Chapter 116: Psychological Trauma

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Bai Xiaoming nodded his head in praise. “Impressive. When I went to Jiangsu for a business trip, I ate this Huaiyang dish. Back then, it was made by a famous local chef. The filling in it was crab roe, and it came out without fail. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely not as good as your cooking.”
“Haha, you flatter me.”

Xu Le was humble.

Bai Xiaoming said stubbornly, “It’s true. I’m not saying anyone is bad. Your stewed lion’s head is even better than what I’ve eaten in the hands of the local chefs. There’s no greasy taste of the pork at all. What should this dish be about? It has to be particular about the clear soup, soft meat, and light taste.
‘What the little Master Chef makes is the best!”

‘Xu Le was so flattered that he couldn’t find his bearings. He went to the kitchen and said, “I’ll go take a look at my chicken wings.”
As he lifted the lid, a fragrant aroma filled his nose. Xu Le used his chopsticks to poke at the chicken wings. The chicken wings were soft and bright red-brown in color.

Xu Le turned on the fire to collect the juice. He said to the close-up shot, “When you collect the juice, you have to keep stirring it to prevent the bottom of the pot from getting burnt. If you don’t like the taste that is too sweet, you can add half a spoonful of salt to neutralize it. Then, you can add a handful
of white sesame to the plate.”

In the camera, the chicken wings that were arranged on the plate had a rich reddish-brown color. After being soaked in the sauce and white sesame seeds, they were bright and alluring.
As soon as the cola chicken wings were served, everyone, who had just filled their bowls with rice, immediately reached out with their chopsticks to pick up the food. Zhou Huangya said, “I’m very confident in Xu Le’s cooking. It seems like he has never failed before!”
“Let me try one.”

Zhang Liang picked up a chicken wing with his chopsticks. The chicken wing was soft and with a slight touch, the bones could be pulled out. The unique soft and fragrant texture of the chicken skin was chewy.

The sweetness of the cola was completely infused into the chicken wings. The meat was fresh and tender. Zhou Huangya ate it without caring about her image. She held it with two fingers and ate it. Finally, she even mixed the rice with sauce.

“It’s so delicious! I’m already looking forward to your chicken tomorrow!”

“Tve eaten sesame oil chicken, but I’ve never eaten sauce chicken. I’ve never even heard of that Jade Hairpin Chicken Wing Ball.”

“Alright, Tl make it tomorrow.”

After dinner, everyone started cleaning up and prepared to close the shop.

At this moment, a long queue suddenly formed outside. Someone was carrying various long-range and short-range cameras and was negotiating with the program team.

‘The manager, Bai Xiaoming, walked in from outside and said, “They said that the food here is especially delicious. Today, it’s even on the local hot search list. They want to interview you.”

“I don’t know how to speak Thai.” Xu Le shook his head and laughed. “Forget it.”

The production team sent the stage supervisor to negotiate. In the end, they tactfully sent away the local media, but many customers were still queuing outside.

Zhang Liang stuck his head out to take a look and said with a bitter expression, “It’s really a drought that leads to death, a flood that leads to death. Previously, when there were no popular dishes, we couldn’t even earn back the money we used to buy the ingredients. Now, we probably can’t even close the
shop on time.”

“Hahaha.” Bai Xiaoming patted his shoulder with a smile and said, “There’s something wrong with your brain if you’re not enthusiastic about earning money. Everyone, work harder today and try to sell all the ingredients that was prepared. When we have earned enough money, we’ll only open the shop for
half a day tomorrow.”

“Cut the crap. You said the same thing last time.”
“Stop arguing. There are two servings of carp soup, one serving of Buddhist’s Roll, and one serving of sweet and sour carp. Prepare the dishes.”

“Wait, there’s another order. Two Crispy Yam Duck, one carp soup, one Yangzhou fried rice, and one spicy lemon chicken feet.”

Zhou Huangya had just finished her orders when she turned back and continued reading them.

Fortunately, all the ingredients had been prepared previously. Xu Le only needed to process them once, so he could concentrate on cooking.

It took two hours.

It was already past the closing time at 8 pm. The long line of customers had finally all entered the main hall and were eating.

Xu Le rubbed his wrist as he walked out of the kitchen. He had cut a huge bowl of onion grains and ginger grains that day. The tendons on his wrist were almost popping out.

“Are you not feeling well?”

Bai Xiaoming was the first to notice him. “Why are you holding your wrist?”

“It’s fine. It’s a little sore. I’ll just rub it.”

Zhou Huangya glanced at his wrist and laughed heartlessly. “Seeing you hold your hand, I suddenly feel like eating chicken feet. I’ll buy a packet later.”

Xu Le didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Do you have any kindness?”

They sat in the living room and rested for a while. When they saw that the table in front of them was occupied by a family of three who had come to travel, and they were persuading their son, “Just have one bite. One bite is enough. This is really delicious.”
“Idon’t eat meat. The smell of meat disgusts me.”

The child, who was as thin as a matchstick, had a sallow face and looked about the same age as Xu Le. He fiddled with the rice grains in his bowl with his chopsticks and said angrily, “I already said I don’t want to eat meat! Why did you give me some? If you order it, eat it yourself. If you can’t finish it, I
wont be responsible.”

“You child, you have no respect for your elders.”
‘The middle-aged man took out a pair of glasses and wiped his glasses. After a few words of reprimand, he exchanged glances with his wife helplessly.

“Do you think he’s feeling unwell because he doesn’t eat meat?”

“Bullsh*t. When I brought him to the hospital for a checkup, I bought so many calcium-replenishing and zinc-replenishing tablets. Who else can we blame? It’s all his fault for not eating. If this continues, his fingernails will all fall off!”
Bang!

The milky white thing in the glass cup was placed in front of the child. Xu Le said, “If you don’t want to eat meat, you can have a glass of milk. This is our specialty.”

‘The woman recognized it at a glance. It was likely the filtered crucian carp soup because the soup had been ordered at the table.

The child did not understand. He took the milk with a bitter face and took a sip. “Why is it salty?”

The rich and mellow taste of the carp soup spread in his mouth. Even though he knew it wasn’t milk, the child still couldn’t help but take a sip.

After he raised his head and gulped down half a cup, his face immediately became rosy and full of energy. He said, “If it’s not milk, what is it? It’s too delicious!”

“It’s…”

The child’s mother was hesitant. Xu Le pulled a stool and sat down with a kind expression. “Why don’t you want to eat meat? Are you traumatized?”

Meat was the main source of protein intake. If he did not eat it for a long time, it might lead to malnutrition. The child was about his age, but he was much shorter than Xu Le.

“[-I just don’t want to eat it.”

The child’s mother sighed and complained, “When he was young, I left him at my mother-in-law’s place. He was always taken care of by the elderly and had a dog since he was young. Unfortunately, during the holidays, the elderly in the family was too stubborn and stewed his dog to eat. This caused my
child to refuse to eat meat no matter what.”

“If were at home, this would never have happened. That’s why I brought him here to look after him..”