Chapter 210 - All they know is to bully her! (3)
Edited by: Lulu
Everybody was stunned when they heard Tong Xuelu.
Tan Xiaoyan was the first to recollect herself. She snickered and said, “Some people are really clueless. Do you think cooking is as simple as sweeping? This aunty had cooked most of her life, and her cooking was still awful. You think you could do better than her?”
It was obvious that Chef Meng didn’t think Tong Xuelu could cook either. “I appreciate the thought, little girl, but cooking delectable food is no small feat.”
Tong Xuelu did not bother responding to Tan Xiaoyan. “Why don’t we do this? I’ll make a dish right now for Chef Meng to try. If you think it’s acceptable, I will take your place. Otherwise, pretend that I hadn’t said anything.”
Chef Meng thought about it and agreed to her proposal.
First of all, he knew that Tong Xuelu was just trying to help him out, so he didn’t want to flat out turn her down.
Furthermore, she was only going to make a dish. No harm, no foul, if she fails.
With Chef Meng’s approval, the group went into the kitchen. Liu Dongchang was still gone on his shopping trip, and there were only spices like green onion, garlic, and peppercorn left in the kitchen with a small bundle of coal.
It would not be easy to make anything delectable with what limited items they have.
Upon seeing the scarce resources in the kitchen, Chef Meng suggested, “Perhaps we should wait a little bit for the others to come back with more supplies.”
Tong Xuelu shook her head. “That’s alright. I can make oil noodles for you to try.”
Oil noodles?
Nobody present had ever heard of that.
Tan Xiaoyan, who had been eavesdropping by the door, couldn't help but chuckle when she heard that.
“Oil on noodles? How is that going to be tasty? You don’t think that cooking is just all about how much oil you add, do you? Oh, you are so hilarious!”
Tong Xuelu turned and gave her a cold look. “Shut your mouth. Just wait and see. I won’t give you anything when I am done!”
Tan Xiaoyan stared at her. “Oh, you think you are all that? I won’t have any even if you grovel!”
Chef Meng turned and roared, “Get the heck out of my kitchen!”
Tan Xiaoyan was so angry that she almost puked blood. She stomped her feet and went outside to clean.
Meng Qingqing and her mother were of no help in the kitchen, so they also went outside to help Tong Xuelu do her cleaning work and give her more time to cook.
There were no other ingredients in the kitchen, but there was no shortage of flour. Moreover, there was strong flour, which was quite suitable for making noodles.
Tong Xuelu mixed lukewarm salt water into the flour, kneaded it into a sphere, and brushed oil on top of the dough once it was ready. She then placed it under a tub to let it rise for half an hour.
While waiting for the dough to rise, she minced ginger, green onions, and garlic and prepared the sauce.
After the dough was done rising, she cut it up into small parts and applied oil to their surfaces once again. They were ready to be pulled into noodles. Tong Xuelu began pulling the noodles by hand when the water started to boil.
Making hand-pulled noodles required a lot of skills. The noodles that were too thick or too thin would affect the taste. Nevertheless, Tong Xuelu’s actions were highly skillful, and all of the noodles were of the perfect size.
The moment Chef Meng saw Tong Xuelu pulling noodles, he was stunned.
It was obvious that she was an expert.
He didn’t think that Tong Xuelu could cook.
He did say she could try, but he didn’t have any high hopes.
When the noodles were almost done cooking, Tong Xuelu tossed in the vegetables and scooped everything out when they were ready. On top of the noodles, she tossed the minced green onion, garlic, and ginger and sprinkled on some pepper powder. Then she added hot oil all over the food in the wok.
Along with the sizzling noises, an exquisite aroma spread throughout the kitchen.
“That smells so good. What is it?”
Meng Qingqing, smelling the mouth-watering smell from the outside, wiggled her nose like a baby animal.
Meng Qingqing’s mother exclaimed, “It came from the kitchen. I am guessing that Comrade Tong had finished her noodles!”
As the aroma continued to spread around the restaurant Everyone suddenly felt hungry.
Meng Qingqing gulped and said, “Let’s go check it out, Mom.”
The mother and daughter headed toward the kitchen as they spoke and left Tan Xiaoyan gulping in the lobby.