My Life Reset Simulator - Chapter 30

Chapter 30 Fusing Chinese and Western Cooking

Xu Yuan marinated the meat with sauce, straightened his back and looked around.

Barbecued pork needed to be roasted slowly over an open fire. There was also a wood stove in the kitchen, but Xu Yuan was going to use a western style cooking method — slow roasting over a small flame.

He had completely retained his knowledge of the parallel world, and with the addition of his system talent, he was very confident in his cooking skills. He lit the stove and stared at the high-quality fruitwood burning, leaving behind bright fireworks that quietly emitted heat in the

stove.

At this time, Wei Heji barged in.

“Young Master, is the barbecued pork rice ready? The customer is rushing us.”

Xu Yuan unhurriedly laid the charcoal together. “You can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry. Tell him the stove is already lit, and it will be ready soon.”

Zhan Long added, “And then tell him that he’s worse than a pig and dog if he leaves.”

After that, he and Xu Yuan looked at each other and smiled, waiting to see Shan Zicai make a fool of himself.

Wei Heji noticed the two’s actions, and alarm bells went off in his heart. His goal was to become Xu Yuan’s right-hand man and trick him by taking advantage of Royal Court Banquet’s bankruptcy. Zhan Long and Xu’s close relationship was the last thing he wanted to see.

He ran out to spread the word, and in less than two minutes, he ran back to the kitchen. Like a camera, he watched Xu and Zhan , to prevent the two from getting along well without him knowing.

Xu Yuan looked at him suspiciously. “Uncle Wei, what are you doing in the kitchen? Go outside and serve the guest.”

Wei Heji panted. “The guest said he didn’t need to be served and let me do as I please. I thought of coming over to take a look. After all, this is the first time the young master has cooked since he returned to the country. I want to witness this important scene for the old master. After all, the old master has graced me with his kindness, and we are family!”

Xu Yuan didn’t even know how to answer that.

The family restaurant was about to go bankrupt. It wasn’t like it was wiped out. Xu Yuan had other relatives, but it was only because they couldn’t be at the airport to pick him up today. Wei Heji said it as if he was all alone and without family, and that he only had the most collateral relative possible to rely on.

He continued to tend to the fire and didn’t say anything. The atmosphere suddenly cooled down considerably, and the only sound in the kitchen was the crackling of the firewood. It was so awkward that it made one pinch their toes.

The thick skin that Wei Heji had cultivated could not help but turn red. He could only tactfully retreat to a corner that was not a hindrance. On one hand, he wanted to prevent the relationship between the two of them from getting better. On the other hand, he wanted to see what Xu was up to.

Xu Yuan did not express any opinion about him staying here. It was as if he did not notice him at all.

Outside, Shan Zicai was urging him to hurry up. On the other side, Xu Yuan hummed a little tune and put the meat on the skewer. When he carried it into the stove, he covered the bonfire with a layer of firewood ash, making the sparks even smaller.

The two people beside him stretched their necks and looked at what he was doing. They were at a loss. When Zhan Long was the head chef in the past, he had to consider the speed of the dishes. When he made barbecued pork, he had to prepare it in advance, but he would not use such a small fire to roast it slowly.

To put it bluntly, the temperature of a few candles was higher than this. He thought that Xu wanted to teach Shan Zicai a lesson and hence deliberately prolonged the roasting time.

But that was not it. The Western style of cooking that Xu Yuan had learned in France happened to have a technique of slowly roasting over a slow fire. It could fully lock the moisture in the meat and form a rich and fragrant juice. It was a combination of Chinese and Western cooking methods, it was no wonder that Zhan Long and the others found it strange.

At this moment, Xu Yuan took a deep breath. He rose from the ground and concentrated his energy in his inner core. His powerful hands tightly held the end of the roasting fork and placed the meat over the fire.

Since there was no place to hang the skewer in the stove, he had to carry it the whole time.

Zhan Long stared at the sickly fire and could not help but pucker his lips. With such a low temperature, a piece of barbecued meat would probably be roasted until the second half of the night. Xu Yuan would definitely not be able to bear it if he were to carry the skewer the whole time.

He said with concern, “Young Master, it’s too tiring for you to carry it the whole time. Why don’t I do it?”

en

“No need.” He rejected Zhan and turned over the side of the roast meat.

Zhan Long could not dissuade him and could only retreat to the side.

Wei Heji did not forget to add fuel to the fire. He scolded, “Master Zhan, did you really not help when the young master said that he didn’t need it? If I knew how to cook, I would definitely go and help now. I would definitely not just stand by and watch!”

Zhan Long did not argue with him. He wanted to go up and help Xu Yuan, but he had just been rejected, so he could only stand there and struggle.

The corners of Xu’s mouth curled up slightly. His feet were flat and steady, and the veins on the back of his hands that were holding the barbecue fork bulged out. His eyes narrowed slightly, and the barbecue fork in his hands seemed to have turned into a silver spear, dancing back and forth over the fire.

The sparks in the fire seemed to listen to his commands. Whichever side the barbecued meat was on, the sparks would be brighter.

Xu Yuan’s hands carried the wind. It was as if he was not barbecuing the meat, but dancing with the spear. The barbecued meat juice dripped onto the fire and made a sizzling sound. A wisp of fresh and fragrant white smoke floated out of the stove, making Zhan Long and Wei Heji’s forefingers move. They could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.

“It smells so good,” Wei praised. He had worked at the restaurant for four or five years, but he had never smelled such a tempting meat fragrance. His saliva could not help but flow out.

Xu Yuan held the meat and roasted it for about ten minutes, until the surface of the BBQ was stained with a layer of oily red, with a little bit of charred brown.

“Okay, just roast it slowly now.” Xu hooked his hand and said, “Uncle Wei, come over and help me hold it.”

Wei Heji pointed at himself in disbelief. “Me? Young Master, did you call me wrongly? I don’t know how to cook.”

“I didn’t call you wrongly. Just hold it up. There’s no skill involved.”

“But…” Wei Heji still wanted to find an excuse to avoid it, but the words he said to Zhan Long were still ringing in his ears. Now that Xu needed his help, if he tried to avoid it, he would be viewed as saying one thing and doing another. It was really not worth it.

He was reluctant, but he had to take the roast meat from Xu Yuan’s hand with a smile on his face. He held it up like a guard.

“Uncle Zhan, help me cook the rice. Help me find these seasonings. After mixing the black braised sauce, it’ll be almost done.”

After Xu Yuan finished speaking, he started the fire and poured half a bottle of soy sauce into the pot.

Zhan Long dug out the materials Xu needed from the refrigerator. Among them, there was one material that he would never use for making barbecued pork, but the cooking process from before had already proved Xu’s strength.

Even though he was full of question marks, Zhan Long expressed his support.

The kitchen was bustling with activity, but Shan Zicai was sitting on pins and needles in the hall.

It was dinnertime now, the time for guests to arrive at the barbecued pork rice restaurant. He, a head chef, did not go back to cook. Instead, he was sitting in someone else’s restaurant and was waiting to eat ready-made food.

The front desk had already made several calls urging him to go back, but Shan Zicai would be worse than a pig and dog if he left.

If it was someone else who had made such a stupid bet with him, Shan Zicai would definitely not care about it, but the person he had made a bet with was Zhan Long.

Even if he were to not work today, he would wait until that barbecued pork rice was eaten and then ruthlessly ridicule their craftsmanship. Only then would he be able to get rid of the hatred in his heart!

“Just you wait!” Shan Zicai gnashed his teeth in hatred.

Right at this moment, a strong fragrance wafted out from the corridor behind him. Xu Yuan walked out with a small clay pot in his hands. It was the barbecued pork rice that Shan Zicai had been waiting for!