My Super Beautiful Lady Boss-Chapter 93: The Essence of Cooking

Everyone’s cravings were tantalized, their mouths hanging open, eyes wide, yet unable to resist swallowing several times.

Authors note (this part does not count for word number)

However tasty this dish looked, it was beyond their reach.

Chen Wanqing’s nimble little nose twitched, and she was thoroughly enraptured. With a spring-like gaze, she cooed at Su Xuan, "Su Xuan, after Old Lai leaves, could you, could you make me a dish, too?"

"Heh heh!" Su Xuan chuckled mischievously, his eyes freely roaming over Chen Wanqing’s delicate body. He pondered and said, "Well, of course, but you should know that what I hate most is cooking. If you take good care of me, I definitely won’t disappoint you."

"How should I take care of you?" No sooner had Chen Wanqing spoken these words than she regretted them, for any adult could probably read the desire in Su Xuan’s eyes.

"Really, why do you always think along these lines," Chen Wanqing spoke with a touch of melancholy.

Though her relationship with Su Xuan progressed swiftly, hearing such words in front of her dad made her feel somewhat embarrassed.

"It’s mutual, after all. You make me happy, and I’ll make you happy. If it’s only yourself you’re pleasing, how disadvantaged would I be?" Speaking thus, Su Xuan gently opened the steamer, carelessly took out the plate with his bare hands, unbothered by the heat, and placed it on the table.

"This is the second serving of the Su Mei Fish, please taste," Su Xuan said to Old Lai.

Old Lai, thrilled, nodded and delicately picked up a piece of fish, placing it in his mouth. A pure herbal fragrance mingled with the fresh taste of the fish, melting instantly as it spread in his mouth.

"Good, good, good!" Old Lai exclaimed three times in a row, his mouth too full of fish to bother speaking further, just focusing on relishing the large chunks.

Chen Tianwen and Old Lai’s bodyguards were all astonished. Old Lai’s reputation for being a foodie was more famous than his family’s influence.

When had they ever seen Old Lai, who’s demands on food reached obsessive levels, devour a fish dish so unselfconsciously?

Thinking this, they grew even more curious about the flavor of the Su Mei Fish, their saliva secretion accelerating, almost making them wish they could pounce on it for a taste.

It took Old Lai a good five minutes to finish most of the fish, wiping his mouth while still longing for more, he acclaimed, "Truly a mortal world’s delicacy! The flavor of the fish aside, the mere sequence of the meal alone reaches perfection. Fried fish is most fragrant, first teasing out my appetite, then following the greasiness with the fresh flavor of the fish, not only washing away the earlier greasiness but adding a unique charm. Truly worthy of the ’Food God’ title."

Su Xuan was no stranger to such praise, and as he picked up the leftovers of the fish bones and put them into a pressure cooker, he said, "Now comes the third serving."

Old Lai nodded in satisfaction and asked with a bit of curiosity, "Su Xuan, the first is the skin, the second the meat, the third the bones, these I understand, but what about the final, fourth serving?"

The curiosity of everyone was piqued, their gaze towards Su Xuan transformed from disdain and disdain to a kind of heartfelt admiration.

Yet Su Xuan’s expression did not change in the slightest, as if he simply did not care how these people thought of him, nor did he feel the need to prove his worth.

"As for the fourth serving, well, you’ll know when you try it. If I tell you in advance, it would spoil the taste," Su Xuan said.

Desiring to taste the fish bones, they must be thoroughly stewed, which requires a significant amount of time.

In the meantime, the recently widely discussed incident of the Bright Moon Building’s million-dollar meal took a new turn.

Virtually everyone, upon hearing that someone had ordered this dish, initially thought it was merely Bright Moon Building’s self-promotion.

Some scheming people, intending to debunk this trick, walked up to the entrance of Bright Moon Building only to notice Old Lai’s car and the presence around.

The smart and well-connected among them quickly realized that today’s guest was none other than the renowned gastronomic titan of Beijing, Lai Feilong — Old Lai.

After learning this, they came blusterously but left sneakily.

Ignoring the influence of the Lai family, just the reputation of Lai Feilong in the culinary world alone guaranteed that any restaurant he praised would see its popularity double over the next few months.

While these people were secretly relieved they hadn’t acted rashly, they also became intensely curious about Su Xuan’s culinary skills.

Half an hour later, when Su Xuan felt it was about right, he opened the pressure cooker, but rather than taking the plate out, he had someone bring a clean plate in front of Lai Feilong.

"Now comes the third serving, the dragon bones!"

As Su Xuan spoke, he picked up a pair of long chopsticks and gently stirred them inside the pressure cooker. Pulling them back out, he had a complete, crystal-clear fish skeleton, which he carefully placed in front of Lai Feilong.

"I’ve been to so many places, seen so many celebrated chefs, but you’re the first to dare serve me a fish skeleton as a dish," Lai Feilong said, watching Su Xuan’s reaction.

"Dislike it because it’s fish bones?" Su Xuan glared, his chopsticks askew as he grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly, "If you don’t want to eat it, I won’t let you."

"Ancestor, you’re really trying to kill me here," Lai Feilong was visibly agitated as he stood up, safeguarding the remaining half of the fish bones with his arms like a dog protecting its food.

It seemed as if he would fight anyone to the death over that piece of bone.

Everyone present couldn’t help but cringe; they found it unimaginable that someone of Lai Feilong’s stature could say or do such things.

"Are you really fussing over a bone?" Su Xuan asked with a smile, threateningly twiddling his chopsticks in his hand.

"Not at all, not at all, as long as it’s made by you, I’m willing to eat anything, okay?" Lai Feilong knew Su Xuan well and was aware that he could always come up with astonishing antics, abandoning all concerns for his image, he directly grabbed the fish bones from the plate and gulped them down.

The people around could no longer bear to watch.

Even Su Xuan was a bit taken aback, "Come on, old man, it’s just a bone, was it worth all that drama?"

Lai Feilong glanced at Su Xuan, "If I could eat this bone every day, I’d be willing to live ten years less, but the key is it’s the first time in my life I’ve had it."

"Forget it," Su Xuan responded unceremoniously, "You’re already over seventy, if it really were that way, you’d probably die right at this meal."

At these words, everyone around was taken aback.

Lai Feilong’s four bodyguards looked stern and displeased at Su Xuan, seemingly ready to disable Su Xuan at their boss’s slightest hint.

Chen Tianwen was also on edge, his temples sweating as he scolded, "Su Xuan, what are you saying? Is that any way to talk to Old Lai? Apologize now!"

Sun Zhi’ai, who had been too scared to speak, now seemed energized and provoked the bodyguards, "They say if the master is insulted, the servants die. Your master is almost cursed to death, and you are just standing there doing nothing?"

The four burly bodyguards exchanged glances, seeing hesitation in each other’s eyes, as Lai Feilong normally hated the mention of death, but now he seemed not to be angry.

"Hahaha!" Lai Feilong burst out laughing, causing everyone’s hearts to rise to their throats as many thought this was a prelude to his rage.

As the four bodyguards prepared to take action and Chen Wanqing anxiously wanted to defend Su Xuan, Lai Feilong slapped Su Xuan on the shoulder, "There aren’t many people who tell me the truth at my age, which is why I appreciate you, my young friend."

The word "friend" could mean many things, ranging from casual acquaintances to life-and-death allies.

Only then did everyone realize that from the beginning to the end, Lai Feilong had never treated Su Xuan as just a chef, but as a friend of equal standing, apparently going along with whatever Su Xuan did.

In that moment, Chen Wanqing remembered her first encounter with Su Xuan, who looked nothing more than a common laborer; she never imagined he would know such a tycoon.

Chen Tianwen also couldn’t help but wipe the sweat from his brow, imagining if he had been the one to say those words to Lai Feilong, he might pretty well have ended up disabled by now.

For the first time, he felt a sense of respect towards Su Xuan, whom he had always looked down upon and even despised.

Su Xuan’s previous "nonsensical" words had gradually begun to seem more mysterious to him.

"Alright, don’t try to cozy up now; say whatever you like, just finish this meal and don’t keep seeking me out when you don’t need anything. Better hurry up and have the fourth serving," Su Xuan said impatiently. He then handed over a blue-and-white porcelain bowl to Old Lai, pouring into it the remaining broth from the pressure cooker and the drippings of the herbal medicine from the steamer, loudly proclaiming, "The last serving, drink the soup."

If a chef were to toss leftover ingredients together and call it the finale dish, the restaurant might have been smashed up by now.

Lai Feilong opened his mouth to say something but, recalling the earlier lesson, he quickly shut it and gently began to savor the taste.

Though the soup appeared a bit messy, upon the first sip, he couldn’t help but close his eyes and savor the taste.

The last soup had melded the essence of the previous three servings; every time Lai Feilong ate, he didn’t eat cleanly, allowing him to detect the taste of each of the earlier servings in this final dish.

Most importantly, he had thought he might never get to taste Su Xuan’s cooking again, which made this dish an unexpected delight.

This dish was a masterpiece, both in terms of taste and emotional impact, highlighting the essence of culinary skills.

"Old Lai, all in all, do you think this ’Four-serve Su Mei Fish’ is worth ten million?" Su Xuan asked while biting his nail.

"It’s worth it, absolutely worth it," Lai Feilong didn’t skimp on his praise.

"Good!" Su Xuan declared loudly, his gaze suddenly turning towards Chen Tianwen and Sun Zhi’ai, as the atmosphere in the hall turned odd once again.