Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 56 Sister Jin Gives a Lesson

Sister Jin was directing a group of young men to work, so the kitchen had to be cleaned frequently. The bigger it was, the harder it was to clean. If it wasn't cleaned properly the first time, it would never be able to be cleaned again, and it would stink terribly. You have to understand that this place is full of vegetables, meat, water, and the like.

The trash was cleared away; all the cutting boards and knives had to be scrubbed clean, powdered, and stored properly to prevent rust. The stove also needed to be wiped clean, and all utensils had to be cleaned and put away properly. Empty gas cylinders had to be taken out and replaced with full ones, preparing for the evening's work. Finally, the floor was scrubbed clean, and the wastewater pump was used to remove the water. Only then could the workers take a short break, have a smoke, chat, and then it was dinnertime.

Li Na led Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng up to get their things, talking as they walked.

Xia Maosheng said, "Sister Li, how about going to the night market tonight?"

Li Na said, "What's there to see? I don't really want to buy anything. You guys want to go? Don't let anyone vandalize it; they sound like they're from out of town."

Xiao Wei said, "I wanted to buy a sweater, and I thought I'd buy one too. So we all suggested going shopping together, since we've never been before."

Li Na turned to Xiao Wei and said, "You really have a girlfriend? I'll go see what she's like." The three of them passed by Sister Jin, and Li Na said, "Sister Jin, wanna go to the night market tonight?"

Sister Jin was watching two handymen clean the drain, which was the dirty water tank in the kitchen. The pump couldn't pump it all out, so there would always be some residue. They had to remove the garbage from it, otherwise it would smell bad.

Upon hearing Li Na's words, Sister Jin turned her head and looked over, saying, "Taiyuan Street? There's not much here. The night market in Tiexi is bigger. Why don't you go to Wu'ai early in the morning?"

Li Na said, "Forget it, you have to get up at three or four in the morning and squeeze in with a bunch of grown men for hours, then you still have to go to work. I don't have your energy. Besides, you're not buying anything that costs thousands or tens of thousands. How much can you save by just one or two pieces of clothing? Is it enough to cover all the expenses?"

Sister Jin peered into the dirty ditch and said, "Okay, okay, go ahead, will you? Come down and call me. Xiao Wang, rinse it one more time, that's about enough. Have you checked over there? Don't wait until it's full to turn on the pump, it'll freeze in the cold, and if it's full, you won't be able to see the pump." The young man next to her, holding a hose, rinsed the ground and agreed.

The three men came up from underground and entered the restaurant. This time it wasn't the liquor warehouse; last time it was just a temporary storage area. Brooms, mops, and other cleaning supplies were in a small room at the very back, accessible only through the entire lobby. Because they had just finished their lunch rush, some tables still had customers, and the dining room was brightly lit. This was the first time Xiaowei had truly seen what the restaurant looked like.

The dining room features marble floors, solid wood tables and chairs, and oil paintings on the walls. It is divided into three tiers, with the highest tier in the middle resembling a stage. A large projection screen is hanging on the wall, currently playing a music video, and songs are playing from the speakers, but the volume is not very loud.

Xiao Wei said, "We have this here too? I heard it's really expensive."

Li Na said, "Tens of thousands of yuan, Lao Zhao swindled the Cultural Palace out of it, he wouldn't spend his own money. You guys went to sing karaoke?"

Xiao Wei said, "Last night, right next to the railway, a few people spent ninety yuan."

Li Na nodded, took out her keys to open the door, and said, "The sound system over there isn't as good as ours. You guys are really rich." She opened the door, went inside to get some things. The inside was a bit messy, so she carefully stepped out and handed out a mop and broom. Xia Maosheng reached out and took them. Li Na then took a few ashtrays, put them in a trash can, and handed them to Xiao Wei.

Xiao Wei took the trash can and said, "Shall we sing here?"

Li Na locked the door and said, "Go ahead, anyone eating can sing." She then laughed. Xiao Wei's face twitched. Of course, I can afford to eat here, why would I need to go out and sing?

After locking the door, the three of them walked back. Li Na smoothed her hair and said, "The customers usually leave around nine o'clock, so you can come down and play. Just don't stay out too late. Sister Jin has the key. Do you know how to operate the machines?"

Xiao Wei shook his head and looked at Xia Maosheng, who also shook his head. These days, laser discs are still a novelty, and they're so expensive that ordinary people can't afford them.

Li Na said, "I'll teach you guys sometime; this thing is easy to make. You guys go up there, but don't fight, okay? I'm checking this area."

Xiao Wei's stomach rumbled, and Li Na looked at him and asked, "Haven't you eaten?"

Xiao Wei blushed, nodded, and said, "I came down to find you after class, and it's been so long. Where are we going to eat?"

Li Na said with a smile, "I'll go find Sister Jin in a bit. There's a staff meal available, it'll be ready soon. Just grab a bite."

Xia Maosheng asked, "Will it work?"

Li Na shook her head and said, "Nobody cares. Just tell Sister Jin. It's nothing special anyway, just something to eat." She turned and went to check on the waiters' work. Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng took their things upstairs. Afternoon classes had already started. The two put their things in the dormitory, came out and found a place to sit and listen for a while. They were sitting a bit far away and couldn't hear very well. They were also hungry, so they decided to go downstairs to ask Sister Jin for food. Eating for free was quite a novel thing, and the two of them were a little excited.

I ran down to the basement kitchen, where the staff meals were already prepared and served in a large basin—it was huge, big enough for a four- or five-year-old to use for a bath. Waiters from upstairs came down specifically to fetch the food, using two medium-sized basins to carry it up to eat. Then the kitchen staff took their own lunchboxes, got their food, and went to find a place to eat.

Rice, potato slices, cabbage slices, stir-fried with meat, no soup. People in Northeast China don't usually drink soup with their meals, let alone a staff meal, where would they have the time to prepare this?

Xiao Wei and Xia Maosheng found Sister Jin behind the screen, where she was sitting in a chair eating her lunchbox. They spoke to her, and Sister Jin got up and brought out two small steel basins, telling them to help themselves. Both of them were of a good age and didn't stand on ceremony; they were indeed hungry. They each filled a basin to the brim with vegetables and rice, and happily brought it to Sister Jin's side to eat. The little bit of food in Sister Jin's lunchbox wasn't even a fraction of what they had, so she laughed and scolded, "Pig."

After finishing their meal, the two chatted with Sister Jin for a while, and then Sister Jin got busy. The restaurant kitchen routine preparations usually start more than an hour before mealtime, and it's very complicated. A simple stir-fry might take a few minutes to cook, but the preparation work beforehand could take half an hour or even an hour.

Neither of them went up to listen to the lesson. Xia Maosheng lent a helping hand, even lecturing Xiaowei. Xiaowei just busied himself with the tasks, trying to learn, while even the odd-job workers nearby gave him impatient and disdainful looks. Sister Jin was very patient, cooperating with Xia Maosheng in explaining things to Xiaowei, even demonstrating them. Gradually, she became the one lecturing, and Xia Maosheng became purely helping out.

The garlic and ginger at the high-end hotel are all machine-crushed, saving the time of chopping. Sister Jin still chopped a few to show Xiao Wei how to do it. However, the great Chef Zhang's creation was not very practical. In the end, she had no choice but to have him take another chopping board to chop potatoes. This was the staff's dinner, so it didn't matter how they were chopped. It was the standard practice for learning and practicing in a high-end hotel.