Ye Xiaoxian was not sure what the chief meant, so she did not answer. The chief then tried Ye Xiaoxian’s dishes and, differing from his usual attitude towards her, thought very highly of them.
After the chief began to eat, his friends also started eating. They all praised Ye Xiaoxian’s cooking one by one.
The chief did not order her to leave, so Ye Xiaoxian was standing on the other side, waiting.
Sister Xiang also started to eat. She tried a bit from each course and then tasted them very carefully. After she tasted the flavor she said to Ye Xiaoxian, “No wonder your restaurant’s business is so good. It turns out that you, a master chef, are working there. I tried to make the same kind of dishes as those in your restaurant but I didn’t bring it off, so I just had to give up.”
It was obviously a vicious competition but Sister Xiang downplayed it and covered it up.
Ye Xiaoxian said in neither a humble nor pushy way, “Every restaurant has its own specialty. Xianglin is good at brewing wine and your lodge business is doing very well. You don’t have to do the same dishes as our humble eatery does.”
Ye Xiaoxian then said playfully, “If you did then small eateries like ours would have no way of surviving, would they? Sister Xiang, you have to spare us so that we can make ends meet.”
Sister Xiang glared at Ye Xiaoxian and obviously did not approve what she just said.
At the same time, the chief then asked Ye Xiaoxian,” Are those dishes in your restaurant original and created by you?”
“Yes,” Ye Xiaoxian replied.
“So it means that you alone support the whole restaurant, right?”
“Sir, I have to be honest, I’m a farm wife and not an all-rounder. To run a restaurant, we need a lot of people helping and all my staff play important roles.”
Every sentence Ye Xiaoxian replied with was said in fear. She was worried that if she failed to please the chief, he would kill her or cane her at anytime.
The chief sized Ye Xiaoxian up again. “Though you can’t do that much work alone, you have decided on the types of dishes. Whether this restaurant can be run or not, it still depends on you, right?”
Ye Xiaoxian smiled, thinking, “Well, whatever you say.”
Then someone exclaimed, “It’s a fine spring day. The weather is so warm and we also have winter jasmine to appreciate. This beautiful scenery and delicious food makes me feel so refreshed!”
Many others agreed with what he said.
As the chief saw that all of his guests were satisfied, he himself felt satisfied too. He was just about to ask Ye Xiaoxian to leave when Sister Xiang said, “Sir, as the view and the food are both so delicate today, why don’t we ask our Chef Ye to talk about how she cooked the food? We can also learn. I don’t wish to copy her completely. As long as I can learn sixty or seventy percent of it, I can cook the dishes by myself and make do with it. What do you think, everyone?”
After Sister Xiang finished talking, a male guest echoed, “That doesn’t sound like a bad idea. I really like this braised pork. I’ll ask my wife to give it a try and cook it someday. I wonder if she will succeed.”
Ye Xiaoxian glanced at Sister Xiang. Sister Xiang also stared at Ye Xiaoxian provocatively.
Unexpectedly, the chief also spoke up. “Okay, it’s still early today and we’re done looking at the flowers. So then, Cook Ye, tell us about the recipes for your dishes while we are eating.”
Ye Xiaoxian thought, “Sister Xiang must be having some affair with the chief or the chief wouldn’t help her so much.”
Well, if they insisted, she would tell them.
Ye Xiaoxian then pointed to the braised pork with taro. “Let me tell you about the braise pork. As you can see, there are two ingredients in this dish. One is pork and the other is taro. I’ll talk about how to cook the braised pork first. The braised pork is made of marbled pork and it’s very important to choose the right marbled pork. You need to choose a kind of pork which contains one layer of fat and two layers of lean meat. I usually buy them from a butcher in XX street. Their pork costs 10 coins per jin which is a tiny bit more expensive than others…”
Ye Xiaoxian had said a lot but was still talking about the pork. Sister Xiang was very absorbed but the chief felt impatient already. He asked, “Can you put it more simply?”
Ye Xiaoxian said, “Sir, in order to make a good dish, one has to pay more attention to the details. Even missing one detail will end up spoiling the flavor of the dish.”
“Okay, keep talking then,” said the chief.
Ye Xiaoxian continued, “What I just mentioned was the selection of the pork. Now I’ll talk about how to make the pork. When the streaky pork is bought it should be drained. Remember to drain the water completely. If you don’t then it will crackle when you put it into the oiled pan and the flavor will also be affected.
By the way, you must use enough oil. Use one large pot of oil at a time to submerge the marbled meat, do not be stingy with the oil. In addition, when frying the marbled meat, you should adjust the fire to make it neither too big nor too small. Take a kind of firewood stick as thick as one’s wrist for example, and you can use three or four sticks at a time. How long do you fry it? You have to fry it for half an hour at a time. In the middle of frying, you must check the skin of the marbled pork. The skin of the pork is everything. If the skin is well-fried, it’ll be crunchy when you bite into it. If the skin is not fried well then it won’t taste as crunchy. So, as for how to fry the skin properly…”
Ye Xiaoxian was going to continue when the chief yawned. He then asked, “Cook Ye, can you write down all of this mumbo-jumbo you said?”
Ye Xiaoxian said as if in a dilemma, “Sir, I’m a farm wife and can’t write. I can write one or two simple characters perhaps but it’s impossible for me to write the complicated ones. I’d better just say it verbally. Everyone can learn it if they’re attentive enough. When I was little, I learned it by observing others carefully.”
The chief waved his hand. “No need, no need. Judging by how you spoke about it, you don’t seem to ever finish talking. You may leave for now. If we want to eat your dishes, we’ll ask Fang Shanding to bring you over.”
Sister Xiang was so furious that she almost died. She was not sure if Ye Xiaoxian was doing this on purpose or not.
However, Ye Xiaoxian pretended that she felt rather sorry. “I’m really sorry everyone. I can’t teach you.” When she then bowed and left, Ye Xiaoxian suddenly felt relieved.
But when she just relaxed, she heard someone shouting to her. “Miss Ye.”
Ye Xiaoxian turned around and Fang Shanding actually also followed her over.
She had no option but to bow again. “Mr. Fang.”
Fang Shanding smiled. “You just met the chief. Were you nervous?”
“Very, very nervous.”
“I can tell that the chief likes your dishes very much. In the future, if the chief holds a banquet again, I guarantee that he’ll think about you first. Congratulations.” Fang Shanding smiled.
Ye Xiaoxian asked herself silently: Is it worth congratulating?
She originally thought that if she agreed to cook for the chief of the government office, she could extend her social life and, also, it was a chance to open her eyes.
Although it had not ended particularly well, she had at least met the official with the highest position in town.
In this case, I might as well congratulate myself.
Ye Xiaoxian thanked Fang Shanding and said politely, “Thank you so much for introducing me to the chief, Mr. Fang.”
Beyond her expectations, Fang Shanding made another remark. “Actually, in order to introduce you to him, I’ve spent a lot of time convincing the chief. I’ve suggested it to him many times and he finally agreed to let you cook the dishes.”
Ye Xiaoxian was confused: What is his intention in saying this?
