Chapter 2 It's Not Me
The kitchen of the Black Tiger Hall has more than 20 rooms, including a soup room, a pastry room, a cold dish room, a meat dish room, and a raw material room. There are a total of 17 chefs, plus various servants, and more than 100 people working here to prepare meals for the 2,000 disciples of the Black Tiger Hall.
Yu Zecheng is one of the chefs. He has his own special kitchen soup room. Back in his soup room, Yu Zecheng waited silently. Seeing him come back, many chefs and servants nodded to him, but no one dared to talk to him.
Yu Zecheng originally came here to work as a handyman. On the one hand, he knew that his mother needed to nourish her body, but his family was poor and had no money to buy supplements. On the other hand, he didn't want to be a handyman for his whole life and never get ahead. So he relied on the extensive reading of books and found a recipe for medicinal food in "Travels to Suiyuan". He studied it painstakingly and finally made a delicious medicinal food nourishing soup with this recipe.
After the soup was developed, Yu Zecheng took the opportunity to offer it to everyone, and it was immediately praised by everyone. It tasted delicious and had a tonic effect. It was well received.
Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. His research results were spied on by Wang Xuesen, the head chef in the kitchen. Relying on his power, Wang Xuesen wanted to buy the recipe of this soup.
Yu Zecheng sold it to Wang Xuesen for ten taels of silver without saying a word. However, no matter how Wang Xuesen boiled it according to the recipe, the soup he made did not taste like Yu Zecheng's. It was either salty or bland, and it was not delicious at all. In the end, he was scolded by Ma Laohei.
Wang Xuesen found Yu Zecheng, and Yu Zecheng demonstrated the process of making soup in front of him, which was exactly the same as the process of recording the recipe given to him. However, Wang Xuesen made soup according to the same process, but it was not delicious, not as good as Yu Zecheng's. He could not make such a delicious soup even if he worked himself to death.
So at the suggestion of the deputy hall master Cui Renxiong, Yu Zecheng became the youngest chef, in charge of the soup room, and made this tonic soup for the dignitaries in the hall.
Wang Xuesen knew that Yu Zecheng had kept a trick up his sleeve, and was very dissatisfied with the result. He began to suppress Yu Zecheng, and then the two began a chef-to-chef battle. Wang Xuesen first tampered with the ingredients of the soup, passing inferior products off as good ones, in order to ruin Yu Zecheng's reputation.
Yu Zecheng fought back, deliberately inviting Cui Renxiong to discover the problem with the ingredients, and used this to start a counterattack and make Wang Xuesen's behavior public. As a result, Wang Xuesen was scolded by Ma Laohei. If it weren't for his strong connections and strong strength, he would have been driven out of the kitchen by Cui Renxiong, and he would never dare to tamper with the ingredients again.
Wang Xuesen's plan failed, so he came up with another plan. On the pretext that Yu Zecheng was too young, he sent a chef to be his assistant, hoping to steal this soup. Yu Zecheng was unambiguous and did things in a proper manner, and he didn't look like a child at all. The assistant was here for a month, and he learned every step well, but he just couldn't make a delicious soup.
During a big celebration in the hall, Yu Zecheng took the opportunity to take sick leave for three days. During these three days, his assistant did not make a good soup. In the end, everyone knew that no one could make this soup except Yu Zecheng, so the assistant had to leave sadly.
In this way, Yu Zecheng and Wang Xuesen fought for several months. Wang Xuesen tried his best but could not learn the secret of this soup. In the end, he had to accept this reality and no longer had hope for this soup. Therefore, Yu Zecheng became the youngest chef in the Black Tiger Hall.
Naturally, Wang Xuesen would not have a good face for Yu Zecheng from then on. Wang Xuesen had great power in the kitchen, so no other chefs and servants dared to greet Yu Zecheng in front of Wang Xuesen. But no one dared to bully Yu Zecheng, because during the fight between the two of them in the past few months, everyone knew the means of Yu Zecheng, a young boy, and believed that he would definitely not be a fish in the pond in the future.
Yu Zecheng sat in the soup room, thinking that the struggle in these months had made him mature and scheming, far beyond his peers.
Yu Zecheng was thinking about why Bai Hexi was so arrogant at first and then respectful, rewarding him. He was a congenital master, and even the head of the Ma Hall had to look at his eyes. The underworld tycoon Mo Tianlang died in his hands. Why would he care so much about his soup?
While thinking, Yu Zecheng was envious of Bai Hexi's momentum. He was a handsome young man in white clothes, a feather fan and a scarf, young and rich, respected by everyone. He became Yu Zecheng's idol unconsciously.
Sure enough, Cui Renxiong came soon, went to the kitchen to arrange the chef's work, called the chores to work, and finally walked to Yu Zecheng's soup room.
Yu Zecheng saw Cui Renxiong, and immediately saluted and said:
"Here, head of the hall, I am unworthy of this reward, please help me send it back."
This is just an excuse. Cui Renxiong was a mean person. He had been salivating when he saw Bai Hexi's reward of two taels of gold. He came here in the name of work. Seeing that Yu Zecheng was really sensible and contributed the gold to him, he could not help but take it, nodded and said:
"Xiao Yuzi is really sensible. I will return the gold for you."
After thinking about it, he felt that he was a bit too much, and then took out a silver ingot from his bag and said:
"I'll give you these ten taels of silver. It's not a wasted joy."
Yu Zecheng took the silver. Although the gold depreciated dramatically, it was still a gain. Yu Zecheng said steadily:
"Thank you, Master."
Cui Renxiong continued:
"Master Bai has decided to stay here for a few days. You need to prepare your soup so that we don't have any soup to entertain people."
Yu Zecheng replied:
"Please rest assured, I have prepared a spare portion of this soup. I will never make mistakes."
Cui Renxiong nodded and said:
"You are steady and smart. I trust you to do things. How is your practice of the Tiger Roaring Sky Art? If you practice it to the great success level, I will recommend you to the main hall to learn skills. It is a complete waste of your talent as a little chef."
As long as the Tiger Gang disciples reach the age of six, they will choose one of the internal skills from the Tiger Roaring Sky Art, Black Tiger Power, Golden Tiger Skill, White Tiger Qi, Purple Tiger Art, and Blue Tiger Sutra to practice. Among them, the Tiger Roaring Sky Art is the most primitive version of these skills, and the other five tiger internal skills are developed on this basis.
Although the name of the Tiger Roaring Sky Art is loud, it is actually similar to the Luohan Fist and Mantis Fist circulating on the street. It is a very common skill. However, the technique is an authentic mental method, characterized by peaceful true qi, stable foundation, and absolutely no obsession. However, the true qi grows slowly and has weak lethality, so it was transformed by masters on this basis to develop the other five tiger internal forces. This skill, as long as you are not a fool, will be cultivated to the state of great success in ten years at the latest. Of course, this internal skill is not that strong.
Now there are very few disciples of the Tiger Gang who practice the Tiger Roaring Sky Art. When Yu Zecheng chose this internal skill, his grandfather Zhang Fushan was still there. He was going to help him practice to the state of great success when he was ten years old, so as to lay a good foundation and practice the other five internal skills in one go. Who knew that when Yu Zecheng was ten years old, Zhang Fushan, known as the Axe of the Mountain, died outside for the Black Tiger Hall. Naturally, there was no one else to help him practice, so he could only rely on self-cultivation.
Yu Zecheng replied:
"Thank you for your concern, Master. I am incompetent. I don't know why I always lack a little obstacle. I have never been able to cultivate it to the state of great success."
Cui Renxiong nodded and said:
"Cultivation is like this. It's just that the time is not right. You will succeed if you persevere."
Then he gave a few more instructions and said:
"Go home and rest. They have almost eaten today. I will give you half a day off tomorrow morning. They drink so much that they will definitely not wake up tomorrow morning. Remember to make a good pot of soup for everyone tomorrow afternoon."
After saying that, Cui Renxiong left the kitchen. As the deputy master of the hall, he was responsible for all the internal affairs of the master and was very busy. After arranging the work in the kitchen, he left.
Yu Zecheng saw him leave and began to clean up the soup room. The mother soup for tomorrow's soup was ready. As long as some ingredients were added tomorrow, it could be drunk after two hours of boiling. Yu Zecheng cleaned up the soup room, put the items neatly, and then left the soup room.
Before leaving, Yu Zecheng took out a leather bag from his arms, and then poured some of the prepared soup into the leather bag. This was the soup he specially cooked, which was a tonic and had a certain supplementary effect on his mother's body. Yu Zecheng would secretly take some home every time.
When he walked out of the kitchen, it was already one o'clock, and the soup had been almost finished. While he was waiting, the head chef Wang Xuesen had already left.
Seeing that Yu Zecheng was about to leave, Master Zhao, who was responsible for cleaning up the banquet, handed over a bag of leftovers. This was the welfare of the kitchen. The leftover wine and food in the lobby could be taken home by these chefs and chores for their families to eat.
Yu Zecheng took it and said:
"Thank you, Uncle Zhao."
Zhao Jun nodded, looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, and said:
"Go back quickly."
Seeing Zhao Jun's actions, Yu Zecheng knew that the leftover wine and food must be good things. People who are close to the water get the moon first. Sometimes people in the kitchen will take some of the best ingredients home as leftovers. This is the result of the struggle between me and Wang Xuesen. No one dares to look down on me. When things are divided, they will naturally think of me.
Yu Zecheng nodded to show his understanding and gratitude, then walked out of the kitchen, left the Black Tiger Hall, and turned into the alley.
After walking for an incense stick of time, he gradually returned home. Yu Zecheng's home is in the Qianmen Alley. The courtyard left by his grandfather was not sold even at the most difficult time. Although the courtyard at home is not large, it is also a separate door and courtyard.
When he returned home, his mother was still waiting for him. His younger brothers and sisters had already fallen asleep, and the food his mother cooked for him was already cold. Seeing him come back, his mother got up to heat up the food for him.
Yu Zecheng stopped his mother's actions, went into the kitchen himself, and re-boiled the broth in the leather bag. Then he opened the leftovers, and sure enough, under the leftovers distributed outside, there was a pork elbow weighing three pounds.
Yu Zecheng took out the pork elbow and put the leftovers on a plate. These leftovers are also very good. In addition to the braised pork, there are only the sauced bones. They have not been moved much and are completely edible.
After Yu Zecheng finished all this, he returned to the dining table and handed the soup to his mother, then took the bowl and ate a few mouthfuls. In fact, he had already eaten his fill at Black Tiger Hall, so it was impossible for a chef to starve himself. He ate a few mouthfuls just to please his mother, so as not to make her feel that her efforts were in vain.
The mother took the soup, drank it slowly, and said:
"This is a complete victory. Ma Laohei is indeed more capable than the old hall master. The old hall master has been fighting for twenty years and has not won. Ma Laohei wiped out the Wild Wolf Gang in one year. It seems that I really underestimated him before."
Yu Zecheng nodded and said:
"Yes, from now on, the Black Tiger Hall will become the largest gang in Linhai City. In fact, if there is no help from the Shi family behind the scenes, it would not be so easy to invite those masters."
Mother said:
"It seems that Ma Laohei has a good vision in marrying Shi Sanmei. Have the iron hat Chen family, Tie family, and Yu family in the city sent people over?"
Yu Zecheng said:
"No one came today, but I think someone will come tomorrow. Now the power of the Black Tiger Hall has increased greatly. Whether they want it or not, the Black Tiger Hall will be regarded as one of the six major families in Linhai City from now on."
Mother continued:
"It's a pity that your grandpa didn't see this day. Did the Demon Wolf die? I heard that he has become a congenital master?"
Yu Zecheng replied:
"I saw his head. It was killed by the master of Chishui Sect, Bai Shao, who was hired by Ma Laohei."
When the mother heard the news, she couldn't help shedding tears and said:
"Your grandpa died at the hands of the Demon Wolf. Although it is normal for people to die on the battlefield, this can be regarded as revenge. Tomorrow I will go to sweep his grave and tell him the good news. If you see this Bai Shao, thank him well."
Yu Zecheng said:
"I saw him today. He praised the soup of the child and rewarded him with ten taels of silver. Mother, keep this and use it to supplement the family income."
After saying that, he handed the silver to his mother. The mother took the silver and said:
"I'll keep it for you. I originally left it for you to marry a wife. But the mistress of the old Xue family in the front yard broke her leg in this battle, and the old Li from the east street also died in the battle. It's just right that I can use this money to pay my respects. They helped us when your grandfather died. People should not be conscienceless. We should help them now.
Although many people died in this great victory, it was worth it. With the tide rising, the Black Tiger Hall disciples were proud to walk on the street. Even we are taking advantage of it. Today, someone came to propose marriage again. Xu Erliang from Xu's Restaurant in front of the door asked someone to come. Come to propose marriage, his daughter is fair and tender, at first glance, she is the child of a good family, what do you think? If it is possible, let's arrange this marriage first. "
Yu Zecheng shook his head and said:
"Mother, I am still young, it is too early to talk about this now, let's talk about it in two years."
Mother said:
"If you like it, you should take action, why wait for two years? All the good girls have been arranged by others."
Yu Zecheng remained silent. His mother knew that Yu Zecheng would never repent of what he said, and knew that it was useless to say anything, so she stopped talking, packed up the food and left.
Yu Zecheng returned to his room, lit the oil lamp, picked up the books on the desk, and began to read. These books were left by his father. After his father lost his position as a deacon, he joined the gang's caravan and traveled all over the country. Although it was very hard and he could not be at home all the time, Yu Zecheng could feel his father's excitement. In fact, his father liked this kind of traveling merchant life, which could travel all over the world.
Every time his father came back, he would bring a book for Yu Zecheng, most of which were travel notes and miscellaneous notes of ancient sages and scholars. When he saw these books and the words on them, Yu Zecheng felt like he was there in person, traveling in those places.
Yu Zecheng especially liked to read these books left by his father. In the books, all the distant regions of Tiannan Jiuzhou, even Mobei, Suiyuan, Chuxi, and Guqin were recorded, which made Yu Zecheng read with relish. His biggest ideal was to go to these places and take a look. Yu Zecheng's biggest wish was to travel all over the world like Ming Chuanyu, and leave his own travel notes for later generations to see and envy.
In this world of the sky, travel all over the six domains. This can only be a dream. Not to mention that he is a small mortal, even an immortal cannot travel all over the six domains like this.
Under the oil lamp, Yu Zecheng flipped through the books for a while. Yu Zecheng had read the books left by his father at home many times, and he could even recite them backwards. Suddenly, Yu Zecheng had an idea, should he go to the street to buy two books tomorrow to see.