When talking to Yuan Zhou, Cheng Zhao Mei never dared to be deliberately mystifying. After bowing, she went straight to the point, "I do have something to tell you. Do you still remember Master Li from Qingcheng Mountain?"
When Master Li heard his name, he hurriedly took a few steps forward and walked out from the sunlight. With his facial features clearly exposed, Yuan Zhou could tell who he was at first glance.
When Zhao Mei came to Yuan Zhou for the first time, she said she wanted to help a chef with special training. Moreover, she explained the cause and effect very clearly. When Yuan Zhou heard that, he couldn't help sympathizing with her. Mainly, if he put himself in her shoes, how would he feel if his restaurant was going to be demolished?
Of course, even if a demolition team came, it was still unknown whether the restaurant could be demolished. Did she really think the steel plates buried underground were tofu?
Yuan Zhou had a good impression of Master Li. He was used to seeing smart and quick-witted disciples like Cheng Zhao Mei and the other in-name disciples. Of course, he had a deep impression of a person who couldn't even be considered enlightened even after a few rounds of learning.
This was especially true for the Ginkgo Chicken Stew. In the end, Yuan Zhou had to cook it himself. Master Li even recorded a video and pondered over it. Only then did he obtain the 0.45 Yuan Yuan that Yuan Zhou had eaten previously.
Strictly speaking, Master Li's culinary skills were not bad. He even had the support of his family's culinary skills. However, what people feared the most was comparison. Take a look at what kind of people Yuan Zhou's disciples and in-name disciples were.
Moreover, Master Li was actually a model for most ordinary chefs. He had ordinary talent but was also very hardworking. Yuan Zhou could empathize with him. After all, without the system, he was also a chef with ordinary talent.
Even now, he was only slightly more hardworking than others.
Master Li, "???"
The moment he entered the restaurant, Master Li immediately bowed and greeted, "Good afternoon, Head Chef Yuan. Sorry for disturbing you."
"Long time no see, Master Li. How's the restaurant's business?" Yuan Zhou asked.
"It's pretty good. Ever since the two signature dishes, Stewed Chicken with White Fruit and Twice Cooked Preserved Pork with Garlic Sprouts, not only have our difficulties been solved, but we also have many regular customers. Many tourists come because of the fame. It's very good." While speaking of this, Master Li's eyes were filled with gratitude.
This time, he personally came to Chengdu to thank Cheng Zhao Mei, who had helped him with the special training, and Yuan Zhou, who had given him the finishing touch.
Although Master Li didn't seem to be very talented in cooking, he was an understanding person. He knew that without Cheng, Zhao Mei, and Yuan Zhou, they wouldn't have achieved the results they had today. Therefore, it was normal for him to come and thank them.
"It's good that the business is doing well. Master Li, you still have to continue thinking about how to do it better. You can't just rely on two signature dishes," encouraged Yuan Zhou.
"Thank you, Head Chef Yuan. I will continue to work hard," Master Li said sincerely.
After calming himself down, Master Li took out a bag from his back and said, "This time, I brought some Qingcheng Mountain specialties for Head Chef Yuan. I hope Head Chef Yuan can accept them. They are all made by me."
As he spoke, Master Li opened the dark rectangular bag and took out the things inside one by one. First, he took out a small ceramic urn that was about the size of a pickle jar. It was not transparent, but an opaque brown ceramic urn. After placing it on the ground, he took out another urn. This one was slightly bigger, and its color was brighter than the previous one. It was reddish-brown in color.
Then, he continued to dig into the bag. Not long after, he took out something that was several tens of centimeters long and wrapped in newspaper. It seemed to be quite heavy. Finally, he took out a palm-sized urn. This urn was also made of ceramic, but it was completely different from the previous one. It was milky white in color and appeared to be of a higher grade than the previous one.
Unlike the previous one, which was made of coarse porcelain, this one was much more exquisite. From the color, one could tell it was a good urn.
"Could it be that Master Li's ancestors sold urns?" Yuan Zhou muttered inwardly as he looked at the urn.
"Head Chef Yuan, this is an old Taoist pickle that I made myself. I used the indigenous method of Qingcheng. This is the Heavenly Dwelling Milk Wine that I brewed myself. The method I used is the indigenous method passed down in my family. This is the aged cured meat that I smoked myself. This is the White Back Dragon Buds, grown from an old tea tree behind my house. Although it doesn't grow as well as the tea tree used to be a tribute, it has the advantage of being old. I learned how to stir-fry it myself, but my craftsmanship isn't good. I hope Head Chef Yuan won't mind," Master Li introduced as he pointed at the items on the table.
A long time ago, Master Li had wanted to come over to thank Yuan Zhou and Cheng Zhao Mei for their help to him and Longyue Restaurant. However, due to the official matters, he had to deal with a lot of things personally. Moreover, Yuan Zhou was also very busy and had even left the country in the end. Therefore, he had been putting it off. This time, he had only decided to come over after contacting Cheng Zhao Mei and finding out that Yuan Zhou was free.
"Master Li, you are too kind. It just so happens that I'm making cured meat from Xiangxi today. You can bring some of the cured meat I made back to try and see if it's any different from the local ones in Qingcheng," said Yuan Zhou after thinking for a while.
Originally, Yuan Zhou didn't want any gifts. However, since Master Li had pointed out that he had made it himself, it was a gesture of his sincerity. It wouldn't be nice to directly reject him. Therefore, it was necessary for him to return the favor.
"How … how can I accept this?" Master Li rubbed his hands, feeling somewhat at a loss.
To be honest, although Yuan Zhou had been acting very amiable, Master Li could still feel that Yuan Zhou's aura was very strong. He couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Don't worry. Seeing is believing. Only by comparing can we improve," said Yuan Zhou.
This time, Master Li couldn't refuse. He was very curious about the taste of the authentic Xiangxi cured meat. Compared to the old cured meat from Qingcheng, what kind of flavor did it have?
In any case, what Yuan Zhou gave him would definitely be the most authentic. There was no doubt about it. Master Li was very certain of this.
"Thank you, Head Chef Yuan. I will definitely work hard to distinguish the difference," Master Li vowed.
Yuan Zhou nodded and did not say anything else. Instead, he turned around and returned to the kitchen to wrap up the cured meat. What he took was the cured meat that he had made before he left the country. Today, he wasn't done yet. This was only the first step of smoking. He still needed time to smoke the second and third times.
Time was needed. Cured pork, cured chicken, cured fish, cured duck, and so on. He took a little bit of each type of cured meat. In the end, the big bag that Master Li brought was filled to the brim. It was bulging, causing Master Li to feel very embarrassed.
Those who knew him were returning the favor. Those who didn't know him might think that he was here to ask for a favor.
When Zhao Mei saw that Master Li was done with his business, she deactivated her Jade Flower status and started to make her presence known. She planned to do her own business.
Zhao Mei placed the things she brought on the empty table at the side.
This time, he brought an exquisitely woven bamboo basket with him. It was yellow and green in color and had a lid. He didn't know what was inside, but he could faintly smell the fragrance of bamboo leaves. Therefore, he had an idea of what was inside.
…
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
