Setting Up Stalls – Chapter 191

You Are Too Narrow-Minded

The moment he picked up the slice of ham, the Head Chef was the first to notice that burst of fragrance. Color, fragrance, taste, three points. Taste is of course the most important, but color and fragrance are also indispensable. The color was there, he understood as soon as he opened it. Now that the food was closer, the originally faint fragrance suddenly became rich, continuously drilling into his nasal cavity.

Even for the Head Chef, he couldn’t help but feel his mouth begin to secrete saliva.

But he still held back, not starting to eat at the first moment, but first observing the situation of the thickening sauce hanging on the ham slice¹. Not looking, one wouldn’t know; one look, and it was truly a shock. The sauce on the ham slice, seemingly thick and rich, yet under the reflection of the daylight, it appeared crystal clear and transparent, like the morning dew, evoking affection.

It was clearly a dark brown color, yet it didn’t make one feel it was greasy.

But looking closely, it wasn’t the feeling of a thin, watery soup, but rather it flowed slowly, letting one see its heaviness and viscosity. To achieve this level, without ten years of skill, it’s impossible to do. How could the Head Chef know that Sun Miao could achieve this level? On one hand, it was because she opened a cheat²; on the other hand, it was truly from diligent study and hard practice.

The system would at every turn arrange for her several months, half a year, or even a year to study and practice, and it was different from a normal person’s time. Even if one were a person made of iron³, while working on normal days, there would always be times for eating, sleeping, and resolving the three urgencies⁴, and also times for holidays and rest.

But Sun Miao was not like that; in her 24-hour day, there was almost never a time she stopped. Her one year was stronger than other people’s six. With such long years and months of training, plus the system-stamped talent, wasn’t it like a tiger adding wings⁵?

Furthermore, the Head Chef had been a leader in his position for a long time. The usual washing and cutting of vegetables, and even the cleaning of the chopping block, he didn’t have to do himself. He only needed to be responsible for the most crucial preparation and seasoning. But Sun Miao had always handled all the processes herself. Her grasp and understanding of ingredients could only be above the Head Chef’s.

Just by looking at this sauce thickening, he knew the person who made this dish was definitely not simple. But the moment he ate it, the Head Chef still fell silent, especially the moment he ate the abalone slice.

The ingredients weren’t considered too good, but their strength lay in their freshness and the chef’s own control over them. The most important point for seafood is that it must be fresh. Sun Miao’s method locked in all the freshness, which is why in the instant it entered the mouth, one could experience the feeling of ocean waves surging before one’s eyes.

In reality, after an abalone is cut with a knife, it is very difficult to retain this feeling. The current way of eating it is mostly to eat it whole. Only when the diner bites down with their own mouth can they experience the toughness of the outer layer and the springiness of the inner layer. But this dish, after the abalone was sliced, not only still retained its original texture, but it also combined the seasoning with the abalone to the extreme.

The Head Chef genuinely felt that his own culinary skill, when compared to the other party’s on this dish, was as childish as a child’s. He did not continue eating one bite after another without stopping. After finishing this bite of abalone, he instead fell silent.

After a while, he placed his chopsticks on the table, with one end of the chopsticks resting on the takeout container lid, his face a picture of sincerity and earnestness: “Boss Yuan, I take the liberty of asking, may I ask who this Old Master⁶ is? Do I know them? Could you allow me to visit their home to pay my respects and ask for some instruction?”

The words he used were very humble. He was clearly completely subdued by this dish. He didn’t even need to make any comment; he deeply felt that with his own culinary skill, he was not qualified to comment on this dish. This dish made his mentality instantly return to when he was an apprentice.

Back then, he had also so earnestly become a disciple under his own Shifu, piously learning the art of cooking day after day. At that time, his Shifu was like a high mountain to look up to; he couldn’t glimpse even a bit of his true depth and could only study continuously.

The current Head Chef also had this kind of feeling toward this great master whom he had never met.

His heart for seeking knowledge ignited once again.

Who knew that Yuan Xiangyi across from him would suddenly smile, as if she had heard something funny. The Head Chef frowned: “Boss Yuan, I am being sincere. I know you are dissatisfied with the high price I’ve quoted during this period. If you can tell me this Old Master’s contact information, I am willing to take a pay cut.”

But Yuan Xiangyi waved her hand: “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you, it’s just that your choice of words is really laughable.”

The Head Chef’s eyebrows furrowed even deeper: “Boss Yuan, which words of mine were wrong? You might as well speak directly, I will definitely correct them.”

From his original high self-regard and arrogance to his current attitude of thirsting for knowledge, Yuan Xiangyi knew that this Head Chef was completely incomparable to Sun Miao. So she smiled and stopped teasing the Head Chef: “The master who made this is not any Old Master, their age is far from it.”

The Head Chef was startled: “What? Not an Old Master? Then… then are they the same age as me? That shouldn’t be. In Lu cuisine, I know everyone of my generation, and recently no one has suddenly made a great leap forward. If there really was someone, they would not be able to resist coming to me to show off.”

He guessed again: “Could it be from an overseas Chinese family of culinary heritage? If that’s the case, it’s no wonder I don’t know them. I still ask Boss Yuan to help me with an introduction.”

Yuan Xiangyi shook her head: “Not that either, even younger.”

“This… could it be they are only forty years old? That is truly a gifted talent. Our Lu cuisine lineage, to have such a successor, we truly have someone to carry on! I don’t know who his Shifu is, such talent cannot be easily buried! I am willing to pave the way for him, to introduce him to the great masters of Lu cuisine!”

The Head Chef’s eyes once again flickered with the heart of one who cherishes talent, also carrying the happiness and excitement of “My path is not alone⁷” and “there is a successor to carry on.”

Who would have known, he was denied by Yuan Xiangyi again: “Not that either.”

This time she no longer kept him in suspense, but told the truth: “Last night when we were outside, we ran into two young girls. One of them said the sea cucumber in the braised sea cucumber with scallions was overcooked, and the braised abalone in original shell was a bit salty, do you still remember?”

The Head Chef’s eyes were a bit confused. Just by looking at his eyes, Yuan Xiangyi knew that this Head Chef had most likely already forgotten yesterday’s little interlude, and eighty percent likely didn’t take it as a serious matter. This actually wasn’t the Head Chef’s fault. If Yuan Xiangyi had encountered it, she would probably have had the same attitude.

Little Boss Sun seemed to have dressed up yesterday. She usually dresses even more simply than that, just a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt, plus a black apron. Yesterday she even wore a white dress, and put a jacket over it for the delivery. It seemed she had put on some light makeup and was a bit prettier than usual.

But that was all. Other than that, she had no accessories. Unlike Su Ruixi next to her, who wore a watch on her wrist and had pearl earrings on her earlobes. Just by looking at these two accessories, one could tell they were not cheap.

Sun Miao stood next to Su Ruixi. If one were to judge solely by the price of their clothing, she was like a young miss’s little servant girl. But the atmosphere between the two of them dispelled this point, making people not realize it. It was that Yuan Xiangyi’s and the Head Chef’s eyes were too snobbish, only able to see that she dressed ordinarily, not in the least like a rich person.

A good-looking girl who dressed ordinarily had no memorable points for them. If Yuan Xiangyi had mentioned the rather arrogant Su Ruixi next to her, who was wearing a watch, the Head Chef would probably have remembered immediately.

This also couldn’t be blamed on the Head Chef. It has been so since ancient times: First respect the clothes, then respect the person⁸.

The Head Chef still thought for a while before he recalled: “There was such a thing. This little girl, is she this chef’s junior?”

“No, it’s her herself.”

The Head Chef clearly hadn’t reacted yet. Yuan Xiangyi mentioned it again: “I’m saying, this braised abalone in original shell was made by that little girl from last night.”

The Head Chef’s first reaction was instead to get a little angry: “Boss Yuan, what kind of joke are you playing? If I remember correctly, that little girl is at most in her twenties, is she even thirty? This skill, it’s impossible for her to have it.”

Yuan Xiangyi smiled: “Whether you believe it or not, the fact is the fact. In this world, there are geniuses.”

The Head Chef’s hand clenched into a fist. He knew Yuan Xiangyi had no need to lie to him, but he still couldn’t help but question: “In other professions, perhaps there exist such geniuses who can instantly crush everyone. But in the chef profession, impossible.” He said decisively: “This is a profession that requires the repeated accumulation of experience. Without day-after-day, year-after-year training, it’s impossible to reach this level.”

Yuan Xiangyi shrugged: “The fact is the fact. Her skill is laid out before you, and you are far inferior to her. And yet now, you still think she’s too young to be able to do it. Head Chef, you are narrow-minded.”

Jiang Ping actually also found it quite hard to accept at first, but she quickly adjusted her mentality, accepting that outside a person, there is another person, and outside the sky, there is another sky, and also that some people’s talent is just greater than the heavens. She not only adjusted her mentality, but also further began to study and change herself.

Yuan Xiangyi suddenly regretted contacting this Head Chef. Her family already had Jiang Ping, why seek far and wide for what is near at hand? Even if Jiang Ping’s current culinary skill was slightly lacking, given time, she could definitely become a Tai Dou⁹ figure in Huaiyang cuisine. At that time, her family’s Yuanfu Lou wouldn’t need to expand its range of cuisines and could still become a restaurant praised by everyone.

Hmm, a restaurant praised by everyone after removing Miaomiao’s Mobile Food Bar.

Yuan Xiangyi took her leave, leaving the Head Chef still struggling with “Impossible, how could such a thing happen!”, and also leaving behind a bowl of braised abalone in original shell, its fragrance quietly dissipating with the passage of time.

Yuan Xiangyi, who had gotten in the car and returned to the hotel, suddenly slapped her thigh: This is bad! That braised abalone in original shell!

“Achoo.” After Sun Miao and Su Ruixi finished lunch, she rubbed her nose. For the past hour, she had been sneezing continuously. Su Ruixi was a little worried: “Miaomiao, do you want to take some cold medicine? Don’t catch a cold.”

“It’s nothing, someone must be talking about me behind my back.”

Sun Miao was already used to this kind of thing and found it no longer strange. In the beginning, she would still think: Who on earth is talking about me behind my back? Now, she couldn’t even be bothered to turn on her phone, because the group chat was definitely full of grievances again. Many old customers were going crazy in the group chat every day, constantly asking her:

【Sun Miao, you thin-feeling, scant-righteousness woman¹⁰, when on earth are you coming back!】

Among them, Hip-hop Mei @’d her the most times. Even under her Circle of Friends¹¹ pictures, it was all a uniform “You, quickly come back~”. Every time Sun Miao saw those perfectly uniform comments, she would get goosebumps: These guys must have all conspired in the group chat! That’s why they’re so united and unified, all spamming the same words.

Sun Miao unhesitatingly blamed her sneezing on her old customers, completely unaware that the Head Chef who had made the system break its defense¹² and give her a temporary mission last night was now, because of her, fiercely breaking his defense.

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