Chapter 281 (2/2)

Of course, Zhou Jia didn’t know much about it. Well, neither did Yuan Zhou.

Therefore, Zhou Jia didn’t reveal any different expressions. After confirming receipt of the payment, she directly reported the dish to Yuan Zhou.

It would naturally arouse people’s interest to order that many dishes alone. However, the man didn’t actually care about others’ opinion and just got seated unhurriedly to wait for his dishes.

With Yuan Zhou’s cooking speed, it was naturally all done quite quickly. Within about 20 minutes, all of his dishes were served. Of course, the man likewise tasted the dishes one after another very carefully and attentively.

The previous arrogant confidence also diminished a lot.

The last dish that he ate was the plain cooked rice eaten together with the gravy in Dongpo Pig Knuckle, which was fairly appetizing.

However, he suddenly heard a remark that made him want to laugh when he had just finished the dish.

“What good is the pig knuckle? I have already been fed up with it on various banquets which always include this dish. There isn’t any technical content for this particular dish. It’s still the Golden Fried Rice that requires the intricate craftsmanship. Get me another serving of Egg Fried Rice,” the person said quite confidently.

Before Wu Hai could find time to say something and as Ling Hong had just finished the meal, the arrogant man uttered straightforwardly with the apparently insolent manner.

“Ho Ho. If you can’t afford it, please don’t talk rubbish. Why don’t you order one serving for a try and compare it with the things that aren’t well processed like those common offal?”

“Pardon?” The man was made dumbfounded immediately. This person might have only wanted to act cool. But coincidentally, he was heard by the several people at the same time.

“First of all, the pork hock was called the celestial meat in ancient times. It’s common sense.” The man paused for a while and then continued.

“The words of pork hock also have a meaning of blessing. Alike to modern people, the ancients were also quite interesting. Ever from Tang Dynasty, people who passed the highest imperial examinations would always ask for a peer calligrapher to inscribe his name in red on the Great Wild Goose Pagoda of Cien Temple in Chang’an, the current capital. It meant that he made it.

Once he spoke, he brought out some uncommon knowledge. Therefore, all the customers on site, no matter they were eating or not, started to listen to him carefully.

With a strong aura from the inside out, this person revealed a manner of “I’m well-educated and knowledgeable. You just listen to me.”

Seeing everybody listening to him earnestly, the man then continued contentedly, “What’s related to the pig knuckle is that all his relatives and friends will give him pig knuckles as the present before he goes to the capital for the examination. You know why? The two characters pronounce the same to ‘inscribe the name in red color’, meaning success in examination. Let me tell you something more about it.”

After that, the man continued generously, “In south regions, the pig knuckle is also called Tibang, which has the same pronunciation with ‘being listed as the successful candidate’. So people give it as the present in hope that the person can succeed in the examination.”

“I see. I have never known there’s so much knowledge about the pig knuckle. This really increases my knowledge.” Most of the customers directly became dumbfounded. This person truly knew a lot.

Having been greatly surprised for quite a while, the man who had given the unfavorable remark finally reacted and felt he had grasped the main point.

“I’m talking about the technical content of the cooking, not the matter of pig knuckle.” He regained some confidence.

“Tsk. Ignorance is so dreadful. You even dare to evaluate foods that you haven’t eaten before.” The arrogant man first took a look of contempt at the man. The sense of contempt was even revealed from every single strand of his hair that stood upright.

“Yeah, you are right. I haven’t eaten it before. But Dongpo Pig Knuckle is nothing but a piece of meat being boiled in plain water with some gravy and bland sauce added and then being simmered until it’s well cooked. And of course, some other people would boil it first and then fry it in the edible oil until the skin wrinkled. Nothing else. I have been fed up with it.” This man likewise knew much and immediately brought out the two cooking methods.

“Don’t make the comparisons with those things that resemble the unprocessed offal. It’s so disgusting.” The man said with contempt.

“Forget it. Let me just tell you something about the pig knuckle cooked by Boss Yuan in case you feel too proud of yourself.” Said the man confidently.

Yuan Zhou was also looking at him with great interest. Ordinary people wouldn’t know his cooking method of the pig knuckle. Could this man bring it out?