Chapter 73 Guests from Afar (3)

"Master, please walk faster! If you are any slower, you will miss dinner!"

On the way up the mountain, a girl with a high ponytail wearing sportswear and a baseball cap urged people to hurry up. Behind her followed an old man with gray hair and eyebrows that were so long that they drooped down. His eyes were bright and lively, and he looked at the surrounding scenery like a surveillance camera.

"Don't rush me. Your grandfather is still able to accompany you out to play at his age. It's good enough that he doesn't let you carry him on his back."

"Master, I didn't ask you to accompany me. You wanted to come here on your own."

Ma Xiaoyan said dissatisfiedly.

"You said the food here is better than mine, but I don't believe it. I've been cooking all my life and almost prepared a state banquet. How can I not be as good as a chef in the countryside?"

Ma Xueqing blew his beard and glared, his pace quickening with anger. He thought about how his parents sent him to learn cooking when he was eight years old. He was humble in front of his master and fellow apprentices until he was sixteen. He spent all day washing and picking vegetables or washing dishes. Finally, he had the chance to touch the chopping board. He practiced cutting and preparing vegetables for another five or six years. When he was twenty-two, it was his master's birthday, and Ma Xueqing got the opportunity to make a bowl of longevity noodles for his master.

Ma Xueqing still remembers the nervousness he felt that day. He stared at his master's expression the whole time, but the old master had no expression on his face. He picked up a noodle and stared at it as if he were a criminal, then rinsed it with soup again and put it into his mouth.

Until the old man finished eating the bowl of noodles, he didn't say whether it was delicious or not, but only gave Ma Xueqing the opportunity to go to the stove.

While his senior brothers cooked the main dishes, he just cooked the side dishes. It took him two whole years to cook just one dish of blanched lettuce!

At that time, Ma Xueqing learned a lot of recipes and made them many times in private, but he never had the opportunity to show off his skills.

Later on, there were more and more private restaurants on the market, and the senior brothers left one by one to open their own restaurants. At the age of 28, Ma Xueqing finally had the opportunity to replace the head chef.

However, sometimes when we meet some greedy old customers, the chef is still the one in charge of the cooking.

Ma Xueqing married his master's youngest daughter and stayed to serve his master. Several of his senior brothers wanted to recruit him to work as a chef in a restaurant and offered him shares, but Ma Xueqing was unwilling to go.

Until his master passed away, he took over the state-owned restaurant and turned it into a private restaurant. Ma Xueqing worked as a cook in the restaurant for most of his life.

Now he has many children and grandchildren, and he has also taught a few unpromising apprentices. Although the restaurant is not old, it has accumulated many regular customers, many of whom come for Ma Xueqing's cooking skills.

As a result, his students spread all over the world, while his family produced bitter melons. Outsiders said he was a great cook, but when his own granddaughter ate it, it was not as good as the cooking of an ordinary peasant woman in the countryside, which made Ma Xueqing very unwilling to accept.

It just so happened that Ma Xiaoyan told him that Yanggou Village was going to hold a beam-raising banquet, and invited chefs to cook dozens of dishes and slaughter two big fat pigs. Ma Xueqing took the initiative to go along, as he wanted to see how delicious the food here was.

As they walked, Ma Xueqing saw vegetable plots and he could hardly walk anymore. Ma Xiaoyan was still talking about her experience of visiting here last time. There was silence behind her. She looked back and saw that her grandfather had crossed the water diversion channel and was squatting in someone's vegetable plot to steal vegetables!

"Master! Why did you eat it?"

Ma Xueqing picked a few green bean pods, peeled them and threw the tender peas into his mouth. After chewing them, he tasted them carefully with the tip of his tongue. His originally relaxed brows slowly frowned.

Ma Xiaoyan thought to herself, she knew how skilled her grandfather was. No matter how complicated the dish was, he could guess the ingredients and seasonings after just taking a bite.

Could it be that there are pesticide residues in the food?

"Master, what's wrong?"

"Great," Ma Xueqing said excitedly, pointing to the field of peas. "Who grows these? They're incredibly good, pesticide-free, pure and sweet. I haven't had such good food in years!"

Speaking of this, Ma Xueqing felt a little regretful. When he was learning cooking, his master taught him that the basis of cooking was to be able to pick vegetables. He picked, washed and tasted the vegetables, and only after he passed the test was he allowed to go to the vegetable market to pick and buy vegetables.

At that time, people had to go to the big market to buy vegetables. The villagers would pick vegetables and sell them at the market. They were all fresh vegetables grown by themselves. There was basically no need to worry about pesticide residues. They just had to pick those with good appearance.

But with the changing times, it's becoming increasingly difficult to buy fresh, pesticide-free vegetables. Ma Xueqing's senior brothers run top-notch restaurants, each charging exorbitant prices. The profits they earn are enough to support their organic farms, supplying their own vegetables and even shipping them in from abroad.

Ma Xueqing found it funny and helpless. Since when did it become so difficult for ordinary people to eat natural vegetables?

Although Ma Xueqing's restaurant business is good, the prices are not expensive, and he certainly cannot achieve the same model as his senior brothers.

Until now, Ma's Restaurant still retains the habit of picking farm dishes from nearby villages.

It can be said that Ma Xueqing has never given up his high quality requirements for food before cooking. Even so, he has never eaten such fresh and sweet peas.

Walking along the road up the mountain, Ma Xueqing saw a vegetable field and went over to taste it. The cucumbers had just grown to the size of buttons, and he didn't want to pinch them, so he just pinched the cucumber leaves.

Ma Xiaoyan was confused, "Master, can this be eaten?"

Ma Xueqing's eyes glared, like bells: "You've never lived through hard times, so you don't know how difficult it was. It's good enough to have something to eat. What can't you eat?"

The various wild vegetables and flowers in the fields, the fish, shrimps and river shells in the ditches are all good things.

The more Ma Xueqing looked at it, the more he thought this place was great. The mountains and rivers must have spiritual energy, otherwise how could such good vegetables be grown there?

"There's a small courtyard with a well in front of us. There are so many people here. Please walk faster!"

Ma Xiaoyan urged again, and this time Ma Xueqing didn't mind her urging. He unconsciously quickened his pace. The aroma of food he smelled from a distance made him feel a little excited.

Xia Wu specially prepared disposable plates for the diners. The pulp was environmentally friendly and the quality was absolutely impeccable. There were also public chopsticks and spoons. Xia Wu was afraid that some people would be uncivilized and serve the food recklessly, so he asked Zhao Jing to be in charge and watch over it to make sure nothing went wrong.

Fortunately, the guests were well-mannered and had known that it would be a communal pot with separate meals, so they were mentally prepared. They were originally worried that it would be dirty and unhygienic, but after seeing the arrangements on site, they no longer had such concerns.

Smelling the fragrance of the food, I felt a sense of anticipation.

When the food was almost all served, people lined up in an orderly manner for the main dishes. There were fifty-six dishes in total, including hot dishes, cold dishes, main dishes, desserts, steamed buns, flower rolls, and rice.

There are eight desserts alone!

Buffalo milk and sweet rice wine are combined to make a crispy cheese that looks like tofu pudding, sprinkled with a little nectar, which is both colorful and delicious. It is also chilled in advance, making it the best bowl to have after a hot meal at noon.

There is also loquat milk jelly and milk sago. If the adults want to drink, there is green plum wine that Xia Wu has soaked for half a month. Although it is not fully soaked yet, it tastes very good.

Children can drink green plum tea, strawberry milk, etc...

Hao Datong followed Mr. Yang Si to the courtyard with a well, where Yang Hongen was sitting at the door collecting debts.

When you hold a beam-raising banquet at home, you have to pay money for the villagers who come to the banquet. People in the countryside attach great importance to these interpersonal relationships. If someone gives you a red envelope today, you have to remember their name and the project. In the future, when you do things at other people's homes, you have to pay them back.

Seeing Hao Datong, Yang Hongen stood up to greet him: "Secretary Hao, what a rare guest!"

"What kind of guests are you looking for? I'm shamelessly coming here uninvited. I hope you don't mind me," Hao Datong said as he opened his coat, took out an old wallet from his inner pocket, pulled out three red bills and handed them over. "You old man, you didn't even call me when you had something to do at home. If I hadn't run into the fourth brother, I really wouldn't have known about it."

Yang Hongen is not only the doctor of Yanggou Village, but also the first choice for villagers in several nearby villages to see a doctor. Even when Hao Datong fell ill, he went to Yang Hongen.

It can be said that Yang Hongen has a high reputation in several nearby villages. If he announces that there is a wedding at home, more people will probably come to give gifts.

But the Yang family was afraid of trouble and did not plan to hold a big event.

The two men exchanged polite greetings, and Yang Hongen asked someone to invite the old secretary into the yard for dinner. There were many people in the yard. Some people took their plates to eat nearby after getting their meals. There were about one or two hundred people, and they looked quite impressive standing apart.

Hao Datong already knew that these people had to pay for the meal, one hundred yuan per person. How much money could he make from so many people?

Hao Datong attended literacy classes. There were no teachers in the village primary school before, so he took over as a teacher for several years, teaching Chinese and mathematics. Later, he became the village secretary. He was used to dealing with numbers, and it didn't take long for him to calculate in his mind that he could earn at least 10,000 to 20,000 yuan by feeding so many people with a meal.

Pork is cheap this year, and two pigs weighing over 600 kilograms still cost 4,000 to 5,000 yuan. Plus, you have to pay wages for cooking and labor...

If you calculate it this way, it doesn’t seem to make any money.

Hao Datong decided to observe further.

Meanwhile, Yang Guofeng, having finished his work in the village, hurried over to attend the beam raising banquet. As he was paying at the door, Old Man Yang casually said, "The old secretary of Haotang Village is here too. He's having dinner inside. Can you keep an eye on him for a while?"

Yang Guofeng took a look inside and saw the old secretary wearing an old indigo-blue Dacron jacket chatting with people in the crowd.

He looked puzzled: "Why is Secretary Hao here?"

"I don't know. Yang Laosi said he saw it on the road, so he brought it to me."

Okay, since you’re here, we’re all familiar faces, so Yang Guofeng went straight to the old secretary.

Outside the courtyard by the well, Ma Xueqing saw Yang Hongen writing down the account in the red book. He pulled his granddaughter over and asked, "Are we going there to pay the membership fee? Grandpa will pay for it himself."

Ma Xiaoyan: "No, I've already paid our money online. They're just recording the favors between relatives and friends in the village. Why are you joining in the fun?"

Sure enough, the two of them showed their credentials and successfully entered the courtyard with the well.

Both grandfather and grandson are gluttons who love to eat. Without saying much, they went to get the tableware and then walked around in front of the mahogany table. Ma Xiaoyan was particular about eating. She would eat the vegetarian food first and then the meat. After trying them all, she would rinse her mouth with some plum wine to moisten her throat, and then pick up the dishes she liked and eat more.

Ma Xueqing was different. He did not forget that he came here to study cooking. When he saw the braised pork elbow, he asked someone to pick some for him without saying a word.

There are many elderly people in the village with bad teeth. In order to take care of the elderly, Chef Zhang stewed the pork elbow until it was very mushy.

This is a skill that requires a good control of the heat, as the food must be stewed until it is tender and not falling apart.

The skin of the braised pork elbow is fried and slightly chewy, while the fat inside is like tender tofu, melting in the mouth without any fishy smell and not feeling greasy.

Zhao Jing picked up a piece of meat for Ma Xueqing, and the old man began to taste it in front of her. She asked, "Grandpa, what else do you want?"

Ma Xueqing turned a deaf ear and just ate the food as if he was eating peaches given by the Queen Mother.

After a while, Ma Xueqing ate the pork elbow and said, "There are masters among the people."

This dish is not top-notch, but Ma Xueqing can't find any fault with it.

As the saying goes, it’s hard to please everyone. Some people like sweet food, some like salty food, some like light food, and some like strong food.

Even though Ma Xueqing has been cooking for fifty or sixty years, he cannot guarantee that everyone will like his dishes. If he were to cook this braised pork elbow, he might not be able to cook it better.

All in all, he couldn't find any fault.

After tasting this dish, Ma Xueqing ordered a few more dishes, some of which were good and some not so good. He would switch to the next dish after taking a bite, nodding if the dish was good and shaking his head if the dish was not good, making him very conspicuous in the crowd.

Chef Zhang’s grandson Zhang Hao quickly noticed the old man, stared at him for a while, and then secretly went to find his father.

"Dad, it looks like someone is coming to mess things up."

"What's the trouble?" Zhang Hang and his family were eating in the kitchen. They were all perked up when they heard the news.

"I don't know. An old man was eating the food my grandfather cooked up front, nodding and shaking his head, not even eating properly. If he wasn't ruining the place, what else could he be doing?"

Zhang Hang turned around and looked at his old father. As expected, Chef Zhang couldn't even eat his first meal. He wiped his mouth and stood up: "I'll go take a look."

Xia Wu paid the family a lot to cook and asked them to perform at a high level. Just for today's meal, he paid them several thousand yuan. If he really encountered someone who disrupted the meal, it would be difficult for him to explain to the host, and it would only ruin his reputation.

Originally, Chef Zhang wanted his son to be in charge of cooking, but later he changed his mind and decided to prepare the main dishes himself, while his son, daughter-in-law and grandson would prepare the cold dishes and desserts.

When I went out to take a look, I saw an old man with a mountaineering backpack tasting food. It was obvious that he was different from the others.

Chef Zhang changed his chef's uniform, washed his hands and face with soap, and then slowly walked over.

"Old man, is this food not to your liking?"

Ma Xueqing turned his head and saw an old man who was about the same age as him. He called him "old man" as soon as he opened his mouth. He said: "Hey, you look older than me, just call me brother."

Chef Zhang sneered, "Brother, are you a cook?"

Ma Xueqing looked him up and down. "You're a chef too. You cooked all these dishes, right?"

"The blanched lettuce was overcooked. The ratio of chili peppers to Sichuan peppercorns in the cucumber salad was wrong; it was too spicy and a bit flavorless. The pork tripe soup was pretty good, but..."

Ma Xueqing opened his mouth and pointed out the shortcomings of several dishes, and Chef Zhang's expression suddenly became serious.

After a while, he bowed and said seriously: "Brother, you are an expert. Let's go to the kitchen to talk?"