Food: Starting with Wonton Noodles

Sensing the hidden meaning in Zhou Yu's words, Liang Jinhong chose to remain silent, pretending that Zhou Yu wasn't around.

Zhou Yu didn't wait for Liang Jinhong's reply. He continued, "Actually, the traditional food competitions weren't really childish. In the old days, food competitions could really lead to people's deaths."

Although Liang Jinhong didn't want to pay any more attention to Zhou Yu, he couldn't help but prick up his ears to listen when he heard Zhou Yu say that.

"Back then, it was the old society, and it wasn't as peaceful as it is now. Besides, being a chef was considered a lowly profession back then," Zhou Yu said.

"Especially at the beginning of the last century, when Cantonese cuisine was just emerging, Lingnan was the only port open to trade. Not only did commerce begin to flourish, but it also experienced war. So the environment at that time can be described as a period of great upheaval, with all industries waiting to be revived and then in a state of depression, a period of chaos comparable to the Seven Kingdoms period."

"However, because of this, Lingnan at that time not only had a large number of restaurants serving officials and gentry, but also a large number of teahouses serving ordinary citizens and merchants, as well as a large number of two-cent teahouses patronized by laborers and dockworkers."

Leung Kam-hung couldn't help but interject, asking, "What is a 'two-cent tavern'?"

"Two-cent eateries are now small eateries that specialize in congee, noodles, rice, and porridge. They were called Two-cent eateries because the cheapest bowl of noodles or congee only cost two cents."

After explaining for a moment, Zhou Yu continued, "With so many restaurants, competition is bound to be fierce. Besides, there was war back then, and people didn't have a concept of law; they only had their own industry's rules of conduct. Have you seen Stephen Chow's *The God of Cookery*?"

Seeing Leung Kam-hung nod, Zhou Yu continued, "In The God of Cookery, the scene where Sister Turkey and Brother Kei fight over the right to sell mantis shrimp and beef balls looks funny, but it's actually quite cruel when you look into it."

"In the 1980s, people on Hong Kong Island were willing to fight to the death over the right to sell a food product. Imagine if the Lingnan region, especially Guangzhou, which was even more ravaged by war in the early 20th century, were any more peaceful than the scenes in 'The God of Cookery'?"

As he became increasingly engrossed in Zhou Yu's explanation, Leung Kam-hung couldn't help but nod in agreement.

The scene with the "God of Cookery" and the "pissing beef balls" is so classic that Zhou Yu doesn't need to describe it much; he just naturally remembered it, especially the famous scene where Sister Turkey helped Stephen Chow catch the knife with her hand.

So imagine how cruel it would have been if this had happened in the early 20th century.

Thinking back to what Zhou Yu just mentioned about the food competition, one can't help but feel that those two words evoke countless images of swords and shadows.

"However, a gentler way to resolve conflicts was invented back then, which was food fighting."

Liang Jinhong couldn't help but retort, "You just said it would be more cruel, so how come it's considered mild?"

"Haha," Zhou Yu laughed first, then his expression turned serious, and he said, "Instead of having dozens or hundreds of people hacking at each other in the streets, we can just use kitchen knives to chop vegetables. Isn't that a more peaceful approach?"

Leung Kam-hung remained silent.

Zhou Yu continued, "But indeed, gentleness is relative. A cooking contest alone wouldn't be any more gentle. For example, if both chefs are famous for their knife skills, they could have a competition where they use their own relatives as chopping boards."

"Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, people get so angry that they kill or injure their own children. There are quite a few cases like this."

Upon hearing this, Liang Jinhong felt as if he had become a chopping block, with his father's face contorted as he chopped at him with a kitchen knife.

The hairs on his body stood on end.

"Of course," Zhou Yu said, relaxing his voice. "These things happened in the old society; they no longer exist now."

"However, people in the old society had no choice but to risk their lives for two meals a day. But in our era, we live in peace and prosperity, so why bother with these exploitative ways of making a living?"

At this point, the true intentions were revealed.

......

Zhou Yu watched this farce unfold from beginning to end.

He had just packed up his stall and was about to leave when he saw some people causing trouble at Sun Zhigang's stall, so he stopped to watch.

At first, Zhou Yu was considering calling the police, but since a fight didn't break out, he gave up on the idea.

He originally didn't want to get involved in this mess, but Qi Shijie's attitude was too arrogant, and he couldn't stand it anymore.

Especially when he first opened his stall today, Sun Zhigang came over specifically to apologize to him.

He felt a little reluctant to leave at this point. Besides, he figured Sun Zhigang's poor performance tonight was probably partly his fault.

After carefully examining the scene, he realized who was most likely to persuade Qi Shijie to stay.

It's that tall, thin young man who looks a bit like a member of a Korean boy band.

As for that female college student, well, Zhou Yu didn't think she was that important to Qi Shijie.

So he immediately went to Leung Kam-hung.

The world of martial arts is about human relationships and social interactions, not about fighting and killing.

Liang Jinhong was silent for a moment, then laughed and said, "Speaking of which, you keep talking about 'culinary competition,' but I haven't seen what you mean by 'culinary competition' and 'dry-fried beef noodles' have to do with each other. Also, didn't you say you were going to explain how 'dry-fried beef noodles' came about?"

"Actually, it was back in the early 20th century. Let's continue from where we left off," Zhou Yu said. "Besides the real, hard-fought cooking competitions we just talked about, there was another kind of cooking competition where you couldn't see your opponent. That was innovation."

"If I innovate or improve an old dish and beat yours, you will naturally lose the market as well. Speaking of 'two-cent restaurants,' there are so many of them, the competition is fierce."

"So, what can a small eatery like this, which serves congee, noodles, and rice, rely on to compete in such a fiercely competitive environment?"

Before Liang Jinhong could speak, Zhou Yu cut to the chase: "Efficiency. In the time it takes you to fry one noodle dish, I can fry two, or even three. My customer turnover is much faster, which naturally takes away your customers."

"It just so happened that the charcoal stoves at that time were improved into coal stoves, which greatly increased the heat output. Stir-fried beef noodles were born in this context. In order to serve food faster, the restaurant gradually developed a high-temperature stir-fry technique. This high-temperature stir-fry brought a unique smoky aroma, which directly hit the taste buds of diners. It became popular immediately."

"You're really amazing. You managed to salvage this," Liang Jinhong exclaimed. "By the way, what do you do to know so much?"

"Me? I'd say I'm a part-time chef now," Zhou Yu said. "I love to eat and I enjoy researching food, so naturally I know a bit about it."

"I can help persuade him. However, I can't guarantee he'll listen to me," Liang Jinhong said.

"It's okay, just do your best."

Liang Jinhong nodded. Then he walked towards Qi Shijie.

Zhou Yu followed closely behind.

Just then, Qi Shijie's stir-fried beef noodles were ready.

Compared to Sun Zhigang's unpleasant expression, Qi Shijie was all smiles.

Leung Kam-hung stepped forward, grabbed him, and said something to him.

But it was visibly growing that Qi Shijie's smile was becoming increasingly stiff.

......

Wok hei: also known as Maillard reaction, simply put, at high temperatures, oil (fat), rice noodles (carbohydrate), and beef (protein) undergo a series of chemical reactions to form a unique savory caramelized substance.