Chapter 373: Eighties Gourmet System (11)

This afternoon, Master Lou still did not come to work.

Word is his wife did indeed go into premature labor.

It is also said that the child his wife is carrying is indeed a son.

Master Lou is nearing fifty, and having finally hoped for a son, the result of the premature birth was that the baby weighed only two jin and eight liang, as thin and weak as a little kitten, and his cries were said to be very feeble.

As soon as he was born, he was sent into an incubator.

Master Lou is worried, so he goes to check on the incubator every little while.

Therefore, he continues to take leave this afternoon.

With Master Lou not here, the meat dishes still have to be made by Xie Yang.

Xiao Rong and Xiao Fu are at a loss when faced with a bucket of pig blood that breaks at the slightest touch and a basin of messy chicken offal.

Xie Yang teaches them as she works:

"If you want pig blood to be delicious and free of a fishy smell, you must blanch it before cooking, and you must use boiling water to blanch it."

"Pig blood itself has a relatively bland flavor, so the seasoning must be moderate; neither too salty nor too bland will do."

"If stir-frying with leeks, you must stir-fry the pig blood over low heat, otherwise it breaks easily."

"For tofu and pig blood soup, thickening the sauce before taking it off the heat is essential."

"Stir-frying chicken offal is relatively simple; use high heat for a quick stir-fry so the texture remains crisp. Therefore, the side ingredients must be prepared before the chicken offal goes into the pot to avoid overcooking it."

Xiao Rong and Xiao Fu stand on either side, observing Xie Yang stir-fry the pig blood and chicken offal.

Seeing that they are listening attentively, Xie Yang lets them take the spatula and try.

Once the two try, they discover that their eyes have learned and their ears have learned, but only their hands have not.

"Forget it, I'd better go steam my two-grain rice!"

Xiao Fu is the first to retreat.

He is mainly responsible for steaming rice and making steamed buns, occasionally filling in for Xiao Rong to stir-fry one or two vegetable dishes that do not require much technical skill.

Meat dishes are the Master Chef's job.

Xiao Rong continues to stand by Xie Yang's side, watching her carefully as she makes the pig blood and stir-fries the chicken offal.

As he watches, he blurts out: "Master... Sister Xie, it feels like your technique is very seasoned; have you been learning to cook for a long time?"

Have you been learning to cook for a long time?

Xie Yang thinks about this question carefully and finds that it has indeed been a long time.

Others usually use "a few years" or "decades" to describe a long time, but she has to use "centuries."

But can this be said?

So, she raises an eyebrow: "I haven't specifically learned it; I just learned it after cooking a lot of meals."

"..."

Xiao Rong does not believe her.

Noticing her slight hesitation, he is even more convinced that she studied under a master, but for some reason, it is not something to be told to outsiders, which is why she is hiding it and not saying.

Xie Yang: You're overthinking it, kid!

At four-thirty, the Gad Steel Factory workers get off work.

Most married workers usually go home to cook dinner themselves, but a few will also stop by the Canteen on their way to bring one or two dishes back.

Only single workers living in the collective dormitory will bring their lunchboxes to the Canteen to eat.

Today is different from the past—

A portion of the workers, as soon as the bell for getting off work rings, pick up their lunchboxes and dash toward the Canteen.

"Hey, Xiao Wang, what are you running for?"

"I'm going to the Canteen to get food."

"Hey! Didn't you say that once the beginning of the month passes, you can't pick out any dishes to your liking at the Canteen? Why are you still going?"

"There are new dishes today!"

"What new dishes?"

"Anyway, they're new dishes... Oh, I'm not talking to you anymore! If I go late, I won't be able to grab any! I didn't grab any at noon."

"..."

The workers who did not see the scene at noon where the meat dishes at Yi Chuangkou were snatched up are extremely puzzled as they watch this scene.

Those who originally had no intention of going to the Canteen to buy food or eat actually follow their colleagues who are dashing off, and follow the trend into the Canteen.

The server at Er Chuangkou, who is idle and waving a flyswatter, is startled to see so many workers coming to the Canteen to eat.

Usually at this hour, there are not many people coming to the Canteen to eat.

He picks up his serving spoon and greets the worker running at the very front with a beaming smile: "Officer Wang, it's rare to see you come to the Canteen at this hour; what dish do you want to eat?"

Officer Wang does not know if he heard or not, but in any case, he gives no reaction, tucking two lunchboxes under his arm and heading straight for Yi Chuangkou:

"Are there any pork intestines or pork liver tonight?"

Xiao Fu: "None left. But there is pig blood and chicken offal, do you want them?"

At this time, other workers also arrive at Yi Chuangkou one after another, among whom are many who like to eat pig blood; hearing this, they raise their lunchboxes and meal tickets high:

"I want the pig blood! One portion of stir-fried and one portion of stewed! And four liang of rice!"

"This stir-fried chicken offal looks quite appetizing; I want one portion of chicken offal and two steamed buns!"

Officer Wang sees that he has been squeezed into third place; if he doesn't act now, the ending from noon will play out again.

He hurriedly hands out his two lunchboxes: "One lunchbox for the pig blood, one lunchbox for the chicken offal. I want both kinds of pig blood, just mix them together, it's fine."

He lives nearby, so he usually goes home for dinner, only coming to the Canteen to pick up a dish to take home when the Canteen makes braised pork or braised Fish.

Today was the first time in history—he got a box of pig blood and a box of chicken offal.

Watching him carefully put the lid on the lunchbox and carry it out of the Canteen, the server at Er Chuangkou nearly had his eyeballs drop to the floor:

"Doesn't Director Wang always complain that his son is a picky eater? Saying he won't touch the table unless there's meat, but this doesn't look like it at all!"

Another kitchen assistant turned his head to look at Master Fan, who was still in the back kitchen smoking and sulking, and whispered:

"You had business and left early this morning so you didn't see, but that woman who came to take over Zhang Pozi's post at Yi Chuangkou is quite good at cooking. Isn't the one surnamed Lou on leave today? She was the one manning the ladle, and that aroma, tsk! It even made me hungry."

If it weren't for the fact that the Masters of the two windows didn't see eye to eye, which meant that they, the kitchen assistants and Temporary Workers, didn't dare to cross over to each other's territory, he would have rushed over to buy a couple of dishes himself. It was truly damn appetizing!

Unfortunately, in the short time they were chatting, the dishes at Yi Chuangkou sold out at lightning speed, just like at noon.

Xiao Rong once again confirmed his hypothesis: Sister Xie was definitely a master chef hiding in the city.

Perhaps Sister Xie even had an Imperial Chef among her ancestors.

But when he asked her this, Sister Xie laughed and waved her hands repeatedly to say no.

That made sense! The identity of being a descendant of an Imperial Chef, with its slightly feudal nature, was still a bit sensitive right now, so it was no wonder she wouldn't admit it.

But it didn't matter; what he wanted to learn was culinary skill, not the status of being an apprentice's apprentice to an Imperial Chef.

"Sister Xie, put that down, put that down! Let me do it!"

He snatched the rag from Xie Yang's hand and scrubbed the tabletop vigorously.

After finishing that, he snatched away Xie Yang's job of washing the pots, bowls, and ladles.

"I'll do it, I'll do it! You've been busy all afternoon, you must be tired, sit down and rest for a while and have some tea. The basin of dirty water is too heavy, leave it to me and Xiao Fu."

Xiao Fu was dumbfounded: "..."

Hey brother! Did you take the wrong medicine?

These are supposed to be the Temporary Worker's jobs, right?

And "busy all afternoon, must be tired"... where is she tired?

We were the ones who picked and washed the vegetables; she merely stir-fried two dishes, and for a mere Temporary Worker to be treated like Master Lou, is this normal?

Xiao Fu felt it wasn't normal.

Even though he also thought the large-batch dishes Xie Yang stir-fried were delicious, much better than what Master Lou made!

But what did that have to do with him?

Why should he have to share the work of a Temporary Worker?

The basin of dirty water was very heavy; even lifting it together was a struggle.

Then just do it the way Zhang Pozi used to: take a gourd ladle, scoop the dirty water into a tin bucket, and carry it out in batches to dump it.

Seeing the dissatisfaction written all over Xiao Fu's face, Xie Yang smiled at the enthusiastic Xiao Rong: "It's fine, this little bit of work is nothing to me."

Having said that, she effortlessly picked up the large basin of dirty water and easily poured it into the sewer.

"..."

"..."