Chapter 85

"Xiao E, let me tell you, Zhuzi Ge's Sichuan cooking is superb, by the way his family's inherited dish is Tan family cuisine." Xu Damao said proudly, it felt as if He Yuzhu were his own brother.

"Brother He, do you know how to make Tan family cuisine?" Lou Xiao E asked in surprise.

"Not many; my father knew Tan family cuisine, I learned a bit from him since childhood. These days the ingredients for Tan family cuisine are hard to find, and I haven't made it in years." He Yuzhu spoke the truth; Tan family cuisine is also known as official cuisine, requiring very particular ingredients. Having just gone through a natural disaster, just being able to eat enough is good—what more could one want from Tan family cuisine?

"Zhuzi Ge, why don't you show off a bit tonight?" Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Sure," He Yuzhu didn't refuse, just letting Lou Xiao E taste the dish first.

"Alright, let's eat at my place tonight. I'll go get some ingredients and come back, then I'll call my brother's family over later." Li Qiang said with a smile.

"That's great," Xu Damao said with a smile.

"Dad, let Uncle make me braised pork; I want to eat the braised pork Uncle makes." Li Tao said from the side.

"Okay, Uncle will make you braised pork." He Yuzhu patted Li Tao's head and said with a smile.

"Thank you, Uncle."

"You all sit for a bit, I'll go get some ingredients and come back." Li Qiang stood up and said.

"Sure, then we'll just wait to eat." Xu Damao was not at all polite.

In the evening, He Yuzhu's family, Li Bin's family, Li Qiang's family, plus Xu Damao and Lou Xiao E, Li Qiang's family set up two tables before sitting down.

Dinner didn't end until after nine, because there was no wedding ceremony. After dinner, Xu Damao sent Lou Xiao E back home.

"How come you're back so late?" Lou Xiao E had just arrived home when her mother Tan Yali asked worriedly.

"It was Damao's friends who treated us to a meal; Mom, Damao hired a cook. He actually knows how to make Tan family cuisine!" Lou Xiao E said in amazement.

"What did you say? He can make Tan family cuisine? Where does he work now?" Tan Yali asked excitedly.

"At our family's former steel plant, and his father is He Daqing." Lou Xiao E continued.

"Old Lou, Old Lou," Tan Yali quickly called Lou Bancheng.

"What's wrong, you're all startled?" Lou Bancheng laughed as he came down from the second floor; Lou Bancheng's family lives in a two-story Western-style building.

"Do you know He Daqing?" Tan Yali asked.

"Yes, I know. He used to be a master chef at the steel plant, specially responsible for preparing banquet meals." Lou Bancheng said after thinking.

"Do you know if he can make Tan family cuisine?" Tan Yali asked.

"Yes, I know. What's the matter?" Lou Bancheng still didn't understand Tan Yali's meaning.

"Do you forget what my family used to do?" Tan Yali asked angrily.

"Oh dear, it's my fault, my fault." Lou Bancheng quickly apologized.

"Xiao E, tomorrow go invite that Master He to our house for a visit." Tan Yali said to Lou Xiao E.

"Okay."

The next morning, Tan Yali had Lou Xiao E get up and sent her to the siheyuan.

"Why did you come so early, Xiao E?" Lou Xiao E first arrived at Xu Damao's home.

"Damao, my mother wants to see Brother He." Lou Xiao E said.

"Sure, I'll take you to find him right away." Xu Damao thought his mother-in-law wanted to try He Yuzhu's cooking.

"Zhuzi Ge, are you up yet?" Xu Damao, accompanied by Lou Xiao E, came to He Yuzhu's door and asked.

"He's up, it's Damao. What do you need so early?" He Yuzhu came out and asked.

"Brother He, it's like this: my mother wants to see you." Lou Xiao E quickly said.

"Sure, Damao, when you go to the plant, could you help me ask for leave? I'll come over a little later." He Yuzhu also thought Tan Yali wanted to sample the food.

"Okay." Xu Damao agreed without hesitation, after all He Yuzhu was taking leave for his own matter.

"Brother He, let's go then." Lou Xiao E said eagerly.

"Okay." He Yuzhu didn't think much, followed Lou Xiao E out of the siheyuan.

The driver quickly took Lou Xiao E and He Yuzhu to Lou Bancheng's small villa.

"Mom, this is Master He." Lou Xiao E led He Yuzhu into the living room.

"Auntie, good." He Yuzhu greeted Tan Yali respectfully; Tan Yali is Xu Damao's mother-in-law, and since he gets along well with Xu Damao, calling her auntie is appropriate.

"Master He, I heard from Xiao E that you can make Tan family cuisine?" Tan Yali got straight to the point.

"Yes, but not much; my father knew how to make Tan family cuisine, and I picked it up just by being around him since I was little." He Yuzhu answered honestly.

"Well, I don't know if it's convenient for you to show us a hand, Master He?" Tan Yali asked with a smile.

"Auntie, it's not that I'm unwilling; preparing Tan family cuisine requires advance work, especially the stock, which needs to be simmered a day ahead." He Yuzhu said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Come with me," Tan Yali said with a smile.

Tan Yali led He Yuzhu and Lou Xiao E to the kitchen.

"Take a look, Master He," Tan Yali said, pointing at the things on the stove and smiling.

He Yuzhu came to the stove; a pot already had the prepared stock, and dried ingredients like sea cucumber that needed soaking had been rehydrated.

"Auntie?" He Yuzhu looked at Tan Yali curiously.

"You go ahead and cook; we'll talk later."

"Okay." He Yuzhu was extremely passionate about cooking; now the Lou family had all these ingredients for Tan family cuisine, and he was itching to try. Knowing how rare the ingredients for Tan family cuisine are, only in the Lou household could one possibly gather so many; elsewhere it would be impossible.

Thanks to Tan Yali's advance preparation, in less than half an hour He Yuzhu had made several classic Tan family dishes.

Yellow-braised fish fin: This dish is a classic of Tan family cuisine and also a famous dish at state banquets. Using high-quality fish fin, after long simmering, the color is golden yellow, the texture is tender and smooth, full of gelatin.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall: Mainly made with premium ingredients such as sea cucumber, abalone, and beef tendon, plus carefully prepared premium broth, it is fragrant and rich, with a richly layered texture.

Clear Soup Oxtail: This dish uses clear soup as base, adding minced chicken, duck, and beef; the texture is clear and moist, fresh but not greasy.

Dry-roasted Duck: A dish that tests the chef's knife skills, the duck meat is lean but not dry, crisp and delicious.

Braised Oxtail: Incorporating local specialty Chen Village rice noodles, the oxtail is soft, glutinous, and delicious, with a rich, tempting aroma. Tan Yali said, pointing at the several Tan family dishes on the table and smiling.

"Auntie, you're quite the expert!" He Yuzhu said in amazement.

"Master He, Xiao'e might not have told you. My surname is Tan," Tan Yali said with a smile.

"Aunt Tan, my apologies," He Yuzhu said, offering a salute to Tan Yali. Lou Xiao'e's mother is surnamed Tan, and she can assess Tan family cuisine with such precision that her identity is obvious.

"Master He, do you have the Tan family cuisine recipe?" Tan Yali asked.

"No, my father has a recipe, which was also passed down to him by his master. It's said not to be the authentic Tan family cuisine recipe, but rather something they themselves summed up over several generations," He Yuzhu said regretfully.

"Xiao'e, go to my bedroom and fetch whatever is in the bedside cabinet drawer," Tan Yali said.

Soon after, Lou Xiao'e came down holding an antiquated small box.

Tan Yali took the box, opened it, and handed He Yuzhu a thin, yellowed, thread-bound book from inside.

The four antiquated seal-script characters "Tan Family Cuisine Recipe" appear on the cover.

"Aunt Tan, this..." He Yuzhu looked at the recipe in his hands, puzzled, and gazed at Tan Yali.

"Zhuzi, this recipe hasn't been lost; it was passed down to me by my father. Before his death, his dying wish was to see the Tan family cuisine flourish. But I am merely a woman, uninterested in cooking. Today I tasted your skill and saw your passion for cooking. As the saying goes, a precious sword is given to a hero; you and the Tan family cuisine are thus fated. Today I give you the Tan family cuisine recipe, hoping you will carry forward the Tan family cuisine, so that I may face our ancestors with honor." Tan Yali said, feeling dejected.

"Aunt Tan, I can't bear to refuse," He Yuzhu quickly declined. To ordinary people this recipe is nothing, but in the eyes of a chef who can make Tan family cuisine it is a priceless treasure. Even He Daqing's recipe amounts to less than a tenth of this one, yet that alone let him thrive at the Yagangchang steelworks, showing how precious this recipe is.

"All right, don't refuse. Keeping this recipe with me would be a waste. If you really feel uneasy, come over whenever you have the chance to cook a few meals for us. Xiao'e will marry into your siheyuan, so please look after her from time to time," Tan Yali said with a smile.

"Aunt Tan, then I'll thicken my skin and accept it. I have no second thoughts about your request," He Yuzhu said, truly moved by the recipe.

"Good, then I thank you," Tan Yali said happily.