Chapter 257 - 160: Junior Brother Zhou, Also an Expert at Playing Dumb

Chapter 257: Chapter 160: Junior Brother Zhou, Also an Expert at Playing Dumb

"Mm, Xiao Lei cooked this Twice-Cooked Pork with real skill. The pieces are curled up like little cups, glistening beautifully. The Fire Control is just right." At the next table, Kong Qingfeng had already begun his critique. He picked up a piece of the pork with his chopsticks, examining it from all angles before putting it in his mouth. Chewing slowly, he nodded. "The skin is fragrant and tender, the fatty part melts in your mouth, and the lean meat is soft with a springy bite. It’s rich but not greasy. Paired with the garlic shoots, it has a unique, fresh aroma. Simply excellent. He’s improved so much since last year!"

"This Twice-Cooked Pork really is rich without being greasy, and fragrant without being overpowering. The garlic shoots alone make it a perfect companion for rice. The skill level is truly high," Qin Kun added with a nod. "You all just watched Xiao Lei cook. If you can master even eighty percent of what he just did, you can consider yourselves graduated apprentices."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Come on, sit! Let’s eat!" Kong Qingfeng said, waving his hand for everyone to take their seats.

The three grandmasters and those of Master Xiao’s generation sat at one table, while Zhou Yan and the other grand-disciples sat at another.

Zhou Yan glanced around but didn’t see anyone from the *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine. ’Is the interview scheduled for this afternoon?’ he wondered.

"Come on, let’s eat too," Zheng Qiang said with a smile. At this table, he was the senior apprentice-brother.

As they were all young men in their twenties, they were more than eager to dig in.

Zhou Yan didn’t have time to dwell on it. He immediately picked up a piece of beef brisket and a piece of potato and placed them in his bowl.

The beef brisket was incredibly tender and flavorful. Compared to his own braised brisket with dried bamboo shoots, this version was a bit spicier, with a more pronounced flavor. It was numbing, spicy, fresh, and savory—a perfect match for rice.

He ladled out a bowl of rice and took a piece of potato, which fell apart over the rice with a gentle squeeze of his chopsticks. Then he took a piece of beef, dipped it in the sauce, and ate it with the rice. The satisfaction of that single bite is something only those who have experienced it can understand!

The other apprentice-brothers all reached for the Twice-Cooked Pork, their faces filled with amazement after the first bite.

The apprentice-brother sitting next to Zhou Yan was named Kong Liwei. He was Kong Guodong’s apprentice and also his nephew—the same one who had run off so quickly earlier. After devouring two pieces of Twice-Cooked Pork and shoveling down half a bowl of rice, he asked Zhou Yan, his eyes full of curiosity, "Junior Brother Zhou, is what your branch of the school learns different from ours? How come your stir-fried pork liver and your master’s Twice-Cooked Pork are so delicious?!"

Hearing this, the other apprentice-brothers at the table also turned to look at Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang, their faces filled with curiosity.

Aside from the two of them, everyone else at this table was considered a grand-disciple of Kong Qingfeng.

Although they all shared the same founder and belonged to the Kong Sect, the two dishes they tasted today made them feel that there were some subtle differences.

"You’re all overthinking it," Zhou Yan said with a smile, picking up a piece of potato. "We all inherited our craft from the same founder. How could it be any different? At most, there are just some differences in personal habits and our own refinements. This braised beef brisket with potatoes, for instance—I’ve never seen my master make it. I spent over an hour squatting by Master Zhong’s stove watching him just now."

Everyone laughed at his words.

"This Braised Beef Brisket with Potatoes my master makes is the signature dish of our restaurant. Almost every customer who comes in orders it," said Zhong Yong’s apprentice, his face beaming with pride.

"Come on, try this braised eel my master made. The flavor is also fantastic. My master is the one who handles all the eel dishes at Le Ming Restaurant now," Kong Liwei recommended to Zhou Yan.

[A decent dish of braised eel]

Zhou Yan raised an eyebrow. He smiled and picked up a piece of eel. "Sure thing. This eel looks fantastic."

The flavor was not bad, but it was just average. He had briefly watched Kong Guodong cook the eel earlier. His technique was skillful, but a bit unrefined; many of the finer details were not handled properly.

For example, while the seasoning was decent, if you tasted it carefully, the meat had a slight muddy flavor that hadn’t been completely suppressed.

The [Decent] rating was an overall assessment.

But the evaluation of Xiao Lei’s dish was undoubtedly accurate. The few nephews from the Kong Family that Kong Qingfeng had taken as apprentices had never amounted to much.

In contrast, the signature dishes made by his other master-uncles all received ratings of [Quite Good] or higher.

"Your apprentice isn’t old, but he’s quite thoughtful in how he speaks and acts," Zhong Yong remarked to Xiao Lei, who was sitting beside him at the next table.

"He opened his own restaurant, which has taught him a lot about how to handle people. He used to be the quiet type who kept to himself," Xiao Lei said with a smile.

"A restaurant? As a private business owner?" Zhong Yong was surprised. "He opened it himself? Or did you go in on it with him? Aren’t you the head chef at the Jiazhou Textile Factory?"

The others at the table also turned to look at him.

"He opened it himself. It’s been about two or three months, and business is decent," Xiao Lei said. "I’ve resigned from the Jiazhou Textile Factory. I’m partnering with Zheng Qiang to do banquet catering now. We’ve been at it for about half a month."

"What?"

"Banquet catering?"

"Working as a rural caterer?"

His words left everyone at the table utterly stunned.

Xiao Lei had worked at the Jiazhou Textile Factory for over twenty years. He’d seen it grow from a small operation to a massive factory with over three thousand employees. Managing its large cafeteria meant he had finally made it after years of perseverance.

During that time, the two grandmasters and his various apprentice-brothers had all invited him to come work at restaurants in the city, but he had always politely declined, saying he couldn’t bear to leave the workers and chefs at the factory.

Of Kong’s four apprentices, one had gone to the Rongcheng Restaurant, one had gone to the Capital, and another had gone abroad with a leader from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Xiao Lei was the only one left in Jiazhou, and he had stayed put in Suji for over twenty years.

Whenever people talked about Xiao Lei, everyone assumed he would work at the Jiazhou Textile Factory until he retired.

Retiring from a large factory was a respectable path, after all.

The only shame was that his incredible culinary skills were being wasted cooking large-batch meals in a cafeteria.

Who could have imagined he would resign so suddenly, much less to become a rural caterer?

"Shitou, why didn’t you tell me about this?" Kong Qingfeng put down his chopsticks and looked at Xiao Lei. "What are you doing with banquet catering? Usually, only second-rate chefs with no real skill become rural caterers to handle those events. You come to Le Ming Restaurant tomorrow. I’ll have them set up an interview for you, and if you pass, you can start work. Bring Zhou Yan and Zheng Qiang with you. Their skill level is more than high enough. Even if Le Ming Restaurant can’t take them, I’ll get them placed at other restaurants."