Chapter 26：Great Chef Zhang Zheng Yi

Zhang Zheng Yi was not convinced that Bai Lu could finish carving in such a short amount of time. He had started carving the walnut the moment he held it, but he had already preparing and pondering how he would carve the walnut during the night before. It took him a lot of effort. However, Bai Lu had only just seen the walnut for the first time. He thought, "Even the planning would already take some time, so how could he be faster than me?"

At this moment, Bai Lu had already finished carving the walnut. Zhang Zheng Yi shot him a glance with suspicion. Then he cast another look at him and stopped what he was doing. He retrieved Bai Lu's walnut and scrutinized it. It took him around five minutes. Then he heaved a long sigh. "I'm getting old." He kept the two walnut and his kitchen knife, which signaled the end of the competition.

With a loud voice, Bai Lu said, "Sir, please take care."

"Who said I am leaving?" Zhang Zheng Yi walked into the kitchen.

"What do you still want to do here?"

"Carving the walnut was just the warm-up. As a chef, the most important skill is the mastery of heat control. I want to challenge you to a cook-off."

Bai Lu's jaw dropped. He looked at him with an admiring gaze. "Sir, you are shameless."

"Is there anyone who is so disrespectful towards seniors like you?' The old man had now changed his arrogant demeanor from when he first entered the shop. Now, he resembled a neighborhood grandpa, but still with a stern behavior. 

There was a clock on the wall, with no cover and no watch face. It was decorated like a dried up branch. The shortest and thickest branch pointed towards the 11th-hour position.

Bai Lu raised his head and looked at the time. "Sir, I will be opening my business soon. Could we not waste our time?"

"What do you mean by wasting our time? As a chef, you ought to have sincerity and revere the sacred principles with perseverance. Like the ancient Chinese saying: "Governing a large country should be like cooking a small dish." Using the same reasoning, we should also cook a small dish seriously as though we are governing a real country. How could you call it a waste of time?" The old man frowned with wide eyes, and he talked non-stop like an unceasing torrent of water.

"Fine! I will compete!" Bai Lu couldn't take it any longer. He would rather have a cook-off than listening to his unending speech. "What are we competing with?"

"Egg Fried Rice." Zhang Zheng Yi must have watched quite a few movies about cooking; he had an awareness of a movie character. 

Bai Lu sighed. "Are you trying to make it hard on me? Fine, give me 20 minutes."

"Why should we wait for 20 minutes?"

"I have to cook the rice!" Bai Lu returned to the kitchen with rage. He thought, "The world outside is too complicated, everything has to be considered. The desert is so much simpler, whoever has the bigger fist would win."

Zhang Zheng Yi had apparently been duped by the movies. He earnestly suggested. "Fried rice should use ingredients that were left overnight."

"Who was your teacher? If the emperor wanted to eat Egg Fried Rice, who would dare to use ingredients that were left overnight? A bunch of idiots." Bai Lu finally got his chance to vent out some steam.

"You!" Zhang Zheng Yi knew the origin of Egg Fried Rice. Legend has it that the Great Emperor of the Sui Dynasty brought the dish to great heights of development. Therefore, he was at a loss for words, even though he wanted to argue with him. All he could do was to rush angrily into the kitchen, but Bai Lu blocked him. "Change your clothes. Put on the hat. Wear the gloves. And put on the mask."

"Then why are you not wearing any gloves or putting on the mask?" Zhang Zheng Yi was mad.

"That's because the restaurant is mine!" Bai Lu went to rinse the rice.

Zhang Zheng Yi took a step back. He stood by the door of the kitchen and looked in. "What kind of rice are you using? If the rice is not suitable, then the taste would be off. Yang Zhou Fried Rice should use the White Indica Rice variety.

Bai Lu was utterly depressed. "Sir, have you graduated from the University of Complaints?" 

"What? I am not a college graduate." Zhang Zheng Yi was confused.

"The University of Complaints, with a major in the Faculty of Nitpicking." After he washed the rice, he placed it inside the rice cooker. Then he connected it to the power supply and flipped the switch.

The old man finally got the joke. He thought, "This young kid dares to make fun of me?" And he continued to nitpick on Bai Lu. "To make superior fried rice, you should not be using the rice cooker. You have to use a large wok with charcoal flame, and you cannot use tap water. After the rice is cooked, you should only use the portion of rice in the upper middle region—"

Before he could finish, Bai Lu interrupted him. "Sir, I only have a small restaurant. Why would I make superior fried rice?"

"You! How could you defile the sacred culinary arts!" The old man started to wear the hat.

"Stop the bullshit. Do you want a drink?"

"Tea." Zhang Zheng Yi was very cool.

Bai Lu was even cooler. "Nope! There's only plain boiled water or tap water. You have to choose between the two."

While the two of them were arguing seriously, there was a melodious tune from the bamboo flute that emanated from the outside of the restaurant. It was delightful to hear. In the bustling city, there were clamoring streams of people and the rumbling noise of traffic. However, the euphonious sounds have managed to penetrate through all the loud static and spread into the ears of the two people in the restaurant.

Zhang Sha Sha looked outside through the glass door. There was a 16 or 17-year-old teenager, with short stature and dirty clothes. His hair was a total mess. There was a small school bag that was hanging in front of his chest. He clasped the flute with both of his hands and walked around while playing the instrument.

What was worth mentioning was that this guy had a disability. He had a leg which was shorter and thinner than the other. Perhaps, it was because he was afraid that people would mistake him for a fraud. Therefore, he rolled up the pants high up on the leg that was crippled, and it revealed a black and thin calf. It formed a distinct comparison with the shape of the healthy leg.

The teenager walked and dragged his feet along. It was exactly like the character Fu Hongxue in the novel Xiao Li Fei Dao by Gu Long. He limped, but he advanced bravely and walked without stopping. 

He did not beg for alms. All he did was play the flute. 

The pedestrians loosened their purse, they walked over and stuffed some money in the school bag hanging in front of his chest. Sometimes it was a dollar, and sometimes it was ten. 

The teenager did not say a word; He bowed towards each one of the people that helped him. Every time someone gave him the money, he would take a bow, but the sounds of the flute would not stop. He played the tune from The Butterfly Lovers.

"What a marvelous sound." Sha Sha said softly.

Bai Lu looked outside, and he saw the staunch silhouette of the teenager. He turned around and looked at the rice cooker. Then he informed Bao Zi. "Go and tell the guy playing the flute that I would treat him to a meal for lunch. No wait, you tell him, that I would hire him to play a tune from the flute and the remuneration would be a meal for lunch."

After hearing this words, Zhang Zheng Yi finally broke his stern expression. It was like the ice melting in the gale of spring; His cold demeanor dissolved in a sudden. He smiled and nodded his head. "You are not bad."

Bai Lu felt moody. "Whether I am bad or not is not up for you to decide. Why are you always standing on a pedestal and judging everyone?"

After he said these words, he was determined to ignore Zhang Zheng Yi. He went to the fridge and retrieved some chicken, duck, fish, and meat. He solemnly wanted to make an elaborate feast that consisted of four cold dishes, four hot dishes, four meat dishes, and four vegetarian dishes.

Zhang Zheng Yi was not ready to give up. Since he was a talented student from the 'University of Complaints', how could he admit defeat so easily? He urged Bai Lu. "Isn't this meal a little too sumptuous? That wouldn't be good right? How could he eat so much by himself?"

Bao Lu completely gave up. "Since when did I mention that I am making this food for him?"

After he had understood the intentions of Bao Zi, the teenager bowed towards him with gratitude. He remained in the same spot and played finish his tune. Then he strolled towards the restaurant. When he reached the door, he resolutely stood firm at the entrance without wanting to go in. He said that he was afraid to dirty the interior of the shop.

"What do you mean by dirty? Come in." Bai Lu shouted from the kitchen, and he also shouted for Bao Zi. "Bring him to the washroom and wash his face and hands. If you clean him up nicely, your reward today shall be $100."

The moment he heard that there was some money to earn, Bao Zi acted like he was a kidnapper, and he shoved the teenager inside the washroom.

At this moment, quite a few people were queueing outside the restaurant. When they witnessed the street hustler entering the restaurant, some of them whispered. "Why did he enter inside? How are we supposed to eat here?"

Someone protested loudly. "He did not queue up."

Bai Lu retorted. "If you are in the same predicament as him, then you are granted immunity from queueing up."

After five minutes, the teenager came out, and Bai Lu asked him, "What do you want to eat?"

The teenager was a little timid, and he softly said, "Anything is fine."

"Hurry up and order. When you are done eating, go to the door and play one tune would do." Bai Lu treated him like he would treat anyone else.

The teenager hesitated a little. "Fish."

"Order one more."

"Beef."

"Great. Wait here." The flames of the kitchen stove burnt wildly, and the smoke from the grease was released. It also released the tantalizing scent from the ingredients being cooked.

Zhang Zheng Yi glared like a tiger watching its prey. As he watched on, he nodded his head. "Not bad. Not bad. Your fundamentals are decent. Your movements are nimble and clean. Where did you graduate from?"

Bai Lu had the urge to bite his head off. He thought, "Why is this old man equally annoying as Gao Yuan. I must treat him like an invisible piece of glass, and focus on my cooking."

After 15 minutes, a big bowl of piping hot white rice, a dish of fried fish with sauce, and a dish of stir-fried beef were laid in front of the teenager.

The teenager was a little touched. When he was roaming the streets, there were often people who treated him to a meal. However, today it was the first time that he was being treated like a regular customer and being served wholeheartedly.

The teenager expressed his gratitude and said thanks.

Bai Lu retrieved a spoon and a pair of chopsticks from the automatic chopsticks dispenser. "Take your time. There's no hurry."

The automatic chopsticks dispenser was a new addition to the restaurant, with antiseptic cleaning properties. Bai Lu did not like to use those disposable chopsticks, so he bought this machine.

He also did not like to use plastic bags and styrofoam boxes, so he purchased a batch of thermal lunchboxes with handles. They would be used for takeaway purchases. However, there was a catch, people who used the lunchboxes for takeaway would need to pay a deposit of $100.

Even though Bai Lu gave him the approval to eat slowly, the teenager refused. He finished devouring two entire fishes, and a plate of meat in less than five minutes. After he was done, he took the initiative to clear up the tables.

Bai Lu stopped him. "Just put it down there, and take a rest. You still have to play the flute in a while."

Sha Sha served him a cup of water, and he received it with thanks. "Thank you, thank you."

Bai Lu took out $200, and he passed $100 to the teenager. "Could you play one more tune later?"

"Sure, sure. Thank you. I cannot receive any more of your money." The teenager refused to accept the cash.

Bai Lu did not say anything, and he stuffed the cash inside of his school bag.

Bao Zi cleared the table of the bowls and plates that the teenager had used, and he brought it into the kitchen to wash. Bai Lu walked over, and he said, "Here's your reward." Then he placed $100 next to the sink.

Bao Zi looked at the money. Then he looked at the disabled teenager that was fidgeting in the restaurant. He accelerated his movements to scrub clean the utensils and crockery, and he placed them into the sterilizing machine. Then he grabbed the money and stuffed it into the teenager's bag.

The teenager thanked him profusely.

To be fair, the teenager could earn at least a couple of hundred bucks easily per day, so $100 was not very life changing to him. The most important thing to him was the way that he was being treated. It was very rare indeed for someone to treat him with such fairness. Naturally, he would feel tremendously grateful.

At this moment, Bai Lu was making the Egg Fried Rice in the kitchen.

He scooped up a bowl of rice that was freshly made. He broke up the rice and placed it in the freezer to chill. Then he cracked open some eggs and whipped it up. In 20 minutes, he took out the rice and started frying it.

It was just a few simple steps: Start the fire; Pour in the oil; Fry the egg; Remove the egg and fry the rice; Then he added in the egg, with salt, and chopped onions; Then the Egg Fried Rice was ready. There were no auxiliary ingredients at all.

The old man stared at him with wide eyes. "You call this fried rice?"

Bai Lu did not respond. He plated the fried rice, placed it down right in front of the old man, and he turned around and walked away.

Zhang Zheng Yi was slightly pissed. He thought, "You are looking down on me!" He shouted, "Prepare the ingredients." He wanted to show to Bai Lu, how to make authentic fried rice.

Bai Lu cast a glance towards Bao Zi, to aid the old man. Bao Zi followed his orders and went into the kitchen to ask him. "What ingredients do you need to prepare?"

"Of course the ingredients for making the fried rice: Jinhua Ham, scallops, prawns, Shiitake mushrooms..."

Bao Zi felt like he was listening to an imperial edict, he turned around and looked at Bai Lu. "Do we have those ingredients?"

Bai Lu coughed, and he said, "Sir, let's not waste the ingredients first. How about tasting the fried rice that I have made, if you do not like it then you could cook for me afterward." Then he said to Bao Zi, "Bring the chopsticks."