CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: CONQUERING FOODIES

Shan Xinrong initially thought he could make a name for himself with his skills when he first entered the Guest Welcoming Building, but to his surprise, he was only asked to be the head chef’s assistant, helping with chopping and preparing ingredients.

He joined the Guest Welcoming Building at eighteen and is now twenty-five, yet he still hasn’t become a head chef.

The apprentices who joined the Guest Welcoming Building with Shan Xinrong have already become head chefs under their master’s promotion, but he has always been stagnant. To say he’s not frustrated is impossible.

In terms of culinary skills, Shan Xinrong felt he definitely had the level of a head chef; what he lacked was connections. As a lone wolf in the Guest Welcoming Building, it was really hard for him to get promoted.

But this time, Shan Xinrong had absolute confidence, just because of the secret recipe he recently acquired! He had tried it several times at home.

The fairy-like lady from Lin Mengli’s family was indeed like a deity descended to earth. The steamed buns made with this secret recipe were sure to shock everyone!

For the twenty young chefs, the ingredient identification round before the culinary exhibition competition was not too difficult. Everyone had been preparing for this day for a long time, and the skills showdown was the real tough battle.

In this internal head chef promotion competition, there was one person with the most confidence, and he was Ren Qingsheng’s apprentice and also his own son, Ren Quangui.

Among the twenty young chefs, there was one senior apprentice of his, Zhang Yulai, who was sure to concede, plus his father had already secured the support of three well-connected head chefs outside.

Everyone started to get busy, and even Zhang Yulai, who had long thought about giving up the head chef competition, didn’t show any relaxation. He hoped that he would win and then give the spot to his junior brother, rather than losing to him directly in the competition, which was his last bit of stubbornness.

Shan Xinrong took a deep breath as he picked up the flour, put it into the bamboo sieve, and began making his signature dish.

In fact, his family’s signature dish was roast goose, but he had used roast goose in the competition two years ago and it hadn’t made him stand out. So this time, he chose the most ordinary yet not ordinary steamed buns!

Making something extraordinary out of something ordinary is the most impressive!

Knead the dough, add some baking soda, let the dough rest, pick up the steamer for preparation, add some more baking soda, after going through the entire process, Shan Xinrong finally puts the eight molded buns into the steamer to start steaming.

He chose to make eight because before the competition, his wife went to the Daoist Temple to get a fortune slip, and the fortune teller said eight was his lucky number.

Nineteen out of the twenty young chefs had already presented their signature dishes, all were big dishes, and unsurprisingly, Ren Quangui had the highest score so far.

Zhang Yulai lost to his junior brother, though there wasn’t much expression on his face, his heart was already filled with darkness—his master withheld his skills, the dish that his junior brother was good at had never been taught to them by their master.

"Why isn’t it ready yet? What exactly is the last young chef making?" The three invited gourmet reviewers impatiently asked.

The head chef sitting next to them replied, "I just glanced over, it seems to be steamed buns."

"Steamed buns?"

"Is he joking?"

"Can steamed buns really be a signature dish?"

"Here it comes, here it comes, he’s bringing the steamer out."

"Sorry for keeping you all waiting." Shan Xinrong directly pulled the small steamer off the pot and placed it on the exhibition table in the hall. He lifted the lid, revealing the fluffy and full white steamed buns to everyone’s eyes.

The eight steamed buns were cut into sixteen pieces, leaving one piece on display at the exhibition table, while the rest were served to the judges.

The gourmet named Tao commented, "Very good-looking steamed buns, smooth skin, rare fair color, the plump appearance is quite good, they are somewhat like ’doudo’ (an ancient term for steamed buns), but much fluffier."

The head chef was a bit surprised to see this steamed bun, he pinched it with his fingers and found that the bun quickly rebounded to its original shape, very fluffy and elastic.

The impatient gourmet took a bite, the minute holes immediately exuded a faint wheat aroma, lingering in the mouth, with a slight sweetness when chewed.

Completely incomparable to the thick-skinned, hard, and sour steamed buns eaten in the past! The texture was soft yet chewy, so delicious that you couldn’t stop eating.

The gourmet quickly ate the half portion he was given and hurriedly shouted, "Bring me that other half over there too!"

Eh, there’s an echo!

Hey! What echo, it was clearly greedy Old Tao shouting at the same time, just like him.

The air filled with "crackling" sounds as if there was electricity, and while the two of them were staring at each other, the remaining gourmet had already climbed over the table and directly ran to the exhibition stand, stuffing the remaining steamed bun into his mouth.

"Hey! You little rascal!"

Both of them cursed in unison and then shouted to Shan Xinrong, "Your signature dish is phenomenal, I give you full marks! Now, hurry, steam another batch for me, I want to take some home for my family to try!"

Seeing the performance of the three gourmets like this, the head chef and the shopkeeper exchanged a glance, was there even a need to discuss the results of this competition?

The simplest is often the hardest. Playing new tricks with ordinary food is what’s truly impressive.

The head chef stood up, smiled at Shan Xinrong, and said, "Since the three gourmet masters have such a request, why don’t you, Little Shan, quickly go make a few more batches?"

Shan Xinrong excitedly almost jumped up, his voice distorted as he replied to the head chef, "Yes~~~"

Meanwhile, Ren Quangui and Ren Qingsheng’s faces were all gloomy, never expecting that even though everything was arranged, an unexpected outcome would still occur.

"Lin Mengli, oh Lin Mengli, you are truly my lucky star. If I become a head chef this time, I’ll definitely invite you to our restaurant for a feast!" Shan Xinrong thought happily to himself, feeling utterly relieved.

The future (fortune) was bright!

That afternoon, the Guest Welcoming Building introduced a new specialty—Cloud White Steamed Buns.

Everyone who tasted the Cloud White Steamed Buns was conquered by its sweet and soft texture. Compared to the Cloud White Steamed Buns in their hands, the sour and hard steamed buns they had previously eaten could only be considered dog food.

A Cloud White Steamed Bun wasn’t expensive, those who could afford to dine at the Guest Welcoming Building didn’t care about spending a few extra coins. Moreover, even with money, it wasn’t easy to buy.

Because it took time to rest the dough, Shan Xinrong never imagined there would be such a sensational effect, and he hadn’t prepared enough to sell.

Often, as soon as a batch of steamed buns came out of the steamer, they were snatched up immediately, whether plain or with meat filling, they were in high demand.

Over at the Yuebin Building, a table had just ordered when a friend called them away: "Today, the Guest Welcoming Building has fresh food, let’s go see, if we go late, there’ll be none left."

"What is worth your fuss?"

"You’ll know when you get there, quick, let’s go."

"Alright, alright then."

The Yuebin Building waiter watched as the customers left.

After just one night, every restaurant in the small town learned about the Guest Welcoming Building’s Cloud White Steamed Buns.

The shopkeeper of the Yuebin Building was particularly distressed because he immediately recalled that not long ago, a merchant’s wife had tried to sell him a recipe that could make steamed buns larger and whiter, but he hadn’t taken it seriously back then!

There was once a chance to make a fortune placed before him, but he didn’t cherish it. Only after losing it did he regret it deeply.