Xiao Yunying stood up and leaned out to watch them leave, muttering to herself:
"Did something happen to the chef at Huiweilou? He looks like he had an epileptic seizure or something similar."
After a while, Chen Yuancheng returned and said to Xiao Yunying with some difficulty, "Yunying, I have something I'd like to ask you for help with."
"What is it? Just tell me, and I'll do my best to help."
"Here's the thing, my family's restaurant has three chefs who cook local dishes. Today, one of them took leave to go home to marry off his daughter, another didn't come because of a cold, and the only one just suddenly foamed at the mouth and collapsed unconscious for some unknown reason."
The manager just informed me that a customer has booked lunch at Huiweilou Restaurant today. They're meeting with important business partners from the south and specifically requested local cuisine. All three chefs are currently out. Would you mind preparing a meal for me?
"Oh, can I do it?"
She brought out no seasonings here, showing a lack of confidence in her cooking skills alone.
“The other chefs are not locals; I hired them from elsewhere. They are not good at cooking local dishes. I can’t find anyone with good cooking skills right now, so I thought of you first. This concerns the reputation of Huiweilou, so I wonder if you could help me this once.”
Xiao Yunying bit her lip, wondering what to do.
She can help, but the problem is that she knows how delicious the food at Huiweilou is, and she can't guarantee that her own cooking, without seasonings, can compare to that of a professional chef.
"If you're having trouble, then forget it. I'll have the manager talk to them properly. At worst, we can pay more compensation. But the reputation of Huiweilou for breach of contract will probably spread."
Xiao Yunying inwardly berated herself. What was there to hesitate about? It was just cooking a meal. She would just be careful not to let anyone find out and secretly add seasonings.
“I can do it. Huiweilou has several kitchens. Could you spare one for me?”
She knew her request was a bit... well, Huiweilou wasn't just for one table of guests, and clearing out a kitchen meant that serving other guests would be slower.
But she had to make sure her secret wasn't discovered, and she had to be as careful as possible to keep it from being found out.
"If there's only one kitchen, then forget I said anything, let's go over there."
Chen Yuancheng said, "There is only one large kitchen for cooking for the guests, but there is a small kitchen specifically for me to cook. You can use the small kitchen."
"That's great!"
Xiao Yunying picked up her basket and went downstairs: "Take me to the main kitchen first. I can't prepare the whole feast by myself. There's not enough time. I need help. Have you ordered the menu yet?"
"Only the head chef knows the menu, but he's unconscious and we can't ask him right now. Just make whatever you're good at. You don't need to make a whole table of dishes; the head chef has already made a few. Just make twelve dishes."
"Then I'll decide for myself. If it doesn't suit their taste, you can't blame me."
"No, I have confidence in your cooking skills. If they are really not satisfied, I won't blame you."
Xiao Yunying followed Chen Yuancheng to the kitchen, where people were busily preparing various dishes and snacks.
Ling Qi came over with several women wearing aprons and boys around thirteen or fourteen years old: "Miss Xiao, these people are the chef's apprentices and cooks who wash and chop vegetables at Huiweilou. Just tell them what you need."
"Let me see what dishes the chef who was just carried out made?"
An apprentice led Xiao Yunying in the direction of the apprentice: "This way, please, my master's chopping board is over here."
Xiao Yunying asked, "Why did your master suddenly fall into a coma? Did he have some kind of acute illness?"
The apprentice shook his head and said, "My master has always been in good health. He has never fainted like this before, and he is foaming at the mouth and convulsing."
Oh, then it shouldn't be a disease like epilepsy.
"Was he frightened by something just now?"
If it's a dish with snake meat, I'm sorry, she refuses.
"No, young lady, you see, there's nothing in the kitchen that could scare you except people, food, and cooking utensils."
The apprentice thought for a moment and then added, "My master was preparing the ingredients and cooking. He was fine at first, but he fainted halfway through."
Cooking? Could there be something wrong with the ingredients?
"These are the dishes my master made."
Xiao Yunying opened each of the iron pots and steamers one by one, looking at the vegetables inside, but found nothing unusual.
Until she opened a large earthenware pot and saw a dark red color underneath the chicken.
"Give me a pair of chopsticks."
Xiao Yunying used her chopsticks to pick out a dark red mushroom from the stewed chicken, examined it carefully, and asked, "Does your master have a habit of tasting the food?"
"Yes, not only my master, but every chef has the habit of tasting the dishes."
Chen Yuancheng asked, "Is there something wrong with this dish?"
Xiao Yunying said, "I'm not sure, but the biggest reason is probably the mushroom stewed chicken. These mushrooms are poisonous and can't be eaten."
The mushrooms must have been dried and then rehydrated; with their dark red caps and yellowish-white stems, they didn't look like anything edible.
It really is true what they say: red umbrellas and white poles, after eating, they'll all lie down on the board.
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