Chapter 101 Do you know how to chop vegetables? Yes, I cook all the time. ...

An Fusheng couldn't buy a tricycle because he hadn't gotten his driver's license yet, so he still had to ride in Xu Sannian's vehicle to go to the wholesale market to buy vegetables.

Knowing that Xu Sannian's car was worth over three million yuan, he was always terrified whenever he rode in Xu Sannian's car. However, Xu Sannian was a very aggressive driver. He had been to the wholesale market many times, and Xu Sannian knew the way well, weaving through traffic and quickly turning the car to his usual parking spot.

“Drive slower next time, we’re not in a hurry,” An Fusheng said. He didn’t dare to speak while Xu Sannian was driving, for fear of distracting her.

Xu Sannian: "It's alright, I know my limits, I won't hurt anyone."

Forget it, Xu Sannian was very confident in his driving skills and didn't care at all whether his car would get scratched.

An Fusheng felt more and more that he absolutely had to buy a tricycle. If the test went smoothly, he could get his driver's license next week. Once he got the license, he would immediately go and buy a tricycle. He had already negotiated the price.

Wen Yue was brought along when we went grocery shopping today. The market was much more crowded on the weekend, and it was very difficult to squeeze in. After the three of them got out of the car, An Fusheng pulled the cart and led the way, while Wen Yue and Xu Sannian followed behind and squeezed in.

Having shopped for groceries many times, An Fusheng became familiar with the stalls selling various vegetables. He went straight to the stall where he often bought pork, referring to his shopping list.

When the pork stall owner saw An Fusheng coming over, she knew he didn't need her to introduce him, so she told him to choose for himself and let her know when he was done, and she would weigh it for him.

Seeing An Fusheng picking out pork, even though it was all lean meat, he was asking for several kilograms of this piece and several kilograms of that piece. Wen Yue couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother, aren't these all lean meat? What's the difference?" Usually, when she buys meat, she only distinguishes between fat and lean meat, or meat and bones.

An Fusheng said, "The meat on each part of a pig is different, and different dishes require different cuts of meat."

As she spoke, she showed Wen Yue the piece of meat she was holding, "This is pork shoulder, which grows on the pig's shoulder blade. Pigs often use this part when they exercise. It has both meat and tendons, and it has a soft, smooth, and elastic texture. It's perfect for making stir-fried pork with chili peppers. It's also good for making steamed buns or dumplings."

After introducing the piece he was holding, An Fusheng introduced her to the other pieces he had chosen. "This piece is pork neck meat. There's only a little bit on the neck, also called 'golden six ounces.' It's very tender, but the lymph nodes are next to the neck meat, so you need to make sure it's been cleaned properly when you buy it. This is second-layer meat, which grows on the pig's abdomen. It's a mix of lean and fat, but with more fat, so it's quite soft. When you cut it open, it looks like snowflakes, which is especially beautiful."

An Fusheng only mentioned three kinds, and Wen Yue was already a little confused. She tried hard to remember the pork shoulder, but she could hardly tell the difference between the other two. "Pork neck and pork belly look similar."

An Fusheng took the two pieces of meat out of the light and said, "The colors are different. The pork neck is whiter, and the pork belly is redder."

Upon hearing this, Wen Yue realized that they were indeed different, but while they could be compared side by side, how could she confirm it if they were separated?

It turns out that academic excellence isn't just needed for studying; cooking and grocery shopping also require top students.

An Fusheng put the two pieces of meat back and continued to introduce another piece to Wen Yue: "This piece is called 'Geshan meat,' also known as 'heart-protecting meat.' It grows on top of the pig's liver and is very tender. The white layer on top is not fat or oil, but crispy. It's delicious as a topping for porridge or soup noodles."

Wen Yue felt that if her older brother continued to introduce them, she would not even be able to remember the first one, so she quickly interrupted An Fusheng, "Brother, that's enough, I'll remember the rest tomorrow."

An Fusheng paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "You don't need to deliberately memorize it. You'll naturally remember it when you buy groceries often."

Wen Yue: No, you know nothing about the learning abilities of us academic underachievers.

An Fusheng asked, "You said you wanted to move in when we were having breakfast. When are you moving in? Once you move in, I'll take you grocery shopping every day. You'll remember that soon enough."

Wen Yue: "It's been raining these past few days, so it's not easy to move things. Let's wait until the weather is better in a couple of days. Didn't you say that the vegetables in our garden can supply the restaurant's needs, and we only need to buy some meat and eggs? Why do we still come to buy vegetables every day? Can't we buy more and store them in the refrigerator, and buy vegetables every three days?"

An Fusheng was picking out a piece of crystal meat and said, "Many dishes don't taste good after being frozen in the refrigerator. For example, this piece of crystal meat tastes tender and elastic when it's fresh, but if you freeze it for a day, it will become dry. The same goes for other meats. Freezing and then thawing will affect the taste to some extent."

"Oh, oh." Wen Yue nodded repeatedly. She had only asked a casual question, but she was forced to remember another type of meat. She would have to bring a notebook next time she went grocery shopping with her older brother.

After buying the pork, An Fusheng took Wen Yue and Xu Sannian to buy other groceries. He had prepared a menu in advance, so he wasn't distracted by the other dishes and bought them quickly. In less than an hour, he had bought all the groceries.

Although he only buys enough for one day each time, Wen Yue noticed that An Fusheng often only buys three to five catties of vegetables. Is that enough for a restaurant? "Does our restaurant only need this much food every day?" She had seen it yesterday, and the business was not bad at all.

An Fusheng said, "That's enough. We have a wide variety of dishes. If we make a few portions of each dish, we can make dozens or even hundreds of portions. We only get a little over a hundred orders a day."

Xu Sannian said, "We bought a little more ingredients than usual today."

An Fusheng nodded and said, "Yes, it's the weekend today, so there will be more people ordering takeout. We've also added more staff, so I bought more ingredients."

Wen Yue had always thought that restaurants used trucks to deliver their food... Well, you have to experience it to know for sure.

...

Back home, I started preparing the ingredients.

Since An Fusheng discovered that Xu Sannian was learning to cook as if it were just a game, and that he wasn't so enthusiastic about it after the novelty wore off, he stopped letting Xu Sannian do things like chopping and stir-frying vegetables.

Cooking is hard work, and if you don't really like it, there's no need to go through the trouble. So when preparing ingredients, An Fusheng would ask Xu Sannian to help him pick the vegetables. If he was really short on time, he would ask her to help wash the vegetables. An Fusheng wouldn't let Xu Sannian help with meat or other meats that would make his hands oily or smelly.

Xu Sannian especially liked picking vegetables. The vegetables in the garden were growing very well, and it was very satisfying to pick them. Xu Sannian pulled Wen Yue to the backyard to pick vegetables, and Wen Yue asked An Fusheng if he needed help.

"Do you know how to chop vegetables?" An Fusheng asked.

An Fusheng really needs some help with the large amount of groceries he bought today.

Wen Yue replied matter-of-factly, "Yes, I cook all the time."

An Fusheng handed the washed vegetables to Wen Yue with peace of mind, telling her which ones to slice, which ones to cut into pieces, and which ones to shred.

Wen Yue said confidently, "No problem."

A few minutes later, An Fusheng realized he had put it away too early.

Wen Yue has absolutely no idea how to cut vegetables!

She was asked to slice a lettuce. The number of slices she made resulted in a number of distinctly different thicknesses, some even cut into triangular shapes.

An Fusheng: "...Let me cut it."

Oblivious to everything, Wen Yue continued working: "Big brother, aren't there still a cutting board and a kitchen knife over there?"

An Fusheng said tactfully, "When cutting vegetables, try to cut them as evenly as possible so that they can maintain a consistent texture when stir-frying. Otherwise, some will be overcooked while others are still raw, which may not taste very good."

"Huh?" Wen Yue looked at the lettuce slices she had cut. The thickness was indeed not very uniform, but the difference was not significant. People are not machines, so it's normal for the thickness of the slices to vary.

An Fusheng said, "Let me do it. I've already washed the vegetables, and we still have enough time. You can take a rest."

"Oh." Wen Yue handed the kitchen knife to An Fusheng.

Then Wen Yue saw An Fusheng slicing a lettuce into perfectly uniform slices with his knife! In contrast, the lettuce slices she cut next to him were of varying sizes and thicknesses. They looked alright at first, but now, compared to the others, they were simply unbearable to look at.

Wen Yue: "..."

When Xu Sannian returned after picking the vegetables, An Fusheng asked her to help cut the radishes into thick pieces to make pickled radishes. Xu Sannian picked up the knife and chopped away, and the radish pieces she cut were surprisingly thin and even.

Wen Yue fell silent.

...

Fortunately, An Fusheng and Xu Sannian did not show any disdain for Wen Yue.

Wen Yue felt that her older brother was indeed different. In the past, her older brother had excellent grades. Wen Yue had tried to ask him questions, and he would explain them to her. If she didn't understand, he would say, "Go to school and ask your teacher."

Now that Wen Yue says she wants to learn to cook, her older brother not only didn't refuse but was also very happy.

When Xu San Nian saw that Wen Yue wanted to learn to cook, he waved his hand and said, "Go ahead and learn. I can take care of everything myself."

When the store opened, Bai Miaomiao came over and offered to help with the order processing, so Wen Yue felt relieved to be An Fusheng's little helper.

An Fusheng taught very patiently, explaining each step carefully: "When blanching the meat and bones, be sure to skim off the foam."

Wen Yue asked, puzzled, "Isn't this water going to be poured away later? Why go through all this trouble?"

An Fusheng said, "If you don't skim off the foam, it will stick to the meat and be very difficult to wash off. If you don't wash it off, it won't look good. To wash it off, you have to rub it with hot water. If you rub the meat again, it will become tough and won't taste good."

"Oh, oh, oh." Wen Yue nodded vigorously.

When Anfusheng stews bones and beef, he first stir-fries them in oil in a pot before putting them into a stew pot with water and simmering them slowly. This way, the meat won't have a fishy smell, it will taste better, and the soup will be richer. He also adds other vegetables to the stew, which will make them more flavorful.

An Fusheng put the pork bones, which he had stir-fried in a pot, into a stew pot, added boiling water, and then asked Wen Yue to pick out all the seasonings.

Wen Yue was very eager to learn, and whenever she didn't understand something, she would ask, "Why?"

An Fusheng: "The bones need to be simmered for a long time. If the scallions and garlic are cooked for too long, they will become mushy and stick to the meat, which will not look good. The aroma of cinnamon and bay leaves is too strong. If they are cooked for too long, they will overpower the freshness of the soup. Later, radish chunks will be simmered in the bones. If the radish chunks are coated with these spices, they will also affect their own sweetness."

"Oh, I see." Wen Yue picked all the seasonings out of the bones and asked, "Big brother, when it's cooked, should we add some chopped green onions?"

An Fusheng: "Yes."

Wen Yue: "Hehe."

An Fusheng's patience was the greatest encouragement to Wen Yue. She began to ask questions incessantly. Seeing An Fusheng carefully putting chunks of duck blood into the duck meat while making blood duck, afraid of breaking the blood, she asked, "Brother, isn't traditional blood duck usually made by breaking up the duck blood and letting it coat the duck meat? Why don't we break it up? Will it be more flavorful this way?"

An Fusheng: "If the duck blood is broken up, the duck meat will be very dark and won't look good. Blood duck is a dish from out of town for the locals. They don't have that kind of delicious impression buried in their memories from childhood. Even if it's dark and mushy, they know it's delicious. So we need to make it look better and attract their appetite with its appearance. When people praise a dish, they say it has a perfect combination of color, aroma, and taste. The appearance of the dish is the first impression, and a bad first impression will affect their expectations and feelings about the taste. So I made a change. If you don't break up the duck blood and cook it in some broth, the aroma will blend well into the duck meat, and the taste will not be affected."

Wen Yue had an epiphany: "I understand now. Just like many chain stores, they open stores in different places, and the same dish will taste different, in order to adapt to the local food characteristics. We, on the other hand, start by attracting customers with colorful dishes."

An Fusheng: "Yes, but we can only make slight modifications. We can't affect the core flavor. Diners expect the original flavor of every dish. We want to attract customers, but we can't deprive them of their right to taste the original flavor."

Wen Yue nodded vigorously: "Mmm."