Chapter 29 - Shocked the Head Chef for a Hundred Years!

Chapter 29 Shocked the Head Chef for a Hundred Years!

Zhan Long was inspired by Xu Yuan and was determined to make Shan Zicai stay.

He stood at the corner of the hall and turned to look at the smug Shan Zicai. The latter was shaking his legs, grabbing a handful of melon seeds from somewhere and munching on them. His feet were covered in the skin of the melon seeds.

In the past, when there was no business in the shop, Zhan Long would also clean up the floor and reception desk. After all, this place had been carrying his decades of hard work. If it weren’t for the chandelier that needed to be cleaned by someone, he wished he could climb up and clean it up himself.

He could only clean up the place. It was as if as long as he cleaned up Royal Court Banquet, its glory would always be there.

Now, seeing that the ground he had painstakingly wiped clean was dirtied by Shan Zicai, Zhan Long gritted his teeth. If not for Xu Yuan, he would have gone out to teach Shan how to be a person and teach him with his fists!

Zhan took a deep breath and rubbed his cheeks hard to relax the muscles on his face.

Then, he walked up to Shan Zicai with a sad face. He stood three steps away with his head lowered, and his two hands hugged each other shyly.

“What’s wrong? Are you trying to chase me away again?” Shan Zicai spat and spat the melon seeds on the coffee table. “If you had the magnanimity and style of your young master, you wouldn’t have gotten to where you are now.”

Zhan Long held his breath and said in the most dejected voice he could muster, “The ingredients in our kitchen are not fully prepared, and many things have to be bought on the spot. Customer, why don’t you go back first and come back tomorrow to eat?”

Shan Zicai’s favorite thing was to go against Zhan Long. Since Zhan had asked him to come back tomorrow, he would insist on eating today.

“I have plenty of time. I want to eat barbecued pork rice today.”

He gloated as he stared at Zhan Long’s even uglier expression. He stuffed a handful of melon seeds into his mouth.

Zhan sighed helplessly. “This is… You also know that barbecued pork needs time to roast slowly. Look, the sun is about to set. Once it’s done, it can only be served as supper. Why don’t you go back first? We’ll inform you when it’s done. What do you think?”

“What? I’m sitting here now. Do you think I’m here to make a reservation?” Shan Zicai said contemptuously, “You guys aren’t the same as before. You’re still putting on airs with me. Old Zhan, don’t dawdle here. Quickly go to the kitchen and help your young master with the fire. I’ll wait here!”

Zhan Long did not flare up, contrary to his usual behavior. He was still patient as he advised, “But I’m worried that you won’t be able to wait and order takeout. It will ruin the eating experience of our barbecued pork rice.”

The more he spoke, the more impatient Shan Zicai became. “You’re only saying this since you can’t make a good dish. I promise I won’t eat anything else until I eat the barbecued pork rice! Hmph, I’ll wait here today and see what kind of barbecued pork rice you can cook.”

Zhan Long smiled triumphantly. “Then the person who runs away is worse than pigs and dogs?”

“Worse than pigs and dogs!”

Shan Zicai felt that he had the upper hand at this moment, and he was very pleased with himself. Facing any provocation from Zhan Long was like watching a kitten or dog baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. His resentment that had been suppressed for many years exploded today, and so he dared to invovle himself in any kind of trouble.

Zhan Long saw that he had foolishly taken the bait, and he could not hold back his smile. He quickly told Wei Heji to serve Shan Zicai well, and that he absolutely could not let him escape. He immediately ran back to the kitchen.

“Young Master, I have successfully kept Shan Zicai. If he doesn’t wait, he will be worse than pigs and dogs!” Zhan Long held his belly and laughed.

Xu Yuan had just washed out the pork shoulder meat when he replied without turning his head, “Very well, let him wait.”

After saying that, he placed the meat on the chopping board.

Zhan Long did not receive any instructions and so stood straight at the side and waited for orders. Seeing that Xu Yuan was about to start, he stretched his neck out curiously, wanting to see what was going on.

He saw Xu delving into his inner core and raising his palm high. With a “Clang” sound, the metal chopping board shook violently. The pork shoulder meat that had been hit trembled twice, and then it was hammered densely like raindrops.

Zhan Long’s eyes widened as he looked at Xu Yuan’s wonderful palm technique. He was so surprised that he forgot to breathe.

Xu’s palm struck the pork shoulder meat one after another. It seemed to have no effect, but its strength rose from the inside, and the fascia inside the meat that affected the taste was all arranged in an array. The pork shoulder meat would originally have a kind of crispy and tender taste. But after adding the skillful beating, this made the fat between the muscles blend with each other, hence achieving the perfect taste of soft but not soft, crisp but not hard! Based on Xu Yuan’s stance, it would not be too much to say that he had gone to study abroad in the Wudang Martial Arts Academy!

He hammered the meat for a full fifteen minutes, and in the middle, he did not stop for a breather. Zhan Long felt his hands ache as he looked on.

“It’s about time.” Xu Yuan picked up the pork shoulder meat and looked at it. There was no change in its appearance.

The whole piece of meat looked like it had just been taken out of the refrigerator. However, as a professional, Zhan Long knew that the inside had undergone earth-shaking changes!

After the meat was processed, it was time for the most important marinade.

Xu Yuan glanced at the complete set of seasonings. As there were no customers in the shop, many of the seasonings were still in bottles and had not even been opened.

Zhan Long seemed to have finally found a place where he could use them. He quickly took out a fist-sized bottle of sauce from the cabinet and said, “Young Master, I brought this barbequed sauce back from Huang Lian. It’s a secret sauce made by an old chef who has been cooking barbequed pork rice for forty years.”

Famous chefs loved precious sauces as much as diamonds loved jewelers. Moreover, when it came to secret recipes, sauces were hard to come by. Zhan Long had to visit the old chef several times to get such a small bottle.

Normally, he would never use this sauce on Shan Zicai, but now that it was related to the first time Xu Yuan was cooking, he had to give it up no matter how reluctant he was.

With a good sauce, as long as Xu did not roast the meat into charcoal, the taste would not be too bad. This could be considered as his escort for Xu Yuan.

Xu took the sauce bottle, opened the lid, and a strong, fresh and sweet fragrance wafted into his face. It was indeed a bottle of good sauce, and even Zhan Long only had such a small bottle, which was enough to prove its rarity.

However, this taste was obviously lacking for Xu Yuan.

He closed the lid and returned it to Zhan Long. “Thank you, Uncle Zhan, but I still want to make this barbequed sauce myself.”

The sauce was the same as traditional Chinese medicine. The sauce was the same sauce, but the secret was in the ratio. A little more and a little less would make a big difference.

Xu Yuan knew this well. The ready-made barbecue sauce was indeed good, but it was not the taste that he wanted.

“Uncle Zhan, help me find soy sauce, oyster sauce, seafood sauce, cooking wine, garlic, and…”

Zhan Long very nimbly helped get the required ingredients at the side. He even helped to chop the garlic into small pieces. He was a top chef helping out, and such thoughtfulness saved Xu Yuan a lot of trouble.

Xu nodded in satisfaction. He opened the sauce bottles one by one, opened the fire to boil the sauce, and poured one bottle after another into the pot. It seemed to be casual, but in fact, every drop was within his estimation.

Zhan Long stood at the side to see clearly, too shocked to close his mouth.