Novel Full Chapter 56: This Master Is Hardcore
Chapter 56: Chapter 56: This Master Is Hardcore
Lu Yongliang was from E Province. And while blotched snakehead fish could be found all over the country, E Province’s method of curing it was particularly famous.
Furthermore, just from the force used to mince the fish, Lu Yongliang had to admit he’d only ever seen a few chefs of his own caliber do it that way.
The unique texture of blotched snakehead made the meat difficult to process. Mincing it with just the right amount of force could turn it into a fine paste without sacrificing its springiness.
After seeing this step, Lu Yongliang was certain in his heart. ’This is definitely a Hubei Cuisine chef!’
’Chefs from other regions could never master this kind of skill.’
He continued to watch.
The more Lu Yongliang watched, the more stunned he became.
The cleaned pork tripe was boiled until cooked through, and the creator sliced it into pieces an inch long and half an inch wide. He then dissected a pork kidney, removed the urinary ducts, and scored the surface with diagonal cuts to create a crisscross pattern.
’Impressive! This technique is very traditional, with no trace of modern fusions. This person must have been taught by an old master from the culinary world.’
The more he watched, the more Lu Yongliang was consumed by curiosity.
For one, he desperately wanted to know who this person was. Why would such a well-made video have no likes?
Secondly, he hadn’t eaten this traditional Sha City dish in many years. The few times he’d ordered it at restaurants, the result was always subpar—the fish cakes just tasted of fish, and the meatballs just tasted of meat. That kind of flavor profile was simply a failure.
’I can’t just sit here!’
Halfway through the video, Lu Yongliang couldn’t restrain himself any longer, because he noticed something new.
[100m away from you]
’If they’re really that close, doesn’t that mean this master chef is somewhere near this very company?’
A master who loved cooking traditional dishes—Hubei Cuisine, no less—was right under his nose. Even if he couldn’t taste the food, he had to pay a visit out of basic professional courtesy.
At his age, there were few peers left. To be able to exchange ideas with a chef of comparable skill was one of life’s ultimate pleasures!
Elder Lu couldn’t even wait to finish the video. He drained his teacup in one gulp and shot to his feet.
Zhang Li, who had just come out of the kitchen, saw the lounge door open and immediately hurried over.
"Elder Lu, is there anything you need?"
With his hands behind his back and a stern expression, Lu Yongliang asked, "Are there any restaurants or eateries near your company?"
Zhang Li answered almost without thinking. "No, there are only a few companies around here. This part of the Development Zone has practically no restaurants."
’Does that question even need thinking about?’
’If there were any restaurants nearby, would the employees of Xinghui Company still be suffering through our terrible cafeteria food?’
"Hmm," Lu Yongliang murmured, stroking his chin. "That’s odd. ’Could they be cooking from home? The video doesn’t look like it was filmed in a home kitchen.’"
’That kitchen in the video couldn’t possibly be in someone’s house.’
’Between the high-intensity stove and the professional prep stations, it had to be the dedicated kitchen of a mid-sized restaurant, at the very least.’
"Elder Lu, if you’re hungry, we’ve prepared some simple dishes for you. Would you like to eat first?"
Lu Yongliang waved his hand dismissively. "Do you know of any well-known places to eat around here, say, within a hundred meters?"
This time, Zhang Li was truly stumped.
Perhaps because of her preconceived notions, Zhang Li subconsciously assumed Elder Lu was still asking about formal restaurants or diners.
"Within a hundred meters?" Zhang Li inhaled sharply, racking her brain.
’There’s nothing within a hundred meters. Other than the Meiweilai Company building, there’s just our Xinghui building. That’s it.’
Seeing the young woman’s troubled expression, Lu Yongliang gave up and started walking toward the elevator. "Such a huge building, and you’re telling me there’s only one company in it?"
Zhang Li hurried after him. "Elder Lu, you’re actually right. This building has 33 floors, but our company is the only one here. The other floors are all vacant."
"Tch."
Lu Yongliang was vexed. ’This master is so elusive.’ He gave up and pulled out his phone. "Young lady, take a look at this for me. I want to go to this place."
Zhang Li leaned in for a look. Her first impression was just of a kitchen, but then she saw the location tag in the bottom-left corner.
’Isn’t that location tag for Meiweilai Company?’
’Wait, why does this kitchen setup look so familiar?’
"Elder Lu, could you tap here for me?"
Zhang Li pointed to the user’s profile picture. Lu Yongliang obediently tapped it.
What appeared on screen...
Zhang Li stared, dumbfounded, at the user’s profile. There were over 100 videos. Aside from the most recent one—the cooking video—why were all the others nothing but thigh-highs?
’Are you kidding me?!’
’This creator’s content niche is all over the place!’
’Big deal! So what if you have thigh-highs! So what if you have long legs!’
’We short-legged girls hate watching these kinds of videos, okay?’
’Besides, those thigh-highs and long legs are definitely a video effect. One of those stretching filters!’
Then Zhang Li looked closer and saw the name next to the profile picture.
[He Shuting]
And below that was a short bio.
[A humble streamer from Meiweilai Catering Company~]
’Wait a minute...’
Zhang Li slowly turned her head, her expression dazed, and looked toward the open office area just outside the cafeteria. Over there, He Shuting was sitting with her legs crossed, tapping away at her phone. It looked like she was editing a video.
"Elder Lu, I think the place you’re looking for is..."
Zhang Li pointed numbly toward the cafeteria. "It’s... right here."
"What?" Lu Yongliang was also stunned. "Isn’t that your company cafeteria?"
"Yes! The cafeteria staff did prepare some simple dishes for you and President Shang today."
"You call *this* a simple meal?" Lu Yongliang asked, pointing at the video of the long, stocking-clad legs on his phone. "No, not this. I’m talking about the meatballs."
"Th-that..." As a junior employee, Zhang Li had never spoken with such an important person. His suddenly booming voice made her tense up.
"Come on, I have to see for myself!"
Lu Yongliang didn’t even wait for Zhang Li to lead the way, striding quickly toward the kitchen.
He felt a surge of emotion. ’This company really pulled out all the stops for Shang Mingke. They must have specially hired a chef from E Province, right?’
’If so, I’m bound to know them!’
’There are only a handful of old masters left in E Province who still possess that level of skill.’
Zhang Li followed close behind. As she passed He Shuting’s desk, she couldn’t help but pause and stare at her legs.
’They really are that long...’
「Inside the cafeteria.」
Su Chen was leaning back nonchalantly in his chair, chatting with Aunt Fang.
"If they don’t want to eat, so be it. That just means more for us. We did our part, anyway."
Su Chen was completely unbothered by the news Zhang Li had just delivered.
’My goal is to make money, and to do it with my own two hands.’
’The ingredients are all top-quality. I have a clear conscience.’
’It’s their choice not to eat. No one else is to blame.’
"These executives are so hard to please," Aunt Fang huffed, sitting across from Su Chen. "You got up so early and prepped for hours, and they just decide not to eat? Wasn’t that all a waste of effort?"
"For this one meal, the whole company—all six of us—was running around like crazy! We went out of town for ingredients, went to the wholesale market for supplies, and Boss Su was cooped up in his office from dawn till dusk. And they can just decide not to eat?"
Still fuming, Aunt Fang added, "If this were my house and I’d spent that long cooking, I’d like to see anyone dare refuse to eat. I’d shove it down their throats with a rolling pin!"
"Haha..." Su Chen couldn’t help but laugh at Aunt Fang. "Don’t worry about it. We did our job. The rest has nothing to do with us."
"Hmph..."
All the ingredients were prepped, with only the final cooking step remaining for each dish. The moment the guests gave the word, Su Chen could begin.
But since they weren’t eating, it didn’t matter. Su Chen was quite philosophical about it.
「Outside.」
Lu Yongliang reached the door and placed his hand on the handle. But before he could push it open, his heart sank.
’Don’t want to eat...’
’Shove it down their throats with a rolling pin...’
’This master has quite a temper!’