The courtyard house, without the script of Sha Zhu.

He was stunned when he saw the other person.

That familiar figure, and beside him, Sha Zhu, who was trying his best to appear indifferent, but whose eyes were almost unable to resist falling on the other person.

Who else could it be?

Isn't that He Daqing?

Even Cao Wei himself was stunned. After a long while, he finally reacted and couldn't help but shout.

"Master...Master?"

He Daqing couldn't help but turn around, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions, including a touch of sadness.

However, it all quickly turned into a deep sense of gratitude.

It was only because of this return that he heard from Zhang He the true face of the hidden Yi Zhonghai.

He couldn't even imagine what the outcome would have been if he had trusted Yi Zhonghai back then.

Her own son might continue as an apprentice, but he wouldn't be paid, and given his stubborn nature, he probably wouldn't admit it. The two siblings might even face the risk of starving to death.

This was a debt of gratitude, and from the perspective of master and disciple, He Daqing felt even more guilty.

To be precise, the actual time he spent teaching the craft was too short, not even as long as Zhang He's.

He couldn't even imagine that such a promising talent would have been wasted if he hadn't taught him properly back then; he couldn't live with himself if that happened.

Finally, after letting out a long sigh, He Daqing's tone even carried a slight stutter.

"Little...Little Wei, thank you. It's only right that your master comes back to attend your master's banquet."

At the same time, Zhang He, standing to the side, rolled his eyes at He Daqing in an annoyed manner.

"It's fortunate that Serena saw it back then. Anyway, I won't tease you today."

Just as Zhang He was about to say something, he realized that today was Cao Wei's graduation banquet, so he ultimately decided not to say anything more and chose to save face for He Daqing.

He Daqing also cast a slightly grateful glance at him.

Later, when Cao Wei couldn't help but go to the open space in the back kitchen, he found that it had been thoroughly cleaned by someone.

There were eight or nine people sitting at that table, all of whom were chefs whose names you could name; they could all be second-in-command at Fengzeyuan Restaurant.

Cao Wei's face immediately turned serious.

He also realized the importance of this day.

After all, the most important thing about the graduation banquet is not the cooking skills, but recognizing the people involved.

Let everyone know that you exist and who your teachers are.

It also allows you to go out and start making money on your own.

Finally, with He Daqing's departure, Cao Wei's move to the stove has already been completed.

However, Cao Wei naturally did not choose to refuse the opportunity to make connections. After all, in this day and age, chefs have quite a few opportunities to get to know people, and it can't hurt to make connections.

So, Cao Wei took a deep breath and called to Sha Zhu and another kitchen helper to start cooking.

While some simple cutting and chopping work is completed.

After that, Cao Wei wandered around the kitchen alone.

Soon, as Cao Wei increased the speed of his work, one dish after another was placed on the table.

The first dishes served were eight cold dishes, followed by eight hot dishes.

There were sixteen dishes in total.

Of course, this is also a unique feature of the graduation banquet for the first chef of Fengzeyuan.

These eight cold dishes test knife skills, while these eight hot dishes test the ability to control the heat.

Under normal circumstances, a chef's graduation banquet usually consists of no more than eight dishes.

On the table, He Daqing looked at the dishes that seemed to flow like water, some of the cold dishes were even carved so lifelike.

Even the simplest dish, smashed cucumber, is carved into the shape of a green dragon.

He stood there stunned for a long time before he finally picked up his chopsticks carefully.

It took a long time before he came to his senses.

She looked at Zhang He, her expression showing some guilt.

It's as if they're saying they were blind to talent and that they've held the other person back.

Zhang He, in turn, rolled his eyes at the other person in an annoyed manner.

This time, he also believed that He Daqing hadn't observed him carefully enough before.

After all, in the six months or so since he took over, Cao Wei's culinary skills had improved at an astonishing rate. If he had received detailed instruction beforehand, he might have been able to graduate before he even turned eighteen.

Neither of them considered the possibility that Cao Wei himself had obtained the system.

After the cold dishes were served first, the substantial meat dishes soon followed, and that was where the real test began.

When you pick up that tender and flavorful pork knuckle with your chopsticks, it's so light that it even has a slight springiness.

The steaming hot meat slid right into my mouth, and the bouncy texture and exquisite flavor burst forth the moment I bit into it.

Next came the deer leg meat, which, too, retained its wildness to the greatest extent possible. The chefs were amazed the moment they tasted these dishes, until they had almost finished eating them.

The person sitting closest to He Daqing couldn't help but look at him with a somewhat strange gaze.

"Da Qing, your apprentice's skills are almost catching up to yours! Such a good apprentice, why didn't you mention him before?"

He Daqing couldn't help but scratch his head, feeling somewhat embarrassed and unsure how to broach the subject. He couldn't very well say that he had been set up by the widow, could he?

Zhang He, who was standing nearby, also covered for him at this moment.

"The Qing Dynasty has encountered some trouble that is inconvenient to talk about, but at most they will just go into hiding for two years."

Seeing that Zhang He had already said so, and knowing that everyone present was intelligent, they naturally wouldn't continue to discuss this topic in depth.

However, when the last dish was served...

Everyone froze in place, because the fish was still glistening with oil.

This was a dish they had never seen before. When the manager of Fengzeyuan couldn't help but pick up a piece of fish and put it in his mouth, he was overwhelmed by the spicy and oily flavor.

The tenderness of the fish, combined with the fresh and spicy aroma, achieves a perfect fusion at this moment.

His eyes widened involuntarily, and he quickly looked at Cao Wei standing there, eagerly pressing for an answer.

"Xiao Wei, where did you get this dish from?"

The others couldn't help but turn their gazes to Cao Wei. Cao Wei, on the other hand, scratched his head somewhat awkwardly.

He spoke with a slightly embarrassed tone.

"I was just doing random research in my spare time. I thought fish was pretty cheap, so I wondered if I could try making something fancy with it. One day, I accidentally spilled the oil I was going to use to make oil-splashed noodles on this dish, and I found that the taste was indeed different. So I named this dish Oil-Splashed Fish."

As he said this, Cao Wei couldn't help but apologize on behalf of the inventor in later generations, for he could only claim the name in advance.

Upon hearing this, the manager of Fengzeyuan couldn't help but nod repeatedly, and then tentatively spoke up.

"Xiao Wei, how about making this one of Fengzeyuan's signature dishes from now on, Chef Zhang? What do you think?"