Chapter 31 Delicious, So Delicious That I’m Crying!
Xu Yuan removed the lid of the small casserole. Next to the oil-glistening red roasted pork were greens. In the middle was a half-cooked poached egg that was glistening under the light. At the bottom, the white rice was sizzling as it cooked.
Shan Zicai knew that only by having perfect control over the heat would the roasted pork rice served to the table make such a perfect sizzling sound.
“Please have the Beside-oneself Rice,” Xu Yuan said as he put a pair of chopsticks at the side.
Shan Zicai was so hungry that his chest was almost pressed against his back. He was almost drooling, but he did not want to be seen through by Xu Yuan.
Even though his eyes were almost stuck to the bowl, he still said disdainfully, “It’s just roasted pork rice, why name it the Beside-oneself Rice? What’s the use of having a fancy name anyway? With your speed of serving customers, if you were in our restaurant, you would have been fired a long time ago!”
Shan Zicai secretly told himself that no matter how delicious the rice was, he would say it was not delicious and scold the cook to death! He would not give Xu Yuan a single cent since the latter dared to starve him!
He was brewing profanity in his stomach when he scooped a piece of roasted pork with the spoon in his hand and put it into his mouth. He pushed his tongue against it in disgust.
With just a gentle squeeze, the broth contained in the roasted pork exploded in his mouth. Along with its scalding temperature, it flowed to every corner of his mouth!
The taste and texture of the roasted pork far exceeded Shan Zicai’s imagination. He took a deep breath and the meat simply slid down his throat.
“Good…” He covered his mouth the minute words of praise were about to slip out. Then, Shan Zicai ate another piece of meat to keep his mouth busy.
A voice in his heart kept telling himself, “Curse! Curse him! I’m here to find trouble, not to spend money! Quick, tell him it’s not delicious! Quick!”
But when the words reached his mouth, the fatty meat in his mouth slipped into his stomach again. His mind was completely focused on eating that he could not curse at all.
His ugly appearance was all seen by Xu Yuan.
“Customer, how is the taste?” Xu Yuan asked with a smile.
At this moment, Shan Zicai was like a pig that was eating. He only cared about eating while he moved his head. It was hard to tell if he was nodding or shaking his head.
However, his terrible table manners had already betrayed his thoughts. Wang Yun shot a glance at Zhan Long, indicating for the latter to take note of Xu Yuan’s cooking skills.
Zhan Long could not help but clap! Shan Zicai’s satisfied look had already explained everything. His previous doubts about Xu Yuan had instantly disappeared. Rather, he was even surer in his heart that Xu Yuan could revive the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant!
Wei Heji stood at the side in a reserved manner. His gaze was unconsciously attracted by the casserole as he watched Shan Zicai eat up half of the food in the casserole.
As Shan Zicai ate, he suddenly stopped. When he raised his head again, his face was covered in tears. The tears were like a curtain of rain hanging on his fat face and his snot was almost flowing into his mouth. He looked at Xu Yuan with tearful eyes.
Shan Zicai’s cheeks were bulging as his mouth was still full of roasted pork that he had yet to chew and swallow. He said in a daze, “Why am I crying…”
Xu Yuan thought to himself, “You’ve found your conscience, huh.”
Zhan Long’s voice rang in his ears, “Young master, what is going on?”
Zhan Long was shocked. He had never heard of roasted pork rice that could make people cry. Could it be that not only had Xu Yuan gone to Wudang, but he had also gone to Hogwarts without telling them?
Xu Yuan smiled and explained softly, “I put onions in it.”
It was a simple statement. Xu Yuan did not hide anything about the ingredients. Since he dared to say it, he was not afraid that Shan Zicai would learn his secret recipe.
Such an open mind made Shan Zicai feel complicated.
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He understood that there was a huge gap between himself and Xu Yuan.
Shan Zicai admitted that he was inferior to Zhan Long in every aspect. However, he had worked hard to develop roasted pork rice, focused on it only.
From the fact that his restaurant only sold roasted pork rice and that his restaurant was popular with just that, it could be seen that Shan Zicai was very confident in his cooking. He had once thought that his roasted pork rice was invincible. At least in Twiser, no one could beat him.
But now, such thoughts have been forcefully smashed into powder by Xu Yuan. It was like a sudden slap to the face had shattered his beautiful dream and made him understand what it meant when it was said that there would always be someone better.
He had been hard on himself in the past just to pursue the peak of excellence in cooking. He had thought that if he could make this dish, roasted pork rice, to the peak of its excellence, it would not be a waste of his life as a cook.
Unexpectedly, to think a bowl of roasted pork rice could make him convinced. To be defeated by this perfect taste, he had not suffered a loss!
Zhan Long watched as Shan Zicai held the casserole in a daze while the latter’s tears were constantly dripping in the bowl, and couldn’t help but curiously ask: “Why are you crying?”
Shan Zicai realized that he had lost his composure. He raised his head and wiped his face with his sleeve. Then, he pretended to be relaxed and said, “It’s nothing. I just remembered something sad.”
Seeing him so emotional, Zhan Long was really afraid that his next sentence would be “I recalled the taste of my mother’s cooking”. Just thinking about the scene made him feel goosebumps all over his body. Then, he turned his head to look at Xu Yuan and asked him what to do next with his eyes.
Xu Yuan stood with his hands behind his back. He watched as Shan Zicai finished the remaining half of a bowl of rice until only the layer of oil at the bottom was left. Then, the latter put down the casserole in satisfaction and patted his full belly.
“It’s already very late, so please leave after you’ve finished eating,” Xu Yuan said these words bluntly to send the guest off.
Shan Zicai licked his lips and said, “How much is a bowl?”
“388 yuan, cash or card?”
“What? 388 yuan?” Before Shan Zicai could question the price, Zhan Long and Wei Heji both exclaimed in surprise.
Although Xu Yuan had used the best shoulder meat of a black pig, a simple bowl of rice with a piece of meat, a poached egg, and two pieces of small greens were simply not worth more than 100 yuan. Xu Yuan was asking for a bit too much.
Zhan Long’s heart skipped a beat. It was not easy for the restaurant to have some income, and now Shan Zicai was probably going to make use of this opportunity to make a big fuss again.
His first reaction was to block in front of Xu Yuan to prevent Shan Zicai’s spit to splatter on Xu Yuan.
He did not expect Shan Zicai to nod repeatedly after hearing the price as he muttered, “It’s not expensive. This meal is worth it. The price is very reasonable!”
Zhan Long and Wei Heji thought they had heard wrong. They looked at each other at the same time to confirm that what they had heard was the same. They were instantly dumbfounded.
In their impression, Shan Zicai regarded the Royal Court Banquet Restaurant as a thorn in his flesh. How could he accept the price of 388 yuan for a bowl of roasted pork rice so easily? Just how delicious was the meal made by Xu Yuan?
The two were full of questions. Zhan Long even pinched himself to confirm that this was not an illusion.
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Shan Zicai ignored their surprised gazes and went straight to the front desk to swipe his card and pay 388 yuan. Before he left, he did not forget to give Xu Yuan a thumbs up. After a sigh of admiration, he pushed the door open and left.
“Take care,” Xu Yuan saw him off in a well-mannered manner.
Then, he clapped his hands and called back the souls of the two, “I haven’t wasted my time after all this. Pack up and let’s prepare the new dish for tomorrow.”
“Yes!” Zhan Long looked like a youth burning with excitement. He was so excited that his eyes were burning.
Although Wei Heji was also smiling, he was getting increasingly fearful of Xu Yuan. He knew that Xu Yuan’s skills would definitely be the stumbling block for him to buy the restaurant!