The Rise and Fall of the Last Imperial Cook

18. Leave Home Again

Translator: Yang Ting & Jia Manxin

Proofread by Peter Gong

Xu Zhiwei stops as if struck by lightning. Then he slowly turns around, “The account left by Yumei? What account?” “That’s the kid!” Fan Ada points to Wu’er who gets up from the ground, “I don’t know what you have heard from outside. But this child was born by Yumei. I adopted this child out of kindness. Then I hit it off with him and keep raising it without giving it away. Now you are back, so this child naturally should be given to you.”

“Why leave it to me? I don’t know who this bastard’s real father is, but it’s definitely not me. Why should I raise him?” Xu Zhiwei sneers after hearing Fan Ada’s words.

“Because you owe Yumei! You have been away from home for so many years. You are free and easy, but Yumei is hurt by you. It was she who served your parents while they were alive and she gave them proper burials after death. If it hadn’t been for keeping this home for you, Yumei wouldn’t have been bullied. She gave birth to this poor child and lost her life for this child!”

Xu Zhiwei pauses. What Fan Ada said makes sense. From this perspective, he does owe Yumei a debt that he can never repay.

“Yumei gave birth to this child, which means that she wants this child. She took care of the elderly for you, so shouldn’t you raise this child for her? Anyway, this is a life left in your family. A future of your family.” Fan Ada’s words are reasonable, and Xu Zhiwei can’t refute them.

“There is no one in your family, so I have raised this child for your family for a few years. But I won’t settle the bill with you over the alimony. Now that you are back, you should take him away and I am not obliged to help you raise him anymore.” “But…” Xu Zhiwei’s word “but” contains too much meaning. He doesn’t want to accept this bastard inwardly, and how does he take him it with him? In addition, he is being chased by Chef Clique and he has to flee. He doesn’t know whether he could escape. Even if he escapes to Shanghai, he doesn’t know whether he could make a living there. So he can’t take this child with him.

“I know that it’s really hard for you to take a child under current circumstances. I am fond of this child, and I can continue to help you raise him, and I still don’t ask you for his alimony. But when the child grows up, you have to take him out and teach him the cooking skills so that he can earn his own living. Only in this way, you can pay off what you owe Yumei.”

“But I don’t know whether I can make a living in Shanghai.” Xu Zhiwei is helpless, feeling entangled.

“It’s okay. Send me a letter when you gain a firm foothold there. If you go to other places, you also send me a letter, so that the child can find you when he grows up. You are a man of integrity, so I trust you.”

“Okay, let’s talk about it then.” Xu Zhiwei just wants to leave quickly. He feels disgusted with both the bastard and Fan Ada enormously.

“You should remember that this child’s name is Fan Wubao. I will keep the two strings of copper coins you give, and give the money to this child as travel expenses to find you.” Fan Ada takes the two strings of copper coins from Wu’er, hanging them on his wrist.

Xu Zhiwei walks towards the alley quickly, rejoicing inwardly that he has just given Fan Ada an ambiguous answer, and Fan Ada doesn’t ask him to swear.

Just when Xu Zhiwei is about to reach the alley, Fan Ada raises his voice and says with a partly true tone, “You should remember it, and you must write to me. If you lie to me, I will dig your parents’ grave.”

Suddenly, Xu Zhiwei’s heart twitches very painfully, as if bitten by a poisonous snake. Meanwhile, a nasty breath blocks his chest, and it is difficult to exhale anyway because whether Fan Ada’s words are true or false, he is already under a curse.

Xu Zhiwei leaves the village in a troubled mood, and the sky is darkening now. The peach trees on the side of the road all turn into black shadows, swaying in the slight evening breeze, and showing a little weirdness, as if something weird might come out from behind at any time. Under this situation, Xu Zhiwei is more worried, hobbling along the uneven dirt road and almost falling several times. Passing the peach orchard, he is about to be on the east-west path. But he finds several black shadows at the intersection. Those shadows are definitely not peach trees, because they can move even faster than the evening wind.

Xu Zhiwei makes out those dark shadows after he is surrounded. They are all members of Chef Clique, led by Wang Zhunian. Xu Zhiwei breaks out in a cold sweat, and his very tired legs are almost paralyzed. He complains in his heart, “It’s over. Arguing with Fan Ada causes a delay. And I’m stopped by Chef Clique after all.”

“Chef Xu, we’ve been waiting for you for a long time. They told me that you entered the village, and I guess you will come out, so I have been waiting for you.” When Wang Zhunian says this, Xu Zhiwei knows that he could not escape, because there are people spying him all the time. “Chef Xu, can we go somewhere quiet and have a talk?” Wang Zhunian’s tone is quite polite, but it sounds gloomy to Xu Zhiwei.

“Why? Can’t we talk here?” Of course, Xu Zhiwei doesn’t want to go to a secluded place. Someone might pass by on this road, and he might have a chance to escape. If he is hurt by them, it would be easy to be discovered and rescued in time here. At worst, if he is killed by them, the body could be found in time. But if in a secluded place, no one would know even if he is gnawed by wild dogs into a pile of bones.

“Brother Xu, please forgive our abrupt appearance. We didn’t go into the village to find you for fear of disturbing too many people and we Chef Clique will bring disgrace on our own head if the news gets out. If you don’t want to go to a quiet place, how about we two have a talk behind the peach tree?”

Wang Zhunian is even more polite, calling him brother, which makes Xu Zhiwei very surprised. But he is willing to talk to Wang Zhunian alone behind the peach tree because with so many people on the road, it’s hard for him to escape. But in the dim peach orchard, if something really happens, he has more chances to escape.

Wang Zhunian and Xu Zhiwei enter the peach orchard, and stop after a few steps. “Let’s talk about it here. If we go further, the watchman may be alarmed.” Judged from his words, it is clear that Wang Zhunian’s principle is always to avoid alarming others.

Xu Zhiwei looks back and sees that there is already a long distance between them and the rest, and this peach orchard is quite dense, so even if those people rush in, it’s hard for them to catch him. In addition, there are copper bells on the peach trees, and as Wang Zhunian said just now, they can easily alarm the watchman if they go further. So he does not insist on going further.

Wang Zhunian stretches out his hand to take out something from his waist. In the dimness, Xu Zhiwei first thinks that he is going to take out the weapon, so he take two steps back in a panic, only to find out what Wang Zhunian takes out is just a cloth bag, looking somewhat heavy.

“Brother Xu, this is a little money from Chef Clique, and they ask me to beg Brother Xu to accept it.” “Beg me?” Xu Zhiwei is a little confused. Without speaking, Wang Zhunian unties the  bag and approaches Xu Zhiwei and thrusts it into Xu Zhiwei’s hands.

Xu Zhiwei holds the cloth bag in both hands and glances down. Although the light is not good, he still clearly sees that it contains many silver and golden ingots and some cookie-shaped silver. This is a lot of money.

“Brother, in fact, we know that this little money is really nothing to you, an expert with superior skills. But this is a little token of our regard, and it is saved from the hard work of supporting a family. Please don’t think it’s too little.”

“Why are you giving me money?” Xu Zhiwei is really confused. Instead of killing him, Chef Clique gives him money.

“It is very embarrassing to say, but that’s why I come here and I must say it without caring much about my dignity.” Wang Zhunian’s words sound obviously pretentious, though very polite. “Brother Xu, you shock Wuxi City with great cooking skills in the daytime competition. Chef Clique is so humiliated and the loser deserves it. But every member of Chef Clique has to rely on the job as a cook to support his family and continue to make a living with this profession. If there is no proper explanation for the failure, then we will not only lose jobs, but also will be talked about and laughed at. Therefore, after weighing it repeatedly, we have no choice but to do so. I want to beg Brother Xu not to cook in Clay Street, take the money and leave Wuxi City quietly, and never show up again. Then we can make up a reason to get back our lost face.”

“I still don’t understand what you mean.” Xu Zhiwei really doesn’t understand too much, but at least he knows that he is not in danger now, so he asks the reason peacefully.

“You said before the game that you are an imperial chef. If you disappear quietly, we can say that you are the imperial chef and get a reward to return home and visit relatives. It’s just a game to fight for head chef in folks, and you want to investigate the cooking skills of folk cooks. But after revealing your identity, you have quietly rushed back to the palace. For the folk cooks, how many can be blessed to compete with the imperial chef? So even losing is an honor. In this way, our Chef Clique will not lose face, and it can even become an advantage to show off, and we can keep our name and continue to be head chefs.”

To lead such a large organization requires not only great cooking skills but also wisdom and strategy. Take Wang Zhunian as an example, after losing the cooking contest, some chefs propose to buy people to kill Xu Zhiwei, but he disagrees to do so, prevailing over all dissenting views and convincing everyone with his reasons.

Wang Zhunian’s analysis is very reasonable. Even if they kill Xu Zhiwei, they will not be able to save the face of Chef Clique. Moreover, the stealthy murder at this time implies that it is done by Chef Clique. This will not only make people think that they are ashamed into anger and fail to keep the promise, and be looked down upon by other gangs, but also make people more sure that they are not good at cooking, so they use this dirty trick to double the damage to their face and reputation.

In addition, if they do kill Xu Zhiwei, the government will definitely be the first to find them. Chef Clique is essentially an industry organization rather than a real reactionary gang, and its members are craftsmen who earn a living by their skills. The real reactionary gangs do not easily provoke the government, let alone Chef Clique. So the best way is to let Xu Zhiwei leave quietly, and then exaggerate Xu Zhiwei’s identity and ability. Turn the loss into a kind of glory, a chance to improve their reputation.

Xu Zhiwei understands Wang Zhunian’s true intentions at once, but his first reaction is to remember Mr. Weng’s words, “In cooking, you are definitely an overmatch… to create a cuisine and become a master!” Yes, he is an overmatch, and Xu Zhiwei really understands this at this moment. He uses only one dish to make the whole Chef Clique bow their heads, so it is really not impossible to start a cuisine as Mr. Weng said. And now he is going to Shanghai, a magical world where everything can be realized. Suddenly, a dreamlike hope rises in Xu Zhiwei’s heart.

“Brother Xu, what do you think you can say?” Wang Zhunian’s words makes Xu Zhiwei realize that he is distracted. The thing to be solved right now is very important to Chef Clique. They are actually trying to create a big lie for his future livelihood and face.

Xu Zhiwei can’t help but smile bitterly. He has to leave even without the request or pressure of the Chef Clique. This is a place where he has no face to stay, a hometown he must leave forever and never return.  His reputation and dignity are helplessly damaged, and the moods of the Chef Clique members, whose reputation is damaged by him, are as suffering as his.

Thinking of this, Xu Zhiwei can’t help but sigh, “The reputation of being a cook is like the reputation of being a man, which cannot be damaged.” As he speaks, he puts the cloth bag back into Wang Zhunian’s hands. “What? Brother Xu is unwilling to help us?” Wang Zhunian is startled, his face darkening at once.

“No, Boss Wang, haven’t you seen my baggage? I’m going to leave here and never come back. If I leave early, we may never see each other again, so you don’t have to give me any money. You just do it as you wish. Even if someone recognizes me and mentions it later, I won’t admit that I have ever been to Clay Street, so you can rest assured. I must hurry on my way. Let’s meet again at an unspecified date.”

“Just like that?” Wang Zhunian doesn’t expect the thing to be solved so easily.

“Boss Wang, is there anything else?”

Wang Zhunian hesitates for a second, then grabs a lot of money from the bag, “Or, you just bring some.”

Xu Zhiwei tugs the corner of his clothes with a finger, and hesitates for a while. He doesn’t know what will happen after he leaves Wuxi and goes to Shanghai. And in a unfamiliar place, he can’t ask anyone for help, so it is good and harmless to bring more money.

But Xu Zhiwei doesn’t yet take the money from Wang Zhunian’s hands. He just smiles and says, “Money can be earned everywhere in the world, but it is can’t be used everywhere. Before I go, I want to give Boss Wang a piece of advice: your trick is brilliant, but you can only use it once and it won’t work the second time. Therefore, if you want to dominate the chef industry of Wuxi City, you should focus on cooking skills. There is also a lot of learning in this profession, understanding the word “change” being part of this learning. Inadequacy should be changed, change the imperfect into perfect and change deficiency into characteristics. That is the right way to improve cooking skills.”

“Inadequacy should be changed, change the inadequacy into perfect and change deficiency into characteristics.” Wang Zhunian murmurs and his mind flies away. When he withdraws his mind, Xu Zhiwei has already disappeared into the peach orchard.