"Zuo Zongtang doesn't have any chicken, and it deserves to be called a Chinese restaurant?"

"I swear I'll never go into this shop again, the taste is so light that I don't even add tomato sauce!"

"I told you a long time ago not to come to Chinatown to eat any Chinese food, it's all for poor ghosts! A super popular Walton burger has opened in a nearby mall, and I'll take you to try the real food! ”

In front of a restaurant in the branch alley of Chinatown in Zhixue City, several strong white men with tattoos on their arms walked out swearing, and one of them did not forget to turn back to the sign and make a rude gesture.

The girl dressed as a waitress lowered her head and picked up most of the remaining plates of the meal, and suddenly, two hands with obvious burn scars appeared in front of her, quickly put away the dishes for her, and turned around to send them back to the kitchen.

"Brother......" the girl said with some hesitation, "Can't you really be Zuo Zongtang chicken?" Both white and black people love to eat, and if you are willing to do it, business will definitely be good! ”

"Dad said, that's not authentic Chinese food, and the signboard of our hometown can't be broken."

Hao Xian put down the cutlery at the recycling window, looked back at his sister seriously, and said.

"Yo, you're quite ambitious, huh?"

A hoarse and magnetic female voice came from the door of the store, and the two turned their heads to look, only to see a woman in a cheongsam with slender legs leaning against the door frame, holding a women's cigarette between her fingers, and spitting out a smoke ring with contempt.

"Sister Sisi, I've paid this month's rent." Hao Xian sighed a little helplessly.

The person who came was the landlord of this shop and the charter wife of several shops in Chinatown, Huang Sisi.

Huang Sisi ignored Hao Xian and continued to his own heart:

Uncle Hao can say such willful words because he is a superb cook, and the roast goose he makes is also eager for Chinese people in other states, and he is willing to drive thousands of miles to taste it. So he can cook whatever he wants. You didn't inherit his craftsmanship at all, why are you willful? ”

Hao Xian's face became a little ugly, and his sister Hao Xin hurriedly persuaded:

"Sister Sisi ......"

Hao Xian raised his hand to stop her from continuing:

"You still have classes in the afternoon, so let's go to the university quickly."

Hao Xin looked back and forth at Hao Xian and Huang Sisi with some hesitation, and finally took off his apron, stuffed it to Hao Xian, took out the schoolbag in the corner cabinet of the lobby, and pretended to be pitiful while walking out of the store:

"Don't quarrel, or I'm going to cry...... I cried so loudly! ”

"Don't worry, can my sister still harm your brother?" Huang Sisi took out his cigarette, walked into the lobby with mature and charming steps, pulled over a chair and sat down, cocked his slender left leg on the equally slender right leg, and leaned his fingers on the side face and said, "Xiaoxian, tell me, the deposit left by Uncle Hao is enough for this store to lose a few years?" ”

"Four or five years."

"What about Hao Xin's tuition and living expenses?"

"I've counted it all, as long as I save money on my own, there will be no problem in holding on for four years, and she will graduate by then."

"Do you really think you can make the same dish as Uncle Hao in four years?"

"It's impossible to really lose money for four years all the time, my cooking skills will always improve more and more, and business will get better." Hao Xian said with a stiff neck.

"Zuo Zongtang chicken, Li Hongzhang offal, Mongolian beef...... Obviously, as long as you are willing to do it, the business will not be too bad. Huang Sisi stood up and looked at Hao Xian's eyes with her height of one meter seven or eight, "Do you look down on these Westernized Chinese foods that have been improved to cater to the tastes of Westerners?" ”

"I didn't, I just wanted to cook my dad's food."

"Yes, you want to learn from your dad and cook the most authentic Chinese food...... But what qualifications do you have to cook authentic Chinese food! Behind the popularity of Chinese food in the world is the history of blood and tears of the Chinese people! When my ancestors first came to this land, they were the lowestly laborers, who were abducted and trafficked, and they couldn't even speak English, and they survived with two knives. A pair of scissors, a kitchen knife! Scissors cut hair, kitchen knives cook! If Chinese kitchen knives can feed their families by only making authentic Chinese food, why bother to improve them so that more locals will want to eat them? Do you think that the ancestors didn't want to cook authentic Chinese food? ”

"Sister Sisi, I really don't mean to look down on these dishes, I just want to spend more time studying my dad's recipes, and I don't want to waste energy making dishes that can't improve my cooking skills." Hao Xian explained in a sincere tone.

"You're looking down on it. Xiaoxian, sister gives you two choices today. Huang Sisi suddenly smiled, sat back down, leaned against the table and said jokingly, "One, put aside your arrogance and put Zuo Zongtang chicken and Li Hongzhang chops on the menu; Second, if you don't want to, just find another store, I won't rent this store! ”

"But the lease hasn't expired yet! Chinatown is so busy, where can I find other shops? Hao Xian said anxiously.

"It's not due, so I'll pay you liquidated damages, anyway, if you continue to be obsessed, you will only lose Uncle Hao's deposit, it's better to take the liquidated damages and go back to college! Sister is rich, don't be polite to sister! Huang Sisi said domineeringly.

"Sister Sisi, you ...... You are unreasonable! Hao Xian wrung his hands incoherently.

Huang Sisi just quietly glanced at the burned scar on his hand, did not speak, got up and was about to leave.

Hao Xian stretched out his hand, trying to continue to persuade her, but he couldn't find the right words, so he could only watch her walk out of the store.

"I'll come back at dinner time, and if you don't have any dishes on your menu that satisfy me, I'll take the store back tomorrow."

Huang Sisi left this sentence and disappeared into the bustling flow of people in Chinatown.

And the hometown pavilion is full of birds.

Hao Xian returned to the kitchen in a distraction and saw his father's love knife on the kitchen counter.

He raised the kitchen knife and stared at the reflection of the knife—a haggard and dejected face.

The celebrity chef who once made the Hometown Pavilion famous in the United States of America is gone, and now he is the only one who has become an unsuccessful son.

After that accident, Hao Xian found his father's diary when he was sorting through his belongings.

When he was a child, he always felt that learning to cook was too hard, his father was too strict, and even suspected that he was not biological, but after reading the diary, he realized that his father had made a detailed plan for his daily training, and wrote several large books densely, expecting him to learn it and become a master of the blue......

Unfortunately, Hao Xian knew all this too late.

After reading the diary, he regretted it very much, regretting why he couldn't insist more and why he refused to continue learning to cook.

He didn't want to regret it even more in the future, so he applied for a leave of absence from the university and came back to run the hometown museum left by his father, not wanting the store to become history.

When Huang Sisi left just now, he almost told this mental journey.

But he knows his sister's style of life, and if he really wants to say it, he may be ridiculed by the other party-

"It's touching, it's so touching, I can't help but applaud, if this is a reality show, I will definitely vote for you. It's a pity that the reality is not a show, don't the guests think you are not delicious, and you can still complain to them about the misery and win sympathy? ”

Well, Sister Sisi will definitely say this, she is so poisonous......

Hao Xian covered his forehead helplessly.

He knew that the other party was persecuting himself like this out of kindness, Zuo Zongtang's chicken was really a panacea dish in Miaoguo Chinese Restaurant, and he didn't need to bother to make it delicious at all, as long as he added sweet and sour sauce, the people of Miaoguo would be able to eat very well, and business would definitely pick up, at least it would not be a problem to feed his brothers and sisters.

But......

He had tasted how delicious Chinese food was that was truly delicious.

He had seen how guests would smile when they tasted his father's food.

He also knows what it was like for his father to sleep in the kitchen in order to make better dishes.

He had given it all up, and now he was eager to repeat it.

Although he has been abandoned for a few years and has not cooked, Zuo Zongtang chicken is still made by him, and he can do it well.

But he didn't dare to do it, he was afraid.

He was afraid that after he made Zuo Zongtang chicken, the store would really be full of English-speaking customers, and business would be booming, and customers would come like a cloud.

He was afraid that he would slack off at that time, and felt that even if he didn't cook authentic Chinese food, he would still be able to open the restaurant and open it better.

He no longer thinks about making Chinese food on the same level as his father.

He will give in to life.

In that case, he will never be able to eat his father's food again, and no one else will be able to eat it......

"Dad, Hao Xin and I miss you very much......"

Leaning over the cutting board used to cut the roast goose, Hao Xian buried his head, bean-sized tears across his cheeks......

Syllable!

Hao Xian slapped his hands on his face, rushed to the pool and began to wash his face vigorously, the sound of the water kept ringing, and he didn't raise his head until the clothes on his upper body were wet:

"It's dangerous, the tears are salty, and if you don't notice it on the chopping board, the chopping vegetables will smell good. Can't have too many mood swings in the kitchen in the future......"

His voice grew softer.

Maybe there's no more to it anymore.

Of course, Hao Xian will not complain about Huang Sisi for this. He understands that many times everyone is not a bad person, but there will still be difficulties that are difficult to overcome, because life is so helpless.

He dried his hands and pulled out a thick notebook from the cabinet above. The old Baba looked very ordinary, and when it was opened, it was filled with dense Chinese characters.

This is his father's food notebook, and every sentence in it is the result of years of culinary experience.

"Roast goose to choose fat goose, a little fat goose fat, charcoal fire can force out the oil and water on the goose belly, equivalent to frying the goose skin from the inside out, the skin will be crispy, the fatter the goose is more fragrant, the color is also more red and bright......

"Put eight kinds of spices in the marinade of the goose belly......"

Hao Xian slowly flipped through his notes, as if he saw his father shuttling in the kitchen, and the confusion in his eyes gradually dissipated.

"Sure enough, I still can't give up. Since I'm not qualified to cook whatever I want, I'm going to work hard to get a qualification.

"Sister Sisi is right, I can't squander my father's savings anymore, what if Hao Xin wants to study for a master's degree after finishing college? Shut down the shop, I went to a high-end Chinese restaurant to start from scratch as a chore, and learned cooking skills while making money.

"When Hao Xin can take care of himself after graduation, I will return to China! Go back and learn real Chinese food! When will I be able to make Dad's level of dishes, and when will I re-hang the brand of the hometown pavilion! ”

Hao Xian finally made up his mind not to break or stand, and his eyes burned with a firm will.

"It's going to close tomorrow, what should I do for Hao Xin and Sister Sisi in the evening? Sure enough, it's still roast goose, and after today, I can't use the underground cold storage of the hometown museum to dry the roast goose. ”

He finished with a sigh of relief, closed his note, and planned to pick a fat goose.

Suddenly, without warning, a golden glow shone between his hands, stabbing him from opening his eyes.

Hao Xian's heart was extremely frightened, and when he couldn't see anything, he could only clasp his fingers tightly and grasp his father's true biography.

The light dissipated, Hao Xian endured the pain, and struggled to open his eyes, but he suddenly found that the notes in his hand were missing, and they were replaced by an ancient and simple classic, with four vigorous characters on it-

"Peng Zu's Kitchen Sutra".

Peng Zu?

Peng Zu!

Hao Xian's eyes widened.

Isn't Peng Zu the legendary ancestor who presented the first dish of Chinese civilization to Yao, one of the five emperors, created the way of cooking, and was recognized as the ancestor by all chefs?

The Kitchen Sutra named after Peng Zu is a recipe or cooking experience written by Peng Zu?

But where did Dad's notes go?

With a stomach full of doubts, Hao Xian opened the book "Peng Zu's Kitchen Sutra" with bated breath.