Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

A few minutes later, footsteps could be heard on the stairs.

He Yuzhu looked up and saw Lou Bancheng slowly walking down the stairs.

He quickly stood up and greeted him, "Mr. Lou, hello, I am He Yuzhu. I used to come to your house to help with cooking when I was a child."

Lou Bancheng walked closer, looked him over carefully, and smiled, "Hmm, I do remember you. You've grown into a handsome young man in the blink of an eye."

"I heard about your father's situation... He really is... Sigh, let's not talk about him."

He waved his hand, gesturing for He Yuzhu to sit down, and then sat down on the main sofa himself, saying, "I've read the letter. Your father said you were learning your craft at the Emei Restaurant?"

"Yes, Mr. Lou." He Yuzhu sat down as instructed and answered truthfully, "However... Emei Restaurant has been affected by some recent turmoil, and I'm afraid... it will have to close down."

When Emei Restaurant was mentioned, Lou Bancheng sighed, "Master Wu's restaurant... what a pity, these days it's not easy for anyone."

He changed the subject, getting to the point: "Your dad raved about you, saying your Tan family cuisine is now seven or eight tenths as good as his?"

He Yuzhu shook his head and said confidently, "My dad is being modest. My skills are only better than his!"

Lou Bancheng was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Hahaha, good, having confidence is a good thing!"

"Well then, I have a few friends coming over for lunch today. Since you're here, how about you cook this meal? Let me and my friends try your cooking."

He Yuzhu knew that people wouldn't believe him just by talking, so he immediately stood up and replied, "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Lou. I will do my best!"

"Okay!" Lou Bancheng also stood up. "What ingredients do you need? Let Lao Zhou take you to the warehouse to pick them out. There are nine people in total today, including me. You can arrange it as you see fit."

"Understood," He Yuzhu nodded in agreement.

The "Old Zhou" that Lou Bancheng mentioned was the butler.

Upon hearing this, Butler Zhou gestured to He Yuzhu, "Master He, please come with me."

The title has changed from "Little Comrade" to "Master He".

He Yuzhu followed Butler Zhou to the warehouse located at the back of the house.

Upon opening the warehouse door, He Yuzhu exclaimed inwardly, "Good heavens!"

This isn't a warehouse; it's practically a mini food museum.

The ceiling is hung with air-dried Jinhua ham and cured meat, and the shelves against the wall are filled with various dried abalone, sea cucumber, shark fin, fish maw and other precious dried goods.

There's also a special area for seasonal vegetables, and even some off-season fruits and vegetables that are rare this time of year, which clearly took a lot of effort to acquire.

"Master He, please feel free to take whatever you need," said Butler Zhou from the side.

He Yuzhu quickly scanned the menu and already had a list in mind.

Nine people, eight dishes and one soup are enough, and he simply passed on some of the most time-consuming dishes.

Braised shark fin, abalone slices with oyster sauce, braised duck, vegetarian stew with white fungus, Tan family braised pork, poached chicken, giant prawns, stir-fried shredded pork with winter bamboo shoots, and a light and refreshing soup.

"Butler Zhou, I've selected all the ingredients. Let's go to the kitchen!" He Yuzhu said to Butler Zhou after finishing the inventory.

"Okay, Master He, please come with me to the kitchen." Butler Zhou led He Yuzhu to the kitchen.

Upon arriving in the kitchen, He Yuzhu immediately got to work, planning to first prepare a simplified version of the broth.

Making high-quality broth is the foundation of Tan Family Cuisine, emphasizing the word "pure".

While the broth was being prepared, he began to process the other ingredients.

The prepared abalone is sliced ​​into paper-thin slices, and the duck is deboned and cut into neat strips. These are then tied together with ham, shiitake mushrooms, and bamboo shoots to form a "firewood bundle"...

A figure appeared at the kitchen doorway, seemingly out of nowhere.

Lou Bancheng's wife, Tan Yali, stood there quietly, her gaze complex as she looked at the busy young figure in the kitchen.

When her husband mentioned that He Daqing's son was cooking today, she felt a bit curious, even a little scrutinizing.

For her, Tan family cuisine is not just delicious food, but also a family memory etched into her bones.

Her grandfather was one of the direct descendants of the Tan family cuisine, but unfortunately, by her father's generation, chefs were considered "low-class" and refused to take the job, so their branch of the family declined.

As a woman, she could only hide outside the kitchen door when she was a child and secretly watch her grandfather cook, but she still managed to remember a lot of the essentials.

Over the years, she has won over Lou Bancheng's heart and stomach by recreating a few Tan family dishes from her memory.

At this moment, looking at He Yuzhu's back, she felt as if she had traveled through time and returned to her childhood, secretly watching her grandfather cook in front of the stove.

That kind of focus...it can't be faked!

"Madam?" Butler Zhou's voice rang out softly from the side, interrupting Tan Yali's thoughts. "Would you like to go in and take a look? I'll tell Master He."

Tanya Li snapped out of her daze, slowly shook her head, and whispered, "Don't bother him, let's talk about it after he's done."

-------------

Time slipped by unnoticed, and it was almost 11 a.m. in the blink of an eye.

Butler Zhou came to the kitchen again and said respectfully, "Chef He, all the guests have arrived. The master says we can start cooking."

"Alright!" He Yuzhu replied, his aura suddenly changing.

With a loud "boom," the stove fire burst into flames, and the wok in his hands seemed to become an extension of his body.

Heat oil, add ingredients, toss in the wok, season...

The rich aroma spread outwards from the kitchen in waves, like invisible waves.

……

In the living room, Lou Bancheng was chatting with several friends.

Among these individuals are both government officials and business partners, and all of them possess extraordinary demeanor.

Suddenly, one of them twitched his nose a few times and couldn't help but laugh, "Brother Zhenhua, that's not very nice of you! It's supposed to be a family dinner, just a simple meal, but this aroma..."

"You probably secretly invited some master chef to your home, didn't you?"

The others also inhaled the enticing aroma in the air, revealing knowing smiles.

Lou Bancheng laughed heartily, feeling smug inside, but on the surface he waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Everyone has misunderstood, misunderstood! I don't have that much influence, and in this situation I wouldn't dare trouble those master chefs."

He explained, "Today, the chef is the son of an old friend of mine, surnamed He, named He Yuzhu."

"His father used to help me cook at home, as you may have all seen. This boy happened to come to visit me today, and I was thinking of having you food connoisseurs give him your opinions and see how good his cooking really is."

"I didn't expect this kid to actually give me a surprise!"

Upon hearing this, everyone realized that the chef was the son of an old friend, not a chef hired from outside, and their concerns immediately vanished.

A textile business owner's eyes immediately lit up, and he asked, "Oh? The son of an old friend? I wonder which restaurant this young man, He, works at now? Such skills must have been snatched up by someone else long ago, right?"

Lou Bancheng, of course, knew what they were thinking, and immediately retorted, half-jokingly and half-seriously, "Hey, Boss Wang, don't keep eyeing my little corner of the market!"

"I've just discovered a gem, and you're already trying to poach him? No way, I need to observe this child some more, just a little longer!"

Amidst the laughter and conversation, Butler Zhou approached and bowed, saying, "Master, gentlemen, the meal is ready. Please proceed to the dining room."

The aroma had already whetted everyone's appetites, and they all stood up upon hearing the words.