Chapter 245

Yuan Zhou knew the rabbit meat had a texture of acidity like that of the roe deer . Besides, if the eyes of the rabbit were closed after it died, it cannot be eaten . This had been recorded in ancient books .

The rabbit meat cooked by Yuan Zhou was naturally free from all these concerns . Originally, Yuan Zhou replaced the white sugar with honey because the sweetness of the honey would linger although it wasn’t really strong . Apart from that, the honey itself contained a slightly oily feeling and hence would become shinier and smoother as well as brighter in color after being fumigated .

Only after he had finished all the work in the restaurant did Yuan Zhou have time to go upstairs to sleep soundly until the next morning . Thinking of the soup dumplings that hadn’t been cooked for a long time, Yuan Zhou rolled over to get up .

Having washed up, Yuan Zhou went out for jogging . The long journey for the past few days had shown the benefits of exercising, therefore he paid more attention to that .

After taking a rest for a few days, Yuan Zhou opened the restaurant for business again . Although his usual expression still remained, his state of mind changed a little . The shadow of the old royal chef was still lingering in his sight .

“Hu . . . . I had better do my things first and then consider others . ” Yuan Zhou settled down to his work and began to knead the dough earnestly .

“Jia Jia, do you think our boss has opened the restaurant?” asked Shen Min uneasily .

“Of course . Our boss has always been punctual . ” Zhou Jia answered affirmatively . She didn’t have much anxiety, in other words, she took things in easily .

Shen Min, however, was a different person . Due to her character, she had always been worried that Yuan Zhou would quit the business . Like the person of ancient Qi kingdom who worried the sky would fall, she was always anxious .

It also might be because she had already studied quite hard, but her accomplishments were always not very good . Even for the entrance to the college, she gave all her effort . Zhou Jia was different from her . Despite her poor family conditions, she always came first in examinations even if she was just studying courses for adults .

“Min Min, you really don’t need to go to class today?” Zhou Jia looked at Shen Min and asked her with care .

“No problem . The first two lessons are self-study classes . So don’t worry,” Shen Min thought for a while and said affirmatively .

“Then you can go back after we check the restaurant,” Zhou Jia said to her earnestly .

“Humm . ” Shen Min nodded the head, not giving any positive or negative answer .

In a while, the two of them arrived at Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, where there were many acquaintances waiting in line outside the restaurant .

“This Boss Yuan is damn hateful . As soon as he comes back, he cooks delicious dishes . ” The first person was Wu Zhou . He said unreservedly while smelling the fragrance of the soup dumplings .

“If you don’t want to eat, you can leave,” Ling Hong looked discontentedly at Wu Zhou who was ahead of him and said discourteously .

“I don’t mean that . It’s just that my wallet is going to bleed again and I don’t know how to explain to my girlfriend . ” Wu Zhou revealed a miserable look of “You single people know nothing . “

“What do you think if we throw you out of the line?” Octopus stretched out his head and asked Wu Zhou while looking at him seriously .

“No violence is allowed over here at Boss Yuan’s restaurant . ” Wu Zhou revealed a solemn look . Apparently, he was imitating Yuan Zhou’s usual expression .

“Ho Ho . No one would say no if I throw you out,” said Octopus indifferently .

“Then I can move forward to take your position,” Ling Hong said arrogantly .

“We might as well discuss what dishes Boss Yuan will cook for breakfast . ” Wu Zhou changed the subject stiffly . However, the subject did work well .

The crowd started to guess the breakfast dishes one after another . As the regular customers, these several people were more certain about the specific dishes . After all, they ate here many times and were quite familiar with that .

When Shen Min and Zhou Jia arrived, they saw the bustling scene and instantly became relieved .

“So there’s no problem now . Min Min, you hurry back to attend your classes . ” Zhou Jia said with a smile .

“Yes, I will come by in the evening . ” Instead of waiting for Yuan Zhou to open the door, Shen Min directly headed back to her college .

Just in a little while, Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was opened punctually at the agreed time . And although the customers were unable to wait longer, they didn’t forget Yuan Zhou’s rules and all waited patiently in the line for seats .

“Boss Yuan, what did you do when you were away?” having the least scruples, Wu Zhou directly asked .

“Collect honey . ” Answered Yuan Zhou with an indifferent manner .

“You went to collect the honey by yourself? Boss Yuan, did you get stung?” Wu Zhou looked at Yuan Zhou up and down .

Wu Zhou once had the experience of touching a bee when he had seen one fall on the ground during his childhood and then getting stung on his thumb . Ever since then, he hated bees very much . The source of the hatred was, of course, the fear, which was the reason he asked .

“Of course not,” Yuan Zhou answered him with quite a firm tone .

“He might have recovered after being stung,” Ling Hong revealed an evil smile and then said suddenly .

“No, that’s impossible . I remember it takes at least one week for the bulge to vanish after bee’s sting . ” Wu Zhou seemed to have a lot of experience .

“The propolis is said to have the function of hastening healing . ” Octopus also showed up and participated in the heated talk .

“As a chef, collecting food materials is an indispensable capability . We chefs have nothing to fear,” said Yuan Zhou shamelessly .

He had totally forgotten how he followed Liu Zi and asked him humbly all the way and how cautious he was while going down the cliff .

“Hey, you guys . Are you eating or not? This old man is going to starve . Why do you all still chirp endlessly?” Lee Yanyi really couldn’t bear that and thus complained with a blaming tone .

“Hi . May I ask what you like to order?” Zhou Jia went up and asked him hurriedly .

“Humph . You guys are all as dense as a tree trunk and, moreover, have so many rules . ” Seeing the girl come to greet him, he contrarily wasn’t worried anymore . He first complained for a while and then started to order his dishes .

“A serving of Soup Dumplings and a small plate of Celestial Vinegar . ” Every time Lee Yanyi ordered the dishes, he brought out the name of the vinegar .

“One moment, please,” Zhou Jia answered neatly .

Yuan Zhou straightforwardly placed the two dishes on the tray and gave it to Zhou Jia to pass to the customer .

“Sir, how do you know it’s Celestial Vinegar?” Ling Hong was to some extent an experienced foodie and loved the soup dumplings most . However, he had never known much about the vinegar . It was also the first time that he had met with Lee Yanyi .

Certainly, he knew Lee Yanyi, but nevertheless didn’t uncover that he was a food critic .

“Huh, a lad naturally can’t recognize it just by eating . ” Lee Yanyi had always talked with Yuan Zhou like that . He never knew what was called courtesy .

“It’s indeed Celestial Vinegar,” Yuan Zhou suddenly uttered and confirmed that .

“Of course, this old man won’t make that mistake . ” Hearing that, Lee Yanyi appeared to be more complacent .

“Here are your dishes . ” At that time, Zhou Jia carried the soup dumplings and the vinegar to him .

“The vinegar is red in color and acidic in the taste . It wasn’t astringent at all and moreover was fresh and delicate . It’s supposed to be the first yield of the newly made vinegar . Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a taste,” Lee Yanyi said in detail while pointing at the vinegar in the small plate .

“But Boss Yuan, which method did you use to make the celestial vinegar? It surprisingly has no dregs and extra odor . Besides, even the color is so transparent . ” Lee Yanyi had long been expecting to ask him about that and only got the chance this time .

“Take the rice cooked on the lunar month May 1st and shape it into rice balls . Store one every day until noon of the next May 1st . Crumble them and then wash the rice clean . Next, put all of them in a jar along with the water used for steaming the rice . Use the willow branch to stir for the first seven days . And one month later, the vinegar is produced naturally . ” Yuan Zhou brought out the preparation method as concisely as possible .

Since Yuan Zhou had personally experienced the whole process before, he explained carefully in detail .

“It’s truly complex . ” Lee Yanyi looked at Yuan Zhou with a complex gaze .

Preparing this thing required much patience . He needed to make it at a fixed time every day . Even an auxiliary material was so complex, let alone the main ingredients . That was why Yuan Zhou’s dishes were so expensive .

Although some people would complain about the price, most of them were convinced of Yuan Zhou’s craftsmanship .

Speaking of the celestial vinegar, could anyone find another store that sold the same one in Chengdu City?

“Master Yuan, your craftsmanship is truly supreme,” Lee Yanyi heaved a sigh and then said earnestly .

“Thank you . ” Yuan Zhou expressed his gratitude calmly .

But in his heart, he was naturally very happy . Yuan Zhou had already known that this person was a food critic . Although he came for meals frequently, he never wrote any comments for his restaurant . For the overdue compliment now, Yuan Zhou, of course, wouldn’t feel embarrassed .