At Hojo Restaurant's kitchen.
"What are they like?"
"The young miss is too reckless; how can she just let people into the kitchen?"
"I heard these two told the young miss that our Hojo Restaurant's food was bad."
"The young miss didn't even beat them up."
The chefs of Hojo Restaurant were staring at Liu Ming and Tohru with hostile eyes. As chefs, they had their own dignity, and now that they had been publicly challenged, how could any of them feel good?
"Do any of you truly have the right to be hostile towards them? Come and look at the dishes you've made. Who made this Kung Pao Chicken? The chicken pieces have no luster at all. They're dry and shriveled, looking completely unappetizing.
And who made this Sweet and Sour Fish? You put in so much soy sauce that the flavor is completely masked. And where's the sugar? I can't smell any caramelized sugar at all."
"I won't go into detail about the others, but do you all think Hojo Restaurant isn't collapsing fast enough, and you're all helping to tear down the house, huh!" After Hojo Miyoko returned to the kitchen, she let out a loud roar, scolding the chefs until their faces turned red. The other chefs wanted to speak up but were glared back into silence by her.
Hojo Restaurant had plenty of ingredients, and Liu Ming quickly selected what he needed and went to an empty stove.
He planned to make four dishes, the same ones they had ordered earlier. It wasn't that he wanted to prove a point, but rather that he genuinely wanted to eat them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ordered those specific dishes in the first place.
Then, under everyone's shocked gaze, he began to prepare the ingredients.
A whole chicken was deboned by him in less than ten seconds.
And it was quite complete; only a soft, chicken-shaped form remained on the counter.
He swung his cleaver a few times, creating several afterimages, and in a breath, the chicken form was diced. He then marinated it with the seasoning he had just prepared.
Then came the other dishes. Hojo Miyoko no longer knew what to say; the man's knife skills were simply too incredible.
Whether he was preparing meat or vegetables, it was all done with such ease and artistry.
The other person was clearly not much older than her, yet his knife skills already far surpassed her own.
This made her even more curious about his cooking. With such knife skills, his culinary abilities probably wouldn't be bad either.
This was an opportunity to learn. Unconsciously, Hojo Miyoko had moved very close.
Liu Ming glanced at her, but he didn't say anything. After all, it was her kitchen; he couldn't very well kick her out.
Liu Ming wasn't worried about her secretly learning. A delicious dish couldn't be learned just by watching. Knife skills, heat control, techniques, pairings, and other conditions were all indispensable.
Otherwise, what was made would only be a semblance of the real thing.
When Liu Ming officially started cooking, everyone in the kitchen couldn't help but stop what they were doing.
At this moment, Liu Ming's presence was too strong; the aura of a master chef was clearly displayed, as if telling everyone that this was his territory.
And then there was the aroma that emanated from time to time—it was too fragrant, too overpowering. It hadn't even reached its finished state, yet it already had such a scent.
Once it was done, what would it be like?
Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but swallow their saliva.
Because many people had stopped working, several stoves became available, and Liu Ming didn't want to waste time, so he worked on two stoves simultaneously.
In just thirty minutes, he had prepared four dishes.
On the counter were four sparkling, aromatic dishes, just looking at them made one's mouth water.
Unfortunately, though the dishes were good, they weren't for them. Liu Ming told Tohru that she could start eating.
"I'll dig in," Tohru took the chopsticks Liu Ming handed her and immediately began to eat.
With each bite, a blush appeared on her cheeks.
It was simply too delicious.
Just by looking at her expression, one could tell that the dishes were truly excellent.
"May I also have a taste?" Hojo Miyoko asked with an expectant expression. At this moment, her earlier angry attitude was completely gone.
"Just you; others cannot. I didn't make much," Liu Ming thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed.
"Okay, thank you," Hojo Miyoko happily responded.
Then she turned around, her expression immediately changing, and she shouted loudly at the people still standing there, "What are you looking at? Are you all done working? How much longer do you want to make the customers wait?"
Everyone couldn't help but roll their eyes; they wanted to eat too.
But Miyoko wouldn't care about them. If she said two more words, she might not even be allowed to eat, so what then?
It was now or never; she didn't want to waste this opportunity.
As the heir to Hojo Restaurant, her passion for Chinese Cuisine was beyond doubt.
Now, four perfect Chinese Cuisine dishes appeared before her. This was her opportunity; perhaps she could use this chance to break through her own limitations.
"I'll dig in," Miyoko solemnly picked up a piece of chicken.
First came the spiciness, instantly assaulting her taste buds, followed by sweetness, warming her tongue, and finally saltiness, bursting on her tongue. This was then followed by a rush of rich, numbing, and hot flavors, all arriving in quick succession.
It was simply too delicious.
What she had made before was simply incomparable, even calling it garbage wouldn't be an exaggeration.
And what was before her now was true Chinese Cuisine, a cuisine that could elevate one's body and mind and evoke emotion; it was her lifelong pursuit.
"I want to learn Chinese Cuisine from him." This was what she was thinking at the moment.
Just as she was about to speak, she realized that the two people were no longer in sight. She anxiously stood up, looking around, but found nothing.
"Where are they?" she called out repeatedly.
"They left a long time ago."
"They left 30 minutes ago."
"What?" Miyoko immediately looked up at the clock nearby and realized that a lot of time had indeed passed.
She had been completely engrossed in the illusion of delicious food, and for so long. Just what level had the dishes made by the other party reached?.