IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 56

Chapter 56: It’s the Food That’s Good, Definitely Not Because the Restaurant Belongs to Prince An

Cheng Que hadn’t recovered from the shock of seeing the dirty offal transform into something as pure as snow, but his chopsticks had already moved ahead of him.

The tripe was as thin as hair, each strand distinct. The winter bamboo shoots were intertwined with the tripe, and the scattered red peppers were particularly striking against the white background.

The treated tripe emitted a faint meaty fragrance, and the chili peppers stimulated the sense of smell, greatly increasing one’s appetite. The aroma of scallions, ginger, and garlic, stir-fried in hot oil, mingled with various other fragrances, creating a unique and tempting scent.

If it were Gu Zhan, half of this dish would already be gone. However, sitting across from Lin Yan was Cheng Que, the only person in Xiang Wei Restaurant who could be considered refined and elegant.

Cheng Que picked up only a small chopstick-full and gracefully placed it in his mouth.

The tripe was fresh, delicious, and crisp, with a slightly chewy texture. The spiciness of the Hunan cuisine ignited his taste buds, while the sourness cleverly neutralized the spiciness and greasiness, making it refreshing and not at all heavy.

Cheng Que took a couple of bites and then put down his chopsticks, watching Lin Yan devour the dish with longing eyes.

The dish was gradually disappearing, and Lin Yan’s eating speed also slowed down.

As soon as he slowed down, he noticed that the scene around him was very different from what he imagined. For example… for so long, he was the only one gobbling everything up, and Cheng Que hadn’t touched his chopsticks for a while.

Lin Yan put down his chopsticks, feeling a little embarrassed, “Cheng Cheng, why aren’t you eating? Don’t you like it?”

“With your cooking skills, Yanzi, how could I not like it?” Cheng Que seemed a bit awkward and finally told the truth, “I… I wanted to save some for Brother Gu.”

Lin Yan glanced at the leftovers in the plate, feeling a headache, “These are all leftovers, are you going to take them home?”

“Brother Gu won’t mind.”

Lin Yan wailed inwardly.

He doesn’t mind, but I do!!!

Lin Yan raised his eyebrows and gave all the remaining food in the plate to Cheng Que, “Eat as much as you want, I’ll make a new one for him later.”

Cheng Que nodded and finally picked up his chopsticks again, “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” Lin Yan shrugged and began to consider the possibility of mass-producing this dish, “What do you think would be a suitable price for this dish?”

“Hmm…” Cheng Que picked up a strand of tripe as thin as a silk thread and held it up to the light, “Are we going to add this dish to the menu?”

Lin Yan was confident, “The ingredients are easy to find, as for the recipe…”

“These are all simple, but…” Cheng Que placed two strands of tripe, almost the same thickness, on the plate and pushed it in front of Lin Yan, “Is there a possibility that not everyone has such good knife skills?”

Lin Yan looked at them for a long time and couldn’t see anything special about the two strands of tripe. He frowned in confusion and pushed the plate back, “This… is this so? Isn’t this something you can learn in a couple of days?”

The Versailles-like comment left Cheng Que speechless. He took a deep breath and barely squeezed out a few words between his teeth, “Probably not…”

Lin Yan was shocked, Lin Yan wailed, “How could this be? I also wanted to add embroidered tofu to the menu…”

Embroidered tofu, just the name sounds like it requires great knife skills… but if it’s done well, it would be incredibly profitable.

Cheng Que’s thoughts became active, and he began to think about finding a better chef.

A new worker flashed by outside the courtyard, and Cheng Que’s eyes lit up.

He remembered this worker. Xiang Wei Restaurant wasn’t lacking manpower, but this worker’s knife skills were so good that they made an exception and hired him.

However, after hiring him, they discovered that this worker wasn’t like what he said, a refugee from the Southern Lands, but rather like… someone sent by the competitor across the street to learn their techniques. That’s why he was gradually marginalized.

But things were different now. The current Xiang Wei Restaurant had Prince An backing them, and even Luo, the manager of Yi Pin Lou, wouldn’t dare to do anything, even with ten times the courage. So, such talent…

Cheng Que pointed out the window, “The new worker’s knife skills are pretty good, you can let him try.”

The previously rejected plan was suddenly approved.

Lin Yan was excited and eager to try, “Then let’s do it now…”

Cheng Que held back the person who was about to dart to the door and estimated the time by looking at the sky, “Not now, it’s very busy up front right now.”

Xiang Wei Restaurant’s business had always been good. After Yun Qi was named Prince An, it became even more crowded. Besides diners who came for the name, there were also people who wanted to curry favor with Prince An’s mansion.

These people exaggeratedly praised everything in the restaurant. When they realized that the so-called Princess An wasn’t in the restaurant, they finally put away their smiles and began to gossip.

“Could it be that Prince An was deceived? The decoration of this restaurant… is indeed very unique.”

“Unique?” The young master in blue rolled his eyes and said bluntly, “You’re really being subtle, brother. Why not just say it’s difficult to…”

“What would you two like to order?” The waiter of Xiang Wei Restaurant suddenly appeared, his smile only polite, not friendly.

The young master in blue coughed awkwardly, glanced at the menu that looked like a celestial script, and returned it to the waiter, “Just the signature dishes.”

The waiter had seen such scenes countless times. He put away the menu and bowed slightly, “Alright, please wait a moment.”

The young master in blue watched the waiter leave, feeling like countless eyes in Xiang Wei Restaurant were staring at him. He changed the subject and began to praise the restaurant wildly, “I heard that Xiang Wei Restaurant’s dishes are pleasing to the eye and leave a lingering fragrance in the mouth…”

The two of them used the skill they used to write essays for the imperial examination to praise Xiang Wei Restaurant’s dishes. But when the rattan pepper preserved egg was brought to the table, they were completely stumped.

The presentation of this dish couldn’t be said to be completely the same as their description. It was simply completely unrelated.

An awkward atmosphere spread between the two. Finally, the young master in blue couldn’t help it and spoke first to break the silence, “This… Since it’s Prince An’s restaurant, then the taste must be very good.”

The other person nodded like a pecking chicken, politely serving food to the person across from him, “Please, brother.”

The young master in blue returned the politeness without change, “No, you try a bite first, brother.”

“Please, brother…”

“You try first…”

After pushing the responsibility back and forth three times, the scene fell into awkwardness again. The two looked at each other and saw the same sense of resignation in each other’s eyes.

“Together?”

“Together.”

There was no fishy smell as they imagined, nor was there a burnt, bitter taste. The preserved egg was chewy, smooth, and refreshing. The rattan pepper, in a delicate rhythm, gently stung the tip of the tongue, bringing a slight numbness that whetted the appetite. The second dish was served at this moment. The two, who had just been polite to each other, suddenly changed their tune and began the first round of competition.

Then the second round, the third round…

After three rounds of wine and five rounds of dishes, when the dessert was served, both of them patted their bellies with satisfaction, using the newly served desserts to fill the gaps.

After eating and drinking enough, the two returned to their previous brotherly state, pushing the responsibility of paying the bill back and forth a couple of times.

It wasn’t until they left the restaurant that they remembered the purpose of their trip. They had originally planned to talk about it next time, but the opportunity to curry favor with Prince An had presented itself.

White, who had just escaped the constraints of the strange bipedal creatures, fell into a new trap. The newly appeared bipedal creatures were just as exaggerated as the previous ones.

“Oh my, this is the auspicious cat that His Majesty spoke of, right? Quickly, quickly, let me pet it.”

“Such a spiritual cat, it deserves a poem.”

White: …

Why are there so many lunatics??? I want to sleep!!!

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