Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 168 Opportunity Comes Suddenly
The banquet began. Yan Jiekuang didn't know who Minister Wang had invited, but he made sure to cook the dishes 100%. Yan Jiekuang was a person who pursued perfection.

When the appetizers were served, Minister Wang and the guests saw four very exquisite dishes. The portions were not large, but the presentation was very particular, with the meaning of the four seasons. This immediately aroused the curiosity of the guests, and they looked forward to the main course.

Soon the first dish of shredded chicken and white fungus was served, and the guests' eyes lit up. Secretary Zhao said beside them that this was the first main dish in the court banquet and also an imperial dish.

When the guests heard this, they couldn't wait to stretch out their chopsticks. The subsequent dishes were served even faster, one after another, until the last dish.

Secretary Zhao explained the origins of each dish, and the guests listened carefully and savored the dishes. After Yan Jiekuang finished the last dish, he sat in the kitchen, drank tea and took a rest.

After Yan Jiekuang rested, he started to clean up the kitchen. This was the rule for being a cook. After cleaning the kitchen, Yan Jiekuang would say goodbye. After packing up his things, Yan Jiekuang came out along the way he came. As soon as he walked out of the kitchen, Secretary Zhao came towards him with a smile on his face.

"Brother Yan, you really surprised me today. Your cooking skills are amazing. The leaders are very satisfied and asked me to invite you over. They want to meet you as a great chef." Secretary Zhao said.

Yan Jiekuang was not surprised at all. He nodded and went to the restaurant with Secretary Zhao.

The restaurant is also on the first floor, just a few steps away. As soon as you enter the room, you will see a round table with six people sitting at it. The head seat should be that of Minister Wang.

At this time, Minister Wang stood up, and Secretary Zhao quickly said, "Minister, this is today's chef, Comrade Yan Jiekuang."

Minister Wang extended his hand, and Yan Jiekuang shook hands with him. Minister Wang held Yan Jiekuang tightly and said, "I didn't expect Comrade Yan Jiekuang to be so young. You really opened our eyes today and feasted our eyes."

Yan Jiekuang quickly said modestly: "Thank you for the compliment, it's just a trivial thing. I hope you and your guests enjoy the meal."

At this time, a kind old man said: "The food is good, and it is a cultural experience. This is a meal that broadens your horizons. See, you haven't even touched the wine. Just as we started to drink, the food was gone."

An old man in military uniform said, "Who told you to rush to eat? Fortunately, there are still appetizers left. We can't miss this wine. Come on, today's chef, you must drink a glass with us."

Yan Jiekuang didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but he still followed their wishes and sat down at the table. There was no main course left, but there was still some appetizer left. At this time, the woman next to Minister Wang said, "There are still some braised dishes at home. I'll have someone bring them up."

Minister Wang nodded. After everyone sat down, Minister Wang asked, "We had a really good meal today. By the way, Secretary Zhao of Yangchun Baixue hasn't said anything yet."

Secretary Zhao quickly said, "The chef is here, so I won't teach him how to cook. Let the chef speak for himself."

Yan Jiekuang looked at them and said, "This dish is a dish of the Zhili government. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi once visited Baoding. The governor of Zhili at that time was Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai was a big shot. He had bribed the eunuchs around Cixi to find out about Empress Dowager Cixi's condition. When he learned that Cixi had lost her appetite during the trip, he racked his brains and finally his chef came up with an idea to make this dish."

Yan Jiekuang took a sip of water and continued, "But I didn't expect that Cixi's appetite would be aroused after eating it, so she asked Yuan Shikai what the dish was called. In order to please Cixi, Yuan Shikai said that he had finally obtained it to honor the empress dowager, and had not yet given it a name, so he asked the empress dowager to give it a name. Cixi thought about it, looked at the color of the dish, and casually said, let's call it Yangchun Baixue, the season and color are just right. So there was this dish, Yangchun Baixue."

Several people were fascinated by what they heard. Minister Wang said, "This culinary art is also very profound."

After Minister Wang finished speaking, Mrs. Wang next to him asked, "Where is Comrade Yan the chef?"

Yan Jiekuang was stunned and said, "Madam, didn't He Yuzhu tell you that I am not a chef. I just inherited the skills from the original chef Yu and learned them since I was a child."

Minister Wang became interested and asked, "Where do you work now?"

Yan Jiekuang replied: "I work at the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office, and I am mainly responsible for the management of merchants."

Several people were surprised to hear this. They realized that Yan Jiekuang was not a professional chef, but his cooking skills were really high. Some braised food had been served on the table, and Mrs. Wang was busy pouring wine. The banquet seemed to have just begun, except that the main dishes had been eaten up.

During the dinner, everyone was surprised to learn that Yan Jiekuang was a college student majoring in history and had worked at an archaeological institute. It is rare to see college students born in the 1960s nowadays.

Halfway through the banquet, the kind old man stood up, walked over to Yan Jiekuang, introduced himself and said, "Comrade Yan Jiekuang, I am from the Ministry of Commerce. I have an unwelcome request, and I hope you can consider it."

Yan Jiekuang quickly stood up, picked up the wine glass, and said, "You're welcome. Go ahead."

The old man took the empty seat next to Yan Jiekuang, and Yan Jiekuang sat down. The old man said, "My name is Liu Zheng, and I'm the deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce. This August, our Ministry of Commerce will organize a delegation to visit Hong Kong Island and discuss cooperation matters. There is a culinary exchange event that has just been held. They call it the World Culinary Competition. I hope you can consider participating on our behalf."

When Yan Jiekuang heard this, he immediately said, "I don't have any objection. There's nothing wrong with participating in the cooking competition. I just don't know if the company has any objection."

Deputy Minister Liu Zheng said: "Don't worry about this. We are responsible for coordination. Since you have agreed, just wait for notification. We will arrange everything."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Thank you, Minister Liu, for giving me this opportunity. I will prepare well and strive for good results."

Liu Zheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "Based on today's dishes, if you are not number one, no one would dare to say they are number two."

Yan Jiekuang smiled and said, "Thank you for the compliment, and thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Minister Wang said from the side: "Jie Kuang, you have to go all out this time, and don't let down the title of imperial chef."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Of course, I will do my best."

Then Minister Wang changed the subject and said, "You can come to my place to practice often. It's okay. I have everything. If you don't have anything, you can ask Aunt Wang to prepare it."

The other people were stunned, and then Liu Zheng said, "You Wang Laokou, you always take advantage of me. I have everything in my kitchen, so why can't you come to my house?"

Several people burst into laughter. Yan Jiekuang also laughed and said that he would definitely go to their homes to practice whenever he had time.

The last few people left their addresses and phone numbers to Yan Jiekuang, saying they would visit him more often when they had time.

Before leaving, Aunt Wang called Yan Jiekuang and handed him a bag. Yan Jiekuang was stunned. Mrs. Wang said, "Thank you for bringing us a feast. This is allocated by the higher-ups. We don't eat much. You can take it home and share it with your family."

Yan Jiekuang took the bag and said to Mrs. Wang, "Thank you. This is the last time. I am not a chef, so I cannot accept any money or things. But you, I will not be polite to you. I will come here often to cook for you and Minister Wang in the future."

Mrs. Wang smiled and said, "After this meal, you have to come. Don't think it's troublesome when the time comes."

Yan Jiekuang said: "Of course, I will come as long as I am free."

After saying that, Yan Jiekuang said goodbye, turned around and walked out. He did not use Minister Wang’s driver to go back because the driver was already out sending people everywhere. He walked home alone.

(End of this chapter)