Chef at the University Canteen-Chapter 428 - 261: Inheriting the Family Fortune Can’t Compare to Jiang Yu’s Cooking (Part 3)
As soon as Professor Hans heard this, he burst into joyful laughter, spreading his arms wide and loudly exclaimed,
"I hope all my old friends will join us this evening; the more, the merrier!"
A group of people walked out while chatting and laughing cheerfully, except for Professor Qin Zhiyuan, who remained silent with his head down, quietly following behind.
Although no one made fun of his earlier embarrassment, he was well aware that this time, he had thoroughly embarrassed himself.
His mind was a jumble; he hadn’t absorbed anything the others were discussing earlier.
However, he did hear Professors Lu and Liang mention going to Professor Hans’s house for drinks and academic discussion after dinner.
He very much wanted to go along, not for the drinks, but to discuss academic research with Professors Hans, Liang, and Lu.
Discussing academic issues with high-level experts and professors often sparks intellectual collisions, inspiring new academic insights and research ideas.
This was an extremely rare opportunity.
But after making such a big fool of himself, how could he have the face to join in the fun at Professor Hans’s house?
Let alone going to Professor Hans’s house, he felt too ashamed even to join everyone for dinner at the Taoyuan Conference Hall.
Following the crowd out of the library, Qin Zhiyuan lifted his head to look at the group ahead, talking and laughing, and suddenly slowed his pace, distancing himself further from them.
Only when he could no longer hear the chatter of Professor Qian and others did Qin Zhiyuan let out a long sigh of relief, feeling lighter.
He looked up at the receding figures of Professor Qian and others, then stepped aside, veering onto another path.
This path, he remembered clearly, didn’t lead to the Taoyuan Conference Hall but to the Seventh Dining Hall.
By now, the gloominess Qin Zhiyuan felt earlier had vanished, replaced with excitement and anticipation.
He had long heard that the student dining hall on the first floor of the Seventh Dining Hall offered several dishes made by Jiang Yu, not inferior in taste to those on the second floor.
Though Jiang Gaozhe previously mentioned that the head chef of the Taoyuan Conference Hall was Zhangjiang, a Huaxia Youth Chef Master, Qin Zhiyuan was unimpressed, believing that this so-called youth chef couldn’t possibly cook as well as Jiang Yu!
Instead of having dinner with Professor Qian, Professor Lu, and others who witnessed his embarrassment, constantly reminding him of his awkwardness, he might as well dine alone on the first floor of the Seventh Dining Hall.
Although the student dining area might be crowded, he was already aware it had a faculty and staff counter.
Reminded of the delicious dishes he had at lunch, Qin Zhiyuan couldn’t help but swallow a gulp, speeding up his pace involuntarily.
The dishes made by Jiang Yu were truly unforgettable!
It was already close to mealtime, and students, whether in small groups or alone, hurried towards the Seventh Dining Hall. Qin Zhiyuan blended in, appearing unobtrusive.
Following the students, he arrived at the entrance of the Seventh Dining Hall and looked around, seeing a dense crowd inside and outside, full of people.
A long queue stretched from the food counter, winding and twisting to the entrance and then straight out onto the road.
A rich, tempting aroma of food wafted through the dining hall, constantly whetting appetites with the sounds of people swallowing and stomachs rumbling echoing in the air...
Qin Zhiyuan paid no mind to any of it, squeezing into the crowd with much effort until he reached near the entrance of the first-floor booths.
It was only because the students saw he was elderly and feared hurting him that they made way for him along the way; otherwise, he wouldn’t have moved from the entrance to the innermost area so easily.
But at that moment, Qin Zhiyuan disregarded all this. Near the entrance of the first-floor booths, he caught sight of a sign by the most cornered window, which read "Faculty and Staff Exclusive."
Immediately, his heart leapt with joy: Indeed, there was such a window!
This way, he wouldn’t need to jostle with other students to queue for food.
Even though he wasn’t a professor at Jiang University, he was here for an academic exchange event, so he should be able to buy food here, right?
He didn’t intend to eat for free anyway!
With this thought, Qin Zhiyuan’s mind settled down, standing quietly aside, waiting for the dining hall to open.
At this moment, his mood was as excited and expectant as during those childhood celebrations when the production team slaughtered pigs for meat distribution.
As more people filled the dining hall, it wasn’t long before it finally opened.
The students queuing for food started to slowly move forward amidst the hustle and bustle, loudly announcing their preferred dishes.
After getting their meals, they each carried trays piled high with food, swiftly finding a seat in the dining area, diving in with their chopsticks.
Occasionally, they would look up, faces lighting up with surprise or satisfaction, clearly pleased with the food at the Seventh Dining Hall.
Watching all this, Qin Zhiyuan could no longer restrain himself. He stepped forward and queued up at the faculty and staff exclusive window.
