Chapter 8: Mediocre Cooking Skills

  Yu Bo shook his head: "Only a senior sommelier may be able to smell the type of wine, but it's unlikely they'll know what brand it is!"

  There is no sommelier here, just two men, men who can drink wine.

  "There's another possibility, someone who knows a lot about wine but doesn't drink it, for example... this young lady!" Shen Qingyang said as much as he dared to say, but didn't know whether the beautiful woman in front of him was a maiden or a married woman, so after hesitating for a few seconds, he still thought it more suitable to call her "young lady".

  "Heh heh!" Old Man Yu nodded in approval: "Young brother is right! Xiang'er doesn't drink, but she understands wine the most!"

  "Uncle, the smell of liquor is so familiar, it's Father's favorite vodka!" Xinger's face turned bright red as she glanced unnaturally at Shen Qingyang who was leaning lazily on his chair. Suddenly, she discovered that this slightly chubby young man was different from the Chinese people she had met before - he had a certain air about him, although his looks were ordinary!

  "Vodka!" The old man stood up abruptly and his face became much more serious: "You said your father was invited away by a cripple? What kind of person?"

  "He was a beggar-like Chinese man, walking with a severe limp, and it was too dark to see his face clearly. He spoke in a somewhat unclear manner, and seemed to be very afraid!" Xiang'er looked at Yaobo with lingering fear, her handkerchief wrapped around her hand, constantly flipping it over.

  "The cripple said it was the boss of Tianze Garden who invited Spring Brother?"

  "No... nothing, it was Father's last words!"

  Yu Bo paced back and forth in the cramped room, his old face becoming increasingly solemn. Suddenly, he thought of something: "You said that these days there have been people eating at the tyrant's table? Who are they?"

  "No...I don't know!" Xiang'er's face turned pale, looking at Yaobo in a daze.

  This woman is too weak! Shen Qingyang glanced at the beauty with a slanted eye, and his heart rippled slightly. Those who eat at the tyrant's table are nothing but a few types of people: one is penniless rascals, two are malicious extortionists, and three are rivals with ulterior motives.

  "Yi Shui Zhai" is just an ordinary Chinese restaurant, not very big, in a remote location, small business, barely making a living, let alone getting rich! Otherwise, it's impossible for a few people who eat at the "Ba Wang Can" to bring down the hotel.

  However, Shen Qingyang was only interested in the mute, made some irrelevant judgments and leaned on the chair with a cigarette in his mouth, not lighting it, looking at Ya Bo. It seems that the old man and Yi Shui Zhai have some connection, apart from pulling customers for the small restaurant, they should have some kind of connection, such as being fellow villagers.

  "Girl, don't be too anxious, Spring Brother has a great relationship with others, and our restaurant doesn't pose a threat to Tianze Garden's business. Moreover, the boss of Tianze Garden won't have any ill intentions towards Spring Brother, maybe he really needs him..."

  "Hmph—" A sudden burst of cold laughter mixed with coughing interrupted Ah-yi's words, Shen Qingyang covered her mouth and slanted her eyes playfully staring at Ah-yi.

  "What's wrong with what I said?!" Yu Bo asked, his face flushing red.

  It's not just wrong, it's utterly absurd! Shen Qingyang restrained his smile and put down the tea in his hand: "Do you think it's normal to let a beggar with crippled legs ask the boss of Yi Shui Zhai to help out in the kitchen for Tian Ze Garden?"

  "You don't know squat!" Old Man Yu scolded with a straight face, no one had ever dared to be so rude to him before, although he lived on the outskirts of the city and mixed with the riffraff in the dirty alleys, but relying on his connections in Cao Market and Heishi, no one dared to be so impudent!

  What is called "guanxi" is just the prestige accumulated over time in the lower levels of society, a kind of prestige that only insiders can understand and tacitly acknowledge. Everyone has their own circle, including the middlemen, but judging from Ah-Dai's words and deeds, he is just an honest old man, nothing more.

  "I can summon a hundred cripples with just one sentence, do you believe it or not?"

  "Agreed!" Shen Qingyang was waiting for this sentence, and it would be great if he could find all three crippled turtles from the local area!

  "Uncle Mu!" Xiang'er suddenly looked at Uncle Mu with a scowl, a hint of displeasure on her face: "Uncle Mu, I've been feeling very uneasy these past few days. The restaurant has been closed temporarily, but there are still people eating the tyrant's meal. Father has been gone for a whole day without a trace... I'm afraid..."

  "Are you afraid of balls? How dare Tianze Garden kidnap Spring Brother in broad daylight?"

  Xinger shook her head and then nodded: "What you said is not impossible!"

  Yu Bo suddenly looked like a deflated balloon, his right hand grasping a handful of disheveled white hair: "If I were younger, I would have beaten Tian Ze Garden long ago - huh!"

  Everything is self-evident! Shen Qingyang had long seen through Diao Bo's identity - an old mixed element lurking in the lower levels of society - that kind of person who has been mixed for a lifetime but still doesn't understand!

  "Xin'er, now is a society ruled by law, the security in Zhonghai City is still good... so your father won't have any accidents!" Shen Qingyang comforted the beauty with his mouth, but his heart became bitter. The discrimination against Chinese people here has been deeply rooted, and those Chinese people who endured again and again were completely assimilated into this environment, after all, they had lived here for several generations.

  "What's the rule of law? Haha, you don't understand anything!" Ah Bao anxiously grasped his hair: "Do you know why those crippled legs are all Chinese?"

  "Haha! Ah Bao, not all cripples are Chinese, right?" Shen Qingyang coldly smiled and puffed out a mouthful of smoke, this topic was too depressing!

  "Girl, little brother is right too. If Spring Brother doesn't come back after 24 hours, we'll report it to the police. I'll notify Qiangzi and the others later. Today, I must make some noise at Tianze Garden!"

  "Uncle!" Xiang'er was clearly seeing Uncle mute get so angry for the first time, her face filled with unspoken words and unbearable pain.

  A different kind of heartache suddenly struck Shen Qingyang's mind, this feeling was not the first time. During his time with the "Warriors", he had such a feeling, which was deeply etched in his memory.

  Yu Bo, after all, has been mixed in the Mediterranean for over 20 years. Although he is at the bottom of society, he is still calm. His words are just perfunctory. There are many ethnic groups and factions here, with various forces intertwined, making social relationships extremely complex and chaotic. Chun Ge being "invited" away by Tian Ze Garden this time must have some inexplicable reason.

  Rather than waiting anxiously, why not take some action!

  Shen Qingyang's stomach suddenly "gurgled" a few times, having not eaten for three days, the feeling of hunger surged up and couldn't be held back.

  "What? Are you hungry?" A hint of mockery rose on Old Man He's calm and wrinkled face.

  "Yes!" Shen Qingyang sneered "Why don't we go to the Tianze Garden across the street? You haven't fulfilled your promise to me yet!"

  Yibo slowly sat down in the chair, his turbid eyeballs rolling around and muttering to himself for a moment: "You promise me one more condition, I can tell you more information, deal?"

  Shen Qingyang narrowed his eyes, this old man is taking advantage of the situation! From morning till now, he basically didn't say anything, those messy power struggles have nothing to do with him!

  "I just want to find that cripple!"

  "This is easy! Agree to another condition of mine and I'll give you some unexpected information!"

  "Alright!" Now that things have come to this point, there are two things that must be taken care of. One is filling my stomach and the other is finding the cripple. Time can't always be wasted on these idiotic things!

  Shen Qingyang nodded and glanced at Xiang'er, who was standing beside her, constantly wrapping the handkerchief around her hand. Her firm chest seemed to be trembling slightly, and when she looked up, she found that her face was already covered with tears, looking heartbroken and desperate.

  "Xin'er, let's just eat here today, thank you!" Shen Qingyang didn't care about spending money, he just wanted to get Xin'er to leave. He couldn't stand seeing women cry, it was like not being able to see his brothers bleeding.

  "Ah! That's it! Little brother is really thoughtful. Let's have a drink at Yi Shui Zhai today and wait for Spring Brother to come back!"

  "Uncle, I...I didn't do a good job as the fourth elder!" Xiang'er said anxiously, wiping away her tears.

  Such a beautiful girl, I guess she hasn't learned how to cook or anything! From this point of view, the boss of "Yi Shui Zhai" is extremely fond of her. Shen Qingyang can understand this, because when he was at home, his parents never let him do chores or cook either.

  The hearts of all parents under heaven ache at the sight of their children!

  "It doesn't matter, Xiaoyu's cooking is something I like!" Dumb Old Man gave Xiaoyu a wink, no matter what, he had tricked a foolish B today, if not him then who?

  Xinger's face flushed with a hint of red as she nodded slightly: "My Sichuan dishes aren't authentic enough, they can only fill your stomach!"

  "Isn't Little Zhu skilled? Call him to take charge!" Ah-yi leaned against the chair. Yi Shui Zhai had hired two kitchen helpers, one chopping firewood and the other an apprentice, Little Zhu was an apprentice worker.

  "They... quit yesterday... so we had to suspend business!"

  "Why don't you just quit? Are you going to Tianyuan Garden?"

  "The salary is high there!" Xiner's face

  Yuba's face looked a bit unsightly, and it seemed that the matter of "Easy Water Studio" was somewhat complicated! Yuba waved his hand, "Just cook some food to fill your belly!"

  Xinger gently turned her body towards the kitchen, and soon the sound of stir-frying echoed from within.

  "Chun Ge's Sichuan cuisine is the most authentic in Zhonghai City!" Yu Bo said with a smile, stroking his oily sesame-seed-covered old face.

  "When are you going to find that cripple for me?" Shen Qingyang had no interest in the flavor of Sichuan cuisine, he wanted to settle this rotten matter as soon as possible and then attend to more important things.

  Yu Bo picked up a toothpick and began to pick his teeth with an air of nonchalance, but his turbid eyes were fixed on Shen Qingyang: "I have some important information to tell you, I don't know if it will be useful to you!"

  "I just want to find that cripple as soon as possible!" Shen Qingyang found himself repeating the same words over and over again, only thinking about this one thing. This is called obsessive-compulsive disorder!

  "This information is more important than that cripple! However, you have to promise me one condition!"

  "Speak!" The old man's nagging made Shen Qingyang very annoyed.

  "Drink with me till midnight!" The lame man looked at Shen Qingyang's face with a cunning gaze, he found that this young man was not an ordinary person, but had not been verified yet. What's important is that the cripple he was looking for in Zhonghai was quite famous!

  "Little brother, that cripple is not easy to find. Without my guidance, you won't be able to find him even in a year. Do you believe me?" Yu Bo coldly smiled as he looked at Shen Qingyang, whose face was expressionless.

  Shen Qingyang originally wanted to laugh, but couldn't laugh. He knew that the cripple who stole his things last night was not ordinary, and there were few people who could steal his green card from his body.

  "Damn it!" Shen Qingyang spat out a mouthful of turbid air, pulled out a cigarette and lit it, blowing out smoke: "No matter who he is, I'll dig him out!" Shen Qingyang's facial fat suddenly tightened, his teeth chattering with a "clicking" sound, the knife wound on his back seemed to bleed again, and a layer of sweat oozed out of his forehead.

  The scar on his back was left from fighting with the rebels in the Bambusa forest. Chen Chen was seriously injured, they were surrounded, if it wasn't for the cover of night, they would have been finished off long ago, although he fought bravely, he still got cut by a knife!

  Now it seems suspicious: the rebels used knives? Why didn't they use guns? Are they also at their last gasp? The "Brave Troop" held on until the end, and almost the entire team was wiped out. If I had persisted, could I have saved their lives?

  The answer is definitely!

  "He's called Gui Dao Qi, and he's not a cripple! Haha, so you'll never find him in your lifetime!" The hoarse laughter of the old man interrupted Shen Qingyang's thoughts.

  "Ghostly Thief Qi?" What a strange name!

  Xinger came out of the kitchen, wearing a white apron in front of her chest, like a young daughter-in-law from someone's family, with a blush on her shy face!

  "Uncle, I've cooked some dishes... would you like to try some?"

  The aroma wafted into Shen Qingyang's nose, and as he looked at the dishes on the table, his nose twitched, and he could roughly make out the various flavors.

  "The couple's lung slices are a bit salty!" Shen Qingyang didn't move his chopsticks, nor did he taste the dish, it was just a feeling.

  Xinger's face turned red with embarrassment: "This young man, this meal is on the house, I'm afraid you'll go hungry and won't be able to eat comfortably!"

  Shen Qingyang felt a bit embarrassed, as he had long been accustomed to enduring hunger and didn't care about one meal.

  Yuba smiled: "Girl, bring up the old wine! I'm going to enjoy it! How about you, little brother, do you think this dish is salty? Impossible, Yishuizhai's Sichuan cuisine is the most authentic..."

  Xinger turned around to get the wine, leaving behind a plump and slender back view.

  "The braised meat slices are overcooked, the meat is tough and has no flavor!" Shen Qingyang said with a glance at the meat slices soaking in chili oil.

  "Cough, cough... girl... do you want to beat the salt seller to death? It's so salty!" Ah-yi suddenly coughed after eating a big mouthful of lozenges and turned his old face to look at Shen Qingyang: "You haven't eaten, how did you know?"

  This is Shen Qingyang's specialty. The chef can tell how well the dish is cooked with just one look, and whether the seasonings are suitable or not with just one sniff. Although it's a small hobby, Shen Qingyang is very skilled at it. Among the four dishes, the most authentic one is that plate of "Mapo Tofu", which should be quite good in terms of color, aroma, and taste!

  "Are you saying that the thief isn't crippled?" Shen Qingyang carelessly picked up his chopsticks, clamped down on a piece of Mapo tofu and put it in his mouth. A spicy kick shot straight up his nose, and his brain felt like it was exploding! What kind of seasoning is this?!

  "Uncle... wine is here!" Xiang'er carried two jars of wine to the table: "How's the dish?"

  Chen Qingyang forcibly suppressed the pungency of the wasabi oil, swallowing it hard into his stomach, and fine sweat broke out on his face, which turned bright red as he struggled to speak.

  Poor cooking skills!

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