Chapter 599: Chapter 583: Is It Still Time for Them to Leave Now?

Early morning, as the sky gradually brightened, a few remaining stars dotted the pale blue sky, and the earth was shrouded in a misty silver-gray veil.

Outside Delicious Restaurant, quite a few neighbors had already arrived with their queue tools in hand.

As usual, card tables were set up outside the shop.

Inside the shop.

Huang Tao watched the three assistant chefs, each at their stations, doing familiar tasks, as if time had momentarily stopped on this Old Street.

To be honest.

This feeling was something Huang Tao quite liked.

It’s just that!

His precious daughter not being by his side, not being able to see the little one’s tiny figure whenever he looked up, left him feeling somewhat restless and missing her dearly.

Thinking that the little one was probably still in a sweet dream by now!

Just imagining her angelic sleeping face brought a tender, sweet smile to the corners of his mouth, and he felt even more energized at work...

At 6:10.

The number of card tables at the entrance gradually increased, from two to four.

Of course, chess tables were indispensable too.

The elderly onlookers, most of them with a handful of sunflower seeds or peanuts.

Crunching on seeds while watching the card games.

Occasionally, laughter from the elderly men and women reached Huang Tao’s ears.

Just from the laughter, he could deduce that perhaps one of the elderly men had made a wrong move or messed up, causing the watching crowd to laugh.

But over at the chess table, Old Qin was having a really tough time!

His old injuries hadn’t healed, and he had gained a few new ones.

His forehead was bruised and swollen.

Just looking at him.

Made others feel sorry for him.

Yet he was... suffering yet happy!

These early mornings when they couldn’t sleep, playing chess together, were reminiscent of the old days in the courtyard with the neighbors, listening to a transistor radio while playing chess together.

So much fun!

Especially after a game of chess, having a bowl of steaming hot eight-treasure porridge was even more comforting and enjoyable!

If only there was no punishment of finger flicks on the forehead, it would be perfect.

With a "whoosh."

Jiang Chao stood in front of the large flat pan, lifting the lid.

White steam mixed with the aroma rose wildly.

Dozens of pan-fried buns were stacked neatly.

Bubbles of golden yellow were sizzling at the base.

Layer by layer along the edges of the pan, forming several circles.

The steam quickly evaporated.

The bottoms of the buns turned a crispy golden brown.

Even the dense bubbles formed a thin, crispy layer at the pan’s base.

Jiang Chao gently scraped with a spatula.

The contact between the metal spatula and the bottoms of the buns made a crisp sound.

The gradient from the bottom to the off-white tops of the buns looked beautiful.

Huang Tao glanced over, nodding with satisfaction.

Jiang Chao casually grabbed a handful of black sesame seeds and chopped scallions, sprinkling them into the pan...

The black sesame seeds adhered firmly to the white tops of the buns, complemented with some tender green scallions.

A feast for the senses.

Huang Tao picked up a pork-filled pan-fried bun, took a bite, and couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction: "Ah, truly not bad at all..."

"In terms of flavor, it’s almost indistinguishable, really quite good, delicious, and the presentation, the control of the heat, are all quite impressive."

In the end, he didn’t forget to give high praise: "Chaozi, you can totally graduate and take charge, holding up half of the breakfast scene shouldn’t be a problem for you."

"It’s all because you taught me so well, Boss!"

Caught off guard by the compliment, Jiang Chao chuckled a bit embarrassed.

He never thought he’d be able to make such delicious pan-fried buns one day; it was all thanks to Huang Tao’s excellent teaching!

After all, some chefs are good themselves but can’t teach.

Being able to tell by just looking at the heat level, or tasting and knowing what’s lacking in the flavor, truly defines a master of the craft.

For him, learning alongside such a master was indeed a blessing of a lifetime!

In this industry, there’s a saying, ’Teaching your apprentice will starve the master,’ and if you’re not raised as a successor, some masters wouldn’t pass down their skills even after ten years at the chopping block, unlike Huang Tao, who shared so wholeheartedly despite having no familial ties?

Even if not in name, they shared an undeniable master-disciple bond!

He bowed slightly, cupping his hands: "Thank you for teaching me, Boss!"

"It’s mostly because you’re perceptive and willing to spend time and effort to ponder and practice."

Huang Tao smiled as he looked at Jiang Chao.

For this kind of verbal teaching, how well you grasp it still depends on your personal talent.

Some people are very smart; they understand immediately and learn quickly.

Some people can’t do it, they have to practice slowly all the time.

Jiang Chao and Xu Hao, who belonged to the former, were not complacent. During their breaks, they kept practicing diligently, carefully pondering what had been taught.

Striving for ultimate perfection!

Things like mastering the heat level, can’t be taught just by words; it requires constant practice, using one’s body and senses to remember the state of the food and consider the cooking time.

These need to be done hundreds or thousands of times to be learned.

Of course.

He’s an exception.

Afterward, he tasted the eight-treasure porridge, preserved egg and lean meat porridge, and marinated eggs made by Xu Hao.

In terms of taste, they were pretty much the same as his.

Also very delicious.

The soup dumplings they made together also tasted very good.

With just a little more practice, they could be nearly perfect.

Even if he’s not in the restaurant, just relying on Jiang Chao and Xu Hao, they can make this place the best dining spot on West City Old Street.

With that, Huang Tao could finally put his mind at ease.

Confidently entrusting the heavy responsibility of this restaurant to them.

"Chaozi, Haozi, let’s have breakfast first. You need to be full of energy to work!"

Then Huang Tao instructed Xu Hao and Jiang Chao: "After breakfast, you can start making different batches of pan-fried buns, and steam two batches of soup dumplings first. Once the store opens, you can continue."

Jiang Chao understood what Huang Tao meant and said, a bit surprised, "Boss, you mean... you want Haozi and me to take charge starting this morning?"

Xu Hao also felt quite sudden.

He thought the boss would wait until the new store was ready to open before letting them officially take over.

Who would’ve thought it would happen so early...

"Smart one."

Huang Tao nodded with a smile, "Yes, starting this morning, the breakfast is entirely up to you two. Of course, Zifeng will assist you for now, and when the sous chefs are hired, they’ll help with the initial prep work."

After speaking, Huang Tao gently patted Jiang Chao and Xu Hao on the shoulders, giving them a look that said "I have faith in you two."

This look, when it fell on Xu Hao and Jiang Chao, calmed their slightly nervous hearts instantly.

Confidence surged up!

They both smiled confidently, "Got it, Boss, don’t worry, we’ll handle it from here!"

"Good!"

Huang Tao said with a smile, "Take these pan-fried buns, soup dumplings, and porridge you made out for the other colleagues to try~"

When the two of them brought all the breakfast to the table, the other employees tasted it and all praised that the flavors were really good, almost the same as the boss’s.

Their approval bolstered Jiang Chao and Xu Hao’s confidence even further. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

After filling their stomachs.

The two immediately threw themselves into the great undertaking of pan-frying buns and steaming soup dumplings without wasting a moment.

At seven o’clock sharp...

Delicious Restaurant welcomed a new day’s morning market.

As soon as the store opened...

Those elderly folks and the wealthy young crowd at the front rushed in like starving ghosts reincarnated.

In no time.

The store was packed full.

There wasn’t even a spot to step on, let alone sit down.

However, when they saw Xu Hao steaming soup dumplings, Jiang Chao pan-frying buns, and Huang Tao just standing by without any intention to intervene, the neighbors were all puzzled.

Li couldn’t contain himself and asked, "Boss Huang, why are only Master Jiang and Master Xu working this morning?"

The implication being: Why are you just watching, Boss Huang, and not helping?

Huang Tao smiled and said, "From today on, breakfast will be made by the two of them, and the marinated meals during lunch and dinner will also be done by them."

"Ah..."

Upon hearing this, the neighbors were shocked!

They knew this day would come eventually, but they didn’t expect it to come so soon!

At this moment, some of the neighbors wanted to back off!

That’s right!

They were worried that the food made by Xu Hao and Jiang Chao wouldn’t be as good as Huang Tao’s.

If that’s the case, it would be a waste of time for them to have stood in line for so long.

Oh!

If they had known Boss Huang wouldn’t cook this morning, they wouldn’t have come to line up so early!

Isn’t it more enjoyable to just stay cozy in bed?

But...

If they leave now, is it still too late?