Rest Assured

Thus, Huo Jiu became the first person to use the upgraded mini kitchen.

"Are you Mr. Huo?"

When Huo Jiu entered the mini kitchen carrying ingredients, he found a chef in a white coat and two apprentices already standing inside.

After a night of buildup, news of Huo Jiu causing a scene at First-Rank Pavilion had spread like wildfire throughout the city. The chef hired by Turing Group had naturally heard about it. He studied Huo Jiu curiously, only to find that the boy looked even younger than he had imagined.

At such a young age, how had he developed such exquisite knife skills?

Yan Dongge of First-Rank Pavilion was Cao Ruzhang's most favored senior disciple. He had studied cooking for twenty-two years and inherited all of Old Master Cao's skills. Even among domestic chefs, he ranked among the very best. Yet he had been defeated by a mere kid still wet behind the ears.

The chef was curious, but he also found it hard to believe that Huo Jiu's cooking skills were truly that impressive—

Judging by Huo Jiu's age, even if he had practiced knife work from the womb, there was no way he could be better than Yan Dongge!

Yet such an incredible thing had happened! During yesterday's competition, countless eyes had watched in the First-Rank Pavilion lobby. In full view of everyone, even Yan Dongge himself had admitted that he was inferior.

He had heard that Old Master Cao had personally taken his disciple and son to the Su family that morning to apologize to the boy!

Thinking of this, the chef could not resist asking gossipily, "I heard you're Su Shiyuan's stepson? The Su family brought you back so you could donate bone marrow to their son?"

Huo Jiu lifted his eyes and glanced at him.

That news had spread fast enough!

The chef gave a chuckle. "My name is Liang Xiaoba. The ba from guoba. You can call me Brother Liang, or just Guoba. That's what all my fellow disciples call me."

"I'm a chef at Fresh Gathering Pavilion. Our restaurant is right across the street from First-Rank Pavilion."

"I heard your cooking is exceptional. How about the two of us compare notes?"

As Liang Xiaoba spoke, he watched Huo Jiu wash his hands and tie on an apron. Stretching his neck to look at the ingredients Huo Jiu had bought, he asked familiarly, "Are you making Squirrel Mandarin Fish?"

It was also a dish that placed extreme demands on knife work. Liang Xiaoba raised his brows, ready to witness something impressive.

"Want me to help out?"

"No." Huo Jiu tied his apron and replied casually, "Go do your own thing."

Liang Xiaoba: "..." Was he being disliked?

Liang Xiaoba rubbed his nose and laughed awkwardly. "It's still early. I don't have much to do anyway. If you don't mind, I can lend a hand. I heard your knife skills are especially impressive. To be honest, I'd like to learn a thing or two."

"Then stand there and watch. Don't talk," Huo Jiu said.

He disliked people who chattered nonstop while cooking. Their spit would end up spraying into the food.

The smile on Liang Xiaoba's face stiffened. He finally realized that the boy before him did not seem particularly easy to get along with.

"What kind of person are you—" The two apprentices flew into a rage and wanted to say something, but Liang Xiaoba stopped them.

A talented youth with a proud streak, was that it?

Liang Xiaoba smiled awkwardly and curled his lips in dismissal. At last, he fell silent.

Diwu Ling also stood quietly to one side, wanting to see how Huo Jiu cooked.

The mini kitchen was spacious enough, and Huo Jiu paid no attention to the few human pillars standing beside him. He deftly mixed a bowl of sweet-and-sour sauce, placed the mandarin fish on the chopping board, chopped off its head while leaving the gills intact, sliced off the flesh, removed the bones, then scored the fish meat on both sides along the grain. The string of movements flowed as smoothly as water, completed in one breath. Liang Xiaoba was left dumbstruck.

"As expected, you're amazing!" Liang Xiaoba instinctively clapped and cheered, then asked with great interest, "How did you do that?"

Huo Jiu did not answer. He continued coating the fish in starch and frying it. He fried the prepared fish head with its gills and the mandarin fish tail until both sides were golden, removed them from the oil, then poured sweet-and-sour sauce over them. A dish of Squirrel Mandarin Fish was complete.

Diwu Ling bent down. The fresh, sweet sauce mingled with the fragrance of fried fish, steaming hot as it rushed toward his face. The scent was intensely appetizing. Diwu Ling could not help swallowing.

Meanwhile, Huo Jiu had already begun making the next dish, Lychee Pork.

It was another dish that placed extreme demands on knife work. Its preparation was similar to Squirrel Mandarin Fish: sauce had to be mixed, decorative cuts made, and the meat deep-fried. It was named for its resemblance to lychees once finished.

Liang Xiaoba seriously suspected that Huo Jiu had made these two dishes in succession not only to show off his skills, but also because it was convenient. He could not be bothered to think of another menu.

Still, he had to admit that Huo Jiu's knife work and thickening technique were indeed outstanding.

"...You're really good at cooking," Diwu Ling praised him sincerely as well.

Huo Jiu only smiled without speaking. What use was being good at serving people?

The old man in his family had been an even better cook. But when their family was destroyed, when those he had saved twisted the truth and deliberately framed him until he could not defend himself, had he not still been angered to the point of vomiting blood and dying? He had not even been able to keep the recipe book into which he had poured a lifetime of effort.

It was clear that being kind-hearted and skilled at cooking was useless. At the very least, it could not protect oneself, nor could it protect the things one wanted to protect.

Seeing the sudden trace of despondency between Huo Jiu's brows, Diwu Ling pondered for a moment before asking, "What's wrong? Did someone bully you?"

Before Huo Jiu could answer, Diwu Ling suddenly reached out and patted Huo Jiu's chef hat. "Don't be sad. Whoever bullied you, I'll bully them back for you," he said, word by word.

Author's Note:

The recipes for Squirrel Mandarin Fish and Lychee Pork came from Sogou Encyclopedia and the Suiyuan Food List (:з"∠)

Rest Assured

With the Cao family deliberately spreading the word, news that Su Shiyuan abused his stepson rapidly circulated throughout the city as well. It spread no slower than the news of First-Rank Pavilion selling fake shark fin.

Diwu Ling had been keeping an eye on Huo Jiu's situation, so he naturally did not miss such news. Therefore, the moment he saw Huo Jiu unhappy, he immediately assumed that Huo Jiu had suffered mistreatment at the Su family.