CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: WHY SHOULD I LOSE WEIGHT WHEN I GAINED IT FAIR AND SQUARE?

Early in the morning, at a few minutes to five, Jiang Yu woke up before the alarm had a chance to go off.

He rolled out of bed, got dressed, hurried to the bathroom to wash up, grabbed his backpack, and rushed downstairs.

Only after stepping out of the dorm building did he realize that it was still dark. The wide streets were lit by one orange streetlight after another, standing like soldiers manning their posts.

The campus was silent, with just the occasional early riser walking by in solitude.

Jiang Yu didn’t have time to sigh, but quickly made his way to the second cafeteria.

There were only two hours until breakfast service, and he had a lot to do with no time to waste.

As he approached the second cafeteria, his phone in his pocket rang just in time. Taking it out, he saw it was Boss Zhao calling.

"Boss Xiao Jiang, I’ve delivered the ingredients you wanted."

"Alright, I’m on my way over now!"

Jiang Yu agreed and hung up, quickening his pace.

The two exchanged a few casual words and then moved all the chicken frames, chicken feet, pork, tomatoes, and other ingredients into the store.

After Boss Zhao left, Jiang Yu returned inside and got busy.

He planned to sell spicy chicken for lunch and dinner, as soup dumplings were more suitable for breakfast. Moreover, breakfast prep time was too short to prepare soup dumplings and cook soup. Adding spicy chicken would be too rushed.

Before long, Hu Zhihai and Lu Shuwu arrived.

Seeing Jiang Yu bustling around like a top, they quickly joined in, washing and chopping vegetables.

Speaking of which, Lu Shuwu did study culinary arts for a while, so he had some knife skills. But since the dumpling filling is just minced meat, knife skills weren’t particularly important.

Before it was even 6:30, Yan Tongtong arrived with a man and a woman following her.

Their clothing was ordinary, and they looked honest. Probably because it was their first time there, they stood quietly by the door, not daring to look around.

After entering, Yan Tongtong directly sought out Jiang Yu and introduced him:

"Boss, these two are students contacted through a senior from the student council. They’re third-year students wanting to work part-time to support themselves. They have classes, but not many, so they can generally meet the store’s needs."

Before Jiang Yu could speak, the girl introduced herself first:

"Hello, Senior Brother Jiang. I’m Li Yue from the School of Humanities. I’ve worked part-time at a restaurant off-campus before. When I heard from the student council that you needed help, I thought I’d give it a try."

After Li Yue finished speaking, the boy nervously stammered,

"Hi, hi Senior, I’m Shen Deqing, a third-year at the Academy of Electric and Mechanical Engineering. I worked part-time at the first cafeteria during my freshman and sophomore years, but didn’t learn much, just dishwashing and vegetable washing."

After listening, Jiang Yu nodded. He hired students part-time not just because the store needed help, but also to support students with financial difficulties, as he himself had been in similar situations and understood their struggles.

So, it didn’t matter how much they could do, as he hadn’t planned to have them handle complex tasks anyway.

Thinking about it, he said, "Whether you know how or not doesn’t matter. You can learn. By the way, do you both have health certificates?"

"Yes, yes, we do." They both nodded repeatedly.

"They both have health certificates."

Yan Tongtong added, "I specifically told the student council senior to find students with health certificates since we are running a dumpling shop."

"Good job."

Jiang Yu turned and praised her, then addressed Li Yue and the others,

"For now, just try working for a few days. If you feel uncomfortable, let me know. After a few days, we can discuss your wages."

"Thank you, Senior Brother. We’ll do our best."

Li Yue and Shen Deqing both looked genuinely grateful.

Jiang Yu waved and smiled at them, then turned back to his work.

Meanwhile, Yan Tongtong took Li Yue and Shen Deqing to help with picking and washing vegetables, quietly telling them:

"Don’t worry. Senior Brother Jiang is really nice, quite a warm-hearted person. You’ll find out if you stay longer!"

He truly is a warm-hearted person, I’m not lying!

...

The breakfast service was as busy as ever, with no fewer customers than last night. Luckily, Li Yue and Shen Deqing came to help today; otherwise, Hu Zhihai and Yan Tongtong would have been exhausted.

Even so, the four of them were out of breath by the time they closed after handling so many students who came for breakfast.

"Something’s not right. Isn’t there supposed to be freshman military training today? Why are there so many people?"

Hu Zhihai lay back weakly on the chair, rubbing his sore arms, asking in disbelief,

"Could it be that students from other dormitories ran all the way here?"

"You’re not that old. How did you forget already?"

At this moment, Jiang Yu emerged from the kitchen, teasing him,

"Today is just the first day of military training. The orientation assembly is after breakfast, then the training starts."

"Oh, I forgot."

Hu Zhihai slapped his forehead, hurriedly stood up, and chased after him with a smile,

"Lao Jiang, now that we’re closed, can you make some spicy chicken?"

When Lu Shuwu and Yan Tongtong heard this, they eagerly looked over and subconsciously started salivating.

Since tasting the spicy chicken last night, the flavor was unforgettable; it was just too delicious.

In the small shop, only newcomers Li Yue and Shen Deqing exchanged confused glances, clueless about the conversation.

"It’s so early in the morning, why spicy chicken?"

Jiang Yu gave him a disdainful look, saying, "You’ve put on some weight again, time to lose it."

Hu Zhihai retorted righteously, "I gained this weight through hard work; why should I lose it?!"

Jiang Yu: "..."

This chubby guy just keeps getting more talkative.

He thought about it, and decided, since he was planning to sell it at noon anyway, and it’s almost ten now, he could make it now and keep it for later. Spicy chicken was a cold dish, and chilling it in the fridge improved the taste.

With these thoughts, Jiang Yu went to the fridge, took out over twenty chickens, and began preparing.

Seeing Jiang Yu indeed start making spicy chicken, Lu Shuwu and Yan Tongtong were overjoyed. They both went up to Hu Zhihai and gave him a thumbs-up:

"Senior Brother Hu, you’re amazing!"

"Zhihai, impressive!"

Li Yue, Shen Deqing: "???"

What’s going on here?

Completely confused!