"What's going on?" a few of Master Zhu's apprentices whispered, sidling up to the young waiter who had followed Su Yuhan and her companion in to see what the commotion was about.
Seeing that the owner's attention was focused on Su Yuhan, the young waiter lowered his voice and quickly explained the whole situation.
The apprentices' expressions soured after hearing the story. "This is ridiculous!"
'Tell me about it,' the young waiter thought. 'But unfortunately, our opinion doesn't matter. Only the owner's does.'
As expected of a large, proper restaurant, the kitchen was not only spotless, but also fully stocked with ingredients.
Su Yuhan picked up the order ticket on top of the pile and glanced at it. She saw that the ingredients for the dishes had already been prepped and chopped, needing only to be thrown in the wok. This saved her a fair bit of work.
The Sichuan culinary style emphasizes a flavor profile of numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant. The dishes are rich and oily, with bold flavors. The moment the ingredients hit the wok, an assertive, unapologetic aroma filled the air, so fragrant you could smell it for miles.
Her order was for Mapo Tofu, Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce, and Kung Pao Chicken—all well-known, classic dishes.
They sounded simple, like something you could make at home. But making them authentically delicious and earning widespread acclaim was another matter entirely. If it were that easy, the owner wouldn't have been so worried moments ago.
Su Yuhan hadn't eaten her fill earlier, and now, as the fragrance of aromatics sizzling in hot oil wafted out, her composure began to waver.
Fortunately, everyone else was having a similar reaction.
"I have to admit, that smells amazing. It's got a hint of Master Zhu's usual cooking in there."
"Smelling good is one thing, but it has to taste good, too. For all we know, it's all for show."
"Say what you will, but her wok-tossing technique is seriously impressive. You can't get that good without years of practice..."
"..."
Su Yuhan had made these dishes countless times during her restaurant jobs years ago. The motions were pure muscle memory by now.
When to add the ingredients, how much seasoning to use, what level of heat was needed—she barely had to think. The actions flowed naturally. It didn't take long at all, though the final step of reducing and thickening the sauce to lock in the flavor required a bit more finesse.
About ten minutes later, three steaming hot dishes were placed before the owner and the kitchen staff. The fragrant steam billowed up, relentlessly tempting everyone to step forward and taste them.
The owner, already intensely curious about the flavor, didn't even wait for Su Yuhan's invitation. He stepped forward, grabbed a nearby pair of chopsticks, and tasted the food himself.
After one bite, his eyes lit up. "Good," he said, several times over. "Good."
Seeing this, Master Zhu's senior apprentices exchanged a glance. Throwing etiquette to the wind, they all crowded around to see for themselves.
The first one to try a spoonful of the Mapo Tofu froze on the spot. "This dish..."
"What's wrong? Does it taste awful?"
"No... the flavor is... actually a little better than Master's."
"How is that possible? Our master is..."
"..."
For a moment, the kitchen was abuzz with lively discussion about the dishes. The commotion continued until a server, responsible for running food, rushed in and stopped short at the sight.
"What's all the commotion? Oh, Boss, you're here too? The customers out front are asking for their food. Are the dishes ready?"
The moment he spoke, the kitchen fell silent. Then, everyone's head instinctively turned to the three dishes on the table, which had already been picked clean and were now just cold leftovers.
Everyone: "..."
"Ahem. Go tell them to wait just a little longer. The food will be right out." After the server left, the owner immediately turned to Su Yuhan, his face plastered with the most sincere smile imaginable.
"Young lady, you..."
"My surname is Su. You can call me Little Su, if you'd like."
"Excellent, excellent. Little Su, your skill is certainly the real deal. But my restaurant has a very extensive menu..."
"Don't you worry. Since I volunteered for this job, I won't let you lose face. I looked over your menu out front earlier. I can guarantee that I can make every dish on it, and that they'll taste just as good as these."
The owner was overjoyed. "That's fantastic! Today is an emergency, and if you can really hold down the fort, I'll make it worth your while. Master Zhu's salary is 100,000 a month, which breaks down to about 3,500 a day. We're open until ten-thirty tonight, and it's seven-thirty now, so that's three hours."
The owner thought for a moment before offering a fair price. "How about this: I'll pay you for half a day's work. Two thousand. What do you think?"
"I have no objection."
The reason Master Zhu commanded such a high salary was not just his family's secret techniques, but also his personal fame.
For the owner to calculate her pay based on Master Zhu's salary, even if it was just because he was in a bind, was extremely generous.
"Then it's settled," the owner said. But then, as if remembering something, his expression clouded over with worry. "Little Su, since you've taken on this responsibility, I won't hide this from you. We have a very important person coming for dinner tonight who pre-ordered their menu well in advance. The other dishes are manageable, but there's one... Cabbage in Supreme Broth..."
Su Yuhan was a bit surprised. "I know how to make that, but the supreme broth it requires has to be prepared well in advance. It's too late to start it now."
"I know. Master Zhu started preparing for this dish two days ago. But with this sudden emergency, the final steps..."
Hearing this, Su Yuhan breathed a sigh of relief as well. "Oh, that's no problem then. I can handle the finishing touches. I guarantee you won't lose face in front of your VIP guest."
"That's wonderful! If you can satisfy those important people, I'll personally give you an extra thousand as a bonus."
Su Yuhan's eyes lit up. The boss was willing to spend big, and as the worker, she couldn't let all that cash go to waste.
For the rest of the evening, Su Yuhan worked at full throttle, tossing the woks so fast it looked like sparks were about to fly.
The VIPs the owner had been nervously awaiting didn't arrive until after eight o'clock. By the time most of their dishes had been served, it was nearly nine.
At this point, the flow of new customers had tapered off, allowing the kitchen staff to finally catch their breath.
A few orders still trickled in, but at least they were no longer so busy they were running off their feet.
That's when the owner came back into the kitchen, his brow deeply furrowed and a worried look on his face.
Su Yuhan's heart skipped a beat. "Boss, why are you back here? Did the guests not like the food?"
"No, they loved the food you made. But there's an elderly person in their party who can't handle spicy food. So the host, Mr. Duan, just added a few more dishes to the order."
"What did he add?"
"Squirrel-shaped Mandarin Fish, Wensi Tofu, and Pagoda Pork..."
Su Yuhan and the kitchen helpers were completely baffled when they heard the names. One of the more hot-tempered cooks was already losing it. "None of those are on our menu!"
Su Yuhan winced. 'These are all Jiangsu dishes,' she thought. 'It would be a miracle if a Sichuan restaurant had them on the menu!'
'And what kind of bizarre customer comes to a Sichuan restaurant to order Jiangsu cuisine? Are they trying to start something?'