2255 Just an ordinary chef
When talking to Yuan Zhou, Cheng zhaomei never dared to be deliberately mysterious. After she saluted him, she went straight to the point,””Yes, I do. Master, do you still remember Master Li from Qingcheng Mountain?”
When Master Li heard his name, he hurriedly took a few steps forward and walked out of the sunlight. His facial features were clearly exposed. Yuan Zhou recognized him at a glance.
The first time when the new girl came to him, she said she would help a chef with special training and explained the cause and effect clearly. Yuan Zhou couldn’t help but feel a little sympathetic after hearing that. It was mainly because he wanted to put himself in her shoes and wonder how it would feel if his restaurant was going to be torn down.
Of course, even if a demolition team came, it was still a question whether they could demolish it. Was the steel plate buried under the ground really tofu?
Yuan Zhou had quite an impression of Master Li, mainly because he was used to seeing smart apprentices like Cheng zhaomei and the other registered apprentices. Suddenly, Master Li, who had been requested several times but still couldn’t be considered as an enlightened apprentice, came to him. Of course, Yuan Zhou had a deep impression of him.
Especially the stewed chicken with white fruit. In the end, Yuan Zhou cooked it himself and Master Li even recorded a video of it. After thinking about it back and forth, he finally got the 0.45 Yuan Yuan Yuan that Shan Yu San Zhi ate previously.
Strictly speaking, Master Li’s cooking skills were not bad and he even had the help of his family’s cooking skills. However, people were most afraid of comparison. They had to see what kind of people Yuan Zhou’s disciples and registered disciples were.
Moreover, Master Li was actually the model of most ordinary chefs. He had ordinary talent and was also very hardworking. Yuan Zhou was very sympathetic. After all, he was also an ordinary chef without the system.
Even now, he was just a little more hardworking than ordinary people.
Master Li was confused.
As soon as they entered the shop, Master Li bowed and said,””Good afternoon, head chef Yuan. Sorry for disturbing you.”
“Master Li, long time no see. How’s the business of the restaurant?” Yuan Zhou asked.
“It’s pretty good. Ever since we have the two signature dishes, white fruit stewed chicken and preserved meat with garlic sprouts, not only have we solved our problems, but we also have a lot of regular customers. Many tourists have come here because of the fame. It’s very good.” Master Li’s eyes were filled with gratitude when he talked about this.
The reason he came to Chengdu in person this time was to thank Cheng zhaomei, who helped him with the special training, and Yuan Zhou, who gave him the finishing touches.
Although Master Li didn’t seem to have a great talent in cooking, he was a wise man. He knew that without Cheng zhaomei and Yuan Zhou, there wouldn’t have been such an outcome. Therefore, it was normal for him to come to thank Yuan Zhou.
“It’s good that the business is good. Master Li, you have to continue to think about how to do it better. You can’t just keep two signature dishes. ” Yuan Zhou encouraged her.
Thank you, head chef Yuan. I will continue to work hard.” Master Li said sincerely.
After calming himself down, Master Li pulled out a bag from the back and said,””This time, I’ve brought some specialties of Qingcheng Mountain for head chef Yuan. I hope you can accept them. They are all made by me.”
Master Li opened the dark rectangular bag and took out the things inside one by one. First, he took out a small ceramic jar, which was about the size of a small pickle jar. It was not transparent, but an opaque brown jar. After putting it on the ground, he took out another jar, which was a little bigger and a reddish-brown in color.
Then, he continued to search in his bag. After a while, he took out something that was dozens of centimeters long and wrapped in newspaper. It seemed to be quite heavy. Finally, he took out a small palm-sized jar. This jar was also made of porcelain, but it was very different from the previous one. It was milky white and was of higher quality than the previous ceramic urns.
Unlike the rough porcelain from before, this one was much more delicate. One look at the color and you could tell it was a good jar.
“Could it be that Master Li’s ancestors sold jars?” Yuan Zhou muttered in the heart while looking at the several jars.
“Head chef Yuan, this is an old pickled vegetable made by me using an old-fashioned method from Qingcheng. This is the heavenly milk wine that I brewed myself using an old-fashioned method passed down from my family. This is old cured meat that I smoked myself. This is a White-backed Dragon bud from an old tea tree behind my house. Although it doesn’t grow as well as the previous tribute tea tree, it wins in age. I learned how to stir-fry it myself, but my skills are not good. I hope head chef Yuan doesn’t mind.” Master Li pointed at the things on the table and introduced them one by one.
A long time ago, Master Li had wanted to come over and thank Yuan Zhou and Cheng zhaomei for their help to him and the long Yue restaurant. However, he was really busy with many things that required his personal appearance through official channels. In addition, Yuan Zhou was also busy and had even gone abroad in the end. Therefore, he had been delaying his trip. This time, he had to contact Cheng zhaomei in advance and then decided to come after learning that Yuan Zhou was free.
“You’re welcome, Master Li. I’m also making cured meat from Xiangxi today. You can bring some of the ones I made back later to try and see if they’re any different from the ones in Qingcheng Mountain.” Yuan Zhou thought for a while and then said.
Originally, Yuan Zhou didn’t want any gifts. However, Master Li had clearly stated that it was prepared by himself, which meant that it was a kind gesture. It was definitely not good to refuse directly. Therefore, it was necessary to return the favor.
“How … How can I accept this?” Master Li rubbed his hands, not knowing what to do.
To be honest, although Yuan Zhou had always appeared to be very affable, Master Li could still feel that he had a very strong aura. He couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.
“It’s fine. Seeing is believing. Only by comparing can we improve.” Yuan Zhou said.
Master Li found it hard to refuse. He was curious about the taste of the authentic Xiangxi cured meat and how it was compared to the old cured meat of Qingcheng Mountain.
In any case, Yuan Zhou’s dishes were definitely the most authentic ones. There was no doubt about that at all. Master Li was very certain about that.
“Thank you, head chef Yuan. I will definitely work hard to distinguish and improve.” Master Li said with confidence.
Yuan Zhou nodded his head and didn’t say anything more. Instead, he turned around and went back to the kitchen to pack the cured meat. He took the cured meat that he had prepared before he went abroad. Today, he hadn’t finished cooking it yet as this was the first time he smoked it. He still needed to do the second and third fumigation later, which would take time.
He took a little of cured pork, chicken, fish, duck, and so on. He took a little of each species and it was a lot in a short time. In the end, the big bag that Master Li brought was filled to the brim, making Master Li feel embarrassed.
Those who didn’t know would think that he was here to ask for money.
After Cheng zhaomei saw that Master Li’s business was done, she removed herself from the Jade Flower state and made her presence known. She planned to do her own business.
Cheng zhaomei placed the things she brought on an empty table.
This time, he brought an exquisitely woven bamboo basket with a yellow and green color. It was covered with a lid and Yuan Zhou didn’t know what was inside. However, he could faintly smell the fragrance of the bamboo leaves and had already known what was inside.
……