Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Hey, doesn’t this master look familiar?” Bai Guo asked.
“What?” Jiang Meisi did not notice anything.
“Yes, kind of,” Li He felt the same as Bai Guo.
“Hey, I know. Wasn’t he the one fighting with us to get the lead story on the Southeast Asia Cooking Master Evaluation?” Bai Guo suddenly said.
“Yes, exactly,” Li He recalled it now.
“Cooking evaluation?” Jiang Meisi was still clueless.
“Back then, both I and Bai Guo had a variety show that was very popular. But since this person was one of the commenters at the Southeast Asia Cuisine Competition held in Vietnam, with his sharp comments, he gained even more views than us on Weibo. I never expected to see him here,” Li He said, finding this hard to believe.
This was truly hard to believe. Back then, Bai Guo and Li He had a slightly negative interaction that was intentionally being put on the spotlight by the producers to gain more views. Suddenly, this Master Cheng came out of nowhere and surpassed their views with his sharp comments on the difference between Chinese Cuisine and the cuisines of other countries.
Ultimately, it was discovered that this person was, in fact, a rather popular chef in the country and had once represented the country to a food exchange activity abroad.
It was truly a surprise that a person like this was learning here. Moreover, from how respectful he was toward Yuan Zhou, it was clear he had completely submitted to Yuan Zhou.
“A person like that is learning how to cook here?” Jiang Meisi found that hard to believe.
After all, for them, a person lauded as a master in his own right like this would have his pride. How could he be here learning from Yuan Zhou? Moreover, he was learning with a submissive and deferential attitude.
One ought to know that during a past show when they filmed an episode regarding a wickerwork artist, that person was also known as a master. He had an extremely bad temper, and even during filming, he held nothing back towards them.
One could say that the master was simply doing what he wanted simply because of his talent. And yet here it was, a renowned chef was humbly and modestly learning. That was truly quite a surprise.
They rubbed their eyes, wondering if they had gotten the wrong person.
“Yes, Master Cheng has been here for quite a while. He has been trying to become Boss Yuan’s disciple but Boss Yuan keeps rejecting him,” said a customer proudly.
“Rejected?” The three looked at Yuan Zhou and Master Cheng with an odd gaze and silently increased Yuan Zhou’s status in their hearts.
“That is correct. I have yet to meet Master Yuan’s standards,” Master Cheng said. He had evidently overheard them.
“Cough, cough. Master Cheng, not even you met his standards?” Bai Guo choked on his breath when he heard Master Cheng’s words and asked curiously.
Master Cheng first gazed at Yuan Zhou respectfully, recalling the numerous cooking skills Yuan Zhou had once demonstrated before answering, “Yes, far from it.”
With this, they got even more confused on Yuan Zhou’s level. It would seem like they couldn’t stop being shocked. At first, they believed that Yuan Zhou was slightly inferior to Dean. But now, even Dean had acknowledged Yuan Zhou’s superiority.
“Master Cheng, can you tell us the simplest dish to learn here?” Li He was the one to first recover from his shock and asked.
“In the short time frame you have, it is impossible to learn Master Yuan’s cooking skills. But there is one thing you can try. By following the proper posture, you might be able to make something out of it,” Master Cheng said without holding anything back.
“What is it?” asked the three. Even Dean got curious.
“Watermelon Juice. Freshly squeezed Watermelon Juice,” Master Cheng said.
“Watermelon Juice? Yes! Why haven’t we thought of that? Beverages are probably the easiest to learn,” Bai Guo immediately said in excitement.
“True, making a Watermelon Juice is extremely easy,” Jiang Meisi nodded with a smile.
“We should be able to complete this mission,” Li He nodded in relief.
“Are you saying that Chef Yuan squeezes Watermelon Juice in a different manner as well?” Dean asked as he acutely noticed something when he saw Master Cheng’s expression.
“Of course. Everything made by Master Yuan, even if it’s a simple Watermelon Juice, will be different than others,” Master Cheng said.
“How different can it be?” Bai Guo asked.
True. It was just a Watermelon Juice. After slicing the watermelon and putting them through the blender, the Watermelon Juice would be completed. What kind of difference could there be in something like this?
“It might be different after all,” Jiang Meisi said when she recalled how Yuan Zhou washed his rice grains.
“I wonder what’s the difference?” Li He probed cautiously.
“Master Yuan is making one soon. You can see it yourselves,” Master Cheng was always paying attention to Yuan Zhou even when speaking to others. He quickly told them to look at Yuan Zhou.
This time, it was not an arrangement of Jiang Meisi and the others. Rather, it was a customer that had ordered a Watermelon Juice.
“How lucky am I to be able to drink Watermelon Juice at night,” the customer rejoiced.
It was understandable why that customer was rejoicing. Yuan Zhou’s Watermelon Juice had a limited amount. Let alone now, even during Chinese New Year period when the weather was cold, the Watermelon Juice would be finished by the time night arrived.
The three felt like they had been given a pillow when they were sleepy. Right as they were asking about Watermelon Juice, they got a chance to witness it.
“Come, go nearer and see how Boss Yuan makes his Watermelon Juice,” Li He called the others over.
“Ok,” Bai Guo and Jiang Meisi answered and walked forward.
The speed Yuan Zhou used to make Watermelon Juice was much faster than when he was cooking rice.
Li He, Bai Guo, Jiang Meisi and Dean watched on as Yuan Zhou took out a watermelon. Li He muttered that this watermelon looked like it was of good quality with how mellow and full it looked.
With a swish, a glint flashed by the air. A fist-sized circular incision appeared on the watermelon. Before Li He and the others could praise how nice the insides looked, they saw Yuan Zhou aiming his knife from an extremely odd angle. And with a couple of waves, a cylindrical watermelon appeared before them.
This cylindrical watermelon was the innermost part of the original watermelon. It looked like a glossy and sleek ruby pillar. Silently, it rested on the plate. Next, Yuan Zhou squeezed a glass of fresh Watermelon Juice out of it.
The red Watermelon Juice looked extremely pretty in the glass. On the surface of the glass, a tiny layer of white mist was drifting about. The entire appearance of this Watermelon Juice looked incredibly enticing. And coupled with the fresh smell of watermelon, one would find this glass of juice hard to resist.
The entire process lasted less than two minutes, and it only took this long because of the traditional manual squeezing method Yuan Zhou used.
More importantly, Yuan Zhou was using the same kitchen knife for the entire process. This was their source of astonishment.
How had he fitted such a large kitchen knife into the small incision to cut out such a smooth cylindrical piece of watermelon?
“In the past, when I saw on TV how people only needed to wave their knife in the air to finish cutting all the ingredients, I found that hard to believe. After seeing how Chef Yuan handles his watermelon, I have to start believing it,” Bai Guo mumbled.
“That is too fast,” Jiang Meisi wrinkled her nose with an anxious look on her face as she wasn’t able to get a clear look.
“True, it’s quite fast,” Li He was still blanking out as he only saw the knife flickering around and the watermelon was already cut.
This mission was simply making their lives hard. They were celebrities, not chefs. How could they handle a knife like this?
