Chapter 5: Chapter Five: Emei Restaurant and Wang Youde

At the Emei Restaurant at No. 58 Lishi Road in Xicheng District, He Yuzhu has been an apprentice since the restaurant opened fifty years ago.

His master, Wang Youde, who is also the head chef of the Emei Restaurant, has devoted his life to Sichuan cuisine, founding the distinctive Emei School of Sichuan cuisine, which has made the Emei Restaurant a uniquely characteristic Sichuan eatery over the past two years—this is why He Yuzhu's Sichuan cuisine is so good, and even faintly surpasses Tan family cuisine.

It's not that Sichuan cuisine is simply better than Tan family cuisine; rather, there are other reasons—Tan family cuisine is hardly dared to be made nowadays, but as a regional cuisine Sichuan cuisine can still be promoted at this time, and its flavor suits the taste of most people, which is also why He Yuzhu chose Sichuan cuisine.

Only after the opening up did He Yuzhu resume researching Tan family cuisine.

He Yuzhu stood at the entrance of the Emei Restaurant, staring blankly at the sign, sighing, "After all these years I'm back here." "Zhuzi, what are you doing standing at the door? Why don't you come in?" the second manager of the Emei Restaurant shouted when he saw He Yuzhu standing there in a daze.

"Oh, Manager Li, it's nothing—I just thought of something. Have you seen my master?" He Yuzhu replied while walking into the restaurant.

"Where could your master be at this time? He must be in the back kitchen, you idiot Zhuzi—hurry up and go in; why are you so late? Later you'd better watch out or your master will whip you," Manager Li said with a laugh.

"Hey, never mind—I'll go find my master first and come back to tell you later," He Yuzhu said, then dashed off to the back kitchen.

Inside the back kitchen, He Yuzhu's master Wang Youde was stir-frying dishes; seeing He Yuzhu, he shouted loudly, "You little bastard, you've grown bold—coming this late, look how busy the back kitchen is—hurry up and go to the chopping board."

He Yuzhu didn't go to the chopping board; instead, he went to where the tea pots were kept, poured a cup of water for Wang Youde and brought it over—just as Wang Youde finished stir-frying this dish and was now plating it.

He Yuzhu approached Wang Youde, handed him the cup, and said, "Master, what's the next dish? Let me cook it for you while you take a break."

"You? Cooking? You might as well eat dirt—after two years on the chopping board you still don't even know your own surname?" Wang Youde said after opening the cup's lid and taking a sip.

"Master, don't look down on me—I practice every day at home; I cook all our meals, and my dad says I'm ready to graduate. If you don't believe me, look: I'll make this shredded potato dish; even if I mess it up, it won't take much of your time, and later we can eat it ourselves—I'll pay, won't that be fine?" Saying this, He Yuzhu didn't stand on ceremony with Wang Youde, lit the stove, poured oil, and began stir-frying.

Before Wang Youde could react, He Yuzhu had already tossed the auxiliary ingredients into the pot; all Wang Youde could do was watch He Yuzhu's practiced movements, and he nodded, saying, "All right, Zhuzi, that style is kind of interesting."

While stir-frying, He Yuzhu told Wang Youde, "Master, starting tomorrow I won't be able to work here—my dad ran off with the White Widow last night, and today I went to the Yagangchang, where I've secured a head chef position paying thirty-two dollars a month."

Hearing He Yuzhu's words, Wang Youde sighed and said, "That old He—I had already advised him before, but Yushui is still too young; he insisted on finding a woman from Baocheng, and with the whole city being so big, alas, what a sin."

"Master, my dad is just pursuing his own happiness; as his son I can't stop him, and I've also decided that I'm old enough now to take care of myself—it's just a pity for Yushui. Master, could you come out of the kitchen and taste how this is?" After saying that, He Yuzhu placed the dish on a plate.

Wang Youde picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and shouted to the outside, "Shuanzi, serve the hot and sour shredded potatoes!"

Wang Youde looked at He Yuzhu and said, "All right, since you've made up your mind, I'll go find Manager Li on the restaurant's side. You've worked here for two years, and I don't have much to give you—come to my place tonight, and I'll let you take back the cooking notes I've written over the years."

He Yuzhu thought, in his previous life he felt that He Daqing's fellow disciples were all of the same ilk; after He Daqing left, the very next afternoon he took He Yushui to Baocheng, and upon returning he fell ill for several days. Over at the Emei Restaurant, they'd still had to rely on Jia Dongxu to handle the work, and there were no such notes—this is a valuable thing, after all, these are the notes of the founder of the Emei Sichuan cuisine school.

Although He Daqing inherited Tan family cuisine, after the liberation Tan family cuisine, as an official cuisine, could no longer be prepared, so He Daqing became a disciple of Wang Youde to study Sichuan cuisine for a year; coincidentally, the Emei Restaurant opened fifty years ago, and that is why He Daqing sent He Yuzhu here to be an apprentice.

"Master, I plan to go to Baocheng this afternoon; I'm afraid I won't be able to come to your place tonight, and besides, I'll have to trouble you to let Yushui stay at my house for the night."

"All right, go ahead—I'll have Shuanzi come after school, and tonight I'll take Yushui back home to stay," Wang Youde said while walking over to the cupboard, where he took out a packet of peach pastries and handed them to He Yuzhu.

"Take this packet of peach pastries to eat if you get hungry on the road; we can talk about anything else when you return—hurry up and go, don't miss the train."

"All right, Master, I won't stand on ceremony with you either—I've had that meal since this morning and my rations aren't exhausted yet, so I'm off now, Master." After saying that, He Yuzhu left the back kitchen, glanced at the hall clock—it was already one o'clock—and hurriedly greeted Manager Li before rushing to the train station.

He Yuzhu broke into a light run; from the Emei Restaurant to the train station is about ten kilometers—if he ran all the way he'd be half-dead from exhaustion, and he'd still arrive late.

On the road He Yuzhu hailed a tricycle and asked, "How much to the train station?"

"Three mao," the woman driver said tersely, giving He Yuzhu a look that said, "Do you have money or not?"

Without a word, He Yuzhu jumped aboard and said, "Let's go."

As it turned out, the driver didn't move; he just stared at He Yuzhu, held out his hand, and said, "Pay first."

He Yuzhu rolled his eyes, produced three mao from his person, handed it to the driver, and said, "If you can't get there in ten minutes, you'll owe me three mao."

Upon seeing the money, the driver immediately changed his demeanor, smiling and saying to He Yuzhu, "All right then, hold on tight—we're off."