Chapter 121 - 121 0121 Too Hard to Eat

Words : 1356 Updated : Sep 24th, 2025

121: Chapter 0121: Too Hard to Eat 121: Chapter 0121: Too Hard to Eat Li Fu was feeling anxious when he heard a knock at the door. As the female waitress pushed the door open, Li Fu thought there might be some issue. “What’s the matter?” “Boss, downstairs there is a plainly-dressed young man who has come to eat court cuisine.” Court cuisine? Two years ago, this place indeed served court cuisine, but it had long since shut down, now serving Huaiyang cuisine. “Isn’t the court cuisine no longer available?” “I told him that, but he insisted on seeing you,” said the female waitress. Li Fu found it strange, as he had nothing else to do, so he came downstairs from the third floor. Seeing only a few scattered customers dining, his anxiety only deepened. “Boss, he’s over there,” the waitress said, pointing to the young man near the window. Li Fu approached and saw the plainly-dressed young man at a glance. However, he didn’t underestimate the man and asked, “I’m Li Fu, the owner here. Are you looking for me?” “Mr. Li, I heard your place used to serve court cuisine, and I specifically came to try it out.” “It used to, but we switched to Huaiyang cuisine two years ago,” said Li Fu. “But can your chefs still make it?” Back then, Li Fu boasted that he had recruited descendants of Imperial Chefs to cook court cuisine here. However, the dishes these chefs produced did not suit the customers’ tastes, leading to a decline in returning patrons after their first unsatisfactory experience. “They can, but I’m afraid you might not like it.” said Li Fu. “Then call out your chefs for me.” With few customers around, the dozen or so chefs in the kitchen were quite idle. Not sure what the young man was up to, Li Fu could only have the waitress call the chefs over. The chefs, who had been sitting and chatting in the kitchen, followed her out upon being told by the waitress that the boss wanted to see them. Soon enough, all the staff from the back, including eight certified chefs, three kitchen hands, three cleaners, and two dishwashers, were summoned. “I heard from your boss Li that you can cook court cuisine?” The chefs weren’t sure what the young man was getting at, but indeed they could make some basic court dishes. The eight chefs nodded in response. “Whoever among you can name all the dishes in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, I’ll give you fifty thousand yuan on the spot,” said Ye Qiu. This statement took the chefs by surprise, as well as the waitress and Li Fu. Without a doubt, the Manchu Han Imperial Feast was the most famous dish in the court cuisine of the Qing Dynasty, but many people had only heard the name and had never actually tasted it. Fifty thousand yuan was certainly a significant sum! “If you can name fifty dishes, I’ll give you ten thousand yuan,” Ye Qiu said. The Manchu Han Imperial Feast had a total of one hundred and eight dishes, and it was impossible for these chefs to name them all. However, if they truly knew how to cook court cuisine, then they should at least be able to name fifty of the dishes. When Ye Qiu asked them to name the dishes, all eight chefs ended up shaking their heads. Naming a few was manageable, but naming fifty was definitely beyond their capability. Seeing their expressions, Ye Qiu knew that these people were all duds, half-baked, not even understanding the most basic theoretical knowledge; no wonder the operation of Imperial Cuisine here had gone under. Li Fu was also very surprised; he didn’t expect it because he didn’t know whether this young man had come to eat or to cause trouble. “Forget it, since none of you can do it, I’ll put down ten thousand yuan. Use this ten thousand yuan to make me a table of what you consider your best Imperial Cuisine. If it’s decent, I’ll pay fifteen thousand yuan when the time comes. If not, then it’s just a waste of my money.” The eight chefs looked at Li Fu, and Li Fu nodded, letting those eight chefs as well as several other support staff go back to the kitchen. “Young man, are you really just here to eat?” Li Fu asked. “Of course. What else would I be doing here?” “But I feel like you don’t seem to be here just to eat,” Li Fu felt that the young man in front of him didn’t seem to be here solely to dine. Although it had been known that this place had served Imperial Cuisine in the past, it had been two years, and few people mentioned it anymore. Unexpectedly, now this young man still knew about these things. Of course, what Li Fu didn’t know was that Ye Qiu had absorbed a soul that had once worked as a chef here. However, that chef died in a car accident last year, and his lingering soul stayed near the crematorium by Jinling Hospital, then was absorbed by Ye Qiu. Ye Qiu didn’t reveal this, fearing he would scare the owner Li Fu. The eight chefs went inside to cook, using the Imperial Cuisine recipes they knew from two years ago. In reality, that ten thousand yuan could prepare many dishes. Because the ingredients they had were prepared according to Huaiyang Cuisine, which was quite different from Imperial Cuisine, they could only make do with creating some dishes of the latter. Ye Qiu sat there and waited for over an hour until they finished making eight dishes of Imperial Cuisine and brought them over. The Imperial Cuisine placed before Ye Qiu included casserole white meat, purse-shaped loin, cherry meat, Hundred Birds Worshiping the Phoenix, clear stewed fat duck, layered meat, cured meat, and pressed duck. On the surface, it looked okay, but Ye Qiu knew that compared to the Imperial Cuisine he was familiar with, there was a big difference. Ye Qiu picked up a piece of the casserole white meat in front of him and took a bite, feeling that the taste was indeed too ordinary. Seeing Ye Qiu’s expression, Li Fu knew what was up. “It’s possibly because it’s been a long time since we’ve made Imperial Cuisine, the skills are a bit rusty.” The chef who had spoken made that dish. “I have to say, the casserole white meat you’ve made is really bad.” Ye Qiu said directly. The chef was embarrassed because he hadn’t expected Ye Qiu to truly know the dish. After that, Ye Qiu sampled the other dishes and found that their taste was really quite average, not even matching the quality of the flavors found in street food stalls. Ye Qiu shook his head and asked, “Ten thousand for these eight dishes?” Of course, it was impossible. Altogether, they weren’t worth more than one thousand, and besides, they were simply unpalatable, no wonder this Imperial Cuisine restaurant had failed. “Mister, I’ll treat you to this meal, since you seem like someone who really appreciates good food.” Li Fu said. Ye Qiu, however, still took out a bank card and said, “I’ll swipe the card directly. I stand by my word.” He went to the cashier and directly swiped for ten thousand yuan. The waitress from before thought Ye Qiu really didn’t have any money but was surprised to see that he was so generous, actually paying ten thousand yuan knowing well the food was not good. They, the wait staff, couldn’t understand it, and neither could Li Fu. Ye Qiu already knew that it wasn’t the environment here that was the issue but the chefs’ cooking that was subpar, which was why the restaurant’s business had been getting worse and worse. Of course, he didn’t need to try the Huaiyang Cuisine they made to know that it certainly was very ordinary as well.

Chapter 121 - 121 0121 Too Hard to Eat

Comments (0)