"The yellow gate flies without moving the dust, and the imperial chef Luo Yi presents the eight treasures."
This was a famous saying by Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty. Imperial chefs had appeared since the Western Zhou Dynasty, but the name was different. Imperial chefs were similar to imperial doctors. They might not be the best at that time, but they were definitely among the best.
The Sealed Blade Feast was held in Head Chef Yang's own small manor. The kitchen was open, so the cooking methods and skills could be fully displayed in front of everyone.
Although chefs valued their own skills, the people who came to the banquet this time were all familiar people. They were all famous chefs, so Head Chef Yang was not stingy.
Yuan Zhou and Mr. Ma got up early in the morning and prepared to go to Head Chef Yang's residence.
"Mr. Ma, do we need to prepare a gift for Head Chef Yang?" This was the second time Yuan Zhou asked.
Yuan Zhou had asked Mr. Ma this question before, but Mr. Ma didn't give him an accurate answer. Just in case, Yuan Zhou specially brought a palm-sized yellow rosewood.
Although Yuan Zhou had collected many ancient books, Head Chef Yang didn't even touch his knife after the Sealed Blade Feast. Was it a little inappropriate to give him an ancient book?
It was like giving a football to someone who was in a wheelchair. How amusing!
"Didn't I tell you that we don't need it? Um, maybe I forgot to tell you. Old Yang is like me. He doesn't like to accept gifts. He can go alone. I didn't bring anything, "Mr. Ma answered.
The hotel was not close to Head Chef Yang's residence. It would take one and a half hours to get there by car.
This morning, Yuan Zhou received a call from Wu Shou. He only wanted to ask for Yuan Zhou's address. Then, Yuan Zhou said he had something urgent to deal with.
Wu Shou kept silent for a long time. Then, he said, "Come back soon." Then, he hung up the phone. As long as Yuan Zhou had something serious to deal with, Wu Shou would be very tactful.
Head Chef Yang lived in a remote suburb. Therefore, the hotel where Yuan Zhou and Mr. Ma stayed was quite close.
Although it was called a manor, it wasn't very big. After all, the land around Goose City wasn't cheap. And this manor had been passed down from generation to generation of the Yang Family.
It covered an area of about one and a half acres, and was surrounded by trees and flowers. The view of the atrium was quite good.
Perhaps it was because of Old Yang's occupation, when Yuan Zhou entered, he noticed a small vegetable patch in the distance. With his eyesight, he naturally knew that the vegetables were well taken care of.
"Humph. You still like to do these things. Tear down the landscape stones and the corners. That way, you can grow more vegetables." Mr. Ma said.
Speaking of which, Yuan Zhou recalled that Mr. Ma lived in a small mountain village. The place was not big, but he later heard from the villagers that Mr. Ma did have two pieces of land that he took care of himself.
Yuan Zhou helped Mr. Ma walk in a special direction along the road paved with stone slabs. Judging from Mr. Ma's proficiency, Yuan Zhou knew that it was not his first time to come to this place.
At a fork in the road, they saw a tall figure standing there from afar. He was about 1.8 meters tall, with white hair and a face full of wrinkles. However, his skin was ruddy and he looked spirited. He looked like a spirited old man.
Yuan Zhou guessed that he was probably the main character of today's banquet.
As expected, when they got closer, Mr. Ma also saw the figure clearly.
"Hahahaha. Old Ma, you are too slow. Old Mo and Old Ge have already arrived. They are just waiting for you." When the tall and big Head Chef Yang saw Yuan Zhou and the others, he immediately walked up in big strides and greeted them. He was in high spirits.
"I have come all the way here. I have already given you a lot of face, not to mention that I have brought people with me," said Mr. Ma, mentioning Yuan Zhou conveniently.
"Yes, yes. This must be the Head Chef Yuan you mentioned, right?" Head Chef Yang greeted Mr. Ma and then fixed his eyes on Yuan Zhou.
For the sake of being formal today, Yuan Zhou wore a casual suit, neither appearing too formal nor rude. Of course, the matching of the clothes was done by Xiao Ya.
"Hello, Head Chef Yang. It is my honor to attend your Sealing Knife Banquet," Yuan Zhou bowed slightly to show his respect.
"Old people can't keep up with the times. If Old Ma didn't tell me a lot about Head Chef Yuan, I wouldn't have known there is such a genius in the cooking world."
Although Yuan Zhou's age was beyond his expectation, Head Chef Yang was still very curious about the famous chef strongly recommended by Mr. Ma.
"I am also glad that Head Chef Yuan can come. Let's get to know each other more."
"It's my honor," said Yuan Zhou. He was also looking forward to it.
"Are you done yet? I have been gone for a long time. Let's go inside and get some water," said Mr. Ma.
"After so many years, your bad temper still hasn't changed. No wonder you don't want to move out of the village. Old Ma, are you afraid of being beaten to death outside the village?" Head Chef Yang glared at Mr. Ma and led the way.
Although Head Chef Yang was over 70 years old, he was healthy and walked with big steps. Compared to young people, he was not much different.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the entrance of a hall. There was a board with the words "Sealing Knife Hall" written on it.
People spent their entire lives as examiners, interviewing people to attend their funeral. As for chefs who had inherited the Sealing Knife Banquet, they spent their entire lives building the Sealing Knife Hall.
To put it bluntly, it was similar to an emperor building his own tomb.
"Come on in. Old Ge and the others were still talking about you," said Head Chef Yang as he stepped into the Sealing Knife Hall.
The moment he entered the hall, the first thing that attracted Yuan Zhou's attention wasn't the extraordinarily large square table in the center, but the seven white-haired old men who were arguing fiercely as if they were going to fight at any moment.
That's right. The hall was filled with old men. All of them had white hair. Even the weakest among them had gray hair. Therefore, the moment Yuan Zhou entered, he stood out like a crane among chickens.
"Hey, Old Ma, you came just in time. We were arguing about something. Come and have a look," said a short and fat old man who happened to turn around and saw Yuan Zhou and his companions.
For some unknown reason, the way Old Ma addressed him made Yuan Zhou unconsciously think of Steamed Scallop.
Chengdu's specialty, Old Ma Steamed Scallop, was not something that outsiders could get used to. It wasn't spicy, but there was a lot of pepper in it. Many tourists who only ate spicy food would feel their lips go numb after eating it.
When I go back, I can try eating Old Ma Steamed Scallop for breakfast, thought Yuan Zhou.
Back to the main topic, Mr. Ma entered the hall, causing the voices in the hall to stop. They all looked toward the door and greeted him one by one.
Of course, their gazes were all on Yuan Zhou. It couldn't be helped. A young man suddenly appearing in a room full of old men would definitely attract attention. Moreover, after several years of culinary training, Yuan Zhou's aura was naturally extraordinary.
"Is this your nephew?" The short and fat old man who came over frowned slightly.
The Sealing Knife Banquet didn't invite chefs of the younger generation. This wasn't a rule to protect their status, but rather, the purpose of the Sealing Knife Banquet was to "witness". The witnesses were naturally peers or elders.
Have you ever seen a junior witness an elder? What a mess.
Hmm … At Head Chef Yang's age, there weren't any elders in the culinary world. Therefore, it had to be someone of the same generation. In any case, even Head Chef Yang's personal disciples weren't qualified to come.
Therefore, he asked.
…
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