With such high-quality ingredients and a handsome son who shows up at the shop every weekend, it’s no wonder the The Carter Family’s braised pork business is thriving. But Mr. Carter insists on selling only one hundred pieces of braised pork each day, strictly limiting the quantity of all side dishes as well. Once they’re sold out, the shop closes—he absolutely refuses to bow to money.

Mrs. Carter has argued with Mr. Carter about this countless times, but Mr. Carter always smiles and says, “Wife, you can never earn all the money in the world. Didn’t that guy named Ma say it? Earning twenty or thirty thousand a month brings the most happiness.”

“Besides, if we take good care of ourselves, isn’t that lightening our son’s burden? When your son gets married and has grandkids, won’t we need good health to enjoy our family?”

Whenever Mr. Carter talks about looking after grandkids in the future, Mrs. Carter stops arguing and shifts her attention to their son.

David Carter thinks his dad is a philosopher, someone who really understands life. But there’s one thing Dad just doesn’t get: your son is so handsome, so many girls like him, choosing who to marry is a real problem. It’s hard for me... I don’t want to break anyone’s heart...

“You finally chose to intern at Jiuzhou Dingshi?”

Mr. Carter took a sip of his liquor—his daily habit after closing up shop. One or two shots a day, not too much, not too little. Supposedly, it’s healthier than not drinking at all.

“Yeah.” David Carter nodded. Comrade Old Harris was a regular customer at their place, always coming by for some braised pork. He’d probably already reported everything to Dad.

“Old Harris says you’re being reckless.”

Mr. Carter put down his glass and glanced at his son. “Even though I’m just a small-time braised pork shop owner, I’ve heard of Jiuzhou Dingshi. For an intern from a technical school like you, even a level-three chef there is just a gofer.

Old Harris has a point. Jiuzhou Dingshi values its reputation and would never go easy on interns. Their standards are way higher than other internship platforms...

If you don’t meet the standards, you’ll have to repeat a year at school. Are you really sure about this? Old Harris said it’s not too late to change your mind...

Hey, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Seeing his son silent, Mr. Carter started to worry. This kid’s got issues—you can’t push him. It’s better to let his mom do the persuading.

Mrs. Carter smiled and said, “My son is even more handsome now. He finished up an hour and a half early today...”

“Wife, we’re talking about our son’s internship, why are you changing the subject?”

“Son, have all the girls in your class fallen for you? Haven’t you dated one or two? When are you going to bring one home for Mom to meet?”

“……”

David Carter was speechless. Dad and Mom were up to their old tricks—one always wanted to control his career, the other his love life.

He quickly stood up and said, “Mom, Dad, I’m full. I’m going to wash the pork...”

He was in a bad mood. If this conversation went on, he’d probably get depressed. The doctor said that work is honorable, and it helps keep the illness at bay.

Watching David Carter walk away, Mr. Carter frowned and said, “You’re such a spendthrift, always praising your son’s looks but never trying to talk sense into him. Going to intern at Jiuzhou Dingshi—isn’t that just asking for trouble!”

“My son takes after me—he’s handsome...”

Mrs. Carter was still smiling. “Why should I talk him out of it? My son choosing to intern at Jiuzhou Dingshi shows ambition! Should he just be a nobody like you all his life?

Just wait and see! Sooner or later, all those so-called special-grade and first-grade chefs, all those Michelin-starred masters, will be falling at my son’s feet...” (There’s no more special-grade or first-grade now; the equivalents are technician and senior technician.)

Mr. Carter burst out laughing. “Wife, your son isn’t some stunning beauty. What do you mean, ‘falling at his feet’? That’s not the right expression.”

“What do you know? I mean they’ll all be falling at my son’s apron strings!”

Chapter 004: Master-Level Vegetable Washing

The most basic skill for a chef is washing vegetables, but in modern times, it’s often overlooked.

It’s understandable, really. Modern kitchens are highly specialized, with areas like ‘stove’, ‘hot kitchen’, ‘prep’, ‘butchery’, and ‘sink’. The head chefs in the back kitchen don’t even handle the prep, let alone wash vegetables themselves.

The chef class at Qingxiang Technical School doesn’t teach vegetable washing either. The proud ‘Comrade Old Harriss’ believe their students are destined to be masters at the stove—how could they amount to anything if they’re always hanging around the sink?

This damn system’s first newbie gift turned out to be ‘Master-Level Vegetable Washing’. If it weren’t for a bit of curiosity, David Carter would have been so mad he’d get sick. Isn’t the system looking down on him? He’s a top student who studied culinary arts at Qingxiang for three years, and this is the skill he gets?

Thanks to Mr. Carter’s philosophical insistence, there isn’t much pork to wash each day. The Carter Family’s braised pork is thick, but each piece is only about 150 grams. To make a hundred pieces, they need just over thirty pounds of pork. Tom Brooks, the pork supplier, knows the size of The Carter Family’s braised pork and already preps the pork belly into three-pound slabs. After washing, it’s simply cut into ten pieces.