The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

Chapter 286: Chapter 285: Whether You Want To or Not, You Have To Come

Once the soup pot had come to a boil, the heat was turned off immediately.

By this time, the dough had also finished resting.

The rested dough was smooth and elastic.

Next was the noodle stretching.

The recipe for this classic dish barely mentioned the noodle stretching, only providing a few tips but no specific steps.

If you’ve never eaten pork, you’ve at least seen a pig run.

Fu Yu figured it must start by rolling the dough into strips, then pulling from both ends.

Once stretched out, fold it in half and continue pulling.

After all, that’s how he’d seen others do it before.

But things are always easier said than done.

Relying on his sense of touch, Fu Yu kneaded the dough into a strip and began attempting to stretch it.

Instead of stretching quickly into thin, long noodles as he imagined, the noodles quivered and stretched only slightly before threatening to break in the middle.

Fu Yu hastily pulled the noodles back, but in doing so, he actually snapped them.

After trying three times, he nearly dropped the dough on the floor.

Then, a bright idea struck Fu Yu, and he simply kneaded the noodles back into dough.

This time, he skipped the noodle-stretching and directly rolled the dough into a round flat shape. He sprinkled some dry flour on it, then rolled it into a large sheet.

Since he couldn’t stretch the noodles, he decided to just slice them instead.

With his superb knife skills, he believed he could definitely slice a continuous strand of longevity noodle.

As it turned out, one must act within their abilities.

With the sharp knife in hand, slicing noodles became second nature for Fu Yu.

A long, evenly cut strand of longevity noodle obediently coiled on the table.

Fu Yu’s brows relaxed as he brought a pot of water to a boil.

Once boiling, he added a pinch of salt (to prevent sticking) and dropped in the noodles. After cooking, he lifted them out and rinsed them in cool boiled water.

He turned the heat back on under the soup pot.

When it boiled, he placed the noodles back in.

The water just covered the noodles, and with the lid on, he let it simmer for a while. Once the noodles beneath were cooked, he added some greens, flipped the noodles over, and continued to simmer.

Once all the noodles were nearly done, he spooned out the excess broth.

He added salt, chicken essence, and some chopped scallions.

The very last step was crucial: he drizzled in the freshly fried oil and mixed the noodles and seasonings evenly in the pot with chopsticks.

In no time, a bowl brimming with fragrance and appetite-appealing longevity noodles was ready.

In addition, Fu Yu had specially boiled a pot of eggs.

Fu Yu’s family always had this tradition: cooking a pot of eggs on birthdays to share with friends and relatives.

Eating the egg symbolized biting off calamities.

The more people who ate, the better, as the disasters would be bitten away.

The birthday person would have a peaceful and safe year.

When Fu Yu carried the longevity noodles to Zhao Meng’s room and knocked on the door, Zhao Meng was bewildered.

He stared dumbfounded as Fu Yu placed a steaming bowl of noodles on the table and beamed, saying, ”Chef Zhao, happy birthday! Give these noodles a taste and see how I did.”

Zhao Meng always thought of himself as a tough guy, but he consistently crumbled in front of Fu Yu.

He slurped the long, unbroken noodles, realizing that Fu Yu must have put in a lot of effort.

Zhao Meng didn’t bite the noodle until the entire strand was in his mouth, then began to chew and savor.

The noodles were so finely stretched yet still chewy, truly impressive.

And the noodle soup was very flavorful.

To have someone remember you so early in the morning, delivering a bowl of birthday longevity noodles... it was incredibly blissful!

Zhao Meng’s nose tingled, and his eyes started to redden uncontrollably.

He masked it by sipping the soup, and once his emotions steadied, he looked up with a smile, saying, ”Not bad, the noodles taste great!”

Fu Yu’s face instantly broke into a bright smile, ”I knew it, my longevity noodles must be especially delicious. Chef Zhao, you have to finish it all, I’ve also left eggs for you in the kitchen. Distribute them later and let everyone help you bite away the disasters!”

Zhao Meng cooperated, ”Alright, I’ll go hand out the eggs in a bit.”

Early that morning, everyone in the kitchen received two eggs each.

The extra eggs were purchased by Fu Yu out of his own pocket.

When Zhao Meng found out, his heart couldn’t help but warm and soften.

With such a good mood, his temper also became exceptionally gentle.

Sun Qingning felt utterly spoiled and delighted throughout the day.

After the lunchtime rush, Fu Yu took the chance to call Boss Pang, saying he wanted to order a birthday cake, three tiers, with a prosperity theme, as festive and attractive as possible.

Boss Pang agreed quickly and even offered nearly half off.

This was still with Fu Yu insisting on paying; otherwise, as per Boss Pang, the cake would have been a free gift.

Fu Yu dared not take advantage of him like that.

You shouldn’t take without giving, it’s not something easily done.

Otherwise, enjoying the gain now could lead to unknown losses later.

During dinner, Zhao Meng publicly announced he was hosting a dinner party to celebrate his birthday.

Everyone happily shouted for Zhao Meng to host a good meal.

Zhao Meng agreed cheerfully, ”No problem! Let’s go to BBQ House on Yanjiang Road, how about that?”

Another round of cheers erupted!

The BBQ House was an outdoor self-service barbecue, with a nice setting and unique barbecues.

Since it was Zhao Meng’s birthday party, people from Gu Yunwu’s side also joined in.

At 4:30 in the afternoon.

Fu Yu contacted Boss Pang. Using the excuse of visiting the restroom, he ran to the side door to retrieve the cake, planning to store it in the dormitory until the night meal.

Zhao Meng rarely had sweet treats, and Fu Yu wasn’t a huge fan either, but since it was a birthday, the proper rituals were a must.

Given that Fu Yu was organizing Zhao Meng’s birthday, he didn’t want him to miss out on the cake-cutting and candle-blowing.

Fu Yu had just turned out of the corridor from the kitchen when his phone rang.

It was a call from Zhang Qun.

Zhang Qun said, ”Fu Yu, don’t plan anything tonight. Some judges arrived in Bei’an this afternoon. The publicity department set up a dinner for all participating in the event at 6:30 PM at Ju Feng Garden. What are you busy with now?”

Fu Yu replied, ”Today’s my master’s birthday, and I just ordered a cake for him. We’ve organized a dinner gathering for tonight, so I might not be able to make it.”

Zhang Qun asked, ”What time is your dinner? They could let us leave early, but the publicity department insists everyone must attend.”

When the publicity department’s leaders organize something, whether you like it or not, you must attend.

Fu Yu wanted to celebrate Zhao Meng’s birthday and didn’t want to go, but became unable to refuse after what Zhang Qun said.

”Alright, but Zhang Qun, I absolutely must leave before 9:30. Apart from dinner, there’s no other activity, right?”

Zhang Qun replied, ”The timing should work. Two hours is enough to finish dining. If a few skip the follow-up activities, it’s not a problem, but everyone must be present for dinner.”

Fu Yu said, ”Alright then, I’ll head over to Ju Feng Garden before 6:30 PM.”