Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was currently not in season for peas to be ripened. Therefore, if one ate peas at this time of the year, it wouldn’t taste as good as fresh peas.
However, this problem did not exist for Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
That was why Yu Chu had swallowed the pea in his mouth without hesitation.
“Umm, it’s soft and has a slight taste of starch attached to it. This is indeed Boss Yuan’s handiwork,” Yu Chu remarked in satisfaction.
The pea Yu Chu ate here was completely different from the frozen peas he ate at Gan River.
The peas Yuan Zhou used on the tofu were soft yet had a crispy layer of shell around them. They also tasted very fresh. One would immediately realize that these peas were fresh peas instead of frozen peas the moment they ate it.
“This guy is eating tofu like he’s eating some exotic delicacies,” Ling Hong commented with disdain.
“That was how you acted when you first ate here,” Wu Hai commented bitingly. The food he ordered had yet to arrive.
“Um.” Jiang Changxi nodded.
“But my reaction was not as exaggerated as him.” As far as Ling Hong was concerned, someone as handsome and smart like him would never reveal the gluttonous expression Yu Chu had on him.
“Why did you order White Oil Tofu earlier then?” Wu Hai pushed on.
“Are we going to have a cheerful conversation or not?” Ling Hong was speechless.
“Sure we can. Give me half your tofu and I’ll make that happen,” Wu Hai said while stroking his mustache.
“Forget it. Continue saying whatever you want,” Ling Hong made an inviting gesture.
“As the Rich Guy, how can you be so lacking in generosity? I feel sad on behalf of the wallet in your pocket,” Wu Hai said with contempt.
Ling Hong completely ignored Wu Hai and sat there silently waiting for his food.
Yu Chu was also silently eating his food. Only chewing sounds could be heard from him.
He was currently eating the salty tofu.
The salty tofu was not cold like the sweet tofu. It was hot, or to be precise, it was scalding hot.
“Hiss, it’s very hot.” Yu Chu was sticking his tongue out as the tofu was too hot.
Immediately after, the salty flavor rushed into his throat, giving him an urge to continue chewing on the tofu. And the moment he continued chewing, the gravy within the tofu started flowing out. It was both hot and tasty, causing him to feel like spitting it out yet at the same time, he couldn’t bear to spit it out.
In order to keep the fragrance contained within his mouth, Yu Chu was even forced to shut his mouth tightly.
“Hiss, hot, so hot, so very hot,” Yu Chu repeated after swallowing the tofu.
The swallowed tofu felt like a clump of fire coursing down his throat to reach his chest. This immediately warmed Yu Chu up.
He had been on the road all day long with the cold wind blowing against him his entire journey. This was the moment when he finally felt some warmth.
The warmth spread from his stomach to his entire body.
“One more bite,” Yu Chu sighed and continued eating.
He gave up on all inhibitions and before his other dishes arrived, he had already finished his plate of tofu.
“Salty, fragrant, tender, smooth, and hot. Thank you, Director Jiang,” Yu Chu said to Jiang Changxi.
“You’re welcome. Do you feel much warmer now after eating the tofu?” Jiang Changxi teased.
“Yes. And I also know why this dish does not need to be eaten with a spoon. It is tender and springy so a spoon is not required. In fact, it tastes even better when using chopsticks,” Yu Chu answered with a nod.
Yu Chu had ordered six dishes, a bowl of white rice, and a drink yet he was able to finish everything himself. While eating, he was also protecting his food from Wu Hai who was seated beside him.
Before they left, Jiang Changxi gave Yu Chu a flabbergasted look and said, “I am quite shocked by the amount of food you can eat.”
One ought to remember that Yu Chu was normally a person who only ate a bowl of oatmeal at a time. Yet this time, he had eaten so much food.
“Don’t worry. My salary is enough to feed me,” Yu Chu said.
“I know that. Ok, go back and rest earlier. You still have a meeting tomorrow,” Jiang Changxi nodded and said.
“Goodbye, Director Jiang,” Yu Chu left with his luggage.
Yuan Zhou’s restaurant officially ended the dinner hour. Now, it was time for liquor.
Under the dark night, the few customers were drinking Bamboo Liquor on the second floor of the building beside the restaurant. Although there was no roof, it did not feel cold there. They drank while chattering away, and Shen Min was doing her homework on the table as usual.
The entire scene looked very comfortable and harmonious. As for Yuan Zhou, he was preparing for the menu tomorrow. After all, tomorrow was the day he would officially start offering the completed cuisines.
The night passed. Yuan Zhou woke up very early in the morning and nimbly cleaned and dressed up.
Dong! Dong! Dong! This time, the footsteps were not heading towards the back door. Rather, it entered the kitchen in the restaurant.
“Thank you, System,” Yuan Zhou said happily after looking at the wall.
As usual, there was no response from the system.
The wall in the restaurant had indeed changed. In the past, for the sake of having a restaurant flower, the wall would be filled with lotuses. Some of them were budding and some had just bloomed. The lotuses were cupped in the green leaves, and in the middle of the lotuses was the menu of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
As the dishes he had to offer grew, the space became more and more crowded. Now, with this new menu, the entire thing felt spacious again.
The main reason for that was because the Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine dishes were removed from the menu, replaced by a single sentence.
[All dishes in the Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine are available except the side dishes]
All the Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine dishes such as the Translucent Beef Slices, Silk Twined Rabbit, and Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork were gone from the menu. Even the newly released Dual-taste White Oil Tofu was gone.
“Not bad. This shows just how great I am. I am a man that has mastered an entire set of cuisine,” Yuan Zhou muttered smugly while looking at the menu.
Yuan Zhou was extremely satisfied. Therefore, in his good mood, he prepared Soup Dumplings for breakfast again. Naturally, the number of dumplings he prepared were still the same.
For some reason, nobody noticed the change in the menu even after an entire morning.
Then again, the breakfast served here were fixed and the customers couldn’t order anything else during the breakfast. Besides, the customers were too familiar with this restaurant. Even if they had to order, they could recall it from their memories alone and did not need to check the menu.
Of course, lunchtime was the exception.
Before long, lunchtime arrived. The first person to notice the change wasn’t Wu Hai who was the first to arrive. Rather, it was Lee Yanyi who was the second to enter.
“Brat Yuan, you changed the menu?” Lee Yanyi was always direct when speaking.
“Yes,” Yuan Zhou nodded with a calm expression, yet he was inwardly feeling smug.
He had finally reached a point where people could freely order anything from a selected cuisine and he would be able to make it. After all, he was now a person who had mastered an entire cuisine.
“Any dishes of Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine can be freely ordered? That’s quite confident of you,” Lee Yanyi did not bother beating around the bush.
“Of course.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head.
“You must know that the dishes of Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine adhered closely to the traditions. No changes or innovations are allowed for Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine,” Lee Yanyi started reciting the characteristic of the Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisine.
Before Yuan Zhou could say anything, Lee Yanyi added, “Right, I had nearly forgotten that you’re the Compass. Cooking traditional dishes suit you well.”
“There will still be innovation in the future,” Yuan Zhou disagreed and said with a flat tone.
“You are still young. Of course, innovations will only come in the future,” the moment they spoke about Yuan Zhou’s cooking skills, Lee Yanyi became much milder.
Indeed, Yuan Zhou was still very young. Despite his age, his cooking skills were excellent. There would be no problem for him to be inventing new dishes in the future.
For Yuan Zhou, changing the menu was a trivial affair. But it was something astonishing for the customers. Of course, everyone knew Yuan Zhou well so nobody bothered to ask him anything.
Everyone made up their mind to do some research about the Chengdu School of Sichuan Cuisines so that could order something nice from Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
