Siheyuan: Mastery started in the 50s

He also bought some taste recovery training tools and tried to speed up the recovery process through training. Whenever he felt anxious, he would force himself to calm down and tell himself that this was a temporary difficulty and that everything would be fine as long as he persisted.

He Yuzhu saw this and had a little more respect for Wang Qiang. He did not put too much pressure on Wang Qiang, but continued to let him help in the kitchen, and encouraged him from time to time not to give up. Wang Qiang knew that He Yuzhu was giving him time to give him a chance to regain his sense of taste.

As the days passed, Wang Qiang's sense of taste seemed to have improved. Although it was not fully recovered, he could already distinguish the difference between salty and sweet. Wang Qiang's heart was filled with hope, and he knew that he was not far from a complete recovery.

One day, He Yuzhu said to Wang Qiang, "Wang Qiang, I think you are almost recovered now. Come and try cooking a dish tomorrow to see how you have recovered."

Wang Qiang was nervous and excited. He knew this was a test and an opportunity. He nodded and encouraged himself silently. He must succeed and not let He Yuzhu down again.

The next day, Wang Qiang arrived at the store early, feeling nervous and excited. Following He Yuzhu's advice, he chose the stir-fried beef with scallions, which he was familiar with. He handled each step carefully, cutting the beef, preparing the scallions, ginger, and garlic, and seasoning... He was no longer impatient, but took steady steps, repeatedly recalling He Yuzhu's usual teachings to him.

When the beef was put into the pot, the aroma in the pot once again triggered Wang Qiang's memory, and the familiar feeling came back. He stared at the ingredients in the pot intently, trying his best to control the heat, and skillfully turned the spatula in his hand, with only one thought in his mind: I want to succeed.

Finally, the dish was ready. Wang Qiang took a plate, took a deep breath, and then picked up the chopsticks to taste it first. This time, he finally felt the long-lost taste, the fragrance of onions and the tenderness of beef intertwined together, which made him smile. He knew that his sense of taste had finally returned.

Wang Qiang's sense of taste gradually recovered, allowing him to regain confidence and motivation, and his cooking skills gradually returned to their previous level. However, he realized that he was in another dilemma: he found that his appearance was beginning to be a little sloppy, his hair had grown past his ears and hung messily in front of his forehead, making him look a little embarrassed.

One afternoon, Wang Qiang stood in front of the mirror in the kitchen, looking at himself in the mirror with long hair and stubble, and he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. He remembered that his father always said that a chef should not only have good skills, but also have a good image, because image is also part of a chef. Wang Qiang recalled that when he first met He Yuzhu, although he was middle-aged, he had neatly combed hair and looked neat and tidy, which impressed him deeply. In comparison, he is obviously not "decent" now.

"It's time to get a haircut." Wang Qiang thought to himself, and decided to take some time to go to the barber shop at the corner of the street to get his hair trimmed and tidy up his appearance.

The next day, Wang Qiang finished his preparations in the kitchen early and hurried to the barber shop at the corner of the street. It was a small shop with an old sign, but it exuded a sense of intimacy. Wang Qiang walked in and the barber was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing a white work suit. When he saw Wang Qiang coming in, he greeted him warmly: "Young man, would you like a haircut? Come over here."

After Wang Qiang sat down, the barber skillfully put a cloth over him and asked, "How do you want your hair cut? Shorter or trimmed?"

Wang Qiang looked up at his messy hair in the mirror, thought for a moment and said, "Cut it shorter. It's too long and a bit untidy."

The barber nodded and began to use the scissors to make a clicking sound on Wang Qiang's head. The silver scissors jumped flexibly between his fingers. Wang Qiang closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the scissors gently scratching his hair. This familiar sound made him feel a long-lost comfort. He thought that after returning to the kitchen, he would continue to work with a brand new look, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation in his heart.

However, at this moment, a familiar voice suddenly sounded at the door: "Wang Qiang, why are you here?"

Wang Qiang suddenly opened his eyes and saw He Yuzhu standing at the door of the barber shop, frowning at him. The barber stopped scissors in his hand and looked at He Yuzhu in surprise: "Sir, are you his friend?"

He Yuzhu ignored the barber and walked directly to Wang Qiang, saying with a hint of reproach in his tone: "Wang Qiang, we have important guests to entertain today, why are you here to get a haircut?"

Wang Qiang was stunned. He had completely forgotten that there was such an arrangement today. He suddenly felt regretful and nervous. He hurriedly stood up from the chair and explained: "Master He, I... I thought there was not much to do today, so I thought about getting a haircut quickly, but I didn't expect..."

He Yuzhu waved his hand, interrupting him, with a hint of severity in his tone: "Wang Qiang, you are my right-hand man now, not just a handyman. Every meal is a test for us, how could you ignore such an important matter?"

Wang Qiang felt a little guilty about He Yuzhu's tone. His mind quickly flashed back to his experiences of the past few days, and he felt a mixture of self-blame and tension. He knew that He Yuzhu had high expectations of him, and he didn't want to disappoint him. But at this moment, he also realized that he had indeed neglected to go get a haircut at this time.

"I'm sorry, Master He, I... I'll go back right away." Wang Qiang lowered his head, feeling full of regret. He felt a heavy responsibility on his shoulders that made it impossible for him to relax.

Seeing Wang Qiang's sincere attitude, He Yuzhu sighed and softened his tone: "Okay, let's leave your hair like this for now. When you go back, clean yourself up and get ready to welcome customers." He quickly untied the apron, apologized to the barber, and hurriedly left the barber shop. On the way back, Wang Qiang felt a little heavy. He realized that He Yuzhu no longer regarded him as an ordinary employee, but as a partner, which meant that the responsibility on his shoulders was even greater.

Back at the restaurant, Wang Qiang immediately started preparing, his heart full of remorse for his negligence. He decided to make up for his mistake with more exquisite cooking skills. The dinner that day was prepared for an old customer, who was not only a regular customer of "Zhu Zi Home Cooking", but also a well-known figure in Beijing, who had extremely high requirements for food.