I'm the Culinary God-Chapter 499 - 253 Shen Guofu: It’s so strange, the kitchen has been making my favorite dishes all day! [Subscribe Please]_2

Chapter 499: Chapter 253 Shen Guofu: It’s so strange, the kitchen has been making my favorite dishes all day! [Subscribe Please]_2

"Today is really something, huh? These little leeks, these baby scallops—they’re treasures for giving a man a boost, and I’m already feeling years younger without even eating them."

Xie Baomin was speechless. My junior brother’s father-in-law really doesn’t see himself as an outsider, does he? But we’re all men here; I understand.

Lin Xu chuckled awkwardly. "Senior Brother, this..."

"No worries, no worries," Xie Baomin said. "We may not have other dishes today, but we’ve got plenty of this kind. Let’s continue. It’s good for you to learn more too. Don’t end up like me—I’ve been getting complaints from your sister-in-law these past few days."

Lin Xu was bewildered. I didn’t ask anything; why are you spilling the beans?

Perhaps realizing he’d let something slip, Xie Baomin frantically tried to make amends. "Don’t overthink it, Junior Brother. She’s complaining I don’t exercise enough. I used to be all muscle, not an ab missing from my eight-pack. But these years, I’ve neglected exercise, and the eight-pack has united into one."

Stop making it worse, Senior Brother, Lin Xu thought. The more you try to clarify, the murkier it gets.

Xie Baomin lifted a net bag of incredibly large oysters from the foam box and immediately instructed Qin Wei, who had just finished up nearby, "Xiao Qin, steam these oysters for me with minced garlic. Just call me when they’re done; no need to bring them over yet."

Right now, he and Lin Xu were standing by the kitchen door. This allowed Shen Guofu to walk in from time to time to carry away the finished dishes. The steaming cabinets were at the very back, beyond the long cooking area, making it hard for outsiders to get there.

After arranging for the garlic oysters, Xie Baomin took out two Chinese yams. These weren’t your average yams; they were iron stick yams, grown in the mountains. Though skinny and unattractive, they were tough as rock and known as a potent tonic.

After taking out the yams, he called over to a handyman, "Che Zai, go downstairs and catch me a few loaches—make sure they’re the yellow mud loaches, alright?"

Is he planning on making a loach and yam pot? Lin Xu wondered.

As two more plates were carried off, Xie Baomin couldn’t resist and decided to go big.

Having arranged for Qin Wei and Che Zai to assist, he then soaked some of the finest black fungus—small bowl-ear fungus—planning to blanch it later and mix it with purple onions for a cold dish. With such fine ingredients, there was no need for complicated preparation; their natural flavor was best.

After soaking the fungus, he took out two pig kidneys.

"Speaking of nourishing the body, it’s got to be kidneys," Xie Baomin said. "Sheep kidneys would do too, but since we’re having roast whole sheep today, making sheep kidneys would be repetitive. So, I asked Old Huang to get some pig kidneys."

As he was speaking, Che Zai happened to come in carrying several loaches he’d just scooped out of the fish tank.

Hearing this, the honest young man immediately asked, "Chef Xie, didn’t you just say that all these dishes were arranged by Boss Huang? How has it turned into you asking him to get them?"

Xie Baomin was speechless. Lucky for you, you’re an employee at Lin Ji. If you were working in Building Two, I’d have you washing dishes for a month before we spoke again!

He cleared his throat. "Old Huang kept saying he felt weak and didn’t know what would be good to eat. He asked for my advice, so I gave him a menu and told him to prepare according to it... If you’re not busy, why don’t you help me clean these loaches? Scrub off the external mucus with some salt."

Che Zai agreed and went off to work by the sink.

Meanwhile, Xie Baomin started to prepare the pig kidneys.

「Downstairs.」

Shu Yun had just finished greeting an old customer when she saw Qiu Zhenhua walk in.

She hurried over to greet him. "Hello, Chef Qiu, we meet again... I’m really sorry about last time. It was all Chef Xie’s arrangement; I just..."

Qiu Zhenhua waved his hand. "No need to explain. Only that bastard Xie could pull off something like that; it has nothing to do with you. But stepping out now, it isn’t as easy as it was at Fishing Platform, is it?"

Back at Fishing Platform, clients were few, benefits were great, and there was even a bonus for the occasional reception task. But now, that ease was gone.

Shu Yun replied with a smile, "When Boss Lin invited me, I considered all that. But then I thought, if I don’t take the chance to make a break for it while I’m young, there’ll be no opportunity when I’m older."

Shu Yun was only in her twenties, educated and capable. That was why she had been able to get by at Fishing Platform.

But a front desk manager isn’t like a chef—there’s no "getting better with age" in this role. When she got older, she would likely be shifted away from a frontline position to make room for the younger generation. By that age, even if similar offers came up, one probably wouldn’t dare to try. After all, at that stage of life, with elders to care for and children to raise, acting on a whim isn’t an option.

After hearing Shu Yun’s words, Qiu Zhenhua said with emotion, "Your choice was right. If I’d had your courage back then, maybe by now I’d be the vice president of a listed catering company."

Years ago, a now well-known catering company, which wasn’t prominent at the time, had invited Qiu Zhenhua to join them. After much hesitation, he listened to his family’s advice and stayed at Fishing Platform. Now, that company had become a behemoth, while he was still just a chef. Although he lived without material worries, looking back, if he had taken that leap of faith, he might now have a net worth of over one billion.

But no one can predict the future. An imprudent decision back then might have led to losing everything, down to his last pair of shorts. So, Qiu Zhenhua merely felt a fleeting sense of "what if," without truly dwelling on any regret about his past decision.

"Chef Qiu, you’re an industry leader at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Wherever you go, everyone respects you as ’Master.’ That’s the kind of status that shows you’re a true winner in life," Shu Yun said, comforting him.

Qiu Zhenhua nodded at her words.

But then it occurred to him, I’m at the peak of the pyramid and still get bullied by that damn Xie! This won’t do. Tonight, I absolutely have to team up with Old Song and Old He to get that bastard drunk.