Chapter 74 - Minced Tofu Soup (Pt. 1) (1/2)

Translated by Jouissance of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Tang Shuang was just as his name suggested, straight forward and unhesitant, and he was fast at learning as well, quickly managing to familiarize himself with XiQin Restaurant. He carefully listened to everything Lin ShuYi had to say to him, memorizing it easily. Afterwards, he meticulously showed Lin ShuYi the extent of his knife skills.

What he made was a Huaiyang dish called minced tofu soup, known for requiring delicate knife skills.

The stock was brewing. There was still a while before customers started coming and Lin ShuYi had the time and willingness to see how well-practiced Tang Shuang was, so he gave the other some ingredients and had him do as he pleased. Before this, Lin ShuYi had neither seen nor tried minced tofu soup , but he had heard of how strict this dish was in terms of knifework, so Lin ShuYi was curious, standing next to Tang Shuang and watching with interest.

A full box of silken tofu was placed on the washed cutting board. Tang Shuang then ran the thin blade under the tap as well to prevent the tofu from sticking to the knife.

He cut it horizontally across, cutting the tofu into two before rapidly slicing the tofu into thin pieces, and from there into thin strings. The soft, smooth tofu turned into thin, but whole, strips of tofu under Tang Shuang’s knife. At the moment, it wasn’t obvious, but when Tang Shuang placed the tofu strips into the water, they almost seemed to bloom into flowers, pure, white tofu flowers.

Lin ShuYi watched, wide eyed. As expected, it really was a test of one’s knife skills. He was pretty sure that he wouldn’t be able to reach this level with quite a while of practice. Tang Shuang really was quite skilled.

After the tofu was cut, the rest was much easier. Shiitake, ham, chicken, bamboo shoots and spinach were all cut into equally sized thin strips. Then two ladles of stock were put into the pot, and after it boiled, the strips of chicken, ham, shiitake and spinach were put in and set to re-boil. After that, the tofu, having been boiled in the other pot, was put in with the rest before seasoning was added. The soup was thickened and with a smattering of cilantro and a few drops of sesame oil, it was ready.

The stock gave the dish a pale tint, and the aroma of the ham and shiitake filled the room. Tang Shuang handed the bowl over to Lin ShuYi, smiling widely with his canines showing. “Try it, it should be pretty good.”

Lin ShuYi accepted the bowl and took a bite. It was tasted good, but compared to spectacular beauty in presentation, the taste seemed to lack a little something. Of course, it was very flavorful, with the flavor of the ham and shiitake combining perfectly and the tofu practically melting in his mouth, everything was aromantic.

Lin ShuYi gave the bowl to Shen Fu and had Shen Fu try it. Since Tang Shuang didn’t make much, and everyone had just had dinner anyways, there was only the bowl Lin ShuYi had and what Old Man Yang had.

Tang Shuang’s expression was practically begging for praise.

Old Man Yang gazed at Lin ShuYi with a smile. “So? How is he? Good?”

Lin ShuYi nodded and even Shen Fu gave a thumbs-up.

Tang Shuang was ready to explode with happiness. He was a prep cook. His knife skills were great, but honestly, he didn’t have that much experience with making full dishes, so when Lin ShuYi praised him with a nod, it meant that he had really done well this time.

The four were about to start commenting on how well-made Tang Shuang’s tofu was when a knocking came from outside. Tang Shuang was the closest to the door, so upon hearing the knocking, he looked to Lin ShuYi for approval before opening the door.

Who would be visiting at this hour?

The door opened to reveal two young ladies dressed fashionably.

The two were smiling and were stunned for a moment upon seeing Tang Shuang. How come it wasn’t the two handsome guys they saw on Weibo? However, though this guy was a little tanned, he looked lively and pretty handsome himself. This place really was full of cuties. The two young ladies’ eyes lit up. “Sorry, but is this XiQin Restaurant?”

Though the sign outside said it was, it was best to make sure first.

Tang Shuang nodded.

“Are you guys open today?”

Tang Shuang was a little confused, unsure at what the two wanted. However, hearing this, he still nodded in affirmation. “We are planning to open today, but it’s not time yet.”

The two young ladies exchanged a look and smiled. “That’s fine, so long as we’re in the right place, we can wait.” They tried to peek inside. Since Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu were both in the kitchen, they didn’t see what they had been hoping for, so they asked, “Is the boss here today?”

Tang Shuang felt like he had been enlightened. No wonder they came so early, they were here to look for Lin ShuYi. They didn’t look like they actually knew him though.

Tang Shuang called over his shoulder, “Xiao Yi-ge, someone is looking for you!”

Lin ShuYi was confused and put down the bowl, heading out. Shen Fu followed out of habit.

Looking for him? Who?

Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu walked out of the kitchen and the two young ladies’ eyes went wide. The two excitedly pushed at one another. “It’s them, it’s them!”

They kept their voices quiet so Lin ShuYu and Shen Fu couldn’t hear, but Tang Shuang, next to them, heard everything.

The gears in his head turned, and he figured out why they were here. Probably because of that weibo post.