The Cheat Emperor of the Culinary World

There’s pressure in the cooker, it’s laborious to twist it open.

And the moment you lift the lid, the hot steam gushes out, making it easy to get burned.

Liu Yunong didn’t stand on ceremony, stepping back a bit.

Fu Yu quickly opened the lid, and instantly a rich aroma of meat wafted out.

Everyone smelled it and couldn’t help but swallow their saliva.

Even Wang Yulong couldn’t help but marvel, ”I must say, it’s been a while since I’ve smelled this aroma, it’s fragrant!”

Liu Yunong cheerfully said, ”When I was a kid, my grandpa taught me a song about stewing meat. Whenever I craved meat, I’d sing to him, and he would make it for me in the kitchen.”

”A song about stewing meat?” Fu Yu became interested and curiously asked, ”Master, is this song also passed down in your family?”

While serving the meat, Liu Yunong laughed and said, ”It wasn’t passed down in my family. My grandpa got it from a book, and although he called it a song, it was actually a little tune he composed himself later.”

”Let it simmer slowly, with little water. Smoke won’t rise with covered flames. Let it cook on its own, don’t rush it. When the time is right, it’ll be delicious naturally.”

Liu Yunong’s voice was clear and bright, and there was a particular charm to it while humming the tune.

Before retrieving the meat, Liu Yunong first picked all the scallions from the pot.

Fu Yu leaned in for a look, noticing there was still quite a bit of broth left.

He casually said, ”The taste could be mild; will you reduce the broth later?”

Liu Yunong nodded, grabbed a prepared clay pot, and set it on the stove.

Pour in the original broth, then neatly arrange the chunks of meat.

”The pressure cooker is only to save time, but it doesn’t add color. Dongpo Pork is about achieving a balance of color, aroma, and taste. Lacking any of these, it’s not authentic.”

Liu Yunong casually explained.

Fu Yu learned and responded, ”Indeed.”

Wang Yulong nodded approvingly. When it comes to teaching culinary skills, it has to be someone cultured like Liu Yunong, whose explanations are clear and easy to understand.

Standing by silently, Liu Zhangpeng recalled.

Back then, it was this step of adding color that took him half a month of shadowing his master to grasp its subtleties.

At that time, he thought maybe the soy sauce was insufficient, hence the lack of color.

In hindsight, he was only just beginning, barely understanding the basics.

The clay pot is simmering with its lid off, as the chunks of pork belly bob in the broth, releasing a rich fragrance.

Anyone passing by the stove couldn’t help but steal a glance.

The aroma is truly enticing, and visually, it makes one’s mouth water!

Liu Yunong is over here reducing the broth in the clay pot, while Fu Yu is putting his Dongpo Pork into the pressure cooker.

The master and apprentice, working hand in hand, quickly set six clay pots neatly in front of the stove, simmering on low heat.

The whole kitchen was filled with an enticing aroma of meat.

When the first pot of stewed meat was ready, Fu Yu hurried over to watch Liu Yunong retrieve the meat.

”Isn’t the color authentic?”

Liu Yunong’s pot had only nine pieces of meat, no extras, just enough for Fu Yu to have a look at the final product.

Fu Yu leaned over for a look, praising repeatedly, ”It’s very authentic! Things cooked this way just come out different!”

Liu Yunong chuckled, ”This is the natural reduction, without any thickening. It’s all about the original flavor! Clear juice and bright glaze!”

”Our family’s state banquet-level Dongpo Pork comprises 40 years of skill. It truly embodies a combination of experience and skill.”

Then, Liu Yunong lamented a little, ”This dish needs to be served, so it can’t be touched. If there was an opportunity, now would be the perfect time to use a knife to cut a piece and properly show it to you.”

”Right now, you can easily cut through this pork with a light slash of the knife, it’s tender and soft inside. If you bite into it, it’s fatty but not greasy.”

”With this kind of meat, the most flavorful part is the fatty layer attached to the skin; it’s tender, soft, and the flavor is endlessly memorable.”

After hearing this, Fu Yu grinned, ”Master, just listening to you makes me a bit hungry.”

Liu Yunong also smiled, ”No worries, I reserved two pots of meat so we could have an extra meal tonight.”

The others, hearing this, also rejoiced.

Working in the restaurant kitchen has this perk. No matter who loses out, the chef’s palate won’t be compromised.

Over in the kitchen, it was bustling, and in the front hall of the restaurant, customers began arriving one after another.

In the evening, the welcoming banquet for the leader and the farewell party for the former office director were held at Shangshi Private Kitchen.

Once the group entered, they were directly led by the waiter to a private room.

I must say, the private kitchen does an excellent job of protecting the guests’ privacy. As you walk through it, you won’t encounter other guests dining in open seating nor need to communicate much with the service staff.

Just provide your reservation number, and someone will lead you to a private room. The professional service operations mean you just need to sit at the table and wait for the food to be served.

Ai Houkuan, from the moment he entered the private room, was busy giving instructions about serving the dishes, clearly explaining the dietary restrictions of everyone present, ordering alcohol and drinks, requesting tea, and helping the leaders to hang their clothes.

It wasn’t until a full table of ten dishes was served that he finally managed to sit down.

Old Director Wang Qingyu looked at the table full of dishes, feeling very satisfied inside.

The place was his choice, the menu his decision, and the drinks and beverages were all approved by him.

Although Ai Houkuan hovered around with questions, far from feeling annoyed, Wang Qingyu found his previous sense of parting sadness replaced by an indescribable sense of being needed.

Since leaving the office building, his mind was fixed on how to support this honest and reliable subordinate of his own.

Xiao Peng and Wang Qingyu were friends with very good personal relationships, and he knew everyone at the table well. Just by looking at the restaurant’s name, he knew it was a brilliant choice!

Of course, he had to say the perfunctory words, but it wouldn’t be as effective as when spoken by him.

After all, in consideration of Wang Qingyu, he wouldn’t make things difficult for Ai Houkuan.

This subordinate was handpicked and promoted by his friend.

In future, he’d be their foundation in Bei’an.

”Xiaomiao, are you not eating later?”

This seemingly ordinary polite question was laden with underlying implications that only the crafty attendees could pick up.

The expense of this meal was covered by the remaining entertainment budget from the office.

Where did the money come from?

That was all saved up little by little by the former office director, Wang Qingyu.

Ai Houkuan used Wang Qingyu’s budget to curry favor and host everyone.

This didn’t escape the sharp minds from the province, yet each kept their thoughts to themselves without verbalizing it.

Now that Xiao Peng brought it up, it made apparent what was implicit and offered Ai Houkuan a chance to explain.

After all, the Shangshi Private Kitchen was too famous.

Everyone knew the cost of such a meal.

While it wasn’t unusual for the families to dine there at their own expense, spending it on an official account drew distinctions.

When the group returned and were queried by the higher-ups, a reconciliation of this entertaining meal would surely come to light.

Saying it was held at the office canteen would be faultless, but mentioning an outside restaurant, especially a high-end private kitchen, would complicate things.

They needed official rhetoric for collective understanding and consistency.

Wang Qingyu having the foresight to arrange it here knew that such statements were protocol.

So, coordinating with his friend, he turned to Ai Houkuan, smiled, and added, ”Xiaomiao, you truly understand sentiment, it’s obvious that you are a person rich with emotion!”

The visiting gentlemen refrained from making comments and merely raised their glasses filled by Ai Houkuan to acknowledge each other subtly, then began to eat.

”Wow! This dish is great! Isn’t this Dongpo Pork?” Xiao Peng asked, pointing with chopsticks at the central dish among nine others and one soup on the table.

Nine neat pieces of Dongpo Pork were displayed inside a white porcelain plate, looking extremely appetizing.