Chapter 35: I Want to Be a Chef!

The藿香 (Agastache) Crucian Carp was served, and Zhao Tieying's braised eels were also coming out of the pot.

Once Zhou Yan finished stir-frying a green vegetable and plating a dish of pickled radishes, the dinner spread would be complete.

They had originally planned to use the leftover toppings as dinner, but unexpectedly, everything had sold out completely, leaving nothing behind.

Zhao Tieying took an enamel basin, placed a large serving of rice on the table, and first served a bowl to everyone.

"This Agastache Crucian Carp is just too delicious! The color is beautiful, and it smells amazing. It looks even better than what you'd see in a state-run restaurant," Zhou Fei remarked admiringly as he looked at the plate.

"It does look good," Zhou Miao nodded, adding, "But this braised eel looks even better. The color is bright, the aroma is mouth-watering—it's truly professional work."

"Too much talk, just eat," Zhao Tieying said, placing a bowl of rice heaped high in front of him, her lips curling into a wide grin.

"Alright," Zhou Miao replied with a smile. He pushed the sauce to the side of his bowl first, then picked up a piece of fish from the belly of the crucian carp and gave it to Zhou Momo, saying gently, "Eat slowly. If you hit a bone, spit it out."

"Mhm, mhm!" Zhou Momo nodded vigorously, already unable to wait as she picked up her chopsticks to take a bite.

It was tender! Smooth! Delicious!

Her little mouth puckered as she pulled out a tiny bone; after spitting it out, she immediately shoveled a mouthful of rice into her mouth, chewing with great relish.

Zhou Momo had been able to eat fish since she was three years old; she was quite a natural at it.

Of course, Zhao Tieying didn't dare let her eat too much; she only ever gave her small pieces of meat from the belly where there were fewer bones, just to let her taste it.

"Crucian carp have many small bones. Fanwa, you're a clumsy eater, so just eat the eel your Fourth Aunt cooked," Zhao Hong said, placing a piece of eel in Fanwa's bowl.

"I'm not that clumsy..." Fanwa felt a bit wronged, but the eel tasted wonderful nonetheless. He had been choked by a fish bone before, so he was naturally wary of eating them.

Zhao Tieying first took a bite of the fish. The thick sauce coated the meat, and as it entered her mouth, the numbing, spicy, and savory flavors melted into the tender fish, with the scent of Agastache being very prominent.

The fish had been pan-fried beforehand, but not overdone; the skin was slightly charred and fragrant, yet the flesh remained incredibly smooth and tender.

There was even a bit of a tangy, spicy kick from pickled peppers!

Delicious!

It was much better than the Agastache Crucian Carp she had made herself; it felt like an entirely different dish.

Moreover, it went incredibly well with rice.

Zhao Tieying shoveled down three mouthfuls of rice in quick succession, feeling immensely satisfied.

"This flavor is spot on. It's much better than the braised carp you made last time," Zhao Tieying said, looking at Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan thought for a moment and immediately recalled the braised carp Comrade Little Zhou had made last time. That had been terrible; the muddy fishy smell hadn't been suppressed at all. The only reason it was finished was because of the scarcity of supplies and the reluctance to waste food.

Hearing this, Zhou Miao also couldn't wait to pick up a piece of fish and pop it into his mouth.

With one bite, he froze.

This was too delicious!

The fish was silky and tender, soaked in sauce. The aroma of Agastache led the way, while sour, spicy, and savory notes danced on the tip of his tongue. It was so fragrant.

He quickly shoveled down two mouthfuls of rice.

He looked up at Zhou Yan and said, "I'll bring two fish to your grandmother tomorrow. She loves fish; she'll definitely love this Agastache Crucian Carp you made."

"Okay," Zhou Yan nodded. That was a good idea.

Zhou Yan took a bite of the fish himself, and his eyes lit up as well.

This dish wasn't uncommon in Sichuan restaurants, but he had never encountered anyone who could control the texture of the fish and the flavor of the sauce to this degree.

*This is legendary, guys!* His usual catchphrase almost slipped out.

It was truly delicious and went perfectly with rice!

Crucian carp that weighed about half a pound each had relatively fewer small bones, making them much more enjoyable to eat.

Zhou Fei and Zhao Hong also tasted the fish, both being stunned by the excellence and offering continuous praise.

One shouldn't talk too much while eating fish, as it's easy to choke on a bone.

The fish head was sucked clean, and in the end, even the remaining sauce was used by Zhou Momo to mix with her rice until it was all gone.

Zhou Miao felt quite disappointed when his plan to pack the leftover sauce to take home fell through.

"I'll catch crucian carp again next time. It's delicious," Zhao Tieying assigned a task to Old Comrade Zhou.

"Alright, next time I'll catch even bigger ones," Old Comrade Zhou replied. His "secret stash" was growing, and he felt a renewed sense of confidence.

"Uncle, you're amazing. This is the best fish I've ever eaten," Zhou Lihui said, looking at Zhou Yan with eyes full of admiration. "I want to learn how to cook from you."

"Huh?"

The dining hall fell silent all of a sudden.

Zhao Hong, who was clearing the dishes, paused and looked at Zhou Lihui in surprise. "What did you say? Aren't you going to study?"

"Exactly, you're only in the ninth grade," Zhou Fei added, staring at him.

Zhou Lihui scratched his head and said in a low voice, "I'm not good at studying anyway. I'm always third from the bottom in every exam. I don't want to learn how to slaughter cattle; I like cooking. I want to follow Uncle and become a chef to cook for everyone."

Zhou Yan looked at the boy, not daring to respond immediately.

In this era, education was certainly the best way out.

But since Zhou Lihui was consistently third from the bottom, he truly wasn't cut out for academics.

The restaurant's business was getting better and better, and soon they would need to do more braising and stir-frying. There would be too much work in the kitchen for him to handle alone.

Taking Huihui on as an apprentice was actually worth considering.

The boy had his father's temperament—steady, hardworking, and observant.

Moreover, he was healthy, having inherited the physical strength of the Zhou family; he was a natural candidate for slaughtering cattle or being a chef.

But this was a major matter concerning a child's future, and he didn't dare intervene lightly.

Zhao Hong and Zhou Fei exchanged a glance and fell silent as well.

They knew better than anyone what Zhou Lihui's academic level was.

The boy wasn't a reckless one; he was proficient at everything from catching fish to catching eels and climbing trees to gather bird eggs, but he just couldn't grasp books. He was always third from the bottom, while the two behind him were true troublemakers.

He never caused trouble at school; for years, the teachers had never come looking for them, and he had even received commendations multiple times for helping his classmates.

He certainly wouldn't make it to high school. Their previous plan was to have him follow his father to learn cattle slaughtering after he finished middle school to learn a trade.

He had a good physique, great strength, and learned things quickly; after a few years, he would have a way to make a living.

"Fourth Dad, what do you think about this?" Zhou Fei looked at Zhou Miao, seeking the elder's opinion.

When Zhou Yan had originally decided not to learn cattle slaughtering but instead became an apprentice chef in a factory canteen, his uncles hadn't quite understood it.

Zhou Miao looked at Zhou Yan. "Zhou Yan, you're the chef. You tell us."

Everyone turned their gaze toward Zhou Yan.

"Huihui, is this just a sudden whim, or have you really thought it through that you want to learn cooking and become a chef in the future?" Zhou Yan looked into Zhou Lihui's eyes with a serious expression.

Zhou Lihui instinctively stood up straight and said earnestly, "I only decided today, but I've thought it through. I don't want to slaughter cattle; I want to be a chef. Life slaughtering cattle is the same every day, but as a chef, I can see the look on customers' faces when they eat my food. I think that would be very satisfying."

"Zhou Yan, do you think he can do it..." Zhou Fei started to say, then hesitated.

Zhao Hong had mentioned to him that Zhou Yan's restaurant business was booming and that he earned more than a cattle slaughterer.

If Zhou Lihui could learn from Zhou Yan, it would be a valuable skill and a more promising career.

Since ancient times, no chef has ever starved to death.

But because the eldest boy had suddenly brought this up today, they were completely unprepared. They were afraid Zhou Yan might misunderstand and think they were envious of his high earnings and were instigating Huihui to follow him.

"It's fine. My thoughts were the same as his back then—I didn't want to slaughter cattle, I wanted to be a chef," Zhou Yan said with a smile, waving his hand. This was exactly the attitude he had been waiting for.

He looked at Zhou Lihui and said, "How about this: starting next week, every morning you come to the restaurant with your mother to learn from me for two hours. You'll go to school at 7:30. Try it out for a while to see if it's what you imagined. If you can stick with it, then once you graduate from middle school, you can follow me to learn the trade."

"Yes! Thank you, Uncle!" Zhou Lihui's eyes lit up, and he grinned widely.

"However, I have one requirement. I don't care about your other subjects, but for the next half year, you must learn to recognize all the characters and master basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division," Zhou Yan's smile faded, and his expression became stern.

"I don't allow illiterates in my kitchen."

"If you can't even read the names of seasonings or calculate the bill when buying groceries, don't even dream of being my apprentice."