I just want to be a salted fish quietly Chapter 130

The convenience store wasn’t big, appearing to be only about 50 square meters, with a storage room behind it for stocking goods.

Liao Jie was currently sprawled on the floor, holding a scanner gun, seemingly scanning items on the shelves.

Squatting down, Lin Xian said, “Master Liao Jie, I’m very sincere.”

“Handsome, you’ve got the wrong person,” Liao Jie looked up, his eyes hazy with drink.

“Liao Jie, native of Zhejiang Province, former head chef of Jiarui Restaurant, suspected descendant of an imperial chef, participated in a cooking competition 20 years ago, suddenly left midway, and has been unheard of since.”

Lin Xian paused, then smiled, “Master Liao Jie, I just want to taste the complete version of the Braised Yellow Croaker in Broth. How about 500, 000?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Liao Jie smacked his lips, lowered his head, and continued scanning, ignoring him.

Tang Ping, beside him, was dumbfounded.

When he first received this task, he thought Lin Xian was looking for relatives.

It turned out, after all this, it wasn’t about finding relatives.

It was merely to eat a dish, sparing no expense to hire a private detective to find a chef from 20 years ago.

Now he was going to spend 500, 000 to ask this chef to make a dish!

Adding the reward for the detective agency, it was over a million in total.

Spending over a million just to eat one dish?

“Hiss!”

Tang Ping felt a little dizzy.

He worked himself to death all year, only earning a little over 100, 000.

But someone else’s single dish was more than his ten years’ salary.

Even Zhuang Tong, who was used to his spending, couldn’t help but secretly click her tongue.

This was too exaggerated!

Lin Xian persevered, “Are you not satisfied with this price? It’s fine, just tell me quickly, I’ll try my best to meet your demands.”

“Handsome, it’s no use, Liao Jie is already dead!”

Just then, a loud voice came from behind Lin Xian.

Turning around, he saw an old man with white hair standing there, one hand placed in front of him, trembling uncontrollably as if it weren’t his own.

Tang Ping, beside him, reminded, “Mr. Lin, he is the owner of the convenience store, and also the owner of Jiarui Restaurant 20 years ago.”

Lin Xian stood up and introduced himself, “Elder, my name is Lin Xian, how should I address you?”

“I should be older than your father, just call me Uncle Zhong.”

The old man said, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offering, “Want one?”

“Thank you!”

Lin Xian took the cigarette and thanked him.

He rarely smoked actively, only occasionally taking a few puffs when others offered.

Taking a puff, Uncle Zhong smiled, “Come over and have a cup of tea, we can talk slowly!”

Lin Xian thought Uncle Zhong would make them Kung Fu tea, but it turned out to be iced red tea.

Sitting on a high stool by the window, Uncle Zhong asked, “How do you know about Liao Jie?”

“Does Uncle Zhong know Gao Jianxiang?” Lin Xian smiled and briefly recounted what happened in Modu.

“Gao Jianxiang, I have some impression, that young man seemed to be a chef at Northwest Restaurant back then.”

Uncle Zhong exhaled a smoke ring, his expression complex, “Handsome, you want to eat Braised Yellow Croaker in Broth?”

“That’s right!”

Lin Xian nodded solemnly.

Hearing this, Uncle Zhong smiled bitterly, “For someone like you who truly understands food, no chef would refuse your request. It’s a pity you came too late, if you had come ten years earlier, I could still barely make you one.”

“Not now?” Lin Xian asked, puzzled.

“Now?”

Uncle Zhong gestured towards Liao Jie and scoffed, “Now one is foolish, and one is crippled.”

Looking at his trembling hand, Lin Xian raised an eyebrow, “Parkinson’s disease?”

Uncle Zhong nodded, “Yes! With these hands, I can’t even hold a knife, how can I cook?”

“Is there no one else who can make Braised Yellow Croaker in Broth?” Lin Xian frowned slightly.

In the system task description, it was to find Liao Jie and taste authentic Braised Yellow Croaker in Broth, not necessarily for Master Liao Jie to make it himself.

Uncle Zhong said proudly, “Back then, the 36 official dishes were made by four master chefs together, nine dishes each. Braised Yellow Croaker in Broth was one of the nine dishes created by my Niu school’s founder. How could such a recipe be easily taught to outsiders!”

“Official dishes? Not Manchu Han Imperial Feast?” Lin Xian was stunned, puzzled.

“Tsk!”

Uncle Zhong scoffed, “It’s not that I look down on Manchus, what do they know about cooking? The true Manchu Han Imperial Feast was the official dishes cooked by the four master chefs in Yangzhou back then. When Emperor Qianlong visited Yangzhou and tasted it once, he couldn’t forget it, so after returning to the palace, he held the Manchu Han Imperial Feast. And those 36 official dishes were the 36 signature dishes in the Manchu Han Imperial Feast! As for the rest of the dishes, they were just extras, to make up 108 dishes for good luck.”

“So that’s how it is!”

What an eye-opener!

So the true Manchu Han Imperial Feast was actually the official dishes of Yangzhou.

Lin Xian didn’t give up and continued to ask, “Then you don’t have any apprentices?”

“I do!” Uncle Zhong nodded.

Lin Xian’s eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, “Where?”

Uncle Zhong gestured and smiled, “Isn’t he lying there!”

Oh, so you two are not only boss and employee, but also master and apprentice!

Lin Xian’s hope, which had just risen, was immediately extinguished.

Looking at Liao Jie, Lin Xian couldn’t help but ask, “Uncle Zhong, what exactly happened back then that made Master Liao Jie like this?”

“Alas, he’s also a pitiful person. On the day of the competition, his daughter was kidnapped by human traffickers, and his wife went after them, but then died in a car accident. Such a blow was too great for him!” Uncle Zhong sighed.

“Then why did you sell Jiarui Restaurant?”

“Sell?”

Uncle Zhong shook his head, “It wasn’t sold, it was lost to someone else!”

“Then why didn’t you open another hotel?” Lin Xian found it somewhat incredible.

“Handsome, what was lost was not only the hotel, but also the Jiarui Restaurant signboard!”

Uncle Zhong patted his shoulder, stood up, and sighed, “Go back, the true Braised Yellow Croaker in Broth will never exist again!”

With that, Uncle Zhong slowly walked out of the convenience store, leaving a lonely figure behind for the three of them.

From the current situation, the second part of the task seemed to be stuck.

Uncle Zhong, due to Parkinson’s disease, let alone cooking, even lighting a cigarette was difficult.

As for Master Liao Jie, he was almost crippled due to the immense blow, and even if he could recover to normal, it was hard to say if he would still cook.

“Let’s go!”

After sitting for a while, Lin Xian stood up, took Zhuang Tong’s small hand, and slowly walked out of the convenience store.

The situation outside the street made him momentarily stunned.

The bustling night market had packed up at some point, and there wasn’t a single soul on the entire street, eerily quiet.

The shops on both sides had also closed, leaving only rows of streetlights casting a dim yellow glow.

After calling the hotel and instructing the driver to pick them up, the three walked towards the end of the street.

“Mr. Lin, someone is following us!”

Just then, Tang Ping suddenly whispered a reminder.

Not only behind, but also in front!

Three tall black men quickly walked out of a dark alley.