Translator: Xiong_Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
Chu Xiao took a bite again and then continued thinking with a frown. He must figure out this problem. This was what he was thinking.
Li Minghui and Liu Tong nevertheless became stupefied at the same time.
“It’s no more than the fish skin. Why is it so palatable?” Liu Tong couldn’t figure that out and thus revealed a look of astonishment.
“It’s indeed very fresh and delicious. Besides, there isn’t the taste of gourmet powder.” Li Minghui said quite affirmatively.
“So you understand now?” Zhou Shijie turned to look at his disciple and said smilingly.
“Teacher, your insight is still as sharp as before.” Li Minghui lowered his head slightly and said respectfully.
However, Li Minghui still didn’t speak highly of Yuan Zhou.
“I think his attitude isn’t so good although the fish skin is indeed fresh and delicious.” Liu Tong picked the dish continually while continuing to complain ceaselessly.
Liu Tong still couldn’t understand the matter where he had to wait outside the restaurant for half an hour.
“Anyway, his attitude is better than yours.” Zhou Shijie said without politeness.
That’s for sure. Due to his excellent talent, Liu Tong had always understood things about cooking fast once inspired and didn’t need to study very hard. Therefore, he admired no one but his eldest fellow classmate Li Minghui, his teacher, and the talented Chu Xiao.
Under such circumstances, his attitude toward others naturally wasn’t good either.
“But I respect you, my teacher.” Liu Tong said with a smile. He didn’t think he was disrespecting others at all.
“You slippery guy.” Zhou Shijie stroked his beard and didn’t care about these things.
“Li Minghui, wait. You little brat, you almost ate up all the fish silently. Leave some to me.” Zhou Shijie immediately reached out his hand to pick the remaining Cold Fish Skin, without minding anything else.
“Here you are, teacher.” Li Minghui put the chopsticks down courteously and appeared a little embarrassed.
It was rare for Li Minghui to snatch food from others, at least it was rarer than Chu Xiao. Chu Xiao started later but ended earlier. Therefore, he picked the last little dish from the bowl and stuffed it into his own mouth straightforwardly while Zhou Shijia stared at him in astonishment.
“I see.” After he ate it up, he let out a sigh and said earnestly.
“What do you see that made you say that? Don’t you know to respect the old and cherish the young?” Zhou Shijie said angrily.
“Boss Yuan, your knife skills have truly reached the tip of perfection.” Having taken no notice of Zhou Shijie’s complaint, Chu Xiao looked at Yuan Zhou and said seriously.
“Thank you for your compliments.” Yuan Zhou nodded calmly and accepted his compliments.
Naturally, he was quite happy in his heart.
“Don’t act in front of me, anymore. Since you came into my territory today, you have no more chances.” Yuan Zhou thought primly in the heart.
“What do you mean?” Although Zhou Shijie was the chairman, he just savored the delicacy and didn’t think about the cooking method. Thus, he was still a little puzzled.
“Master Chu, I think you have overestimated him too much.” Li Minghui knitted his brows and then said.
“Yeah, Master Chu. This evaluation of yours is really exaggerated.” Liu Tong didn’t approve Chu Xia’s evaluation, either.
“Chairman Zhou, your culinary skills are awesome, but your insight does not seem to be so.” Chu Xiao didn’t really care about the two disciples, but said to Zhou Shijie with a pitiful tone.
“Ahem ahem. Do you think everybody is as abnormally talented as you?” Zhou Shijie grumbled inwardly. When he saw his two disciples appear indignant, however, he didn’t say anything.
Instead, he just answered, “Don’t keep us guessing. Say it,” to lighten the atmosphere.
“Please go into detail.” After all, Li Minghui was slightly elder, thus he said calmly.
Liu Tong nevertheless snorted coldly directly to express his dissatisfaction.
“The fish skin used in this dish of Weaving Brocade Diligently While Wearing Winter Clothing is very fresh. Have you realized that?” Chu Xiao pointed at the empty plate in front of him and asked directly.
“Of course. Any highly capable person would use the fresh one. I reckon it’s a little difficult to buy one from the market.” Liu Tong smiled with sarcasm.
The words “highly capable person” apparently referred to Yuan Zhou.
“The ingredients in my restaurant are all top-quality. I believe the two of you can tell that easily.” When Yuan Zhou carried the dish onto the table, he said solemnly and then turned around and left.
Although Yuan Zhou’s voice sounded a little hollow behind the face mask, the way he talked was quite serious.
“I know.” Li Minghui nodded to express the affirmation.
“Ho Ho. You are neither talented nor sharp-eyed. Even a great teacher is of little help to you.” Looking at the demeanor of the two people, Chu Xiao became unhappy and thus directly said.
“Yeah, you are right. You were born to be a great chef. So can you tell us on what grounds the dish is considered to reach the tip of perfection?” Upon hearing that, Liu Tong couldn’t help replying. Although he said it with a sarcastic tone, he still showed the basic respect.
Liu Tong and Li Minghui reacted so strongly because of the evaluations given by Chu Xiao. When the dishes cooked by them were carried to Chu Xiao to taste, Chu Xiao only gave an evaluation of “Barely qualified” lightly.
That’s right. This simple four-character evaluation was simply unimaginable to them. Since he was Chu Xiao, the youngest Michelin Three Star Chef ever, however, they accepted that in the end.
But now, this little-known person Yuan Zhou was surprisingly rated by Chu Xiao to be at the tip of perfection. Of course, they became infuriated immediately.
“You still ask even if you know it was fresh. That means you still don’t understand. It took less than 10 minutes from the moment the fish skin was peeled off until it was served to us. Am I right?” Chu Xiao said affirmatively.
“Well…” Li Minghui then got stupefied.
Nonetheless, Liu Tong reacted quickly and said straightforwardly, “It’s indeed quick to finish it in 10 minutes, but still, it doesn’t deserve the characters of ‘tip of perfection’.”
“Ho Ho. From the moment the fish was scooped up till the fish skin was peeled off, this entire intact fish skin, this Boss Yuan cut only once. Do you understand now?” Chu Xiao pointed at Yuan Zhou and said with a very positive tone.
“By the way, I forgot to tell you two, you two definitely can’t make it. As far as I know, more than 95% of the chefs cannot do that.” When Chu Xiao said that, he didn’t look at Li Minghui and Liu Tong at all. Instead, he just stared at Yuan Zhou with a fervent gaze.
That was a kind of excitement when one confronted his rival.
“Cut only once? How is it possible?” Liu Tong didn’t believe his words at first.
“Only once? That truly can retain the most perfect taste and mouthfeel of the fish skin. But how is it possible to cut only once?” Even the steadiest disciple Li Minghui dared not believe it. Therefore, he looked at his teacher Zhou Shijie to ask for confirmation.
“Yes, it’s possible. If it were him, he indeed can peel off the fresh fish skin with one simple cut.” Zhou Shjie nodded and said positively.
“No wonder it was so fresh and delicious and no wonder I have a feeling that a fresh fish was bursting in my mouth, making the fragrant juice overflow.” Zhou Shijie let out a sigh. He was no longer taking Yuan Zhou as a younger chef. Instead, he took him as a genuinely talented chef similar to Chu Xiao.
“I indeed only cut once. Your tongue is really sensitive.” Yuan Zhou answered affirmatively, which directly destroyed Liu Tong’s confidence.
“He can surprisingly peel off the fish skin with one simple cut. If only I had watched him doing that.” Liu Tong muttered to himself. Those culinary skills were much too terrifying.
“Of course. Apart from that, I also know that you even steamed the fish before you peeled the fish skin off. Why didn’t the fish skin shrink?” Chu Xiao looked at Yuan Zhou eagerly.
Yuan Zhou, “…”