The middle-aged man measured Huo Yao up quickly. Then he moved his eyes away and smiled at Min Yu. “Old Mr. Yi found out that you were coming and personally wanted to cook for you. He wanted you to know that he has created a new medicinal dish, but it takes a longer time to cook it. He has asked you to wait.”
Min Yu looked at Huo Yao.
Huo Yao had heard the man and knew what Min Yu was driving at. She waved her hand and said, “I’m not that hungry, so I don’t mind the wait.”
Despite the middle-aged man’s surprise when he saw Min Yu’s attitude towards the girl, he did not dare probe. In a thoughtful manner, he said, “I will bring you some appetizers.”
“In that case, thanks,” said Min Yu as he bowed his head slightly.
“You’re welcome.”
The middle-aged man brought Min Yu and Huo Yao to a private room and left.
“This restaurant specializes in medicinal dishes. It has a special clientele and doesn’t receive strangers,” explained Min Yu to Huo Yao calmly after he sat down.
“Medicinal dishes?” asked Huo Yao with slightly more interest.
“Very few people are able to make them.”
Min Yu was surprised to hear Huo Yao’s reply and said, “You seem familiar with medicinal dishes.”
Huo Yao shrugged and replied. “No, I’m not. I have only read about them in books. After all, most medicinal dishes were created in ancient times for royalty. Even though there are recipes, they aren’t authentic since it has been so long.”
Huo Yao warmed up to the topic and continued speaking without a thought. “Of course, if you’re talking about recipes handed down through families that have specialized in medicinal dishes for generations, then that’s different.”
Huo Yao had unwittingly blurted too much. Min Yu only pursed his lips and smiled.
The middle-aged man returned with two plates of exquisite pastries in his hands, which he placed on the large table.
Huo Yao looked at the two plates on the table and arched her brow. She pointed at one of them and asked him. “Is that almond pastry?”
The middle-aged man looked up at Huo Yao in astonishment. He nodded and replied in a polite manner. “That’s right. It’s almond pastry.”
Huo Yao picked up a piece and put it into her mouth. After sampling it, she looked pleased and said, “It melts in the mouth. The almond and perilla leaf taste sweet and smooth. Not bad.”
The middle-aged man pointed at the other dish and asked her. “Do you know what pastry is that one?”
Huo Yao did not reply. Instead, she picked up a piece and said after taking a small bit, “This is yulu cake. Sadly, its ingredients didn’t get baked until it was dry enough, so the cake’s texture and efficacy were affected.”
Huo Yao placed the rest of the cake back on the table with a slight look of disappointment.
Now the middle-aged man’s expression was beyond surprise. Only a connoisseur could detect something as subtle as that, right?
“Miss, do you specialize in medicinal dishes?”
Huo Yao shook her head lazily and said, “No, I’m not. An elder in my family used to cook them in the past, and I tried them a few times.”
Rather, she was forced to eat them.
The middle-aged man did not keep prying. He removed the plate of yulu cake, which Huo Yao had thought poorly of and left the room.
The middle-aged man bumped into Zhuo Yun at the door after he came back from parking the car. Zhuo Yun saw the plate of cake in his hand, so he took a piece and put it in his mouth.
“This cake tastes super,” praised Zhuo Yun.
The middle-aged man glanced at him quietly before walking away.
Zhuo Yun, “…”
Zhuo Yun detected that there was something amiss with the way the man had looked at him.
