Chapter 2

In the kitchen, a group of chefs were standing still, each holding different items: some with knives, some with roasted ducks, and others with ingredients. At this moment, they all stood like wax figures, quietly watching Guo Kejun and Li Genshuo, their expressions varied.

Guo Kejun had a domineering look on his face. After speaking, he reached out and grabbed a large, fresh shrimp that Li Gengxin had just prepared. Clenching it tightly in his hand, he asked, "Is this the ingredient for the pineapple butterfly shrimp?"

Li Gengxin nodded and said, "Yes."

"Good! Then tell me, the butterfly shrimp requires blanching in a pot, where the meat forms a butterfly shape when heated. Look at what you've cut. The incision is so shallow; how big can the butterfly's wings be? I've been saying that the pineapple butterfly shrimp hasn't looked good recently. It turns out the problem was with you."

Guo Kejun's face darkened, and he suddenly raised the fresh shrimp in his hand, as if to show everyone in the kitchen how "trashy" Li Gengxin's work was.

Li Gengxin looked at Guo Kejun and exhaled a heavy breath. Just as he was about to speak, Guo Kejun didn't give him a chance. With an extremely arrogant look, he continued, "You're cutting corners. According to the restaurant rules, you're fined 200 yuan."

Chef Zhao, standing nearby, was taken aback. He quickly lowered his voice and whispered in Guo Kejun's ear, "Chef Guo, is it really necessary? Everyone works hard. Li Gengxin has had a tough time coming to the capital. Can't you let him be more careful next time?" Chef Zhao pleaded for Li Gengxin in front of Guo Kejun.

In fact, whether the shrimp was properly prepared, Chef Zhao, the cutting board supervisor, knew very well. But Guo Kejun was the head chef...

Guo Kejun glanced at Chef Zhao with a dark face and chuckled.

Chef Zhao quickly nodded, his expression suggesting, "I'll buy you a drink after work..." But who knew, Guo Kejun suddenly shouted, "Zhao Dahai, for poor supervision and indulgence of subordinates, fined 500 yuan!"

"Damn..." Chef Zhao instinctively took a half step back, looking at Guo Kejun as if he were a mad dog that bit anyone.

Li Gengxin suddenly threw the knife on the cutting board and loudly questioned Guo Kejun, "Guo Kejun! Don't bully people too much. As the head chef, you say my butterfly shrimp is不合格 (unqualified) because the incision isn't deep enough? Fine! Then tell me, how deep is qualified?"

"Are you the one who cuts the shrimp, or am I? You're standing at the second cutting board today. Do you need me to tell you how deep to cut?" Guo Kejun looked at Li Gengxin calmly, his body exuding a mocking aura.

Li Gengxin was momentarily speechless by Guo Kejun's words.

After all, there was no clear standard for the depth of the incision on the shrimp. Even if Li Gengxin took a handful of shrimp and blanched them, and the result was satisfactory to him, Guo Kejun could still say it was unqualified, and he would have no recourse.

Who could blame Guo Kejun, who was both a stir-fry chef and the head chef? A steamed bun is food, and the village chief is an official!

Seeing that Li Gengxin was silent, Guo Kejun turned around triumphantly and walked away with a swagger. However, as he walked, he loudly muttered, "Hmph! Useless waste..."

Seeing the situation, Chef Zhao, holding a small scale, noticed that Li Gengxin was trembling with anger. His eyes glanced sideways, and he saw that Li Gengxin's hand was already gripping the knife handle, the skin on his palm pale and frightening!

Li Gengxin suddenly shouted at Guo Kejun, "Who are you calling a waste?"

Guo Kejun turned to look at Li Gengxin, sneered, and said, "A chef who can't even stir-fry, what else could you be?"

This statement seemed to mock many of the chefs in the kitchen. After all, not everyone in the kitchen could stir-fry.

In the kitchen, everyone had different roles, and their skills naturally varied. For example, the chefs who specialized in roasted ducks, cold dishes, and pastries didn't need to use the stir-fry wok. As for Li Gengxin, he was skilled in precise knife work and detailed ingredient preparation, not stir-frying.

Seeing the situation, Chef Zhao gently kicked Li Gengxin and whispered, "Don't be impulsive! I have a good chance of being promoted to deputy head chef. When that happens, the position of cutting board supervisor will naturally be yours. You always say, 'If you don't die, you'll eventually succeed.' Calm down... It's not worth it to offend such a person. Besides, that snobbish woman isn't even worthy of you. A marriage with a price tag is no different from long-term prostitution. Let her ruin Guo Kejun, isn't that better?"

Chef Zhao's words were meant to comfort Li Gengxin but also to defuse the situation.

"What are you looking at? Are you不服 (unconvinced)?" Guo Kejun sneered at Li Gengxin, not letting up.

"Why can't I stir-fry? What gives you the right to call me a waste?" Li Gengxin held the knife, the blade gleaming with a cold, bloodthirsty light!

Seeing Li Gengxin take a step toward him with the knife, Guo Kejun instinctively took two or three steps back, his face contorted as he demanded, "What are you doing? Wandering around the kitchen with a knife? Do you want to quit?"

The chefs in the kitchen immediately started whispering.

"Look, Li Gengxin is going to attack Guo Kejun!"

"No way, I think he's just trying to scare him."

"This kid must have his head stuck in a door. Guo Kejun is looking for an excuse to get rid of him. Holding a knife? Isn't that just giving him a handle?"

Seeing that Li Gengxin had no intention of coming at him, Guo Kejun let out a sigh of relief and subconsciously adjusted his tall hat.

At that moment, a waiter rushed in with a menu in hand, shouting, "Stir-fry some vegetables!"

"What do you mean 'stir-fry some vegetables'?" Guo Kejun turned to the waiter at the door and demanded.

"Ah? I don't know. Sister Yue just gave me the menu and told me to give it to you, saying... saying..." The waiter, noticing the strange atmosphere in the kitchen, started to stutter.

Guo Kejun didn't take the handwritten menu. He didn't notice that the waiter should have used the point-of-sale system to print the menu. The handwritten menu was already suspicious. He laughed arrogantly and said to Li Gengxin, "You can stir-fry, right? Stir-fry a simple vegetable dish for everyone to see! I want to see how great Chef Li is!"

The word "great" had a different flavor when spoken by Guo Kejun.

The waiter's voice was loud enough for most of the chefs in the kitchen to hear. Sister Yue was Li Gengxin's "ex-girlfriend" and Guo Kejun's current woman. By making Li Gengxin, the cutting board chef, stir-fry a dish ordered by Sister Yue, the implications were clear!

The whispers started again:

"Wow, is Guo Kejun making it hard for Li Gengxin? Or is he making it hard for his own woman? If Li Gengxin messes up, Sister Yue will have a hard time serving the guests!"

"Why would Guo Kejun make it hard for his own woman?"

"You don't understand! This is clearly making it hard for Li Gengxin. Ha ha..."

Li Gengxin's face twitched, and he pursed his lips, not saying a word. He turned to look at the boxes of vegetables he had prepared and suddenly picked up a plate and started grabbing ingredients.

Chef Zhao grabbed Li Gengxin's wrist and asked anxiously, "What are you doing?"

Li Gengxin, with a cold face, said to Chef Zhao, "I want to prove to him that I'm not a waste!"

"You... Why are you so impulsive? What if you mess it up? Do you think stir-frying vegetables is easy? You know, it takes three years of apprenticeship just to stir-fry rice. Is this your first day in the kitchen?" Chef Zhao anxiously pulled Li Gengxin's wrist, clearly meaning that as a chef who started at the end of the cutting board, he wasn't on the stir-fry chef's career path.

Stir-frying in a restaurant isn't like cooking at home, where you can just stir a few times and it's done. If something goes wrong, it will be a big problem...

"Chef Zhao, I want him to know I'm not a waste!" Li Gengxin didn't know why. Perhaps because of Sister Yue, he was starting to get fixated.

On a normal day, if Guo Kejun had pushed him like this, Li Gengxin would have said, "You think you're good at stir-frying? Why don't we compare knife skills? It's like making the Army Honor Guard and the Marine Corps compete in swimming."

They're both part of the military, but it's like making Guan Yu fight Qin Qiong.

But today, Li Gengxin shook off Chef Zhao's hand, stubbornly grabbed some garlic and ginger cut into rabbit shapes, and after a few seconds of silence in front of the vegetable rack, he grabbed a bunch of Chinese broccoli and walked toward the stir-fry wok!

"Hehe..." Guo Kejun, watching Li Gengxin's back, was planning to serve whatever Li Gengxin cooked, even if it was a pile of dog poop.

As soon as the guests complained, he would immediately write a report and fire Li Gengxin.

"Hehe! If you want to die, don't blame me!" Guo Kejun muttered to himself.

Suddenly, Guo Kejun's face changed, and he shouted at Li Gengxin, "Hey! What are you doing!"

Li Gengxin, with a dark face, turned to look at Guo Kejun and coldly replied, "I'm preparing to stir-fry!"

"Stir-fry? Do you even deserve to use the first wok? This is the special equipment for a chef who is about to participate in the Chef King competition. If you want to stir-fry, use the last wok." Guo Kejun waved his hand and made a face as if he were shooing away a fly.

It was as if Guo Kejun felt a sense of disgust, like being defiled by a stray dog, when he saw Li Gengxin touch his wok.

Li Gengxin looked at the first wok and coldly snorted. He turned and carried the ingredients to the last wok.

"Brother Li..." The chef at the last wok, who was always friendly with Li Gengxin, instinctively called out. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes showed genuine concern.

"It's fine!" Li Gengxin muttered. He used his knee to push the gas valve, and with a loud whoosh, the flame shot out like a jet engine, giving a sense of awe.

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