Chapter 903: Chairman Zhou’s Example

Translator:

Henyee Translations

Editor:

Henyee Translations

Carpenter Lian looked at Yuan Zhou solemnly and then stood up before saying, “I’m going to call and invite Zhou s.h.i.+jie.”

“Okay,” Yuan Zhou said calmly.

“You sit here and wait,” after saying that, Carpenter Lian went to make the phone call.

Once Carpenter Lian turned around, Yuan Zhou said inwardly, “It’s great that he can come this time. I don’t need to send for him specifically next time.”

Yuan Zhou promised Zhou s.h.i.+jie that he would cook Three Fragrance to the Ocean and show him, hence he had originally intended to specially cook the dish again for Zhou s.h.i.+jie.

Just when Yuan Zhou got seated securely, Carpenter Lian’s phone call was also put through.

Carpenter Lian’s phone was on the countertop. It was a fixed landline and was loud. With Yuan Zhou’s sharp ears, he could clearly hear everything.

“Scamming Zhou, the young man, Yuan Zhou, is here. Do you want to come?” Carpenter Lian asked straightforwardly with simple words.

“I was guessing what you called me for. Want me to be a judge?” Zhou s.h.i.+jie answered.

“Just tell me whether you are coming or not.” Without saying anything more, Carpenter Lian just asked directly.

Carpenter Lian was quite sure that Zhou s.h.i.+jie would undoubtedly come. Therefore, he spoke quite rudely.

“Since you are inviting me there, I will naturally come. Otherwise, how shameful you would feel!” Zhou s.h.i.+jie could do nothing but make out a good case for himself.

“We will wait for ten minutes. If you are late, you won’t even see the dish, Three Fragrance to the Ocean, because I must have eaten it up. Even if it tastes bad, I will give it to my apprentice to eat,” Carpenter Lian continued saying.

“You old dog,” Zhou s.h.i.+jie hung up the phone immediately after he said that.

Presumably, he must be preparing to set out now.

“You are still too green to beat me.” Carpenter Lian stroked his own chin complacently before he hung up the phone with satisfaction.

Carpenter Lian turned his head and found Yuan Zhou was still seated in the chair silently without any special expression.

“This young man is rather calm,” said Carpenter Lian inwardly.

“Let’s wait for ten minutes. Zhou s.h.i.+jie is coming,” said Carpenter Lian to Yuan Zhou.

“Sure.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head.

“Do you need to take your things out now?” Carpenter Lian knew that some ingredients were quite precious and couldn’t be kept in the box for long.

“No need. All is prepared.” Yuan Zhou shook his head.

“I don’t have any specialized advanced kitchen utensils over here. Just some simple kitchenware. If you can’t cook with these simple tools, you can leave first.” Carpenter Lian nodded his head and suddenly turned to talk to him.

“I have completed the preliminary preparations and I just need to stir-fry the beans and serve them up,” said Yuan Zhou lightly.

“Kid, you look so confident,” Carpenter Lian took a look at Yuan Zhou and said to him.

“I am always confident in my own culinary skills,” Yuan Zhou looked at Carpenter Lian earnestly and said with a straight face.

Carpenter Lian looked at Yuan Zhou fixedly for a while and then said, “Impressive.”

“Thank you for your praise,” said Yuan Zhou.

“Alright. Let’s stop saying these polite greetings. I’m going to the backyard to check around. You stay here and wait for your chairman.” Carpenter Lian suddenly waved his hand impatiently and then turned around and left.

“Okay.” Yuan Zhou answered and remained still.

In a short while, there came Carpenter Lian’s scolding from the courtyard.

“Are you a pig? I told you yesterday the mortise and tenon joints cannot be done this way. What’s wrong with you?”

“Get out of here. What are you making over here? A baby chair?”

“I said you did it wrong but why did you cut it? Don’t you have brains? If you aren’t confident in the thing you make, how can others be confident of you?”

“And you. What did you modify it for? Did you ask for my opinion before you modified it randomly?”

The continual cursing sounded quite severe. The disappointment and dissatisfaction in his tone could hardly be concealed.

Contrarily, those who were scolded all kept silent and listened to him quietly. Just as Carpenter Lian was scolding them, Zhou s.h.i.+jie walked into the store.

It hadn’t been five minutes since Carpenter Lian made the phone call. Although Jinfa Market was very near the location of China Chefs’ Alliance, Zhou s.h.i.+jie arrived here with an incredibly quick speed.

“This old carpenter is scolding his apprentices again,” said Zhou s.h.i.+jie to Yuan Zhou as soon as he entered the store.

“Carpenter Lian is quite strict,” Yuan Zhou stood up and said to Zhou s.h.i.+jie.

“He’s just bad-tempered rather than being strict,” Zhou s.h.i.+jie said lightly, “Many of his apprentices left because of being frequently scolded.”

“You speak ill of me as soon as you come. Do you think you are more good-tempered than me? Leaving your bad temper aside, even your eccentric character is unacceptable. How dare you speak ill of me?” Carpenter Lian must have heard Zhou s.h.i.+jie’s voice and thus, he walked into the store from the courtyard.

“In any case, I am better than you. In the younger generation, look at the new faces in our Chef’s a.s.sociation. And this one is our best representative. Both his temperament and craftsmans.h.i.+p are top-notch.” Zhou s.h.i.+jie immediately took Yuan Zhou as an example and began to show off.

“Humph”

Carpenter Lian snorted coldly without saying anything. Even if Yuan Zhou couldn’t make the Three Fragrance to the Ocean successfully this time, he, as one of the younger generation of the cooking circle, had indeed made greater achievements than the younger generations of Carpenter Lian.

“Excuse me, where is the kitchen?” Yuan Zhou suddenly asked in the awkward atmosphere.

“In the backyard,” Carpenter Lian pointed at the cutout door subconsciously and said.

“Okay. So shall we go?” Yuan Zhou picked up the food box and said.

“Let’s go. I can’t wait to see how Three Fragrance to the Ocean is cooked.” On hearing that, Zhou s.h.i.+jie nodded his head at once.

Zhou s.h.i.+jie was quite broad-minded. He didn’t think Yuan Zhou wouldn’t be able to cook it since he himself couldn’t. Instead, he was quite confident that Yuan Zhou could cook the dish and would like to see that happen.

That meant chefs in the cooking circle were not only exploring and developing new dishes, but also trying to restore the legacies of the ancestors. It was a good thing.

“He might not necessarily be able to make the dish,” Carpenter Lian said rudely.

After all, he was reluctant to make the cabinet for Yuan Zhou.

“You are naturally unable to cook it, but this Little Brat Yuan won’t have a problem,” Zhou s.h.i.+jie said positively.

“You are here to be a judge.” Carpenter Lian reminded coldly.

“I don’t need you to tell me about my job,” Zhou s.h.i.+jie also said to him rudely.

The two people walked after Yuan Zhou toward the backyard while quarreling. Carpenter Lian didn’t care that he was the host and just let Yuan Zhou walk ahead of him, not leading the way.

Yuan Zhou took them pa.s.s the cutout door and walked inside. The courtyard was very s.p.a.cious. People inside were either standing or sitting in twos or threes, but they were all doing the same thing, making furniture manually.

These people were all busy with their own work. They were so attentive and absorbed that they didn’t even notice the arrival of Yuan Zhou.

Seeing the hectic scene, Carpenter Lian revealed a faint smile on his face.

“These young people behave decently. They know how to work hard and not look about aimlessly,” Carpenter Lian said inwardly.

“Well, they are good guys.” Zhou s.h.i.+jie naturally fell silent, too when he found Carpenter Lian ceased arguing with him. Looking at the young people working in the courtyard, he nodded his head contentedly.

All old craftsmen liked watching his juniors work hard and seriously. In this manner, they felt it worthwhile to teach the juniors so earnestly.

Yuan Zhou walked by them quietly and crossed the courtyard directly, arriving at the backyard.

The backyard was supposed to be a private area. There was a large kitchen right in front of them. Just like those in the countryside, the kitchen had only three walls. In the kitchen was a modern gas furnace instead of an old-fas.h.i.+oned stove.

“Everything is inside. You can use whatever you want,” Carpenter Lian pointed at the kitchen and said.

“Okay. Thanks.” Yuan Zhou nodded his head to express his grat.i.tude.

“Don’t blame my kitchen if you can’t make the dish,” said Carpenter Lian.

“This old carpenter he never says things pleasant to the ear.” Zhou s.h.i.+jie gave a contemptuous look at him angrily.

Yuan Zhou nevertheless didn’t care about that. He lifted the food case and walked toward the kitchen.

In this kind of open kitchen, Carpenter Lian and Zhou s.h.i.+jie could conveniently watch Yuan Zhou cook, thus Yuan Zhou was quite satisfied.

EMPTY