The conspiracy of the courtyard

Lu Zixuan asked He Yuzhu doubtfully:

"Other restaurant kitchens seem to be quite lively, but why is yours so deserted? I'm a little curious. Do you remember what your chef said to you when he left?"

He Yuzhu asked in confusion:

"Xuanxuan, why do you have so many questions today? Don't you always say that meddling in other people's business will only lead to more trouble? Why are you concerned about these trivial matters?"

Lu Zixuan suddenly realized that he seemed to be too concerned, but he was afraid that He Yuzhu would really go astray and become a ruthless and tyrannical person, so he could only explain:

"Nothing, I'm just curious. I just smelled the two dishes and they were different from before. The color, aroma and taste were far worse than before. I just want to find out why your cooking skills have declined."

He Yuzhu opened the lunch box, smelled it and said:

"You have a really sharp nose, this is made with new seasoning. I heard from customers that they felt it was just average the first time they ate it, but they couldn't stop eating it after a while. Master Zhao said this is the law of progression, you are still young and don't understand this."

Lu Zixuan didn't intend to beat around the bush and asked directly:

"Uncle, can you tell me why you don't want to talk to others? Not even to my aunt. I always thought we were a family, but you suddenly acted like a stranger to me. I'm a little uncomfortable with that."

He Yuzhu curled his lips and replied helplessly:

"I don't know. Wasn't it the same before? I just felt that even if I didn't say it, you would know what I was thinking. It felt like there was no need to say it. Now that you bring it up, it seems to be true. But why am I willing to tell you?"

"Because I asked you, you must answer. Uncle, you have to communicate with people, you can't keep everything to yourself.

People think you don't like chatting, so they don't chat with you, for fear that you will dislike them. Don't you agree?"

Lu Zixuan wanted to start brainwashing He Yuzhu from the simplest point. He Yuzhu closed his eyes and thought for a while before saying:

"I don't know how to start a conversation with someone. I can't just say to someone, 'I want to talk to you.' Otherwise, they will beat me up."

Lu Zixuan thought for a while and said:

"Then do you know why this happened? Is it related to your master's departure?"

This time He Yuzhu sat up straight and thought carefully. It took him a quarter of an hour to come to his senses.

"It should be related. Let me tell you what happened after the new master came. You can sort it out for me. You are smart and you will definitely be able to find the reason."

Then He Yuzhu began to recall his experiences over the past few months and told Lu Zixuan

"The new chef's surname is Zhao. He came after the National Day last year. At first, there were no conflicts and it was quite normal. But when my senior brother saw the seasoning prepared by the chef Zhao, he said that the seasoning was far inferior to that of my chef.

Then Master Zhao found the boss and said he wanted to compete with the master in cooking skills. But he was not competing in cooking, but in seasoning. Whoever lost would leave Hongbinlou.

His rule is to prepare the seasonings for the second kitchen staff. In a week, see who has more repeat customers. My chef had more customers during those days, but none of them were repeat customers.

At the beginning, Master Zhao didn't have many customers overall, but there were many repeat customers. For some reason, starting from the fourth day, Master Zhao's repeat customers suddenly increased and there were not enough seats. Until now, the restaurant has repeat customers almost every day.

My master knew he had lost, so he packed up his things without saying anything. He told us that he would be back home soon and asked us to visit him when we had time.

I went there ten days later when he was on break. The chef gave me a notebook, saying it was a record of his cooking insights over the years.

He also said that he had contacted Emei Restaurant and asked me to go there to work as the second stove. Then he asked me to leave and said I didn’t need to go there again.

He Yuzhu had a hunch that something was wrong, but he continued speaking:

"I had already resigned from the shopkeeper and was packing my coat to leave when Master Zhao stopped me and said he would take me in as his apprentice. When I had learned the skills well enough, he would teach me the secret recipe of the seasoning. I was also very curious about his secret recipe, so I agreed to stay.

After a month, he asked me to go to his house to cook a few dishes. He was not very satisfied and said that in the future I should not use the chef's seasonings anymore and should use new seasonings for all the dishes.

He would prepare it for me and teach me how to make it at the right time, but I was not allowed to tell anyone about it. From that day on, a new rule was introduced in the kitchen: no communication was allowed in the kitchen, and everyone could only work.

Even if the waiters have something to do in the kitchen, they have to ask Master Zhao for permission. Master Zhao said that this is the rule of the State Guesthouse, so you feel it is too quiet. There is nothing else, but it feels a bit suffocating when no one talks for a long time.

Later, I saw someone in the kitchen wrapping a tree with cotton cloth and hitting it to relieve boredom and to train arm strength. I also did one, and you know what, it was quite comfortable. Don’t you think I am stronger now than before? Hehe…

After that, I got used to not talking because I felt it was too difficult to explain. We in the kitchen are all like this, and there's nothing wrong with it.

However, there is a strict rule that all dishes can only be used to entertain guests. No one in the restaurant is allowed to touch the leftovers, otherwise they will be kicked out and have to pay compensation. Chef Zhao said that this is the rule of the State Guesthouse.

Today's dishes are kept by a few of us because Master Zhao is not here. The ones on top are the best dishes, and the ones on the bottom are all vegetarian. You are a lucky boy, this is the first time Master Zhao is not here. How is it? Did you taste anything?"

Lu Zixuan nodded thoughtfully and said:

"That is to say, the new chef Zhao wins because of the seasoning. What if there is no seasoning? How is the cooking skill of chef Zhao? Let's compete with you."

He Yuzhu patted his chest proudly and said:

"I'm not bragging, I have learned 90% of the master's skills, the only thing left is practice. In addition to some of the dishes passed down from ancestors, the master taught me all his skills.

If Master Zhao were to come to me alone, his control over the heat and the dishes would be at most half as good as mine."

Lu Zixuan asked again: "Then why are you still there? Just for that secret recipe?"

He Yuzhu saw Lu Zixuan asking seriously and replied in a serious manner:

"Not entirely. I just want to know why the master lost. Is his seasoning so magical?"

Lu Zixuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had always thought that he was under mental control and that was why he didn't want to talk. But the situation was obviously different from what he thought and was much more serious.

If that's the case, I'm more afraid that He Yuzhu will get caught, and I won't be able to handle it. Then I have to consider other partners. Fortunately, he didn't get caught.

So he looked at He Yuzhu and said solemnly: "Uncle, do you believe me?"

Seeing Lu Zixuan's serious look, He Yuzhu unconsciously became serious as well: "I definitely believe you, why are you so serious?"

"I have an uncertain idea, but it's hard to say for now. Let's not eat this dish. What if it's not good? We don't lack this little bit of food at home. Do you think it's okay?"

Although it's a pity, if I end up in the hospital because of this dish, it will cost me more money, wouldn't that be a pity? What do you think? "