Chapter 63: The Knife for Cutting Vegetables (Part 2)
Yu Ling quickly dried her hands, picked up the phone on the washstand, opened the WeChat group of her best friends called "Plastic Sisters Will Live Forever", and sent out the photo she had just taken secretly - Zhao Chen wearing an apron, holding an antique kitchen knife, and focusing on his profile in the morning light.
Lingling is not 00: [Picture] Early bird benefits! Let me ask you, whose husband is as virtuous as mine? Wearing a small apron and stewing braised pork for his wife! [Proud] [Spinning]
Just a few seconds after the message was sent, the group exploded!
Love hotpot without getting acne: [Holy crap!!! Lingling, your candid photography skills are amazing! This atmosphere is amazing! Chenguang handsome guy kitchen play? Hahaha!]
Don't like cilantro: [Wait! Lingling, you're missing the point! The knife in your husband's hand!!! Quick! Zoom in! The handle! The handle!]
Lingling isn't 00: [? What's wrong with the handle? It's an old kitchen knife, looks pretty heavy.] Puzzled, she clicked on the original picture she'd posted and, following her friend's instructions, zoomed in and out, focusing on the thick-backed rosewood handle of the kitchen knife.
When the extremely tiny dark gold badge clearly occupied the phone screen, Yu Ling's breath suddenly stopped!
An eagle flapping its wings, a scepter and ears of wheat in its claws, intricate vine patterns... the familiar feeling I had just caught a glimpse of instantly found its source!
A few days ago, she'd seen news about a surprisingly obscure auction! The grand prize was a set of antique kitchen knives, said to have been lost overseas for a century and originating from the kitchen of a vanished European royal family! The close-up of the chef's knife handle shown in the news, the royal emblem, a symbol of abundance and power, was identical to the one on the screen before her!
That chef's knife in the news sold for an eight-figure sum! It was worth ten houses in her hometown!
Yu Ling's fingers froze on the screen, their tips cold. She stared intently at the emblem, which shimmered with a subtle, subtle glow in the morning light, her mind buzzing. Zhao Chen... He just used this antique, worth a house, maybe even several... to cut pork belly?! And even peel ginger with it?!
The phone vibrated wildly, and messages from my bestie popped up like bombs.
Don't like cilantro: [See that?! Is that the eagle emblem?! My old swan! Lingling! If I'm not mistaken, that 'old kitchen knife' your husband is holding was the highlight of last month's Sotheby's Autumn Auction's 'Royal Treasures' sale! The 'Golden Wheat Eagle' chef's knife! Hammer price: 13 million! And it's in fucking US dollars!!!]
Love hotpot but don't get acne: [????????????????????????????????? US dollars???????????? Zhao Chen uses an antique worth over 10 million US dollars to cut pork belly??? Lingling, pinch me, am I still asleep???]
Lingling is not 00: [………………]
Yu Ling stared at the string of exclamation points and astronomical figures on the screen, feeling as if her worldview were undergoing a magnitude 10 earthquake. She held onto the cold washstand, barely able to steady herself.
Just as her mind went blank and her fingertips trembled, not knowing how to respond, there was a gentle knock on the bathroom door behind her.
"Lingling?" Zhao Chen's gentle voice came through the door. "The braised pork is almost done. If you don't come out now, I'll eat up all the most essential gelatin."
Yu Ling suddenly came back to her senses, hurriedly locked the phone screen and put it in her pocket, took a deep breath, tried hard to suppress the shock on her face, and opened the bathroom door.
Zhao Chen had changed out of his apron and was now dressed in a simple white T-shirt and gray sweatpants, looking as fresh as a college student. He leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest, a gentle smile on his lips, his amber eyes gleaming as he looked at her.
On his left wrist, the dark blue "Deep Space Gaze" quietly exudes a deep luster in the morning light.
"What are you daydreaming about? Are you dazzled by my beauty?" He smiled and reached out, rubbing her half-dry hair naturally.
Yu Ling's gaze, however, flew uncontrollably past his handsome, smiling face and directly to the kitchen countertop—the rustic, heavy, thick-backed kitchen knife with a rosewood handle. The dark gold royal emblem, gleaming in the morning light, stung her eyes.
"Nothing...nothing." She looked away with difficulty, her voice a little dry. She pointed at the knife and tried to make her tone sound casual. "Honey, your...your knife...looks quite special. Where did you buy it? It seems quite...useful."
Zhao Chen followed her gaze and glanced at the knife, his expression natural and without a trace of emotion, as if it was really just an ordinary kitchen tool.
"What are you talking about?" He walked over and casually picked up the heavy knife, as casually as if it were a rolling pin. He even weighed it, and it made a dull sound. He turned around and grinned at Yu Ling, revealing a row of neat white teeth. His smile was sunny and a little cunning like a grown man.
"I bought this on Pinduoduo! 9.9 yuan with free shipping! The store owner said it's the same 'Yangjiang Shibazi' product, forged from fine steel, heirloom quality!" He flipped his wrist, creating an extremely neat and beautiful knife stroke. With a flash of cold light, the tip of the knife pointed precisely at a spare shank bone on the chopping board. He said with a hint of boasting, "Don't tell me, I chop bones really fast! It doesn't break at all! The best value for money!"
Yu Ling: “…”
She looked at Zhao Chen's sincere and handsome face, which was full of words like "Praise me for how I can live my life", and then looked at the "Pinxixi 9.9 yuan free shipping heirloom" worth more than 10 million US dollars, which was easily decorated with knife patterns in his hand, and she felt her facial nerves twitching uncontrollably.
Pin...Xixi? 9.9? Faster than a bone? The king of value for money?
She opened her mouth, but her throat seemed to be clogged, and no words came out. All that remained in her mind was the "13 million US dollars" that was constantly flooding her friend group's screen, and the genuine, innocent smile before her, a fierce clash of minds.
On the table, a bowl of bright red, richly braised pork, smothered in a rich, oily sauce, exuded an unparalleled, lethal allure. Yu Ling scooped up a piece with a spoon. The meat was trembling, glistening, its fat a translucent, jelly-like gelatin, while the lean meat was distinctly textured, soaking up the thick, rich sauce.
She blew on it carefully and put it into her mouth.
With a gentle touch of your teeth, the fatty meat melts instantly on your tongue like the finest cream, leaving no trace of greasiness, only the ultimate richness and sweetness! The lean meat is tender yet not dry, its fibers brimming with rich, sweet gravy. The salty and sweet aroma of the sauce, the rich spice notes of star anise and cinnamon, and a subtle aftertaste of caramel all explode in your mouth! A culinary storm of layers so rich it's mind-blowing!
This taste… Yu Ling's eyes suddenly widened! This was definitely not your average home-cooked braised pork! This richness, this layered texture, this melt-in-your-mouth texture… it was clearly the kind of food that could only be achieved through the complex cooking process and meticulous preparation of a master chef at a top-tier restaurant! She had once had the signature braised pork at a Michelin-rated restaurant; it was expensive, but the taste was nowhere near as good as this bowl!
"How is it?" Zhao Chen sat opposite her, his elbows resting on the table, his hands crossed and resting on his chin, looking at her expectantly, like a primary school student waiting for praise from his teacher. "This is the first time I followed the steps of the 'Cooking Room' app completely. Did I fail?" He pointed to his mobile phone on the corner of the table. The screen displayed the interface of a food app, and he stopped at a recipe page called "Homemade Braised Pork (Zero Failure)".
Yu Ling struggled to swallow the incredibly delicious meat. Her taste buds were still clamoring for satisfaction, but her mind was remarkably clear. She looked at Zhao Chen's handsome face, which was filled with a desire for praise. Then she looked at the bowl of braised pork that clearly surpassed the standards of "home-cooked" and "no-failure." Then she looked at the seemingly ordinary recipe on his phone screen...
Such acting skills! Such a skill of pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger! Yu Ling feels like she is about to have a mental breakdown!
She was about to speak when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. She instinctively took it out and saw a new WeChat message.
The sender was an unfamiliar name: [Michel Chen].
The profile picture is of a middle-aged man wearing a tall chef's hat and with a serious expression.
Michel Chen: Hello, Mrs. Zhao. I'm Chef Michel at Le Jardin. Excuse me for interrupting. Mr. Zhao ordered three top-grade A5 Miyazaki Wagyu rib-eyes (500g each, with optimal marbling) from our restaurant last week, along with their accompanying secret barbecue sauce. They arrived by air this morning. Per Mr. Zhao's special request, the ingredients have been carefully prepared, cut, and packaged, all under cold chain conditions. Would you like them to be delivered now, or can Mr. Zhao arrange for delivery later? [Smile]
Yu Ling's gaze slowly, slowly moved away from the message.
Her gaze passed over the bowl of braised pork on the dining table that exuded the ultimate meaty aroma, passed over Zhao Chen's handsome face with an innocent and inquiring expression, and finally fell on the huge, double-door built-in refrigerator with its own LCD temperature control panel in the open kitchen next to it.
The refrigerator's refrigerated area is clearly visible inside the transparent glass door.
Several boxes of frozen pork belly, with eye-catching red labels saying "Market Special" and "Buy One Get One Free," lay quietly there, their fat and lean distribution being perfectly normal, even with a hint of blood.
Yu Ling's fingertips, which were holding the phone, were trembling slightly.
She raised her head and looked straight at Zhao Chen, who was using a serving chopstick to pick up another piece of crystal clear braised pork for her with a smile as gentle as jade.
Then, she lowered her head, put her fingertips on the screen of her mobile phone, and with all her strength, slowly and slowly poked out a huge, soul-searching symbol and sent it.
Lingling is not 00: [? ]
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