Chef at the University Canteen

Chapter 551 - 293: Now It’s Settled, Just as You Wished!

Of course, Jiangzhou University isn’t bad either; after all, it’s the only "211" university in the province, and it does have some strength.

But it just happens to be right at the doorstep!

What kind of shock did our son suffer that he would even overlook his long-desired dream of "flying far away"?

As soon as his mother heard, her face lit up with joy, her eyes even sparkled, as she exclaimed happily:

"Son! Did you really apply to Jiangzhou University? I knew it, you surely wouldn’t want to be too far from mom, this is wonderful!"

Yao Pinghua replied glumly:

"Yeah, isn’t this exactly what you’ve always wanted? Now it’s just as you wished!"

"Silly boy, staying close to home is great, you won’t even have to worry about buying a ticket to come home for the holidays!"

His mom said with a grin,

"Besides, if you want to explore and have a look around, you can go anywhere you want during the winter and summer breaks."

She honestly hadn’t thought that far ahead; as long as her son stayed somewhere not too far from her, that was good news.

At this moment, she even felt a bit "fortunate," thankful that her son didn’t perform too well in the college entrance exam this time. If he had scored too high, even if she wanted him to stay at Jiang University, it might not have been possible.

After all, she couldn’t just deliberately stop her son from pursuing a better university because she couldn’t bear for him to leave—that would be too selfish.

Of course, this kind of joy, like a mouse sneaking some oil, had to be hidden in her heart; she absolutely didn’t dare to show it.

Otherwise, if her son really found out, wouldn’t being a mom be incredibly embarrassing?

"What made you suddenly decide to apply to Jiangzhou University?"

While his mom was overjoyed, Lao Yao still couldn’t quite understand, pondering aloud,

"Actually, with your grades, you could give schools like Xiamen University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, and Jinmen University a try. Comparatively, these universities are much more renowned than Jiangzhou University; plus, the employment opportunities after graduating are quite broad."

Pausing for a moment, he remembered his son’s earlier mention of the "Biological Sciences program" and continued,

"Moreover, Jiangzhou University’s Biological Sciences isn’t particularly strong. If you truly want to study this program, it’d be better to aim for schools like Xia University or Han University.

Xia University’s Biological Sciences ranks seventh nationally, while Han University’s ranks around tenth. The key point is, Han University has a relatively low admission score in Jiangzhou. If I remember correctly, last year a student got admitted with just 608 points."

Though Lao Yao didn’t care much about which university his son attended, getting into a better one would clearly benefit his future development.

As for his son’s mom only thinking about keeping him nearby...

It’s a classic case of the loving mother ruining her child!

He couldn’t even be bothered to comment on her!

"Dad, you’re behind the times."

Yao Pinghua glanced at Lao Yao with a hint of surprise. He hadn’t expected that while his dad appeared indifferent to him, he actually was paying attention.

Surprisingly, Lao Yao’s words revealed that, though he never openly said much, he did care a lot about him inside.

Otherwise, how could he know so much about those universities’ program rankings?

Thinking about this, Yao Pinghua couldn’t help but feel moved, even his usual stiff tone softened considerably,

"The Jiang University School of Life Sciences made a new move earlier this year, hiring an internationally acclaimed expert in Biological Sciences from one of the world’s top hundred universities.

It’s said that this expert is remarkable, a prominent figure in international Biological Sciences, and both Shuimu and Jing University are quite envious.

Oh right, Jiang University held a Biological Sciences seminar earlier this year, which attracted experts and scholars from various top domestic universities, including Shuimu and Jing University, in this field.

I also heard that after this seminar, an old professor from Huazhong Agricultural University was so impressed by this newly hired expert that he voluntarily approached Jiang University’s leadership, expressing his desire to stay and teach at Jiang University while collaborating with this expert to explore the latest fields in Biological Sciences."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Hearing this, Lao Yao became interested; he straightened up and quickly asked,

"Do you know the name of this visiting expert? Which university did he come from?"

"I think it was some university in Great Britain, but I can’t recall the name."

Yao Pinghua scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed as he said,

"I remember all this information was in the school brochures given to us by Jiang University during our campus visit. I don’t know where my copy went, but if you’re interested, Dad, I can get one from a classmate tomorrow for you to take a look."

"Alright, good."

Lao Yao nodded and said to Yao Pinghua,

"If it’s really as you said, with this newly hired professor from Jiang University being a notable figure in international Biological Sciences, he’s bound to be among the top tier of experts and scholars domestically.

We’ll set aside that old professor from Huazhong Agricultural University; with such a prominent scholar coming to Jiang University, it’s likely that in a short time, he’ll naturally attract a host of Biological Sciences experts and scholars, as well as numerous talents.

Maybe in just a few years, Jiang University’s Biological Sciences program will advance rapidly in all aspects, quickly becoming one of the top programs nationally, a flagship at Jiang University."

He looked up at his son with a beaming smile and said,

"Of course, even if this doesn’t have much to do with you right now, if a few years down the line you decide to pursue further studies, it would be like ’being near the water to get the first moon.’ At least it’ll be much easier for you to apply for grad school than graduates from other universities.

But really, I still don’t quite understand. As you mentioned, this visiting expert came from a top hundred world university, and has a stellar reputation in the international Biological Sciences field...

For such an international academic luminary, even elite domestic universities like Shuimu and Jing University would probably be eager to have him, right?

So what exactly did Jiang University use to attract him to come here?"

Seeing the puzzled look on his dad’s face, Yao Pinghua almost laughed out loud but held back, feeling quite pleased with himself.

His dad would certainly never figure it out: what attracted this visiting expert to Jiang University wasn’t the beautiful scenery or its research strength...

But because of Jiang University’s Seventh Dining Hall!

Yes!

It was because the food made by Boss Xiao Jiang at the Seventh Dining Hall was so delicious that it kept the visiting expert coming back, unwilling to leave; in the end, he decisively resigned from his teaching position abroad to return to Huaxia and joined Jiang University!

It’s said that it’s not just this visiting professor who chose to stay at Jiang University because of the food at the Seventh Dining Hall, but there’s also allegedly a national high jump athlete from the School of Sports!

Of course, these things, Yao Pinghua certainly wouldn’t mention to his parents. When the new school year starts, he’ll take his parents to the Seventh Dining Hall to taste Boss Xiao Jiang’s cooking, and everything will become clear, right?

As Yao Pinghua was mulling this over, his mom, who was starting to get a little impatient, turned her head and gave Lao Yao an irritated look, saying:

"How Jiang University managed to retain this foreign expert is none of your business; do you expect them to report to Chairman Yao?

You’re just worrying about irrelevant things!

Our son hasn’t even been out for a single day this summer, and now that we’ve finally settled on a school, shouldn’t you start getting things ready? Once we’ve submitted the online application in a couple of days, I’m taking him to Bali to relax!"

"You’re taking him on a trip, what do I need to prepare?"

Lao Yao was taken aback, scratching his head in confusion.

His mom immediately looked like she was about to smack her forehead in disbelief:

"And you call yourself a father, saying something like that?

Don’t you need to prepare the round-trip tickets for the two of us? Do you think going to Bali is free? Get the money ready!"

Listening to his mom’s nagging, Yao Pinghua gave his dad a sympathetic glance, quickly stood up from the dining table, and slipped back into his room.

He used to be quite interested in going to Bali, but now he couldn’t care less about that place. He’d rather eat a few more meals at the Seventh Dining Hall.

These days, he’s been browsing Jiang University’s campus forums, hoping to meet some senior classmates. That way, he’d have an excuse to frequent the Seventh Dining Hall throughout this long summer.