Chapter 49

Chapter 49: What? My Promotion Banquet?...

It was just four o’clock in the morning, and the photographer was still completely groggy from sleep.

But when it came to catching Chen Ran, he was no longer tired!

The photographer was no longer the uninterested person he had been about food at the start.

He still remembered that first time at the kindergarten filming the lion’s head dish, how he bravely gave up his share of the lion’s head for work.

Looking back now, he thought he must have been out of his mind!

The lion’s head that Mrs. Wang brought into the kindergarten to eat—how could that be an ordinary lion’s head?

Moreover, ever since tasting that lion’s head, up until now, he hadn’t had a second chance to eat it.

“Have you found the place to catch Chen Ran?”

“Going to Qiantang Village. I checked, we’ll leave now and should get there by tomorrow noon. You drive first; I’ll nap a bit and take over when I wake.”

Qiantang Village?

The photographer checked on his phone. It was a small place with no village in front and no shops behind—didn’t seem like there were any shops where Chen Ran could be working.

The two quickly went downstairs. He couldn’t help but ask Zhu Nan, “This Qiantang Village… are there any shops? Did Chef Chen go work somewhere weird again?”

Looking at Qiantang Village’s location on the map, he couldn’t help but imagine: “Surely it’s not some pig or cattle farm?”

Zhu Nan admired the photographer’s imagination, but luckily, it hadn’t come to that.

“It’s much better than that. Chen Ran went to the countryside to prepare a big banquet!”

After getting a reply from Xiao Xiao 140 Jin, Zhu Nan watched the video twice more, especially the parts about the banquet.

“Chef Chen must be working with a group that prepares big banquets — the kind that drive around in huge RVs to host big feasts for people...”

The photographer immediately understood why Zhu Nan was so anxious this time.

This big banquet was very different from those small shops where you had to order: first, you had to consider your appetite; second, check the menu and the queue.

But with a big banquet? First, no need to queue; second, there would be more than ten dishes on the big table, right? Isn’t that an all-you-can-eat feast all at once?

Moreover, Chen Ran’s signature dishes, when you think about it carefully, were quite suitable for rural banquet seating.

Especially the lion’s head that the photographer had repeatedly missed... under another name, isn’t that just “Four Happiness Meatballs”?

“So this time we’re going to a banquet? Is it a wedding banquet?”

The photographer was still thinking about his Four Happiness Meatballs, hoping this would be a wedding banquet.

But Xiao Xiao had already shared this with Zhu Nan, who shook his head: “No, this time it’s a promotion banquet. But I think, maybe we’ll still get to eat lion’s head?”

After all, the video Xiao Xiao 140 Jin made was even about a first birthday banquet, and it showed lion’s head there too.

“You’re right. What’s the difference between a promotion banquet and a first birthday banquet? Surely both have lion’s head!” The photographer started the car enthusiastically. “You sleep a bit first; we’ll hurry over and get there early!”

At this moment, it wasn’t only Zhu Nan who had discovered Chen Ran’s whereabouts — others had found out too.

After all, Xiao Xiao 140 Jin’s video went viral as soon as it was posted.Even videos posted as late as 3:30 a.m. performed much better than videos posted an hour earlier at usual times.

There was no way around it—Chen Ran’s every job was completely unpredictable.

And this kind of unpredictability became a huge draw for short videos.

Xiao Xiao 140 Jin’s video was completely different from the usual rural big banquet videos piled high with dishes; in fact, the video showed mostly empty plates.

But it was precisely this feeling of empty plates that gave everyone an extreme sense of satisfaction.

“I’ve watched it twice already. Xiao Xiao should shoot a couple more episodes; this feels way more exciting than mukbangs!”

“No kidding, it really is more thrilling than mukbangs. One pig’s elbow comes up, and it’s gone in a minute. Then a plate of guobaorou, everyone grabs a chopstick and it’s gone.”

“And everyone’s really enjoying it! It doesn’t look like any paid actors either, way more genuine than the mukbangs I follow!”

“Definitely not paid actors. Look at that auntie next to the blogger — no teeth left and she’s still gnawing on a roasted chicken neck. If she were a paid actor, she’d be way too dedicated.”

Likes and comments on the video skyrocketed like a rocket.

Soon, Wang Zhaoshan also saw this video.

As a food critic who cared deeply about health, Wang Zhaoshan’s lifelong goal was to train his body as best as possible so he could enjoy eating for a lifetime.

He didn’t want to be like many people around him, constantly suffering from high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or high uric acid.

As a food critic, if he couldn’t eat seafood or fatty meat, how could he give proper reviews?

So every day around five a.m., Wang Zhaoshan got up to practice his Vajra exercises. After finishing the set, he would go out to eat a light breakfast in the open air...

At that time, he would browse short videos to see if there were any new hot topics in the food world.

After all, as the regional manager of “Famous Chef Records,” it was necessary to keep track of trends.

Just then, he came across this rapidly trending video.

Unlike the slow-to-catch-on Zhu Nan, from the previous teaser video showing Chen Ran frying chicken, he immediately recognized her!

“Roast chicken... and a full rural banquet set...”

Wang Zhaoshan was practically dying of envy!

Last time, after Chang Nian came to try Chen Ran’s dishes, he had talked with Wang Zhaoshan. They agreed that several of Chen Ran’s signature dishes absolutely deserved to be on the regional list of Famous Chef Records.

That was the regional list, featuring the top 100 chefs nationwide! It even included some veterans who could barely wield a knife anymore, some who had made enough money and retired, and some who only occasionally came out to cook state banquets.

In fact, combining the national and regional lists, only about forty or fifty chefs were available for ordinary people to taste.

And these forty or fifty chefs could never easily cook a full banquet set.

Their value lay more in being the treasured chef of a restaurant, occasionally cooking a dish or two by hand.

But judging from Xiao Xiao 140 Jin’s video, Chen Ran truly made the entire banquet!

And such a banquet gathering so many exquisite dishes cost just a few hundred yuan for a whole table?

Wang Zhaoshan was going crazy!

He immediately called Qiu Xian.Qiu Xian was still not fully awake. As someone with severe procrastination, she stayed up past one every night and then got up within half an hour to eat, wash up, and leave in one go.

However, Wang Zhaoshan was now her direct superior, so she had to answer the call.

“Uncle Wang... what’s up?”

The atmosphere inside Famous Chef Records was always quite relaxed. Affiliated with Talk Eats magazine, there was no strict hierarchy. Privately, Qiu Xian still called Wang Zhaoshan “Uncle.”

Hearing how clearly not awake Qiu Xian sounded, Wang Zhaoshan snorted coldly and chose to directly unleash his trump card.

“Chen Ran has developed a new dish—roast chicken! First fried until the skin is crispy, then soaked in marinade and steamed together... From the video, the torn roast chicken meat is extremely springy; when lifted by chopsticks, it even shakes a bit…”

“I’ve never tasted roast chicken like that. I wonder how it compares to the roast chicken at Rong Bao Zhai…”

Qiu Xian’s stomach grumbled.

Dropping this bomb so early in the morning, who could stand it?

But she quickly caught on—Wang Zhaoshan wouldn’t bring this up without reason. Had he found Chen Ran’s whereabouts?

“Have you found Sister Chen Ran?”

“You could say yes, or you could say no,” Wang Zhaoshan quickly forwarded the video to Qiu Xian. “This blogger’s filming of the rural big banquet is Chen Ran’s cooking. You better hurry and find out where it is. If we find it this morning, maybe we can still get a meal.”

“This morning? That urgent?”

Qiu Xian glanced at the video’s posting time—3:30 a.m. This meant the blogger likely stayed up all night and might be sleeping now.

“Of course it’s urgent. Look at the video’s popularity!”

By now, it had over 60,000 likes!

“I can see it, so imagine how many people in that fan group are constantly scrolling their phones. This is a rural big banquet. Don’t you want to eat? If the college students in the group find out first, will you even get a chance?”

Qiu Xian was instantly wide awake.

“Got it, Uncle Wang. I’m hanging up now!”

After all, she worked at Talk Eats magazine, which had numerous self-media accounts. After some inquiry, she quickly found Xiao Zheng’s number.

Xiao Zheng answered the phone groggily in his sleep, vaguely repeating the name “Qiantang Village,” and was about to lie back down when something felt off.

He recalled that the director from yesterday had also asked about Qiantang Village but then stopped talking…

Xiao Zheng vaguely felt they needed to get to the banquet earlier today!

Without much explanation, he quickly messaged Qi Yan, whom he met yesterday: “Qi Yan, let’s go earlier today. I feel the graduation banquet will be harder to get into.”

“Okay, I’ll drive over. Let’s head out quickly.”

Xiao Zheng put down his phone, feeling pleased. He reviewed the family relations of the banquet household again, hoping to smoothly bring Qi Yan in too!

Unlike weddings usually held in the morning, graduation banquets generally start in the afternoon. Shu Jianmin spent the entire morning shopping for ingredients and even bought five extra fresh young roosters.

—Yesterday, he still hadn’t tasted Chen Ran’s roast chicken.

The assistant cooks were nearly consumed by their cravings, secretly eating two chicken tails yesterday, which only made everyone hungrier.

Shu Jianmin smiled broadly, “Come on, brothers, let’s kill these little chickens first to get ready. I’m thinking of letting Chef Chen sleep in a bit longer, so she doesn’t have to worry about this prep work.”"Preparation is fine, but boss, you can’t just think about making money without considering the brothers’ capacity to handle it."

Shu Jianmin’s main job was to greet people outside, coordinate overall, and sometimes appropriately accompany the host to entertain guests.

But the several assistant cooks plus Aunt Wang’s work were almost entirely spent in the kitchen.

When the roast chicken was deep-frying, they watched; when it was steamed, they watched; when it was torn open and plated, they watched.

Then the roast chicken was brought out to the table, and everyone’s mouths watered, still watching Chen Ran pan-fry the pork elbow…

“Although we joked before that when the roast chicken was torn, we could sneak a couple of pieces. But we’re all picky folks; how could we really do that? Smelling such a fragrant dish but not getting any to eat—that’s just torture, right?”

Aunt Wang nodded along—God knows how hard she was trying to control herself from sneaking bites!

“Today, absolutely no more tables added… no more added tables!”

Shu Jianmin smiled as he said this to the assistant cooks.

The assistant cooks and Aunt Wang all had fixed salaries. If more tables were added but their pay didn’t increase, it was normal to have some resentment.

Besides, even if he wasn’t in the kitchen, the deadly aroma wafting from there was obvious. Gotta say, these guys in the kitchen were really enduring.

“Today I specially bought five extra young roosters. You all pick two of the most tender ones for Chef Chen to cook. We’ll eat ourselves, how about that? Two enough?”

“Add one more big pork elbow!”

“…Okay!”

“But it has to be stewed first, then pan-fried!”

Shu Jianmin’s face turned stern: “That’s enough. You’re only thinking about eating yourselves, not about how hard little Chef Chen is working. You all know how delicious her cooking is—doesn’t she know it herself?”

“I saw yesterday, even though Chef Chen was only supposed to cook, when Aunt Wang was overwhelmed, she went to help,” he nodded to another assistant cook, “You had a stiff neck, right? Didn’t Chef Chen also give you a couple of massages?”

After teasing the assistant cooks, Shu Jianmin added a carrot: “Everyone work hard, don’t let Chef Chen get too tired. These days I’ll hire a temp worker and also give each of you a red envelope bonus, okay?”

After Chen Ran left, business might not be this good anymore. Increasing salary or commission was impossible, but giving everyone a little red envelope bonus was doable.

“Don’t worry, boss. Everyone has seen Chef Chen’s skills.”

At first, when they hired Chen Ran, the assistant cooks had some doubts. But after completing the first big banquet, all they felt was respect.

A big banquet isn’t just about amazing taste!

Coordinating a dozen or so dishes is a huge test for any chef.

Not only arranging preparation and serving order for each dish, but also carefully observing the assistants and assigning different tasks to different people.

On the first day, Chen Ran kept them all running around; not a single dish was delayed, and everyone was busy all the time.

“I guess Chef Chen must have worked in some big restaurant before, otherwise how could she have these skills?”

“I heard from Chef Chen she’s a university student! Must be quick-witted… On the first day it seemed a bit uncoordinated, but by the second day’s birthday banquet, she was much smoother.”

“True. It’s a pity we don’t know why Chef Chen came here… I heard from Xiao Shu that it’s because she knows his mom, just helping out?”

“Definitely helping out. Otherwise, with Chef Chen’s skills, where wouldn’t she be able to work? I added her as a friend yesterday—maybe she can introduce me to a job later.”

“I’ll add her too soon! With Chef Chen’s skills, if she opens her own restaurant in the future, she’ll definitely make money!”Chen Ran couldn’t help but laugh.

Indeed, most school promotion banquets are held during the summer after the college or high school entrance exams; holding one now might mean the main student is still in school...

It really didn’t seem like there were any special customs.

“Hey, isn’t it because Chef Chen Ran’s cooking is just too good! That’s why I’m poor. If I had money, I’d hold a banquet back in the village and show everyone there that I’ve made something of myself!”

Brother Liu had mentioned a bit about his background before: he grew up without parents, raised by many families in the village. Although he looked over forty, he was actually only 33 this year.

“Alright then, Brother Liu, if one day you hold a banquet back in the village and still want to invite me, I’ll come back and be your head chef for a day. How’s that?”

Brother Liu was overjoyed: “Ranran, thank you!”

Shu Jianmin nearby felt a bit jealous: “I pay Chef Chen thousands a day. When the time comes, I’ll help too—I won’t let you be treated unfairly, Ranran!”

Chen Ran didn’t think it was a big deal but still smiled gratefully at Shu Jianmin.

Following the system’s work tasks, her cooking skills improved, she met more people, and now even felt her personality had changed a lot.

Back when she was learning to cook at the Chen family’s restaurant, she was even shy to boss around the assistants. Now she could command several helpers to prepare dozens of banquet tables.

Surely with this experience, when she opens her own restaurant someday, she’ll adapt even faster.

The RV drove again to Qiantang Village, where they held banquets for two consecutive days. The villagers had already become familiar with the big vehicle.

But yesterday some people came over to greet them; today a bunch of children saw the RV and ran away.

Shu Jianmin: ???

Only after he drove to the designated spot did he realize the cooks hadn’t arrived, the tables hadn’t been set up, but the courtyard was already packed with people!

The host looked helpless: “Xiao Shu, although you said yesterday not to add tables... but look, you can’t just chase people away, right?”

“I’m thinking, why not do a flowing banquet? Set up fifteen tables first, then when those people finish and leave, set up another fifteen.”

Good grief, a flowing banquet for a school promotion banquet!

Village banquets sometimes take flowing banquet orders, but these are usually for very important people—mostly for big birthdays or weddings.

A flowing banquet for a school promotion? They didn’t even get into Qinghua or Beida; this was too exaggerated.

Also, originally they had ordered 25 tables. If changed to a flowing banquet of 15 tables, Shu Jianmin’s reserved five little roosters would be gone again.

Without looking back, he could feel the solid gaze of several staff staring at his back.

“This isn’t good, we didn’t buy extra ingredients...”

The other side seemed to be waiting for him to say that!

“No problem. Look, this morning I caught eight little roosters in the village! Already slaughtered! Besides the seating, we can make two more. How about that? For the dishes, just pick from the vegetable garden out back!”

Seeing Shu Jianmin’s struggling expression, the other side raised the stakes: “The extra table fees don’t count; we’ll give you an extra thousand yuan. Alright? We understand other matters too—the chef will definitely get red envelopes!”

“...Alright!”

Shu Jianmin gritted his teeth and agreed.

“Oh right, should we hang up the banner now?”“No big deal, the banner is just whatever,” the old lady said as if it didn’t matter, since it was just using the name of their big foodie girl to make up for the banquet, “Just hang it over there!”

So when Wang Zhaoshan and Zhu Nan arrived and saw the banner, they both fell silent without a word.

Wang Zhaoshan recorded a short video and posted it in the “Everyday Has Lion’s Head” group, then couldn’t help but ask Zhu Chenchen.

“Chenchen, is today your school promotion banquet?”

Zhu Chenchen, confused, opened the video and saw a familiar house at her grandmother’s place with a banner celebrating her school promotion.

In the background was Zhu Nan laughing so hard his voice cracked with merciless mockery.