Chapter 101

Chapter 101: When it comes to food, one can truly say "Food is Heaven!"

Chen Ran's first reaction was: Is it really okay to be so close to Qingshi An?

"Isn’t this setup a little too close? Do you think the abbess will be upset?"

Wu Chaomei had already walked over to inspect the ingredients and responded, "It’s far enough, no need to worry! Besides, have you ever asked the nuns if they’re okay with people making meat dishes when they go down the mountain to beg for alms? Do they ask first?"

Mi Chengzhi also pointed to a device on the stove and explained, "It’s fine, there’s a small purifier here, the smell won’t travel over!"

Chen Ran looked at Mi Chengzhi, thinking he seemed familiar. She tried hard to remember.

"Wait, aren’t you from that pyramid scheme spot...?"

Mi Chengzhi nodded!

However, he had found a job now. Though the job wasn’t easy, at least it wasn’t one of those exploitative pyramid schemes.

He gave an awkward smile, "It was actually Old Master Cheng who helped me get this job at his disciple’s factory. Though it’s shift work in the workshop, the pay is pretty good, plus there are allowances!"

Mi Chengzhi had originally joined that pyramid scheme spot to find work. Unexpectedly, it was because of that place that he eventually found a proper job.

The process had been a bit of a winding road, but his most important goal right now was to lose the ten extra pounds he had gained from that pyramid scheme!

"That’s really great."

Chen Ran wasn’t very good at small talk, so she awkwardly gave a compliment and then didn’t know what else to say.

Luckily, Wu Chaomei had already handed over the ingredients!

"Alright, let’s try the oil-exploded crispy dish first. There are enough ingredients today, so let’s make a few more plates and try them out."

Chen Ran didn’t say much, just took the pork stomach and skillfully peeled off the tough outer membrane.

Wu Chaomei stood by, watching intently.

It had to be said, Chen Ran’s knife skills were now truly impressive. Even Wu Chaomei couldn’t find any faults.

However, when it came to other things, she still had a lot of comments.

"Chen Ran, I haven’t asked you yet—are you planning to keep working like this, or do you want to open your own restaurant?"

Generally speaking, chefs who had mastered their craft were often inclined to open their own restaurant.

Not just for financial reasons, but also to establish their own legacy.

Once your skills are honed, you naturally want to create something that’s your own, take in a few apprentices. But in someone else’s restaurant, that’s just not possible.

Moreover, Chen Ran had that "Food is Heaven" sign in her system space!

The system was clearly trying to get her to recreate the glory of her former restaurant, Chef Chen's, from back in the day!

"I do plan to open a restaurant," Chen Ran had finished slicing the pork stomach, then paused for a moment. "I want to go to the capital and reopen 'Food is Heaven.'"

Wu Chaomei looked at Chen Ran with renewed interest.

She knew a little about the messy situation in the Chen family. But seeing Chen Ran quietly leave the family, she had assumed that the young girl was just going to quietly suffer the losses.

"Reopening 'Food is Heaven,' quite the ambitious plan..."However, seeing Chen Ran quickly and skillfully slice the fishnet-like cuts on the pork stomach, even Wu Chaomei, who had always been a little too proud, had to admit that Chen Ran certainly had the right to be confident.

With such skills, it wouldn’t be impossible to make it to the national banquet.

But the name "Food is Heaven" wasn’t one that could be used casually.

"Food is Heaven..."

Wu Chaomei couldn’t help but recall the legends passed down by the older generation. "Even your Chen family’s legendary Chef Chen, who traveled the world, faced criticism when he named his restaurant that. Are you sure? If you use such a name, you’re setting yourself up for challenges."

"Setting up challenges" was a local expression from Wu Chaomei’s hometown, meaning "the bigger the tree, the more it attracts attention," or simply, "you’ll make yourself a target."

"It’s going to be that name," Chen Ran said, "I’ve already found the plaque for it."

When she said this, Wu Chaomei was truly shocked.

From what she had observed over the past few days, Chen Ran was a young girl who, aside from being passionate about practicing cooking, was generally quite easygoing and laid-back.

She had made caramelized apples once at Qingshi An, and since then, the little nuns would occasionally ask her to make some snacks. Chen Ran never turned them down.

Fried melon seeds, fried meatballs, a variety of snacks that made the little nuns smile with joy.

Wu Chaomei had even mentioned to Chang Nian that Chen Ran was a great kid, except that she had too good a temper. Right now, she was working here and there, but if she were to open her own shop, it would be hard to keep control of the staff.

But now, looking at it, this girl had a clear plan!

"You’ve made up your mind, so I won’t say much," Wu Chaomei said, but then couldn’t resist adding, "If you open your own shop, you can’t keep being this easy-going! If you can’t control your employees, don’t open the shop at all!"

Wasn’t she herself a lesson in that? If she could have controlled that rebellious son of hers, she wouldn’t have let all her hard work go to waste.

Chen Ran knew that Wu Chaomei was speaking from the heart. She took out the duck gizzards, pig stomach, and various other ingredients she had just fried and was ready to move to the next step.

Wu Chaomei had a peculiar temper—if you thanked her too much, she would get annoyed. But when it came to culinary advice, that was when she was most pleased.

Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Ran showed her the ingredients she had just fried, asking, "Wu Grandma, do you think the heat is right?"

Wu Chaomei took the ingredients, shook them a bit, and nodded. "Yes, the heat is perfect."

She sighed, "Well, no need for more words. If you’ve mastered this level of skill, as long as you’re around, the 'Food is Heaven' sign will hold up."

"Alright, Wu Grandma, then I’ll start cooking!"

This time, the oil-exploded crispy dish was even more challenging than last time!

The key to oil-exploded dishes is getting the right heat.

In most restaurants, if a customer orders the same dish, they will prepare multiple portions at once, all cooked in one batch. But such heat-dependent dishes are rarely made this way.

If there are too many ingredients in the pot, it’s easy for the temperature to drop and the stirring to be uneven.

But Chen Ran’s oil-exploded crispy dish was so large that it could fill four or five plates!

Wu Chaomei took a step back and watched to see how she would do it.

The stove had enough heat; Qingjiao Ge had some camping experience and set it up in a way that worked perfectly for cooking.

Chen Ran held her breath, focused, and waited for the oil to heat up before quickly dumping all the prepared ingredients into the pot.

She flicked the wok!Even though she practiced wrist strength every day with sandbags, she still needed both hands for this flipping of the wok.

This kind of flipping was much more difficult than doing it with just one hand.

One-handed flipping didn’t only rely on the force of the flip; the other hand holding the spatula also played a strong supporting role.

But when Chen Ran flipped the wok with both hands, every piece of duck gizzard and pig stomach landed steadily back into the wok.

Not even considering the technique, this level of strength wasn’t something an average person could manage!

Wu Chaomei nodded quietly in approval, though there was still a bit of regret.

—Chen Ran’s flipping technique was truly impressive, but she had added just a little too much oil earlier.

Although oil-exploded crispy dishes required "oil, not thickened sauce," too much oil would make the dish greasy. After all, this was a savory dish, and the various ingredients didn’t really call for excess oil.

Moreover, even with that amount, the heat still wasn’t enough.

Wu Chaomei was about to speak and offer some guidance when she saw that Chen Ran had already placed the wok back on the stove.

Had Chen Ran realized the dish was going to fail this time?

No!

Just as Wu Chaomei was about to speak, she saw that Chen Ran released her left hand, and when bringing her right hand back, she slightly tilted the wok.

The previously strong and bright flames immediately licked the inside of the wok!

The small excess of oil that had seemed too much earlier immediately became the fuel for the fire, which shot up high! The next second, Chen Ran, who had just placed the wok down, swiftly covered the wok with the lid, extinguishing the fire!

After the intense fire, the small excess oil had disappeared, and the dish, which had previously lacked enough heat, was now perfect.

In fact, it wasn’t just perfect!

This oil-exploded dish, which originally lacked wok breath, now had a slight hint of smoky flavor after being exposed to the fire. You could imagine that a dish that was originally tender, smooth, and crispy with a savory taste now had a slight touch of firey aroma...

"Quick! Quick, taste it!"

The flames that had just erupted were so shocking that everyone in the market turned to look.

Chen Ran had already picked up the spatula again and quickly divided the dish into five plates.

In just a short moment, while no one was paying attention, she even picked a few sprigs of mint from the side and lightly garnished the plates of oil-exploded crispy dishes.

Everyone rushed over!

Although this was technically a market, everyone there was a fan of Chen Ran and knew this was just a stage set up for Chef Chen to cook and satisfy everyone's cravings.

Wu Chaomei herself took a plate of oil-exploded crispy dishes, unsure from whom she had gotten a small cup of drink. They saw her advanced age and didn’t dare offer her alcohol, so they poured a little kvass, which only had a slight alcohol flavor.

The old lady was a little dissatisfied, but then she remembered she was staying at Qingshi An. Being taken in by the abbot, it was fine to eat meat, but drinking alcohol was another matter.

The other diners, each with a chopstick, quickly finished the four plates of oil-exploded crispy dishes!

"Is this really oil-exploded crispy? The taste is different from what I had before."

"Chef Chen, make some more! It didn’t take long at all to cook this!"

"Look at this pig stomach slice, it’s so long!"Wang Zhaoshan didn’t join the commotion of the crowd. He closed his eyes, somewhat intoxicated, savoring the taste in his mouth.

Crispy!

After all, the dish was called "Oil-exploded Crispy Double," so his first impression was the crispiness.

The duck gizzard was crispy, the pig stomach was crispy, the carrots, bamboo shoots, and green and red peppers – everything was crispy.

But despite the crispiness, there wasn’t a single thing that was difficult to chew. There was tender crispiness, refreshing crispiness, and soft crispiness.

With this bite, several types of crispness danced in his mouth, like a little Tientsin quick ball performance!

When the quick ball performance ended, the salty, savory, and fresh flavors of the ingredients finally rose to the top.

Wang Zhaoshan opened his eyes and, for a moment, couldn’t think of any words of praise.

He had just eavesdropped on a few words between Wu Chaomei and Chen Ran, and at this moment, he could only say one thing.

"‘Food as Heaven,’ this name is truly well deserved!"