The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Wang Chengyan's classmates, seeing him staring at the second floor of Zuixianlou and laughing happily, assumed he wanted to eat there.

But didn't we just have lunch?

"Brother Wang, you've been eyeing Zuixianlou for a while now. Are you perhaps thinking of trying their signature braised fish?"

Wang Chengyan waved his hand and pointed to the second floor of Zuixianlou, "Do you know who that person is?"

The man looked in the direction Wang Chengyan was pointing and indeed saw an elderly man in his sixties sitting by the window on the second floor of Zuixianlou.

He was somewhat puzzled. "You don't know?"

Wang Chengyan looked in that direction and casually said, "That is our Great Xia Kingdom's renowned Confucian scholar, Grand Tutor Zhou."

The other party was utterly shocked upon hearing his words.

Wang Chengyan, seemingly oblivious to the other person's shock, continued, "I saw him during the exam, there's no mistake."

"The results will be announced tomorrow. Why would this gentleman come to our small Xin'an County?"

"I understand!" The person next to Wang Chengyan took a few steps in place and raised a finger as if he was thinking.

"Do you remember the news that circulated before? Grand Tutor Zhou praised the students of our Xin'an County."

"It is said that this Grand Tutor Zhou has always wanted to find a disciple he admires and personally teach him his studies."

"You said that Grand Tutor Zhou came here for this very reason."

After hearing what the other person said, Wang Chengyan pretended to suddenly understand, but the curve of his lips had already betrayed him.

He had actually thought of this, but he just enjoyed being praised by others.

Sure enough, the man suddenly realized and nudged Wang Chengyan with his elbow, "Brother Wang, it seems that Grand Tutor Zhou has come for you!"

After hearing his words, Wang Chengyan also felt that Grand Tutor Zhou's trip must be to take him as a student.

After all, he had achieved the best score in the Xin'an Academy exam, and he also remembered that the old gentleman seemed to have glanced at him a few times during the exam and nodded with satisfaction.

Wang Chengyan interrupted the man with a smile, "Shh! The results haven't been released yet, don't talk nonsense."

“Brother Wang, you’re not being modest. Grand Tutor Zhou is clearly here for you.”

"The apprenticeship banquet must be a grand affair; we should set up several tables at Zuixianlou."

Although Wang Chengyan told him not to talk nonsense, he had already considered himself Grand Tutor Zhou's student in his heart, and he was even confident that he could pass this exam with ease.

Hearing the compliments, he waved his hand in feigned modesty, "Alright, I'll definitely arrange the highest-level banquet then. Being Grand Tutor Zhou's student isn't something anyone can just decide to do."

The group surrounded Wang Chengyan, urging him to treat them to dinner. They couldn't wait, so they asked him to take them to Zuixianlou tonight to try their food.

Wang Chengyan agreed to their requests. This amount of money was just a drop in the ocean for the Wang family. Moreover, if his father knew that he was about to become Grand Tutor Zhou's student, he would probably be willing to give him the entire Wang family fortune, let alone treat him to a meal.

Grand Tutor Zhou, who was inside the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, had no idea what was happening downstairs.

He waited expectantly for the waiter to serve the dishes.

He ordered all of Zuixianlou's signature dishes, especially looking forward to the braised fish the waiter mentioned. He loved fish, but there were very few restaurants in the capital that made it well.

Only the braised fish at Xiangmanlou is worth trying. I heard that Xin'an County is located by the sea and the river, so the chefs here must be very good at cooking fish.

After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the dishes finally started to be served.

He looked at the dishes on the table; their presentation was acceptable.

Before the braised fish was served, he first picked up a piece of cold dish, a cold wild vegetable salad, which he heard was unique to their local area.

The moment he tasted the wild vegetables, their bitterness nearly killed him.

He wondered if the wild vegetable's characteristic was its bitterness, and perhaps it would have a unique flavor later on. He endured the bitterness, chewed a few times, and swallowed it down with great effort.

As it turned out, the wild vegetable wasn't as good as he thought; it was just plain bitter.

Seeing the Grand Tutor pick up a piece of cold wild vegetable salad with his chopsticks, Ye Shu also picked up a bite, but as soon as he tasted it, he exclaimed, "Pah! It's so bitter!"

He pushed the wild vegetable away in disgust.

Grand Tutor Zhou thought it might be because of the wild vegetables, so he tore off another roasted chicken leg. He had heard from the waiter that his family's roasted chicken was also quite good.

Xiangmanlou's roast chicken is their signature dish; he buys one every month. I wonder how it tastes this time.

He took a bite of the chicken leg; it was salty and flavorful at first, but the taste faded as he ate more.

Moreover, the meat is dry and tough, not as delicious as Xiangmanlou roast chicken.

He threw the chicken leg, which he had only eaten a few bites of, into the bowl.

There's plenty of seafood here; it must taste delicious.

He took a bite of the stir-fried sea cucumber that the waiter had highly recommended.

Wow! This is actually pretty good, so fresh! The freshness of the sea cucumber combined with the freshness of the chives is doubly delicious, plus the crunchy texture of the sea cucumber. It's quite tasty.

He scooped a large spoonful of stir-fried sea cucumber into a bowl, mixed it with rice, and ate about half a bowl.

This dish is pretty good. Sure enough, seafood is probably best made in Xin'an County.

Because of this stir-fried sea cucumber, he had renewed expectations for the chefs at Zuixianlou Restaurant.

Finally, the braised fish was served.

He quickly moved the plates on the table, leaving the braised fish in the center.

Seeing the customer's impatient manner, the waiter smiled and placed the braised fish in a cleared space. This customer was really in a hurry.

Grand Tutor Zhou looked at the braised fish in front of him. It was a little different from the braised fish he had eaten before. This braised fish seemed to have been braised directly without being fried.

The dark brown color was quite pronounced, and it was sprinkled with some cilantro, which made it look quite appealing.

He picked up a piece of meat from the fish's belly, took a bite, and found the fish to be fresh and quite delicious at first bite.

However, when he took the second bite, he felt that the sauce was a bit too strong, masking the natural freshness of the fish.

The sauce on the surface was a bit salty, and the parts with more fish in the middle weren't very flavorful.

Moreover, if you taste it carefully, you can detect a slight fishy smell.

He frowned and put down his chopsticks.

Seeing that the Grand Tutor had stopped eating, Ye Shu asked curiously, "Grand Tutor, why aren't you eating? I think this fish is quite delicious. The fish is fresh and the sauce is rich."

Grand Tutor Zhou rolled his eyes at him, "If you like it, eat more."

"After you finish eating, come with me to explore Xin'an County."

Grand Tutor Zhou was extremely hungry, and since he hadn't been able to get any good food, he was in a bad mood.

Before eating the braised fish, he also ate several other braised seafood dishes. He felt that they were all delicious at first bite, but after eating them, he felt that apart from the different ingredients, they tasted almost exactly the same.

Sigh, I'd better hurry up and finish my business and head back to the capital.

He was so hungry along the way that he was almost unrecognizable. He touched his cheeks and saw that all the meat he used to eat had disappeared.

Hey!

If Ye Shu knew that Grand Tutor Zhou thought she was starving and looked emaciated, she would definitely roll her eyes.

Grand Tutor Zhou used to love to eat, especially meat. He used to be a bit overweight, but now that he's lost weight, he looks much more energetic. He's definitely not unattractive anymore.