Chapter 301

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Protagonist:

Lu Feng

This scent was utterly familiar to him, beyond any doubt.

When his wife was still alive, whenever he returned home from out of town and pushed open the front door, this exact same fragrance would greet him.

This familiar scent of Red Braised Pork had long since been etched into the deepest recesses of his memory.

For a moment, Fang Shiming felt as if time had suddenly rewound to the past, leaving him somewhat dazed.

"Dad, this is the smell of Lu Boss's Red Braised Pork!"

Fang Yuan also caught the aroma in the air, her eyes shining bright, her tone full of excitement: "Look, isn't it exactly the same as the taste Mom used to make?"

Fang Shiming snapped back to his senses, abruptly rising from the sofa, his shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

"Go! Let's go see the kitchen!"

His tone carried some excitement; having spoken, he strode quickly toward the kitchen.

His steps were hurried, as if afraid that if he walked too slowly, this fragrance would suddenly vanish.

Fang Yuan hurriedly followed, and the two arrived at the kitchen doorway.

In the kitchen, both Lu Feng and Cheng Fan were busy at the stove.

Before each of them simmered a pot of Red Braised Pork, the rich aroma filling the entire kitchen.

"Dad, this smell is fragrant, right?"

Fang Yuan stood behind Fang Shiming, her tone carrying a hint of pride: "I said Lu Boss's Red Braised Pork would definitely shock you, now you believe it? This is the birthday gift I prepared for you."

Fang Shiming stood rooted to the spot, stunned for a long while, his mind full of memories stirred up by this fragrance.

After a good long while, he finally returned from his reverie.

He lightly patted Fang Yuan's arm, his voice carrying a touch of hoarseness: "Yuan Yuan, Dad has received your thoughtfulness, Dad is very happy."

He paused, his gaze landing on the pot of Red Braised Pork simmering before Lu Feng in the kitchen.

The image of his wife making Red Braised Pork surfaced again in Fang Shiming's mind, and he added: "This is the most precious gift I have ever received in this life, more precious than anything!"

The sound of the two speaking drifted into Lu Feng and Cheng Fan's ears.

Lu Feng remained quite calm about it; after all, this wasn't the first time he had witnessed such a scene.

But Cheng Fan was somewhat displeased.

"Why only praise his cooking?"

He muttered inwardly, somewhat unconvinced.

Clearly he had also made Red Braised Pork, and right now the aromas of the two pots were intertwined in the kitchen, impossible to distinguish whose was whose.

Couldn't this fragrance be from the portion I made?

I am State Banquet Chef Qi Yunfeng's Disciple!

For this Red Braised Pork today, Cheng Fan had put in unprecedented seriousness.

Whether heat control or seasoning, he had achieved the most perfect degree.

He had confidence that today's Red Braised Pork was absolutely the most perfect he had ever made in his life.

Even if his Master came over and tasted today's Red Braised Pork, he would probably be unable to resist giving a thumbs up and praising it endlessly.

Although Cheng Fan was usually rather arrogant, he was still very dedicated about cooking at Fang Yuan's house today.

On one hand, he had extra compensation to earn this time.

On the other hand, he could tell that Fang Shiming's status in Jiangcheng's wealthy circle was still quite high.

If today his cooking could make Fang Shiming praise it as good.

In the future, high-end banquets in Jiangcheng would probably all be queueing up to invite him.

Cheng Fan's fellow senior disciples now all had their own reputations nationwide.

Among them, a senior brother who had merely studied two years longer than him was now wielding the spoon at a Michelin Three-Star Restaurant in Mo Du.

As State Banquet Chef Qi Yunfeng's youngest Disciple, he absolutely could not end up worse off than his senior brothers and sisters.

When he came from Jingcheng this time, he had secretly made up his mind.

He must make a name for himself in Jiangcheng, starting from this small city step by step to elevate his influence in the catering industry.

Absolutely must not disgrace the title of State Banquet Chef Disciple.

As Cheng Fan thought this, his unconvinced gaze took on a few more degrees of seriousness.

The two portions of Red Braised Pork had already been simmering in the pots for over half an hour.

In a little while, they can come out of the pot.

After Fang Yuan's family tastes them, then they will know whether his or Lu Feng's culinary skill is higher, and that will count as a result.

He couldn't help but turn his head to glance at Lu Feng.

Lu Feng was leisurely wiping the bowls used just now, his every movement utterly calm.

Not a trace of nervousness could be seen on him.

"Hmph! What's with the fake calm."

Cheng Fan felt somewhat unconvinced again.

Lu Feng's indifferent look appeared as if he hadn't taken his own words seriously at all.

Or rather, Lu Feng simply had no intention of competing in culinary skill with him.

Before long, Cheng Fan's portion of Red Braised Pork was already finished.

At the same time, Lu Feng also just turned off the fire.

Cheng Fan's heart couldn't help but grow inexplicably nervous by a few points.

Next came plating and serving, where taste would decide the winner!

Cheng Fan took the lead in serving the Red Braised Pork out of the pot.

The white porcelain plate had long been prepared by him; it was a bone china plate he had specially brought from the back kitchen of Hong'an Restaurant.

The plate's body was fine and smooth, with a circle of gold patterns along the rim, making the center of the plate look even whiter.

Cheng Fan first scooped out the blanched Napa Cabbage Leaves from the pot beside him, carefully laying them at the bottom of the plate.

This was a secret his master had taught him.

Tender cabbage leaves absorb oil but not flavor; they can soak up the oil droplets dripping from the Red Braised Pork without stealing its fragrance.

After finishing the bedding, Cheng Fan carefully served four pieces of meat exactly the same size from the pot.

Every piece of Red Braised Pork was a neat mahjong-block-sized square, with tidy edges.

He carefully stacked the four pieces of meat on the Napa Cabbage Leaves right in the center of the plate.

Next, he picked up several stalks of Asparagus and Carrots from the side, cut them into fine shreds, and arranged them around the Red Braised Pork as decoration.

Finally, he picked up the Spoon, scooped some sauce from the pot, and slowly drizzled it over the pieces of meat.

The sauce flowed down along the meat, pooling into a thin layer of Soup/Juice on the Napa Cabbage Leaves.

Cheng Fan stepped back, carefully examining this plate of Red Braised Pork for several seconds, then used tweezers to carefully adjust the angles of the Asparagus and Carrots.

Only when he could find no fault in any detail did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Looking at it this way, the overall color combination of his plate of Red Braised Pork was quite exquisite.

The jujube-red Red Braised Pork, garnished with green Asparagus and orange Carrots, looked especially high-class.

If sold in a High-end Restaurant, this portion of Red Braised Pork would not be overpriced even at over a thousand yuan.

Just for this plating skill, Cheng Fan had learned from his master for quite a long time.

Looking back at Lu Feng on the other side, he didn't have so many particulars about plating.

He just casually took out a plate, scooped the Red Braised Pork out of the pot with a Spoon, and finally drizzled the sauce from the pot over it.

And then there was nothing after that.