Free Web NovelChapter 538: Chapter 450: A Rare Good Seed, Almost Got Home-Stolen
Lin Chen, busy outside, had no idea that Marchello almost poached someone from the team, but even if he knew, he wouldn’t care much.
After all, the person hasn’t even decided if they’re staying, so technically, they aren’t his employee.
To be blunt, he doesn’t think working at a Michelin Restaurant is a bad thing.
He himself was trained in the kitchen of God’s Kiss, without that experience, he wouldn’t be where he is today.
Chinese and Western cuisines each have their strengths and weaknesses; combining the best of both is the way to go.
Chefs who truly want to succeed in this industry eventually learn both; which one you learn first doesn’t matter.
"The dumplings are ready!"
He casually lifted the steamer lid to take a glance, then put it back, lifted the fry pan lid to check the bottom of the Fried Dumplings, and shouted towards the window.
Old Chen hurried over to take the heavy steamer, placing it on the table in front of Elsa, then carried the empty steamer back.
Business was far better than he imagined; there were so many pots going at the same time, and still not enough to sell.
He reminisced about back in China when he’d often buy buns or Fried Dumplings from street breakfast shops, people would buy five or ten Fried Dumplings and have some soy milk or porridge, easily resolving a breakfast.
Even those with bigger appetites would be full after an additional small steamer of buns.
But these foreigners’ stomachs are like bottomless pits; the average man eats around twenty to thirty, and even women can generally eat close to twenty dumplings.
It really opened his eyes.
"No wonder each of them is so robust, I guess their appetite can’t be small; it’s the same reason why Northerners tend to eat a lot and are bigger."
Though he doesn’t talk much usually, while working he constantly observes the surroundings, no movement escapes his eye, and he always lends a hand when others need help.
Lin Chen saw the entire performance of Old Chen.
Back when he was in the kitchen, he was just like this, never expecting that Old Chen would be similar—quiet but skilled at his work and observing details.
Such people are the indispensable core of the kitchen, the most reliable colleagues in everyone’s eyes.
The only downside is their low presence, making it easy to overlook most of their silent contributions, or take them for granted.
Once you’re used to having such people around, during work you might not feel anything, but if they resign or take time off, the kitchen starts to gradually become a mess.
The overall work efficiency decreases, unnecessary procedures increase, the rhythm gets disrupted, there’s always more work than time.
Problem after problem begins to pop up.
Only then do people realize the reason why, that everyone unknowingly relied on a certain individual.
Lin Chen himself took on this low-key role for over two years, and by the third year, when he truly entered the kitchen, his importance was gradually noticed by Chef Raphael, who then promoted him step by step.
He quietly watched Old Chen’s thin back, starting to plan silently in his heart.
"They’ve only been here a few days, to promote and raise salaries now would be too soon, it should at least be a few months before considering that."
"Old Chen isn’t good with words; I’m not sure if he can lead newcomers, probably not, plus there’s no way to communicate."
"Xiao Zhao is outgoing and not afraid of strangers, dares to communicate with foreigners through gestures, but besides dough dishes, he’s not too skilled at other things."
"Perhaps they should work as a team, let’s see if they can manage newcomers together; oh right, they should also take some time to learn simple everyday vocabulary..."
"That way, since there’s a lot going on recently and Jonathan’s situation to consider, let’s take Sunday off. We can’t have everyone working constantly, there needs to be a work-life balance."
"Once there’s more staff, Sundays won’t be for overtime like before; days off need to be ensured. Anyway, we’ve almost earned enough money, it’s time to relax."
Physically, he didn’t feel any fatigue accumulating, thanks to his well-conditioned body, but not feeling it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Prolonged high-intensity work means fatigue will silently accumulate bit by bit, eventually building up to a breaking point before suddenly exploding.
"When there’s a chance, I should get a massage to relax my muscles, I can’t keep pushing myself like this, otherwise, my mom will start nagging when she finds out."
As he unconsciously scanned the room, he suddenly noticed a familiar figure near the parking lot.
"Rovena?"
Lin Chen stopped in his tracks, recalling something.
"Oh right, I forgot to deliver the garlic sauce to them yesterday!"
"Lucas! Are you done filming or what?"
"Huh? I think I’m almost done, not much left to shoot, maybe just wrap up."
"Take Rovena to the cold storage and get that batch of garlic sauce, make sure to count it."
"OK, leave it to me."
Rovena was busy swallowing his saliva while gazing at the packed crowd of diners, then noticed Lucas running towards him, rubbing his hands expectantly.
"Good morning, Lucas, what are you guys selling today? It smells so good!"
"Fried Dumplings and steamed dumplings, handmade, but don’t get your hopes up, even we haven’t had any yet."
Seeing his expression, Lucas knew exactly what was on his mind and immediately dashed his hopes, gesturing for him to follow.
"You’re here for the garlic sauce, right? This way."
Hearing there wasn’t any extra, Rovena’s smile froze, as he followed Lucas, still hopeful, he asked again.
"Are you sure there’s no extra?"
"I can wait, no hurry, no need to eat right now."
"Can I pay to order a meal?"
"I’m really hungry now, extremely hungry, hungry to the point of passing out!"
Lucas gave him a strange look and shrugged: "If you’re hungry, why didn’t you eat breakfast? Is it because you don’t want to eat or you don’t have an appetite?"
"But it doesn’t make sense. You’re so hungry you could eat a whole... Oh, I know, you want to eat steak, right?"
"But nobody eats steak in the morning, right?"
"If you really want to eat meat, you can come back after ten o’clock, the restaurant is offering various grilled meats for lunch this week, definitely enough to satisfy you."
"...?"
Rovena opened his mouth, realizing the guy’s skill at talking nonsense with his eyes open.
Not wanting to beat around the bush anymore, he showed a serious look.
"I want to eat dumplings!"
"Is there any way?"
Lucas put away his carefree smile and said seriously, "Then you have to ask the chef, I’m just a handyman."
"????"
A handyman?
So were you joking earlier with all that talk?
Rovena turned his head to look at the food truck.
Inside the window, Lin Chen was using both hands, continuously placing dumplings into the container in front of him.
Every time he raised his hands, two or three dumplings would surely accompany them, alternately rotating, the whole process looked extremely pleasing.
Although because of the warm weather now, not much white smoke could be seen coming out of the window, the thick aroma of oil in the air was still stirring his heart, and his empty stomach was twitching at this moment.
He actually wanted to go to the window to ask Lin, but the long line formed a few meters away and tourists’ eager anticipation made him shy away.
The guests might have been queuing for a long time before eating, if he openly jumped the line in front of so many people, it would surely cause dissatisfaction among many.
Wouldn’t it affect the reputation of the port?
Thinking about this, he let out a faint sigh, withdrew his gaze, no longer looking in that direction, and quickened his pace, ready to grab some garlic sauce and leave.
If he can’t have dumplings, he can go to the pier and barbecue some seafood with garlic sauce, it’s not impossible to enjoy a simple meal.
It’s basically like Lin cooked it.
Thinking this way, his steps instantly became lighter, his back straightened, feeling that life had hope again.
In just ten seconds, he quickly followed Lucas through the side door into the kitchen.
Just as he thought there shouldn’t be people cooking in the kitchen, a growing aroma of fried dumplings hit him, stopping his steps in mid-air.
Looking towards the direction of the aroma, he saw ten stoves with orange and blue flames intertwined, flickering back and forth, all covered with lids, continuously releasing white smoke.
Next to them on a knee-high large stove was an iron pot stacked with ten layers of wooden containers, also emitting steam.
The temperature in the kitchen was cooler than outside, the cooling effect so strong it made him shiver unexpectedly.
Besides that, there were several trays of raw dumplings on the counter, neatly arranged, very pleasing to the eye.
"?!"
The desire he’d just suppressed started to stir again.
Rovena suddenly looked at the figure standing in front of the stove with his back to him, pondering for two seconds before immediately retrieving the identity information from his mind.
"Chef Marchello?"
"Hmm?"
Hearing an unfamiliar voice calling him, Marchello instinctively turned around and saw a somewhat familiar face.
"You are..."
"It’s me! Rovena, Rovena from the pier! I came by a few days ago."
"Oh~~" Marchello suddenly realized, "I remember now, it’s Mr. Rovena, good morning, what’s up?"
Lucas crossed his arms and leaned against the table, looking like he was watching a show.
He wasn’t in a hurry, so why rush? After all, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to be a porter and do hard labor; if there’s moving to be done, it’s this guy who’ll do it.
There were so many bottles of garlic sauce, it would be exhausting.
"You want to eat dumplings?"
Marchello was stunned, instinctively glancing at the sizzling fried dumplings in the two rows of pans behind him.
He nodded: "You can, but you’ll have to wait a few minutes, they’re not done yet."
"Wait!"
Rovena’s eyes lit up, like a chick pecking at rice, nodding repeatedly: "Don’t mention a few minutes, I can wait half an hour!"
