The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Gu Yunwu was feeling uneasy, looking at Yao Yihang’s incompetence, he found it eye-catching.

He waved his hand, ”Alright, just focus on your work and stop meddling in others’ business!”

After speaking, he turned to the storage room to check on the pickling of the small dishes.

Gu Yunwu rubbed his temples. It seemed like the stars were misaligned these days; caution was advisable in all things.

Yao Yihang watched Gu Yunwu’s back with surprise and felt indignant!

Gu Yunwu seemed off!

He looked disheartened and listless.

What hit had he taken?

Yao Yihang checked on the assistants’ vegetable preparations and returned to his own station to get busy with the deep fryer.

By the time he finished, it was already half-past nine.

Having worked a late shift yesterday, then starting early today, he felt exhausted and sleepy.

On top of that, Gu Yunwu’s pessimistic attitude left him frustrated; his initial glee at the thought of mocking Fu Yu had turned into inexplicable anger.

However, what annoyed him the most was not Gu Yunwu failing to cause trouble for Fu Yu as he had hoped.

After all, Gu Yunwu was shrewd and slippery, like an old eel, not easy to manipulate.

What angered him most was the missed opportunity to make Fu Yu suffer and his inability to capitalize on it.

Thinking about this made Yao Yihang seethe!

And then there were those people in the kitchen and the front hall.

All of them fickle, they used to hide their true feelings, but now they openly flatter Fu Yu!

Yet towards him, they all feigned friendliness but avoided him privately.

The sycophantic behavior made it seem like he was genuinely much inferior to Fu Yu, as if they weren’t on the same level at all!

What was so special about Fu Yu?

In his view, Fu Yu was just a bit quicker-witted and full of ideas.

Using some tricks to come up with two innovative dishes, see how arrogant he was!

And then, thinking about the attitude of everyone in the store towards him.

Yao Yihang felt a deep sense of injustice.

During work, he never glanced at Fu Yu’s side, finding it unlucky!

Taking advantage of some rare leisure time when no customers had arrived yet, Yao Yihang checked in with Gu Yunwu and went to the small supermarket on the back street to buy cigarettes.

Exiting through the back door and walking along the sidewalk, Yao Yihang looked up to see Jia Rundong walking towards him carrying something.

Yao Yihang’s eyes lit up!

What do you call this?

The boat naturally straightens when it reaches the bridge!

”Manager Jia!”

Yao Yihang hurried to greet him with a smile.

Jia Rundong looked up to see Yao Yihang, slightly surprised, then nodded, ”Oh, Xiao Yao? Where are you off to?”

Yao Yihang felt a chill in his heart.

In his eagerness, he had forgotten it was working hours.

By rushing out to buy cigarettes, he was effectively skipping work.

He quickly said, ”Oh, I have a stomachache, and Chef Gu gave me permission to go buy some medicine.”

Jia Rundong gave him a look and said blandly, ”If you’re not feeling well, just take a leave directly; don’t let it affect your work.”

”Alright, go buy your medicine.”

After speaking, Jia Rundong stepped forward to leave.

Yao Yihang quickly stopped him, ”Manager Jia! Didn’t you tell me to report any issues in the kitchen to you? Fu Yu skipped a shift yesterday and only came back after nine at night!”

One sentence made Jia Rundong stop in his tracks.

However...

Would someone with Zhao Meng’s temperament allow his subordinates to leave whenever they wanted?

Is that possible?

Truly...

Jia Rundong looked at Yao Yihang with a hint of uncontainable helplessness.

What had happened between Chef Yao and Fu Yu to result in such a deep grudge?

Resorting to such lowbrow tactics.

While he disdainfully questioned Yao Yihang’s intelligence, Jia Rundong pondered...

This might be a good opportunity.

Recalling Fu Yu’s arrogance and conceit last night, Jia Rundong felt it was necessary to teach this kitchen rookie a lesson about humility!

Having said all he needed to, achieving his goal, Yao Yihang dared not actually go buy cigarettes.

Instead, he went to a nearby pharmacy and bought a bottle of Vitamin B complex.

As a cook, he typically had some foot issues.

After all, always being stuffed in boots, sweaty and clammy, was the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Upon returning to the kitchen, Yao Yihang noticed Fu Yu and a few others gathered around Yao Shi’s station, learning from him.

Yao Shi, while cooking, was explaining, ”This Chrysanthemum Pork is a renowned Han dish, belonging to the Cantonese cuisine.”

”The translucent pieces of well-crafted fatty pork are coated with a layer of semi-fresh, semi-dried chrysanthemum petals to make chrysanthemum candy.”

”When eaten, the pork is sweet and delicious, refreshing without being greasy, with the chrysanthemum petal’s fragrance lingering in the throat, aromatic and inviting.”

This Chrysanthemum Pork is an authentic old-brand dish. However, at Qianlima, although they have the dish, they haven’t printed photos of it in the menu; instead, it’s listed textually alongside some simple home-cooked dishes on the last page.

This is mainly because the knife work for this dish is very intricate, requiring great skill and time.

Also, since the ingredients are simple, the price can’t be raised, leading to it being dropped from the signature dishes.

That morning, since there were no customers, Yao Shi casually mentioned the dish during a chat with Zhao Meng.

Seizing the opportunity, Fu Yu and his group expressed interest in learning to make this dish.

With nothing else to do and in a good mood, Yao Shi happily agreed.

Although Yao Shi only finished high school, he loved reading and had a habit of jotting down good phrases.

His explanation was full of eloquence, making it particularly pleasing to hear.

Even Fu Yu felt that Yao Shi’s explanation was excellent and cultured.

If he could describe it specifically, that would show true ability!

Yao Shi continued cooking and explaining, ”First, we handle the tenderloin, washing it clean and slicing it into slices about 5 millimeters thick, keeping the bottom connected, not breaking them.”

”This is challenging; when slicing, you need to pay attention to the strength and skill.”

”After slicing, change them into strips carefully without breaking them, keeping the bottom connected.”

”Come on, everyone look, this is the effect.”

Fu Yu leaned in first to take a closer look.

The meat strips were clearly defined, uniformly thick, connected by a thin strip at the bottom, yet they didn’t fall apart at all.

This knife skill was truly exceptional!

After demonstrating, Yao Shi continued cooking.

”After preparing the knife work, set the meat aside in a bowl.”

”Add 5 grams of salt, 3 grams of white pepper, 10 milliliters of Shaoxing wine, and 1 egg yolk into the meat bowl, mix gently, and marinate for 10 minutes.”

”Be attentive here, ensuring every strip is well marinated.”

”After about 10 minutes, evenly coat the marinated pork tenderloin with cornstarch.”