The courtyard house, without the script of Sha Zhu.

Cao Wei nodded and, seeing that there was still an hour until 12:30, quickly began to prioritize processing the ingredients.

With his culinary skills, Cao Wei can now be said to have surpassed the chefs at Fengzeyuan, and even his two former masters.

The reason he doesn't usually put his skills to use is that, for Cao Wei, just getting by is enough.

Just like a college student getting 60 points on a final exam, that's about enough, since getting even one more point is a waste if you're not aiming for a postgraduate degree.

But this time was different. This time, he had to show himself in front of Chairman Lou, so Cao Wei didn't try to hide anything and started processing the ingredients with smooth and effortless movements.

It even gives people a pleasing feeling.

However, just half an hour later, when the butler entered, he found that Cao Wei had suddenly stopped again.

This made him frown, but Cao Wei spoke first.

"There are only a few dishes left. These dishes taste best when they're hot. Now, let's take these cold dishes out first, and I can catch my breath a bit."

The butler's gaze fell on the table, where he saw a series of cold dishes with extraordinary knife skills, as well as a special sculpture that resembled a lifelike phoenix.

The rebuke turned into astonishment on his face. At that moment, he understood why Chairman Lou had chosen such a young man to come. It turned out that the other party's true abilities far exceeded his imagination.

"No wonder he became the head chef of Fengzeyuan at such a young age."

With a sigh in his heart, the butler nodded, then called out to the people behind him, and several people walked in.

Just as they were about to serve the dishes, a surprised voice suddenly rang out.

"Xiao Cao, is that you?"

Cao Wei couldn't help but look up, and the person was none other than Xu Fugui's wife, Wang Yuanyuan.

He himself was not surprised, after all, the other party's wife was indeed a servant of Lou Dong's family.

However, Wang Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask a question subconsciously.

"You...how did you get here?"

"I'm a cook, so naturally I'm here to cook."

As Cao Wei spoke with a light laugh, Wang Yuanyuan, realizing what was happening, also tightly closed her lips and remained silent.

At the same time, the shock in my heart was hard to describe.

You should know that when she arrived at the kitchen, no one except Cao Wei saw her.

Furthermore, as someone who had a very good relationship with Chairman Lou's wife, she was well aware that Chairman Lou had only invited one chef today, and that it was the newly built head chef at Fengzeyuan.

They even created a new signature dish.

She had initially thought it was a chef in his forties or fifties whom she had never seen before, but it turned out that the young face was actually Cao Wei from their courtyard.

However, the other person was only eighteen years old, and she forcibly suppressed her shock.

She followed those people, serving the dishes one by one.

Looking at the exquisite carvings and the visually appealing cold dishes, Chairman Lou's eyes flashed with approval, while the others couldn't help but praise them after taking a bite and tasting the flavors.

"Hehe, Chairman Lou, this dish tastes even better than the top chef at Fengzeyuan. Where did you find such a skilled chef?"

This surprised Lou Bancheng as well. He subconsciously took out his chopsticks and took a bite, only to find that the cold dish even had a slightly different flavor.

It was noticeably more powerful than when I last went there.

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Lou Bancheng quickly realized what was happening.

When Cao Wei served himself food at Fengzeyuan last time, he actually tried to hide his true abilities.

However, the skill level of the chef who concealed his shortcomings at that time was indeed worthy of the standards of the head chef of Fengzeyuan.

Who is Lou Bancheng?

He could naturally see through Cao Wei's little scheme.

However, at this moment, he was beaming with pride, and to be fair, it was a good thing to have a friendship with a young chef with such skills.

It's a good thing, and in Lou Bancheng's opinion, Cao Wei even has the qualities of a chef for state banquets.

After all, she's only so young.

As the meat dishes were served, even though everyone at the table was a big shot, they couldn't help but praise the dazzling array of delicious and visually appealing dishes the moment they tasted them.

Even they rarely get to eat dishes prepared with this level of culinary skill.

However, until the very end, Lou Bancheng seemed to smell something sour.

This piqued his curiosity, and he was somewhat stunned until the last dish was served.

This is somewhat similar to the oil-splashed fish he ate, but it also seems a little different.

After everyone tasted it, they found that the perfectly thin fish slices, after being soaked in the flavor of pickled cabbage, had a tangy and spicy freshness that made them incredibly refreshing and not greasy at all.

Even Lou Bancheng himself couldn't help but eat a few more bites. As the banquet ended, he finally spoke to the butler.

"Could you please have Master Cao come over?"

After the butler nodded, Cao Wei, who was eating in the kitchen, understood what was going on. After quickly wiping his mouth clean, he went to the front hall to face the many guests and Lou Bancheng.

Lou Bancheng couldn't help but ask a question out of curiosity.

"Cao Wei, this doesn't look like oil-splashed fish, does it? Is this some new dish you invented?"

Cao Wei chuckled and agreed, then began to explain.

"Well, I named this dish 'Pickled Cabbage Fish.' As for serving it last, it's because this dish is less spicy than 'Oil-splashed Fish,' but it's also more refreshing and suitable for a wider range of people."

Upon hearing this, Lou Bancheng's smile widened.

"Did you hear that? This is Chef Cao's new dish!"

"We really have Mr. Lou's blessing; otherwise, we don't know when we would have been able to taste this new dish."

"That's right, that's right..."

Faced with everyone's praise, Mrs. Lou, who was next to Chairman Lou, couldn't help but look at Cao Wei, point to the steamed chicken with straw mushrooms next to her, and couldn't help but speak up.

"By the way, you can actually cook Tan family cuisine? I wonder who your teacher was?"

Seeing Madam Lou's almost changed expression, Cao Wei did not choose to hide anything and spoke directly.

"My master is He Daqing."

Upon hearing this, Madam Lou nodded, and everyone else understood as well.

Although He Daqing's skills were slightly inferior to Zhang He's, his reputation spread more widely precisely because he was skilled in this Tan family dish.

It had been a long time since Madam Lou had been able to taste such authentic Tan family cuisine.

However, at this moment, during the banquet, he ultimately remained silent. Cao Wei said a few more kind words and offered another cup of wine.

He then made an excuse and left.

After all, he knew very well that the matters to be discussed at the upcoming banquet were not things he could hear.

As the banquet gradually came to an end, the butler once again invited him from the kitchen into the living room.

An unexpected scene unfolded: Madam Lou looked at Cao Wei with a hint of apology and sincerity in her voice.

"My attitude just now was because I wasn't in a good mood yesterday. I was wondering if you'd be willing to become a part of this community?"