Third Sister thought this made sense, so she didn't tell Xu Yuehuai about it. Afterwards, they were more careful with each other to avoid giving others any leverage against them.
Mingyue Kingdom.
After a good rest, Xu Yuehuai went to East Street to find the Liu family the next day. The young man from the Liu family gave Xu Yuehuai a very warm welcome when he arrived.
"You've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for so long."
"I'm sorry, I was held up by some things this morning and I'm only arriving now. I'm sorry to have troubled you." Xu Yuehuai handed some gifts she had prepared to Liu's younger brother.
"I can't accept your gift. My father scolded me when he found out last time." The young man from the Liu family pushed Xu Yuehuai away, refusing to accept her gift.
Xu Yuehuai said, "They're just some little trinkets I made myself, they're not worth much. Just keep them and eat them as snacks."
Upon hearing this, the young man from the Liu family finally accepted the gift.
"Then come with me now." The young man from the Liu family waved his hand and led Xu Yuehuai into the house.
When Xu Yuehuai arrived in the courtyard, she saw Manager Liu sitting alone in a corner. He was casually picking at some dried fruit, sitting there basking in the sun.
Upon seeing Manager Liu, Xu Yuehuai immediately bowed politely.
"Manager Liu, we meet again." Manager Liu snorted coldly, turned around, and ignored Xu Yuehuai.
He yelled at the young man from the Liu family, "Who told you to bring her in again?"
"Didn't I say I wouldn't teach her?" Xu Yuehuai quickly said, "I really want to ask you for advice."
"I won't learn from you for nothing. In exchange, I'll teach Brother Liu other skills. What do you think?"
Upon hearing this, Manager Liu did not respond for a moment. After a short while, Xu Yuehuai saw Manager Liu turn around.
Manager Liu sized up Xu Yuehuai with his eyes, "What real skills do you have to teach him, you little brat?"
Xu Yuehuai immediately said, "I know your family has switched to selling dried fruit, so I do know some methods for making dried fruit."
"If you feel that this method is not enough to teach you how to make hand-pulled mutton, I can teach you some other skills."
Seeing Xu Yuehuai's earnest expression, Manager Liu was somewhat moved. "That's fine then, I'll only teach you once."
"If you can't do it well, then leave immediately." Teaching only once is better than not teaching at all.
Xu Yuehuai thought for a moment and immediately agreed, "Okay, I will definitely study carefully and well, and I will not let you down."
Manager Liu beckoned to Xu Yuehuai. Xu Yuehuai immediately followed Manager Liu and they went into the kitchen together.
The kitchen was old, blackened inside and out by smoke, yet it still emitted a strong aroma of meat.
Although Liu's family no longer sells hand-pulled mutton, they still make some for themselves regularly, and you can tell just by the smell.
The aroma was incredibly tempting. Xu Yuehuai thought that if she could learn how to make hand-pulled mutton from them, she would definitely rank among the top in the cooking competition.
Upon arriving at the kitchen, Xu Yuehuai changed his clothes, and Manager Liu took out a leg of mutton that had been prepared earlier.
Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai knew that Manager Liu must have been all bark and no bite before. He hadn't wanted to teach her at first, but the ingredients had been prepared long ago.
"I'll only teach you once, so you'd better watch carefully."
As he spoke, Manager Xu moved his hands and feet swiftly. He was incredibly fast, and every movement demonstrated a high level of skill.
Xu Yuehuai watched Manager Xu's steps with sparkling eyes, becoming increasingly attentive. She saw Manager Liu prepare a special cooking wine and then stuff the large lamb leg into it.
After marinating for a while to remove the gamey smell from the lamb leg, it was placed in a pot of cold water and boiled. Xu Yuehuai observed from the side, noting down all the steps and details.
Seeing that Xu Yuehuai was so serious, Manager Liu began to teach her carefully as well. He explained each step to her in detail.
As Xu Yuehuai answered, she carefully watched Manager Liu's actions. After the large lamb leg was scooped out, Manager Liu then cut it into smaller pieces.
His knife-cutting movements were also deliberate; he anticipated the exact spot for each cut beforehand. Seeing this, Xu Yuehuai carefully watched Manager Liu's knife-wielding and cutting motions. Manager Liu's cut lamb leg meat would always be the most tender part.
The remaining seats, which were usually reserved, had all been abandoned by Manager Liu. No wonder Zhang Ting remembered the taste of this hand-pulled mutton even after eating it once as a child.
Manager Liu uses the best ingredients, along with his own secret cooking wine and other recipes.
After the mutton was torn off, Manager Liu prepared his secret seasoning. To truly enjoy his hand-pulled mutton, you must use this secret seasoning; otherwise, the flavor will be significantly diminished.
"I'll only tell you how to prepare the ingredients once. If you can't remember them, then it's not my problem."
Manager Liu recited the ingredients, and Xu Yuehuai listened carefully, memorizing the entire order. The secret dipping sauce wasn't just a bunch of ingredients; it also had a specific order of placement and a specific mixing method.
Xu Yuehuai studied very diligently and quickly mastered all the essentials. However, if she wanted to make hand-pulled mutton as delicious as Manager Liu's, she would need to go back and study it several more times.
Manager Liu completed the final step, mixing the hand-pulled mutton with the dipping sauce. Instantly, the entire kitchen was filled with the smoky aroma of the mutton. At Manager Liu's invitation, Xu Yuehuai tasted the hand-pulled mutton.
"The meat is tender and smooth, and the dipping sauce perfectly brings out the aroma of the hand-pulled lamb. The combination of the two is especially perfect."
"Manager Liu, you are truly amazing!"
"Why don't you make hand-pulled mutton anymore? If you had continued making it, your branches would probably be all over the city."
Manager Liu sighed and said slowly, "This business is a good thing, but I'm not good at managing it."
“My hand-pulled mutton is expensive, and other shops have copied about 30-50% of my recipe and opened their own shops, taking away my resources.”
"I couldn't keep this shop running and kept losing money, so I had to change careers." Xu Yuehuai felt very sorry to hear this.
Even if someone is particularly good at doing one thing, if they can't keep up in other aspects, they will ultimately fail to accomplish anything.
Only through mutual cooperation and proper coordination can one effectively develop their strengths.
Now that Xu Yuehuai has learned Liu's skills, Liu is practically her mentor. In the future, she will definitely help Liu's family find their own way of doing business and carry forward their ancestral business!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com