The conversation went very smoothly, and Lu Xi agreed to go to Zuixianlou.

Seizing the opportunity, An Rong took Lu Xi to Zuixianlou that very day. As soon as Huang Daxian arrived at the restaurant, he saw a familiar face followed by a handsome young man. He was overjoyed, wondering if this was his younger brother.

"An Rong, you're here," Huang Daxian asked warmly.

An Rong pulled Lu Xi's arm and made him go forward to greet Huang Daxian, "Chef Huang, this is my younger brother, Lu Xi."

"Lu Xi?" He doesn't have the surname An, so he's not a blood brother.

Huang Daxian looked Lu Xi up and down. He looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. He had jet-black hair tied up in a bun, with the rest of his hair hanging down his back. He had a round face, a full forehead, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, lips that were neither too thin nor too thick, and a natural red color. His skin was delicate and fair. He was wearing a dark blue cotton-padded jacket, which looked a little bulky, but it couldn't hide his gentlemanly demeanor.

Huang Daxian was immediately impressed by the presence he had at such a young age.

Compared to An Rong, his appearance is slightly inferior, but he is still young. In a few years, when he grows up, he may be even more handsome than An Rong.

"Hello, Chef Huang." Lu Xi bowed and greeted him.

Huang Daxian was overjoyed, but his face remained calm. Heaven had blessed him with a handsome young man, and he had already decided to pass on all his knowledge to Lu Xi.

"Oh, you should call me Master."

Lu Xi was stunned. So fast? He became her disciple right after they met.

An Rong immediately understood that Huang Daxian had agreed to take Lu Xi as his apprentice, and he made Lu Xi kneel down and kowtow to Chef Huang.

Huang Daxian's eldest apprentice, Zhao Lianming, was very perceptive and quickly poured hot tea for Lu Xi, who was kneeling on the ground, saying, "Serve tea to Master."

Lu Xi accepted the tea, kowtowed respectfully to Huang Daxian, and presented the teacup with both hands.

Huang Daxian no longer concealed his true thoughts and happily accepted the teacup, saying, "Good disciple."

Seeing that he had drunk his tea, Lu Xi put down his teacup and said, "Master, please accept my three bows."

Lu Xi kowtowed without hesitation, kowtowing three times in a row.

This made Huang Daxian extremely happy, and the wrinkles on his face blossomed into a smile.

He stood up and helped Lu Xi up, tears welling in his eyes, "Good disciple, get up quickly."

Over the past ten years, he has taken in no fewer than twenty apprentices, but none of them have ever kowtowed to him so earnestly, and so loudly at that. How could he not be moved?

From then on, Lu Xi packed her things and moved into Zuixianlou.

Zuixianlou is only two miles away from DouDou Tavern. Logically, Lu Xi could finish her work there during the day and come back to sleep at night. However, Zuixianlou closes very late. By the time she gets back to the tavern and washes up, it will be late at night. She also has to get up early for work the next day, so time will be very tight.

Zuixianlou has three floors. The first floor is a lobby for individual customers, the second floor has private rooms mainly for local dignitaries, and the third floor is for accommodation. It looks very grand from the outside, but it is actually just an attic. Each room has four or five small beds. When there are many people, two people need to squeeze into one bed, which is much better than a typical dormitory.

Lu Xi suggested staying at Zuixianlou mainly because she didn't want to trouble Brother Anrong to leave the door open for her, and going back in the middle of the night would disturb Sister Doudou's rest.

Yuan Doudou initially disagreed, but Lu Xi insisted, and since he was a stubborn person, she didn't say anything.

Lu Xi had only been gone for two days, but Yuan Doudou was already distracted sitting at the counter, worried that Lu Xi might be bullied outside. She repeatedly told An Rong that if he passed by Zuixianlou when he went to buy groceries, he must go in and check on Lu Xi.

An Rong genuinely treated Lu Xi like a younger brother. Although he didn't care for Lu Xi as much as Dou Dou did, he would think of Lu Xi from time to time. Even without Dou Dou urging him, he would go to see Lu Xi.

Anji was reading a comic book in the lobby. It was about the story of Sun Wukong causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

Not only his parents miss Lu Xi, but Anji misses Lu Xi too.

Ah, if only Brother Lu Xi were here. He would read the stories in the book whenever he had free time. A picture can evoke different opinions in different people. He likes Brother Lu Xi's ideas, which are more interesting than his mother's.

With Lu Xi around, he can share interesting people and things he encounters, and even folk tales, mostly related to wolves and foxes, with bizarre plots and unexpected endings.

There were all sorts of delicious food, but it wasn't very satisfying for him to eat alone. It was much more enjoyable to share with his brother Lu Xi.

"Mother, when will Brother Lu Xi come back?" He missed Brother Lu Xi terribly after not seeing him for three days.

Yuan Doudou longed for him to come back. She already regretted finding him such a ridiculous master. At first, she thought that being an apprentice was like going to school, where you could go for a while and come back later. But this Huang Daxian insisted that apprentices had to be sincere and be there all the time. There were many things to do in the restaurant, big and small. If he only learned to cook and did nothing else, even if he was willing, his apprentices would not agree.

"Angie misses her brother, doesn't she?" she asked softly, trying to calm Angie's anxious heart.

Angie nodded. He was not just thinking about it, he was thinking about it so much he was almost going crazy.

Brother Lu Xi doesn't have to be too nice to him. He'll give him the best food first, and let him play with the best toys first. Knowing that he likes to read, he'll bring him back an interesting comic book every time he goes to the market.

Lu Xi is more like his father than his father.

"No rush, Brother Lu Xi will be back for a day at the end of the month." This was agreed upon beforehand; each month ends with a day off, and the study period lasts for a year.

She earned the one year, but Huang Daxian insisted on studying for three years.

This is clearly exploitation. What do you mean by it taking a year to learn all eight major cuisines?

Actually, Yuan Doudou wronged Huang Daxian on this point. There are eight cuisines, and each cuisine has no less than a hundred signature dishes. Adding them together, there are more than eight hundred dishes. If you add desserts and sweet soups, the total is more than a thousand.

With so many and such complex dishes, it would take three to five years to learn them all.

Moreover, a chef's culinary skills depend on practice. It's hard to say that he has completely mastered a dish unless he has made it thirty to fifty times.

Moreover, one must start by learning knife skills, preparing, washing, and cutting vegetables. Every step must be done personally. Only by being familiar with the structure of vegetables can one be confident and cut them to the ideal state with one's eyes closed. In reality, this step alone usually takes an apprentice a year.

Fortunately, Lu Xi was quite talented, and she met Huang Daxian's requirements in just one month.

Of course, Huang Daxian praised Lu Xi for her talent, but he didn't know that a sword's edge is honed through tempering. Every day after closing time, while everyone else was asleep, Lu Xi would practice her cutting skills alone in the kitchen.

Some people woke up in the middle of the night and heard the sound of chopping vegetables, which frightened them so much that they thought there were ghosts in Zuixianlou.

This ghost is Xiao Luxi.