A Guide to Running a High School Cafeteria: Gourmet

The blurb for my next novel, The Little Eatery by the School Gate, is at the end. I also have a food novel coming up, Raising Kids at a State-Run Restaurant in the Seventies. Please add them to your collection qaq 【The Restaurant Management System is at your service. Please select the establishment you wish to run.】 【An eatery is registered under your name. Automatic binding complete.】 【Beep! Beep!! Beep!!! Warning, warning, warning! Player data exceeds limits. System capacity insufficient. System is, 】 Zhou Erxing had just returned home to take over the family-run eatery when, the moment she stepped into the school, she heard a voice. Before long, she'd acquired a damaged System that had been converted into a restaurant management system. In response to the System's complaints, Zhou Erxing firmly denied any wrongdoing. “You bound me without even asking how good I am at cooking.” 【...】 【Cruel words can chill even a System to the bone in the sixth lunar month.】 “System, why is your status screen incomplete?” 【It blew up.】 * As the best high school in Yun City and several nearby cities, Yun City No. 1 High had always dominated school competitions. It did have one weakness, though: Its cafeteria embodied the very worst of school cafeteria food. Every student who walked in had to pause and ponder the meaning of life: why do people have to eat? “Every meal is an interrogation of life, a defilement of the soul, the cruelest punishment. Each time I come to the cafeteria, my taste buds feel like they're dancing on the edge of a knife.” A tearful essay by an unnamed student who scored 75 in Chinese. Boarding students returned to school laden with bags of food, while day students had practically turned into delivery couriers. Figuring out how to plan their meals and keep their taste buds from sounding the alarm every day at school had become a secret art passed down through generations at Yun City No. 1 High. At the start of the new term, the notoriously awful No. 3 Cafeteria got a new owner. The new tenth graders, who had yet to suffer through cafeteria food, were overjoyed. In the morning: buns stuffed with diced pork, steamed rolls with minced meat, flatbread sandwiches, chicken wontons... At noon: sweet-and-sour ribs, pork braised with fermented bean curd, tomato beef brisket, hot-and-sour fish head... And dinner was just as good: fried pork ribs with rice and vegetables, Qishan minced-pork noodles, lamb soup with bread... Every student looked forward to eating at No. 3 Cafeteria. What delicious food would be on the menu today? Motivation to study: up, up! Before long, No. 3 Cafeteria had claimed the number one spot in the hearts of the students. It was their favorite cafeteria, bar none! Zhou Erxing also became the most popular person on campus. The students loved her, and so did the teachers~ The only ones left suffering were the other schools. Other schools: “We were all competing to be the worst. How did No. 1 High secretly start raising the bar?!” At an interschool assessment of overall school quality, the other schools' cooks trembled as they looked at Zhou Erxing. “Why would a chef this good come to work in a high school cafeteria? 😱” After years of being unable to hold its head up because of its cafeteria, No. 1 High could finally stand tall again~ Later, Zhou Erxing opened a window at No. 3 Cafeteria to sell food to the public. It became Yun City's most unique attraction, and they had to limit purchases. * At the end of the week, the parents of No. 1 High students prepared a huge feast at home, waiting for their kids to return and eat like ravenous beasts. “Son, why aren't you eating? You must have lost weight after a week at school, ” “Who hit you?!” The parent hadn't taken a good look at the child. Now they looked up and saw that their kid's face had puffed up by a whole size! “No, uh, the school opened a new cafeteria, and the food was so good I ate a little too much.” After taking part in a competition, Zhou Erxing returned to No. 1 High. Even though school was on break, banners filled the campus inside and out, and a huge crowd had gathered at the cafeteria's public-service window. Before she could even feel embarrassed, Shen Dongyuan had already started taking commemorative photos. The Little Eatery by the School Gate As an extreme introvert, Wei Zhouchen had finally earned enough “freedom money” in the big city and returned to her small hometown. She'd only wanted to lie flat and live a quiet life, but she couldn't help being such a good cook. Most importantly, she had a little one at home who went out every day to show off the delicious food Wei Zhouchen made. The kid managed to make a whole group of friends cry with envy, while also attracting a crowd of adults who were just as greedy and even more eager to eat. Two days after Wei Zhouchen returned, people came and cornered her at home. She thought the little one had gotten into trouble and someone had come to confront her. She hadn't even figured out how to apologize yet. With her head bowed, she silently repeated, “You can't see me,” when she heard the visitor ask, “Do you take children?” Huh? What?! “Chenchen, I've watched you grow up. Now that you're back home, you can't just do nothing... Could you open a little after-school dining club?” The neighbor went on and on, and Wei Zhouchen somehow ended up agreeing. Back in her room, Wei Zhouchen finally got it. They hadn't come to hold her accountable; they'd come to bring her a business opportunity. But she really didn't want to deal with people (/｡＼) She'd meant to turn them down, but then she saw the hopeful look in the eyes of the little one who loved showing off, and the crowd of kids peeking around her doorway. Fine, she'd open it. She'd only have to cook, right? ⊙_⊙ * Ever since Chenchen's little dining club opened When teachers kept them late, elementary schoolers' eyes filled with tears. Middle schoolers became faster than the wind just to get there in time for a meal! Homeroom teachers no longer had to worry about picking the right students for the school sports meet. No need for trials. If someone in the class ate at Chenchen's, just pick them! The teachers also stopped caring about North Gate, even if it was closer to home! At mealtimes, the smell wafting from the little dining club was simply too tempting. They were genuinely afraid they'd lose control and walk right into Chenchen's! Pine-nut pork, tomato pork tenderloin, crispy-fried pork slices, fish in savory sauce, oil-braised prawns, dry-fried eel strips... Pork in rock sugar, water chestnut cake, fresh mint peaches, honey-glazed gourds... Every dish at Chenchen's little dining club left the children wanting more and reluctant to leave. * After a while, the people who'd once mocked Wei Zhouchen for returning to her hometown smelled the delicious food from the dining club and fell into thought. Maybe it didn't matter where you lived, as long as you had food like this. The neighbor who'd first asked Wei Zhouchen to open the dining club came to see her again. This time, she got straight to the point. “Do you take adults?” No way! Absolutely not! Wei Zhouchen shook her head so hard it became a blur. The neighbor asked again, “Are you really sure you can't turn it into a restaurant?” Wei Zhouchen chose to run away. “Chenchen's served pork belly, tomato and egg stir-fry, sweet-and-sour ribs, and greens for lunch today!” “Damn it! Do students even know how to appreciate that?!” “For dessert, the owner made little cakes.” “Unfair! Why can't I be twenty years younger? A delicacy like that should be enjoyed by us adults!” A lighthearted, unhurried slice-of-life story, savoring the small joys of everyday life Theme: Eat well, and grow up well