Song Tan's Notes

Chapter 1669. The Masters' Schemes
The master and apprentice were secretly shedding tears when Lu Chuan came in again and asked:
"What dishes would you two like for lunch? It's hot now, I'll go to the Song family and get some for you."

"When it's not so sunny in the evening, I'll take you to see the vegetable gardens and orchards on the mountain. We've already arranged it in advance, so you can just pick whatever vegetables you need."

Go pick them yourself?!
Master Chai's spirits lifted! He glanced at his watch: it was only 10:30!
"What time do you usually have lunch? Is it convenient for you to go now?"

Lu Chuan:......

He glanced at the bright sun outside: "It's 38 degrees today..."

The two had driven all the way here without even sitting down for a short rest. Yet, the young driver, Mr. Zhou, looked visibly excited.
"It's okay, I'm not afraid of the sun, just give me a hat."

Go pick them yourself from the field?

Hehe, isn't that just like a mouse falling into a rice jar!
The master and apprentice excitedly took the two sun hats that Lu Chuan handed them and rushed out the door.

"Which way?"

Lu Chuan was both amused and exasperated: "Please, both of you, sit inside for a while. I'll go to the Song family and borrow a tricycle; it'll be more convenient to go up the mountain that way."

Master Chai exclaimed again, "Come on, come on, let me familiarize myself with the place. I need to see Master Song this afternoon when I have some free time."

His energetic appearance is no wonder he can toss woks in the kitchen for hours on end.

Lu Chuan laughed and eventually led the two of them to Song Tan's house.

Then Lu Jing called out from behind, "Xiao Chuan, ask Tan Tan when she's going to harvest the glutinous rice? There's no wheat kernel left to make milk tea. I want to make some glutinous rice balls."

Master Chai's brow twitched, and he exchanged a glance with his two apprentices, both pondering how to finish off the milk that afternoon.

Lu Chuan, however, thought about it:
"The ones we bought last time were still too immature, so we'll probably have to wait a bit longer."

After all, glutinous rice is only planted once a year, unlike early rice which is planned to be planted again for another season, so the ripening period is naturally much longer.

Lu Jing sighed, "Then forget it, let's save the milk for ice cream. It's summer, we should make some fruit tea or something... I'll look it up online."

The guesthouse was a five or six-minute walk from Song Tan's house, and everyone was walking around in the shade of the trees on both sides, wearing hats.

It was quite hot, but after walking around for a while, it wasn't so bad.

Master Chai said proudly, "Ours are facing the stove, so they are naturally more heat-resistant."

No matter how powerful the kitchen air conditioner is, it's still hot with that big fire right in front of you. Especially when stir-frying, a lukewarm fire won't produce anything good; you have to use a high flame.

When they arrived at Song Tan's house, Master Chai had already made a note of it—

This road is easy to find. After leaving the guesthouse, just walk along the main road until you see a bamboo forest, then turn into the side road.

Lu Chuan went to borrow a tricycle, and Master Chai and Xiao Zhou came to the kitchen, where they exchanged pleasantries with Master Song for a while.

This truly showcases solid farm-style cooking skills! Master Chai is one thing, but his young apprentice, Xiao Zhou, is eager to learn and improve, so this opportunity is not to be missed!
Thinking about it makes me feel regretful again.

In other words, the Song family doesn't need as many chefs now, nor can they afford to pay high wages.

Otherwise, how wonderful it would be to be like Master Jiang in the mountains, receiving a salary, making simple meals for employees, going to bed early and getting up early to take care of your health, and even having special meals made with ingredients from Old Song's family...!

Unfortunately, everyone here has families to support, and this is the age when we should be working hard. The high salary at Chang Le Ju is something we can't give up, so we can only try our best to seize this opportunity.

……

After spending half a year in the village, Lu Chuan had become quite skilled at riding a tricycle. Now, he would put two small stools in the back of the vehicle, lift his long legs, and sit in the driver's seat.

"Masters, let's set off."

Master Chai and Xiao Zhou nimbly climbed into the back of the vehicle. Now, leaning against the railing and sitting on small stools, they watched the tricycle smoothly drive up the road behind the mountain and couldn't help but sigh:
"The roads here are in pretty good condition."

Lu Chuan then smiled and said, "The Song family's farm has provided many jobs here, thanks to government support. This road was only completed last year."

As for how fast the approval process is, how fast the progress is, and how fast the road will open to traffic... there's no need to go into that.

Looking at the lush green fields and orchards on both sides, Master Chai's eyes were filled with longing: "Aren't those peach trees? Oh, the peaches are about to ripen."

"Is that row of newly planted scallions? Wow! It's hot, but the scallions are growing quite well!"

"There are a lot of bees over there... Oh right, you're keeping bees, aren't you? There are so many things you can do with honey..."

Along the way, I can mentally cook two dishes from everything I see.

They were already in high spirits even before they arrived at their destination.

Only after the tricycle stopped at the factory gate did Lu Chuan give a brief explanation:
"Master Jiang cooks here now, and usually picks vegetables mostly from this patch of land in front of him. But because the crops are scattered, you two can come and take a stroll in the mountains when you have time, and just pick whatever you like."

“My friends are generally not picky eaters. I’ll tell you about any dietary restrictions when we get there.”

“The road up the mountain is long. If you can ride a tricycle, I’ll reserve one for you. If not, I’ll get you an electric scooter.”

"Good good..."

Master Chai has become just a perfunctory person.

Looking at the garden full of vegetables, he couldn't wait to call out to Xiao Zhou, "Come on, let's go in and take a look!"

Xiao Zhou hurriedly followed, but after a short while, he saw Lu Chuan hand him a basket. He quickly took it and rushed after him.

As I passed the cucumber patch, I paused for a moment, hesitated for a second, then reached out, twisted a cucumber, and crawled inside.

Lu Chuan:......

Since it's already agreed upon, then the chef can eat whatever he wants; there's really no need to be so suspicious.

……

There are so many vegetables to choose from in the mountains, but today I'm doing this partly to try out my cooking skills and partly to get a feel for the host's tastes.

Chef Chai didn't show off any complicated dishes; instead, he chose a simple four-dish-and-one-soup meal.

Stir-fried tomatoes and eggs, stir-fried bitter melon with pork, minced pork with cowpeas, and twice-cooked pork with green peppers.

Seeing that the locals love to eat perilla, I decided to make a perilla tofu soup on the spur of the moment.

The vegetables were picked from Song Tan's garden, and the tofu was specially bought from Aunt Zhang Hong's tofu shop.

As for the meat, Lu Chuan promised that he could get it from Lao Song's house.

If it weren't for the fact that there wasn't enough time to cook a big meal right now, Master Chai would have loved to have him take a whole pig home.

Xiao Zhou had worked with Chef Chai for many years, and he could tell what Chef Chai was thinking just by looking at these dishes.

It may be ordinary, but it truly tests one's skills.

Chefs like them are so skilled that it's impossible for their dishes to be bad; it's just a matter of whether they suit the host's taste.

For example: Should I add more sugar or no sugar when making scrambled eggs with tomatoes? Should I thicken the tofu and perilla soup with cornstarch or not? Do I like to add seasoning powder or fermented soybeans to minced pork with cowpeas, or just stir-fry it as is? What heat level is needed for the chili peppers in twice-cooked pork with green peppers...?

Mr. Lu said that his friends' tastes are more northern, and the children don't eat many sweet dishes, while the elderly prefer lighter flavors...

However, everyone has a different definition of what tastes like.

In some places, "light" means not using many seasonings or powders, but it still includes plenty of chili peppers, scallions, ginger, and garlic. In other places, "light" means using only oil and salt, and even then, in very small amounts.

Some people say they don't eat sweets, but they can't stop eating cola chicken wings and sweet and sour pork...

It's impossible to please everyone, but as a qualified chef, he has to try his best to adjust the taste of the dishes to everyone's liking, and strive to make sure that everyone particularly enjoys each dish he cooks.

Although he only worked as a chef in the countryside for half a month, Chef Chai was very dedicated and tried his best to make a good impression.

—I'll come again next time!

Of course, while his apprentice, Xiao Zhou, was rambling on about washing the vegetables, he also asked him:

"Master, you're overthinking things, but these ingredients are so good. Even just blanching them in boiling water will let everyone taste their freshness and sweetness, right? How can anyone be picky about the flavor then?"

Master Chai paused in his action of heating the pot.

After a moment, he snorted:
"What do you know? Even dragon liver and phoenix marrow have their picky eaters. This is just the basics!"

When Chang Le Ju was a restaurant in its early days, if any table of customers had a lot of leftover food, the owner would ask for their opinions and then take the kitchen staff to taste it!

Basic skills are all you need to know!
Xiao Zhou was an obedient student and didn't argue. He simply unscrewed the jar, took out a fermented bean, popped it into his mouth, chewed it slightly, and savored the taste...

It's the same as the one delivered to the store!
"I heard these soybeans aren't even the best ones. Master, when Boss Song makes his own soybeans and makes his own fermented soybean paste this year, can I buy a jar of them too?"

Putting everything else aside, after work he can make noodles or sauce for his kids to eat with their meals. What a wonderful father he is!

His wife has so many food delivery coupons that she can't even spend them!
Master Chai also came over, made one, and tasted it. Then, feeling dejected, he said:
"You want to buy it? I want to buy it too."

"Try the tofu sold in this village."

There's a local dish called "Stir-fried Tofu with Perilla Leaf". Tofu with perilla leaf is just dried tofu, also called baiye or simply qianzhang. Anyway, it's that kind of thing.

Choose the tender dried tofu or fresh tofu with a slightly higher water content. Stir-fry the perilla leaves to give them a unique aroma that locals love.

If people from other places don't like the food, they won't touch it at all, just like with cilantro stir-fried beef.

But for lunch, we're making a tofu soup with catnip. Chef Chai prefers to use soft tofu, also known as water tofu.

Sifang bought a small piece, cut it into small cubes with a knife, and just scalded it when making soup!
Now, eating it plain gives it a unique bean flavor and a refreshing taste.

It feels cool and refreshing in your mouth, and is very tender.

He sighed:

"The tofu made in this village is so good, why doesn't your boss buy it all?"

Each time I bring back just a small amount, and since soft tofu is easily broken, the quantity is especially small.

In short, they like this and that, and they wish they could cook 10 or 8 more dishes.

"There are four of us, is four dishes and a soup too few or not?"

Xiao Zhou hesitated a bit.

Even though it's already 11 o'clock, the rice is cooking, and the master and apprentice are preparing and cooking the dishes at lightning speed, without wasting any time at all.

Master Chai shook his head: "Boss Lu instructed that his mother is on a diet and will only eat one bowl. It's midday, and we've been traveling a long way, so four dishes and a soup will be enough. Don't make too much; we can make it better in the evening when there are more people."

Looking at the environment and listening to what the owner has to say, this boss seems quite kind.

No wonder the owner of Chang Le Ju kept emphasizing that it was a great place and definitely worth the money.

Thinking about it this way, it's fortunate that the master and apprentice were so competitive!
The master and apprentice exchanged a glance and couldn't help but feel happy again.

……

Until lunchtime—

"It's very yummy."

Lu Jing, who was on a diet, praised the stir-fried bitter melon with braised pork:

"I knew Tan Tan's braised pork in a pot was delicious!"

The key is that we've always enjoyed the cooking of Seventh Uncle, and now that we have a new chef, it's even more exciting.

The large chunks of meat were taken out and cut into smaller pieces. The bitter melon was blanched and then stir-fried in a pan, bringing out a slightly bitter flavor that combined with the rich aroma of the meat, releasing a burst of intense pork fat fragrance...

It is clearly not related to the word "light" in the conventional sense.

Lu Jing then made another bowl of rice.

Master Zhou's eyelids twitched.

He cooked extra rice, but the chef had already given him an extra bowl, and he was almost finished with his second bowl, yet he wanted a third...

Then look at the four dishes and one soup on the table.

They made the usual amount for the hotel, plus a little more, which should have been more than enough for four people. But to everyone's surprise, the food was almost gone before anyone had even finished their bowl.

Master Chai was also reflecting on the matter: "If we cook double the amount tonight, and there are leftovers, will we eat the leftovers?"

If you eat, we'll arrange a late-night snack. If you don't eat, what are we going to do with the vegetables—collect them to feed the pigs or something?
Lu Chuan used to rarely eat leftovers, partly for health reasons and partly because he didn't like them.

But now...

"You can arrange it. If some dishes don't heat up well, keep them to feed the pigs. If some dishes taste better when heated, then keep them."

As for doubling the amount, that should be no problem at all.

He simply said it again:
"After we finish eating, I'll take you to the village clinic so you can get familiar with the way. If you have any shoulder or neck pain later, you can get massages and moxibustion there for free."

He'll make the arrangements.

"Also, prepare some hawthorn pills, as well as digestive tea and heat-relieving tea bags here."

Friends are coming with their families, young and old alike, so please don't overeat here.

After a pause, Lu Chuan added:
"Make double the amount tonight. If your digestion is weak, make less tomorrow."

Eating smaller, more frequent meals and having plenty of snacks on hand is always better than overeating in one meal.

The two masters nodded and wrote it down.

I was amused to hear that the village clinic also offered massage and moxibustion.
"You can get this kind of treatment at a clinic? With all that muscle in our arms, does the doctor have the strength?"

As a chef, you stand there every day flipping woks and pans. Let alone a doctor in a rural clinic, even a blind massage parlor, where you can usually make people scream and groan, would probably be exhausted and covered in sweat from massaging their hard and thick flesh.

You can't press it if you don't have the strength!

Lu Chuan glanced at the two of them and said, "You two will know once you try it."

Here it is! 4000 today!