Chapter 110: To Accept or Not to Accept?

If He Yuzhu were an ordinary teenager, he might have been able to squeeze in, but this young man looked like a grown man, so there was no way to accommodate him.

"If you have enough room at your home, I won't look for another place," He Yuzhu said. "If you don't, I'll have to trouble you, Uncle, to help me find a reliable broker, and I'll rent a place myself."

"Okay." Yuan Tianhong immediately agreed. "Then I'll take you to see it after the lunch break."

"Thank you, Senior Uncle!" Since he hadn't formally become a disciple yet, He Yuzhu still used this form of address.

When the lunch service ended, Yuan Tianhong led He Yuzhu away from Huifanglou.

After searching for a while, He Yuzhu finally settled on a small courtyard not far from the restaurant.

The courtyard was very small, with only one main house, one side room, and a small kitchen.

He didn't want to live in a crowded and chaotic courtyard; this secluded courtyard suited his taste perfectly.

The monthly rent was two silver dollars. He Yuzhu signed the lease very readily and saw the broker off.

Yuan Tianhong couldn't help but worry and asked him if he had enough money. The job hadn't even started yet, and he was already renting an expensive house. This kid seemed to be spending money too recklessly.

"Don't worry, Uncle-Master," He Yuzhu reassured him. "My mother gave me plenty of money when I left home, enough to stay for several months. Besides, we don't have to spend any money to eat at the shop."

"You silly child..." Yuan Tianhong shook his head and smiled, "Then you tidy up the house yourself today, and I'll take you to see the house in a couple of days!"

"Okay! Got it!" He Yuzhu replied quickly.

"Do you still remember the way back to Huifanglou?"

"Remember it well!"

"I'll head back now. Remember to come on time tomorrow morning."

"I'll see my senior apprentice off!"

After seeing Yuan Tianhong off, He Yuzhu tidied up the house briefly.

He then went out, found a secluded corner where no one was around, took out a roll of bedding from his personal storage space, and carried it back to the courtyard.

He then went out again, this time buying daily necessities such as a washbasin and a kettle.

As for pots and pans, he didn't bring any—he was alone and didn't plan to come back to cook.

That night, he slept soundly in his newly rented little house.

The next morning, he arrived at Huifanglou on time.

When Yuan Tianhong arrived, they first took him to handle the onboarding procedures.

Next, Yuan Tianhong introduced He Yuzhu to everyone in the kitchen and assigned him a stove position so that he could familiarize himself with the environment.

He Yuzhu didn't sit idle either; he carefully looked through all the dishes on the menu.

He silently memorized everything he knew how to do, and even specifically instructed the waiters to pay close attention to avoid delivering the wrong orders and delaying the guests' meals.

He then began preparing the ingredients and chopping them himself.

Yuan Tianhong took some time to come and check on him once. He saw that he did not stop working like some people who had worked three shifts, nor did he order others around. He just worked steadily and diligently. Yuan Tianhong couldn't help but nod in approval.

When customers started arriving at noon, He Yuzhu was initially very idle, unusually idle—not a single order landed on his stove.

The situation only changed abruptly when the other chefs were too busy to handle the orders and passed them on to him.

Once his dishes were served, they received rave reviews from the guests, and his stove instantly became as busy as a battlefield.

He couldn't care less about tasks like cutting and preparing food, so later the kitchen brought in two people specifically to assist him.

He flipped the wok so fast that sparks flew from the stove, and he didn't even have time to drink a sip of water.

After lunch, even though he had superhuman stamina, he felt a bit tired.

The shopkeeper, Mr. Bai, even came in specially—because there were significantly more customers ordering vegetarian dishes that day than usual, and most of them were following the orders placed by other tables.

Upon entering, Manager Bai was secretly pleased to find that most of the orders had been placed in He Yuzhu's kitchen. He thought to himself, "Yesterday's decision was absolutely right. It would be such a waste to send such a talented person to learn the basics of chopping."

The situation was similar in the evening.

After the market closed, Manager Bai came again and had a special talk with He Yuzhu.

He decided to make an exception and give He Yuzhu a small share of the kitchen—a privilege that new kitchen staff were not entitled to.

At the same time, he also told He Yuzhu to hold back a bit, otherwise the other chefs at Sanzao might not have a way to make a living.

When He Yuzhu gets busy, he really doesn't consider the feelings of others.

Only after Manager Bai's reminder did he realize that the way others looked at him did indeed carry a hint of resentment—he had been far too eye-catching and attention-grabbing today.

He Yuzhu quickly agreed and selected a few of his best dishes from the menu he had looked at that morning as his signature dishes.

For the other dishes, they indicated that they would no longer accept orders unless the kitchen was too busy to handle the demand.

Manager Bai nodded in satisfaction, and the other chefs from the three kitchens also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If He Yuzhu weren't still learning how to cook halal meat, with his skills, he could easily be assigned to the second kitchen, so why would he need to compete with them for these jobs?

He Yuzhu's outstanding performance was naturally noticed by the other chefs in the kitchen.

Their minds began to race, but since He Yuzhu had come specifically to see Yuan Tianhong with a letter from home, they couldn't just approach him directly to ask questions.

In the following days, He Yuzhu was not as busy as before.

However, any customer who has eaten his cooking will still specifically request him to cook, which is unavoidable, and the other chefs at the three stoves can't find any fault with it.

A week passed, and Chef Bai and Chef Ma couldn't stand it anymore, so they went directly to Yuan Tianhong.

"Old Yuan, are you going to accept He Yuzhu or not?" Chef Bai asked first.

"Yeah, are you going to take him in or not?" Chef Ma chimed in.

"What, whether I take on apprentices or not is none of your business?" Yuan Tianhong felt they were meddling in his affairs, so his tone became rather unfriendly.

"If they came from your proper apprenticeship, we naturally have no say in the matter," Chef Bai said bluntly. "But if you don't accept He Yuzhu, then the two of us will."

He is over fifty years old and has taken in many apprentices, but the best one he has yet to reach is only at the level of the second-best.

He had personally tasted the dishes He Yuzhu made and felt that if this kid could learn the true skills, his future achievements would definitely surpass his own.

"Yes!" Chef Ma thought so too. Chefs also have pride. Having an outstanding apprentice makes them proud.

"What? You're clearly stealing my apprentice!" Yuan Tianhong was immediately displeased upon hearing this.

"Don't put it so harshly. You didn't make him offer tea to his master, nor did you make him perform the apprenticeship ceremony. What kind of master is that? Besides, what skill did he learn from you?" Chef Bai said quietly from the side.

"Who said I'm not planning to accept it?"

"Accept? Then why have you been leaving them hanging? I think you're just deliberately not wanting to accept."

"I just wanted to investigate further!"

"Heh, if you keep investigating like this, then we two old men won't be so polite. We've also taken a liking to this child."

Chef Ma calmly took over the conversation.

How could you do this?

Yuan Tianhong knew that even the best of his apprentices were still honing their skills in the third workshop, and none of them were yet capable of standing on their own.

"Who wouldn't want a good prospect?"

Chef Bai took a step forward immediately, his tone filled with unwavering insistence.

"He's the disciple I chose first, none of you can take him away."

Yuan Tianhong's eyes widened as he scanned the two men's faces.

"Whether he's your apprentice or not is still uncertain. Let's call the child over and ask him face to face. If you can teach him, surely we can teach him too?"

Chef Ma, still smiling, spoke slowly.

"Go ahead and ask. I just don't believe it. His father is my junior brother. I asked him to come and become my disciple. Do you think he would turn around and recognize someone else as his master?"

The three immediately called He Yuzhu over. Looking at their confrontational, cockfighting-like posture, He Yuzhu was puzzled: "What's going on with the three chefs...?"

"Zhu Zi, we two old men want to take you as our apprentice!"

Before Yuan Tianhong could even speak, Master Bai, who was the most impatient, had already spoken first.

"Are you two... going to take me in together?"

"Huh? What do you mean, 'collect them all at once'?"

These words stunned the two head chefs. They had never heard of anyone apprenticing under two masters and learning the same skill.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you two were planning to take on apprentices together."

He Yuzhu quickly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed, offering his apologies.

The two chefs exchanged a glance, each pondering their next move.

He Yuzhu's question was quite insightful. Could it be that he really intended to have two masters at the same time?

"Why worship them? If you're going to worship anyone, you should worship me first!"

Yuan Tianhong hurriedly spoke, his tone revealing anxiety.

"Senior Uncle, what kind of act are you three putting on?"

He Yuzhu's face was full of confusion as he asked in bewilderment.

"What else could it be? Two old guys fighting over a disciple."

"snort!"

"This is called letting Zhu Zi choose for himself, how can it be called stealing? Zhu Zi, tell me yourself, what are you thinking?"

"Well... I'll be frank then. If there's anything in my words that's offensive or offensive to the three of you, I'll first bow and apologize."

He Yuzhu clasped his hands in a respectful gesture once again.

"Tell me, I'd like to hear what you have to say about it."

The oldest chef, Chef Bai, spoke slowly, his voice carrying a scrutinizing tone.

"Okay, then I'll tell you."

"Speak."

Chef Ma and Yuan Tianhong said almost in unison.

"Well, I'd like to ask first, are the signature dishes of the three of you the same?"

"How could they possibly be the same!"

Chef Bai immediately shook his head and said.