Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

He Daqing possesses secret recipes for Shandong cuisine and Tan family cuisine, which allows him to find high-paying jobs in other places anytime, anywhere—that's the magic of these recipes.

Wang Defa has a secret recipe that allows him to become the head chef at Fengzeyuan Restaurant.

However, Master Wang Defa told He Yuzhu that the most legendary culinary masters do not need such complicated secret recipes.

With just a potato, a handful of salt, a knife, and a spatula, you can make the most exquisite shredded potatoes.

He Yuzhu looked at his master Wang Defa as if he were a fool, and Wang Defa almost hit him to death with a shovel.

Afterwards, when Wang Defa was tired of beating him, he told He Yuzhu that such a level of skill had indeed existed.

It's just that it's been a very, very long time since it last appeared.

Master Wang Defa's eyes were filled with longing; perhaps every top chef hopes to take their skills to the next level.

It's like leveling up; once you reach the Golden Core stage, why wouldn't you want to break through to the Nascent Soul stage?

Whether you can do it or not is one thing, but it's shameful not to even think about it.

He Yuzhu's understanding is that when culinary skills can't be improved any further, then you should simplify.

For example, if the original recipe required thirteen spices, can I use ten spices to ensure the same taste?

For example, would five kinds be okay? Or three? And finally, would a handful of salt be fine?

Just as science has no boundaries, so too does culinary arts.

Adding a secret recipe to a dish is like a chemistry experiment; molecules and ions combine to produce certain changes, which ultimately result in your dish tasting better than others.

He Yuzhu trembled every time he thought about this. He suddenly realized that his research and study of culinary arts was actually a kind of scientific experiment.

Knife skills are used to process experimental subjects to make them more suitable for the experimental results.

The process of controlling heat is similar to how different collision tests promote molecular changes.

The final secret is to add the finishing touch, to accelerate the development of the already half-finished experiment.

If I didn't use the secret recipe and just relied on the heat control, could I have completed the experiment directly?

Everything in the world is composed of molecules, and food certainly contains various molecules. It's just that you lack the ability to reconstruct them; the so-called "culinary master" is actually just a super-skilled scientist.

He Yuzhu felt that he had found his mission, or rather, his dream, in this era.

He's definitely not capable of changing the country.

Even if we hand over the output from our personal space, it won't solve many problems.

Let alone changing the country, He Yuzhu might not even be able to make a steel rolling mill better.

However, culinary skills can be elevated to extraordinary levels through one's own efforts, and once truly mastered, one can fulfill their dreams.

He Yuzhu will be the most awesome person wherever he goes.

In any industry, the top performer will never be overlooked.

It's 1954 now, and there are at least 30 years before we can freely roam around in the future.

For the past thirty years, I have been able to fully dedicate myself to culinary arts.

This experiment is also the best way to kill time. I didn't know before I became a leader that being a leader is really too easy.

As long as you don't cause trouble, most of the time nothing much will happen.

I come to the guesthouse every day to check on everyone's hygiene. As long as no one complains, it means that everyone's work is fine.

It's just a service center; doing a good job is enough if we keep it clean and provide excellent service.

His own work mainly involved cooking for others; when he wasn't hosting guests, he would simply enjoy a newspaper and a cup of tea.

This leisurely life couldn't be more comfortable. The key is that with so much free time every day, He Yuzhu has nowhere to expend his energy.

One Qin Huairu is definitely not enough to handle it, so finding a hobby to pass the time is the most important thing.

He also doesn't like fishing or playing chess.

The pond in his personal space was teeming with big fish; one net could scoop up a whole bunch. If it weren't for frequently hosting banquets and occasionally delivering a thousand kilograms to the steel mill's logistics department, the pond would have been full long ago.

The thousands of fish fry that were initially released into the pond have now grown up. Like fathers begetting sons, and sons begetting grandsons, large fish will continue to appear in the future.

He Yuzhu now often brings fish home, either grilling it or placing it in Fuxiang Hutong, so Qin Huairu can have a big meal when she comes over.

Once He Yuzhu had a goal, he began to break it down, starting with the preparation of the ingredients.

It seems somewhat unbelievable that someone who is already roughly equivalent to a top-level chef would start relearning how to handle ingredients.

But that's really what He Yuzhu thinks. Right now, he only uses ingredients that look whole and fresh.

So, do all the ingredients have their own unique flavor?

Just as no two eggs in the world are exactly alike, those minute details, so subtle they are indistinguishable to the naked eye, are precisely what cause the final elemental changes in the experiment.

The knowledge involved in just one ingredient processing was enough to make He Yuzhu's scalp tingle.

Furthermore, regarding knife skills, are there perhaps even more subtle variations involved?

Every ingredient has a different texture. Wouldn't it be better if we could cut the ingredients into the shapes we want without damaging their natural texture?

This tests your eyesight, your hand strength, and most importantly, your speed. You have to be fast enough that the molecules don't even escape, preserving the original flavor of the other ingredient.

Having discussed knife skills, let's talk about heat control.

Who dares to say that a top chef's skill in controlling the heat is the limit, whether they can preserve the shape of the food's surface while the inside has already become the way you want it to be.

He Yuzhu sat in his office, drawing conceptual analyses and breakdown tables on paper.

He treated this as a game to play in his spare time. As long as he continued to study it diligently, even if he couldn't reach the legendary level that his master Wang Defa had described, he was sure he would at least be better than his master Wang Defa.

Wang Defa, listen to me say thank you.

Liu Lan, Guo Wei, Lu Yi, and then they noticed that He Yuzhu had changed.

Normally, the three of them were responsible for preparing the ingredients, but now He Yuzhu cooks a dish from start to finish every time he cooks.

The process described here, from beginning to end, involves selecting ingredients, processing them, washing and chopping them, and finally heating the oil in a wok to stir-fry the vegetables.

Seeing He Yuzhu's work ethic, Liu Lan, Guo Wei, and Lu Yi were quite shocked. They always approached their work with a serious attitude, but He Yuzhu seemed to be focused on scientific research.

The contrast between the two is too obvious. Guo Wei and Lu Yi admire He Yuzhu for being so talented yet so humble. What right do they have not to work hard and take their culinary skills seriously?

This positive cycle also led to the kitchen staff performing better and better.

He Yuzhu hadn't expected that his efforts to research culinary techniques would lead to such a misunderstanding. However, regardless of the misunderstanding, it's definitely a good thing if it motivates everyone to be more dedicated to their work.

On New Year's Eve, He Yuzhu and He Yushui kept watch together.

He Yuzhu prepared a table full of dishes, which made all the birds in the courtyard extremely envious.

Xu Damao went to Xu Fugui's place for dinner today. Although he now lives separately from his parents, he still often goes there for meals.

Xu Fugui moved out because he wanted to eat well more often. Even if you're rich, you can't eat well frequently in a traditional courtyard house.

Even though He Yuzhu is so rich, he often eats braised pork at home. He's afraid others will notice that he has good things at home; he's not worried about scarcity but about inequality.

The birds in the courtyard never feel that this is the life others should have; they only complain that the other party doesn't share the good things.

Jia Zhangshi was the most self-righteous of them all. It's just that Yi Zhonghai doesn't value the Jia family that much now, otherwise she would have gone even further.

At most, Jia Zhangshi can only curse people in the courtyard. If the other party ignores her, there's nothing she can do.

The news that He Yuzhu sent last time has kept Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui very low-key for the time being.

They can only gradually change people's opinions and get others to ask them for help in holding a large meeting to solve the problem.

The birds in the courtyard are really shameless; there really are people who, because of disputes, ask the three old men to step forward and uphold justice.

Faced with this situation, He Yuzhu was also helpless. Although he had known for a while, he hadn't expected the others to be so incompetent.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, He Yuzhu took He Yushui to pay New Year's respects to their master, Wang Defa.

When He Daqing left, his master Wang Defa exempted He Yuzhu from serving for two years.

That's why He Yuzhu was able to earn a lot of money at such a young age.

He Yuzhu is grateful for his mentor Wang Defa's care and visits him every year with generous gifts to wish him a Happy New Year.

Master Wang Defa would always have his apprentices cook a dish to check if their culinary skills had deteriorated recently.

He Yuzhu cooked a simple hot and sour shredded potato dish this time.

The second senior brother finished eating without saying a word, while Master Wang Defa finished eating, glanced at He Yuzhu, and went straight back to his room.

He Yuzhu didn't ask them, because he had already discovered that his cooking skills were indeed different.

He couldn't explain the specifics, but recently, the leaders of the steel mill and the guests who come here for special meals have been personally inviting him for a drink every time.

He Yuzhu always thanked everyone for their support with a smile, but the more polite he was, the more respect everyone showed him.

Li Huaide excitedly told He Yuzhu that his current culinary skills were absolutely top-notch in a large restaurant.

He Yuzhu smiled but didn't say anything; this was no longer his goal.

If we divide chefs into several levels, apprentices are at the martial arts level, only training their bodies and not yet reaching the Qi Refining stage.

Once you reach level six, seven, or eight in the general chef certification exam, you'll be at the early to intermediate stage of Qi Refining.

Those who have already gained some fame and even passed the fourth or fifth level exams are considered to be at the advanced stage of Qi Refining.

Levels two and three are the foundation-building stage.

A first-class chef is equivalent to the Golden Core stage.

The stage between a first-class chef and a culinary master is the Nascent Soul stage.

The final culinary master is at the Divine Transformation stage.

He Yuzhu has just reached the level of a first-class chef, which is the initial stage of the Golden Core realm.

Even if he has just broken through, he is still a first-class chef.

Master Wang Defa remained silent, clearly discouraged. How long had it taken him to reach this level, compared to how long his apprentice had taken?

The second senior brother remained silent because he felt that at thirty-five years old, he couldn't even compare to his junior brother.