Free Web NovelChapter 1341: Chapter 1339: Strict If Disobedient
Ye Xin stayed with Professor Qian for a whole day.
She helped Professor Qian tidy up the house a bit.
Professor Qian never married his whole life, had no children, and devoted all his youth to the country.
Now, like this, Ye Xin was basically half a daughter to Professor Qian, so of course she had to do everything that should be done.
In the afternoon she kept him company, chatting and talking, and by the way went out once, buying some things back from the supermarket.
All this time, it had always been Professor Qian taking care of Ye Xin.
Back when Ye Xin made a name for herself as Fire Phoenix, she was no saint; she was the kind of troublemaker that gave people headaches.
She got into her fair share of trouble, but most of it was all smoothed over by Professor Qian, and no punishment ever really landed on her.
If it had been someone else, they probably would have been sent straight to the Guard tribunal long ago.
Ye Xin understood it all. Back then she was young and hotheaded; as she gradually went through more, she became calm and mature, and she also felt regret for what she’d done before. If it hadn’t been for Professor Qian’s help, she probably would’ve done a lot of things that were hard to take back.
So she was very grateful to Professor Qian.
After staying there for a day, by the time Ye Xin returned to the Ye family, it was already night.
She went to the kitchen to take a look; Yang Chen was still learning from Gao Zhenggen, and Gao Zhenggen was still scolding him, but his tone had softened a lot, at least not as harsh as before.
Ye Xin didn’t go in, because she knew that if she did, she would definitely affect the two of them.
She went back to her room to rest, waiting for Yang Chen’s big feast.
At eight o’clock, Yang Chen came knocking with a faint smell of scallions on him.
When Ye Xin opened the door, she caught the scallion scent on him and couldn’t help smiling as she said, "I think I smell a chef."
Yang Chen said with confidence, "Come on! In a bit you won’t just smell a chef, you’ll get to taste a chef too!"
With that double entendre, Ye Xin’s cheeks flushed slightly as she followed Yang Chen out.
When they reached the dining room, Yang Chen had Ye Xin sit and wait while he went to bring the dishes himself.
Before long, Yang Chen pushed a serving cart over.
On the top was a dish covered with a cloche, with a few smaller dishes arranged underneath.
Even though she couldn’t see what they were yet, Ye Xin could already smell the rich aroma, enough to really whet one’s appetite.
Seeing how eager Ye Xin looked, Yang Chen chuckled and started setting the plates on the table one by one.
Looking at dish after dish, Ye Xin said excitedly, "Wow! So many dishes, this is really a feast!"
Each delicately prepared dish was almost too pretty for Ye Xin to bear to eat, but the aroma, coupled with how visually appealing the dishes were, made it impossible not to dig in; her mouth began to water of its own accord.
Ye Xin picked up her chopsticks and looked around, not sure which one to start with.
Yang Chen said, "Don’t rush yet."
He placed the final main dish in the center of the table and said with a smile, "This is today’s star."
This was the star?
Ye Xin felt a jolt of surprise, because the dishes Yang Chen had just brought out already had aromas and appearances that were practically at the peak of perfection.
Like that radish carved into a white peacock.
Or the phoenix made from bean sprouts.
And that sweet-and-sour fox carved from a single fish.
All of them were showcases of flawless knife skills.
That couldn’t help but make her look forward even more to what the actual main course would be like.
Just then, Gao Zhenggen walked over and sat down opposite Ye Xin.
"Xin girl, I’ve been teaching your man all day today. This old man can be said to have done his best. You can check his results now! It still doesn’t quite meet my standards, but it should be more than enough to deal with you," Gao Zhenggen said mildly.
Ye Xin curled her lip and said, "Listen to you, like I’ve never eaten food made by a top chef before!"
Gao Zhenggen laughed. "All the better then. Please give these dishes a taste, and give us a little review while you’re at it."
"Mm..." Ye Xin licked her lips, picked up her chopsticks and said, "Alright! I’ll give them a good proper taste!"
Yang Chen smiled, reached out and lifted the cloche, saying, "Please enjoy—Little Chick Breaking Out of the Shell."
Hearing the name, Ye Xin still had no idea what kind of dish it was.
But as soon as Yang Chen lifted the lid, her eyes immediately went wide.
Little Chick Breaking Out of the Shell!
It really was a little chick breaking out of the shell!
There was a red, hemispherical object; the shell was red, covered with cracks, just like a real eggshell shattered open after hatching!
Most importantly, inside this "eggshell" there was actually a little chick.
A tiny, pointy beak, yellow, downy fluff, and eyes just barely opened, still hazy.
If not for the steam and aroma rising from the dish, Ye Xin would really have thought it was a carving, not an actual dish!
"This... how did you do this?" Ye Xin couldn’t help asking.
She was dying to know!
Yang Chen gave a small smile and said, "The shell is winter melon, colored with tomato juice. It’s sweet and tangy—you can try some."
Ye Xin scooped out a bit with a spoon and put it in her mouth; it really was, just as Yang Chen said, sweet and tangy.
"The chick is carved from pumpkin; the beak is a pine nut. If you lean in closer, you’ll be able to see it. The broth is specially simmered, you could call it my secret recipe. I’ve been simmering it since this morning, it’s been on all day. The flavor is at its peak now—have a taste, it’s very good."
As he spoke, Yang Chen picked up a bowl and spoon and ladled a bowl for Ye Xin.
At the same time, he also ladled a small bowl for Gao Zhenggen; since it was sweet, the elderly shouldn’t have too much.
Gao Zhenggen said, "Perfect, I’ll see how this dish of yours turned out too."
"So good!" Ye Xin was already sipping it, her face full of bliss. "This tastes amazing, sour and sweet; there’s a hot sweetness and a cold sweetness at the same time. It’s like drinking a hot milkshake while eating ice cream, and the two don’t clash at all—fresh and delicious. There must be mint juice in here!"
Yang Chen nodded with a smile; the mint flavor was easy to pick up.
Used well, mint can really make a dish shine.
Even Gao Zhenggen nodded and said, "This recipe of yours is quite good. Being able to come up with a flavor like this on your own counts as talent!"
He swallowed back the word "genius" that he’d originally been about to say.
Calling him a genius after just one day, he was afraid Yang Chen would get cocky.
The two of them tried the other dishes as well and both nodded slightly, feeling that Yang Chen had done very well.
Of course, Ye Xin thought they were fantastic, super delicious.
For Gao Zhenggen, these dishes were only enough to make him nod a little.
Ye Xin sighed, "These dishes are all so refined, you must have spent a really long time on them."
Yang Chen chuckled lightly. "Not that long."
"It really wasn’t that long," Gao Zhenggen said. "Normally, dishes aren’t often done in such showy ways, but right now Yang Chen’s one real advantage is his knife work! Doing things like this lets his dishes stand out more. Knowing how to make use of your strengths is a good idea. But if he wants to really improve his cooking, it’ll still take some time."
Ye Xin said excitedly, "He can still get better?!"
They were already this tasty, and they could still improve? Wouldn’t that be food of the gods?
On the spot, Ye Xin made the decision and said, "Grandpa Gao, I’m handing this man over to you from now on. You have to teach him well. If he doesn’t listen, you need to be stricter!"
Gao Zhenggen was a bit helpless; today it seemed like someone didn’t even want him raising his voice...
