Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Mulberry jam?” Yu Chu asked with puzzlement.
“Yeah. Yuan Zhou prepared some jam and it’s very delicious. Because I’m an old customer and also Yuan Zhou’s best friend, he gave me four bottles of that.” Wu Hai showed his fingers complacently.
“Um?” Yu Chu was puzzled. Why hadn’t Yuan Zhou given it to him? He was also an old customer, though not so old as Wu Hai, he was also in favor of Yuan Zhou resolutely. So even if he couldn’t have four bottles, he at least should have two. Then, he became unhappy.
That’s right. Yuan Zhou hadn’t had time to send Yu Chu and many other people the jam. Wu Hai could get the jam ahead of all others because he hung around in front of Yuan Zhou every day.
“Hey, come on. Let’s talk about the jam later. We must go get some information now for the thing in the future.” Wu Hai grabbed Yu Chu’s business suit.
“Okay. Let me ask him after I go back,” Yu Chu got rid of Wu Hai’s hand and said peacefully.
The kitchen was naturally not a place open to everyone. But generally speaking, the kitchen wasn’t really far from the bathroom. Was it for the sake of the chefs going to the bathroom conveniently?
Therefore, Wu Hai stopped a waiter very politely and asked, “Excuse me, how can I get to the bathroom?”
“Sir, the bathroom is at the back door of the main hall. Walk out of the arched door that is exquisitely carved and turn left. Then you can see it,” the waiter said gently.
Oh yes, there was something not mentioned. The decoration style of the Chengdu Cuisine Restaurant was Neo-Chinese style, namely, the combination of Chinese and Western.
The dining tables in the main hall were all Western-style and some knives and forks were placed on the tables for decorative use. Of course, the decoration on the chopsticks that people mostly used still had Chinese-style carve patterns, which seemed to give a kind of exotic aesthetic feeling. Really nice!
Judging from the atmosphere, Yu Chu could give the restaurant a high score.
The circular arched door of the main hall was a cutout pattern and functioned as a partition. And this was what the waiter referred to.
Once the waiter left, Wu Hai walked forward first and then said while walking.
“Come on, let’s go to the other side of the bathroom. It’s definitely the kitchen.”
“How do you know?” Yu Chu couldn’t help wondering if that Wu Hai had made investigations in advance.
“Of course, I investigated in advance.” Wu Hai said proudly.
“You rarely do that,” Yu Chu said, “You really racked your brains for Boss Yuan’s jam.”
The main hall of the restaurant was very large. Though they could see the arched door exquisitely carved very easily from this side, they also took several minutes to cross it if while behaving as if nothing had happened.
“Turn right.” Yu Chu reminded.
After all, Wu Hai had almost turned left and gone into the bathroom if Yu Chu didn’t remind him.
Out of the arched door exquisitely carved was a corridor and at both sides were many doors. Of course, the doors on the right were obviously different from those on the left. And the floor was covered in water-proofed fishbone-shaped floor tiles, which looked quite luxurious.
The walls were covered in ceramic tiles with light patterns. If there wasn’t an arrow indicating the direction, they wouldn’t believe it was a bathroom. After all, it was decorated very well and very fashionable.
“That should be the kitchen,” Wu Hai pointed to the open door on the right and said.
“I see it.” Yu Chu nodded his head.
He could obviously tell it was the kitchen as he could see the hectic scene inside when he walked inward. The busiest time had passed at that moment, but the door was still open.
Presumably, they left it open to cope with the appraisal today so that those reviewers could come in to check the kitchen conveniently. Hence, they hadn’t closed the door yet.
But now, more people were cleaning inside compared to those who were cooking.
People inside were all dressed in white chef uniforms and neat hats. The height of their hats could indicate their positions in the kitchen.
Those who stayed near the door were supposed to be the kitchen helpers. They were tidying the ingredients that had just arrived and were chatting.
Therefore, Wu Hai and Yu Chu went to stand beside them quietly and prepared to listen to them publicly.
“The inspection has ended. Why don’t they let us have a rest?” A young man among them said and complained.
“God knows. We will probably have to work overtime in the coming days if the head chef doesn’t give the order,” another elderly man undid a button of the shirt and said.
“It won’t be so terrible. We can definitely win. Is it necessary?” The young man said discontentedly.
“That makes sense. We are the pioneers of the new-generation Sichuan Cuisine. Those conservative old guys are already out of fashion. The Exemplary Restaurant will definitely be ours.” The elderly man also nodded his head confidently as if the title was in his pocket.
“Our head chef said there was a dark horse when he gave a speech last night.” Another short man, that was carrying a stack of bowls and chopsticks, came over to them. He was supposed to come to clean the dinnerware.
“You aren’t talking about that tiny restaurant, are you?” The young man knitted his brows and said.
“Delicious food doesn’t necessarily come from large restaurants. In any case, that tiny restaurant has once conquered Tengyuan Jiayuan,” the short man expressed a different opinion, “Don’t you know that the authentically distinctive restaurants are always those who hide well in deep alleys. For example, the legendary gourmet street of Chengdu, Shuinian River. Do you think its appearance isn’t poor?”
“You are right. Whether or not the food is tasty has nothing to do with the size of the restaurant. However, we are now selecting the Exemplary Restaurant rather than a restaurant that serves the tastiest food. How can a tiny restaurant less than 20sqm be an Exemplary Restaurant of Sichuan Cuisine?” The elderly man said, “Just think. If Yuan Zhou really wins, how delicious can the food served in his restaurant be?”
“He has also been reported by many TV programs and gourmet magazines. He is fairly popular on the Internet.” The short man shrugged, “Seriously, we are not 100% sure about that.”
“Young man, you are way too naive. Besides, I have once been invited there for a meal by my friend,” the elderly chef said, “Frankly speaking, that young chef has really superb culinary skills. I think he cooks even better than our head chef does, but his dishes are all Jin’ling Regional Cuisines.”
The short man thought for a while and also agreed with him, “You are right. Generally speaking, the dishes listed on the top of the menu are all what one is best at. So his Sichuan Cuisine is supposed to be a little inferior.”
“You also agree with me, right? And I heard from our head chef that the tiny restaurant is recommended by the chairman of the China Chef’s Association. I guess that young chef wants to be nominated at least to have a try.” The elderly man guessed.
Those people spoke one after another and discussed ceaselessly.
“Are they talking about Boss Yuan’s restaurant?” Wu Hai was slightly confused.
“I guess so.” Even Yu Chu was a little uncertain about that especially when he heard the word “His Sichuan Cuisine is slightly inferior.” Had he eaten something fake before?
After all, these people were talking as if Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was pretty inferior.
“Is there something wrong with these people’s brains?” Wu Hai stroked his own mustaches and revealed a puzzled look.
“I guess so.” Yu Chu nodded his head.
“Let’s go quickly. Such kind of restaurant seems to be of little significance. Even the kitchen helpers talk like that. I think the head chef is definitely just ordinary.” Wu Hai shook his head and lost interest in continuing to watch.
“Um.” Yu Chu also walked away with a solemn expression.
“A waste of time,” Wu Hai said while he was leaving.
“Mulberry jam.” Yu Chu reminded him in order to remind Wu Hai to explain where the jam came from.
Obviously, Wu Hai misheard that as something else.
“Yeah yeah yeah. Anyhow, we came here. Let’s go back quickly to ask for our remuneration.” Wu Hai grabbed Yu Chu and ran toward his car.
Yu Chu became speechless. However, he also realized that he probably couldn’t get any answer from Wu Hai about the food. He prepared to ask Yuan Zhou directly and thus drove quickly back to the restaurant.
EMPTY
