Inside Owner Bu's kitchen, Yu Fu blankly opened her cherry mouth wide and her face was filled with astonishment.
It was rumored that Owner Bu's kitchen had always been a mysterious zone. Up until that day, no one had managed to enter it. She had never expected that today she would unexpectedly be able to have a chance to step into Owner Bu's small store… This was simply too exciting!
Yu Fu swayed her snake tail and quickly followed suit as she walked behind Bu Fang.
Passing through the kitchen entrance, the atmosphere of the place had somewhat changed. Within the small store, it there was a kind of comfortable vibe, making a person feel insipidly intoxicated. However, the kitchen was very eye-catching with a somewhat professional vibe. The moment she entered, she was confronted with the plump machinery puppet. That puppet's red eyes flickered as it swept around her body once, causing her whole body hair to get erected.
This puppet was the intimidating puppet her dad had mentioned? It seemed like it was not as fierce-looking as those people had said. Its tummy was even very pudgy, making it look quite cute.
Bu Fang walked to the front and patted on Whitey tummy as he introduced it to Yu Fu, who was behind him: "This is Whitey. It is my mechanical assistant. You can just see it as my puppet helper. After we finish cooking our dishes, the remaining ingredients will be recycled by Whitey."
Yu Fu immediately stood upright and put her hands together. She bowed to Whitey as she greeted the puppet.
Whitey mechanical eyes flickered. It raised its leaf-like hand and scratched its bald circular head.
Bu Fang led Yu Fu past Whitey and came to the kitchen stove area. This kitchen stove was made using exquisite materials that looked like a kind of ceramic tile but was a lot more glossier than such.
On top of the kitchen stove, there were all sorts of kitchen equipments arranged there. Everything that should be there actually was, making the facilities look very complete. The chopping board was manufactured using an extraordinary log. It was emitting a faint fragrance. Yu Fu widened her eyes as she curiously looked at everything in front of her.
The decoration in the kitchen was totally different from the rest of the small store. The kitchen was very classy. On the walls, there was not a single unnecessary stuff compared to the small store. The kitchen surroundings were all filled with cupboards, all made using wood with a mixture of some material that Yu Fu how no knowledge about.
The material was very cold when she got in contact with it. Furthermore, the interior would flicker with radiance.
"This is a refrigerator. It can store food inside and is used to maintain the freshness of the ingredients." Bu Fang introduced it nonchalantly. He opened up the refrigerator door. Immediately, a breath of cold air soared out from within, causing Yu Fu to shiver.
"This is an oven. A lot of ingredients can be baked or roasted. With this we are able to produce lots of delicacies."
Bu Fang opened up the oven. Its interior was untainted by even a speck of dust and a breath of cold-air spread out from within.
Lampblack machine, grindstone, microwave oven and etc… All these apparel were things Yu Fu had never heard or seen before. Although she was not able to understand them, she felt that all of this was very professional.
This was her first time realizing that to master culinary skills was not as simple as she had imagined. It turned out that there were actually so many things that she needed to research on.
"This is a kitchen knife stand. On it, there are all sorts of different vegetable knives. Find one that you feel the most comfortable with when you hold it." Bu Fang pointed at the kitchen knife stand that was on top of the kitchen stove.
Yu Fu brought forth her curiosity and measured the stand. She saw a pitch-black and incomparably thick huge kitchen knife. She was immediately amazed by it.
"This.. Is this also a kitchen knife? Why is it so big, so heavy?"
The corners of Bu Fang's mouth curled up, and he held onto that kitchen knife as he lifted it up effortlessly.
This kitchen knife was the uniquely heavy knife he had used everyday to train his knife work. It was impossible for an ordinary person to brandish it as they wished.
Yu Fu tried to lift it. After great effort, her wrist started to ache, but even then she was still unable to lift the kitchen knife up.
"This is the kitchen knife I use to train my knife work and for carving purposes. You should change to another one," Bu Fang said.
Yu Fu glimpsed at Bu Fang curiously, "Is there even a need for practise for someone as skilled as Owner Bu?"
"There is no end to one's culinary skills. If you wish to become an outstanding chef, daily practise is essential. Only by doing so would your heart be immersed into your culinary skill so as to experience all the changes in the dishes you make. Since you want to become my cooking apprentice, you must also do the same knife work and carving training I do everyday," Bu Fang said seriously.
His culinary skills were indeed very good, but he was very clear in his heart that without his daily practice, they would not have improved so quickly.
Yu Fu sighed. Afterwards, she held onto all the different kind of kitchen knives. Ultimately, she chose a kitchen knife that was around the size of Bu Fang's palm. Its weight was reasonable and it was very suitable for Yu Fu.
Bu Fang nodded his head and took out a few Thunderstorm Pigeon eggs from the cupboard. This was supplied by the system and was specially used to make the Egg-Fried Rice.
"I will first teach you how to recognize the ingredients. This is a third grade spirit beast's egg, the Thunderstorm Pigeon's egg. There are lots of true energy hidden inside it," Bu Fang said. He took out a porcelain bowl and gently knocked the egg against it, then dropped the egg yolk and egg white into the porcelain bowl. Within the egg yolk, there were faint thunder arcs zittering.
"If you wish to cook a proper Egg-Fried Rice, it is very important to be able to control your true energy well. You must be able to control the true energy in the ingredients and not let it leak out. This is the crux of guaranteeing the dishes' taste."
Bu Fang congealed true energy and changed it into a pair of chopsticks as he stirred the egg gently.
"Are you aware of how to control the true energy of the ingredient?" Bu Fang looked at Yu Fu seriously.
Yu Fu shook her head blankly. How could she possibly know of such profound stuff?
"Rhythm, and also use your heart to feel it. True energy is a kind of fluctuation. Once you feel the fluctuation within, try to maintain the stability of the fluctuation when you are cooking it. This way, you would not damage the composition of the true energy andallow it to leak out," Bu Fang explained. Thereafter, his hands started to tremble very quickly as he seasoned out the Thunderstorm Pigeon egg.
Bu Fang took out his true energy chopsticks once again as he turned the egg liquid into a single thread by pulling it.
"Bang!" Bu Fang's true energy vaporized. Thereafter, he squatted down and took out the pearl rice filled with true energy from the bottom cupboard. After washing it, he placed it into the steamer basket and waited for it to be cooked.
Yu Fu stood behind Bu Fang obediently and looked at Bu Fang's movements meticulously.
"You have to remember the location I took out the ingredients from. In the future, all the ingredients are to be taken from there. You must remember them well," Bu Fang ignited the stove and said to Yu Fu.
Yu Fu heart shivered as she nodded her head seriously. Her face was filled with a lovable child-like expression.
Sizzle~!
The moment the oil grease spread out, Bu Fang extracted out the moist and plump pearl rice from the steamer basket and then threw it into the pan. He lifted the pan and stir-fried it, causing the flames to soar up. Yu Fu, who was standing behind him, was frightened to the point of having her snake tail sway about.
*Clang clang clang!*
Rich rice fragrance was emitted out while stir-frying a pan of pearl rice. It twined on the tip of Yu Fu's nose almost causing her to lose control as she breathed in a mouthful of air.
"The most important thing you have to pay attention to when cooking the Egg-Fried Rice is the heat intensity. If you are able to grasp the heat intensity well, your Egg-Fried Rice can only be counted as half-complete." Bu Fang continued to provide guidance. His words were not plenty, but during crucial moments he would open his mouth to remind Yu Fu of something.
Yu Fu was constantly nodding her head behind him. She tried to remember all the details diligently.
The moment the egg liquid was poured into the pan, the egg fragrance soared out. It was uncomparably rich, making one feel that their body had been wrapped up by the dense egg fragrance, as if they had fallen into an ocean of Egg-Fried Rice.
The rice fragrance blended together with the egg aroma as it seduced one's desire for good food. This would cause one to subconsciously swallow a mouthful of saliva.
Bu Fang was standing perfectly straight as he held onto the pan handle. He stir-fried it very quickly and his actions were very skilled. It appeared very natural, as if he was drawing a beautiful drawing and was extraordinarily pleasing.
Yu Fu could not help but to be somewhat infatuated by it.
From bowl to pan to fire, it merely took him a few breaths of time before he poured the finished Egg-Fried Rice into the blue and white porcelain bowl. The slightly sticky egg liquid wrapped around the pearl rice, giving it a glossy coating and as the hot steam rose up, the delicious mixture emitted a rich eggy fragrance.
Yu Fu stuck out her small and exquisite tongue as she licked her soft and delicate red lips. Deep in her heart, she was extremely astonished.
Maybe she was the first person who had seen how Bu Fang cooked a bowl of Egg-Fried Rice. It turned out that the Egg-Fried Rice which seemed to emit rays of brilliant light was cooked this way.
"Have you memorized the steps? As my apprentice, the requirement for you is very high. You can finish this bowl of Egg-Fried Rice first. Only by finishing it will you have the energy to work," Bu Fang used a towel to wipe the water droplets on his hand and said to Yu Fu.
"After your meal, I will prepare for you three portions of the ingredients for the dish. You will be using that for practice. After using the three portions, I hope that your comprehension toward the Egg-Fried Rice would advance a step. In the future, you must remember that when you cook the Egg-Fried Rice, it will be brought to the store to be sold at one crystal. Each time, I want you to ask yourself if your dish is truly worth that crystal."
Bu Fang poured a glass of warm water and drank a mouthful. He looked at Yu Fu unenthusiastically. Subsequently, he turned around and left the kitchen. Walking to the doorway of the kitchen, he turned around and said: "Your room is the guest room on the second floor. After you have finished practicing, you can go to the guest room to have a rest."
After he finished speaking, he went up and returned back to his own room. He started preparing for his rest. His teaching… was just so simple and rough. As for how much she had comprehended, it would have to depend on Yu Fu herself.
Yu Fu stood blankly inside the kitchen and looked at the steaming hot Egg-Fried Rice which was still giving off that a decadent fragrance. Her eyes immediately showed hints of unswerving determination.
She took the blue and white porcelain spoon and scooped up a spoon of Egg-Fried Rice and placed it into her mouth. With each bite, Yu Fu made sure to savor every grain of rice in order to learn about Owner Bu's Egg-Fried Rice.