Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
As soon as Carpenter Lian said that, Yuan Zhou became curious and hence asked directly.
“Tri-Color Beans? Tell me something about it?” Yuan Zhou asked.
Carpenter Lian was a little delighted when he found Yuan Zhou asked in that way and hadn’t seemed to have heard of the dish. But when he found Yuan Zhou didn’t have any change in his expression, he wasn’t quite sure. Therefore, he had to explain simply to him, “It’s very simple. Put peas, soybeans, and red beans together and stir-fry them and then serve the dish. The three beans must have three different tastes and they have to be classified respectively.”
“I see.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head and began to think carefully in his heart without saying anything.
Obviously, this dish was very difficult to cook since this master carpenter dared to make this request with the condition that he knew it was Yuan Zhou. Yuan Zhou guessed it might be an extinct dish, but to his surprise, he hadn’t even heard of this dish before.
Speaking of which, Yuan Zhou had once seen a magic trick, in which the soybeans and mung beans were mixed together and then separated instantly. Although both culinary skills and magic relied on hand techniques, the difference between them was sharp.
Moreover, Yuan Zhou wasn’t a magician. For an instant, he really didn’t know how to cook it, but he was quite interested.
“The three tastes for the Tri-Color Beans are supposed to be sweet, salty, and spicy or sour.” Yuan Zhou thought about it quickly in his mind.
Then, Carpenter Lian felt satisfied and relaxed.
It was definitely a mission totally unlikely to be completed, because this dish had already been lost for a very long time in history. Not to mention on the Internet, even the library didn’t have any information about this dish.
The top-notch chefs didn’t even know this dish, not to mention cooking it. The reason why Carpenter Lian knew it was he accidentally read an ancient book called Song Za Zu published in the late Ming Dynasty. This dish happened to be recorded in the book. Its original name was Three Fragrance to the Ocean instead of Tri-Color Beans.
Don’t think the book Song Za Zu was a book like Suiyuan Delicacy List, which specially recorded various delicacies. As a matter of fact, Za Zu meant miscellanea and this book was written randomly by a person surnamed Song, just like Qiuyang Za Zu and Xitang Za Zu. Therefore, this dish was simply mentioned in the book with only one or two words.
Having been told by Carpenter Lian, Zhou Shijie also felt it was interesting and tried to study it, but still failed in the end. Therefore, Carpenter Lian was very confident that he could baffle Yuan Zhou.
That’s right. Carpenter Lian didn’t want to make the cabinet for Yuan Zhou at all. Firstly, he had quit making furniture personally for years and secondly, a cabinet wasn’t challenging at all. The reason why he made a set of furniture for Zhou Shijie’s daughter previously was that he owed Zhou Shijie a favor. That was the last time he had made furniture personally.
However, Yuan Zhou was a very famous chef and moreover, he was introduced to his store by Zhou Shijie. It would be embarrassing to refuse him face to face. At that time, the function of fame was reflected. If it were another person, he not only might be refused, but also probably be scolded by Carpenter Lian.
Therefore, Carpenter Lian thought of such an idea. A dish that had baffled the chairman of China Chefs’ Alliance was unlikely to be cooked by Yuan Zhou, in Carpenter Lian’s eyes. He naturally felt relaxed, then.
“All right. I can cook it,” Yuan Zhou pondered in his heart for quite a while and then said earnestly.
“You didn’t hear me clearly, did you? And do you know what dish it is?” Carpenter Lian was stupefied for an instant and then said discontentedly with his brows knitted.
“Your description is quite clear. I can fully understand it,” said Yuan Zhou.
“Can you cook it?” Carpenter Lian revealed a look of disbelief.
“Yes.” Yuan Zhou nodded.
“If you cook it in the end, I will make a cabinet for you, free of charge. I won’t accept even a single dime from you.” Carpenter Lian’s disbelief was clearly revealed from his words.
“That’s a deal.” Yuan Zhou immediately answered.
“I can not only learn a new dish, but also get a cabinet for free. It’s a good deal,” said Yuan Zhou in his heart.
“Don’t worry. This old man won’t swindle you out of a cabinet.” Carpenter Lian grunted coldly and then became silent.
“How about you come to my restaurant at 3 p.m. three days later?” Yuan Zhou thought for a while and directly confirmed the time.
“Got it.” Carpenter Lian waved his hand and appeared to be too lazy to say more.
“See you three days later,” after saying that, Yuan Zhou turned around and left.
“What kind of person did this Old Zhou introduce to me? This one-track-minded young guy!” Carpenter Lian muttered discontentedly.
Seeing Yuan Zhou turn around and leave the store neatly, Carpenter Lian was still angry in his heart. Even if he felt Yuan Zhou was unlikely to cook the dish, he still felt it to be troublesome.
“Damn it. I must scold that Scamming Zhou to vent my anger.” Carpenter Lian directly stood up and went to the counter and then prepared to make a call.
Then, the man behind the cutout door didn’t dare to come out more. He began to stare at the people inside make tables, chairs, and benches very carefully.
“It’s impolite to argue with this young man, but I simply must criticize this Scamming Zhou.” Even while Carpenter Lian was waiting for the phone to be connected, he still muttered and revealed a look of dissatisfaction.
After all, Carpenter Lian wasn’t familiar with Yuan Zhou. Plus the fame and age of Yuan Zhou, he couldn’t do such things like scolding the young man. But Zhou Shijie was different.
Zhou Shijie was more famous and they were well acquainted with each other. Besides, they had argued and quarreled more than once. Therefore, Carpenter Lian didn’t have any qualms on scolding him.
“Wood Lian, what do you call me for? Zhou Shijie’s voice came from the phone.
“For the thing you did.” Carpenter Lian grunted coldly.
“What is it?” Zhou Shijie felt puzzled.
“Who asked you to introduce that young man, Yuan Zhou, to my store to make a cabinet? I told you that I had quit making furniture. Are you also dull of hearing apart from your poor eyesight from old age?” Carpenter Lian questioned him closely and repeatedly.
“Did he ask you to make a cabinet?” Zhou Shijie asked tentatively.
“It’s you who told him so,” Carpenter Lian said angrily.
“Did you agree to his request?” Zhou Shijie continued asking instead of saying anything else.
“It’s none of your business. If you dare to introduce anybody here again, I will smash your chopping board.” Carpenter Lian threatened bitterly.
“Come on. I’m doing this for your own good. If you always don’t make furniture, I’m afraid that you’ll be out of practice,” said Zhou Shijie mildly.
“It’s not your problem, so you don’t need to worry about that. And if you do it again, I promise that you won’t get your chopping board.” Carpenter Lian threatened.
“You spoke as if you had agreed to his request.” Zhou Shijie was good at using the provocative approach. Now he directly used this method, again.
“Of course I agreed, but it won’t be so eas to let me make the cabinet,” Carpenter Lian said complacently.
“You requested the Tri-Color Beans again, right?” After thinking for a second, Zhou Shijie instantly figured out this carpenter’s intention.
With Zhou Shijie’s knowledge of him, he knew Carpenter Lian wouldn’t refuse directly, but he was also unlikely to agree so easily. So it was naturally the best choice for him to raise a difficult question that could be hardly completed.
And this difficult question must be reasonable. Yuan Zhou was a chef and naturally, the difficult question Carpenter Lian could think of was the Tri-Color Beans, which had already been lost in history.
“Even you couldn’t cook it so that young man absolutely couldn’t cook it, either. I know you introduced him to my store, but I’m not grateful to you.” Seeing Zhou Shijie also panic when he worked out his intention, Carpenter Lian said complacently, to the contrary.
“I couldn’t cook it, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t either. Old guy, looks like you will be making the cabinet,” after saying that, Zhou Shijie directly hung up the phone.
“Annoying Scamming Zhou!” Carpenter Lian stared at the phone that had been hung up and foamed with rage.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Shijie was still a little worried.
“Yuan Zhou hasn’t met with any setbacks since he became famous. Although he can cook miscellaneous things, I’m just not sure if he can cook the Tri-Color Beans this time.” Zhou Shijie was also quite worried in his heart.
“Let me make a phone call to ask him.” Zhou Shijie thought for a while and immediately got an idea. He picked up the phone and prepared to call Yuan Zhou to ask him directly.
