Chapter 322 Graduation Ceremony
After dinner, the whole family gathered together to drink tea and chat, which was a rare occasion.

It just so happened that Qiao's aunt came today and brought a lot of gifts. She was very thoughtful and took care of everyone in the family, and everyone was polite.

As for Chunfeng's copy, Youshi sent someone to deliver it to the Seventh Prince's residence.

Seeing that everyone was happy, Qiao felt proud and sat there with her back very straight.

Ye Jiayao thought about what Chunyu was going to say today, so she deliberately asked where Qiao's eldest aunt was married.

Mrs. Qiao said excitedly, "It's not easy for my eldest aunt to come back. She married in Quanzhou. When I was a child, my eldest aunt loved me very much. I haven't seen her for more than ten years. I didn't expect that she would come to Nanjing to see me when she returned to Suzhou this time."

"That's really rare. We have to treat them well. Why not invite them to Tianshangju tomorrow and I'll be the host." Ye Jiayao said.

Mrs. Qiao was delighted and was about to agree, but Mrs. You said, "You'd better invite her at home! The eldest aunt of the Qiao family came today, but I happened to be out, so I didn't see her. Please invite her to my home tomorrow and have a good chat."

Xia Chunyu saw the right opportunity and said, "My mother hasn't been back to Hangzhou for a few years. In the past few years, my uncle was in good health and could come to visit, but in recent years, he has difficulty walking and can't come."

Youshi had already felt a little emotional before. She felt helpless about marrying far away. She wanted to go back to visit her family, but the mountains were high and the waters were far away, so it was really inconvenient. After hearing what Chunyu said, she missed her family even more.

The Marquis said with a smile, "That's true. I've been guarding the border for years. Your mother is afraid of traveling far away, and she has to take care of the family, so she can't leave. Now, I'm almost idle. I'll ask the emperor for leave later. Why don't we go to Hangzhou this year? Well... just spend the New Year there."

You looked at the Marquis in surprise. Is this true? Seeing that the Marquis didn't seem to be talking casually, she was ecstatic, but then she became worried. If she left, what would happen to the family? This was Jinxuan's first year as the head of the family. There were many social events during the New Year, and she still needed her to lead and help. Moreover, she would be away for at least two months. Qiao's body was getting heavier. What if she gave birth early, and she, as the mother-in-law, was not there, could she still rely on Aunt Wei?

"It's not right, it's not right. There's a whole family of concerns, how can I leave?" After thinking about it, Youshi decided to put her family first.

"Mother, you don't have to worry about things at home. Don't we still have Jinxuan? I will take care of the outside, and Jinxuan will take care of the house. Besides, grandma is old, and every year she gets older, things in the world are unpredictable..." Xia Chunyu advised.

It has to be said that Chunyu's words touched Youshi's sore spot. "A child wants to support his parents but they are no longer around. Who knows what will happen next year?" Youshi hesitated.

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Mother, you can go with father without worry. You have worked hard for this family for most of your life. It is time to take a good rest. After the New Year, Chunyu and I will go to Hangzhou to pick you up and meet grandpa and grandmother on the way."

The Marquis said in a rare gentle tone: "The children are grown up now, it's time for us to let go."

Chunli also said: "How about I go with my father and mother?"

You glared at him and said, "Your wife is still pregnant. You should stay at home and take good care of her. If anything goes wrong, I will hold you responsible."

Is this a promise?

Ye Jiayao and Xia Chunyu looked at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief.

The next day, Ye Jiayao specially set aside half a day to receive Qiao's aunt. After all, she was the hostess now, and it was also to give face to Qiao.

Her relationship with Qiao is now developing by leaps and bounds and progressing very smoothly. Qiao has great faith in her and often asks her for advice on business. He will tell her about any good things he has. After knowing each other for a long time, Ye Jiayao feels that Qiao is not a bad person. He just has a little ambition, but lacks the ability and is a little greedy, mainly because he is short of money. Now that his business is getting better and better, influenced by Ye Jiayao, he has gradually become more generous.

A harmonious family is the key to success. She already has Liuli, her mortal enemy, so she cannot afford to be at odds with the Qiao family.

The banquet was sumptuous, the host was polite, and the guests were tactful, so it was a pleasant occasion.

Before leaving, Qiao's eldest aunt said to Qiao: "I feel relieved after meeting your mother-in-law and sisters-in-law today. It is a blessing for you to marry into such a family in your previous life. You should get along well with your second brother's wife. She is a capable person with a broad mind. If you get along well with her, it will only benefit you and not harm you."

With this explanation, Qiao was even more determined to make friends with Ye Jiayao. Chunli was destined to have no great success in this life. In the future, the second brother of the Marquis's Mansion would be the master, and their family would have to rely on the second brother and his wife.

Tomorrow is the graduation day for the first batch of students in the training class. Lu Xiaotian asked her to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. Ye Jiayao was writing the speech seriously at her desk, and she felt excited while writing.

This was the first cooking training class in history, and the first batch of graduates. She didn't know whether this day would be recorded in history, but one thing was certain, these graduates were all excellent, and the best one was Wang Mingde sent by her Tianshangju. This guy was really awesome. He was usually quiet, but he made a splash in the assessment, especially in vegetarian cuisine. Even Madam Rong praised him highly.

The manuscript was already written, but Ye Jiayao was still in an excited state. In addition, Chunyu was on duty in the palace tonight. She tossed and turned alone, but couldn't fall asleep. It was almost dawn when she dozed off. When the time came, Qiao Xi knocked on the door to wake her up. Ye Jiayao quickly got up and looked in the mirror. She was depressed. She actually had two dark circles under her eyes. She felt that she was not strong enough to give that passionate speech with two dark circles under her eyes.

So, Ye Jiayao put on makeup for once, dressed neatly and elegantly, took Qiao Xi out and went straight to the training class.

Zhuque Street was a little deserted in the early morning, and there were not many people on the spacious street. But Ye Jiayao knew that Gulou Street across the street was very lively. The breakfast shops were already open, selling hot steamed buns, steamed bread, tofu soup, fragrant beef offal noodles, scallion oil noodles... People could just sit down in the simple shed and throw in two copper coins to have a hearty breakfast.

So, it is so great to be a chef. Among food, clothing, housing and transportation, food comes first. Ye Jiayao felt that her speech could be improved. Just as she was thinking deeply, the carriage suddenly stopped. The inertia made Ye Jiayao rush forward. If Qiao Xi hadn't held her back, her head would have hit the door.

"What's going on?" Ye Jiayao complained.

The driver, Lao Liu, said, "There are soldiers passing by."

Ye Jiayao lifted the curtain and looked out, only to see a group of officers and soldiers, all with solemn expressions, trotting past the carriage in uniform steps. There were at least two to three hundred of them.

Uh... this kind of scene is rare. Ye Jiayao wondered if something had happened.

The carriage started moving slowly again only after all the officers and soldiers had passed.

When we arrived at the training class, Duan Qilin and Lu Xiaotian were already there, and others followed one after another.

The graduation ceremony officially begins.

Lu Xiaotian spoke first.

"You are all the backbones carefully selected by various restaurants. In the past four months of study, you have proved with your actual actions that you are indeed qualified to become the first batch of students in the training class. With your excellent results, you have made a good start and set an example for the training class... I declare that all of you have passed the assessment. Now, I will read out the list of outstanding students. The tenth place is Guo Chong from Haozaila Restaurant, the ninth place is Zhang Xiangtian from Mingyue Tower... The third place is Zhao Linyue from Qilin Pavilion, the second place is Guan Neng from Vegetarian Restaurant, and the first place is Wang Mingde from Tianshangju. Let us congratulate these students who have won the title of outstanding students..."

There was a burst of warm applause from the audience.

Lu Xiaotian continued, "The top three students will be included in the honor roll of our training class."

The applause became even louder.

Everyone looked at the top three students with envy. There was no jealousy or dissatisfaction. All assessment procedures were open and based entirely on strength.

Next comes the issuance of certificates.

This certificate was proposed by Ye Jiayao, and after consultation with the relevant departments of the court, it was given a thumbs up. It is somewhat similar to the modern vocational and technical qualification certificate, and it can be said to have set a precedent.

Therefore, the first batch of students who received this certificate were very excited.

This is a recognition from the government! In the past, you could only get a certificate if you won a place in a cooking competition. I didn’t expect that I could get this honor by attending a training class.

The restaurants that sent students to the ceremony today were also very happy to see that their students had achieved excellent results. The competition among restaurants is most critical to the competition for talent. I hope that these students can play a big role after they return.

Duan Qilin also went up and said a few words, which were nothing more than the hope that everyone would keep working hard after returning home and that learning never ends.

When it was Ye Jiayao's turn to speak, the students immediately quieted down, looking at her with expectant eyes.

Everyone knows that among the lecturers of this training class, Ye Jiayao is the most important one. What she teaches is the most novel and practical. It is like opening a window to their closed hearts, allowing them to see a brand new world and re-understand themselves in this profession.

Ye Jiayao's eyes gently swept across the excited and energetic faces. She took a deep breath and said slowly: "At the opening ceremony, I said that we are not just cooks, but also the inheritors and inheritors of Chinese food culture. We have a skill not only to support our families, but also a higher and more ambitious goal. You, us, each of us is a cornerstone and a brick and tile leading to this goal. Now, you have all received certificates with excellent results and become the backbone of each restaurant and the leader in the industry. Now, I hope you remember your mission. We are ordinary, but we are not mediocre. We are small, but as long as our hearts are towards a goal and we work hard for it, we can also accumulate stones to form mountains and drop water to form seas. Do you have this confidence?"

There was a roar from below: "Yes..."

(End of this chapter)