Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 309: Chef Xu only wants to cook vegetarian dishes

Chef Xu seemed to be a bit of a loner. Seeing that Shen Yu was fine, he ignored her.

He stood in the kitchen and sniffed hard, pretending to be casual and asked: "What kind of dish are you cooking? It smells delicious."

Shen Yu straightened the small stool that was tilted at his feet, quickly moved a bench over, and asked Chef Xu to sit down.

Chef Xu didn't seem to be busy at the moment, so he sat down without hesitation. Shen Yu then briefly explained what dish he was cooking.

Chef Xu made a "tsk" sound with a hint of dislike that he couldn't conceal: "What's so good about meat dishes? They always have to add a lot of seasonings. It's better to eat vegetarian dishes in their original flavor. It's more comfortable."

Shen Yu knew that Chef Xu was good at making vegetarian dishes, and that the county magistrate had specially invited him to cook vegetarian dishes.

She didn't argue, just smiled and said nothing.

Chef Xu said as if talking to himself: "In fact, I used to cook meat dishes, and I was a first-class chef in the restaurant."

"Once, a nobleman booked the restaurant and held a grand banquet with many guests."

"I was so busy that I had to cook several dishes at the same time."

"I accidentally mistook salt for sugar, and the customer got angry and said some unpleasant things after eating it."

"The host felt that the restaurant had lost his face and offended his guests."

"He was so angry that he smashed the plate on the spot, called me over to kneel down and apologize to the customers, and slapped me in the face in public, knocking out two of my teeth."

"The shopkeeper apologized to you and kicked me out right in front of you."

"I was called over in the kitchen while I was cooking. I was only wearing a single layer of clothes and an apron."

"I was thrown out of the restaurant wearing the same clothes, and I was not even allowed to take my cotton-padded jacket or blanket, let alone my half-year salary."

"Since then, no restaurant wants me to work there anymore."

"I can cook, but I don't know how to do anything else. I have no money and only one piece of clothing."

"It was the twelfth lunar month. I was cold and hungry, and I didn't know where to go. I just kept walking forward like a headless fly. When I reached a door, I fainted."

"When I woke up, I found out that it was the great monk in the temple who saved me. From then on, I stayed in the temple, helped in the kitchen, and learned how to cook vegetarian meals."

Looking at the old man's thin figure and indifferent eyes, Shen Yu couldn't help but feel sympathy for this cook who had a rough life.

Chef Xu didn't know what was on his mind today, and he started to nag Shen Yu, the young girl he just met for the first time: "Later, when the county magistrate went to the temple, he praised the vegetarian food and complained that the chef in his own back office couldn't cook vegetarian dishes. So the abbot asked me to follow the county magistrate to the county office."

"He said that if I want to return to the temple after the county magistrate leaves office and gets promoted, I can go back. Before that, I have to take good care of the county magistrate's food and drink."

“Although I have not converted to Buddhism, I have long forgotten how to cook meat dishes.”

"That brat Qixi, it's good enough that he is cooked well, but he is still picky."

Before he finished speaking, Qi Xi stepped into the room and said, "What bad things did you say about me, Old Xu? I caught you in the act, right?"

Shen Yu sympathized with the old man's life experience. Seeing Qi Xi's disrespectful words, he hurriedly stopped him and said, "Qi Xi, Mr. Xu is old, you can't talk to him like this."

Qi Xi had always been respectful to Shen Yu. Seeing Shen Yu's displeasure, he was startled and said hurriedly, "Miss, you are teaching me a lesson. I won't do this again in the future."

When Chef Xu saw Qixi coming back, he immediately put on a look of disdain and snorted, "Who wants to say bad things about you?"

Having said that, he stood up and left without even looking at the two of them.

Qi Xi was confused and muttered in a low voice: "This old man Xu has a very strange temper. He was fine just now, why is he angry again?"

Shen Yu looked outside the door, sighed and said, "Mr. Xu is quite pitiful, don't bully him in the future."

Qixi said "Oh", but I don't know if he heard it in his heart.

Shen Yu looked at the incense stick used to tell time. The Dongpo pork in the pot was almost done. He adjusted his mood and said to Qixi with a smile, "It's time to turn up the heat to reduce the sauce. Come and help me light the firewood."

As he said that, he went to the stove and opened the lid of the pot. Most of the soup in the pot was gone, and the rich aroma of stewed meat suddenly filled his nose.

Seeing that Shen Yu was in a low mood, Qi Xi didn't dare to laugh, so he sat silently by the stove burning firewood.

Shen Yu gently used a spoon to stir the meat that had been stewed until it was tender. When he felt it was almost done, he took two small casseroles from the side.

Carefully hold the straw mat with bamboo chopsticks and use a soup spoon to put the stewed pork belly into the casserole. There are six pieces in the pot, with the skin facing up, neatly arranged.

After arranging the meat, use bamboo chopsticks to pick out the onions and ginger slices in the pot, take out the bamboo grate on the bottom of the pot, and use a soup spoon to stir the soup in the pot continuously until the soup is thick and bright red.

Use a spoon to pour the collected soup over the pork belly in the casserole, cover the casserole with a lid, and place it in the steamer.

Clean the pot, add appropriate amount of water, and when the water boils, put the steamer on it, cover the lid, and start steaming.

Qixi was burning firewood by the stove, and Shen Yu briefly told Qixi about what Chef Xu had just described.

Qi Xi's face no longer had a playful look, and he said with some regret: "This old man Xu is really unlucky. He was forced into such a miserable situation."

"It's no wonder that he doesn't want to cook meat dishes. I think once he cooks, he thinks of what happened in the restaurant. The owner of that restaurant is too mean. I wonder which restaurant did such a wicked thing."

Qi Xi scratched the back of his head and promised Shen Yu: "I will never bully him again. The old man is also very pitiful."

"At worst, I can just take the ingredients to the kitchen and let Chef Jiang cook them."

"Chef Jiang has to cook for the runners every day. He is so busy when it comes to meals that I don't know if he has time to cook for us in the back office."

Qixi usually had a cheerful look on his face, but when he thought about his daily meal plan, his face suddenly wrinkled into a chubby shape.

Finally, after thinking for a long while, he stamped his feet and said, "Well, at worst, I can do it myself. I will come to the kitchen to cook when the young master is studying."

"Old Xu only wants to cook vegetarian dishes, so let him only cook vegetarian dishes for the master."

Shen Yu looked at Qi Xi's contradictory expression of wanting to eat but not wanting to cook, and couldn't help but laugh: "The weather is getting cold, and our restaurant has started selling casserole dishes."

"If the county magistrate no longer restricts you from eating meat, you can come to the restaurant and take some casserole dishes with prepared ingredients when you are free."

"You don't have to bother with that. Just add enough water and put it on the small charcoal stove. After it simmers for an incense stick, you can enjoy a hot and delicious soup."

Qixi had a bitter face just now, but when he heard this, he was overjoyed, his eyes lit up: "Is it really possible?"