Chapter 254: The Deceitful Beast (Part 7)

A large pot of four-joy tangyuan set the tone for the birthday banquet.

Large quantity and full!

Although Master Jing said to let Gong Liang and the others eat some tangyuan to pad their stomachs first, as the gold-medal salesman of the silk weaving factory, Gong Liang naturally couldn't be so lacking in awareness as to really sit down and eat by himself.

Gong Liang stretched his neck and glanced at the tangyuan, asking somewhat strangely: "Aren't four-joy tangyuan 4 kinds of tangyuan with different appearances? Why are all the ones in this pot round?"

Gong Liang indicated that although he hadn't eaten much four-joy tangyuan, he had seen pigs run even if he hadn't eaten pork; he still knew roughly what four-joy tangyuan looked like.

"Master doesn't have the time to wrap four shapes, there's a whole table of dishes." Zheng Da said. "Don't worry, each kind is delicious, especially the mixed-fruit filling."

"Last night you left early and didn't see it, a full 9 jin 4 liang of winter melon sugar, all used to make mixed-fruit filling, it must be delicious!" Zheng Da frantically promoted the mixed-fruit filling.

Taking advantage of Zheng Da and Gong Liang discussing the tangyuan, Qin Huai slipped into the kitchen to watch Master Jing cook.

Only Jing Lixiang and Huang Shengli were left in the kitchen. Three pots were on the fire at the same time: one pot was boiling fish soup, one pot was braising pork, and there was a steamer on another pot, which was probably steaming lantern buns.

The color of the fish soup was slightly whitish, not to the exaggerated extent of milky white, but it could be seen that it had been stewed for some time.

The braised pork was very pure braised pork; three-part fat and seven-part lean pork belly was cut into large pieces, and the layers of fat and lean meat could be seen very clearly. Jing Lixiang flipped the spatula, letting every piece of meat be evenly stained with sauce color, looking exceptionally good and attractive.

Accompanied by the flipping of the spatula, the pork belly collided together, bouncing slightly. Qin Huai watched from the side, his eyes fixed on the pork belly in the pot. Basically, every time he looked at it more, he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva. Every time the pork belly collided, Qin Huai would automatically imagine the duangduang sound effect in his brain.

Duang~

It was the collision of fat and fat!

It was the fusion of sauce color and sauce color!

It was a symphony of deliciousness, the victory of the meat-loving party!

Qin Huai knew Jing Lixiang's craftsmanship was high, whether from Zheng Siyuan's reverence, from the words of old customers like Uncle Wang who couldn't forget the crab shell yellow, or from the infinite admiration of the two direct disciples Zheng Da and Huang Shengli for their master, Qin Huai could feel it.

Not to mention that Qin Huai had touched Jing Lixiang's recipes and had really seen Jing Lixiang's dim sum craftsmanship.

It was indeed impeccable, a master among masters. Whether it was kneading dough or seasoning filling, it was perfect to the point where one couldn't pick out a mistake. Just the operation of boiling the filling in the three-ingredient bun video tutorial was enough for Qin Huai to learn for several years.

Perhaps because Qin Huai had only seen Master Jing make dim sum, even if he knew Huang Shengli was also Master Jing's direct disciple, Qin Huai would subconsciously feel that Master Jing was a dim sum master, not a super hexagonal warrior who was excellent in both red and white cases.

When a person hasn't seen with their own eyes how awesome the other party is, just listening to others' words, one can't imagine how awesome the other party is specifically.

No matter how good the eloquence is, no matter how flowery the blowing is, no matter how rich the adjectives are, no matter how gorgeous the rhetoric is, it is not as convincing as the pot of braised pork in front of him.

Too attractive.

This plate of braised pork was as perfect as the food that appeared in TV commercials, as if it could only be born with lighting, filters, props, and colors to be such a standard, textbook-like braised pork.

Want to eat.

But can't eat.

As soon as Qin Huai thought that he couldn't eat it, but Gong Liang had really eaten it decades ago, he was even more jealous.

Forget about the cool-text male lead, he ate so well.

The braised pork was out of the pot.

"Master, should I serve the braised pork now?" Huang Shengli asked, handing over the freshly cut vegetables and meat while speaking.

Qin Huai glanced at the vegetables handed over by Huang Shengli; they were very familiar, Chinese cabbage and shredded meat.

Stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat was the best fire-control dish that Qin Huai basically stir-fried half a bucket of every day.

Speaking of stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat, Qin Huai felt that this dish was truly magical.

Simple stir-fried Chinese cabbage, Qin Huai stir-fried quite well now. Simple stir-fried meat, Qin Huai actually didn't stir-fry badly either.

But mixing these two together, Qin Huai's stir-frying wasn't very good.

Qin Huai couldn't control the degree at all; if the fire was big, the Chinese cabbage was old, and if the fire was small, the meat wasn't even. If he used the concept of using more oil to not spoil the dish, this dish would appear very greasy and not delicious; if he calculated carefully and put in a little less, it would be very dry and not moist enough.

But Huang Shengli's stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat was very delicious.

Every time Huang Shengli demonstrated stir-frying once, and Qin Huai stir-fried once, the stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat that Qin Huai stir-fried, which was theoretically edible, would be set off as swill.

Dong Shi ate Qin Huai's stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat every day and was about to vomit.

As for the plate demonstrated by Huang Shengli...

Qin Huai loved to eat it. Every time Huang Shengli finished stir-frying and let Qin Huai taste the flavor to find the feeling, Qin Huai found half a plate's amount. The remaining half plate would be eliminated in constant failures while constantly finding the feeling.

After practicing stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat many times, Huang Shengli found that Qin Huai loved to eat it, so he often added this dish to Qin Huai's staff meal small stove, coming up with a plate every few days, letting Qin Huai achieve stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat freedom.

Now Qin Huai could very confidently say that he might not know much about other dishes, but he was too familiar with stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat.

Master Jing took the vegetable plate and said: "Wait, the stewed fish will be out of the pot soon, serve it together then to save an extra trip."

"Shengli, watch the heat, add sesame oil at the end."

"Okay, Master." Huang Shengli obediently watched the heat, Jing Lixiang heated the pot and burned oil, poured in the meat.

With a "sizzle" sound, rapid stir-frying over high heat.

Then Qin Huai witnessed what true superb heat control was.

Under the rapid stir-frying of high heat, the meat changed color quickly. Jing Lixiang quickly waved the spatula, trying his best to make every shredded meat heated evenly. After the meat in the pot changed color, he sprinkled a little salt and poured in the Chinese cabbage.

Still rapid stir-frying over high heat.

Qin Huai felt that this stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat seemed very easy, but he couldn't do it.

He felt the same way when he watched Huang Shengli demonstrate; at first glance, stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat was just like this, like this, like this, like this, and after that, it was perfectly out of the pot.

When he actually operated it, it was like that, like that, like this, like this, and like this, and a pot of not-at-all-perfect stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat was out of the pot like that.

Both were stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat, but Jing Lixiang was obviously more handy than Huang Shengli. Qin Huai even felt that Jing Lixiang's mind wasn't on the pot at all; he paid more attention to the stewed fish next door.

"Shengli, sesame oil."

Huang Shengli added sesame oil.

Not much, just a dozen drops. The sesame oil floated on the surface of the fish soup like a layer of oil flowers, and it dispersed when stirred with chopsticks.

At the same time, it was also very magical. After the sesame oil was added and stirred, the fragrance of the fish soup came out immediately. Jing Lixiang smelled the flavor, nodded to signal Huang Shengli that he could turn off the heat and simmer for another minute, and then serve it.

A minute later, the stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat was also out of the pot.

Huang Shengli served the stewed fish and walked out carrying the stewed fish. When he reached the kitchen door, he took a deep breath and shouted with full energy: "Zheng Da, serve the dishes!"

"Coming, coming!" Zheng Da ran in happily, not giving Huang Shengli a chance to serve the dishes, left hand braised pork, right hand stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat, eyes fixed on the steamer, "Master, the one in the steamer..."

"Not urgent, eat first, I remember the time in my heart," Jing Lixiang said.

Zheng Da wasn't urgent, carried the dishes out of the kitchen.

Three dishes and one dim sum, the number of dishes as a birthday banquet wasn't much, but in this era, they were definitely big, hard dishes.

In the private room, Zheng Da and Guo Mingzhu's bowls were empty, and the pot of four-joy tangyuan was still a pot that no one had stolen. Seeing the braised pork and stewed fish, their eyes went straight, and they didn't divide any extra attention to the stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat, very much not giving face to the stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat.

Seeing Gong Liang's bowl was still empty, Jing Lixiang asked with a smile: "Little Liang, why don't you eat? Don't like eating tangyuan?"

Gong Liang hurriedly said: "No, no, I don't think I can eat tangyuan once a year, how could I not like it. Isn't it that you are still busy, Master Jing? There is no reason for the chef who cooks not to be at the table, and others to eat first." Jing Lixiang sat down with a smile. Even if there was a ferocious scar on his face, at this moment, he looked kind and benevolent.

"Today you are the birthday star, it is right for the birthday star to eat first. Letting the birthday star go hungry is the chef's fault." After speaking, Jing Lixiang looked at Guo Mingzhu, "Little Guo, right? Often hear Little Liang mention you, I have an impression of you. Did you come to the state-run restaurant to buy baozi on the 2nd of last month?"

"Yes, yes." Guo Mingzhu nodded repeatedly. "Master Jing, your memory is really good, I only bought it that once."

"It's because Little Guo, you look good. Such a beautiful little girl is seen at a glance in the crowd, how could I not remember." Jing Lixiang said with a smile, looked at Guo Mingzhu who was staring at the braised pork after speaking, Gong Liang who was trying hard not to stare at the braised pork, Huang Shengli who was staring at the stewed fish, and Zheng Da who was looking at the four-joy tangyuan with longing eyes, and smiled again, "Alright, the dishes are basically ready."

"Birthday star, move your chopsticks."

Gong Liang picked up his chopsticks, subconsciously wanting to pick up the braised pork, but stopped as soon as he stretched out, took the chopsticks back and held them in his hand, stood up, and picked up his bowl to serve himself 4 four-joy tangyuan.

He remembered Jing Lixiang told him to eat four-joy tangyuan to pad his stomach first.

With Gong Liang starting this, others also served four-joy tangyuan one after another, all uniformly four, only Jing Lixiang was an exception, serving one.

"Old age, stomach is uncomfortable if I eat too many tangyuan at night," Jing Lixiang said.

Hearing him say this, Huang Shengli hurriedly went to the kitchen to get a new bowl and served a bowl of fish soup for Jing Lixiang.

Everyone was burying their heads in eating tangyuan.

Zheng Da took a bite: "Why is it meat filling?"

Gong Liang took a bite: "Why is... what filling is this winter melon sugar?"

One bite from you, one bite from me, one bite of tangyuan, one bite of braised pork, one bite of tangyuan, one bite of fish meat, one bite of tangyuan, one bite of stir-fried Chinese cabbage with meat, a boring and dull eating broadcast started just like that.

As for why it was boring and dull.

Qin Huai indicated that he couldn't eat it, it was too dull, too boring, too wanting to leave this place.

Damn, why didn't he feel so uncomfortable when looking at others' memories before?

How come Gong Liang's memory was nothing but eating, how many good things had he eaten before. Eating dim sum is one thing, how come he is eating good dishes now.

The cool-text male lead eats too comprehensively.

Did he consider the mood of the system-text male lead when eating?

When this dull eating broadcast ended, Gong Liang and Zheng Da were almost unable to walk. Since everyone had eaten enough, Master Jing slowly stood up, went to the kitchen, and brought out the lantern buns.

Everyone was stunned.

Not stunned by the shape of the lantern buns.

The lantern buns made by Master Jing weren't complicated, at least not as gorgeous as the ones Zheng Da made last time; they were a very normal lantern bun, even with a little suspicion of cutting corners.

Qin Huai found that the lace of this lantern bun wasn't particularly delicate, and the person making the buns seemed to be in a bit of a hurry.

Sure enough, no matter how high the master's craftsmanship is, it is inevitable that there will be times of fooling around.

Everyone was shocked mainly because they were already 90% full and didn't expect there to be dim sum.

Eat or not at this time?

Of course, eat!

Isn't it just 90% full? The potential of the stomach is infinite, work hard, 120% full is also possible.

Everyone worked hard to stuff buns into their mouths.

Finally, Zheng Da and Gong Liang walked while supporting the wall.

Gong Liang still wanted to send Guo Mingzhu back, but Guo Mingzhu said no need; Gong Liang should go home quickly now and lie on the bed to digest food, and Guo Mingzhu also needed to walk home alone, by the way, organize language on the road, and go home to brag to her parents about the dishes tonight.

Gong Liang sent Guo Mingzhu to the entrance of the state-run restaurant, and Zheng Da and Huang Shengli went to the kitchen to clean up.

Just as Gong Liang was about to go back, Jing Lixiang called him.

"Little Liang." Jing Lixiang beckoned to Gong Liang, and Gong Liang walked slowly with one hand supporting his waist.

"I haven't given you your birthday gift yet."

Gong Liang opened his mouth to speak, but closed it as soon as he opened it. Obviously, he was too full, afraid that if he said one more word, he would hiccup, bringing the food in his stomach out along with the hiccup.

Jing Lixiang walked into the kitchen, took out a small steamer, and slowly opened the steamer in Gong Liang's puzzled gaze.

Inside was a bun.

A lantern bun.

A very beautiful lantern bun.

If the lantern buns everyone just ate were the basic version, and the lantern buns Zheng Da made last time were plus, then the lantern bun in front of him was the promax version.

Directly omitting the pro version in the middle, it was the ultimate enhanced version.

This lantern bun was simply beautiful to the point of being unreasonable.

Eight pieces of lace, the patterns on each piece of lace were like being carefully pressed with a measuring ruler. There were small characters on the bottom edge of each piece of lace, connecting to "lucky stars shining high, five blessings entering the door."

Eight pieces of lace represented the edges of the lantern, and Jing Lixiang also specifically pinched the corners of the lantern at the bottom of the lace, using red preserved fruit as embellishment on the top.

This was the real work of art.

Gong Liang was stunned.

"The lantern bun represents welcoming a new beginning. The ones you just ate were the lantern buns that swept away the past. Now this one is the lantern bun I specifically made for you to welcome a new beginning."

"I know you definitely can't eat it now, it's the same to take it back and eat it tonight or tomorrow morning."

"Youth is good. When I was young, I was like you when I encountered something delicious, catching it and eating it foolishly, until I was uncomfortably full."

"Can't do it now, now that I'm old, I'm uncomfortably full if I eat a little too much and can't sleep all night. Little Liang, while you are still young, eat more, play more, see more, learn more."

"Don't always be unconfident, believe in yourself."

"You are not the unknown Little Gong anymore, you are now the big red man of the silk weaving factory, the famous Salesman Gong."

"After eating this bun, you have to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and start a brand-new life."

Gong Liang didn't speak, nodded heavily.

Then he resolutely picked up the bun and took a fierce bite.

"Hiccup." Gong Liang couldn't help it and hiccuped.

Master Jing laughed happily again.

Qin Huai left the memory.

Yesterday, I only wore a pair of cotton pants when I went to the Mount Zhangbai scenic area, and then my ankles were a little frostbitten.

Today, I still went skiing without fear of death.

Finally.

Skiing is so fun, I'll ski tomorrow too.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 255 =====