The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Fu Yu had recently often heard from people around him that watching him cook was a kind of pleasure.

He always thought that the other person was just flattering him.

But at this moment, seeing Yao Shi cooking while carefully explaining, Fu Yu genuinely experienced that pleasing feeling.

”Pour oil into the pan, turn to high heat, and when the oil temperature is 50% hot, add the meat coated with cornstarch, deep fry on high heat until the surface is set, then remove and set aside.”

Yao Shi’s control of the heat was extremely precise.

This was the experience he had gradually accumulated from years of cooking in the kitchen.

”Turn the heat to high again in the pan, and when the oil temperature is 80% hot, re-fry the set meat. This makes the meat crispier and tastier. Fry until the meat is golden, then drain the oil and set aside.”

”Leave a little oil in the pan, add 20 grams of tomato sauce over low heat, and slowly stir well.”

”Add 5 grams of sugar, 10 milliliters of white vinegar, and a little salt to taste for the strong flavor. Add 50 milliliters of clear water, and bring to a boil over high heat.”

Fu Yu inadvertently turned his head and saw Yao Yihang.

Yao Yihang stood outside the crowd, not watching Yao Shi cook, but staring straight at him.

Before Fu Yu could react, Yao Yihang suddenly smiled at him.

Fu Yu: ”!”

Damn!

The hair on his back stood up!

It would have been better if he had ignored him!

Fu Yu nodded, returning the gesture, and focused his gaze back on Yao Shi.

In his ear, he heard Yao Shi say: ”After the sauce in the pan boils, add 5 milliliters of water and starch. Thicken the sauce over high heat.”

He thought to himself, this guy is definitely up to no good, like a weasel paying New Year’s greetings to a chicken!

Yao Shi looked up and smiled at everyone: ”Take a skimmer, put the fried meat on it, drizzle with the prepared sauce, and then plate it.”

”There! How is it? Did you learn it?”

Everyone had the look of understanding with their eyes but not with their hands.

Yao Shi found it amusing, and he knew that to really master this dish, practicing for a while was necessary.

So he just smiled and reminded them: ”Remember, the main difficulty in this dish is the cutting technique. You must find a relatively sharp knife, don’t cut through the meat, and leave the bottom intact. Also, re-fry the meat once more to make it crispy.”

”The crispy texture is what makes this Chrysanthemum Meat delicious, and that’s very important.”

Everyone’s attention was no longer on learning.

The freshly made Chrysanthemum Meat looked so appetizing.

Even though they had just had breakfast, it still made them crave.

Yao Shi laughed: ”Alright, everyone, try it while it’s hot. Although this Chrysanthemum Meat is a specialty dish in our shop, there aren’t many chances to taste it.”

The main reason is that few customers order it, and those who do really love this taste—the slow pulling and tearing while eating, impossible to stop.

Fu Yu wielded the chopsticks, swiftly grabbing two pieces of the nicely presented Chrysanthemum Meat.

One piece he directly shoved into his mouth, inhaling sharply as it was hot.

Then he switched the direction of the chopsticks and fed another piece to Zhao Meng.

Zhao Meng opened his mouth to receive it and also inhaled sharply from the heat.

But this thing must be eaten hot to be flavorful.

The two of them nuancingly inhaled and savored the Chrysanthemum Meat happily.

The two Yao Chefs nearby, one big and one small, looked on with envy and jealousy, with various thoughts.

Yao Shi said with a smile: ”You greedy bunch! Don’t you understand the concept of respecting your teacher? I didn’t even get a bite of the dish I made!”

The others giggled as if they didn’t hear him.

With just such a small plate of Chrysanthemum Meat, there wasn’t even enough for everyone to have a sizable bite, leaving only some broth now.

Yao Yihang didn’t join in the fun at all. After watching Yao Shi finish cooking, he turned and went to find Gu Yunwu.

Seeing Yao Yihang return, Gu Yunwu sighed: ”Did you get the cigarettes?”

Yao Yihang smiled: ”Nope, the brand I smoke just happened to be sold out!”

By the time Fu Yu stood at the cooking station, it was already past ten.

Sun Qingning occupied Zhao Meng’s cooking station, very seriously refilling the spices.

Zhao Meng loved cleanliness. He was very particular about his lifestyle and had high standards for the tools and supplies on his cooking station.

Containers couldn’t be damaged, spills on the cooking station had to be cleaned immediately, and used kitchenware had to be taken away for cleaning without delay.

When Fu Yu was working with Zhao Meng, his diligence and competence left a very good impression on Zhao Meng.

Now Sun Qingning had taken over Zhao Meng’s cooking station, working tirelessly to maintain its cleanliness.

Fu Yu proactively stepped forward to help Sun Qingning with the spice bags.

Sun Qingning didn’t stand on ceremony, and the two had been cooperating seamlessly for almost a month now.

At the beginning, they would courteously thank each other, but later it became a natural occurrence.

Once the spices were refilled, Sun Qingning wiped the sweat from his face.

This summer seemed to have no end in sight, unbearably hot.

Seeing Fu Yu’s cool chef uniform made him feel even hotter!

Sun Qingning yawned, with his mouth half-open, suddenly remembering something.

He blinked and suppressed the tears: ”Chef Fu, are you off tomorrow?”

Fu Yu thought about it. He hadn’t taken a day off this week, but the specific day depended on the arrangement on Yao Shi’s end.

He replied: ”I can’t say for sure right now.”

Sun Qingning quickly said: ”If you decide, let me know. I haven’t taken a single day off this month!”

Fu Yu thought of something and chuckled: ”Alright!”

The lunch rush was busy as usual.

Observing that the order tickets started reducing.

Sun Qingning took the opportunity while Zhao Meng went to check the side dishes and turned to ask Fu Yu: ”Chef Fu, what are we having for lunch?”

Fu Yu glanced at the prepped ingredients at the cooking station.

In the morning, a customer had ordered Sweet and Sour Pork, but by the time they had mixed the sauce, someone from the front came by saying the customer had left early.

This Sweet and Sour Pork, unlike other dishes, couldn’t be eaten cold or reheated.

It was perfect to add to their meal.

”There’s a portion of Sweet and Sour Pork. I’ll turn it into Sweet and Sour Meat later.”

Sun Qingning was about to speak when Wang Yuxuan came running from the entrance.

”Chef Fu! Manager Jia is going to dock your pay! What happened?”

Fu Yu turned his head, surprised: ”Dock my pay? Why!?”

Sun Qingning chimed in: ”What’s the fine about?”

Wang Yuxuan asked: ”What did you do yesterday afternoon? Why did Manager Jia say you went AWOL?”

Fu Yu was stunned: ”Manager Jia?”

Fu Yu turned to Sun Qingning: ”Did Manager Jia come over yesterday?”

Sun Qingning shook his head: ”No? He usually doesn’t come to the kitchen, right?”

Fu Yu frowned, involuntarily recalling that group of customers who wanted to skip the queue earlier.

At that time, the food runner came and said the customer knew Jia Rundong and wanted him to let them in through the back door.

Fu Yu refused.

Soon after, Jia Rundong personally came to the kitchen.