Chapter 66

Chapter 66 Full Marks for Knife Skills, but It’s Just the Three-Set Duck…

Riding on the vote boosts from Zhuang Zhiping and some members of the Old Foodies group, the Twin Stars video went viral.

The future of Chinese cuisine! The era’s twin stars! Just looking at it is so exciting, right?

In the previous wave of updates and reviews for Famous Chefs Record, Chen Ran had already been popular for a while. This time, what caught everyone’s attention was Lin Wei, who is said to be the authentic heir of Huaiyang cuisine.

Although only a few brief clips were filmed in the haunted house, each clip showed an extremely high level of skill.

Scooping up an entire lion’s head meatball, shaking it vigorously—you could even faintly see the lumps of meat trembling along with the shaking.

Then there was the Wensi tofu: at first glance just a snow-white lump, but with a gentle push of a porcelain spoon, the whole mass immediately turned into white threads, scattering in the clear broth.

The most amazing was the Three-Set Duck!

Wang Zhaoshan specially installed a sports camera to record the entire carving process of the Three-Set Duck.

Even though viewers in front of the video couldn’t taste the seven layered flavors nested in the Three-Set Duck, they were greatly shocked by the incredible knife skills on display.

“This knife skill is just too shocking! Is this really done with a kitchen knife? How do you debone using a kitchen knife?”

“Those white threads are tofu threads? Are you kidding me? They’re as fine as threads and break at the slightest touch, cut from tender tofu?”

“I’ve never even heard of this Three-Set Duck. Has anyone eaten it? The duck inside another duck—is it really tasty?”

The last comment soared to tens of thousands of likes, but replies to it were scarce.

No surprise—the number of people who have actually eaten Three-Set Duck is very small!

Not only ordinary viewers, even among the Old Foodies group—who usually travel around chasing gourmet food—only a handful had tasted it.

Most of them had eaten it at the haunted house this time!

“Tell us quickly, is the Three-Set Duck just a gimmick or is it really delicious?”

“It’s really delicious!”

As someone working in the catering industry, He Xin’s family restaurant has developed many gimmick dishes and internet-famous dishes.

Before trying the Three-Set Duck at the haunted house, she also thought this dish was mostly hype and little substance.

Isn’t it just three ducks nested together? How could it possibly taste that good?

But after eating it, she was convinced.

“I’m not that much of an expert. Let White Teacher explain—he’s the professional!”

He Xin named Bai Qing not just because he’s a professional foodie, but also because Bai Qing had complained a lot before going!

Not just He Xin, others also remembered Bai Qing saying before the trip that the Three-Set Duck must be a gimmick! There’s no way it could be a faithful recreation of the recipe.

“I was wrong, alright! I was wrong!”

In this Old Foodies group, everyone prides themselves on being food connoisseurs, and usually they don’t take the real experts seriously. Now calling him out is just to see the joke.

“I’m being chased by ghosts right now! I’ll talk later!”

“Good grief! This guy, stubborn before and now living in a haunted house?”Bai Qing really did stay in the haunted house.

Ordinary tourists who tried such a top-tier dish once might just think about trying again another time if they fail to book the haunted house next time.

But Bai Qing was different!

Only those who truly understand the food industry know how rare it is nowadays to get to eat a dish like the Three-Set Duck.

When did he first eat Three-Set Duck? It was at a cultural exchange festival hosted by the provincial government. The provincial government arranged for two master chefs to recreate the Three-Set Duck.

How was the Three-Set Duck served back then?

In a conference room packed with people, each person got a tiny piece, savoring it with great care.

Forget tasting all seven flavors; just getting a sip of the soup was considered a privilege!

Foodies without such an experience might think: this dish is quite good, but if I don’t get a reservation next time, no big deal—sooner or later, I’ll get a chance.

But real foodies who know the culinary world and the Three-Set Duck dish, like Pan Shiyou and Bai Qing, would think: What? You can eat Three-Set Duck here? I’m moving in!

After eating the Three-Set Duck, the two stayed right outside the haunted house. Early the next morning, they went straight to the amusement park entrance, waiting to intercept people, tempting them with high prices to transfer tickets.

Though they didn’t always find someone willing to transfer, over those few days, they succeeded two or three times.

The NPCs in the haunted house started to recognize these two!

First meeting: The NPCs tried their best to chase and scare them, and the two ran around frightened by the realistic effects and ghosts.

Second meeting: The NPCs were a bit suspicious, thinking, “Haven’t we seen these people before? Let’s try to scare them again.” But they seemed less easily scared... “Forget it, just try to herd them along; if that fails, throw them in the little black room!”

By the third time these two appeared, Song Yuhan was a little helpless.

Her social anxiety was almost cured; though not quite a social butterfly, she no longer got scared by tourists. The only aftereffect was that she developed a liking for caramelized sweet potatoes and often begged Chen Ran for a plate.

Still, even with her social anxiety cured, as the female ghost of the haunted house, seeing the same two people on the same map a third time was a bit awkward, and she didn’t know what to do.

“Again… again here?”

“Yeah… we’re here again…”

Bai Qing was a bit embarrassed, but Pan Shiyou was more straightforward.

Although Pan Shiyou was in the chef profession, reaching a top level made him something of a minor internet celebrity. After creating specialty dishes, he was often invited by foodies to meet.

He boldly stepped forward and shook Song Yuhan’s hand, paused, and then used a traditional form of address: “Comrade female ghost, nice to see you again. So, shall we go through the motions with us getting scared and running around, or should we all just take a break and you let us through?”

Before Song Yuhan could reply, Xu Ruyi whispered into the earpiece weakly, “Alright, Xiaohan, you take a break too; just let them through.”

“Okay, you two go ahead first…”

Song Yuhan let them pass, and Pan Shiyou, having tasted the benefit, asked her on the side, “Excuse me, did we just randomly get the Three-Set Duck this trip?”

“Don’t know!”

None of the staff had tried the Three-Set Duck, and even if they knew, they wouldn’t want to say!

While Bai Qing skillfully solved puzzles and triggered mechanisms, he glanced at Pan Shiyou.

“I run into the Three-Set Duck every day randomly in this haunted house, fine, but are you giving up on your restaurant business? Hanging around here every day?”Pan Shiyou was, after all, a well-known local-ranked chef who owned his own restaurant.

However, he was still relatively young and hadn’t trained any decent apprentices yet. When he wasn’t at the restaurant, many of his signature dishes had to be temporarily taken off the menu.

“Well, no choice, I’ll eat here a few more times. Once I’ve eaten enough, I’ll go back!”

While waiting for Bai Qing to solve the puzzle, Pan Shiyou took out his phone and glanced at the long list of unread messages—all from his young apprentice.

“Master! When are you coming back? Didn’t you say you’d be back in two days?”

“Master! Didn’t you say you’d take on an apprentice and then come back? How many days will this apprenticeship banquet last…?”

“Master! How’s my senior sister? Can you send her my regards?”

Seeing this, Pan Shiyou’s face flushed.

He take on an apprentice? He might not even be able to become an apprentice himself!

In the past few days, when he couldn’t get into the haunted house, he did try to communicate with Xu Ruyi. If he couldn’t get in to eat, maybe he could at least talk with Chef Chen?

But Xu Ruyi, following the will of Old Xu, protected Chen Ran comprehensively and from every angle.

Clearing his throat to ease the embarrassment, Pan Shiyou saw that his apprentice’s latest messages had begun pleading for help with other matters.

“Master! Help! That regular customer of yours, Mr. Xu, has ordered your chicken tofu flower dish for the fourth time! I don’t know how to make it!”

“Mr. Xu even asked today if your restaurant wasn’t planning to open anymore?”

At this point, Pan Shiyou felt conflicted.

Mr. Xu saying the restaurant might not reopen wasn’t necessarily a joke.

The first time Mr. Xu came, because there weren’t enough ingredients that day, he couldn’t try the chicken tofu flower he wanted. Pan Shiyou still vividly remembered Mr. Xu’s imposing presence then.

But if he just gave up on the Three-Set Duck, he wouldn’t be satisfied.

After much hesitation, Pan Shiyou remotely instructed his apprentice: “Tell Mr. Xu the truth. I’ve eaten a rare gourmet dish here in the haunted house that even a state banquet might not have. If she’s interested, she can come try it. If not… she’ll have to wait until I go back to make her the chicken tofu flower.”

His apprentice was shocked!

Master, you’re leaving me here struggling to keep the business afloat and dealing with all kinds of big shots, but you secretly go eat delicious food?

What about bringing back my senior sister as promised?

She kept sending seven or eight messages in a row, but Pan Shiyou didn’t reply. The poor apprentice looked up and happened to see Mr. Xu’s slightly fierce face.

“What did your master say?”

Mr. Xu snatched the apprentice’s phone and glanced at the reply. In an instant, her pupils slightly dilated.

Her chef secretly went to eat good food?

Though Mr. Xu was only about 1.55 meters tall, her personality was especially bold and flamboyant.

Her main job was finance-related; after several big ups and downs, when making money she was a powerhouse, and when broke she did rideshares. For fitness, she learned sanda; for travel, she went to Antarctica; and for food, she had to eat the very best.

In recent years, whenever she needed to think, she would come eat a serving of Pan Shiyou’s chicken tofu flower. But in the past week, she kept coming and going away empty-handed.

“Alright, I won’t be hard on you,” Mr. Xu glanced at Pan Shiyou’s apprentice, “What’s there to be afraid of? Stand up straight! If I were you, I’d take advantage of this time to learn your master’s chicken tofu flower and overthrow him!”The young apprentice looked nervously at the nearby waiter, afraid that this statement would be taken seriously.

“Where is this haunted house?”

Mr. Xu didn’t really care about the Three-Set Duck or anything like that.

She had tried so many flashy dishes before. To say it a bit pretentiously, she had even eaten state banquet-level meals.

Besides showcasing skills, a key point of these banquet dishes was that their flavors tended to be safe. At such occasions, tasty was important, but avoiding mistakes was even more so.

A secretary on the side went to confirm the haunted house’s address but soon ran into trouble: “Ms. Xu, this haunted house has been quite popular lately. The reservation qualifications have already been scalped up to 3,500…”

“Just go first,”

Before leaving the restaurant, Ms. Xu reached out and patted the young apprentice’s head. Though she was ten centimeters shorter, her momentum made this gesture feel entirely natural.

“Don’t tell your master. Don’t worry, once I bring him back, I’ll have him teach you how to make chicken tofu flower.”

The young apprentice’s eyes lit up!

At that time, the master had also said the same, worried that she might feel threatened by the arrival of her senior sister and had promised to bring her back to teach chicken tofu flower.

But the senior sister never came back, and the master was secretly eating delicious food alone.

Now, the flickering hope inside her was rekindled once again!

“Alright! Ms. Xu, I’ll definitely keep it a secret. You must bring my master back soon!”

She even cautiously nodded a little to make Ms. Xu’s touch more comfortable.

Ms. Xu smirked slightly and strode away.

Acting immediately on her thoughts had always been Ms. Xu’s creed. Though the secretary hadn’t managed to acquire a transferred reservation yet, her main goal wasn’t to taste the Three-Set Duck anyway.

Bringing Pan Shiyou back to make chicken tofu flower for her—that was the real goal!

She comfortably lay back in the car, listening to the secretary report on the investigation results.

“This haunted house recently caused a stir because of several Huaiyang dishes; reservation prices have been scalped to the point of being extremely hard to get.”

“However, this haunted house still insists on accepting only three groups of visitors a day and ignores online calls to turn it into a horror-themed hotel.”

“From leaked videos and photos online, the haunted house’s construction cost is not low. The owner also owns a small game studio with only three employees. The haunted house is also used to improve the game and for advertising.”

“So, for a long time, this haunted house will probably keep up this scarcity marketing strategy, which also benefits the game’s future launch and sales. The haunted house’s real breakeven point will likely be after the horror game launches, attracting players to visit and buying related merchandise.”

“The haunted house owner’s grandfather was indeed a Huaiyang cuisine master, but the owner himself has a mild disability and likely can’t serve as head chef.”

Ms. Xu nodded slightly.

Analyzing from this perspective, the food in the haunted house seemed even less reliable.

“Reservations for the haunted house have been sold out two weeks in advance. Chef Pan Shiyou is at the haunted house entrance every day asking if anyone is transferring their spot…”

Ms. Xu happily took the coffee from the secretary: “If he shows up, tell me right away.”

The secretary hesitated slightly…

“Do you want to go take a look now?”He knew Ms. Xu’s plan was to go directly and ask Chef Pan Shiyou to get in the car, but the situation now was that if they didn’t get out now, they wouldn’t be able to get out later!

Ms. Xu hesitated for a moment, placed the coffee back into the secretary’s respectfully extended palm, and glanced out the car window.

—There were only heads.

The dense crowd outside the window shouldn’t have appeared at the entrance of such a dilapidated amusement park, let alone at the haunted house’s entrance.

Among the dense crowd, many people were holding simple signs.

“Seeking reservation transfer! Any day within three days!”

“I’m a food blogger with a million followers, begging for a transfer qualification!”

“I have many years of wandering experience, can play multiple ghost roles!”

Ms. Xu sat up.

Her interest was piqued!

It wasn’t that she necessarily believed the food inside was really delicious, but she thought the marketing planning behind all this might be worth poaching for her own use!

She had some prior interest in game projects and was working on an otome game. If this haunted house owner was really that capable, she wouldn’t mind investing in a feminist horror game.

However, before that, she wouldn’t invest blindly. She’d see how this haunted house was actually doing first.

“Get me a reservation qualification.”

The usually all-powerful secretary felt a little troubled, but in the end, relying on connections and financial leverage, he secured a spot for Ms. Xu.

However, it was for the last group in the evening.

“There’s also a surprise for you: Chef Pan Shiyou also secured a spot for that evening group.”

For Ms. Xu, this was indeed a surprise, but for Pan Shiyou, it was less so.

Having barely grabbed another chance, and hearing that the previous two groups hadn’t gotten the Three-Set Duck, Pan Shiyou felt like his whole life had brightened!

This time, Bai Qing didn’t get the qualification and left early in a huff.

Without any familiar people to chat with, Pan Shiyou couldn’t help but grab a nearby stranger tourist: “Do you know? This time we should be able to eat that Three-Set Duck! I’m telling you, the puzzles and escape parts ahead need to be quick. If you don’t understand, just follow me. I’ve been in this haunted house three times already; I’m very familiar!”

“Oh, you’ve been playing the haunted house three times already?”

Pan Shiyou was happily talking when suddenly he heard a voice nearby that left a deep impression.

It was this voice that urged him to open his shop on the second day of the lunar new year, to start business on his wedding afternoon, and on his birthday, gifted him with a banquet booking for ten tables!

“Ms. Xu… you’re here too?”

Pan Shiyou first panicked, then forcibly calmed down: “Haha, you definitely won’t be disappointed!”

Ms. Xu didn’t explain that she wasn’t here for the Three-Set Duck but was interested in the marketing strategy and planned to invest.

Her cold gaze made Pan Shiyou shrink back a bit. After a moment, she said, “Go back and pass your chicken tofu flower skills to your apprentice. I don’t want to keep chasing you all over the world anymore.”

Pan Shiyou smiled bitterly. Such a grand dish as chicken tofu flower would take years before he could slowly teach it to his apprentice.

But once Ms. Xu tastes the Three-Set Duck, she probably won’t have time to keep pestering him so much!When Xu Ruyi came out to guide the visitors, she felt a bit helpless.

Why was that fat chef here again? Could it be that this haunted house really had a real-name registration restriction?

After introducing the rules and handing out booklets, she couldn’t help but complain, “Chef Pan, enough already. This really is a haunted house, not a restaurant. Don’t let me see you helping others solve puzzles on the surveillance!”

“All right, all right! I’ll behave myself!”

Pan Shiyou raised his hands in surrender, and as soon as the door opened, he eagerly rushed inside.

The haunted house’s plot was not fixed. Xu Ruyi kept experimenting with various storylines within the game inside the haunted house she built.

Of course, Xu Ruyi herself came from a family of culinary experts, so her game already incorporated some knowledge related to Huaiyang cuisine. With Mr. Xu’s (Xu Laoguai’s) requirements, Chen Ran’s dishes were cleverly embedded into the haunted house’s plot.

Ms. Xu didn’t like being with others, so she chose a route alone and observed the haunted house’s setup all along.

Under her observation, the haunted house had many highlights, such as feminist care, reflections on feudal persecution, and excellent horror atmosphere and gameplay.

The only shortcoming was that previously she thought the game developer was good at marketing, but now it seemed this marketing mindset was not integrated into the haunted house’s gameplay at all.

Ms. Xu was bold and quick-witted, essentially cutting through all challenges like a hero. While playing, she even recorded many improvement suggestions.

Finally, reaching the end, two female ghosts completed their mutual redemption, while the sinners in the entire mansion were trapped by power and desire.

They tried to survive by eating people, but in the end, they consumed their own flesh and blood.

Players obtained different props, playing different sinners here. Watching the shadows of the female ghosts chasing each other on the ceiling, the entire sensory impact was very enjoyable.

Ms. Xu was somewhat satisfied. The haunted house was done so well; the game should be worth investing in!

She looked at the obviously fat figure beside her, Pan Shiyou, and couldn’t help but complain: “Fine, this time since you found me a good project, I won’t mind you running off. Next time, if you’re really tired, just say you want a vacation. No need for all that Three-Set Duck or Five-Set Duck nonsense. Soon we’ll go back, and you obediently make chicken tofu flower.”

Pan Shiyou said nothing. The first soup of the Three-Set Duck was about to be served, and he was currently resting.

More and more people were gathering at the haunted house entrance. He didn’t know how many times he’d get to eat the Three-Set Duck. Such a chance, even taking a ritual bath beforehand wouldn’t be too much.

Soon, the first soup, one bowl per person, was served.

Ms. Xu grew a bit impatient and complained, “This dish is purely to show off knife skills, how can it compare to the simple and authentic chicken tofu flower!”

She scooped a big spoonful of soup impatiently, and because of the motion, half of the soup spilled.

Carelessly, she put the spoonful of soup into her mouth, and immediately, Ms. Xu sat up straight!

Seeing Pan Shiyou looking regretfully at the spilled soup on the table, Ms. Xu immediately understood.

No wonder she felt the game style and the marketing style outside were somewhat disconnected... The person so skilled at marketing and gimmicks had such a solid, earnest game storyline.

It turned out it wasn’t marketing at all!

Pan Shiyou sighed. Letting Ms. Xu know how good the Three-Set Duck was probably meant he’d have even less chance of getting some later.

“Ms. Xu, you should believe it this time, right? For the Three-Set Duck, the seemingly flashy knife skills are actually the least important foundation of the dish.”

Ms. Xu looked regretfully at the spilled soup on the table...

This game—investment wouldn’t do; it had to be acquired! Including this haunted house, acquire it all!

“Don’t talk, you’re delaying my soup tasting!”Let’s put the chicken tofu flower aside for now and focus on finishing the Three-Set Duck first!

However, at a distant restaurant, Pan Shiyou’s poor little apprentice was still staring at the door.

Ms. Xu should be about to bring her master back, right? Once she does, she can be taught how to make chicken tofu flower!