Chapter 64: First Time as a Cook

Early in the morning, He Yuzhu arrived in front of the elegant little Western-style villa belonging to Liu Rusi.

Pingping came out to open the door, rubbing her sleepy eyes; she was wearing a nightgown, but was carrying a Submachine Gun in her hand.

"Sister Pingping, are you going hunting? Carrying a gun so early in the morning is quite frightening," He Yuzhu teased with a smile.

Pingping rolled her eyes at him and said crossly, "It's only six o'clock! The mistress has to sleep until at least ten. Don't you dare wake her up." Her voice was hoarse with lingering sleepiness.

"Don't worry, I know the rules."

"At a buffet party, few people come to gorge themselves; they come to chat."

"Understood. I just feel that since Sister helped me so much, I have no way to repay her, so I want to make her look good!"

"You certainly have a sweet tongue." Pingping pursed her lips and added, "By the way, I couldn't get the electric oven you mentioned, so I bought a stove for baking flatbreads. Will that work?"

He Yuzhu shook his head: "I'm afraid that won't do."

He followed Pingping into the kitchen and spread out the ingredients he had brought one by one.

Five live grass carp, four fat chickens, ten catties of pork, plus white sugar, chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, soy sauce... all sorts of things, covering the whole table.

Pingping and He Yuzhu looked at each other for a moment, then she turned and walked away. "You get busy first; I'll come help you after eight. I'm going to catch up on some sleep."

He Yuzhu began to work alone in the spacious kitchen.

He had originally wanted to bake some Western-style pastries, but he had forgotten that electric ovens were not yet common in this era; Liu Rusi had actually agreed to go look for one, but ended up only getting a stove for baking flatbreads.

Making cakes was out of the question, so he had to change the menu. After thinking for a long time, he added fried chicken and fish and chips.

The re-planned dishes were: Boiled Fish, Kung Pao Chicken, Twice Cooked Pork, Pickled Fish, and Western-style pan-seared steak, fried chicken wings, and fish and chips.

With a flick of his knife, he sliced the fish into thin fillets, cut the chicken into cubes, marinated the steak and chicken wings, and cut the potatoes into neat strips...

It wasn't until nearly nine o'clock that He Yuzhu's preparation work came to an end.

He even thoughtfully made breakfast for the two women—egg-stuffed pancakes. He used homemade sausages from the He Family.

After Pingping got up, she walked into the kitchen to help, only to find there was nothing she could do.

He Yuzhu handed her an egg-stuffed pancake. Pingping had never eaten one before; she took a bite and couldn't stop, and in the end, she ate He Yuzhu's portion too.

The aroma of food from the kitchen drifted upstairs, finally drawing Liu Rusi down as well.

She was wearing a silk nightgown, her long hair slightly messy, with a glimpse of snowy white skin visible at her chest, possessing a unique charm.

She tasted half an egg-stuffed pancake, found it delicious, and had He Yuzhu make another one on the spot.

"Zhuzi, ever since I ate the food you cooked, I've wanted to find a cook to marry!" Liu Rusi sighed with emotion.

"Don't ever do that; even the best cook is full of cooking fumes and can't enter high society."

"You kid are quite interesting; you're so young, yet you can see through so many things!"

He Yuzhu thought to himself, my mental age is already 33, how could I not know these things?

Approaching eleven o'clock, the guests arrived one after another.

More than twenty people crowded the living room, and the long mahogany table was filled with foreign liquor, champagne, and Daoxiangcun pastries.

Most of the men wore crisp black suits with meticulously tied bow ties, looking very gentlemanly; most of the women wore cheongsams with exquisite makeup.

Most of these people knew each other, and it didn't take long before they were playing wildly.

As lazy jazz flowed from the gramophone, some began to dance, some gathered together to drink and whisper, and others played the piano in the corner; everything was very natural. The debauchery here was somewhat out of place with the crumbling Party and State.

Liu Rusi wore a sky-blue cheongsam that accentuated her slender waist; she smiled like a flower, moving among the guests.

Among the guests were two foreign faces: one was Kevin, a cultural attaché from the United Kingdom embassy, and the other was Makelong, an assistant to the French ambassador.

Kevin was quite boorish; as soon as he entered the kitchen, he frowned and muttered in English: "This kitchen is too dirty, the fishy smell is disgusting."

He caught a glimpse of He Yuzhu's short stature and didn't notice he was just a child, actually mocking him in English: "Hey, cook, why are you so short? Are you a dwarf?"

It had been a long time since He Yuzhu had heard someone curse him in English; memories from his past life made him blurt out: "Asshole! Get out here!"

Kevin was stunned for a moment, not expecting to be cursed at. He wanted to lash out, but seeing that the other person was just a small child, he shook his head and walked out of the kitchen.

Back in the living room, Kevin gloomily played and sang an English song, winning a round of applause, and he regained some of his confidence.

After the song, the atmosphere gradually became lively.

Liu Rusi also joined in, chatting enthusiastically with a group of people.

An hour later, everyone was a bit hungry, so Liu Rusi signaled for He Yuzhu to serve the food.

As Pingping brought out the dishes one by one, the guests who had been dancing and chatting stopped one after another, all drawn by the aroma to gather around.

Kevin tasted a piece of Twice Cooked Pork and deliberately picked at it: "This dish is not fresh enough; it's like it used old meat."

The crowd burst into laughter.

A short, chubby rich kid named Zhang Hao joked: "Kevin, are you stupid? Twice Cooked Pork is supposed to be cooked twice! This flavor is amazing, even more authentic than Hongbin Building! Isn't it better than your fish and chips?"

Kevin wanted to say something else, but Pingping brought over a plate of golden, crispy fish and chips.

Kevin's eyes lit up, and he stopped talking. He speared a large piece, sprinkled some salt on it, and put it in his mouth.

He chewed a few times and praised: "This stupid kid actually cooks quite well. It's even better than what we have back home."

"Your country is a culinary desert; besides eating chips, it's just fish and chips!" Zhang Hao mocked.

A rich young lady named Zhao Ying, wearing a dark red cheongsam, stuck out her tongue because the Boiled Fish was so spicy, but she kept shouting: "So satisfying! I want to eat three bowls of rice!"

One of her young friends also came over and asked: "Is what you're saying true! Or are you tricking us?"

"It's not good, I'm tricking you!" Zhao Ying said vaguely.

Several young gentlemen who had been putting on airs, seeing the women eating, also put down their wine glasses and came over to grab food!

"This dish is even better than the food at the old Dongxing Lou!" a Mr. Liu who had business dealings with Liu Rusi praised.

Listening to these compliments, the corners of Liu Rusi's mouth lifted involuntarily—this He Yuzhu is truly a treasure.

At this moment, a young man carrying a tool bag walked over quietly.

He Yuzhu saw this person through the kitchen window and recognized him immediately as Feng Qingbo, a Military Statistics Bureau agent disguised as a member of the Communist Party. From then on, he began to keep an eye on him.

Liu Rusi walked up to him and asked expressionlessly: "Are you here to fix the clock?"

Feng Qingbo also responded with a cold face: "Yes."

"There are many people here now, I don't have time to accompany you. You go ahead and eat something first; after the banquet ends, go upstairs to do the repairs."

Feng Qingbo nodded and sat alone in a corner, but his eyes kept glancing at one person from time to time: Liu Xiaohua, a Doctor who studied chemical engineering in the United States.

Chinese and Western dishes were served one after another.

The steaks were cut into small pieces and arranged properly according to their different levels of doneness, making them convenient to eat.

Seeing such a thoughtful arrangement, the guests exclaimed one after another: "Miss Liu, your chef is no simple person! They are skilled at both Chinese and Western cuisine."

After the steaks, Pingping brought out a large platter of fried chicken wings and fried chicken legs.

At first, everyone was a bit hesitant, not knowing how to eat them, whether to use chopsticks or a knife and fork.

Liu Xiaohua, the Doctor who studied in the United States, picked up a chicken leg directly with his hand and began to gnaw on it, occasionally sucking on his fingers.

Only then did everyone follow suit and pick up chicken legs to eat.

After finishing a chicken leg, Liu Xiaohua was almost moved to tears: "Kentucky Fried Chicken! I've eaten this in Kentucky, and I've never forgotten it! Miss Liu, did you specifically investigate me? Did you prepare this just for me?"

Liu Rusi was stunned for a moment, but immediately caught on and laughingly scolded: "Don't be so conceited! You're not my type!"

Driven by Liu Xiaohua, everyone stopped worrying about their image, holding chicken legs and wings in their hands and gnawing away; two people even nearly got into a fight over the last chicken leg.

Only that young man who repairs clocks—Feng Qingbo—kept his eyes wandering.

As things neared the end, the delicious food had conquered the entire room, and the guests unanimously requested to see the chef.

He Yuzhu walked out and bowed to everyone in greeting.

Kevin took a sip of wine and challenged him in English: "My dear chef, how old are you?"

"Fifteen," He Yuzhu replied in fluent English.

"Where did you learn to make these fish and chips?"

"When I was listening to storytelling at Qianmen, I met someone who had been to the United Kingdom. He said the United Kingdom was a culinary desert, and only fish and chips were worth eating. Out of curiosity, I asked him for the recipe," He Yuzhu answered calmly, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Kevin lost face and said: "Chef, in our country, being a chef is a respectable job, but in your country, chefs are considered the lowest of the low. Is it because the things you eat are very unrefined?"