Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Don’t Slice the Radish, Slice This Instead

“It’s so late… this place looks kind of creepy. I’ll go in with you!”

Shu Jianmin was a little worried about Chen Ran.

Even though it was late, a normal amusement park should still have at least a few visitors around.

But this amusement park didn’t have a single one.

“Alright, thank you, Brother Jianmin.”

Chen Ran was a bit suspicious too.

This amusement park… looked like it wasn’t operating at all? Could the system have brought her here just to find more workers again?

But when the system indicated this workplace, it had clearly said that this place was key to her improving her knife skills.

Not just a clue—the key!

“Let’s go in and have a look first.” In front of Shu Jianmin, Chen Ran couldn’t act like she had no idea either, so she tried her best to explain, “We’ll probably see it once we get inside.”

But even she didn’t know what exactly they were supposed to see.

Last time, following the system’s prompt to the White Swan KTV, she at least ended up with a recruitment flyer. There had to be something this time too, right?

The amusement park’s iron gate was shut, with slight rust on it. Chen Ran tried to stay calm as she reached out to push the gate. It creaked open in response.

Once inside, the place looked even more rundown. Overgrown shrubs everywhere, untrimmed weeping willow branches blocked the entrance—it was almost impossible to see the overall layout of the park at a glance.

“Ran… Ranran…”

Shu Jianmin’s voice was trembling. Could anyone really work in a place like this?

Still, he had to look after Chen Ran! He had made quite a bit of money these past few days, and the assistant cooks under him had all improved to varying degrees.

Even Old Master Huang Renshou, upon learning that Wang Deshui had been falsely claiming his name for prestige, had agreed to introduce his real apprentice.

Even if an actual ghost popped out of this place, he’d shield Chen Ran with his own body!

“It’s fine, let’s go in a bit further.”

Chen Ran was only calm on the outside; internally, she was frantically yelling at the system.

“System! Don’t play dead! What the hell is this place? How am I supposed to practice my knife work here?”

“Don’t tell me you want me to cut trees for knife practice! I swear I’ll leave!”

The two of them made their way around a dense grove of willow trees. Halfway through, Shu Jianmin even made a call to bring Assistant Cook Liu over for backup.

Beyond the willow grove stood a rather exquisite complex of buildings.

By a small man-made lake stood white walls and flying eaves in classic Chinese garden style. Through the decorative windows in the walls, glimpses of green peeked out—suggesting the interior must be equally refined.

But this elegant building complex wasn’t made of brick or stone. When Chen Ran walked up and touched it, she realized it was a temporary film set.

Hanging over the main entrance of the complex was an archaic-style plaque bearing four bold characters: “Bīng Shuāng Liè Jié” (Ice and Frost, Noble Integrity).

“This place… it’s a haunted house, isn’t it?”Shu Jianmin had been nervous for a while when he suddenly remembered, “Oh, I remember now! I heard this amusement park has been shut down for a long time. Someone rented it out to make a haunted house. A friend of mine wanted to come before, but said the process was too long and gave up… Ranran, are you applying to be a chef here?”

Chen Ran didn’t know either!

That damn system gave such a vague hint. All she knew was that she was supposed to apply here. But for what exactly…?

What would a haunted house need a chef for?!

Still, since Shu Jianmin and Brother Liu were worried about her and escorted her all the way here, Chen Ran couldn’t just ignore their questions. She had to pretend to look around with interest.

Just as she was trying her best to stall for time, a girl came running out from inside, her face lighting up in surprise. “Are you here to apply? I just posted the job ad on Little Red Potato yesterday, and you’ve already come today?”

Chen Ran had no choice but to nod calmly.

The owner of this haunted house looked to be in her thirties. She gave off a cultured vibe, with her hair loosely tied at the back of her head.

She warmly invited everyone inside to sit. Shu Jianmin was still a little scared, but forced himself to follow.

After spending the past several days together, he had realized Chen Ran was completely obsessed with cooking. At the very least, he could help negotiate her salary here!

“As for the pay and everything, I’ve written it all clearly in the post. If you stay here, you can share a room with me. But we’ll have to try your cooking first, alright?”

“No worries about the taste,” Shu Jianmin waved his hand boldly, “Our Ranran’s a chef who was featured on Renowned Chefs Chronicle…”

As soon as those words left his mouth, a small room beside them suddenly opened, and someone peeked out.

It was an old man wearing an iron mask. His hair was graying, his hands were covered in gruesome scars, and two of his fingers were missing.

“A girl this young made it onto Renowned Chefs Chronicle? Makes me think of that lass Chang Nian…”

“Grandpa!”

With a shout from the boss, the old man fell silent and sat down on a nearby chair.

The old man looked quite elderly, and Shu Jianmin didn’t say much to him. “I came with my cousin. This place is so remote—she’d even have trouble going out to buy a hair tie. You’ve got to talk about salary and benefits too, right?”

The boss frowned, looking a bit troubled. “I’m just starting out here… this is already the best I can offer. Six thousand yuan a month, room with me, meals included. How about this—I’ll add 500 yuan as a travel allowance. Deal?”

Shu Jianmin wasn’t too satisfied. Last month, with salary and bonuses, he’d paid Chen Ran tens of thousands.

But he remembered his mother’s reminder: Chen Ran was someone with the potential to become a top figure in the industry. His role was just to help a little—he mustn’t make decisions for her.

He turned to look at Chen Ran’s expression. Seeing her give a slight nod, he played the “bad cop” one more time: “Let me be clear—our Ranran only does chef work. I see you don’t have many staff, but don’t go assigning her random chores!”

“We may not have many staff, but the customer flow isn’t high right now either. Once things pick up, I’ll definitely raise her pay!”

Only then did Shu Jianmin ease up. He discussed in detail with the boss how much of a raise Chen Ran should get based on visitor numbers.

He had cooked at banquets across countless towns for many years and knew the ropes inside out. With him handling the pay negotiation, Chen Ran relaxed and took the time to look around.

This haunted house was extremely well-designed. It seemed to incorporate some of the amusement park’s original attractions and had elements of an escape room as well.

But the theme was a bit heavy.

She read the introduction on the wall—the haunted house’s story was centered around two ghostly women. One was a widow trapped for life by a chastity archway, the other a pitiable courtesan from a brothel.

From the scenario descriptions, the storyline was quite elaborate. Going through the whole experience would take nearly a full day.

No wonder they needed a chef!Over there, Shu Jianmin had already reached an agreement with the boss and quickly drafted a simple employment contract for Chen Ran.

“Ranran, look it over yourself. If you're satisfied, Liu and I will head out. That new chef Mr. Huang introduced is arriving tonight—I need to go pick him up.”

“Brother Jianmin, Brother Liu, you two go ahead! I’ll read it over myself!”

To Chen Ran, the salary and benefits weren’t the most important thing—what mattered most was improving her knife skills!

Although, for now, it was still unclear exactly how she would go about improving them.

The boss's name was Xu Ruyi, and as they walked, she made an effort to explain her vision to Chen Ran.

“This haunted house is actually part of a game concept I’ve been developing… I’m hoping to use it to attract some initial funds while polishing the script. Later, I plan to officially release the game.”

Chen Ran was surprised—this line of thinking was pretty unusual. And with how deserted the haunted house seemed, could it really bring in enough money to fund game development?

No wonder she’d had the impression that the boss seemed quite “artsy.”

Xu Ruyi had been doubted by many people before. Just a glance at Chen Ran’s expression told her what the latter was thinking, and she smiled awkwardly.

“There’s another reason for opening the haunted house—my grandfather used to run a restaurant, but his face and arm were later badly burned by hot oil…”

“When he ran the restaurant, he was the kind of chef who insisted on personally explaining every dish to the customer. After he lost use of his right hand, he shut himself in at home, afraid of scaring people, and hating the look of pity in others’ eyes.”

“After so many years of silence, he’s become more and more withdrawn. So I thought—if we opened a haunted house, customers would assume the scars on his face were just special effects makeup. Then he wouldn’t be afraid to go out and meet people anymore…”

Chen Ran nodded.

She recalled what the old man had said earlier in doubt. So he really had run a restaurant—no wonder he knew about Renowned Chefs Chronicle.

“I was going to have you do a trial dish, but it’s already so late! Your cousin just sent me a bunch of videos of your cooking—and you’ve even been on Renowned Chefs Chronicle—so no need for that. I’ll show you where to wash up. Get some rest early tonight, alright?”

As they chatted, Chen Ran took the opportunity to ask about her duties. She was told her job would be preparing the banquet spread used in the scene, and also cooking meals for the staff.

“There are a few actors playing ghosts—I’ll introduce them to you tomorrow! You’ll cook three staff meals a day. No need to handle procurement. Is that okay?”

“Sure!”

The workload sounded pretty light.

Chen Ran relaxed. Even though she still didn’t know where the opportunity to improve her knife skills would come from, being able to take a break didn’t sound bad either!

—Not to criticize the boss, but this haunted house didn’t look like the kind of place that would be flooded with customers no matter how she looked at it.

After washing up, Chen Ran video-called her mother, as usual. She found out that the legal case was progressing very smoothly.

A heavy weight finally lifted from her heart!

However, back at the Chen household, the mood was gloomy due to various recent developments.

Especially for Chen Boduan.

He, too, was a chef who had appeared on Renowned Chefs Chronicle, but his ranking was lower than Chen Ran’s.

What’s more, when he saw the dishes Chen Ran was recommended for—those two, the clear-braised pork knuckle and the red-braised lion’s head meatball…

They were both signature dishes of Zhiwei Zhai!

Though Zhiwei Zhai had declined over the years and was no longer the top-tier restaurant it had been when Chen Yun was head chef, Chen Boduan had always believed that what he lacked was simply time.When he accumulated more time and experience, he was sure he could restore Zhiwei Zhai to its former glory!

But reality gave him a harsh slap.

He scooped up a lion’s head meatball, tasted it, and suddenly flared up in anger, throwing the spoon away.

The huge kitchen of Zhiwei Zhai fell silent as if no one was there. But in fact, a neat line of chefs stood behind Chen Boduan.

The youngest, Chen Yijin, quickly ran over, picked up the spoon from the floor, and wiped off the dirt.

Chen Boduan glanced at him.

Chen Yijin felt a little nervous.

Since that competition, the Chen Restaurant had been taken over by another branch of the Chen family, and his father was basically retired at home.

But he had been transferred by Chen Boduan to Zhiwei Zhai in Jing City.

Still, up to today, he hadn’t spoken a single word to this uncle.

Every day at Zhiwei Zhai was oppressive—every chef was his uncle, elder uncle, or older brother.

But somehow… he had stubbornly persisted.

“Come taste this lion’s head.”

Chen Yijin was somewhat incredulous—was this uncle, who usually didn’t show him any kindness, really speaking to him?

However, since the uncle didn’t even care about criticizing his own father, he didn’t dare hesitate.

He rushed over, took a spoon, carefully scooped up a piece of lion’s head, and tasted it.

After the nephew finished, Chen Boduan finally asked, “Compared to Chen Ran’s, how is it?”

What a life-or-death question!

A fine sweat broke out on Chen Yijin’s forehead.

If it had been the old him, he would have answered without hesitation that his uncle’s was better.

But for some reason, his mind kept recalling Chen Ran’s focused expression during the cooking competition.

He also wanted… to become a chef like that.

“My cousin’s… is better.”

The kitchen, already quiet, grew even more silent after this sentence. The chefs standing in the back row didn’t even dare to breathe.

“Good… very good.”

“Now I can’t even beat a useless guy who’s lost his sense of taste.”

He glanced at Chen Yijin. “You’re quite something, not lying or brushing me off. What are you doing now?”

Chen Yijin’s cooking skills didn’t rank highly in the entire Chen family, and the seniority system at Zhiwei Zhai was strict. His father lost his position at Chen Restaurant, leaving him without backing. At Zhiwei Zhai, he worked the dirtiest, hardest job at the wash station.

The wash station mainly handled slaughtering live poultry and seafood, working from morning till night, often soaking his fingers until they cracked and rotted.

“I’m at the wash station now.”Chen Boduan nodded: "Starting tomorrow, you’ll go assist in the kitchen."

"Thank you, uncle! Thank you, uncle!"

After Chen Boduan turned and left the kitchen, his face remained gloomy, completely ignoring his nephew’s tearful gratitude behind him.

In the Chen family, except for Chen Yuncong, he didn’t regard anyone else.

However, now he was slowly establishing his authority, even becoming less respectful to the old master than before.

But not today.

Back in his office, he dialed Chen Yuncong’s number. After the nanny answered and a few minutes passed, Chen Yuncong’s voice finally came from the other side.

“What’s the matter?”

“Grandpa, I want to take the recipe for braised pig’s head from home and exchange it with Old Xu’s lion’s head recipe.”

Chen Yuncong’s voice came after a pause.

“Why... are you anxious because your niece surpassed you?”

“How many times have I said, business is business, it doesn’t have much to do with reputation. As long as the Michelin side is handled well, something like ‘Master Chef Record’ can’t make a big deal.”

“Besides those old folks, how many ordinary people can actually tell if the flavor is good or bad? Just do some marketing, buy some trending searches, and suppress the hype around ‘Master Chef Record’...”

Chen Boduan understood.

But this time, the one being overshadowed by his own niece was himself! He couldn’t tolerate it!

“Grandpa... I must go this time.”

The Chen Culinary God once traveled the world, not only undefeated but also collecting many recipes.

The braised pig’s head dish was the first main dish of the Huaiyang Three Heads Banquet, now already lost.

The standard Three Heads Banquet included braised whole pig’s head, stewed silver carp head, and clear stewed crab roe lion’s head. Now only the lion’s head remains; the stewed silver carp head is rare due to its difficulty, and the braised whole pig’s head recipe has simply been lost.

Exchanging this braised whole pig’s head recipe for the lion’s head recipe would surely be agreed upon.

“If you want to go, then go,” Chen Yuncong said, the only grandson the family cared about after so many years, naturally unwilling to hold back a recipe, “Anyway, the braised pig face dish doesn’t bring much economic benefit; just give it back.”

“But Old Xu hasn’t appeared for many years. Even the elders in our circle don’t know where he went. It’s known that he had some dispute with his apprentice back then, and even closed his restaurant. You should find his apprentice Yang Jingzhou, go to Yangzhou Tiankailou.”

“If I’m not mistaken, Old Xu’s top apprentice’s lion’s head has about seventy percent of his skill—enough for you to learn.”

“Yes, grandson understands.”

After hanging up, Chen Boduan picked up the hot towel on the desk, wiped his hands and face, then placed his hands on a silk-lined tray nearby.

This was his habit over many years. Although a chef, his hands remained well cared for without a single scar.

He took a deep breath, watching his hands slowly calm down.

With so many recipes left by the old ancestors, he would not be surpassed by his own niece.

However, vaguely, he always felt he had missed something.

The ancestral rule of the Chen Culinary God was that to learn the same culinary skills as him, one must travel the world like him and meet diners everywhere.“Meet all the people of the world, master all the hundred flavors!”

However, in the past, like Grandpa Chen Yuncong, he never took this saying to heart.

The Chen family’s development to this day relied not on ordinary people’s tastes, but on winning the favor of high officials and nobles time and again!

He scoffed, ashamed of his earlier hesitation.

The door rang. Chen Yijin, whom he had just promoted to kitchen assistant, came to thank his uncle. Chen Boduan glanced at him, thinking this kid did have some awareness.

“Tomorrow I’m going to Yangzhou. You come with me.”

Chen Yijin bowed and thanked him, not knowing why he suddenly gained this uncle’s favor.

“Uncle, what’s the business trip for this time? I’ll go back and see what I need to prepare.”

“Going to Tiankailou to exchange some ideas. Just bring your personal things. Be tactful so that Tiankailou doesn’t look down on us. Go find Xiao Si and give him five thousand yuan; tell him I said so. Buy two good outfits. Compared to Tiankailou, our Zhiwei Zhai is not inferior anywhere. Dress properly.”

Watching his nephew sneakily back out, Chen Boduan took a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror.

As long as he could exchange for the lion’s head recipe this time, he wouldn’t have to worry about Chen Ran anymore.

The Huaiyang’s Old Xu was once ranked in the top five of “Master Chef Record”! One stomp from him would make all of Yangzhou tremble!

Yet, this old man had always guarded a small restaurant.

Until his top apprentice Yang Jingzhou went out to start his own, opening Tiankailou, which could be said to be bustling. This time, Chen Boduan could even bring Michelin there to rate it as a three-star restaurant.

Isn’t this better than some worthless “Master Chef Record”?

Those old monsters in “Master Chef Record” only think about inheritance and refining culinary skills, even finding TV promotion too mercenary… No wonder Old Xu disappeared!

Chen Boduan found Yang Jingzhou’s contact, got in touch, and arranged to exchange recipes tomorrow.

On the other side, Yang Jingzhou agreed enthusiastically: “That’s great! I say, we chefs should have more exchanges like this. Tomorrow, the entire third floor won’t entertain guests, just to welcome you!”

After hanging up, seeing his son’s gaze, he sneered.

“Chen Boduan that useless man, having his niece who’s more than twenty years younger beat him like a drowned dog, came begging for help… But just right, once I get the braised whole pig’s head recipe, I won’t have to worry about Old Xu anymore.”

“Do you know where Old Xu is now?”

“How would I know,” Yang Jingzhou’s youngest son impatiently scrolled on his phone, “His right hand is useless; he can’t cook anymore this lifetime. I heard my senior sister went to open some haunted house and completely left this business. Who cares what they’re doing.”

Feeling his father’s dissatisfaction, he quickly pulled his eyes from the game and flattered: “From now on, the Huaiyang cuisine turf belongs to you!”

Yang Jingzhou proudly said, “Of course, but we still have to admire that old thing in the Chen family. How did he start planning with Michelin so early?”

“Old Xu is just a stubborn mule. If others had even a tenth of his skill, Tiankailou’s branches could have opened in Beijing by now! Always pressing me to practice knife skills, what use is it? No matter how good the tofu in the Wensi style is, how much can a bowl of tofu soup sell for?”

“No worries, now we have you! Next year we can open branches in Shanghai!”

“All right, don’t play too late tonight. Tomorrow when Chen Boduan comes, clean up properly.”

Outside the window was a full moon. Yang Jingzhou opened the window, feeling full of heroic spirit.

Far away, under the scattered willow trees, Chen Ran had already cleaned up the temporary kitchen behind the haunted house.

She took out the black iron kitchen knife given by the system, carefully wiped it clean, then oiled it. Tomorrow morning, she would wash off this layer of oil.This maintenance routine was given by the system.

Just as she relaxed, she heard someone deliberately open the door loudly.

It was that masked old man.

“Little girl, these hands do look like a chef’s hands. Knowing to maintain your kitchen knife every night, that’s impressive. Whose family are you from?”

Chen Ran’s hands weren’t actually very pretty.

Although her fingers were long, the thick calluses and many small white scars ruined the overall look of her hands.

She didn’t want to mention the Chen family and deliberately avoided the question.

“It doesn’t matter whose family I’m from, as long as I cook well. Grandpa Xu, I still need to practice my knife skills a bit longer. Do you mind?”

Not knowing where to find clues to improve her knife skills, Chen Ran didn’t want to just wait around.

She had recently reordered a sandbag online, smaller but heavier, filled with iron sand.

She carefully tied the iron sand bag around her wrist, took out two radishes, and prepared to start practicing her knife skills.

The masked old man watched her skilled movements, as if she had been practicing for a long time.

His eyes behind the mask flickered. He turned and opened the fridge, taking out a block of tofu.

“Don’t cut radish. Cut this.”