Bai Family Kitchen (Long Chapter)

To be honest, Cui Lan could not be called beautiful, but her looks were decent enough. Her figure, however, was quite good—curvy in all the right places, with the look of a woman built for bearing children.

But Zhao Ke could not summon the slightest desire for this paper effigy.

"Master!"

Seeing that Zhao Ke was not moving, Cui Lan thought he was worrying about the days ahead. She smiled and whispered into his ear,

"Master, don't worry about what the Bai Family steward said. Seven days from now, once our master officially moves into the Bai Family, our status will rise with the tide."

"Seven days from now?"

Zhao Ke's heart stirred at once. The corners of his brows lifted slightly as he reached out and wrapped an arm around Cui Lan's waist. The moment his hand touched her, it felt like he was touching a block of ice—so cold it stung.

Zhao Ke gently brushed aside the stray hair over Cui Lan's forehead and asked with a smile, "Why seven days from now? Isn't today the wedding day?"

"If living people are getting married, of course they marry on the same day. But for our **, it takes seven days before the marriage can take place. In the world of the living, that means after the first seven days."

Hearing Cui Lan's words, Zhao Ke immediately understood. It seemed this mission would last a full seven days. As long as he found a way to ruin this ** within those seven days, the mission would be complete.

If that was the case... Zhao Ke could not help but entertain an idea. If he killed either the bride or groom, would that not complete the mission smoothly?

But his instincts told Zhao Ke that if it were really that simple, this mission would be far too easy. There would be no need to give them seven whole days. Besides, they still had to find a way to escape the underworld, and that was a problem giving Zhao Ke a headache.

Zhao Ke had personally witnessed the strength of the two couriers killed by those flower children. He believed the other couriers would not be much weaker. If the mission were really so simple, then all this would be making a mountain out of a molehill.

Seeing Zhao Ke lost in thought, Cui Lan threw herself into his arms.

The buttons on her chest had already been undone, exposing her pale body before Zhao Ke's eyes.

With a seductive smile, her hands began to roam over Zhao Ke's body of their own accord.

"Master, it's getting late."

"I'm tired today. How about another day?"

"Another day? How could that do? Master, we should enjoy ourselves while we can."

As Cui Lan spoke, she burrowed into Zhao Ke's arms, tugging at his clothes with both hands. Lowering her head, she began unfastening his trousers.

Zhao Ke's brows tightened. A trace of impatience surfaced in his eyes as they narrowed into slits, staring coldly at Cui Lan's throat. Killing intent gradually rose on his gloomy face.

Knock, knock, knock...

Just as Zhao Ke was growing impatient with Cui Lan's entangling, a knock sounded outside.

Cui Lan froze, displeasure filling her face. "Who is it? If there's nothing important, go back to your room and rest."

"Um... please ask the butler to come out for a word."

Hearing that the visitor was looking for him, Zhao Ke was delighted. He immediately called out, "I'm here, I'm here. Coming right out."

After Zhao Ke spoke, Cui Lan wore a resentful expression, still clutching him unwilling to let go. Zhao Ke could only soothe her quietly. "They may have something urgent. How about this—when I get back, we'll have a proper good time."

As Zhao Ke spoke, he reached out and patted Cui Lan's icy-cold butt. Only then did Cui Lan reluctantly release him.

Zhao Ke immediately pulled himself free from Cui Lan's embrace. Opening the door, he quickly stepped outside.

The moment he emerged, he saw a man squatting by the corner of the door. The man looked around twenty-five or twenty-six, about Zhao Ke's age, but reeked of hooliganism from head to toe. Especially those bulging fish eyes of his, which kept glancing into the room.

When he saw Cui Lan leisurely putting her clothes back on inside, he gave Zhao Ke a lecherous little look and grinned. "Heh heh, brother, you've got quite the luck with women. So, got any news? Let's share."

"Anything I know, you all already know. What did you come to see me for?"

Zhao Ke deflected the question without taking the bait, directly asking why the man had come.

Not to mention that he had no special information—if he did, Zhao Ke would not foolishly share it. He was not some softhearted fool like Qi Liang.

"Heh heh, just call me Dongzi. Here's the thing: they're holding the wedding celebration in the front courtyard right now. We wanted to ask whether you'd be interested in coming along to take a look."

As Dongzi spoke, his eyes flicked to the side. Zhao Ke followed his gaze and saw three figures standing in the shadows by the wall.

He could not make out their faces, but even from a distance, Zhao Ke caught a faint scent of perfume. It seemed to be Chanel. He remembered seeing a woman on the bow of the boat earlier; she was likely among the three.

"Sorry, I think I'll wait."

Seeing Zhao Ke refuse, Dongzi's expression darkened. He glanced at the room behind Zhao Ke and said in a low voice, "Brother, you just got past your probationary period, didn't you? If you don't stick with a group now, it'll be too late by the time you want to join one."

"Oh."

Zhao Ke nodded indifferently, looking unconcerned on the surface. But inwardly, he became wary. The other party seemed to know that he had just passed probation, that he was weak and counted as a newcomer. If that was true, why were they trying to bring him along? Zhao Ke did not believe they were simply that eager to help a novice.

"Fine. Then just wait."

Seeing Zhao Ke would not fall for it, Dongzi did not waste any more words. He left behind that veiled threat and turned back toward the corner of the wall. Zhao Ke did not know what he said to the other three, but he could feel the slight hostility in the looks they gave him.

Since Zhao Ke would not cooperate, the four did not continue pestering him. They turned and quickly left.

In truth, Zhao Ke also wanted to investigate the front courtyard, but he did not do so. Instead, he calmly chose to wait.

Ever since he had watched the two flower children kill two fairly powerful couriers with almost no effort, Zhao Ke had known this mission was nowhere near as simple as the last one.

Brute force would not work with just couriers like them. Only by finding a key figure like Li Xiaochang would they have a chance of completing the mission.

Rather than take risks now, he might as well wait and see what happened tomorrow.

They had seven days anyway. There was no need to rush.

But Zhao Ke did not return to his room either. After all, there was still a ravenous paper effigy waiting for him inside. If he went back now, she might cling to him endlessly again.

Rather than go to the front courtyard, Zhao Ke left the compound and began wandering around nearby.

The Bai Family truly was as Cui Lan had said. If this were in the world of the living, or in reality, an estate with so many courtyards and gates would definitely count as a first-rate wealthy household.

Its tall white walls enclosed one courtyard after another. If this had been ancient times, an estate of this scale would have been taboo even for imperial relatives.

Before he had gone far, Zhao Ke caught the aroma of stir-fried food. Out of a chef's instinct, he quickly analyzed the scent. "Star anise, bay leaves, sugar, vinegar, yellow chili, green pepper, cloves... Crispy Tofu!"

This dish could be considered a refined one, but few people could truly make it well enough to bring out that crisp, delicious fragrance.

Yet from the aroma, it seemed the chef had mastered the heat to perfection.

"There's a chef like that in a place like this?"

Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. Since he had nothing else to do, he simply followed the scent in the other direction. When he reached a large courtyard, he found it bustling with activity. This appeared to be the Bai Family kitchen.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

Several large woks had been set up in the courtyard, and six or seven chefs were hard at work, clearly preparing dishes for the front courtyard.

A rich fragrance assailed his nose. What interested Zhao Ke was the separate stove off to one side, where golden tofu was simmering in a wok.

The aroma Zhao Ke had caught earlier was wafting from that wok of tofu. One fragrance could overpower a hundred dishes; this single wok of tofu smelled ten times better than the meat dishes being stir-fried in the other large woks.

At that moment, Zhao Ke noticed an old man stirring the wok with a spatula. He then sprinkled in a pinch of sesame seeds, and the fragrance immediately grew stronger. Combined with the thick sauce, the golden tofu looked even more appetizing.

But that action made Zhao Ke frown slightly. Shaking his head, he said, "Wrong!"

Zhao Ke did not speak loudly, but he did not deliberately hide his voice either. The old man, who had been deeply satisfied with his work, froze when he heard it. He looked up to see Zhao Ke staring at the tofu in his wok, and his face darkened. "What did you just say?"

As soon as the old man spoke, the other chefs stopped as well. In an instant, aside from the sizzling of the wok, the courtyard was quiet enough to hear a needle drop.

"Who are you? Is this a place you should be?" Seeing this, one of the chefs stepped forward impatiently, intending to drive Zhao Ke out.

But the old man seemed determined to get to the bottom of it. He immediately stopped him. "No, let him come in. Tell me—what did I do wrong?"

Zhao Ke had not wanted to cause trouble, but after the old man said that, he strode right in. He would not boast about anything else, but when it came to cooking, Zhao Ke truly feared no one.

Looking at the already finished Crispy Tofu in the wok, Zhao Ke frowned and pointed at it. "I would have given this dish a ten, but you shouldn't have added sesame seeds. Once you added them, their fragrance covered up the crisp, toasted aroma of the tofu's outer layer. It may smell stronger, but the dish has become inferior."

"Bullshit!"

The old man's eyes widened as he marched up to Zhao Ke. Only then did Zhao Ke notice that the old man was barely four feet tall. He had only managed to stand about as tall as Zhao Ke earlier because he had been standing on a stool.

Now that he stood in front of Zhao Ke, he only reached Zhao Ke's chest.

Apparently feeling insulted, he pointed at Zhao Ke's nose, so furious he seemed ready to jump up and down.

"If you don't believe me, make it again. Replace the sesame seeds with minced garlic. If you still think you weren't wrong afterward, then say whatever you like."

"Fine! Just wait."

The old man was impatient by nature. Hearing that, he hurried back, lit another wok, and prepared to make it again.

The ingredients for this dish were not complicated. What was difficult was controlling the heat and blending the sauce. The old man smoothly began again, as practiced as ever. He had made this dish no fewer than a thousand times; he could do it with his eyes closed without making a mistake.

But at the final step, after replacing the sesame seeds with minced garlic, the old man's expression immediately turned ugly. The golden tofu gave off a fresh green fragrance with the garlic, as though it had awakened the aroma of the tofu and sauce themselves.

The scent was rich but not overpowering. With a faint garlic fragrance, it was even more appetizing than the earlier version with sesame seeds.

Seeing this, the old man's expression shifted repeatedly. He looked up at Zhao Ke, then at the tofu in the wok, and suddenly broke into a wide grin. "Hahaha, so I really was wrong."

As he spoke, the old man tossed aside his spatula and walked over to Zhao Ke. His earlier anger was gone, replaced by an ingratiating smile. "So it needs minced garlic. No wonder the young miss didn't like it. Come, come, sit over here."

Zhao Ke saw that although this little old man had a bad temper, he was straightforward. The moment he realized he was wrong, he admitted it. Zhao Ke could not help but feel somewhat favorably toward him.

After all, they were both chefs. People said colleagues were natural enemies, and that was especially true among chefs. Sometimes, even when someone pointed out an error and they knew it was wrong, they would stubbornly refuse to change.

This little old man, on the other hand, could put aside his pride. That made Zhao Ke regard him in a new light.

"Little brother, try this dish of mine too."

The little old man clearly refused to concede defeat. After pulling Zhao Ke over to sit, he immediately had someone bring over the signature dish he had prepared earlier. When the lid was lifted, a cloud of steam rose out.

Zhao Ke sniffed, and his eyes immediately lit up. Looking closer, he saw plump pieces of Sweet and Sour Pork standing like golden balls on a vermilion plate. A golden sugar coating wrapped the meatballs within, giving them an especially festive appearance.

"Rock Sugar Sweet and Sour Pork?"

This was definitely an oddity among Zhejiang dishes. Sweet, fragrant, glutinous, and soft, it was an authentic dish to eat with rice.

But in Zhao Ke's memory, there were only a handful of people who could make this dish look so exquisite.

"Try it..."

The little old man eagerly handed over a pair of chopsticks, urging Zhao Ke to sample his specialty.

Zhao Ke did not stand on ceremony. He picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and put it into his mouth. Crack! As the crisp sugar shell broke apart, reddish sauce burst from inside the meatball. But the smile on Zhao Ke's face suddenly froze. Staring at the steaming sweet and sour pork on the plate before him, he thought, It's cold!

Sorry. My wife felt unwell last night, so I accompanied her to the hospital today for all kinds of examinations. Thankfully, it was nothing serious. I got back late tonight, so I'll only post one chapter for now. I promise to make up for it with three updates tomorrow. Sorry again.