Chapter 32 Guidance [VIP]

Chapter Summary: A Dry Attempt to Fill the Gap: Yes, that's it.

Lin Xuan really kept pushing Mu Zhi's expectations of her to the limit.

The show is being recorded, and instead of working properly, they're playing these difficult tricks.

Mu Zhi calmly took the microphone and said half-jokingly, "I don't know. Teacher Lin Xuan said to keep it a secret. I'll let everyone guess later."

I'll keep you in suspense for now and reveal the answer later; this is also a gimmick.

The host, Yao Dan'er, immediately chimed in, "Then let's look forward to it together," and moved on to the next question.

Lin Xuan's plan was to see Mu Zhi panic and say she didn't know, so she could step in and reveal the answer, thus "smoothing things over" for Mu Zhi: "Mu Zhi was too nervous during her first time recording a show, and she even forgot what dish to make."

The recording will start in a bit, now I'll start cooking.

When Mu Zhi was helping out, she seemed flustered and overwhelmed by the "surprise" she had prepared, which confirmed that Mu Zhi did not take the recording of the program seriously and had not prepared in advance.

The purpose was to embarrass Mu Zhi and have her receive a barrage of "greetings" after the show aired.

Unexpectedly, Mu Zhi responded calmly, defusing the situation with a single sentence.

Lin Xuan's inner thoughts: I'm so angry, but I still have to keep smiling.

Xia Xinyan is going to make chicken stew with mushrooms.

After the guests shared the menu, they moved on to the most important part of the recording: cooking.

Mu Zhi followed Lin Xuan to the cooking station, not in a hurry to make any dishes, since she was only there to assist on the show.

Lin Xuan didn't care about cooking properly, so whether the dishes tasted good or not was none of her business.

"Zhizhi, could you go to the ingredients section and get some ingredients for me?"

Mu Zhi sensed a hint of ill intent in Lin Xuan's smile.

The camera is rolling, and the person patiently asks, "What do you want to take?"

"Pickled cabbage, and a big black carp. I want to make pickled cabbage fish. Could you wash and chop the pickled cabbage for me, and then cook the black carp for me? Just fillet the fish and give it to me."

So that's what they were waiting for—to make me catch and kill fish!

Killing fish is quite a challenge for most girls.

Mu Zhi didn't speak, but nodded with her lips pursed and slowly walked towards the food section.

Half a month has passed, and her foot injury has completely healed. Given that the cast she wore before was a bit too heavy, she deliberately slowed down her pace to show that her foot injury had just healed.

When they arrived at the meat section, they ran into Xia Xinyan and Qin Luefeng, who were also there to pick up ingredients. Xia Xinyan was making chicken stew with mushrooms, while Qin Luefeng was making beef. There was fresh chicken and beef in the refrigerator, so they could just open the refrigerator and take them out.

The fish that Mu Zhi wanted to catch was in the pond next to it.

Qin Luefeng took out the chicken for Xia Xinyan with one hand, and held his own beef in the other. Out of gentlemanly politeness, he asked Mu Zhi, "Do you need any help?"

"Thank you, but no need." With that, he picked up the fishing net next to the pond, gritted his teeth, aimed at the fish in the pond, and scooped it up, successfully catching one.

Seeing that Mu Zhi could handle it herself, Xia Xinyan and Qin Luefeng walked away to get other ingredients.

Lin Xuan had just found a few ingredients from the ingredient list she had memorized: wild chili peppers, ginger, and scallions when she noticed that Mu Zhi had returned soon after. There was a live fish in the trough where the ingredients were being cleaned, still struggling.

Mu Zhi was holding a large pair of scissors, about to kill a fish.

Lin Xuan, her face pale, took two steps back. "Isn't this...too cruel?"

Mu Zhi: "??? Wasn't this the sauerkraut fish you made yourself?"

Lin Xuan realized her "kindness" was a bit inappropriate, and came to her senses, explaining, "What I meant was, I've seen other people just throw fish on the ground and kill them, but you hit its head with scissors like that..."

"Senior sister, why don't you try the method you suggested?"

Lin Xuan shut up.

With one gloved hand holding the fish down, Mu Zhi used the other hand to hold a large pair of scissors and struck the fish's head a few times. When the fish stopped moving, she deftly used the scissors to cut open the fish's belly, cleaned out the unwanted internal organs, and threw them into the trash can at her feet.

The snakehead fish had mucus on its body. After catching the fish, Mu Zhi boiled some water and, after cleaning the fish, scalded it with the boiling water for 5 seconds to remove the mucus.

Place the fish on the cutting board, take a fish scaler and scrape off the scales counterclockwise. Then take a large knife and cut off the fish head, chop it in half, then cut the fish body in half, remove the fish bones, chop them into several pieces, and put them into the prepared bowl along with the fish head.

The two sides of the fish body are shaved off, and then the belly part is shaved off.

After this series of fluid and graceful movements, Lin Xuan, who was standing next to her, was completely dumbfounded.

When Mu Zhi finished filming, the host and food judges came to watch and couldn't help but comment, "The way she cleans the fish is very skillful; she must cook often."

Another judge chimed in, "When shaving the belly part of the fish, Mu Zhi's knife tip is angled outwards, and you can see that the angle at which she cuts the meat slices is very small. Cutting it this way makes the meat slices longer, and there's a technique to it."

The host asked, puzzled, "Pickled fish is considered a main dish. I remember my mom liking to cut the meat slices thicker when she made it?"

The judges explained: "Black carp meat is quite firm, so the thinner it is sliced, the better. Grass carp, on the other hand, tastes better when the meat is thicker."

The host suddenly realized and said that he had learned another trick. He picked up a piece of fish from Mu Zhi's cutting board and showed it to the camera, saying, "Each piece of fish is cut very thin, and they are all about the same thickness. The knife skills are quite good."

He gave Mu Zhi a thumbs up, "Zhi Zhi looks like she's never been in the kitchen before, but she's surprisingly talented. Lin Xuan really found a capable assistant."

When the host called her name, Mu Zhi looked up from her busy schedule and smiled at the camera.

Lin Xuan was chopping ginger when she heard the host say that, so she looked up and smiled at the camera, though the smile seemed a bit forced.

I was planning to set a trap for Mu Zhi, but I never expected that Mu Zhi would actually dare to kill a fish!

Mu Zhi has been working as a cook in a small restaurant since she was 6 years old. She can do everything, such as cutting various fruits and vegetables, mincing meat, and slicing fish. Killing a fish was actually a first for her.

She had witnessed fish being killed in the kitchen too many times, and she knew the steps by heart. The camera was rolling, and no matter how scared she was, she had to kill the fish herself. She couldn't rely on anyone else, so she had to grit her teeth and do it.

She's a competent actress; people just didn't realize it.

After slicing the fish, rinse the fish fillets several times and drain them. Add salt and cooking wine, and knead until the mixture becomes sticky and gelatinous. Then, beat an egg with one hand and add the egg white and a spoonful of cornstarch to the fish fillets. Stir well and add a little salad oil. This will help the fish fillets clump together and prevent them from falling off the gelatin.

Mu Zhi's "fish" job was then settled.

I quickly found the packaged pickled cabbage in the ingredient section, returned to the kitchen counter, took out the pickled cabbage, chopped it, rinsed it several times, and when it felt ready, I put it next to the fish.

The work that Lin Xuan assigned to Mu Zhi is now complete.

Mu Zhi glanced to the side and saw that Lin Xuan had been fiddling around for a while and had finally prepared all the necessary ingredients, putting them into several small glass bowls and categorizing them.

Lin Xuan didn't tell Mu Zhi about making sauerkraut fish beforehand, but she decided to make the dish. She even hired a private chef to "study" some cooking skills. With a master chef by her side, she paid close attention and provided guidance throughout the process, and the cooking went very smoothly.

Before going on the show, she carefully memorized all the ingredients and seasonings needed for this dish.

Mu Zhi had prepared the fish and sauerkraut.

Now it's time to officially start cooking.

Lin Xuan was a little nervous. She washed the pot, lit the fire, and carefully poured oil into it. After waiting for a while, she added the fish bones.

As soon as he finished pouring the drink with trembling hands, he pinched his ears and immediately ran two meters away.

Mu Zhi: "......" I really want to remind you, don't touch your ears while cooking, it's unhygienic!

Noticing the camera was rolling, Lin Xuan quickly moved back to the stove, picked up the spatula, and was about to flip the fish.

"Don't stir the fish immediately after putting the bones in, it's easy to..."

Lin Xuan ignored Mu Zhi's words and insisted on flipping the pan. She didn't notice that the spatula was wet, and when it touched the oil, oil splattered from the bottom of the pan.

"Ah!" Lin Xuan was so startled when oil splattered on the back of her hand that she dropped the spatula, almost hitting her own foot.

Mu Zhi: "......" She immediately stepped forward and turned off the stove.

Lin Xuan's scream startled the host and several other guests, who quickly gathered around.

He asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

When they saw the two small red dots on the back of Lin Xuan's hand, the scene fell into an endless silence.

The host intervened to smooth things over, saying, "We still need to be careful."

Lin Xuan realized from the expressions on other people's faces that she had made a mountain out of a molehill, and quickly waved her hand to say that she was fine. However, after everyone had dispersed, she was still shaken.

What if the oil splashes on her face?

I'm starting to regret choosing to make this dish.

It was all Mu Zhi... Lin Xuan turned to look at Mu Zhi, who was cleaning the cutting board.

"Junior sister, I'll guide you from the side, why don't you do it?"

Upon hearing Lin Xuan's words, Mu Zhi put the clean cutting board down first, "Senior sister, isn't that inappropriate? You're the head chef."

Lin Xuan felt a burning pain on the two small red spots on her hands. She had almost forgotten the steps for cooking the fish because of the fright she had just experienced. Afraid of being exposed later, she could only drag Mu Zhi down with her.

"It's okay, I'll teach you how to make it. This dish is meant to be made by two people working together."

"Okay, I'll do it. I'm not afraid of getting splashed with oil." He emphasized the last sentence.

Lin Xuan was exposed, but she had to keep smiling because the camera was rolling.

Mu Zhi agreed to help Lin Xuan "finish the job" simply because Xia Xinyan and Qin Luefeng's dishes were almost done, and Lin Xuan didn't know how long she would take to finish. The sooner she finished, the sooner she could leave work.

Mu Zhi switched places with Lin Xuan, turned on medium heat, and seared the bottom of the fish bones in the pot until they solidified and hardened. She then flipped them over and added ginger, scallions, pickled peppers, and sauerkraut when they were almost done. She turned up the heat and stir-fried them until fragrant, then added water until it submerged the ingredients.

To prove her worth, Lin Xuan actually offered "guidance" from the sidelines, but her "guidance" was always a beat too slow, not as fast as Mu Zhi's movements.

Watching Mu Zhi pour some pickled pepper water from the bottle containing wild chili peppers, add a little cooking wine, sugar, and salt, and then turn on the heat to boil.

After a long pause, he awkwardly added, "Yes, that's it!"

Mu Zhi: "..."

Five minutes later, the flavors of all the ingredients were released, and the pot began to smell delicious.

Before taking it off the heat, Mu Zhi added a little white vinegar to the pot, then took out the bones. Finally, the main ingredient was added to the pot. She put the fish slices into the pot, turned on medium heat, and after watching the fish slices solidify and turn white, she turned on high heat to bring it to a boil. She then poured the fish slices and fish soup from the pot into the large porcelain bowl where the fish bones she had taken out earlier had been placed.

Lin Xuan was completely stunned the whole time, but now she realized that Mu Zhi actually knew how to make this dish!

"Is it ready? I'll serve it." This meant that Mu Zhi could leave.

Mu Zhi looked at Lin Xuan with a quiet gaze, "It's not ready yet. There are some seasonings you... forgot to prepare."

I quickly chopped some scallion whites, smashed and minced a few cloves of garlic with a knife, sprinkled them on the surface of the fish, added some dried chili peppers and dried Sichuan peppercorns, turned on the heat, poured some salad oil into the pot and heated it to 60% of its maximum temperature, then poured the oil into the pot, making it fragrant.

Mission accomplished!

The irresistible aroma of the pickled fish whetted people's appetites, and the cameraman filming a close-up of the fish couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Wow, it smells so good!" The host was drawn over by the aroma. "It looks delicious!"

Qin Luefeng and Xia Xinyan's dishes were already prepared and served to the judges.

Wearing heat-resistant gloves, Lin Xuan quickly picked up the large bowl of pickled fish and walked towards the judges' table.