In a Japanese-style courtyard in Los Angeles, USA......

"Team leader, can you really do it this time?" asked a man in a checkered shirt and a black suit. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

"I don't know, I think it can, but now this person I have been looking for for a long time, he runs a Chinese restaurant in Dongying, and he has been awarded one star by Michelin!"

The man who replied had a thick beard on his chin, and the tattoos on his body could be faintly seen at the open neckline, so he knew at a glance that he was not a good person.

"Yaga! not at all! not at all!" Suddenly, with the sound of smashing dishes, a man in the room shouted angrily.

The tattooed man, who was half-kneeling outside, heard the voice, quickly stood up, opened the closed wooden door and rushed inside.

"Don't, Lord!" In the wide room, a man in a chef's uniform was running away in panic, while a bald old man with a grim face and an old man with a long clock in his face, holding a snowy Dongying Taidao in his hand, limped behind and waved it.

"Father!" the tattooed man hurriedly rushed forward and hugged the old man.

"Liar, liar, this is not what I want!" the old man's chest rose and fell violently, and he coughed loudly.

"Father, please calm your anger! I'll go find someone right away!" the tattooed man helped the old man to lie down on the bed.

"Bastard, can't I eat a bowl of wontons until I die?" the old man was still angry, and pointed to the cook who was cowering in the corner, "Don't let me go yet!"

"Father, I really tried my best, the person just now is a famous chef, and his Chinese cuisine is well known in Dongying, so I specially invited him to the United States. ”

"Hey, Xiuzhong! I don't blame you! How can God let me, a great villain, die without regret?" the old man sighed faintly, closed his eyes decadently, and said no more.

"Please give me another chance, Father, and this time I will fulfill your wish. The tattooed man gently covered the quilt, then bowed and withdrew.

"Team leader, is the elder still not satisfied?" asked the man guarding outside, cautiously.

"Hey, I can't do it, it's been closed for more than 30 years, how can it be possible to make the same food?"

"There's really no way, we have to go to China, which is the birthplace of wontons, and we will definitely find the familiar taste of my father there!" said the tattooed man after thinking for a while.

"Team leader, we don't actually need to go to China at all, a food delegation from China came to Los Angeles yesterday!"

"Really? How do you know?"

"Uh...... They wanted to rent a vacant lot on the block, and it happened to be in our sphere of influence, so my men went to talk to them. You know, according to the rules, outsiders have to pay us a certain security fee when they enter here!"

"Then what are you waiting for, we'll go see them right away!"

……

"Master Liu Mang, I'm very sorry, I didn't think about this matter. Zhou Xiaolong said with guilt on his face.

"Xiaolong, it's none of your business, accidents happen all the time. Liu Mang patted him on the shoulder: "Besides, this is the United States, people are under the roof, and they have to bow their heads." ”

"Brother Liu, what should we do then?, can we find a new venue?" Lin Xiao asked.

"What did the Yamaguchi-gumi say?"

"I asked, and if we want to hold a food festival in a rented venue, we need to pay them a million dollars in security fees!"

"Isn't this a lion's big mouth, can't we think of other ways, such as calling the police?" asked Kong Ruixiang.

"It's better not to mess with these underworlds, if we don't want to pay this money, we'd rather find another place. Zhou Xiaolong shook his head: "Of course, the American police can protect our safety, but as long as people find a few gangsters with tattoos to go to that station, those diners will not dare to come." We can't fight these landlords by playing tricks!"

"Is there anything else?" asked Liu Mang again.

"Yes, yes, but it's not ideal. Zhou Xiaolong shook his head: "It's either that the place is too small, or it's too far away from the city, and it can't be compared with the vacant land we are optimistic about now." ”

"That's ......," Liu Mang pondered.

"Master Liu Mang. At this time, a Chinese volunteer who had followed them from New York hurriedly walked in.

"What's the matter?"

"Yamaguchi-gumi...... The people of the Yamaguchi-gumi came looking for someone. ”

"Found the door?" Liu Mang frowned: "It's okay, then meet and see what they say." ”

"Excuse me, I'm Yanagihamaru, and this is Your Excellency our team leader. The man in the suit standing at the door of the old man just now bowed and introduced.

"Hello Mr. Chef from China! My name is Hidenaka Sato, and I'm the leader of the Yamaguchi-gumi team in Los Angeles. "Hidechu Sato is also a big bow, and his attitude is very respectful.

"Mr. Sato Hidenaka, are you here for the so-called security fee?" Liu Mang was a little strange, why are these Dongying people so polite in collecting protection money?

"I'm sorry, but my men didn't know about the situation and bothered you. Sato Shuzhong bowed again: "Actually, this time, I asked you to help me do something." ”

"Haha, Mr. Sato Shuzhong, we are just chefs, how can we help you? Do you want to help you cut people?" Lin Xiao made no secret of his contempt for Sato Shuzhong.

"Of course not, although our Yamaguchi-gumi do some gray business and are not good people, we are still moral. I know that you are from China and that you are all famous Chinese chefs, so I would like to ask you to help me find a taste in my memory. ”

"I don't understand what you mean. Liu Mang said in surprise.

"Who are you?"

"Oh, my name is Liu Mang, and I am the person in charge of this delegation. Liu Mang replied.

"Liu Mang?" Sato Shuzhong muttered again: "You...... Are you the Chinese culinary god who challenges our entire culinary world and is a friend of Master Huaishu?"

"It's despicable. Liu Mang smiled slightly.

"That's great!" Sato Shuzhong exclaimed in surprise: "Your Excellency Liu Mang, only you can help with this favor." ”

"What the hell is going on, what is the smell of memory?"

"Oh yes. Hidenaka Sato straightened up: "My adoptive father is the president of the Yamaguchi-gumi in the United States, and he is over eighty years old this year. Recently, after a doctor's examination, he has suffered from severe lung cancer, and it is estimated that he only has two months to live. Ever since he was lying in the hospital bed, his appetite has lost so much that he can't eat anything, and he keeps muttering about wanting to eat a bowl of Chinese wontons. ”

"Chinese wontons?" Liu Mang was even more strange: "This is not a particularly rare dish, there are many Chinatowns in Los Angeles, and it is not difficult to find someone to make a bowl, right?"

"Looking for it!" Sato shook his head helplessly: "But my father wants to eat the wontons made by the Chinese restaurant he often went to when he first came to the United States." But the owner of that restaurant has long since passed away. I looked for a lot of people, but they didn't taste like that, which made my father very angry. ”

"I ask, how long has it been since the owner of that wonton shop died?"

"Well, after all, it should be thirty years. ”

"Thirty years, this is very difficult!" Liu Mang was embarrassed.

After waiting for a while, Liu Mang's voice was still missing, and Sato Shuzhong was a little anxious: "Liu Mangjun, please rest assured, as long as you help, our Yamaguchi Group will definitely not embarrass you, but will help maintain the security of the place, prevent other gangs from making trouble, and let you run the food festival safely." ”

"It's not that I don't help, it's just that Chinese cooking is not as good as other cuisines, there are no strict restrictions on ingredients and seasonings, and every chef has his own ideas and ways to make dishes, even if it's a small bowl of wontons. Even my team and I have a hard time replicating a dish that only exists in my memory. I hope Mr. Hidenaka Sato can understand. ”

"I know, but if even the Chinese Chef God can't do it, it can be providential. Speaking of this, Sato Shuzhong knelt on his knees and pressed his head deeply on the floor: "For the sake of a dying old man's last wish, please Your Excellency Liu Mang must help me with this!"

"Actually, it's easy to do, there are so many of us now, we just can't try it slowly, one person makes one, and you will always make a dish that will satisfy your president. Lin Xiao said.

"It can't be like this! My father was very short-tempered and couldn't listen to anyone's advice, so you only have one chance. Sato thought about it and shook his head.

"A success? How is this possible? We don't even know what the filling of the bread in the wontons is, so what a fart!" Lin Xiao scoffed.

"Mr. Sato, can your father still speak?" asked Liu Mang.

"That's fine. Sato nodded.

"So can he recall the appearance of the wontons back then, and the general taste?"

"My father mentioned this to me, he said that the wonton is ordinary pork filling, the soup base is very simple, is soy sauce and bone broth, and then sprinkled with a few green onions, as for the taste...... Sato Shuzhong carefully recalled: "He said that the biggest difference between that kind of wonton and other people's wontons is that there is a slight spicy feeling in the mouth, and there is a cool feeling after the aftertaste." ”

"Slightly spicy, and after the aftertaste, there is a cool feeling?" Lin Xiao was stunned: "Could it be that pepper and mint leaves are added?"

"No! absolutely not!" Sato shook his head affirmatively: "I once invited a chef from China, and he also added these two condiments, but my father angrily reprimanded him, saying that it was not the taste in his memory at all." ”

"Liu Mang, do you know which kinds of Chinese condiments are slightly spicy in the mouth and have a cool aftertaste?"

"There are so many that I can't be sure which one it is. ”

"I think so, you make a bowl of wontons with your own hands. I don't believe that with your craftsmanship, you can't impress the taste buds of that president!" Lin Xiao suggested.

"That's not going to work!" Liu Mang sighed: "People's memories are connected to the five senses. Familiar flavors recall fragments that are hidden deep in the mind. So he doesn't really care if the wontons are good or not, but just wants to find the time he has passed. ”

"Then we can't do it at all! There is still some chance for us to try slowly, and we have to succeed once, and we don't know anything, unless the boss jumped out of the coffin!"

If I find the person who made the wontons with him and ask what condiments were added to them, then I am 90% sure that I will copy them. ”

Liu Mang now knows very well that the reason why the bowl of wontons has been remembered by the chairman of the Yamaguchi-gumi, but he has not found a similar taste for many years, must be because of the special condiments added to it. As long as you find this condiment, then you have already succeeded for the most part.

"I've looked for it a long time ago, but the owner's shop was just a small stall, and he was usually busy alone, and he didn't have any heirs, let alone helpers. Even the death at home took a long time before it was discovered. ”

"If you don't have any clues, then it's really hard to do!" Hearing Sato Shuzhong say this, Liu Mang had a headache even more.

"Please try your best, Mr. Chef, and even if it doesn't work, I won't blame you!" said Sato Shunaka knelt down again and pleaded.

"By the way, is that boss still in his shop?" Liu Mang suddenly remembered something and asked.

"The shop has long been demolished, and now it is a commercial building. Hidenaka Sato replied.

"Oh!" Liu Mang became more and more disappointed.

However, the house where the owner used to live is still there, in the suburbs not far from Los Angeles. ”

"Really?" Liu Mang was overjoyed: "Your Excellency Hidechu Sato, I can't guarantee that I will be able to fulfill your father's wish, but I will try my best." But before cooking, I wanted to go to the place where the boss lived and see if I could find any clues. ”

"No problem! No problem! I'll take you there!" said Hidenaka Sato, overjoyed.

"Liu Mang, are you really sure?" At this time, Li Ruonan came over and pulled Liu Mang's sleeve and leaned into his ear: "Although this Dongying person said that he would not pursue it on the surface, once he fails, he will definitely be very disappointed and angry in his heart, and I am afraid that I will be angry with you when the time comes." ”

"It is in heaven to make things happen, and it is up to people to make things happen. I'll go there first, and if I'm not sure, I'll find an excuse to refuse. It's a big deal that we can move the venue away from the Yamaguchi-gumi's sphere of influence and find a new place?"

"That's all there is to it. ”

In fact, when he heard that the place where the wonton stall owner lived back then was still there, Liu Mang had some thoughts in his heart.

This is because some time ago, before the Chef God Contest began, in order to complete the task promulgated by the Chef God Space, he went to Yuchifeng to find a paper-making craftsman to make a spring bamboo shoot paper used in 'paper-wrapped fried chicken'.

The father of the craftsman at that time, Lu Yitian, was in a similar situation to the current chairman of the Yamaguchi-gumi. Because he missed his deceased wife, he suffered from anorexia and was bedridden all day long.

In the end, Liu Mang and Wuyan used the bee chrysalis they picked up, and then added them to search carefully, and the wild hawthorn and thyme that they judged made a 'fried bee chrysalis', which helped Lu Yitian's father find the taste in his memory and cure anorexia.

Now that the owner's residence is still there, is the special seasoning in the wontons also hidden around the residence like last time?