The lunch break in the kitchen is very precious and short.

After eating, everyone continues with their tasks.

It’s about to enter the off-season, and there are noticeably fewer customers coming to eat in the past couple of days.

So Zhao Meng doesn’t rush to the stove as often these days.

If there’s an order, and it’s a small one, he’ll hand it to Fu Yu and Sun Qingning to cook, while he watches and gives some pointers from the side.

Occasionally, when things are slow, Fu Yu will even go to the barbecue area to teach Sun Qingning how to grill.

At this pace, it won’t take long before he can easily complete the task of grilling 500 times.

While teaching Sun Qingning to grill, Liu Junrong came over, pretending to help deliver ingredients but lingered around.

Fu Yu was mixing sauce, and when Sun Qingning looked up, he happened to see him and asked in surprise, "Xiaoliu? What’s up?"

Liu Junrong smiled flatteringly, "I don’t know the first thing about grilling and just want to learn a bit."

Fu Yu did not refuse.

On one hand, getting the apprentices trained quickly makes it easier for him. In the future, when he and Sun Qingning grill at the same time, Zhang Jinyu can stay on the main course section and assist Zhao Meng.

On the other hand, the kitchen isn’t too busy right now, so Liu Junrong hanging around for a bit doesn’t matter.

What seemed like an ordinary thing suddenly made Sun Qingning feel inexplicably threatened!

While grilling, Sun Qingning distractedly glanced at Liu Junrong.

This kid might be here to steal his mentor!

Sure enough, just as Fu Yu finished plating, and Sun Qingning was about to fetch ingredients for the next dish, Liu Junrong had already promptly handed them to Fu Yu.

"Chef Sun, you’ve been standing there for a while; you must be tired. How about I lend Chef Fu a hand and you take a break?" 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Sun Qingning’s expression was one of disbelief!

Is he really here to steal my mentor?!

Can I allow that?

Absolutely not!

Sun Qingning resolutely shook his head, "No need, I’m not tired. Xiaoliu, if you have nothing to do, you should go back to work."

Liu Junrong: "!"

Seeing Liu Junrong standing still, Sun Qingning’s pupils shrunk and he added, "If you’re not busy, you can take these used plates to the dishwashing area."

Liu Junrong had to respond, "Okay, I’ll take them now."

When he had left, Sun Qingning whispered to Fu Yu, "This kid is probably trying to learn secretly!"

Fu Yu replied with a laugh, "Xiaoliu has potential. If he’s well trained, he might become a good assistant for you in the future."

Sun Qingning was stunned; he hadn’t thought of it that way.

Right now, both Fu Yu and Zhao Meng are on the stove, and he says he’s assisting Zhao Meng, but generally, unless it’s an old customer’s order, Zhao Meng rarely cooks; those tasks are mostly his.

But in the future, once he can handle orders independently, won’t he need skillful assistants too?

Thinking of it this way, Sun Qingning’s resistance to Liu Junrong softened.

Unaware of all this, Liu Junrong delivered the used utensils to the dishwashing area and went back to work feeling a bit down.

With fewer orders in the kitchen, the juniors have a chance to rest for a while too.

Sun Weixing whispered, "What’s up? Everything alright?"

Liu Junrong thought of Sun Qingning’s earlier attitude and sighed, "It’s nothing. Just feel like Chef Sun isn’t very friendly to me."

Sun Weixing was surprised, "No way! Chef Sun seems nice; he even gave us some crispy pork earlier!"

Liu Junrong shook his head, "You weren’t there when I mentioned wanting to learn about grilling to Chef Fu. Chef Sun just looked at me oddly."

This left Sun Weixing skeptical, "Really? Can’t be."

Liu Junrong looked aggrieved, "Why would I lie? People like us who just graduated are too naive, can’t see people’s true natures, I’m telling you, you can’t just judge people by appearances!"

Feeling a sense of solidarity with Sun Weixing, he couldn’t help but think: it seems even a kitchen is a micro-society; the waters run deep!

As the two lamented together, Sun Qingning suddenly came over and called, "Xiaoliu, come over for a moment."

Liu Junrong paused, quickly got up, and approached.

Sun Qingning whispered, "Didn’t you say you wanted to learn grilling? Why didn’t you come over?"

Liu Junrong: "!"

"Hurry up, Chef Fu just got another order. They’re about to grill some lobster, and it’s a rare opportunity!"

Liu Junrong glanced at the peeling knife in his hand and quickly responded, "Okay, Chef Sun, I’ll be right there!"

After giving his instructions, Sun Qingning turned and left.

Liu Junrong hurriedly handed the peeling knife to Sun Weixing.

Sun Weixing asked with concern, "What did Chef Sun say to you?"

Liu Junrong whispered, "He told me to go learn grilling, hehe!"

Sun Weixing, a bit exasperated, said, "And you said..."

Liu Junrong waved it off, "That was a misunderstanding. No more talking, I need to hurry over there!"

Watching Liu Junrong jog to the grilling area, Sun Weixing sighed with some envy.

Both starting internships in the kitchen, Liu Junrong dared to directly ask Chef Fu for training.

If it were him...

Sun Weixing shook his head and quietly continued chopping scallions.

...

No one mentioned it specifically, but from that day, Liu Junrong smoothly joined the small team of Fu Yu, which included Sun Qingning and Zhang Jinyu.

Though he mainly did odd jobs, he would take the initiative to learn the craft whenever the kitchen work eased.

Zhao Meng was noticeably pleased with this diligent and quick-handed newcomer, occasionally offering some tips.

Liu Junrong was smart, with solid culinary skills, and a good character—not overly straightforward, nor sly. Most importantly, he took instructions seriously.

He was incredibly reliable whenever tasked with something.

In no time, Liu Junrong seemed to possess the qualities of a dark horse, ready to burst forth at any moment.

His inclusion brought a clear sense of competition to the originally calm atmosphere on Zhao Meng’s side.

The other apprentices had to step out of their comfort zones to secretly compete with Liu Junrong.

But the benefits of this competitive trend were evident; everyone put their skills to the test, and whoever improved the most in their culinary practice could stand out.

Still, no matter how diligent Liu Junrong was, he had a shorter work experience and less exposure.

As such, whether in culinary skills or odd-job techniques, the other juniors often outpaced him.

Pressed but persevering, Liu Junrong could feel a bit anxious, but when he watched Fu Yu expertly cook, his restless heart calmed.

As long as one has the talent and is willing to learn, success will surely follow.

Fu Yu was a living example.

The only thing he was lacking was time. As long as he stayed diligent and eager to learn, he was confident that it wouldn’t be long before he surpassed all of them.