Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Master Deng did not give an immediate reply to Yuan Zhou’s words. Rather, he continued speaking.
“Among tricks, there is one called Three Immortals to the Cave, performed with a pair of chopsticks, two bowls, and three balls. Phantom Hands, Master Wang, is the best at this performance. Under bitter training, his hands are so fast your eyes won’t be able to follow them. A lot of times, he wasn’t even using any tricks. He was merely moving the balls from one bowl to another,” said Master Deng.
This was quite a simple concept. When one’s speed surpassed what the camera and eyes could catch, one would not be able to see it. Yuan Zhou did not say anything and waited for Master Deng to continue speaking.
“Based on your description, you need to separate the three types of beans of similar size the instant they left the pot. How long exactly is your instant? I will give you leeway and consider it as two seconds. How many beans do you have in a pot? I will give you leeway in that as well and consider you to have 30 of each type of beans. In two seconds, moving 90 beans accurately is not something even Master Wang, the Phantom Hands can do,” said Master Deng.
This explanation disappointed Yuan Zhou. Based on Master Deng’s explanation, let alone separating three flavors, even separating the three types of beans were impossible.
Nevertheless, Master Deng had still taken the time to answer his question. Therefore, Yuan Zhou thanked seriously, “Ok. Thank you, Master Deng.”
When Master Deng saw the disappointment on Yuan Zhou’s face, he added, “Three Fragrance to the Ocean, that’s the name of the dish, right? I have an idea. You can take that into consideration.”
“Please say it, Master Deng,” Yuan Zhou said.
“Since it is a lost dish, that means Three Fragrance to the Ocean is a dish that used to exist. In other words, it is something that someone had indeed made before. Think about it. If the chef had truly managed to do that with hand tricks or speed, he wouldn’t be a chef. Rather, he would be a master magician.”
This theory of Master Deng was quite interesting. This caused Yuan Zhou to be hit by a realization. The Phantom Hands Master Wang probably was already someone with the fastest hands in this age. Although there were many people of rare talent in the ancient era, reaching that kind of speed was still too much of an exaggeration.
More importantly, if that dish truly needed such a requirement of the chef, it would not be called a dish. Rather, it would be a performance.
“Therefore, since it is a lost dish, you can consider restoring it like how a chef will instead of approaching it with tricks that are not in the domain of a chef. For example, ingredients, or something else.” Master Deng continued, “Although I don’t know much about cooking, I believe that is the approach you should take.”
It was a dish, hence it should be restored like how a chef would. This hit Yuan Zhou like a lightning bolt. Yuan Zhou finally realized that he had strayed far from the right path.
“Thank you, Master Deng,” said Yuan Zhou as he gave a deep bow.
“No, I can’t accept this bow.” Master Deng quickly held Yuan Zhou up and said, “It’s not like you are becoming my disciple. You don’t have to give me such a deep bow.”
Yet Yuan Zhou still maintained his bow. Although Master Deng was stronger than Yuan Zhou, it wouldn’t be proper for him to apply too much strength to force Yuan Zhou up. Yuan Zhou spoke, “Your words have corrected my path in cooking and you have spoken like a master would. In a way, you are my teacher. You deserve this bow.”
“Those are merely some simple thoughts of mine,” Master Deng did not know how to deal with Yuan Zhou. He felt like although Yuan Zhou was young, he behaved in an extremely old fashioned manner.
“When thanking someone, it is always appropriate to take on the perspective of the one that is benefiting,” Yuan Zhou insisted.
Master Deng could do nothing and with no other options, he accepted Yuan Zhou’s bow.
“You’re welcome. I hope you find success, Boss Yuan,” Master Deng said seriously.
“I will,” Yuan Zhou nodded and no longer bothered Master Deng. After all, this was the backstage and there were other masters around resting. He immediately left without lingering.
Master Deng watched on as Yuan Zhou left and muttered, “This young man is too old fashioned. It will be hard for him to find a girlfriend.”
While he spoke, Master Deng prepared for his next performance. In truth, the driver earlier had spoken wrongly. In this teahouse, only three performances would be held each night. It would start at 6:30 pm and end at 11:00 pm.
Master Deng was picking up his iron ring when he suddenly blanked. Then, he left the backstage. At first, he was walking quickly but subsequently, he started running.
When he reached outside, he saw Yuan Zhou looking at his phone. Master Deng called out to him.
“Hey, Master Yuan.”
Yuan Zhou blanked out when he heard the familiar voice. He asked, “Yes, Master Deng?”
“Master Yuan, if you know someone suitable and interested in learning our magic tricks, please do introduce that person to me.”
“Ok, will do,” Yuan Zhou agreed.
Master Deng smiled, “I have faith in anyone you might introduce.”
Right this moment, a taxi arrived. Yuan Zhou took his leave and got on the taxi. After giving the driver his address, the taxi sped off.
Yuan Zhou had arrived at around 8:00 pm, and after the performance ended, it was about 9:00 pm. And by the time he reached his restaurant, it was 9:40 pm.
The pub was still bustling. Yuan Zhou was planning to enter from the back door, but when he saw that the lights at the front of the restaurant were still on, he walked to the main street instead, preparing to enter through the front door.
“Is Zhou Jia still around?” Yuan Zhou wondered.
Yuan Zhou was aware that Zhou Jia had daily night classes. Since someone needed to be at the pub, Shen Min was definitely upstairs at the moment. If the lights were still on in front of the restaurant, that could only mean that Zhou Jia was still around.
Yuan Zhou started getting worried.
The moment he reached the door, Yuan Zhou looked over and saw a woman in uniform with a pair of black heels sitting with her back to the door.
“She’s not Zhou Jia,” Yuan Zhou judged.
Ta. Ta. Ta. Yuan Zhou stepped lightly, but the footsteps were still rather distinct in the silent restaurant. The woman turned around.
“Boss Yuan, you’re back.” The woman was Zhong Lili, holding a purse with her hand.
“You have been waiting here?” Yuan Zhou asked.
“I have just arrived. The chairman was worried that you might need this ancient text so he got me to immediately deliver it to you,” Zhong Lili said as she passed Yuan Zhou a wooden case.
“Thank you,” Yuan Zhou said as he accepted the case.
Yuan Zhou knew that Zhong Lili must have been waiting for a long time. Her arms had been resting on the table so long some red markings could be seen. Furthermore, it was already quite late.
But since Zhong Lili was downplaying it, Yuan Zhou did not say anything about it.
“You’re welcome. The chairman also said that this is a late Ming ancient text and you need to handle it with care,” Zhong Lili passed on Zhou Shijie’s message.
“Um, I know,” Yuan Zhou nodded.
“I’ll be leaving then,” Zhong Lili nodded and did not say anything else.
“Ok. Be careful on your way back,” Yuan Zhou said.
“Um,” Zhong Lili walked out of the restaurant.
Yuan Zhou put the case down and followed Zhong Lili out the restaurant. He watched on as Zhong Lili walked away under the moonlight and entered her car.
