Republic of China, 1928: Starting from a Wonton Shop

After dealing with all of this, Li Chunsheng turned around and looked at Yunniang and Yaya, who were huddled in the corner.

Yunniang was already in tears. She looked at Li Chunsheng with a complex expression, a mixture of gratitude and guilt.

This is the first time in so many years since the man died that a man has stood in front of her, fighting those thugs to protect her dignity.

"It's alright, sister-in-law."

After comforting Yunniang, Li Chunsheng felt a burning pain in his back; the impact had been quite severe.

"Boss Li." A voice rang out from behind.

Li Chunsheng turned around and saw Zhou Zhengnan standing by the table, holding a wine glass in his hand, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Excellent tactic," Zhou Zhengnan exclaimed. "Using someone else's strength against them, a fox borrowing the tiger's power—Boss Li's performance here is even more brilliant than the actors at Guanghe Tower."

Li Chunsheng rubbed his lower back and said with a wry smile, "Sir, please don't make fun of me. I was forced into this situation. If I hadn't brought up Ma San, it's uncertain whether this shop would have survived today, and my sister-in-law would probably have been in trouble."

"Aren't you afraid that person really won't give you face?" Zhou Zhengnan asked.

"That guy is a thug from out of town. Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. He's more intimidated than anyone else."

After listening, Zhou Zhengnan gave Li Chunsheng a deep look.

If his previous impression of Li Chunsheng was just that of a slightly skilled and passionate ordinary citizen, then now, that assessment needs to be revised.

He remains calm in the face of adversity, possesses both courage and wisdom, understands human relationships, and knows when to advance and retreat. More importantly, he has a ruthless spirit and a strong sense of justice in his bones.

If such a person could be recruited into the organization...

Zhou Zhengnan's mind started to wander.

"Boss Li," Zhou Zhengnan downed his drink in one gulp, picked up his briefcase, "I thoroughly enjoyed the show today, and the wine was excellent too. I'll come back another day to learn from you."

"Take care, sir!"

After seeing Zhou Zhengnan off, Li Chunsheng breathed a sigh of relief.

[The host has successfully resolved the crisis, upholding the dignity of the employees and the reputation of the store.]

[Reward: Reputation Points +500]

[To start the side quest: The Birth of a Culinary Master, please choose one cuisine from the following options.]

Huaiyang cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Zhejiang cuisine, Hunan cuisine

"Isn't this the Eight Great Cuisines? Aren't there four others?" Li Chunsheng scratched his head. "He's not going to make me learn all eight cuisines, is he...?"

Putting all that aside, he looked at the options. Actually, he most wanted to choose Shandong cuisine and Sichuan cuisine, but unfortunately, those two options weren't available.

Shandong cuisine is more suited to northern tastes, while Sichuan cuisine is spicy and flavorful; he himself prefers Sichuan cuisine the most.

Huaiyang cuisine, also known as Jiangsu cuisine, emphasizes knife skills and presentation. Its flavors are mild, with a balanced sweet and salty taste. It excels in stewing, braising, and simmering, aiming to be enjoyed by people from both the north and south, and for all to enjoy. However, in Beijing at that time, no matter how beautifully presented your dish was, it wouldn't matter. Moreover, Huaiyang cuisine tends to be mild, and the people of the capital probably wouldn't like it.

Cantonese cuisine emphasizes the original flavor and freshness of ingredients; chicken should taste like chicken, and fish should taste like fish. It employs diverse cooking techniques, particularly excelling in steaming and blanching, resulting in a clear, fresh, crisp, tender, and smooth flavor. While there are many Cantonese restaurants in Beiping (Beijing), they are primarily frequented by wealthy families or government officials; Li Ji Restaurant cannot yet reach that level of prestige.

Zhejiang cuisine, well, let's not talk about it... Before his rebirth, Li Chunsheng was a native of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and his favorite food was Jiangxi stir-fry.

As for this Hunan cuisine, it is characterized by its spicy and sour flavors, with strong and distinct tastes. It makes good use of smoked and cured products, as well as chopped and pickled peppers; it is heavy on oil, spice, and color, making it appetizing and perfect with rice.

Nowadays, there are many people in Beiping, especially manual laborers, whether they are rickshaw pullers or unloaders!

After heavy physical labor, what you need most is salt and carbohydrates, and Hunan cuisine is the perfect way to replenish them!

"System, I choose Hunan cuisine!" Li Chunsheng silently recited in his mind.

[Host selection of Hunan cuisine detected; newbie given a choice of one of three rewards:]

【A. Steamed Fish Head with Chopped Chili (with secret recipe for marinating chopped chili)】

【B. Stir-fried Pork with Chili Peppers (with Pork Identification Techniques)】

【C. Mao's Braised Pork Belly (with instructions on caramelizing sugar)】

Li Chunsheng's gaze lingered on the three dishes.

These three dishes would be top-notch in Hunan restaurants in later generations, any one of them could hold its own. But in Beiping in 1928, there were many more intricacies involved.

The first dish Li Chunsheng ruled out was chopped chili fish head.

Not to mention that Beiping City is not near the river or the sea, most of the fish on the market have to be transported from Tianjin or are local fish from the rivers in the suburbs of Beijing. They are not only fishy, ​​but the prices are also unstable. More importantly, this dish is too troublesome to eat!

Those rickshaw pullers and porters only have a short lunch break, who has the time to slowly pick out fish bones?

The second dish is stir-fried pork with chili peppers.

This dish is indeed very appetizing and is the soul of Hunan cuisine, but after thinking about it for a while, Li Chunsheng shook his head.

Firstly, in the dead of winter in Beiping, fresh green and red peppers are a rare commodity, costing more than meat! If you use dried peppers to stir-fry them, they lose their fresh spiciness.

Secondly, the restaurant already offers twice-cooked pork, so the stir-fried pork with chili peppers overlaps somewhat in terms of positioning. Both are stir-fried meat slices with vegetables, so there's nothing new about them.

All that's left is that famous Mao-style braised pork!

Li Chunsheng's eyes lit up when he saw this option.

Braised pork belly is the most hearty and substantial dish in Chinese cuisine!

For ordinary people at the bottom of society, nothing is more satisfying than a bite of perfectly marbled pork. The feeling of the fat bursting in their mouths is a satisfaction that no vegetable can replace.

Moreover, Mao's braised pork is fundamentally different from ordinary braised pork.

Ordinary braised pork is usually colored with soy sauce, resulting in a dark color, and it can be greasy if you eat too much of it.

But Mao-style braised pork is all about not using a single drop of soy sauce! It relies entirely on caramelizing sugar!

The dish is made by frying rock sugar and white sugar to create a dark red syrup, which is then coated onto the pork belly. The finished dish has a bright red and golden color, is crystal clear, and because of the addition of sugar and dried chili peppers, it has a balanced sweet and salty taste with a hint of spiciness. It is rich but not greasy and melts in your mouth!

Most importantly, this dish can be stewed in a large pot in advance!

Just like braised pork and baked wheat cake, a big pot is stewed early in the morning, and when guests arrive, it's ready to serve immediately. Just pour it over white rice, and the taste is amazing!

"System, I choose C, Mao's Braised Pork!"

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe: Mao's Braised Pork.]

[Rewards: Techniques for caramelizing sugar and secrets to removing the gamey smell and enhancing the aroma of pork belly.]

A stream of information flooded into Li Chunsheng's mind.

The control of the heat, the adjustment of the sugar-oil ratio, and how to stir-fry until the oil is rendered without burning—all these details seem to be muscle memory he has practiced a thousand times.

"Hoo!" Li Chunsheng exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes gleaming.

He couldn't wait to try the famous Mao-style braised pork!