Chapter 3

Indigo flames, with yellow sparks. The sound of the bellows accompanied the crackling of the flames!

"Damn..." Li Xin updated cursed under his breath, leaning back a bit, feeling dizzy as he looked at the flames in front of him.

Li Xin suddenly felt a bit regretful. He was not good at stir-frying and rarely touched a wok! Today, in a moment of impulse, he didn't know what came over him, and he ended up rushing to the wok.

Looking at the roaring flames, Li Xin felt a chill run down his spine.

Li Xin instinctively turned to look at Guo Kejun behind him, who was crossing his arms, seemingly waiting for a show. This forced him to grit his teeth and mutter to himself, "Damn it, I'll give it a shot!"

Li Xin picked up the white towel, grabbed the shiny black wok, and placed it over the towering orange flames. With his right hand, he quickly scooped seven or eight spoonfuls of water from the basin.

As the rapidly heated wok came into contact with the water, a sharp hissing sound was heard.

Stir-frying gai lan cannot be done by simply adding oil and stir-frying.

Although Li Xin had never stir-fried before, he had worked diligently in the kitchen for more than two years. Even if he hadn't eaten pork, he had seen plenty of pigs run! He knew the general method.

In the blink of an eye, the water in the wok started to bubble. Li Xin, with a determined look, lifted his hand and poured the gai lan into the wok.

At that moment, scenes of him stir-frying gai lan appeared in his mind. Li Xin was stunned; these scenes felt like his own personal experiences! His mind gradually became clear and empty.

Although Li Xin felt his body moving, it was more like he was watching a first-person documentary on a TV screen.

Li Xin was watching the first-person documentary, but whether it was Guo Kejun's lackeys or his old buddies, they were all watching his every move.

"Xin... Can you do it?"

"I've never seen him cook before. If it weren't for Old Guo, I would have gone to help him..."

"Hmph, I want to see what Li Xin can cook up!"

"Just him, it would be a miracle if he could eat it. He's just a vegetable cutter, what kind of delicacy can he make? If he can really make something, I'll cut off my head and serve it as pig's head meat... serve it as..."

The chefs gathered around, watching Li Xin, suddenly fell silent halfway through their murmurs.

They saw Li Xin skillfully drizzle some salad oil into the boiling water with a spoon. Then, most of them only saw a shimmering streak being thrown into the wok by Li Xin. Only a few chefs who were close to Li Xin, due to their proximity and angle, saw clearly that Li Xin had thrown some salt into the wok. His movements were so graceful, it was hard to believe he was a rookie who rarely touched a wok.

The boiling water, lightly covered with oil, was disrupted by the sudden addition of the gai lan.

The originally deep green gai lan quickly turned a bright emerald green in the boiling water, like high-quality Burmese jade with a good water head.

Li Xin lifted the wok, and the water and gai lan were poured into a strainer. The water drained away, leaving the gai lan with an emerald green glow in the strainer...

The wok was placed back on the fire, and the surface of the wok quickly dried under the high heat. A spoonful of salad oil was added, and the fire was turned down to the lowest setting. Finely chopped garlic was then added to the wok and quickly stir-fried, releasing a fragrant aroma.

Lifting his hand, Li Xin poured the bright green gai lan into the wok, and ginger flowers were added.

Li Xin nudged the stove valve with his knee, and the flames under the wok grew wildly.

The amount of salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG) added was very little. At this point, a few chefs who were waiting for Li Xin to fail started to laugh mockingly. One of them lowered his voice, as if afraid Li Xin would hear, and commented, "He's just a vegetable cutter, adding so little salt, how can the dish have any flavor? What's the point of such graceful movements?"

"Hehe, I thought my head would really be cut off and served as pig's head meat. Hahaha..." His voice was low, and his laughter was sinister.

Li Xin seemed oblivious to the whispers around him.

Garlic stir-fried gai lan is a common home-style dish in Cantonese cuisine. The key lies in controlling the heat and the flavor.

The flavor is mainly fresh and fragrant. Most restaurants and hotels serve this dish. It is simple to make, with a light garlic fragrance and a touch of variation on the fresh base. It is a common dish in coastal and Chaoshan regions.

At this moment, the dish, as performed by Li Xin, did not seem particularly outstanding on the surface.

Guo Kejun, standing to the side with his arms crossed, his face changed slightly, and he couldn't help but smile. After all, a chef who could become a head chef must have some real skills, beyond just management and scheming!

At this moment, Li Xin was quickly flipping the wok. The gai lan was spread out in the wok, each piece rolling and jumping. The few chefs who were watching for a show were momentarily stunned by Li Xin's skilled movements, even though they had doubts about the dish's flavor.

A thought suddenly filled their minds: This wasn't just flipping a wok; it was like he was moving the universe!

Li Xin flipped the wok a few times, then casually used the stir-fry spoon to scoop some cornstarch. With a pinch and a flick of his fingers, a small amount of cornstarch, like fresh milk, was drizzled into the wok, followed by a few drops of sesame oil.

The cornstarch reacted instantly to the heat, and the sauce clung to the bright green gai lan like a thin layer of crystal. It was so dreamlike that no one could bear to take a bite.

The surrounding chefs were naturally amazed.

Even Li Xin himself found everything before him strange.

His every move felt like it had been refined through countless repetitions, deeply ingrained in his bones.

He knew he had never done this before, but the unfamiliar Li Xin felt so unreal! He had never cooked this dish on a kitchen wok. Why was he so skilled?

At the same time, what made Li Xin feel even more unreal was that if he were really stir-frying gai lan, he would have chosen chicken essence instead of MSG for a more delicious flavor...

Li Xin heard an excited voice beside him, "Wow, no wonder you dared to come and cook, Brother Li! Your movements are so graceful! This is too much of a waste for someone who only cuts vegetables!"

This voice pulled Li Xin back to reality. He came to his senses and looked at the wok. The gai lan was already cooked.

The strange feelings almost made Li Xin sit down on the ground...

"This... this..." Li Xin stuttered, unable to find the right words.

"Chef Li, what's wrong? I'll plate it for you," a trainee helper behind him called out anxiously. Li Xin's performance had a huge impact on him. Without realizing it, he addressed Li Xin as "Chef."

The impact on Li Xin was even greater. He was still immersed in his inner world, only subconsciously nodding and using the stir-fry spoon to place the wok on the workbench.

The trainee helper quickly used chopsticks to pick out the gai lan one by one and arranged them on a blue-and-white porcelain plate in a fan shape.

Of course, the few ginger flowers that Li Xin had intricately carved were placed in the most prominent position, like the finishing touch.

Li Xin's hand trembled slightly as he drizzled the remaining sauce from the bottom of the wok over the gai lan. The emerald gai lan, like an open fan, looked like it was encased in amber and covered in crystal.

No one expected a dish to be cooked into a work of art by Li Xin.

"Wow, so bright green? Is it cooked?" A chef who was stir-frying vegetables beside Li Xin muttered, instinctively using chopsticks to pick up a piece of gai lan from the wok that hadn't been plated, and took a bite.

"Crunch..."

The chef's eyes widened instantly! After a two-second pause, he seemed to forget about the heat and slurped the entire piece of gai lan into his mouth, chewing it quickly. He didn't speak while chewing, just stared at Li Xin with a complex look in his eyes.

Then, the trainee helper, as if deliberately trying to provoke Guo Kejun, deliberately carried Li Xin's plate of emerald garlic stir-fried gai lan past Guo Kejun.

A faint steam rose, and the fresh fragrance of the gai lan spread like the scent of spring flowers...

A stir-fry chef standing beside the sink subconsciously used his chopsticks to dip into the sauce, raised his arm, and licked it.

"Whoa..."

The few chefs standing around looked at him in surprise and asked, "Is it good? What's the feeling? Don't give us that face like you've been slapped!"

Li Xin didn't pay attention to the strange expressions of the chefs around him and instinctively turned to look at Guo Kejun.

At this moment, Guo Kejun was silent, facing Li Xin, but his gaze was somewhat scattered, as if he had been stunned by Li Xin's skilled wok movements and the dish of garlic stir-fried gai lan.

The fish butcher standing by the sink still had a simple smile on his face, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Seeing Li Xin wipe his hands and slowly walk toward him, Guo Kejun instinctively took a half-step back and muttered, "What's so special about stir-frying gai lan..."

Li Xin's expression was also strange. When he reached Guo Kejun, he didn't say a word.

Li Xin had given Guo Kejun a hard slap with his actions, but his face showed no trace of satisfaction or pleasure.

The kitchen was eerily quiet, and everyone's eyes were on Li Xin and Guo Kejun.

The two stood there, no one speaking. The kitchen was so quiet it was almost scary.

Silence, long silence...

Bang! The door between the restaurant and the kitchen made a heavy thud.

A tall girl in a pink qipao rushed into the kitchen.

Her face was the popular "bun face" of the moment. Although her features were not delicate, they were well-proportioned, making her a second-glance beauty.

However, her thin lips and pointed mouth made her look somewhat unpleasant at first glance. Those who knew a bit about physiognomy would know that such women are often difficult to deal with, quick to argue, selfish, and less considerate in matters of the heart.

Of course, this is just what the physiognomy books from China's five-thousand-year civilization say. Whether it's accurate or not is a matter of personal opinion.

Seeing Guo Kejun, she was full of excitement but completely ignored Li Xin standing beside him.

"Husband, I knew my Fujitang Yue's man is the best in the world! I'm so proud of you!" Fujitang Yue hugged Guo Kejun's belly, her face beaming with excitement.