Chef Hua
Chapter 375: Episode 210 Fight Begins_2

Chapter 375: Episode 210 Fight Begins_2

Hua Xiaomai secretly clicked her tongue and glanced at the faces of the others. She saw that none of them seemed the least bit panicked or annoyed, each one maintaining a normal expression, as calm as could be.

She couldn’t help but sneer in her heart.

Ha, true veterans indeed, she thought. Having rolled around in the food industry for so long, their skins have grown thick from the smoke of the kitchen. To think they could be openly insulted and not show the slightest embarrassment! She wondered whether to admire their ability not to be flustered by praise or criticism, or...

The entire hall was filled with men, except for her and Zhou Yunyun, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to speak up; she could only curse the scheming scoundrel inwardly. Just as she was cursing merrily to herself, someone seemed unable to hold back and suddenly spoke up.

"Master Zhao, yesterday’s incident has had an impact on all of us, to varying degrees. I and Changji Restaurant’s Boss Chang have also been running around trying to trade for some jars of cow’s milk with great difficulty. Who is behind this vile act is still unknown; you shouldn’t insinuate and try to extricate yourself so easily!"

"Me?" Master Zhao immediately bristled and glared, "Such despicable deeds are beneath me, the Zhao surname looks down on them! Our cow’s milk, it comes directly from Provincial City..."

Before he could finish, the man exhaled a cold breath from his nose and said in a tone neither cold nor warm: "The milk sellers’ lips have been sealed with money, and of course, you, with your eloquent words, dictate the truth. I am not clear about what kind of situation that young lady is in, but as for the others present, if we were to speak of wealth, if you claim to be second, who would dare to claim to be first? Whoever did this knows it themselves. In my opinion, we should all keep quiet. Why waste our breath?"

"You!" Master Zhao was so angry he leaned back, slamming his hand on the chair’s armrest, unable to speak for a moment.

"This is... an argument starting up?"

Hua Xiaomai turned her head to exchange a glance with Zhou Yunyun standing behind her, only to see the timid girl had been scared into a ball, her little face wrinkled like a walnut. In such a situation, it wouldn’t be good for her to brazenly defend Master Zhao, so she simply extended her hand and patted Zhou Yunyun’s arm to calm her.

Master Zhao sat in the chair, took a long time to calm down, and his face became somewhat better looking. He didn’t want to entangle with that person anymore and turned his head to force a smile at Hua Xiaomai: "By the way, Xiaomai girl, there is something I want to inquire about—you see, your Zhenwei Garden, are you still too busy to manage? If I want to sign a contract with you now, I wonder..."

"Eh?" Hua Xiaomai was puzzled and unconsciously scratched her temple, "Haven’t you already signed a year-long order with Wanji from West City? Why..."

"Ahem!" Master Zhao sighed deeply and waved his hand, "Not to hide it from you, today’s sauce used by Chef Wei was actually bought from Antai Garden in the Provincial City! This matter can’t be explained in a few words, but in summary, it is simply ’troublesome’. If I hadn’t found it inappropriate, I would have gone to your place for sauce yesterday! Alas, I will explain in detail after this is over."

Strangely enough, upon hearing this, the other few people all looked over, their gazes carrying a sense of empathy.

Could it be... that Wanji’s sauce indeed had problems? Today, aside from her own establishment, mustn’t all these dining places have signed orders with Wanji?

That’s what you get for using moldy rice! Hua Xiaomai was not prepared to play the good person, and she reveled inwardly for a while. The individuals sat quietly, no longer conversing with each other, and after about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a door upstairs opened, and Steward Jiang, with whom she had a brief acquaintance, walked out with composure.

"Are all gathered here?" He didn’t come downstairs, but stood by the railing, speaking from high above, "You are all famous restaurant owners and chefs in the city, so I’ll spare the unnecessary words. Today’s final competition will only last as long as a stick of incense, so please, chefs, arrange your time wisely. Use shad, cow’s milk, and yam to make three dishes, and the ultimate winner will be decided based on these."

The people downstairs were somewhat stupefied, and Fatty Wei, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, finally couldn’t help but raise his head, "But... wasn’t today’s final decided by Magistrate Tao? He..."

"My lord has been sitting in the room upstairs all this time," Manager Jiang said with a smirk, sweeping a glance over everyone. "After your dishes are prepared, write down their names. Magistrate Tao will taste each one and determine the winner. Only then it will seem fair."

...Which meant, all their conversations downstairs had been overheard by Magistrate Tao?

The participants looked at each other, especially the one who had argued with Master Zhao, his eyes widened in shock.

However, Hua Xiaomai had no time to care about this, considering she hadn’t said anything inappropriate. She simply looked up at Manager Jiang with an innocent face and said, "But... I can’t write..."

"Tsk, you’re such a hassle!" Manager Jiang glanced at her impatiently, then turned to look at Han Fengzhi, who was watching the commotion with glee, "Boss Han, would you be willing..."

"No problem, I’ll write down the names of the dishes for Miss Hua," Han Fengzhi quickly agreed before Jiang could finish his sentence and nodded at Hua Xiaomai.

Everyone knew how the final competition was to be conducted, and without further ado, each took their place in a compartment. Immediately, someone lit a stick of incense in the center of the hall.

Hua Xiaomai cast aside all distractions and methodically took out the ingredients from the basket. She instructed Zhou Yunyun to prep them roughly at first, then tested the sharpness of the knives and the weight of the spatula, and at once began to work.

The shad, a delicacy known throughout the ages, was most fittingly steamed with its scales, a method surpassing any other in taste, and it was the skill in managing the heat that was the contest. Hua Xiaomai first prepared the fish, rubbing it with salt, brushing on a layer of fermented rice, layering on a mixture of finely shredded ham, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots, and finallypouring a small amount of fine Shao Wine over it before placing it into the already boiling steamer;

She added starch and egg whites to cow’s milk, mixed with shrimp and coarsely chopped, blanched chicken liver. After stirring evenly, she heated lard in a pan, adopting the "soft fry" technique to slowly solidify the mixture into a small mound. Once out of the pan, she sprinkled it with almond bits, creating the famous "Fried Milk" from the era in which she had lived;

As for the yam, it was wrapped with thinly sliced smoked cured meat, first steamed and then pan-fried until golden brown in low heat in oil. Just before serving, she sprinkled coriander over it, making for a vivid presentation and a meaty fragrance, while the yam inside worked marvelously to offset any greasiness.

Strictly speaking, the "Fried Milk" wasn’t from this era, and the cured meat yam rolls were only slightly altered from the "Bacon Yam Rolls" of old. It seemed like a shortcut might have been taken. However, the food industry has always placed immense importance on the word "heritage." Who could know from which era these two dishes had originated?

Hua Xiaomai had prepared many banquets before; these three dishes, within the time it took an incense stick to burn, were no challenge for her. After the shad was taken off the heat, it needed to be steamed in an empty pot for a moment. She turned off the stove and was about to take a deep breath when she suddenly heard a loud bang, as if a pot of oil had been overturned in one of the compartments.

A torrent of angry shouting and cursing followed, booming like thunder.

"Sun Zhengkuan, you shameless bastard, if I don’t kill you today, I’ll write the Wei character upside down!"

Hua Xiaomai was startled and wanted to go out to see what was happening but didn’t dare leave her stove. She could only hear the muffled sounds of a struggle. Zhou Yun was quick to react, darting out swiftly. Within moments, she ran back, grabbing Hua Xiaomai’s arm, her voice trembling, "Master, they... they’ve started fighting!"

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)