Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Where Did Lin Wei Go? No Comment!...

Chapter 70

Wang Zhaoshan didn’t bother to chew carefully and lifted the delicate porcelain bowl to examine it.

Even though he now had the answer, just by looking at it from the outside, it was still hard to tell that this wasn’t a bowl of regular porridge.

Every single grain of “rice” was so perfectly shaped!

He even scooped up a few grains with his spoon to inspect closely, but even at such a close distance, he couldn’t see any trace of meat fibers.

Nor in the texture!

The grains crushed by his tongue were only smooth and fragrant. This texture—even though it genuinely carried the aroma of meat—made it hard for him to believe it was chicken.

If it were an ordinary diner without much experience, they might think it was just porridge stewed in chicken broth for too long, so the rice flavor fully turned into meat flavor...

Taking a sip of the chicken porridge, even Wang Zhaoshan, an experienced gourmet, was shocked by the taste.

One more sip?

At first, he was overwhelmed by the texture, but on the second sip, the flavor also shocked him deeply.

In the taste of this chicken porridge, besides a faint mushroom umami enhancing the flavor, no other taste besides the salty flavor could be detected.

Only the pure aroma of chicken!

And this pure chicken aroma was not overpowering but had a gentle fragrance, fresh yet soothing and calm.

Though it was completely made from chicken, not only in texture and appearance did it recreate plain porridge, even in spirit, it restored the comfort that a bowl of plain porridge gives.

Like recovering from a serious illness, still carrying a trace of the coldness and unease of sickness, one sip of plain porridge and then lying back into a warm quilt.

This fresh yet strangely peaceful chicken flavor soothed him all the way from his mouth to his heart.

Ah—

Wang Zhaoshan couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, as if only this could dilute such a complex sensory experience.

Qingjiao Ge on the other side saw this and felt a bit sorry for Old Wang.

He couldn’t help but shout over, “Old Wang, how about we swap a bite?”

No way!

Although he hadn’t eaten the Three-Set Duck yet, Wang Zhaoshan had tried many similar dishes over the years—like Eight-Treasure Duck and Four-Treasure Set.

The seven flavors of the Three-Set Duck sounded incredible, and he could roughly imagine what it was like.

But if the seven-flavor Three-Set Duck was complexity to the extreme, then this bowl of chicken porridge, looking like plain and simple porridge, was about simplifying back to the essence.

For a food critic who had tasted all kinds of gourmet dishes, he had reviewed many complex dishes, but pure and simple food like this chicken porridge was rare.

Adding complexity is easy; reducing it to this degree is hard!

However, in refusing so quickly, he was a bit afraid Qingjiao Ge might pounce to try it. After hanging out with this guy for so long, he was well familiar with his “I don’t care” style!

“No need, my stomach isn’t feeling well today. Having some warm porridge suits me just fine. Not bad—Chef Lin’s porridge cooking isn’t bad at all.”Wang Zhaoshan’s acting was always just right. Any more, and it would be easy to arouse suspicion.

Qingjiao Ge laughed out loud: “Old Wang, then you just aren’t lucky. I’m going to eat my Three-Set Duck! Don’t worry, I’ll describe the taste to you properly!”

Watching Qingjiao Ge turn and leave, Wang Zhaoshan exhaled lightly.

Even his breath was filled with the fresh aroma of chicken.

The chicken-made “rice grains” when chewed were full of natural fragrance, even a little elastic like high-quality fragrant rice. He really found it hard to imagine how pure chicken could achieve this texture.

If there was a bit more fat added, the flavor of the chicken rice wouldn’t be so fresh and pure; but with zero added fat, why was the meat-textured rice neither dry nor tough, yet so elastic in the mouth?

Having studied cooking for several years, Wang Zhaoshan thought of one possibility.

Unless this texture was entirely created by knife skills and precise heat control!

It wasn’t tough because the chicken was roughly chopped by hand, not shredded and torn by a food processor. Moreover, he could hardly imagine how hand-chopped chicken mince could be even more delicate than machine-processed!

Chopped to this extent, with not a trace of off-flavor? Didn’t it require a cutting board?

Wang Zhaoshan shook his head. As a former apprentice chef who knew he lacked talent and had turned to food criticism, he always felt a little wistful when witnessing such genius skill.

He scooped half a spoon of chicken porridge again, first drinking the broth, then carefully tasting the texture of the grains inside.

Although clearly made of chicken, there was not a shred of meat residue; each grain had an extremely tender texture.

The mastery of heat control was simply extraordinary!

One more second of heating and the chicken rice would start to dry out; one second less, and there might be a faint raw meat taste.

What is luxury? This is luxury!

Wang Zhaoshan had heard countless times that Huaiyang cuisine in the past was a luxury cuisine served only to high officials and literati.

But ancient luxury seemed less striking in the modern day.

Advances in technology and logistics had made many once-precious ingredients less rare. Things that only emperors could enjoy in ancient times were now available to common people.

The so-called “extravagance,” like seven or eight chickens with an eggplant in Dream of the Red Chamber, was not difficult for ordinary families to make today.

But drinking this bowl of chicken porridge today, he truly felt the sense of luxury.

What is luxury? This is true luxury!

Not because of precious ingredients, but because of such top-tier skill used to turn an ordinary piece of chicken into a bowl that looks like plain white porridge.

And after making it look like plain white porridge, even the name was not flashy—simply called “chicken porridge,” casually served like that.

And only a top food critic like him could understand how much effort was spent inside.

This unpretentious, unshowy, indifferent kind of luxury—that is true luxury!

In this moment, Wang Zhaoshan seemed truly immersed in the mansion of a wealthy salt merchant in Yangzhou of old, feeling that overwhelming aura of immense wealth.

Top-level manpower flowed like water, spent without a care in the world!

He couldn’t help but pull out his phone and eagerly ask Ms. Chang Nian about the origin of this chicken porridge.

“Chicken porridge… does anyone still know this thing? Even Old Xu, after forty, stopped making this dish—he just didn’t have the spirit for it anymore.”Chang Nian sighed, wondering what kind of days these past few have been. First, Old Xu was going to come out of retirement, and now even the recipe for chicken porridge was being brought up again.

“Have you heard the phrase ‘san cheng shi’ before when you went to the Sichuan cuisine exchange? It means that a chef who can make sanzi is qualified enough to start their own school.”

“In Sichuan dialect, ‘sanzi’ is the same as ‘dizi’ in Yangzhou dialect. And the ultimate master of the dizi technique in Huaiyang cuisine is the bowl of chicken porridge in front of you.”

“Nowadays when people talk about Huaiyang cuisine, they mention things like Wensi tofu three-course banquet, but if you want to talk about the real skill of Huaiyang cuisine, it’s all in the chicken porridge.”

Unable to help but say a few words about its origins, Ms. Chang Nian suddenly became alert.

Logically, hardly anyone should know about this almost-lost chicken porridge recipe—so how did Wang Zhaoshan know?

“You’re eating chicken porridge???”

Three question marks perfectly showed her urgency!

In fact, after this message, Ms. Chang Nian, who rarely sent voice messages, quickly sent three voice messages in a row!

Wang Zhaoshan chuckled.

He finally had a chance to handle the director!

He shot a multi-angle, full-view video of the chicken porridge in front of him, then scooped a spoonful and put it into his mouth before sending it to Chang Nian.

“Embedding elegance within the ordinary…”

Chang Nian opened the video, watched it carefully several times, and sighed.

To be honest, if it were someone else watching this video, they wouldn’t feel anything special.

Because the porridge in the video looked exactly like any ordinary plain porridge.

What could be more mundane, everyday, and down-to-earth than a bowl of plain porridge?

But if you talk about elegance, what is more refined than such top-level technique being dedicated wholeheartedly to making a simple bowl of porridge?

No wonder she was the director of Famous Chefs’ Records. Chang Nian quickly responded, wondering which chef this was.

“Where did you eat it? What’s the chef’s name?”

If Wang Zhaoshan had dared to let Ms. Chang Nian eat at the big banquet or even halfway up the mountain before, he definitely wouldn’t dare this time at the haunted house.

“It’s at… the haunted house. The chef’s name is Lin Wei. I’ll find out more later, but this Chef Lin Wei doesn’t seem to be without background. You better not go joining the fun at the haunted house.”

After replying to Chang Nian, Wang Zhaoshan treasured and carefully ate the last spoonful of chicken porridge.

He looked at the inside of the covered bowl, very satisfied.

So clean it could reflect light!

After all, as a professional food critic, he didn’t need to use bread to wipe the bowl clean and could still get such a spotless bowl.

At this moment, the warm chicken porridge seemed to still soothe his stomach. Wang Zhaoshan stood up from his chair, chest out, head held high, feeling as if he himself had become refined.

He glanced sideways at Qingjiao Ge, who was almost licking his bowl clean after eating the three-set duck, feeling a small sense of pride.

Qingjiao Ge also noticed Wang Zhaoshan was about to leave!

Poor guy, Old Wang is so afraid of ghosts, his facial features were twisted together when playing games, and he didn’t even dare to turn on his voice.In the end, he only ate a small bowl of porridge. Judging by how fast he drank it, that small bowl probably wasn’t even full.

He even felt a bit sorry!

Qingjiao Ge couldn’t help but reveal a bit of the truth to Wang Zhaoshan.

“Uncle Wang, actually the slip I got at first was that bowl of chicken porridge.”

Hearing this, Wang Zhaoshan’s breathing faltered for a moment, as if the bowl of chicken porridge had just been snatched away. But then he realized quietly that the porridge was still peacefully resting in his stomach.

He deliberately exaggerated, acting: “Oh? Then how did you manage to get the three-set duck?”

“Hehe,” Qingjiao Ge felt proud just thinking about it, “They said each person could only use one slip, but they didn’t say you had to use the first one, right? So I put that slip back, and then flipped to a three-set duck slip!”

“You brat!”

Qingjiao Ge couldn’t help but chuckle: “Who would’ve thought, Old Wang, you actually followed behind me! The chicken porridge slip I put back ended up landing on you!”

Wang Zhaoshan couldn’t hold back his expression anymore and burst out laughing.

At first, Qingjiao Ge was a bit smug, but as Wang Zhaoshan laughed louder and louder, he couldn’t help but touch his own face.

Could it be that he had just eaten his own face?

After laughing, Wang Zhaoshan walked over, patted Qingjiao Ge’s shoulder, and sincerely thanked him.

“Really, thank you, little brother. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have tasted this bowl of chicken porridge!”

When he had tasted the clear stewed crab meat lion’s head before, he was already thinking about trying Chef Lin Wei’s restaurant when it opened.

But this chicken porridge…

Even if the restaurant really opens, given the high standards and strict requirements of this dish, it probably won’t be a regular menu item, but more likely a limited signature chef’s dish.

Speaking of which, Wang Zhaoshan sincerely thanked him again: “Thanks! I’ll treat you to a meal later, doesn’t matter which restaurant in Beijing or Shanghai, you pick whatever you want!”

Qingjiao Ge was stunned.

It was just a bowl of chicken porridge. When he had peeked over just now, he really did see only a plain bowl of porridge.

He carefully finished the duck meat in the bowl, quickly took out his phone, and searched online for chicken porridge.

But whether on short video sites or elsewhere, the chicken porridge he found didn’t look like the plain porridge just now. Most had chicken chunks and mushrooms added.

But judging by Wang Zhaoshan’s expression just now, it seemed like he had missed some incredible gourmet delicacy!

Qingjiao Ge felt an itch in his heart.

He couldn’t help it and asked a question on the Zhifou website.

“Who knows what famous recipe is a bowl of chicken porridge that looks exactly like plain porridge?”

Qingjiao Ge was a fairly active user on Zhifou with quite a few fans. As soon as he asked, many people came to tease.

“Like plain porridge, that’s just plain porridge. Who says plain porridge can’t be called chicken porridge?”

“Did the poster eat too much in the cafeteria? There are tons of famous recipes in China, but very few are porridge.”

By the time Qingjiao Ge finished the three-set duck and returned to the dorm, he still hadn’t gotten any serious answers. The replies under the question were just a bunch of acquaintances joking around.Almost none of the highly upvoted answers could solve Qingjiao Ge’s question.

Qingjiao Ge felt a bit frustrated. Had Wang Zhaoshan actually fooled him? Old Wang didn’t get the three-set duck, only ate a bowl of plain porridge, and deliberately put on that act for him.

Damn it!

“Hurry up, we’re just waiting for you! Your Medusa’s been waiting for a long time!”

Qingjiao Ge grudgingly turned off his phone and went to play games with his roommates.

Coincidentally, at that moment, a user with a blank avatar and a nickname that sounded more like a real name answered the question.

“May I ask, young comrade, where did you see this bowl of porridge? This description reminds me of the legendary Huaiyang chicken porridge. However, this dish has not been seen in the world for at least thirty years. May I ask where you saw or ate it?”

After typing this somewhat laboriously, Wu Chaomei waited for a while but saw no reply.

She took off her reading glasses and sighed.

Back then, the peers who had learned their craft together at the state-run hotel—how many of them were left now?

During that catastrophe, the ancient recipes that survived household raids and public criticism disappeared quietly in the wave of the so-called market economy era.

“Grandma! My dad is asking again... He said maybe we should turn the main restaurant into a takeout shop.”

Wu Chaomei angrily slammed the table: “I’m not dead yet! Wait until I’m dead before you talk about that!”

That heartless scoundrel!

“Tell him that if he still uses those cooking packages soaked in water in the kitchen, I will report him to the market supervision bureau!”

Her granddaughter hurried over and gently patted her back: “Grandma, don’t be angry! Your blood pressure…”

After some fussing, giving her water carefully, the granddaughter cautiously checked her expression.

“Using cooking packages isn’t illegal, even if you report him, it won’t help.”

Wu Chaomei weakly took another sip of water and waved her granddaughter out.

How could she not know?

Chen Yun and that scoundrel’s whole family made cooking packages and additives until their company went public—what could others do about them?

She glanced again at her phone; the question asker on the Zhifou app still hadn’t replied.

The old companions from back then were becoming fewer and fewer. Those young ones who could really learn the craft were also becoming rarer.

But there was still hope.

Judging by this question asker’s inquiry, he must have really seen someone else eat the chicken porridge to ask about it.

People regard food as their heaven.

Food must be finely prepared, tastefully cut; blandness invites flavor, flavor brings out the dish; meat sliced poorly is not eaten.

It doesn’t even have to be so elaborate or cultured—it could be overnight cold rice fried with eggs, garlic sprout stir-fried pork that tastes better the next meal, or whether to eat tofu pudding sweet or savory.

But the kitchen cannot be one without a fire, only hot water and a microwave.

“As long as someone still makes chicken porridge… as long as someone still makes chicken porridge…”Wu Chaomei sighed.

She didn’t really want to call her granddaughter again, so she asked the only young contact she had—a TV director who had contacted her a few times before.

“Xiao Zhao, can you teach me how to send a message to someone on the Zhifou app? I want to ask him this question.”

On the other side, Xiao Zhao responded very enthusiastically. After about ten minutes of back-and-forth, they finally sent the private message.

Before the conversation ended, Xiao Zhao couldn’t help but ask again, “Ms. Wu, about that variety show that contacted you earlier—have you thought it over?”

“Although they want you to be a guest commentator, our show doesn’t have a script, so you can speak freely!”

Wu Chaomei habitually wanted to decline, but just as her finger was about to release, she canceled.

Should she try a little for this?

The silver-haired Ms. Wu recalled the quotations she memorized daily when she first went to the countryside.

“...The past struggles had little effect, mainly because they failed to unite real friends to attack real enemies...”

Unite real friends, attack real enemies.

Who were her enemies?

Not the restaurants and hotels with better business, nor the chefs with better skills.

Her enemies were those who concocted strange and harmful additives, those who sold pre-made cooking packages at fresh-cooked prices, those who covered up stale ingredients with strong flavors and high sugar.

They caused the market to collapse, making people’s first reaction to tasty food be “there’s something added that shouldn’t be,” distrustful of the shops.

Xiao Zhao looked at the chat window showing “typing...” and nervously held his breath waiting.

Soon, a voice message was sent over.

Xiao Zhao was nervous!

He took a deep breath and didn’t dare listen directly to the voice; instead, he opened the transcription.

“Okay, I’ll think about it. Send me the detailed schedule and I’ll take a look.”

She actually agreed!

Xiao Zhao was surprised. He informed the team leader of this progress while thinking about the earlier matter.

What exactly was that chicken porridge?

Why did Ms. Wu Chaomei, who was previously impossible to persuade, suddenly change her mind this time?

It wasn’t just Xiao Zhao wondering about the chicken porridge; meanwhile, whether in Chen Ran’s fan group or the old gourmet group, everyone was drooling over that chicken porridge.

As a food critic, Wang Zhaoshan immediately wrote a long review and published it.

The review was titled "Though Made by Man, It Seems Created by Heaven."

As a somewhat well-known food critic in the circle, Wang Zhaoshan’s Weibo had some following.

However, in the age dominated by short videos, he rarely wrote such purely textual long reviews anymore. After all, showing the food and the diners’ facial expressions through video was more vivid and engaging.

And gained followers faster.But this chicken porridge was different.

As a dish with a huge contrast between its appearance and its essence, a video couldn’t fully convey its power.

Just like the video he sent to Chang Nian, no matter how you looked at it, it only showed a bowl of plain porridge.

Such a dish must be described with words to capture its ultimate deliciousness.

However, the process of recalling the taste of the chicken porridge to write the review was truly despairing.

Wang Zhaoshan stayed up until 5 a.m. before finally finishing the review. During this time, in front of him sat a bowl of plain porridge and a bowl of chicken broth, repeatedly recalling and pondering the taste back then.

Outside the window, the night was still pitch dark, but Wang Zhaoshan wasn’t sleepy at all.

He had once heard Ms. Chang Nian, who was twenty years older than him, talk about the era of flourishing diversity and debate, mention various masters back then, and their never-ending pursuit of culinary skills.

But he hadn’t truly felt it.

In his more than ten years as a food critic, honestly, he had reviewed far more popular internet restaurants than old-established ones. Most of the food was delicious, but culture? He hadn’t really sensed it.

However, Ms. Chang Nian’s several moments of hesitation made him taste all that in this bowl of chicken porridge.

In the past, whenever he spoke of food culture, he felt uneasy using the term.

Wasn’t it just satisfying appetite? Calling it culture seemed too empty.

But this bowl connected time and space, making him feel as if he was sitting with chicken porridge from a thousand years ago, genuinely sensing this power.

It was also the strength hidden in the bloodline of this unique ethnic group.

Finally sending out the review, Wang Zhaoshan endured and stared at his phone until six in the morning.

It was six o’clock. The haunted house owner… should be awake by now, right?

Xu Ruyi, woken by a call from Wang Zhaoshan, was a bit stunned. Looking out the window, disbelief was in her tone.

She ran a haunted house! The business hours should at least start in the afternoon, right?

“You’re calling me at six in the morning to ask when the haunted house will reopen?”

She had morning grumpiness too, you know!

Hearing the other’s pleading tone, Xu Ruyi felt a bit pleased.

“Don’t bother! Chef Lin Wei’s contract ended yesterday!”

“What? Where did she go?”

Xu Ruyi laughed heartily three times, dropped a sentence, then hung up.

“No comment!”