He had already caught the catfish in Stardew Valley and successfully obtained intermediate cooking skills after turning in the quest.

Intermediate cooking skills not only bring a comprehensive improvement in skills, but also provide an additional "specialized slot" to choose from.

Just like taking the postgraduate entrance exam, you need to have a specific research direction.

The fat man chose Huaiyang cuisine as his advanced direction. He wouldn't say he's mastered all eighteen famous dishes, but he's learned about seventy or eighty percent of them.

At that time, there was no such thing as the "Eight Great Cuisines." The term "Eight Great Cuisines" is only a few years older than the Spring Festival Gala.

Even the term "cuisine system" was created to entertain foreign guests. It is said that when Yao Yilin introduced Chinese cuisine to foreign guests, she introduced the "Four Great Cuisines": Shandong cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, and Huaiyang cuisine.

The chubby guy doesn't plan to focus on Cantonese or Sichuan cuisine in the future. He's reserving his expertise in high-end culinary techniques for Shandong cuisine, with its distinctive Qilu flavor and royal style. He'll primarily focus on Shandong and Huaiyang cuisine in the future.

Eels are also known as long fish.

Eels are hard to catch in winter. At this time of year, most eels have closed their mouths and entered hibernation. It's practically impossible to catch them by fishing or using nighttime spotting. It's precisely because eels are scarce in winter that they fetch a good price.

However, the working people have their own wisdom. The commune's fisherman led a group to get a batch and sold it to the Hongxing Factory at a high price.

The fat man decided to make this braised eel dish as soon as he saw it today.

This dish can be said to be the most famous dish in Huaiyang cuisine. People in Huai'an love to serve this dish when entertaining distinguished guests, as it is described as "fresh, tender, delicious and unique".

The fat man tied the eel in a gauze bag and poached it in boiling water with scallions, ginger, salt, and vinegar until the eel curled up and its mouth opened. He then took out the eel and only took the meat from the back.

The most difficult part of this dish is the final thickening. You must ensure that all the flavors of the seasonings coat the eel strips while maintaining their tenderness.

The eel's belly, which had hardened slightly during the initial stir-frying, also needed to be softened in the thickened sauce. The thickened sauce served as a base to gently wrap around the eel strips, creating a soft, rounded shape.

When the fat man led Liu Lan to bring out the last main dish, the leader from the brother unit jumped up: "Soft-shelled eel? Good heavens, this is the first dish of the founding of the nation!"

That's amazing? In Jingzhou, nothing is allowed to be this amazing... cough cough, wrong channel. Deputy Factory Director Li is a master of the straight man, and upon hearing this, he immediately said loudly, "This dish is so famous? Factory Director Zhang, you must introduce it to us properly."

Factory Director Zhang, suppressing his excitement, explained, "In 1949, at the first banquet held after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the first hot dish served was soft-shelled eel. Later, in the culinary world, this dish became known as the 'first dish of the founding of the People's Republic of China'."

After saying that, he looked at the fat man and asked, "Young man, may I ask which chef made this dish?"

The fat man didn't say anything, and Deputy Factory Director Li chuckled and said to Factory Director Zhang, "It's far away."

"Wow! So young! Young man, what's your name? Would you be interested in coming to our factory...?"

Before Director Zhang could finish his charade, Deputy Director Li quickly said to the fat man, "Alright, you've worked hard. Go back quickly and thank everyone for me."

His anxious expression, as if he was afraid that Director Zhang would "kidnap" the fat man, not only made the leaders present laugh out loud, but also fully demonstrated how much he valued the fat man.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Liu Lan began to whet the leaders' appetites: "This dish of soft-shelled eel has a shiny black back, is exceptionally tender, and has a refreshing and crisp taste; when you pick it up with chopsticks, it trembles slightly as if jumping, and is oily and smooth; it is rich and tender in the mouth, melts in your mouth, and leaves a fragrant aftertaste..."

Factory Director Zhang couldn't wait any longer. Before Liu Lan could finish speaking, he grabbed a chopstick and put it in his mouth.

Then everyone saw him close his eyes, chew gently, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Then everyone picked up their chopsticks, and after Director Yang also took a bite, everyone scrambled to grab it!

There was a special person accompanying the guests today. The fat man recognized him; it was Xu Damao, the projectionist. The boss had asked him to keep them company so they could have a separate movie shown after dinner.

There was no way Xu Damao would get a piece of this soft-shelled eel. Just as he was about to reach for his chopsticks, the workshop director next to him let out a low growl, "Whoosh whoosh," showing that he was protecting his food!

Although he didn't get to eat the grand finale dish, Xu Damao was still amazed by the meal!

He never imagined that the unassuming fat man would have such a skill.

He couldn't say whether Fatty or Sha Zhu was better at Sichuan cuisine, because he had only eaten there a couple of times; but Xu Damao was certain of one thing: Sha Zhu definitely couldn't make this soft-shelled eel!

Wasn't he an apprentice? At this time, Xu Damao had not yet created his famous "one big, three small, two five, ten" advanced tactics.

The special stove that was originally supposed to be made by Sha Zhu was replaced by Fatty. The once arrogant Sha Zhu is no longer the only one in the eyes of the factory leaders.

Xu Damao's small eyes gleamed as he plotted how to take advantage of Sha Zhu's misfortune.

There was an unexpected bonus tonight.

Because the fat man brought honor to the Red Star Factory in front of the leaders of the brother unit, Deputy Factory Director Li specially gave him a bonus of 10 yuan!

When Liu Lan heard the news, she couldn't believe it at first. When did Li Huaide become so generous?

It was only later that I learned that the decision to give out bonuses was made by Director Yang, and Li Huaide was being so generous in order to prevent him from winning over the fat man.

With Liu Lan as an inside man, the fat man easily figured out the whole story. Liu Lan said to him with envy, "Wow, 10 yuan is more than half a month's salary for you... Li Huaide really values ​​you."

The fat man lifted her chin and pinched her smooth cheek, which was soft yet firm. Liu Lan looked like she was ready to be taken. The fat man whispered in her ear, "He doesn't value me. He's afraid that Director Zhang will poach me."

Warm breath seeped into her ears in waves, and Liu Lan couldn't help but tremble slightly. Her gaze gradually became intense, as if she wanted to melt away with the fat man.

The fat man fought desperately and managed to escape from Liu Lan's clutches; he had really made a name for himself today. His 40 years in another world had taught him that he had to be extra careful in times like these, because there were always countless eyes watching him.

It wasn't until they arrived at Liu Lan's house that the fat man revealed his true colors. Liu Lan was just about to exchange a few intimate words with him when he had already stripped naked!

He had just cursed "stinky man" when his mouth was gagged again, and in the end, the whole thing, bones and all, went into the fat man's belly without a single bit being wasted.

In the midst of her dire straits, Liu Lan's last lucid words were: "Turn off the lights..."