Old Harris was extremely agitated, and his spittle was about to spray onto David Carter's face.

　　What did I, Old Harris, ever do to deserve this? All I wanted was for the whole class to graduate smoothly and get a full, proper year-end bonus. But you, kid, just have to go looking for thrills, don’t you? You little brat!

　　David Carter stared steadily at Old Harris for a while, then said unhurriedly, “My mom says that a real man faces challenges head-on. Even if I’m up against the grand banquet of Jiuzhou, I won’t back down!”

　　Come on, since the system really exists, there’s no way David Carter would give up now. Who knows if the system, once activated, would just disappear if he changed his mind? Sure, he had depression, but it wasn’t like he was lacking in intelligence.

　　“You…”

　　Brian Harris’s expression changed. Suddenly, he remembered that this student was a special case, and using forceful methods probably wouldn’t work. He’d have to try a softer approach, so he switched to a smile and said, “Student Carter, what your mother said is absolutely right. But, while we don’t fear challenges, we also need to be prepared for them!

　　Facing the demanding Jiuzhou Grand Banquet, are you sure you’re ready? Listen to your teacher…”

　　“No need.”

　　David Carter shook his head. “It’s settled. The Jiuzhou Grand Banquet is just right for me!”

　　Old Harris glared at David Carter for a long time, then finally let out a long sigh and patted David Carter on the shoulder. “I hope you succeed! If one day you become a top chef at the Jiuzhou Grand Banquet, don’t forget to tell everyone you know that I, Brian Harris, was your teacher!”

　　With that, he burst out laughing. “You little brat, even though you’re a pain, I have to admit—you’ve got guts! Well done!”

Chapter 003: Braised Pork

　　Qingxiang Technical School is quite influential in Su Province. Once Qingxiang students choose their internship platform, they’re basically never rejected—the so-called application is just a formality.

　　So after submitting the application form, you can get ready to leave school. David Carter only took some personal belongings from the dorm; as for bedding and such, there was no need to bring it home. If the younger students wanted to use it, they could; if not, the school would just recycle it and sell it to the scrap yard.

　　While other dorms were saying their goodbyes, David Carter was all alone. Because of his illness, the school hadn’t assigned anyone else to share a room with him, so when it was time to leave, he could just walk away without any long, emotional farewells.

　　He left school on Friday and wouldn’t report to Jiuzhou Grand Banquet until the following Monday, so he could go home for the weekend. Only in the eyes of his parents was he a normal person—home was his only real attachment.

　　David Carter was a true native of Chudu City. Back in his grandfather’s day, the family had a courtyard house of over 400 square meters in Huilongwo. Now, Huilongwo had long since become a “historic residential area,” with rows of brand-new “ancient buildings” attracting plenty of tourists.

　　After their house was demolished, the family first moved to the south district by Yunlong Lake, but after several moves, they ended up buying another courtyard house near Huilongwo. Both his parents were businesspeople, and with years of savings plus the demolition compensation, they were fairly well-off. They also bought a storefront nearby, specializing in Chudu’s famous dish, “braised pork.”

　　Tracing its origins, braised pork was originally a famous snack from Quancheng in Lu Province. Later, it was introduced to Chudu, and after generations of local adaptation, it became a signature Chudu snack.

　　Braised pork is all about thick, four-finger-wide slices, half a finger thick, with three layers of pork belly stacked together. The texture is just right—tender but not greasy. It’s richer than plain boiled pork, but less oily than Dongpo pork. Paired with side dishes like dried tofu, kelp bundles, wheat gluten, meatballs, lantern-shaped pork with peppers, and served with top-quality rice, it’s simply a delicacy on earth!

　　David Carter’s family’s shop wasn’t far from the “historic residential area” of Huilongwo, so business was always good. It was lunchtime, and there was already a line of customers waiting.

　　Seeing his mom busy serving food, David Carter put down his luggage, rolled up his sleeves, and went to help. He was very skilled at this—serving food quickly and calculating bills cleanly and efficiently. If it weren’t for his cool, icy expression, he’d probably be the most popular young boss around.

　　Mrs. Carter glanced at her son and gave her husband a look—since their son was back, they could close up early today…

　　With a handsome son serving at the counter, they could close at least an hour earlier.

　　Mrs. Carter was already used to this. Sure enough, not long after her son started serving, a bunch of young ladies and girls appeared out of nowhere in front of the shop. Normally, they’d be the ones saying they didn’t like meat and wanted to lose weight, but now they were ordering two or three pieces of braised pork at a time, just to have an excuse to hang around her son and chat a bit more…

　　The braised pork shop did great business, because The Carter Family’s braised pork didn’t rely on heavy sauces or strong flavors, but insisted on using the simplest methods to bring out the original taste of the meat.

　　So aside from soy sauce, salt, scallions, and ginger, The Carter Family’s braised pork didn’t use many spices—at most, just a bit of Sichuan peppercorn and star anise, and even the amount of star anise was strictly controlled by Mr. Carter.

　　Mr. Carter firmly believed that spices should always play a supporting role—letting the supporting role overshadow the main one was absolutely unacceptable.

　　Not relying too much on spices meant they had to be strict about the pork itself. The Carter Family didn’t use any fancy organic black pork, but always chose top-quality pork belly from the meat processing plant, and it had to be fresh.