The Game of Life

Chapter 560: 558

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After many days, the restaurant operated by the Jiang Family had another random fall of a chef with a rating between SR and SSR, and this time, the chef who dropped was a Suzhou-style chef.

Master Huang, who had been forced by rheumatism to put down his cleaver and spatula and watch as Huang Ji Restaurant deteriorated day by day, finally agreed to let his son sell the liquor house he had worked so hard to manage. In the Taifeng Building, he had once again picked up the cleaver and spatula, solely to show off his talent to the two mentor uncles he had just acknowledged and to prove that he was Jinglixiang’s, no, now Jiang Weijin’s, most outstanding disciple.

Master Huang, who rarely cooked at home, whipped up three dishes in one go for Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo in the kitchen of the Taifeng Building—braised eel paste, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, and silverfish omelet.

Had time and ingredients allowed, Master Huang would have even liked to cook a series of dishes that would fully demonstrate his culinary talent, such as jade shrimp, cock’s-comb millet soup, watermelon chicken, barbel lung soup, snow crab, sauce square, and cherry pork.

He wanted to cook all the dishes on Huang Ji Restaurant’s menu for Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo.

Setting aside the issue of seniority, Master Huang’s skills should be comparable to Weiguo’s, and perhaps slightly inferior, but not by much.

After Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming tasted the three dishes one by one, they invited the other chefs from behind the scenes to taste and learn as well, and incidentally, to praise Master Huang extravagantly, allowing him to experience the humanistic care of Taifeng Building.

The staff of Taifeng Building were familiar with braised eel paste and squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, which Dong Shi and Dong Li often made, but silverfish omelet was new to everyone, as Taifeng Building’s menu had never featured such seemingly simple dishes as fried eggs.

The dishes made by the master could be seen to be extraordinary without even tasting them.

Take the braised eel paste, for instance: there was no doubt that the presentation by Master Huang differed from Dong Shi’s. Both had oily strands of eel spread out on the plate, and in the center, a heap of garlic and green onions drizzled with oil emitted a fragrant aroma and sizzled noisily.

Master Huang’s braised eel paste had a boldness that Dong Shi’s lacked, one that even the sizzling sound of the hot oil crackled like the bustling din of an inn full of rowdy travelers.

Even the aroma released when the hot oil touched the pepper powder seemed more assertive.

As for the squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, there was no need to mention its superb knife work, and it looked absolutely tantalizing.

Perhaps because these two dishes were so eye-catching, even the silverfish omelet, which at first seemed ordinary with only some added silverfish and sprinkled green onions, took on an air of mystery.

As they ate, Master Huang also provided a running commentary.

“Actually, now is not the best time to enjoy braised eel paste and silverfish omelet. Braised eel paste should be eaten around the Dragon Boat Festival when the eels are fattest and their flesh the most tender. The eels nowadays are neither fatty nor tender enough, and I could tell it wasn’t quite right as I was shredding them.”

“As for the silverfish omelet, it goes without saying that this is not the season for silverfish, and without fresh silverfish, one cannot achieve the proper taste and texture of the dish. I made this dish only because I was short on time and didn’t have the right ingredients. The silverfish omelet is actually a seasonal dish; there’s a saying from our area, ‘In May the loquats are yellow, and the silverfish from Tai Lake are beautiful,’ so one should eat the silverfish omelet during May or June to truly appreciate its freshness. It doesn’t taste right during other times.”

While eating the silverfish omelet, Jiang Feng didn’t think much of it, just noting that the egg was tender and the added silverfish and green onions gave it a unique flavor. However, after listening to Master Huang’s explanation, he started to find the silverfish omelet in his mouth became increasingly delicious.

“Master Huang, you’re too modest. These few dishes you’ve made are already very tasty. I have never had such delicious braised eel paste and silverfish omelet. You truly are a disciple of my second grandfather, extraordinary indeed. From you, I can…”

Jiang Feng, having finished his meal, began to heap on effusive praise, though because there were more people present than usual, he restrained himself quite a bit compared to other days.

After finishing the meal, everyone was ready to get back to work. Master Huang’s arrival did not interfere with others’ normal duties, except for perhaps slightly affecting the work of Dong Shi and Dong Li.

With a strong desire to show off in front of the two mentor uncles, Master Huang was always trying to snatch the chef’s knife from the hands of the two disciples to take over, leading to Dong Shi and Dong Li juggling their tasks while preventing him from taking action, significantly reducing their work efficiency.

On the other hand, Zheng Siyuan had a fruitless visit at Dong Shi and Dong Li’s home.

Since he started working at Eight-treasure House, he seldom had days off. Today, on his day off, he forgot to set an alarm and overslept; by the time he woke up, it was already past 9 o’clock, and by then, Master Huang had already started showing off his skills in the kitchen of Taifeng Building.

After calling Dong Shi, Dong Li, and Master Huang to find that none of them answered the phone, Zheng Siyuan, carrying the health supplements he had bought at a mall the day before, decided to go directly to the house Dong Shi and Dong Li were renting to look for them in person.

Of course, no one was home.

After some thought, Zheng Siyuan decided to head to Taifeng Building to look for them.

He wasn’t very close to Dong Shi and Dong Li, but as a disciple nephew of Master Huang, Zheng Siyuan had a very good relationship with him.

So, carrying the health supplements, Zheng Siyuan arrived at Taifeng Building. To the uninitiated, it might have seemed like the White Chef from Eight-treasure House was planning to switch jobs and had brought some gifts to Taifeng Building.

“Hello, do any of you have a reservation?” Qi Rou greeted the guests as Zheng Siyuan arrived early and lunch service had just started.

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“I’m here to find someone. Is Master Huang Shengli here?” asked Zheng Siyuan.

“Master Huang?” Qi Rou, who was greeting guests outside, wasn’t quite clear about the new chef who had just joined the kitchen. “I’m sorry, are you asking about a member of our staff or a guest? I can check for you.”

“Neither a staff member nor a guest. It’s… never mind, are Dong Shi and Dong Li currently in the restaurant?” Zheng Siyuan decided to ask in a different way.

“They are here. Are you their friend? I can go to the kitchen and call someone for you,” said Qi Rou. “You can come with me, and I can take you to the entrance of the kitchen.”