The Game of Life-Chapter 738 - 737 : Fleeing
Chapter 738: 737 Chapter: Fleeing
Zhou Shi was making cold mixed sea cucumber.
Even he himself didn’t understand what was happening. He had merely come to visit his old colleagues at his former employer, and while watching the chefs, he had suddenly started making a few dishes.
As he cooked, more and more staff gathered in the kitchen. Everyone who saw Zhou Shi would nod at him and say, “Yo, you’re here early today.”
After finishing those words, they would then belatedly realize, hey, why is Zhou Shi here?
Then Jiang Feng would stand to the side, smiling as he explained why Zhou Shi was there, while the others, seeing nothing unusual, continued with their own tasks, not disturbing Zhou Shi as he cooked.
Zhou Shi’s cold mixed sea cucumber wasn’t actually difficult to prepare. The novelty lay in the seasoning: he had added mustard. It was once on the menu and even enjoyed a period of popularity at one point.
Jiang Feng knew how to cook this dish and was naturally aware of where the best points for assessment lay.
It was a true test of one’s basic knifework and seasoning skills.
The sea cucumber had to be sliced into thin strips, not just thin but even as well, with the thickness just right and the cuts clean and decisive. When seasoning, the proportions between the mustard and the other sauces needed to be very precise. In that sense, Zhou Shi’s cold mixed sea cucumber wasn’t difficult but also wasn’t simple.
Master Peng didn’t need an apprentice with extremely high culinary skills; he had said himself that he only wanted someone with good basics that was easy to teach.
So the dish for this assessment didn’t need to be highly difficult, it just needed to showcase Zhou Shi’s fundamental skills to Peng Changping.
And it would be best if the dish were a little tastier too.
The more Jiang Feng thought about it, the more he felt his plan was brilliant; so much so that he became engrossed, lost in thought, even breaking character.
Sun Maochai was still in character, an excellent chef who had once cameoed as an extra in a film, not only diligent at his post but also very dedicated when it came to acting, always mindful of his role. As Zhou Shi cooked, Sun Maochai watched intently, not only watching the expressions but also showing a deep interest in the dish.
This acting, this passion and serious attitude toward acting, truly made the Jiang Family members feel ashamed.
A cold mixed sea cucumber didn’t take much time at all. Zhou Shi had arrived earlier than Jiang Feng had anticipated, which meant that the dish was ready before Peng Changping had arrived.
The script for this scene had Sun Maochai showing interest in Zhou Shi’s dish, but the reality was that Peng Changping was the one who was supposed to taste it, while Sun Maochai actually had no interest in the cold mixed sea cucumber.
Now with the dish ready, Jiang Feng was in a predicament.
Peng Changping would certainly not mind eating the cold mixed sea cucumber after Sun Maochai had tried it, but the problem now was how to keep the cold mixed sea cucumber until Peng Changping arrived to serve it.
Jiang Feng’s script had only detailed how to get Zhou Shi to cook, but not how to get Peng Changping to eat.
Sun Maochai had long noticed the loophole in Jiang Feng’s script, and while improvising, he also helped complete the script for him.
Sun Maochai glanced at Jiang Feng and asked in a gentle tone, “Have the abalones delivered this morning been processed yet?”
“Ah, what abalones?” Jiang Feng was baffled. No suppliers had delivered abalones this morning, though they had last night.
Sun Maochai’s face showed anger, seeming somewhat displeased, “Didn’t I tell you the day before yesterday? Mr. Chu has preordered 10 abalones in oyster sauce for a dinner with friends tonight. I specifically asked the supplier to deliver them this morning to ensure freshness. How come you haven’t processed them yet? What time is it now? Oh my, it’s almost 5 o’clock. Never mind, I’ll handle it myself.”
Sun Maochai turned to Zhou Shi, “I’m really sorry, something came up. How about this, you go out and order your meal as usual; I wouldn’t want to hold up your dining. I remember you came with a friend, and it wouldn’t be nice to make him wait outside too long. The cold mixed sea cucumber can withstand being set aside for a while. Go have your meal first.”
“Ah? Oh.” Zhou Shi didn’t see a problem, just that he felt things had gotten somewhat topsy-turvy today. He had come to reconnect with old colleagues, but it seemed like he had ended up making a dish without really catching up.
“I’ll accompany you outside, and take the opportunity to apologize to your friend for making him wait so long,” Jiang Feng finally caught on and played along with Sun Maochai’s improvisation.
“No need, no need, I won’t hold you guys up, you’re busy; I’m going to have my meal outside,” Zhou Shi quickly said and left.
No sooner had Zhou Shi left than Sun Maochai dropped out of character and returned to a normal expression, “Has Master Peng not arrived yet?”
“He should be on his way. I initially told him to leave at 5 o’clock. It’s not yet 5 o’clock, and Zhou Shi arrived a bit early, which I didn’t expect,” Jiang Feng said, “You reacted quickly just now, thank goodness.”
Sun Maochai just smiled and didn’t say anything.
On the other side, the person who came to eat with Zhou Shi wasn’t someone else, but Tao Shu, the sous-chef of the top-floor restaurant. As the sous-chef of the top-floor restaurant, Tao Shu felt extremely uneasy about coming to dine at Taifeng Building, their arch-rival. But as long as he thought about the fact that it was Zhou Shi treating and that it wasn’t him paying, Tao Shu put his restless heart at ease.
From the moment Zhou Shi entered the kitchen, Tao Shu had been sitting in his place, scrutinizing Taifeng Building’s interior. He looked at the lights, the tables, the cutlery, the chairs, the screens, and the paintings hanging on the walls. While looking, he mentally compared which establishment was wealthier — Taifeng Building or the top-floor restaurant — and which one would go bankrupt first in the future.
Actually, Tao Shu had never understood why Chef Arno insisted on picking a fight with Taifeng Building.
Usually, Chef Arno spoke a mix of English, French, and Spanish in the kitchen, and Tao Shu could hardly understand a word, besides a few swear words. This also meant that the rare occasions when Chef Arno spoke in Mandarin left a deep impression on Tao Shu.
The three words Chef Arno said the most were Taifeng Building, Peng Changping, and Jiang Feng.
Tao Shu could be said to have long heard of Jiang Feng’s great name but had never seen the man himself.
While Tao Shu was staring blankly at the painting on the wall, Zhou Shi returned to his seat. Seeing the tablet hadn’t been touched, he said, “Why haven’t you ordered? Don’t you know what to order?”
“Wasn’t I waiting for you to come back? How did it go? Were you very happy to see your old colleague?” Tao Shu asked cheerfully.
“It was okay, not much chit-chat. I just made a dish in the kitchen and that took some time, or else I would have been out earlier,” Zhou Shi explained.
Tao Shu: ?
Cooking?
“As for you, how come you had time off this afternoon? I recall you complaining to me before that the top-floor restaurant’s vacation schedule was too crazy, with few breaks and difficulties in getting leave, not to mention half-day offs,” Zhou Shi inquired.
Tao Shu took a sip of the complimentary kumquat lemon water, “It’s always been that way, but now the circumstances are special. Our head chef, the Chef Arno I mentioned to you before, he’s gone to the United States, and now we…”
“Chef Arno has gone to the United States?” Jiang Feng’s exclamation interrupted Tao Shu.
“Yeah, yes,” Tao Shu’s face was full of the question “who are you?”
“When did Chef Arno go back to the United States? How did he go back? Why did he go back?” Jiang Feng fired off three questions in a row.
“He just left a few days ago, left suddenly without saying goodbye. We only found out when we went to work on the second day. No one knows the reason,” Tao Shu replied.
It was then Jiang Feng realized why the top-floor restaurant had been so quiet after the Summer Feast, without any movement, allowing their customer flow to plummet.
How could there be any movement? Where would the movement come from when the head chef had run off?
Jiang Feng frowned slightly. That wasn’t right.
Although Taifeng Building had fought a beautiful comeback battle at the Summer Feast, Chef Arno wasn’t without the power to counterattack. With his personality, he would surely fight more fiercely the longer the battle, determined to keep at it until the bitter end. There was no reason for him to flee at the first counterattack from the opposition.
Jiang Feng stood there in thought for a while, and during this time, neither Tao Shu nor Zhou Shi dared to speak and disturb him.
After watching Jiang Feng for two minutes, Tao Shu finally dared to speak, but he turned to address Zhou Shi instead, “Who, who is he?”
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“Jiang Feng, I should have mentioned him to you before,” Zhou Shi replied as he came back to himself.
Tao Shu suddenly realized that this odd young man in front of him was Jiang Feng, the one Chef Arno often mentioned. No wonder he could be mentioned by Chef Arno; just like Chef Arno, he was odd.
Only then did Jiang Feng remember why he had come looking for Zhou Shi.
“Right, Uncle Zhou, don’t leave after we’re done eating; I have something to discuss with you. Please wait here for me. The kitchen is still busy, I’ll head back first.” Jiang Feng hurried off, wanting to tell everyone about Chef Arno’s baffling disappearance.
Peng Changping had been stuck in traffic; the condition of the roads at that time was terrible, and it was uncertain when he would arrive. He needed to step out and tell Zhou Shi not to leave just yet; it wasn’t right for the teacher to arrive for the assessment only to find the student had dashed off.
Still, what he wanted to understand the most was why Chef Arno had run away.
