Chef Hua

Zhou Yunyun, when asked like this, became even more panic-stricken, clacking her teeth against her lower lip without managing to squeeze out a word for a long while.

The fifth day of the first lunar month is the day when the market reopens, and after the New Year’s rest, merchants of all sizes in Fuzhe County, with the notable exception of those in the food and drink industry, choose this day to reopen their doors for business.

On the "breaking fifth day," cooking with raw rice is not allowed, which for those running restaurants, seems like someone has locked them up with a giant padlock; they can more or less do nothing at all, which is why most of Fuzhe County’s eateries choose to skip this day and reopen on the sixth to welcome customers.

Daoxiang Garden was no different, so Hua Xiaomai planned to take advantage of this day to clean up the place inside and out, and also to test Zhou Yunyun’s culinary skills.

Seeing the girl silent, she pursed her lips and smiled, "What’s the matter, I gave you more than a month to prepare, and you still feel it’s not enough? Are you not confident in yourself?"

"It’s... pretty much ready," Zhou Yunyun quickly lifted her head and glanced at her, "Brother Wen and sisters Chun Xi and La Mei have been very willing to help, whatever ingredients I need, Qing You and the others have also made great efforts to procure them, I practiced many times, and I’m familiar with the steps, it’s just that I have no certainty. Master, you’ve always had high demands for kitchen work, and I’m afraid..."

"I ask you, who did you learn your culinary skills from?" Hua Xiaomai raised her eyelids and swept a look over her face.

"From you, Master..." Zhou Yunyun said timidly.

"I’ve been teaching you hands-on for more than a year, and now you doubt whether your cooking can pass the test. Are you subtly insulting me?" Hua Xiaomai turned up the corner of her mouth as if quite displeased.

Zhou Yunyun knew she was joking and wasn’t frightened, but with a worried frown and a wave of her hands, she said, "It’s at this point already, Master, please don’t tease me. You know full well I’m just afraid I won’t make it."

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiaomai lowered her head and pondered for a moment before speaking softly, "Let me tell you something. When we reopen on the sixth and I come to take a look, I will then temporarily stop going to the shop. I’ve already spoken to sisters Chun Xi and La Mei as well as informed Scholar Wen, and didn’t tell you because at the time you were focusing on preparing the dishes for your final test. I didn’t want to disturb you."