CHAPTER 40: CHAPTER 40: IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, JUST SAY IT

After eating, everyone rested for a while and then started to get busy again.

It was almost three o’clock, and it wasn’t long until the students would have dinner, so they had to hurry up.

Hu Zhihai and Yan Tongtong, as usual, tidied up the steamers and washed the vegetables, while Jiang Yu and Lu Shuwu returned to the kitchen to continue making soup dumplings.

"Boss..."

Sitting down by the counter, Lu Shuwu was about to say something when suddenly a piercing phone ringtone sounded from Jiang Yu’s pocket.

Jiang Yu was also stunned and took out his phone to see an unfamiliar local landline number. He didn’t know who was calling.

He gestured to Lu Shuwu, then answered the call: "Hello, this is Jiang Yu."

A strong voice came from the other side: "Hello! Is this Jiang Yu?"

"I am Jiang Yu, may I know who you are?"

"Oh, I am the deputy director of the Student Affairs Office, my surname is Xiong, you can call me Teacher Xiong."

Teacher Xiong chuckled and continued,

"Jiang, do you have some time now? If you do, could you come to the administrative building? I have something to discuss with you, don’t worry, it won’t take much of your time."

Jiang Yu looked back at the busy scene in the shop, hesitated for a moment, but still nodded and said:

"Okay, Teacher Xiong, I’ll be right there."

"I’ll be out for a bit. A teacher from the school needs to talk to me. You go ahead with the work here, I’ll be back soon."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Yu turned to look at Lu Shuwu, as if remembering something, and asked, "By the way, what did you want to say earlier?"

"Oh, it’s nothing, really!"

Lu Shuwu quickly waved his hand and laughed, "You go ahead with your thing, don’t worry about the shop, I’ve got it covered."

"Oh, alright, then I’ll get going."

Jiang Yu didn’t mind, nodded, and hurriedly went out the door.

Watching Jiang Yu’s departing figure, Lu Shuwu scratched his head helplessly. He indeed had nothing urgent to say, just wanted to ask Jiang Yu about any new dishes they were planning for the evening.

This damned question was like an invisible hand constantly scratching his chest, making him itch inside.

Jiang Yu, thinking about the matter with the teacher from Student Affairs, walked briskly and soon arrived at the school’s administrative building.

He went up to the third floor, found the deputy director’s office according to the nameplate, took a few deep breaths to calm his slightly rapid heartbeat, then lifted his hand and gently knocked on the door. Hearing a "please come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.

There was only one person in the office, standing in front of the desk organizing things. Seeing Jiang Yu enter, he smiled and greeted,

"Are you Jiang Yu? Sorry about this, I should have come to find you, but with the school just starting and the new students about to start military training, there’s a lot going on, so I had to ask you to come here."

"No worries, Teacher Xiong, as a student, it’s my duty to visit teachers."

Jiang Yu smiled and asked curiously, "You mentioned on the phone that you have something to discuss with me, may I know what it is?"

"It’s something small, but not that big of a deal."

Teacher Xiong gestured to the sofa for Jiang Yu to sit, and then asked,

"Do you often visit the campus forum?"

"Occasionally, but not much recently due to being busy."

"Yes, I almost forgot, you’re more than just a student now, you probably don’t have time to browse online leisurely, do you?"

Teacher Xiong couldn’t help but laugh and continued,

"Here’s the thing, a freshman posted on the campus forum saying that with military training coming up, they won’t be able to eat the soup dumplings at the second canteen anymore.

This post ended up attracting a bunch of freshmen to reply, asking the school if they could find a way, saying ’not demanding to eat soup dumplings, but at least hoping for a fair chance.’

Because this issue gained attention from many freshmen, the school is worried it might affect military training, so I thought to talk with the owner of the soup dumpling shop to discuss how to solve this issue.

And to my surprise, when I checked with the logistics department, it turns out that the soup dumpling shop is actually run by a student from our school!"

After saying this, Teacher Xiong looked at Jiang Yu with a look of admiration, making Jiang Yu feel a little uneasy.

He let out an awkward laugh and said,

"You flatter me, Teacher Xiong. Those seniors who start companies and innovate from within the school are truly admirable. My small dumpling shop is really nothing worth mentioning."

"You shouldn’t say that. How many people don’t even dare to think about opening a small shop?"

Teacher Xiong clearly didn’t agree with Jiang Yu’s humility and said,

"You’ve managed to open a soup dumpling shop that has become so popular among so many students, it proves that you really have a knack for this. I believe that a small shop is just the beginning for you, and you’ll definitely grow bigger in the future."

"Thank you for your encouragement, Teacher Xiong. I’ll certainly do my best."

Seeing Teacher Xiong’s conversation drifting further away, Jiang Yu quickly steered it back, asking,

"Teacher Xiong, you mentioned that freshmen can’t get soup dumplings during military training and want to discuss how to solve this problem. Does the school have any thoughts on it?"

"The school doesn’t have any specific thoughts, since it’s something we’ve never encountered before, so my idea is to mainly see what you think."

Teacher Xiong thought for a moment, looked at Jiang Yu, and asked, "Xiaojiang, do you have any ideas?"

Jiang Yu showed a hint of hesitation, "Uh..."

"Don’t worry, just say whatever you have in mind!"

Teacher Xiong waved his hand grandly and said with an open demeanor,

"To be honest, this issue is indeed adding a burden to your shop. If you have any requirements, feel free to bring them up! After all, you’re also a student of our school. We should support your entrepreneurial efforts!"

"It’s not really a concern..."

After hearing Teacher Xiong’s words, Jiang Yu thought for a moment and said sincerely,

"Since you’ve checked with the logistics department, you probably know that our shop is fairly small with not many people. Trying to meet so many freshmen’s demands, it’s really unrealistic..."

"Oh, that’s what you meant. Actually, you’ve misunderstood. There are over 8,000 undergrad freshmen. Not to mention your shop, no canteen in the school can provide for 8,000 people all at once."

Hearing this, Teacher Xiong laughed and waved his hand, saying,

"Don’t worry, the freshmen also know it’s not possible. They just hope for a chance to buy the soup dumplings. Whether they get it depends on their own ability.

Also... your shop is indeed a bit small. I didn’t know about your entrepreneurial efforts before. Otherwise, when the fifth canteen was bidding for new vendors, the school would definitely consider its own students first.

Of course, it’s a little too late to talk about that now as the fifth canteen has already signed a contract, and we can’t change it. We can only wait for future opportunities.

However, if you’re interested, I can still ask the logistics department and see if we can help move you to a larger stall.

What do you think?"