Actor: Thank you.

Restaurant, kitchen.

A group of master chefs, junior chefs, and kitchen helpers gathered around a stove.

It's currently the restaurant's break time.

This is why, when you go abroad, you have to follow the local customs and have a fixed break in the afternoon.

In China, only a few large restaurants would receive this kind of treatment.

Most small restaurants sell breakfast and late-night snacks, practically working non-stop without rest.

Since the rent is paid for 24 hours, I feel like I'd be losing money if I used it for even an hour less.

Whether this behavior can be considered "hard work and diligence" or "overexploitation" is hard to say.

But according to an old saying, running a restaurant is a "laborious profession," meaning you have to be diligent.

Whether you're a chef in the kitchen or a waiter in the front, you have to be diligent.

A few years ago, Guo Qilin often used the excuse that he wanted to be a chef when he grew up to appease his father.

Because Teacher Guo always subtly asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Young Master Guo isn't stupid. I've already answered all your questions, yet you keep asking.

You just want me to tell you the answer in your heart.

Back then, he was a chubby kid, and he said he wanted to be a chef when he grew up so he could cook for himself.

I can say that I understood the principle of "if the cook doesn't steal, the crops won't grow" from a young age.

When Teacher Guo heard this, he thought it was just childish talk and that it was reasonable for a child to think that way.

In fact, Zhang Yuan had already figured it out; Young Master Guo was very clever and understood everything.

Sometimes, children are more perceptive than adults, and they can even tease adults.

Because this line of work is more arduous and exhausting than outsiders know.

I really don't know if I've never done it.

You're rushing to finish your food, impatient to eat, and feeling that the chef is neglecting you.

Actually, the kitchen is like a battlefield during mealtimes!
From cutting to preparing, from stir-frying to plating, the people in the kitchen wish they had three heads and six arms, and could be in two places at once.

They all walk with a breezy air, and when they pass each other, they turn around as if they're about to perform ballet.

Moreover, this was done under conditions of oil fumes, high-decibel noise, and ambient temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius.

Because of the hard work and the harsh working environment.

So when the restaurant saw Stallone come and said they wanted to borrow his place to film a movie, they readily agreed.

But then they said there was a young actor here who wanted to learn cooking skills for a role, and they agreed.

Just putting on an act.

But when Zhang Yuan said he wanted to learn for real, not just for show, they didn't quite agree.

Especially when someone recognized him and knew that he was quite famous in China, they became even less accepting of him.

Being a celebrity must be so comfortable, so awesome.

Who would actually want to learn to cook?

They're overthinking it; being a celebrity isn't as glamorous as they imagine.

Because they simply can't imagine how awesome it would be.

The head chef in the kitchen came from Guangzhou Restaurant.

Many foreign Chinese restaurants poach chefs from China, promising higher pay and even a certain percentage of shares.

However, it's very difficult to recruit a head chef; usually, it's the sous chef who gets recruited.

Once abroad, these sous chefs can be promoted to head chefs.

Guangzhou Restaurant is an old establishment, founded 35 years ago. It later became a state-owned enterprise and then went public as a group.

It was changed to a group company in 09.

The master chef sighed as he talked about it.

Many former colleagues benefited from the restructuring of the group and became leaders in various branches.

If you think about it that way, after all those years I've spent abroad, I'm not actually much better off than my old buddies back home.

Then I got a North American green card.

When he left, many of his colleagues were extremely envious and wanted him to bring a piece of clothing with him, which greatly satisfied his vanity.

But the chef had planned everything meticulously, but he hadn't anticipated that the domestic development would be so rapid.

Those old friends just followed the crowd and ended up catching up with me.

In fact, many people who are "run" share the same feelings.

I sold everything I owned to come here, and now you're telling me things have taken off in China?

Didn't you say you were going to have a breakdown?
This enraged him, and he grew even more resentful of the country.

The head chef couldn't personally teach Zhang Yuan, so he originally planned to have one of his apprentices teach him.

But Zhang Yuan wasn't happy about it; his apprentice was too easily exploited!
In the end, they found a second chef apprentice.

Now that they've learned for two or three days, it's time for the "test".

An elderly master craftsman with thinning hair and glasses was in the center, surrounded by his subordinates.

The man in the middle is from Guangzhou Restaurant. He speaks Cantonese, even when he's cursing, and he often hums a few lines from Cantonese opera.

He was squinting, looking at Zhang Yuan in front of the stove.

The stove here is the legendary "planetary engine," which is a blower stove with extremely strong firepower.

It requires a constant flow of water to cool it down in order to ensure normal operation.

The stove's heat control levers are located at the bottom. Since chefs have both hands to work while cooking, they have to use their legs or knees to push them.

It will take some time to learn how to operate this stove.

Zhang Yuan lit the fire, put on an apron and a hat to prevent hair loss, rubbed his hands together, and began to operate.

"Hey, is he going to make stir-fried beef noodles?" one of the chefs said as he picked up the noodles and beef. "That's low-quality stuff."

The chef raised his hand and said, "There are two things in the kitchen that truly test a chef's skills."

"It's the same stir-fried beef noodles and sweet and sour pork."

"The difficulty of stir-frying beef noodles lies in controlling the heat. Too much oil will make it too greasy, while too little oil will make it sticky."

"The beef should be stir-fried in hot oil until it is 60% cooked, so that the original juices will remain in the beef."

"If you cook it again with the rice noodles for a little longer, it will be fragrant, smooth, and tender."

"When beef noodles are served, there shouldn't be any excess oil on the plate when you pick them up; that's what makes them dry!"

As the chef spoke, Zhang Yuan's hands deftly flew across the stove.

With one hand, throw the beef into the oil to stir-fry, and with the other hand, add soy sauce and other seasonings to the rice noodles in the pot.

He turned around, grabbed a large strainer, strained the beef out of the oil, and then tossed it into the rice noodles with a quick stir.

Then the large iron pot flips and spins, and carbohydrates and proteins are processed and shaped together under the art of fire.

Finally, with a deft lift of the pot, he turned around and placed the food, which had been cooked over a blazing fire, onto a plate.

The aroma is overwhelming.

The aroma of noodles, meat, soy sauce, and a strong smell of cooking pot.

But that wasn't all. Zhang Yuan pulled a small bottle out of his pocket and sprayed it several times onto the steaming beef noodles.

I also went to light the flintlock pistol used for the stove.

Thud, thud, thud... Boom!

After tapping it several times, flames shot up!

"This is called crispy stir-fried beef noodles." Zhang Yuan struck a pose, pointing to his serving.

"Hiss..." The chef frowned.

The second chef raised his nose to sniff, then leaned forward again.

"Huh, besides the aroma of noodles and meat, there's another special smell?"

With a wave of his hand, Zhang Yuan extinguished the flames, leaving a slight scorch mark on the Niuhe River.

"Chef Ou, what does this taste like?" the third chef asked the head chef.

"Why don't you try it yourself and see?"

The third chef picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and put it in his mouth.

After chewing only a few times, his eyes widened.

"He added..."

"It's a lighter, that's right, it's lighter fluid... Ugh!"

Zhang Yuan: To make the flames look better.

After vomiting, the third chef turned and looked at the head chef with a mournful gaze.

Chef: Guess why I let you eat it, but I didn't eat any myself?

Because I know there's a problem with this!
"Dandan, have you taken pictures of everything?"

"No problem, Brother Zhang Yuan." The assistant held a DV camera, while the bodyguard held a still camera. They still needed to post it on Weibo later.

[Learning to cook for filming]

He had already thought of all the details.

Chef Ou adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "Since you've already made stir-fried beef noodles, do you know how to make sweet and sour pork?"

“Master Liu taught me once, and I vaguely remember it.”

"Then let's go." The chef raised his chin.

Zhang Yuan nodded and continued operating.

There are several types of sweet and sour pork, some of which use spare ribs, because this dish is actually an improvement on sweet and sour spare ribs.

Stir-fried pork ribs are prepared in a similar way.

Later, a more common method was to use pork chops or pork neck meat, which were then lumped together, fried, and then stir-fried.

Cutting the meat again would be too much work, so Zhang Yuan brought over a portion of pre-cut spare ribs.

"The most important thing about sweet and sour pork is that the sweet and sour sauce shouldn't overpower the flavor of the meat," the chef told the person next to him.

"Huh?" The third chef, who had just finished vomiting, looked up.

It was discovered that Zhang Yuan first fried the pork ribs, then coated them with starch.

"Did he forget to apply the cornstarch and then add it later?"

"No!" the chef exclaimed, raising his hand. "He did it this way because he was afraid the starch would overpower the flavor of the meat."

Deep-fry the ingredients twice, then stir-fry them together with green and red bell peppers, pineapple, and other side dishes.

Then add the prepared sweet and sour sauce and stir-fry over high heat.

Finally, add syrup and remove from heat.

The ice cubes were too cold, and the syrup coating the sweet and sour pork quickly cooled and hardened.

But this is not over yet!
Zhang Yuan then took out a small bottle from his pocket.

After fiddling around with it for a while, the food was finally served and placed in front of the guests.

Wow, so beautiful!

The crowd looked at the bright red and delicious-looking ribs, which were coated with a layer of crystal-clear syrup, making it look as if a piece of rib was sealed in a piece of ancient ice.

It glittered under the kitchen ceiling light, like crystal, like diamond.

"I think it looks even better than Master Ou's?" an apprentice in the back row muttered quietly.

"Someone come and have a taste," Master Ou said.

The second and third chefs immediately pulled the apprentice who had just spoken out from behind them.

You think you can just run away after offending the head chef?

The kitchen is a dangerous place; it's not a group of people, it's a pack of wolves!

The chefs all have big tempers and are quite wild.

The kitchen was already noisy, and the staff were quick to anger, with constant shouting and cursing.

Moreover, the culinary profession, like the performing arts, still maintains the traditional master-apprentice system.

When the master disciplined someone, it was no different from disciplining a grandson.

The young apprentice, held down by his two fierce-looking masters, picked up his chopsticks.

I carefully picked up a portion and put it in my mouth.

Those around heard a snapping sound.

"So crispy?" The third chef, who had just vomited, was shocked.

Just hearing that sound is incredible!
"Ugh..." The person eating also widened their eyes.

"This...he, he added it."

"He added epoxy resin!"

Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey... and then he spat out the ribs.

He also spat out half of his back molar.

That sound just now wasn't from the ribs crisping, it was from taking a bite and breaking your tooth.

Nonsense, without epoxy resin, how could it be so transparent, like an ice cube?

The second and third chefs gave a thumbs-up to Chef Ou.

Old ginger is spicier; you really shouldn't taste the food yourself.

"Are you done filming?" Zhang Yuan asked again.

The assistant and bodyguard raised their hands to make an OK sign.

Taking photos and videos is no different from filming a movie.

The audience can neither eat nor smell it; they can only see it.

So just make it look pretty.

What's wrong with me using lighter fluid and epoxy resin?
That's how movie making is.

Just like the Nine-Turned Intestines, without Cao Kefan's expression, how would the audience know how awful it is?
So never believe the food in advertisements and movies; it's all fake and you can't eat it at all.

Like many screen beauties, what do you think of them after they take off their makeup?

Even if they are truly beautiful, many female celebrities have tempers that are not easy for ordinary people to handle.

So, just like with food movies, it's fine to just watch them.

Zhang Yuan's so-called learning to cook certainly involved diligent study.

But what matters is the effect, whether it looks like the real thing.

Whether it tastes good or not, I didn't let you eat any.

Master Ou didn't care about his little tricks.

Instead, she went up to him and started chatting.

The chef discovered that, despite only being a few days old, the taste was not the only issue; everything else—the use of fire, the knife, and the techniques of frying, stir-frying, and cooking—was quite impressive.

His apprentice had told him before that the person who came had an extremely strong learning ability.

In the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, your knife skills will improve considerably.

Upon inspection at the scene, it was indeed the case.

So after making beef noodles, I asked him to make sweet and sour pork.

I just wanted to see.

She learns so quickly, it's a pity she's not good at acting.

It would be great if a chef could become my apprentice.

As they chatted, Zhang Yuan actually agreed to be his student.

The kind that doesn't require a master.

The chef also thought it was suitable, so he personally taught him a few dishes.

Zhang Yuan only selects the best ones for use in filming.

Another advantage of having good cooking skills is that they can help you pick up girls.

A person who cooks delicious food is very attractive to some women.

In the past, when people married off their daughters, they would specifically hire a cook, because they wouldn't let their daughters go hungry.

There are plenty of young women in the market who love to eat, so knowing how to cook can be very useful.

It's not only great for those with a sweet tooth, but it's also a great tool for girls who love life and appreciate the simple pleasures of everyday life.

This leads to another issue: audiences also appreciate people who can cook.

Otherwise, why was Huang Lei so popular before his "fame"?

Since there are so many benefits, and I don't have to spend any money myself, and I'm only doing it for Stallone's reputation, I'm not losing out at all, so of course it's great.

The film crew arrived at the location the next day to prepare for filming.

There's no need to film the beef noodles and sweet and sour pork; just film a few shots of him tossing the wok to show he knows how.

Even if it's just a one-second shot, give it your all!

Zhang Yuan finished writing the Weibo post.

He was filming a night scene, and after the other actors had finished work, he went to eat with the crew.

Zhang Yuan first greeted the group of people again.

He shook hands firmly with one of them.

"Nice to meet you."

"I'm a fan of yours," Zhang Yuan greeted him with exceptional politeness.

This person was one of his targets on this trip.

Mickey Rourke, the newly crowned Golden Globe winner... (End of Chapter)