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Note: For those of you who wanted to read Kitchen Xiuzhen, we apologise, Translator san could not finish translating it today as he had some matters to settle today. So there will be no chapters today. Sorry about that. Translations will resume tomorrow.
After the lids to the two dishes were lifted, a mouth-watering aroma immediately drifted out. Everyone picked up their chopsticks and swallowed their saliva.
Two plates of cabbages - One plate white and shredded, the other plate is golden yellow and in large slices.
Someone was unhappy.
"Hey, who cooked this? There are just a few pieces! After the chefs finished tasting this, we do not even have enough gravy to share among ourselves!" A fair, plump woman grunted.
"Don't tell me it is only for the chefs?" The kitchen hands grumbled.
"Oh, there is one more plate. The other plate has plenty for everyone!" A dark-skinned, plump woman remarked.
Chef Zhang's face turned beet red.
"How do we judge the winner?" Wen Shouzhen folded his hands over his chest and asked.
"Let's do this - to avoid bias, Chef Wen and Chef Zhang are not allowed to be the judge. Chef Zheng and I, as well as our disciples, will be the judges. To avoid having a tie, we have one more representative as a judge from among the kitchen hands. This will result in 5 judges. The result with the majority of the votes! What do you think?" Chef Yang proposed.
"This is a good idea. We choose 2nd fatty sister as our representative!" The kitchen hands immediately voted and nominate the fair, plump lady.
Then 5 pairs of chopsticks immediately made a beeline for the plate of shredded white cabbage that was so pitifully inadequate for everyone to share.
"En, the taste is not bad, the gravy is thick, and the knife skills are fairly good." Chef Yang and Chef Zheng nodded their heads.
Yuan Zi, Er Gou and 2nd Fatty sister also joined in.
In the blink of an eye, the few pieces of white cabbages were finished by the 5 judges.
The 5 judges finished the plate of white cabbage and were still hungry. They turned their attention towards the plate of the vinegar cabbage that Wen Rou had cooked.
The golden yellow cabbage leaves were layers on top of one another. The scent of the refreshing vinegar continuous whiffed out, increasing the appetite of the judges just by the scent alone.
5 pairs of chopsticks immediately grabbed the cabbages.
"Oh, it is delicious!"
"Arh…. It is hot and tasty!"
"Woah!"
The 5 judges seemed to be a feeding frenzy as they repeatedly grabbed more pieces of the cabbage leaves.
Chef Zheng ate until his mouth was filled with the gravy; Yuan Zi and Er Gou were licking their lips as they tried to recall the flavour; Chef Yang was visibly excited as he savoured the taste; After the 5 judges have finished the cabbages, 2nd fatty sister immediately grabbed a bowl of rice and poured the remaining gravy over it. Then she hungrily finished the rice and gravy.
Everyone who saw the scene of the judges eating immediately swallowed their saliva.
Wen Rou smiled. The mild, spicy flavour infused with the sour taste of the vinegar. The final result is a dish that is spicy and sour and yet whets everyone's appetite.
"How is it? Which plate is tastier?" Someone asked.
"This plate is better!" Chef Yang used his chopsticks to point at the vinegar cabbage.
All the other judges nodded their head in agreement.
"Who cooked this dish?" Chef Yang could not help but ask in curiosity. This dish is too tasty, and he wanted to know the chef.
Chef Wen burst into smug laughter, "Brother Yang, a tiger will not father a dog [1], and a good teacher will naturally produce good students. Do you still need to ask?"
Chef Zhang's face turned black. He did not say a word.
Xiao Wu noticed his Shifu's mood and was anxious as well. He was worried that he will be beaten by his father when he reached home.
Suddenly, a jade-like sound rang out from the entrance.
"Oh, it smells wonderful!"
Everyone turned around. Only to see a teenager dressed in white robes walking towards them. He looked very suave and charming.
Ren Yue!
Wen Rou was stupefied by this sudden appearance.
"Young Master Ren Sang!" Wen Shouzhen immediately recognised this young man.
"Chef Wen has a good memory! I was too busy and missed the lunch hour. I apologise for troubling you to cook something for me to eat, I am hungry." Ren Yue voice rang out.
"Young Master Ren San is too polite. However, lunch hour is over, and if you desired to eat the tea rice again, I am afraid that it will take some time for us to prepare the meal for you." Wen Shouzhen immediately voiced out his fear.
"Oh, there is no need for so much trouble. I just desire to eat something causal! Just now, when I come in, I smelled something very aromatic and appetising. Is that a new dish of Drunken Immortal Restaurant?" Ren Yue asked.
"Hehe! They say that a foodie's nose is very accurate and they can smell food from miles away! To think that a plate of cabbage managed to attract the attention of the famed 'unparallel gentleman'!"
Wen Rou could not help but giggle.
"Oh, this is embarrassing! Just now we are having a competition among the trainee chefs in the restaurant. This is just an ordinary dish of cabbage. It is not suitable for someone of your high status." Wen Shouzhen politely pointed out.
"Competition?" Ren Yue was interested.
"Yes, this is the competition between my daughter, Wen Rou, and Chef Zhang's disciple, Xiao Wu. My daughter won by a stroke of good luck." Wen Shouzhen proudly boasted.
"You again?" Ren Yue eyes darted around and immediately noticed Wen Rou.
This lass is very interesting. She is so young, and yet she could cook something that delighted me. Had she cooked something new for today's competition and won? This is very interesting.
Everyone sighed. This gentleman is so handsome. When he does not smile, he could make women swoon. Now that he is smiling, the women felt as if their heart and soul had been captured by this man.
"Young Master Ren San, please wait a moment. I will immediately cook something delicious for you!" Wen Shouzhen said, and turned around. He was intending to cook his best dishes to satisfy the super picky eater.
"There is no need to trouble yourself. You, you go and cook - that dish that you have just cooked for the competition!" Ren Yue stretched out his hand and pointed at Wen Rou.
"This is not right, this cannot be. Young master Ren San must be kidding! My daughter has not mastered how to cook the dish yet. Today, I have just taught her how to cook and was standing beside her and instructing her. We barely managed to come up with this dish of vinegar cabbage."
"This is a very difficult dish to cook and she could not handle it by herself. Young master Ren San, please wait for a short while, I will immediately cook something delicious for you!" Wen Shouzhen was alarmed.
Even though Wen Shouzhen does not know the background of this lad, he could recognise that this is a VIP guest! Even the Governor had to listen to this man. What if Wen Rou's cooking displeased this picky eater? She will be punished severely. No, as her father, I will not allow this to happen.
Ren Yue laughs, "Chef Wen, there is no need to worry. Your daughter is very intelligent, and last time, I have learnt from her. Today, her cooking skills and this dish of stir-fried cabbages must be excellent. Otherwise, how could she win the competition? Also, you have said that she had done it before under your guidance. If she does it again, it will be good practice for her!" Ren Yue immediately stopped Wen Shouzhen, and come up with a horde of reasons that Wen Shouzhen could not refute.
Then he smiled and looked at Wen Rou.
"This…." Wen Shouzhen did not know what to do. This gentleman is purposely making things difficult for his daughter.
"Father, I will do it!" Wen Rou did not even look at Ren Yue, and ignore him. She did not want to put her father in a difficult position.
"But there is nothing to go with the vegetables. I will cook a bowl of noodles for this gentleman!" Wen Rou made stomped off to the kitchen, and toss out these words as she left.
Zhu Zi immediately took out Manager Lee's finest tea and boiled a pot of premium green tea for Ren Yue.
Ren Yue just smiled but did not touch the tea.
About the time it takes to brew a pot of tea, Wen Rou re-appeared in the dining area. In her hand is a deep plate that contains a very aromatic and tempting vinegar cabbage. In her other hand is a bowl of snow white noodles. Placed on top of this bowl of noodles are some cabbage leaves, and slightly dripped with some gravy from the dish. There were some green onions added on top and it looks very clear and refreshing. Just one look at it will whet one's appetite.
Ren Yue accepted the pair of chopsticks from Wen Rou, used it to pick up a leaf of cabbage, and placed it into his mouth. Then he closed his eyes and chewed slowly.
Everyone was thinking, "Oh my gosh, can you eat like a normal human being instead of looking so good when you eat?"
Suddenly, Ren Yue's eyes opened wide, and you could see a sparkle in his eyes.
The crispy taste of the cabbage leaves was infused with a sour and sweet flavour. When he first eat it, there is also a mild taste of spiciness. All these distinct taste danced on his taste buds and combined together to create a unique taste. It is so sour and refreshing, that even he, a well known picky eater, craved for more.
Ren Yue did not stop eating after tasting this plate of cabbage. Instead, he eats faster and faster.
In a short while, due to the spiciness, his white face seemed to flush a light shade of pink.
After eating a few mouthfuls of the cabbage, Ren Yue directed his attention towards the white colour noodles. The simple and ordinary dish of rice vermicelli noodles when combined with the gravy of the cabbages, becomes so tasty.
Wen Shouzhen silently and slowly crept up towards Wen Rou, and whispered, "Rou Er, don't tell me you had added the cabbages into the noodles?"
"Father, I am merely following your instructions! We should not waste food!" Wen Rou laughed.
This picky gentleman used to have an air of a refined scholar. After trying the food, he looked anything but refined as he polished off the plate of noodles and cabbage.
My dear Ren Yue arh, Ren Yue! If it is known to the ladies in the capital that you behaved in this way because of a plate of cabbage, they will laugh until their teeth fall out.
Notes[1] 虎父无犬女 - literally translated into a tiger will not father a dog. A Chinese idiom, it means that "the children of a capable man are naturally capable."
[2] Thank you for coming back to read from prosperous food dot com. Please bear with us as we change things around here in an attempt to serve you better.
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