Three-Piece Duck

Ji Yue happily drank three large bowls of Black Rice Congee before reluctantly putting down her bowl. Three whole sea bowls—it left Jiang Feng dumbfounded.

"Senior, tell me the truth. How many days has it been since you last ate?" Jiang Feng remembered Ji Yue's appetite being nothing like this.

"I had a little money left at first, but the boss from the illustration job still hasn't paid me. Your senior has been surviving on Plain Congee from Canteen 7 for a week." Ji Yue swiftly cleared the table, washed everything, and tidied up the kitchen along the way.

Canteen 7 was a discounted cafeteria. Thanks to subsidies, its food was very cheap: a bowl of Plain Congee cost only thirty cents, vegetarian dishes cost one yuan twenty, and meat dishes cost two yuan eighty. Correspondingly, the food was nearly impossible to swallow.

Other than being downright awful, it had no flaws whatsoever.

Ji Yue cleaned the kitchen, swept the floor, and cleared away the kitchen waste Jiang Feng had made while chopping vegetables. Jiang Feng continued chopping nearby. Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant never kept vegetables overnight. Whether they would be used or not, they had to be chopped in advance. Anything unsold became food for the stray cats and dogs nearby.

Not long after, Jiang Jiankang and Wang Xiulian came downstairs from the second floor after resting. Jiang Feng introduced Ji Yue to them, and Jiang Jiankang gave her an enthusiastic welcome.

"Little Ji, don't worry. Your uncle may not have money, but feeding you is no problem. Stay as long as you want. Don't feel burdened by it." Buried under enormous debt, Jiang Jiankang understood Ji Yue's situation very well. The kitchen had recently begun processing meat ingredients, and sharp-eyed Jiang Jiankang immediately spotted the foam box in the corner.

"Little Feng, you got yourself a takeout box this afternoon?" Jiang Jiankang noticed the large words "Takeout" on the foam box. He stepped forward, fiddled with it a little, patted it, took off the lid, then put it back on. He looked very satisfied. "This box is good. Sturdy!"

"There happened to be a foam box, so I put it in the kitchen." Jiang Feng lied without blinking. "We'll leave it there for now. If we need to deliver takeout later, we can use it."

"Who has time to deliver takeout? By the time it gets there, the dishes will be cold and the texture will be ruined. Don't copy those other restaurants with their flashy nonsense. We just need to run our own restaurant properly." Jiang Jiankang clearly disliked the idea of takeout delivery.

After inspecting the ingredients Jiang Feng had chopped, Jiang Jiankang found three huge plates of shredded carrots and two large plates of carrot slices. Carrots must have been especially cheap at the market today, so Wang Xiulian had bought too many.

"Shredded pork with carrots and shredded chicken with carrots will be on special tonight," Jiang Jiankang said.

Jiang Feng went outside and stuck red special-price labels behind the signs for shredded pork with carrots and shredded chicken with carrots.

"Jiang Feng, your restaurant doesn't deliver takeout?" Ji Yue found it rather surprising.

As a science and engineering university, A University had no shortage of homebody students who lived off takeout. Not offering delivery would undoubtedly cost Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant a large portion of its customers.

"My dad can't bear to pay the platform commission." Even when the family had not been in debt, Jiang Jiankang had been unwilling to spend that money. Now that Jiang Jiankang considered himself heavily indebted, there was even less chance of letting the platform profit from them.

"You could make your own Official Account or mini-program!" Ji Yue suggested. "Our art academy has its own Official Account. We use it to take small jobs like illustration commissions. It's simple—you just need to find someone from the computer science department. It won't cost much to make one."

"Ding. An optional side quest has appeared. Please choose."

The game system prompt rang in his mind, and Jiang Feng knew that Senior Ji Yue's suggestion had to be a good one. He nodded. "I'll find time to ask around at the computer science department."

"But we don't have an electric scooter!" Jiang Feng suddenly realized this serious problem.

"I do! Delivery costs extra!" Ji Yue smiled at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng went up to the second floor, found a corner, and opened the attribute panel.

Side Quests: (Optional)

1. Mother's Wish Wang Xiulian had always hoped to have a gentle, understanding, and slim daughter-in-law. Please fulfill Mother's Wish by finding a gentle, understanding, and slim girlfriend. Choose: Yes/No

2. Li Junming's Wish Li Junming's father, Li Mingyi, would not live much longer. Li Mingyi had been born into a prominent Yanjing family, and a dish of Clear Soup with Bird's Nest Slices made by Jiang Chengde, the head chef of Tai Feng Lou, had remained unforgettable to him since childhood. Please fulfill Li Junming's Wish and let Li Mingyi eat the Clear Soup with Bird's Nest Slices from his memories. Quest Progress (0/1)

Quest Hint: This quest is extremely difficult. Please explore on your own.

3. Keeping Up with the Times As a restaurant aspiring to dominate the eateries near A University, how could it not keep up with the times and have its own Official Account? Please help Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant obtain its own Official Account and gain one hundred followers. Choose: Yes/No

After he clicked Yes, the quest became:

3. Keeping Up with the Times As a restaurant aspiring to dominate the eateries near A University, how could it not keep up with the times and have its own Official Account? Please help Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant obtain its own Official Account and gain one hundred followers. Quest Progress: Official Account (0/1) Followers (0/100)

Quest Reward: Unknown

Quest Hint: Just spend a little money to make an Official Account, then gain one hundred followers. It could not be easier.

The quest really did seem very easy, practically like a beginner's bonus.

At dinnertime, the restaurant was still packed with customers. Perhaps because they did not have the pressure of skipping lunch or rushing to class, the customers arrived at much more scattered times, greatly reducing everyone's workload.

"Senior Ji, are the graduate school entrance exam questions difficult?" After clearing one table's dishes, Liu Zixuan curiously sidled over and asked.

Jiang Feng had already explained to everyone why Ji Yue was working at the restaurant, so naturally no one was tactless enough to ask what exactly had happened to her family.

"What do you think? I failed." Ji Yue looked displeased. Graduate school entrance exams were clearly not a pleasant experience for her. "If I'd gotten in, I could at least have worked as a tutor."

Liu Zixuan wisely shut his mouth.

"Haozi, do you know anyone in the computer science department?" Wang Hao had sneaked into the kitchen to drink Mung Bean Soup and was caught red-handed by Jiang Feng.

"Yeah, I know plenty." Wang Hao hurriedly drained the Mung Bean Soup from his bowl and wiped his mouth.

"Among the people you know, is there anyone skilled enough to help me make an Official Account? Price is negotiable. My dad can't bear to pay the platform fees, and I think an Official Account where people can order takeout would be pretty good," Jiang Feng said.

"Oh, Brother Feng, you're keeping up with the times!" Wang Hao thought for a moment. "That guy who came to eat at noon today with his girlfriend, I think his name was... Zhang Wei? Didn't he make a program last semester and sell it for tens of thousands? Everyone on WeChat Moments was talking about it. I have his WeChat. I'll ask him."

As he spoke, Wang Hao took out his phone.

Jiang Feng was called over by Jiang Jiankang to help in the kitchen. It was Ji Yue's first day on the job, and after asking where she was from, Jiang Jiankang planned to make a full table of Huaiyang Cuisine to show Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant's welcome for its new employee.

There were still several ducks and pigeons in the restaurant. Jiang Jiankang had bought them together because they looked good, intending to keep them alive. Though they had neither Gaoyou Duck nor wild duck, they could still barely make a serving of Three-Piece Duck.

Steamed Crab Roe Lion's Head Meatballs were steaming on the stove. Jiang Jiankang was busy watching the Heat Control, so the tasks of deboning the three birds whole, stuffing them, nesting the ducks, and blanching them naturally fell to Jiang Feng.

It was his first time making such a complicated dish. Fortunately, Jiang Feng's knife skills were good, and deboning an entire duck was no problem. Though he had only practiced deboning chickens before, deboning ducks and pigeons was not difficult either.

He rolled the prepared birds through boiling water to remove the blood, then nested the pigeon inside the duck, filled the duck's cavity with mushrooms and ham slices, and finally nested the duck inside the larger duck before blanching it again.

He took out Jiang Jiankang's treasured Shaoxing Wine and put the nested ducks and other ingredients into the pressure cooker.

It should have been simmered slowly for several hours, but there was not enough time. They would use the pressure cooker instead; with Jiang Jiankang's stock added at the end, it would still be just as delicious.

"Brother Feng, what dish are you making?" Wang Hao's eyes had gone dizzy from the string of operations.

"Three-Piece Duck, a famous Huaiyang Cuisine dish," Jiang Feng explained. The remaining control of the Heat Control would have to be left to Jiang Jiankang.

"Senior Ji Yue is so lucky." Thinking of how Ji Yue was from the Huaiyang area, Wang Hao sighed sincerely.

Jiang Feng: *...*

Given how complicated Three-Piece Duck was, Ji Yue might not have eaten it more than a few times herself...

"Oh, right, Zhang Wei just replied to me. He said an Official Account like this is simple, that he can make it in a few days, and that he doesn't need money. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"He asked whether, before the Official Account is finished, we could make an exception and deliver some takeout to him first. He said the computer science department has way too many classes, so they have no time to leave campus for food. He can bring his own lunchbox." Wang Hao took out his phone and showed Jiang Feng the chat history.

Jiang Feng: *...*

"Fine..."