Ever since learning that Mr. Carter also wasn’t too supportive of David Carter interning at Jiuzhou Dingshi, Brian Harris started scheming in his mind, preparing to put in some effort for the The Carter Family. That old Carter just can’t owe anyone a favor—maybe if he gets grateful enough, he’ll make pig’s trotters and invite him over, saving him the money for a meal.

“Thinking of mooching my pig’s trotters again?”

Mr. Carter looked at Brian Harris warily and shook his head, saying, “Forget it. My son is ambitious, that’s why he chooses to face challenges head-on. As parents, we can barely support him fast enough—how could we possibly hold him back?

Both his mother and I have decided: this time, we support our son’s choice.”

Brian Harris has had two major pursuits in his life: eating free meals, and teaching students with a 100% graduation rate.

So he felt he ought to do something for David Carter, this stubborn student.

Grabbing David Carter, who had just finished washing up and walked out of his room, Brian Harris scolded him with a smile, “You rascal, since you’ve already decided to intern at Jiuzhou Dingshi, as your teacher, I can’t just stand by. How about this… I’ll give you some info about the Jiuzhou Dingshi kitchen, so you don’t end up running around like a headless chicken when you get there.”

David Carter frowned slightly. Old Harris was famous for being long-winded, and besides, would knowing all this info even help? He was going to intern in the kitchen, not fight a war—did he need to gather military intelligence? But he couldn’t resist Old Harris’s enthusiasm, so he just half-heartedly went along.

Old Harris spoke so loudly that both Mr. Carter and Mrs. Carter could hear every word, and he really was extremely long-winded. He talked from the Jiuzhou Dingshi front desk all the way to the kitchen, from the ‘water station’ to the ‘chopping board’, ‘ingredient runner’, ‘hot dish station’, ‘stove’ and other major divisions, even including many ‘historical stories’ and gossip from the Jiuzhou Dingshi kitchen.

After all, as an old hand at Qingxiang, Old Harris was a well-known figure in Chudu’s hospitality industry. The information he gave, though some true and some false, was still somewhat useful—just way too long-winded.

At first, David Carter nodded along, but gradually he started to get annoyed. When he saw Tom Brooks delivering some meat, he found an excuse to go wash the meat.

Ever since he got this crazy Chef God system, washing vegetables had become his best way to calm his mind—better than any special medicine.

Old Harris knew this student too well. When this guy started rolling his eyes frequently, it meant he was about to lose it, so he wisely shut up right away. Anyway, he’d already received thanks from Mr. Carter and Mrs. Carter, and as he was leaving, Mr. Carter even called out, “Old Harris, come over for pig’s trotters tomorrow night! I’ll make the braised ones myself!”

“Hey, sounds good!”

Brian Harris was instantly overjoyed. Eating free meals at the The Carter Family was his life’s greatest pursuit—his sense of purpose in life all depended on Mr. Carter’s pig’s trotters.

Chapter 006: The Slightly Odd Intern Dog

Jiuzhou Dingshi is the only five-star hotel in Su Province that carries a five-star sign but doesn’t do lodging—only dining.

In an era when five-star hotels are all moving toward comprehensive operations, Jiuzhou Dingshi’s persistence commands the respect of its peers. Behind this persistence lies a strength far surpassing the competition.

The Dingshi Building’s first to eighth floors are restaurants, each corresponding to one of the eight major Chinese cuisines: Lu, Chuan, Yue, Su, Zhe, Min, Xiang, and Hui. The ninth to sixteenth floors are the massive back kitchen. Each cuisine has a renowned head chef in charge—huge and detailed, with power seemingly dispersed but actually highly centralized. These eight head chefs are known as the ‘Eight Dings’ of Jiuzhou Dingshi, each holding a technician’s qualification, equivalent to the former Special Grade 2 Chef.

As for senior technicians, most have been recruited by top hotels in Beijing and Shanghai as their treasures, and it’s extremely difficult for Jiuzhou Dingshi to bring them in.

Huilongwo is only five or six bus stops from the Dingshi Building. David Carter got off the bus and walked a bit to arrive, with more than ten minutes to spare before check-in.

According to the internship check-in instructions, he took the elevator straight to a certain room on the ninth floor. David Carter realized he wasn’t early—there were already several interns gathered in the room.

With a quick glance, sure enough, there were no fellow Qingxiang students.

David Carter’s good looks did catch the attention of two female interns, but the girls’ feelings were clearly complicated at the moment. They snuck a few glances at him and whispered a bit, but that was it—after all, today was the first day of the internship, and everyone was a bit nervous.

After a few minutes, more new intern dogs arrived. Some were schoolmates, and the atmosphere became lively.

Listening to their conversation, there were even students from ‘Shicheng Culinary Vocational School’ and ‘Gusu Technical School’, both top-ranked schools in the industry. No wonder they had the confidence to intern at Jiuzhou Dingshi.

The internship at Jiuzhou Dingshi is notoriously tough, but if you make it through, it’s a thick credential—like being gilded. Not every school’s teachers are like Brian Harris, lacking confidence and only aiming for a 100% graduation rate.

After all the intern dogs had arrived, it was more than half an hour before William Green finally walked in, frowning. He swept a glance over the interns—damn it! He had to do this dirty, tiring job again!

Unlike the ‘Eight Dings’ who run the place, although he was also a technician, he wasn’t under any of the head chefs of the major cuisines.

He was a pastry chef, in charge of the ‘Breakfast Department’, which was independent from the main cuisines’ pastry sections.

The pastry sections of the eight major cuisines never lacked work, but his Breakfast Department was a bit awkward.