ryethenovel Chapter 68 The New Oriental Culinary School is no longer what it used to be.
Chapter 68 The New Oriental Culinary School is no longer what it used to be.
Xu Liang leaned back in his seat, watching the scenery rushing past the window, his mind already racing with plans for the procurement and transportation of Tongchuan potatoes, as well as a series of issues related to menu development.
This trip to the ancient capital of Tongchuan is destined to establish a unique and prestigious brand for Xiao Liangzi Restaurant, and for his own small restaurant.
Beside her, Lin Xiaoyu sat quietly, a look of peace on her face.
The long journey was filled with warmth because of this little chance encounter.
The train traveled north, passing through tunnels and crossing rivers.
We drove towards eastern Sichuan.
It took about eight hours, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The train that Xu Liang was on finally arrived at Tongchuan Station.
Just like when he was a child, the Tongchuan Station hall still has that old-fashioned hanging clock.
The pendulum ticks away, unassuming yet embodying the passage of time.
They exited the station, and seeing this scene in Tongchuan City, Xu Liang felt that the long wait was agonizing.
However, Lin Xiaoyu, who was standing beside him, had completely let go of her initial awkwardness at this moment.
Xu Liang guided her, helping this blind girl find her way.
Xu Liang looked at the girl with her eyes closed.
I felt a pang of regret for others.
Her understanding and thoughtfulness in traveling alone to visit a sick person in a foreign land since childhood stirred a gentle tenderness in my heart.
He glanced at his watch; although it was already six o'clock, there was still plenty of time.
Being stuck on a crowded and stuffy train would only cause Xu Liang more trouble.
There was no air conditioning on trains in the 1990s.
Only through the car window that could be opened.
However, the hot wind carrying the smell of dust made people feel uncomfortable all over, and the back of the shirt was already soaked with a thin layer of sweat.
At the moment of exiting the station.
Lin Xiaoyu's relatives kept shouting outside.
"Yu Zi! Yu Zi! Here."
Upon seeing this, Xu Liang immediately grabbed Lin Xiaoyu's sleeve.
Then, he kept waving to her relatives.
After that, Xu Liang ran into Lin Xiaoyu's uncle.
"Thanks so much, bro!"
Seeing Xu Liang's enthusiasm and helpfulness, his uncle politely said something to him.
"Thank you so much, Brother Xu. Thank you for taking care of me along the way."
It was exactly 6:30. Lin Xiaoyu's uncle looked at his watch and realized it was dinnertime.
Of course, Xu Liang also had a group of people escorting his niece.
He thought for a moment and decided to treat Xu Liang to a meal.
"Brother, I'm so grateful for the care you've given my niece along the way. How about this, it's lunchtime now, let me treat you to a meal, okay?"
Xu Liang knew that although he had indeed helped the man, he was a good person who didn't ask for anything in return. In addition, he saw that the man had a hard life, so he gave up the idea of eating with him.
I'll just find a noodle shop to eat at later and that'll be it.
"Brother, I appreciate your kindness, but I won't eat this meal. My family is waiting for me to come home for dinner; they've already cooked it."
Upon hearing this, he replied, "Alright then, I'll definitely treat you next time."
As he spoke, he wrote down his contact information on a small piece of paper and handed it to Xu Liang.
Xu Liang accepted it, and as they left, they said goodbye and thanked him once again.
Watching the figure disappear into the crowd, Xu Liang felt relieved, bent down, picked up the canvas bag at his feet, and followed the flow of people to the square in front of the train station.
The moment Xu Liang stepped out of the square, he saw the sunset, and the colorful clouds on the horizon were very beautiful.
The evening breeze in April refreshed him considerably.
The plaza in front of the station was still bustling with people.
Passengers hurried by.
The shouts of vendors, the jingling of bicycle bells, and the distant roar of buses mingled together.
Piecing together the diverse aspects of life in Tongchuan in 1995.
……
After spending the night at the small hotel, Xu Liang got up early.
Xu Liang strolled leisurely along the street in front of the station, where shops lined both sides of the street.
The walls are mostly mottled white-gray, and the signs are all hand-painted with rough and simple lettering, carrying a retro feel that belongs to this era.
Grocery stores, tailor shops, and grain and oil shops lined up in a row.
After walking about a hundred meters, a brand-new two-story building suddenly came into Xu Liang's view. The walls were painted entirely white, clean and brand new.
A huge red sign with white lettering stands on the rooftop, the lettering brand new and shiny.
There wasn't a single trace of fading, and it said "Tongchuan New Oriental Culinary School" on it.
Upon seeing these words, Xu Liang suddenly stopped in his tracks, his heart skipping a beat.
A sense of vicissitudes spanning more than several decades arose in my heart.
In his previous life, Xu Liang spent half his life wandering and destitute, and this school was his home.
It was the true starting point of his culinary career, and one of the few places where he spent his youth and poured out his passion.
In reality, no one is born a master of cooking.
Even though Xu Liang was reborn, his mind was filled with recipes, cooking skills, and restaurant experience from the decades before his rebirth.
Most importantly, it has to be his cheat code.
Ultimately, all of Xu Liang's basic skills, precise control of heat, understanding of ingredients, and underlying logic of seasoning all originated from this school.
In his previous life, he dropped out of school at a young age and accomplished nothing.
After graduating, I worked odd jobs in various places to make a living, including construction sites and assembly lines, but after going around in circles, I ended up back where I started.
He could never find a way to establish himself.
Seeing that his peers had already settled down, started families, and were living stable lives.
He was the only one living a salted fish life, day after day.
With nowhere else to turn, he gritted his teeth, saved up his meager savings, and came to Tongchuan alone, where he entered the New Oriental Culinary School.
As a young boy, he was full of stubbornness.
Xu Liang had no way out and no one to rely on. He could only hope to master solid culinary skills so that he could make a living with his skills in the future.
No longer needing to wander aimlessly, they can find a bit of peace in this world.
That was the only hope he desperately wanted to hold onto.
Xu Liang looked up and gazed quietly at the brand-new school gate in front of him.
The New Oriental Culinary School in 1995 had just been expanded and renovated.
The walls were snow-white and shiny, the iron school gate was painted with black paint, clean and tidy, and the sign at the entrance was brand new and eye-catching. Everything looked new.
But only Xu Liang knew that in a few years, this place would welcome batches of students with dreams of making a living. Some would achieve academic success and establish themselves in society, while others would graduate hastily and continue to drift aimlessly.
More than a decade later, with the rapid development of the times and the continuous updates of the catering industry, the relocation and renovation of the campus led to the demolition of all the old school buildings.
The traces of that time will be completely erased.
When he came here to study in his previous life, the school building was already old and dilapidated, with scratches and stains on the walls and peeling paint and rust on the doors and windows.
Everywhere are the marks of time, long gone, no longer as new and vibrant as they are now.
Now he has been reborn and returned, just as the school building has been newly completed. The grass and trees are still new and the buildings are intact, but although the things are not old, the people have long since dispersed.
Old friends are gone, and old stories are buried in the dust; this is perhaps the most helpless thing in the world: things change and people are no longer the same.
With a slight thought, Xu Liang lifted his foot and slowly walked into the campus through the open school gate.
Culinary schools in the 1990s lacked elaborate landscaping, standardized training buildings, and comprehensive recreational facilities; they were simply basic.
The courtyard is a flat cement open space with several rows of newly planted sycamore trees. The saplings are slender with tender green leaves, swaying gently in the wind.
On one side of the open space is a simple basketball court with a rough cement surface and no plastic coating. Two old basketball hoops stand at opposite ends of the court.
The teaching building is located in the very center of the campus. The two-story building is clean and white, with spacious and airy corridors. On the walls of the corridors, there are red slogans that exude a strong academic atmosphere.
Learn a skill, and you'll have a livelihood; earn a living through your craft, and you'll have a stable life.
The handwriting is strong, clear, and neat.
In this day and age, few people who come to learn culinary skills are driven by entrepreneurial dreams or industry ambitions; most are young people from ordinary, impoverished families.
Having failed in their studies, they only wanted to learn a practical skill to support their families and make a living in order to earn a living.
It's that simple, and there's really nothing else I need.
The sound of teachers lecturing from classrooms could be heard from time to time in the corridor, clearly audible through the doors and windows.
"Sichuan cuisine emphasizes that every dish has its own unique flavor and style. Cooking time and temperature are the foundation, while seasoning is the soul..."
"Stir-frying, sautéing, deep-frying, braising, and steaming—each method requires a different amount of heat."
The familiar voice of the lecture slipped into Xu Liang's ears.
In an instant, a sense of disorientation swept over my entire body, as if I had been transported back to the more than ten years I spent here in my previous life.
In his past life, Xu Liang also sat in this classroom, his back straight, his eyes fixed, diligently taking notes on every single point of knowledge the teacher spoke.
At that time, he knew his future was uncertain, and he cherished the hard-won learning opportunity.
While others slack off in class or play around in private, he diligently took notes and practiced repeatedly.
From the basic skills of chopping vegetables and tossing them in the wok, to the techniques of balancing meat and vegetables and harmonizing the five flavors, he honed his solid culinary skills bit by bit.
But life is cruel, even though he lost miserably.
When I was little, my parents often said that if I studied hard, I wouldn't suffer in the future, but that's not actually the case.
Before his rebirth, Xu Liang lived in an era of intense competition, where there was endless suffering.
He walked slowly down the corridor, where rows of training classrooms were neatly arranged on both sides.
The doors and windows were open, and the interior was clearly visible.
The standardized stainless steel stoves are neatly arranged, and the cutting boards, knives, and spatulas are placed in an orderly fashion.
The classroom was filled with young students, mostly teenagers around sixteen or seventeen years old.
Wearing uniform white training clothes, each of them had sharp eyes.
The master chef on the platform, with his gray hair and clean work clothes, was demonstrating the technique of stir-frying dishes with a spatula in his hand.
With a flick of the wrist, the wok was flipped, stir-fried, and seasoned with flair.
The rich aroma of ingredients wafted from the doors and windows, filling the entire corridor.
The children in the classroom gathered around the stove, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks.
They watched and learned intently, occasionally exchanging a few words in hushed tones, their spirits high and their enthusiasm genuine.
Xu Liang stood by the window, quietly watching the scene before him, a sense of vicissitude welling up in his eyes.
He knew this classroom intimately, every piece of kitchenware here, and the teaching methods employed.
In his previous life, he spent several years here.
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter; cold and heat come and go.
Every morning, I get up early to practice my knife skills and wok tossing. Radishes and potatoes are cut into even, thin strips and slices, and then repeatedly tossed in a pot of water, all to train my wrist stability.
During the day, we were given practical training sessions, from the simplest vegetable washing and cutting to complex Sichuan dishes. We practiced repeatedly, developing thick calluses on our hands, and burns and cuts were commonplace.
After the lights are turned off at night, while others are already resting and having fun, he will use the dim light in the corridor to repeatedly ponder the seasoning ratios and review the cooking techniques.
It was here that he met a group of like-minded classmates who eventually scattered and never crossed paths again.
Memories surged, and one after another, youthful and vibrant faces slowly surfaced in Xu Liang's mind.
The one who impressed me the most was a boy named Wang Hu. He was the same age as me, came from a rural area in northern Sichuan, and was honest, straightforward, hardworking, and genuine.
The two lived in the same eight-person dormitory room at that time, with their beds next to each other, spending every day together.
Wang Hu's family was even more impoverished than his. His parents were farmers, and he had many younger siblings. He dropped out of school early to make a living.
His biggest dream is to master cooking skills and open a small home-style restaurant in the future. He doesn't need to be rich and powerful; he just wants to live a stable life and support his family.
The two of them were exceptionally compatible back then.
Every day we would get up early to practice our basic skills, attend classes and do practical training together, eat the cheapest vegetarian dishes and rice in the cafeteria together, and at night, lying in bed, facing the dark ceiling, we would talk about our uncertain yet passionate futures.
They encouraged each other and promised to go out and explore together after they finished their studies.
The promises made in youth are sincere and devoid of any ulterior motives; their purity is truly moving.
But reality is never as we wish.
After graduation, life is full of ups and downs, and people drift through life.
At first, the two kept in touch frequently, sharing their work experiences and confiding their hardships in making a living.
As they grew older, they became busy with their own lives, and the pressures of life piled up. They struggled to make ends meet and their contact with each other gradually decreased.
Later, due to an unexpected incident, Wang Hu went to work in another city.
After several rounds of wandering, the two completely lost contact.
From now on, we will never meet again, like old friends who once stood shoulder to shoulder.
In the end, we were scattered to the ends of the earth, never to meet again in this life.
I wonder if he has now successfully opened a small restaurant as he wished?
Have you kept your youthful aspirations and lived a peaceful life?
Or perhaps, like in a past life, one has spent half a lifetime wandering, experiencing ups and downs.
As Xu Liang's thoughts wandered, another figure appeared before his eyes.
There was also the smartest kid in the class, named Zhou Qiang.
She is quick-witted, eloquent, and has an exceptional talent for cooking. She learns things very quickly and is the student most valued by all her teachers.
He was extremely ambitious and unwilling to spend his whole life making a living in a small restaurant. He always said that he wanted to master his skills, go to big restaurants in big cities, become an executive chef, and make a name for himself.
In his youth, he was full of vigor and ambition, his eyes gleaming with determination, convinced that he would eventually rise above others.
However, I overheard in my previous life that Zhou Qiang did indeed smoothly enter a high-end restaurant after graduation and rose through the ranks.
At a young age, he secured the position of head chef and enjoyed a period of great success.
However, he was young and ambitious, and his mind was restless. He could not resist temptations, picked up bad habits, and indulged in pleasure. He had no interest in studying cooking, and his skills gradually deteriorated. In the end, he was dismissed by the five-star hotel.
He later worked in several restaurants, but could never settle down and his career took a downturn.
His life was full of ups and downs, and in the end, he failed to live up to his extraordinary talent and his youthful ambitions.
There was also the youngest boy in the dormitory, who was introverted and shy, and didn't like to talk, but was extremely obsessed with the opposite side of the table.
While others were busy practicing hot dishes and studying seasoning, he focused on making various kinds of pastries day after day, such as steamed buns, flatbreads, and cakes, repeatedly refining his techniques.
He always said that hot dishes are ever-changing and highly competitive, so it's better to focus on pastry making.
A simple and stable life, living a down-to-earth life, is the best.
Later, I heard that he returned to his hometown early, took over the family's small noodle shop, and lived a quiet, ordinary life in the city, completely disappearing into the crowd.
A classroom, dozens of teenagers.
At that time, everyone's eyes shone with hope, and they cherished the simplest and purest dreams.
Everyone possesses a skill, believing that this will enable them to weather any storm in the world.
But once you leave campus and enter society, you realize that making a living is never easy.
A skill can provide a livelihood, but it may not necessarily relieve worries.
Some people work diligently their whole lives but end up living an ordinary life; some are exceptionally talented but falter halfway through; some are full of vigor but are eventually worn down by life.
A group of people who chased their dreams side by side in their youth eventually scattered to the four corners of the earth, embarking on completely different lives.
From then on, we were separated by vast distances, never to see each other again.
Xu Liang leaned against the corridor wall, looking at the energetic and diligent students in the classroom, a faint sigh lingering in his eyes.
The school building in front of me is brand new, and the classrooms, stoves, desks and chairs, and teachers are all exactly the same as I remember it from the beginning.
The buildings remain old, the plants and trees are renewed, the courses continue, and the teachings remain as they were.
But those enthusiastic young people from back then have long since gone their separate ways and disappeared into the long river of time.
When he first stepped into this place in his past life, he had nothing and was lost about his future. It was this small campus that taught him a skill to make a living and gave him the confidence to face life. Every cooking technique, every ingredient handling logic, and every seasoning idea he learned here was the only reliable foundation he had built during his half-life of wandering in his past life, a foundation he had never abandoned.
It can be said that without the New Oriental Culinary School, there would be no Xu Liang who later struggled to make a living and barely survived by relying on his culinary skills, nor would there be the Xu Liang who has been reborn and returned to support his family business and start a restaurant business with his culinary skills.
This is where he first developed his culinary skills, the starting point of his ordinary life, and where his most genuine youth and struggles are hidden.
However, in this world, nothing is more difficult to escape the fact that things change and people change.
Today, the school buildings have been renovated and look brand new, and generations of energetic students are constantly being introduced.
But that era that belonged to him has long since come to an end and can never be replicated.
My classmates who were once by my side day and night, and my teachers who gave me their earnest guidance, have long since scattered among the crowds and disappeared without a trace.
The naive, clumsy, and resentful self of yesteryear, desperately trying to turn things around, has long since been worn away by the passage of time.
Xu Liang, who studied here in his previous life, was self-conscious, down on his luck, and confused. He was in a sorry state and desperately sought a way out.
Now reborn, Xu Liang's life trajectory has been completely rewritten, and fortunately, heaven still takes pity on him.
He returned with half a lifetime of experience, reborn and no longer lost.
With the solid culinary skills he learned here, he opened a small restaurant, gained a foothold, and rewrote the lives of his family and himself.
The old-fashioned clock at the end of the corridor rang again, its clear sound pulling Xu Liang back to reality.
Although the old friends have scattered and the old events have passed, the trials and tribulations and efforts have never been in vain.
Back then, I honed my skills here day after day, refining my fundamental techniques and memorizing the essence of Sichuan cuisine.
His thorough understanding of the intricacies of ingredients has become ingrained in his very being, shaping his current entrepreneurial journey.
This chance look back is not about dwelling on the past or lamenting regrets, but about making peace with the struggling self of the past.
All the hardships, struggles, and diligent efforts of the past life were for the sake of living towards the sun in this life, where every step is filled with blooming flowers.
The past is but a prologue; the future holds great promise.
He is no longer the penniless, lost youth struggling to survive.
Xu Liang has a home to return to, family to accompany him, a skill to make a living, and a career to pursue.
This trip to Tongchuan to find wild potatoes and develop signature dishes marks a new starting point for his catering career.
He wants to rely on his skills to preserve the local flavor of life, create his own restaurant brand, and walk his own path to a stable and fulfilling life.
To make up for all the regrets of my past life.
Unfulfilled expectations lead to a fulfilling life.
No more wasting time or squandering precious moments.
Finally, Xu Liang glanced back at the bustling teaching building, turned around, and walked out of the gate of New Oriental Culinary School.