Fish Maw and Shark Fin Soup

At that thought, the dining hall manager felt his temples throb violently, his head splitting with pain. If he had known this would happen, he never should have chased that tiny profit margin and switched suppliers, passing off inferior goods as premium ones. He had assumed Huo Jiu and his group were not regulars at First-Rank Pavilion, and since they had ordered shark fin soup, as long as the head chef's skills were good enough, even if they mixed in fakes, those nouveau riche fools would never notice.

Who could have known that Huo Jiu, despite his young age, would be so difficult to deal with? He was thorough in his actions and sharp-tongued besides. The manager had been extremely discreet about changing suppliers. He had no idea where things had gone wrong, yet someone had seized on it and sent a wet-behind-the-ears kid to First-Rank Pavilion to make trouble!

As noon approached, First-Rank Pavilion grew more and more crowded. The dining hall manager felt trapped, utterly at a loss.

Yet Huo Jiu was not finished. He continued, "If you think that, as a mere customer, I am too insignificant to question First-Rank Pavilion for passing off inferior goods as premium ones, then we might as well invite the chef who made this fake shark fin soup to come out and compete with me. Let's see whether I am qualified to question his character and his cooking."

Every word Huo Jiu spoke rang like a struck bell. The whole hall was stunned.

Fish Maw and Shark Fin Soup

Pressed step by step by Huo Jiu, the dining hall manager had been beaten so thoroughly that he had no room to fight back. Sweat poured from his brow as he realized he truly could not handle this matter. Hearing Huo Jiu's proposal, he was more than happy to summon the head chef to clean up the mess.

"Please wait a moment. I'll invite the head chef out right away." The dining hall manager forced a smile and hurried into the kitchen without another word.

His retreating figure was so hurried, it looked as though dogs were chasing him from behind.

Having witnessed this bizarre turn of events, the surrounding diners could no longer sit still. They leaned together, whispering among themselves.

The elderly man seated beside Huo Jiu tugged uneasily at his arm. "The chefs at First-Rank Pavilion are all masters fit to cook state banquets. How old are you? Why pick a fight with them over this?"

"Exactly. Since you suspect their shark fin is fake, we can just pack it up and have the relevant authorities inspect it. At worst, we can report them to the Price Bureau and the Consumer Association. There's always somewhere to seek justice. Why stoop to their level?" The auntie who did square dancing was also deeply worried about Huo Jiu's judgment. "Don't tell me you think you can beat First-Rank Pavilion's chefs at cooking?"

The boy was young, but his ambitions were certainly lofty.

Did he really think cooking was easier than winning the lottery?

Huo Jiu gave a mute laugh, though there was a faint trace of bitterness in his smile.

When it came to cooking, even if his opponent were a chef with twenty years of experience, Huo Jiu was not the least bit intimidated.

In his previous life, he could be said to have come from a culinary family. At the age when other children were still playing with mud and urine, Huo Jiu was already learning to pour water and knead dough, with the old man personally teaching him to make dim sum shaped like boats. While other children played in water, built blocks, and played house, Huo Jiu was coaxed by the old man into learning how to soak and prepare shark fin and sea cucumber, using tweezers to pick feathers from bird's nest. While other children ran through the streets waving sticks around, Huo Jiu wielded a kitchen knife in the kitchen, slicing radishes and potatoes. While other children used craft knives to cut erasers, Huo Jiu used carving knives to carve patterns into watermelons. While other children stayed home doing homework and memorizing texts, Huo Jiu stood beneath the osmanthus tree in the yard, tossing a large ladle full of sand while reciting recipes...

If not for that incident, Huo Jiu would very likely have inherited the old man's craft after growing up and naturally become a chef himself. He would have taken over the old man's little restaurant and spent his life in a smoke-filled kitchen. After all, the old man had picked him up in the depths of winter. He ought to have repaid him with filial devotion and ensured that he had an heir.

Unfortunately, life was unpredictable.

Huo Jiu came back to himself and looked at First-Rank Pavilion's head chef walking toward him.

"So you're the one claiming that the shark fin I made is fake? And you want to compete with me in cooking?" The head chef looked at Huo Jiu as though doubting his own sanity.

Could this brat who was still wet behind the ears even be eighteen?

"Not only did I say it, I intend to prove it." Huo Jiu pointed to the now-cold Fish Maw and Shark Fin Soup on the table and said calmly, "I will have a notary office take samples and preserve the evidence, then send it to the relevant authorities for testing. As for the cooking competition, that is naturally real as well."

The head chef's expression darkened.

Standing behind him, the dining hall manager anxiously wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. He had no idea how things had reached this point. Leaning close to the chef, he whispered, "Master Yan, you absolutely cannot let him take that shark fin soup away for testing."

Whether that shark fin was real or fake, others might not know, but did they not know perfectly well?

"...Look at him. He wants to take the shark fin for inspection, and he wants to compete with you in cooking too. He obviously came prepared. I'd wager some ruthless, black-hearted establishment wants to trample on First-Rank Pavilion's reputation to promote their own brand. Every part of this scheme is linked together. I have no idea whose handiwork it is, but it's vicious beyond measure."

The more the dining hall manager spoke, the angrier he became. If there had not been so many diners present, with so many ears and eyes around, he might have beaten his chest in frustration.

After hearing the manager's words, the head chef's expression grew even gloomier.

From the moment the head chef emerged, Huo Jiu's eyes had remained fixed on him. Naturally, he saw every interaction between the two men.

"You need not worry. I haven't cooked in many years, and my skills have grown rusty. This master chef was able to use old stock to thicken the soup and disguise this fake shark fin so flawlessly. If I had not grown up accustomed to the texture of shark fin, I probably would not have noticed either. No wonder this manager insisted so firmly on denying it. With such exquisite culinary skills, I'm sure you would never take a green youngster like me seriously. My presumptuous request to compete with you is merely because I cannot swallow this insult and wish to humiliate myself."

A smile rested on Huo Jiu's lips, gentle as a spring breeze. Yet his words were more biting than the northwest wind in the dead of winter.

The head chef's face had completely turned the color of liver. His lips twitched.

Everyone had expected the head chef to retort to Huo Jiu's mockery and sarcasm. Yet to their surprise, he showed no reaction to Huo Jiu's words at all and merely said, "If we are competing in cooking, there should be a wager besides victory or defeat."

"How about this? If I win, today's matter ends here. You will stop talking about packing up the dish and sending it for testing. As for the six tables of food you ordered, First-Rank Pavilion will waive the entire bill."