Chapter 18 – Who Told You That I’m Looking for a Job Here?
Translated by Prosperousfood.com
Rehosted by Gumihou at kitchennovel.com
“La Zi Ji (Spicy Chicken)?”
When he heard the name, Tian Xiaoduo nodded forcefully. “This is a good name! The name is appropriate. This dish mixes the taste of chilli and fried chicken. The procedure is simple but the taste is outstanding. It is definitely a recipe that has been developed and refined over several years! This is an old recipe that has been lost. It really deserves its name.”
Ye Chui nodded his head, “That’s right.”
Yang Yong, the restaurant manager, followed Tang Xiaoduo and picked up a pair of chopsticks. He sandwiched a piece of chicken and put it in his mouth. His initial hesitant look became a look of surprise. He is not a chef, and his taste buds are not as sensitive as Tian Xiaoduo’s. Therefore he could not feel the complex flavours of this dish. This is the first time that had tasted a dish as amazing in flavour as this dish.
For spicy food lovers, the sight of spicy food will immediately whet one’s appetite. This spicy chicken could be the ultimate spiciness – it delivers a superb knockout punch with each bite. Therefore, a single taste of this delicious dish is definitely insufficient.
Yang Yong immediately displayed a gluttonous look, and his chopsticks kept grabbing the chicken on the plate. He couldn’t eat enough of this chicken.
And the third person to pick up the chopsticks was Fang Tao. Fang Tao was a bit surprised at the dish of spicy chicken, but he still did not care much about it in his heart.
He felt that Tian Xiaoduo crying after eating the chicken is highly exaggerated. Before he placed a piece of chicken into his mouth, he thought, “What’s the big deal about it. It is just an ordinary dish of fried chicken?”.
However, after the first bite, the spicy taste spreads over the taste buds. Fang Tao’s eyes suddenly froze. An idea that emerged in his mind when he first tasted this dish was: “How can chicken be made to become so tasty!”
No wonder Tian Xiaoduo cried after tasting it.
Ye Chui looked indifferent and full of self-confidence. It seemed as if he had no doubt that the food he made will cause such a sensation.
Seeing this, Fang Tao suddenly felt frustrated.
Ye Chui is only 17 or 18 years old! How could a teenager like him possess such formidable cooking skills?
Several other chefs were attracted by the smell of this dish. After seeing the reactions of Tian Xiaoduo, Fang Tao and Yang Yong, they were eager to try it.
They made a mad rush to grab a piece of the chicken with their chopsticks. Some of the chefs even almost fought over who will get to eat it. There are no more traces of their despite for Ye Chui’s arrogance.
The plate of La Zi Ji was quickly shared and finished by the group of chefs. For those who did not have a chance to try this dish, they were looking at Ye Chui with puppy eyes.
At this time, Ye Chui knew that he had achieved his objective. He smiled at Yang Yong and asked, “Manager Yang, what did you think about the dish I have cooked?”
“Delicious! It is very tasty!”
Yang Yong is the one who ate the most. His mouth full of oil, and he is perspiring heavily. This dish is really spicy. He wipes his head with a handkerchief and smiles with Ye Chui. “In a few days, if Elder Han tastes this dish, he will surely be satisfied. Haha, that’s right! If Wan Lai Fu offers this dish in our restaurant, we will surely attract more customers!”
When he heard Yang Yong say this, Ye Chui could not help but frown. He felt that Manager Yang had misunderstood something. Based on what he heard, it seemed that Manager Yang had claimed that this recipe already belongs to Wan Lai Fu restaurant?
Therefore Ye Chui quickly stepped in to correct any misconception, “Please wait a moment, Manager Yang. Did I said that I will be giving this recipe to Wan Lai Fu restaurant?”
“After you started work at our Wan Lai Fu Restaurant, this dish will be the signature dish of our Wan Lai Fu Restaurant. Relax, I will give you all the remuneration and benefits of a great chef.” Yang Yong replied.
Ye Chui was stunned and turned to look at Tian Xiaoduo. When did he say he wanted to work at Wan Lai Fu Restaurant?
When Tian Xiaoduo contacted Yang Yong this morning, he just said that Yang Yong had to come to demonstrate his skills in cooking chicken. However, he did not say what the purpose of this visit. This led to Yang Yong’s misunderstanding, that Tian Xiaoduo wanted this young man to work in Wan Lai Fu Restaurant, and is pulling string to open a back door for himself.
Tian Xiaoduo quick took Yang Yong aside and explained to Yang Yong in private.
Yang Yong was surprised when he heard this: “Oh, so it is like this?”
But he quickly made a decision and turned face to Ye Chui. “Ye Chui, although you are not a qualified chef and by right, should not be working in our Wan Lai Fu Restaurant, based on the dish that you have just cook, I will hire you to work here. Of course, you have to start from as a normal chef.”
“……”
Ye Chui couldn’t help but rolled his eyes. Was the opportunity to work in the kitchen at Wan Lai Fu Restaurant so precious? The salary of a chef here is much lower than what he could make by selling mutton in the night market.
This Yang Yong thought that once he offered his generous package for Ye Chui, Ye Chui would cry and beg to work here.
Ye Chui said: “Manager Yang, I’m afraid you misunderstood. I do not have any interest in working in Wan Lai Fu Restaurant. Just as Xiaoduo had said, I just wanted to show my abilities, and see if your restaurant is willing to engage my services to entertain Elder Han. Of course, there is a fee for my services.”
“Also, if your restaurant is interested in this dish, I don’t mind selling the recipe to you.”
When Ye Chui said this, the whole kitchen became quiet, because his words were so shocking. Not to mention that Ye Chui actually called Tian Xiaoduo’s by his first name.
The most important thing was that he actually planned to personally entertain Elder Han? This spicy chicken is indeed superb, but even so, they still feel Ye Chui’s proposal is too arrogant.
At this time, Tian Xiaoduo spoke out: “Manager Yang, I think the Ye Chui is fully qualified to entertain Elder Han. This spicy chicken is proof that his cooking skills are extraordinary.”
Yang Yong knew that Tian Xiaoduo was also an extremely proud chef. At this time, he spoke up for Ye Chui means that Ye Chui really has some skills.
The most important thing is that spicy chicken is absolutely delicious. Yang Yong had hope that once Ye Chui works here, the spicy chicken recipe would belong to Wan Lai Fu Restaurant?
But now Ye Chui had no interest in working here, and this put a damper on his plans. Yang Yong tries to ask Ye Chui, “Then… How much do you plan to sell this spicy chicken recipe?”
Ye Chui smiled, he comes up with a figure in his head, “100 thousand.”
“What?” Yang Yong was shocked by this massive figure. He felt that his heart almost lept out of his body.
Ye Chui continued, “As the banquet to entertain Elder Han, I can cook a large chicken feast for Elder Han. I guarantee that I will be able to make Elder Han satisfied. But my fee for this service is also $100,000.”
“Another 100 thousand?” Yang Yong face turned red with a mixture of shock and anger. The recipe and the feast for Elder Han are $200,000! Whether this recipe is worth this sum of money is a huge question mark. But he dared to ask for $100,000 just to cook a table of dish for Elder Han.
Even a 5-star chef like Tian Xiaoduo was not paid this well!
Whatever goodwill the other chefs had for Ye Chui was gone. They felt that Ye Chui was asking for too much money, and did not know his limits.
Tian Xiaoduo’s reaction to Ye Chui’s price was not as negative as other chefs. He felt that Ye Chui was really worth the price—if Ye Chui had told him the price last night, he might not be happy about it. But after he had just eaten Ye Chui’s spicy chicken, he thinks this price is not expensive at all.
“Your price is too expensive. You are also not famous and is not even a one-star chef. You wanted to charge us $100,000 for cooking one meal? Are you joking? There is no such thing!” Yang Yong sneered.
“Let me ask you this, regarding the Elder Han that you are about to entertain, does he cares about the chef’s ranking or fame?” Ye Chui sneered back.
Yang Yong was stunned and left speechless. Ye Chui was right, Elder Han did not really care about the fame of the chef. Even if the world’s most famous chefs did not manage to make a dish that suits his tastes, he will immediately point at the chef and scold the chef. This is a well-known fact.
“Look, I will make a compromise. Regarding the feast for Elder Han, I can collect the money later. If he was not happy with the food I created for him, I will not charge a single cent. What do you think about this?”
“What you said is very tempting. But if Elder Han is not satisfied, it is our Wan Lai Fu Restaurant’s reputation on the line. Who is to be blamed for this?” Yang Yong countered.
“I can vouch for the Ye Chui!” Tian Xiaoduo said suddenly, he patted his chest. “If Ye Chui could not make Elder Han happy, Manager Yang can push all the responsibility to me. If worst comes to the worst, I will resign from my position as a five-star chef!”
“Shifu, you…..” Fang Tao did not expect that his Shifu was rash. He wanted to stop him.
“I had already made up my mind,” Tian Xiaoduo coldly cut off Fang Tao’s words.
Tian Xiaoduo is a five-star chef, and he is also well-known throughout the country.
Yang Yong did not expect Tian Xiaoduo to vouch for Ye Chui or to make this guarantee. He thought about it. This plan could work.
If Ye Chui screwed up, Tian Xiaoduo could indeed take the responsibility and resign. This would preserve the name of Wan Lai Fu Restaurant.
If Ye Chui did well, Wan Lai Fu Restaurant will gain fame and business will improve.
There is nothing to lose, so he nodded his head. : “Well, that’s all right. As for the spicy chicken recipe…”
“$100,000. If you want to purchase this, I will give you the recipe immediately. Otherwise, there is no deal. This is not negotiable.
Ye Chui smiled. If he could sell this recipe, he would welcome the extra monies. If they are unwilling to buy, he would not force them.
But if he were to sell this recipe, he will insist on the price of $100,000.
Yang Yong’s face twitched again. Buying a recipe for $100,000 pieces is actually not uncommon in this era. After all, in the current situation, recipes, especially the ancient recipes for cooking meat dishes, are very valuable.
But spending one hundred thousand for a single recipe made Yang Yong felt pain in his heart. Especially when the recipe comes from an obscure person such as Ye Chui
Just when Yang Yong could not make up his mind, a crystal clear voice rang out from the door to the kitchen. “What dish is this? It is smell so good!”
Hearing this voice, Ye Chui could not help getting excited.
Isn’t this the voice of Lin Wei?
^_^
Translated by Prosperous Food dot Com
Rehosted by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
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