A Valiant Life

Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations

It was bustling outside.

Lin Fan looked at Wang Ming Yang’s expression and suddenly felt like something wasn’t right. It seemed like he didn’t have good intentions.

“What’s with that look in your eyes? Why do I feel like you want something from me?” Lin Fan knew Wang Ming Yang too well. This guy was cleverer than anyone else. With those big, resolute eyes of his, something was definitely up.

Wang Ming Yang smiled and said, “I have to say, Brother, you’re in an impressive situation. You’re clearly not a celebrity but the number of fans you have on Weibo is exceedingly high. If you gave it more time, it would only increase. We have such a close relationship. It would be great if you became an ambassador for my future products, eh?”

Lin Fan had known that it wasn’t anything good. “You’ll have to pay me. And, you’ll have to pay me as much as an A-list celebrity would be paid. If it’s anything less than ten or twenty million, don’t even think about it.”

Wang Ming Yang’s eyes widened, appearing hurt by Lin Fan’s words. “D*mn, is our relationship only that much to you?”

Lin Fan laughed, “That’s already a friendship price. It won’t be so low next time.”

Wang Ming Yang raised an eyebrow. “Who’d dare to hire you at that price?”

Lin Fan shrugged. That was hard to say.

*ring ring*

The phone rang. It was the boss of Supreme Tiger Electronic Doors, Zhong Ming. Lin Fan had no idea why he would call him but still answered the call.

Lin Fan said, “Chief Zhong, why are you calling me all of a sudden?”

The sound of Chief Zhong’s laughter rang out from the phone, “Congratulations, Master Lin. That incident regarding the human traffickers was very admirable.”

Lin Fan said humbly, “It was nothing…”

Chief Zhong said, “Master Lin, after I returned to my office that day, I had a meeting with my Technology Department and made improvements to my product. It will be released in an estimated three months’ time. I’m calling you today, Master Lin, because I wanted to invite you, if you are free, to be the ambassador for Supreme Tiger Electronic Doors. Rest assured, the salary is sure to leave you satisfied.”

“Look, someone is hiring me,” Lin Fan said to Wang Ming Yang. Then, he spoke to the phone again, “Chief Zhong, let me consider this first. After all, I’m not a celebrity and I don’t have any experience being an ambassador.”

Chief Zhong said, “Alright, alright. There’s no hurry. Think about it, Master Lin. You don’t have to rush.”

Lin Fan nodded, “Alright then. If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”

He hung up.

Lin Fan looked at Wang Ming Yang proudly, “Did you see that? Someone’s hiring me.”

Wang Ming Yang gave a thumbs up. “You’re f*cking awesome, ok? But really, you have to be an ambassador for me next time. Let’s not talk about this for now. I’ve already planned for noon. We’ll have lunch together.”

Lin Fan nodded. “Alright. Let’s see if any of these neighboring shop owners want to come as well. If they want to come, we’ll have to invite them as well.”

Wang Ming Yang smiled. “I’m handling things here, you don’t have to worry. It’s only a meal, how much could it cost?”

…

Noontime.

Wang Ming Yang really handled things well. Practically all the owners of the surrounding shops wanted to join in. They took up ten tables altogether and it was very lively.

Lin Fan sat there, thinking about his newly attained sixth page of knowledge. One of the Eight Great Chinese Cuisines, Jiangsu Cuisine. He really wanted to give it a try. Moreover, now that he was in a restaurant, he wanted to make full use of the place. He then patted Wang Ming Yang on the shoulder and asked, “Do you know the owner of this place?”

Wang Ming Yang nodded, “I do. What is it?”

Lin Fan smiled, “I want to make some dishes for you guys to try.”

Wang Ming Yang was surprised. “You know how to cook?”

Lin Fan shot him a dirty look. “What’s wrong? Don’t look down on me.”

Wang Ming Yang laughed, “Alright, I’ll bring you to the kitchen. You can have a go but don’t make anything inedible.”

The shop owners asked curiously, “Where are you going, Master Lin?”

Wang Ming Yang said with a chuckle, “Master Lin wants to make some dishes for you guys to try.”

“Master Lin can cook?”

“That’s new.”

“Little Boss’ scallion pancakes are so delicious. I wonder how his dishes will turn out.”

Lin Fan laughed, “I just know a little bit. Since everyone is so happy today, I wanted to give everyone a try.”

The owners all laughed, “Actually, we’d like it best if Master Lin gave us a scallion pancake each.”

…

In the kitchen!

Wang Ming Yang, “Elder Zhang, my brother wants to make a few dishes. Would it be convenient?”

The owner of the restaurant smiled upon hearing that. “If Chief Wang wants it, even if it’s not convenient, I’d have to make it happen.”

Wang Ming Yang laughed, “Thank you then.”

In the kitchen, Lin Fan was a little nervous. It was the first time he was cooking dishes. He had no idea how this Encyclopedia knowledge would be like but judging by the skills of the cooks in front of him, it would not be simple.

Elder Zhang said, “Head Chef Li, this is Chief Wang’s brother. He wants to make a few dishes himself. You guys assist him.”

Head Chef Li nodded, “Yes, boss.”

Then, Head Chef Li looked at Lin Fan curiously, wondering what this youngster could make. Judging by looks, he didn’t seem like he was familiar with the kitchen. He probably just wanted to have some fun.

Lin Fan waved his hand at Wang Ming Yang. “Go back first. Leave this to me. I’ll make a few of my signature dishes.”

Wang Ming Yang smiled. “Alright.”

After Wang Ming Yang left, Lin Fan put on his chef’s attire, then washed his hands. He was rather curious since it was his first time cooking. He didn’t know how the taste of his dishes would turn out. After all, he had not tried cooking yet since he had unlocked this skill.

Head Chef Li knew that this man wasn’t just an average person, so he asked politely, “What’s the first dish you want to make?”

Lin Fan smiled. “I’ll make a squirrel mandarin fish(deep-fried mandarin fish in sweet and sour sauce).”

Head Chef Li was surprised. “That’s a delicacy of Jiangsu cuisine!”

Lin Fan nodded and laughed, “That’s right. There are ten tables, so I’ll make ten servings.”

Head Chef Li said with a smile, “Squirrel mandarin fish is a difficult dish to make. It’s even more difficult to make it well. It requires great skill.”

The rest of the cooks continued to work. They still had to cook the other dishes. Meanwhile, Head Chef Li had to assist Lin Fan. However, when Lin Fan picked up the knife, Head Chef Li felt uncomfortable. He instantly understood. This guy was a newbie. Although he had the culinary knowledge, he lacked knife skills.

Lin Fan took a look at the Encyclopedia. The sub-class knowledge – Knife Skills only required ten Encyclopedic Points. It wasn’t expensive, so he immediately got it.

After unlocking Knife Skills, Lin Fan felt that the knife became a part of his body.

Head Chef Li saw that Lin Fan wasn’t moving and thought that he didn’t know how to start. He wanted to go forward and help but just as his feet started to move, the knife in Lin Fan’s hand started to move as well.

At first, Head Chef Li didn’t think much of it but suddenly, he realized that something was abnormal. That technique of Lin Fan’s left him astounded.

The knife moved non-stop, slicing and dicing without a moment’s pause. In an instant, he had removed all the intestines from inside the fish.

“Incredible knife skills,” said Head Chef Li in astonishment. There was a glint of disbelief in his eyes. This kind of knife skills could not be attained without several decades of experience.

Lin Fan looked up and grinned without stopping his hands.

Head Chef Li knew that the upcoming part was the one that would truly test one’s knife skills. In a squirrel mandarin fish, the fish’s meat has to be carved into the pattern of a blossoming flower. The knife marks have to be well-spaced and the depth of cuts have to be equal, without ruining the fish skin. To some chefs, making a squirrel mandarin fish was not a problem at all, however, the quality and detail could differ greatly.

To Head Chef Li, Lin Fan’s knife skills appeared god-like, no more, no less. Every cut was proportionate. It was simply shocking.

Head Chef Li hadn’t thought much of Lin Fan at first but at this point, he realized that he had underestimated him.

Just this knife skill alone was above himself.

The rest of the chefs who were busy working wondered what Head Chef Li was doing standing there but when they saw that young man’s movements each of them became stunned as well. Using knives was a skill as well. Some people look amazing when they handle knives while some people look terrible.

As for Lin Fan, his movements flowed like water. It was pure skill. Even people who didn’t know how to cook would have been able to see that his skill was abnormal.

Lin Fan realized that it felt amazing. There was a kind of anticipation in his heart. It was as if there was an art piece in his hands, waiting to take shape.

The wok was being heated up on the flames. Next up was controlling the flames. To Lin Fan, it was all too easy. The Encyclopedia’s knowledge was engraved into his mind as if achieving harmony with his body.

Even though it was his first time doing it, it only felt a little bit new to him.

…

Outside.

Everyone was discussing.

“What dish will Master Lin make?”

“I’m really curious.”

“Do you think Master Lin will make us a scallion pancake each?”

“Stop dreaming. How could that be possible? Anyway, no matter what he makes, we have to say that it’s delicious.”

At that moment, a group of waitresses, each carrying a serving of exquisite-looking dishes approached.

“Huh? This aroma…”

When the shop owners smelled the fragrance, their taste buds became restless.

The waitresses stared at the dishes in their hands too. They had been roped in by the fragrance as well, especially since it kept circulating around their noses. It made them feel an irresistible rush.

It was torturous.

This kind of smell was unlike anything they had smelled before.