumplings barely open their appetite, just fills a gap between their teeth; female guests might eat twenty with no issues, robust male guests surely can enjoy forty or fifty.
Even he could eat thirty steamed dumplings in one go without any problem.
"Okay, I’ll hang the sign now," Dais swiftly wrote the prices, was halfway out when she suddenly turned back, "Oh, Chef, everyone wants to learn how to wrap dumplings, could we take half an hour to teach us?"
Lin Chen was taken aback, "You want to learn how to make dumplings? Of course, it’s really simple, you’ll get the hang of it in a few minutes."
What he didn’t mention was that knowing how to make them and making them look nice are two different skills.
After Dais left, a group of beautiful waitresses came in single file, all wiping their hands, obviously disinfected and eager to start making dumplings.
Seeing them, despite being mentally prepared, Lin was still frozen in place, not even realizing that her hands had stopped moving.
The visual impact of one beauty versus a group is vastly different.
In her eyes, these giggling and smiling beautiful waitresses seemed like angels walking by, their curious glances meeting hers, and they nodded and greeted her, making her feel a bit at a loss.
Not to mention such pretty beauties, even those not-so-good-looking white people in the warehouse never showed her a friendly face.
Walking in the streets and supermarkets filled her with a sense of inferiority.
Thinking of this, she seemed to realize something and suddenly turned her head towards Lin Chen’s direction.
Even though he was surrounded by women, through the gaps, Lin could still see the outline of his upper body.
If Chef Lin wasn’t here, would they still be this polite to her?
Lin thought to herself, looking down at the last bamboo shoot in front of her, suddenly hesitating to make the cut.
The tiger’s mouth gripping the knife trembled slightly, her wrist and forearm were severely sore and almost unable to lift, with no strength at all.
She didn’t expect she could continuously chop ingredients for so long, holding such a heavy knife.
Though she seemed to endure it now, by tomorrow morning her hand might not even lift.
More importantly, finishing this bamboo shoot meant she completed her task.
The next step was to start learning how to make dumplings.
Stealing a glance at the row of proud hills, she quickly withdrew her gaze and lowered her head, fearing her small action would be noticed.
Not daring to openly look, how could she squeeze in and learn how to make dumplings?
No, no, if she bumped into them, would she be dragged into some unseen corner and given a good beating afterward?
Lost in her wild thoughts, Lin Chen guessed she might be almost finished and deliberately turned his head to look at her.
At this sight, his brows furrowed involuntarily.
Though only two meters away, the girl seemed encapsulated in a thin, isolating film.
Standing quietly alone, her thin and frail figure appeared especially bleak and lonely.
Even the knife in her right hand hovered slightly trembling, unable to lower.
Lin Chen glanced at the beautiful women beside him, seemingly realizing something.
As an Asian and their superior, he might not feel this.
But for a Black person, white people seem inherently adversarial, a stark skin color difference an unending conflict.
Even if these beautiful waitresses didn’t do anything, merely standing before her might give her heart, once hurt, an invisible pressure.
This issue is quite tricky!
Lin Chen didn’t know what to do for a moment.
If she were already an intern, he could rightfully call her over to learn how to make dumplings.
But she’s still under observation; calling her over would seem like favoritism, feeling predetermined.
Ignoring might result in severe psychological damage to the girl.
Lin Chen looked around and couldn’t see Daniel anywhere.
"This brat, where did he go at a crucial time?!"
"He’s really trusting me then!"
Feeling helpless and trust from Daniel, he sensed the weight of the burden on his shoulders.
No, he must figure something out!
Making dumplings...making dumplings...
Repeating to himself, his eyes instinctively swept over to Zhao Shun and Old Chen next door, and his eyes lit up.
Got it!
"Lin!"
He called out loudly.
"Huh? Yes, Chef!"
Lin was surprised to hear her name, startled, and turned around anxiously, gripping the knife handle tightly.
"Are you almost done cutting?"
"Just, just one more to go."
"Finish it quickly, then go to Zhao, he’ll teach you how to make dumplings, time’s tight, pick up the pace a bit."
"Huh? Me??"
Zhao Shun, engrossed in making dumplings, was stupefied, looking at the black girl, awkwardly nodding and smiling.
