Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“What is this taste?” Lu Xian stared at the ordinary looking tofu pudding in his bowl.
“Has my sense of taste deteriorated so fast?” Lu Xian tasted another mouthful of tofu pudding.
This time, he had it with the sauce.
The tofu pudding served by Yuan Zhou was square-shaped. He had taken the first mouthful from the corner of the square, and now, he took another piece off the tofu pudding.
For other tofu puddings, if it could be picked up with chopsticks, it would signify that the tofu pudding was not tender and smooth enough. Yet if they could be picked up with chopsticks, it signified that the tofu pudding was too mushy. Both of these were not good tofu puddings.
Lu Xian was naturally aware that Yuan Zhou was capable of making a tofu pudding that was tender yet still could be picked up with chopsticks. Otherwise, his reputation would have been for nothing.
However, the Spring Water Tofu Pudding was different than other tofu puddings. It had to be both hot and tender which was hard to achieve at the same time.
Back then when Little Qiu won his award, he managed to achieve both. With the combination of his tofu pudding and an extremely delicious sauce, he defeated the delicacies of numerous other top chefs.
Yet this tofu pudding made by Yuan Zhou was completely unlike any tofu pudding Lu Xian had eaten in the past.
Carefully and slowly, Lu Xian placed the tofu pudding dipped with chili oil into his mouth.
“Uhh, hiss, so hot,” Lu Xian hissed.
The short instant he took to hiss was sufficient for the tofu pudding in his mouth to dissolve and mix with the chili oil in his mouth. The fragrance of beans filled his mouth, while the spiciness of the chili started stimulating his senses.
A pleasant taste and spiciness came together in his mouth along with a scalding hot sensation. Lu Xian felt his sense of taste awakening as every detail of the flavor he was tasting spread in his mouth while the tenderness and smoothness coursed through his mouth.
Delicious! Refreshing!
Each of the different sensations he felt complemented one another and combined like a passionate symphony.
“Delicious! Hot, spicy, refreshing, tender, and smooth,” Lu Xian shut his eyes in satisfaction.
“It is indeed a surprise. This tofu pudding is completely unlike any I have tasted. Interesting, how interesting,” Lu Xian sighed while eating.
“Of course,” Zhou Shijie nodded, his chopsticks never stopping.
“Spring Water Tofu Pudding indeed. A tiny piece in the mouth is sufficient to taste the sweetness of the spring water,” Lu Xian nodded. As it was too delicious, his speech was filled with emotion as he lamented without stop.
“Looks like your sense of taste has yet to deteriorate,” Zhou Shijie teased.
“Of course. There are still many delicacies waiting for me to taste,” Lu Xian nodded.
“You’re the same as that brat,” Zhou Shijie snorted.
“No way. I don’t know him,” Lu Xian denied while shaking his head.
“I’m saying you’re the same as that brat, a glutton,” Zhou Shijie clarified.
“Only a person who has an abundance of good food can be called a glutton. That is a good thing to be known as,” Lu Xian did not seem to mind and continued eating the tofu pudding.
“I don’t feel like talking to you anymore,” Zhou Shijie countered and started eating in silence.
He forgot everything the moment the tofu pudding entered his mouth. This was a taste he could not describe. Even if Zhou Shijie had excellent cooking skills, and even if he had tried Master Shi’s Spring Water Tofu Pudding before, he still could not find the words to describe how delicious this tofu pudding was.
“Yuan Zhou is worthy of his reputation. He can create something new out of a simple dish like the Spring Water Tofu Pudding. Looks like old men like us should retire,” Zhou Shijie lamented.
That’s right. This was what Zhou Shijie felt after trying Yuan Zhou’s tofu pudding.
“It is both within my expectations; yet, surprising at the same time. What a delicious tofu pudding,” Zhou Shijie praised with each bite he took.
In a short while, more than half of their tofu puddings were gone. The plain white rice they ordered was reducing steadily as well. In fact, the plain white rice complemented the tofu pudding very well.
As Zhou Shijie and Lu Xian arrived quite late, when they arrived, Wu Hai had already finished his first round of eating. Therefore, the dishes Wu Hai ordered earlier was, in fact, his second round. And yet he was able to finish all the dishes at the same time the two old men finished their tofu pudding.
“The restaurant is closing now. See you tomorrow,” Yuan Zhou said one minute after the dinner time ended.
“Goodbye, Boss Yuan.”
“Boss Yuan, don’t forget the Spring Water Tofu Pudding tomorrow,” said the customers who were craving for the Spring Water Tofu Pudding after seeing Zhou Shijie and Lu Xian eating it.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Spring Water Tofu Pudding.”
“See you tomorrow, Boss Yuan.”
The customers started leaving one after another, yet all of them did not forget what they wanted to eat tomorrow.
Yuan Zhou gave the same reply to all of them, “See you tomorrow.”
After all, this was human nature. After breakfast, one would start planning lunch. And after lunch, one would start planning dinner. And now that they had finished their dinner, they started thinking about tomorrow.
The crowd left quickly while Zhou Jia and Mu Xiaoyun signed off from work. As for Shen Min, she went to the pub on the second floor to start preparing the liquor business.
In a short while, only Yuan Zhou, Zhou Shijie, and Lu Xian were left. Even Wu Hai had already left.
Wu Hai did not bother staying as he was aware that Yuan Zhou would not serve any food out of business hours. In any case, he would still come later for the liquor.
“Pure fragrance of beans, reaching the pinnacle of the usage of soybeans,” Zhou Shijie was the first to talk, giving a very positive review.
“Thank you. What do you think?” Yuan Zhou nodded and asked.
Zhou Shijie sank into silence and did not say anything. Beside him, Lu Xian spoke.
“Both your tofu pudding and Old Shi’s tofu pudding has its own merits,” Lu Xian had initially thought that he was already overestimating Yuan Zhou in his assessment of 90% earlier. Surprisingly, Yuan Zhou had exceeded even his overestimation.
Yuan Zhou’s Spring Water Tofu Pudding was neither 90% or even 100% of Master Shi’s tofu pudding. Rather, he opened a completely different path, creating something that was equal to Master Shi’s tofu pudding.
“Boss Yuan, you must have practiced cooking since you were in your mother’s womb. That was how you became so good,” Lu Xian said while sizing up Yuan Zhou.
“Actually, I learned cooking not long ago,” Yuan Zhou honestly answered.
This rendered both of them speechless.
Yuan Zhou was not trying to act cool saying those words. Rather, he was being truthful. However, this truth had caused both Lu Xian and Zhou Shijie to be at a loss for words. Both of them looked at Yuan Zhou in resentment.
If a person who had only learned cooking a short while ago was this good, what should they, people who had been cooking for so long, do with themselves?
“I know, I know you’re a genius. Don’t keep mentioning it,” Zhou Shijie said helplessly.
“You’re as annoying as Chu Xiao,” Zhou Shijie said with a glare.
“Not quite. I am more handsome than him,” Yuan Zhou said with his hands resting on the azure stone countertop. He felt like this was something he needed to clarify.
“Hahaha, young Boss Yuan is interesting indeed,” Lu Xian laughed.
“No wonder you can make something this good. You indeed think differently,” Lu Xian seriously said while looking at the two empty bowls.
“Stop keeping us in suspense. Your tofu pudding has an extremely pure taste. How did you do that? I know how to remove the smell from the brine water. I am asking about the beans,” Zhou Shijie immediately became serious when he talked about cooking.
Yuan Zhou was even more serious than him. He stood with his back straight and took one thing out.
This thing was brown in color and was the length of an arm. It looked like a wooden stick, and one of its ends was pointed like the edge of a blade. This stick had obviously been shaved into this shape.
The moment this stick was taken out, Zhou Shijie immediately stood up in astonishment, “You used this to slice the tofu pudding?”
“Yeah. The bamboo knife would still have the fresh scent of the bamboo attached to it. Other ingredients are fine with this scent but tofu pudding is too tender. Therefore, using bean sticks as a knife is the best option.” In a completely relaxed manner, Yuan Zhou concluded, “This is but a little trick. It’s nothing.”
He looked nothing like a person who had eaten 20 bowls of tofu pudding and spent an entire night thinking about tofu pudding.
The current Yuan Zhou was the perfect example of a person acting cool.
