Huayu Chef

082 Wild Kitchen is being watched

Wei Ming, Zhu Huilong, and Zhu Xiangyang followed Zhang Jinxuan and Grandpa Yu into the kitchen. They saw a central, cool worktable piled high with all sorts of spices, seasonings, ingredients, cooking utensils, tableware, and containers—a diverse array, yet not cluttered. The floor and countertops were clean and tidy, creating a very comfortable atmosphere.

The air was filled with a faint aroma of sweet fruit and roast duck, tempting one's taste buds.

Zhu Xiangyang sniffed, the image of roast duck involuntarily flashing into his mind. He subconsciously asked, "Xiao Zhang, is the roast duck being roasted yet?"

Zhang Jinxuan joked, "No, it's just waiting for you, General Manager Zhu, to take charge."

Wei Ming said with a half-smile, "President Zhu, when did you learn to be a gigolo?"

"Ha ha."

Zhu Huilong and Uncle Yu laughed heartily, and Zhang Jinxuan also laughed happily, thinking to himself, "You got what you deserved for that cheeky slap at the drinking party last time. What goes around comes around. You see, fate's boomerang spares no one."

Zhu Xiangyang chuckled and pointed at Zhang Jinxuan, saying, "President Wei, the expert in roasting duck is Xiao Zhang. He's a professional. I just came to watch the fun. How can the duck smell good if it's not even roasting properly?"

"I'll tend the stove."

Zhu Huilong interjected, "I understand this. It's called 'warming the chest,' right? It involves burning fruitwood and duck fat first to enhance the flavor of the roast duck."

Zhang Jinxuan looked at Zhu Huilong with surprise, then looked at him with new respect: "Mr. Long is an expert, he's got a job."

Zhu Xiangyang laughed and said, "Little Zhang, don't be fooled by him. His skills are terrible. He definitely stole your words from you just now."

"Mr. Zhu, don't slander me with any of this theft stuff."

"Tell me if you've seen 'Wild Kitchen' or not, okay?"

"This has nothing to do with whether or not you watch 'Wild Kitchen'; it's common knowledge among foodies."

Grandpa Yu chimed in, "Mr. Long is right. What does young Zhang, a mere cook, know about culinary theory?"

"Ha ha."

Wei Ming, Zhu Huilong, and Zhu Xiangyang got the joke from the first episode of "Wild Kitchen" and burst into laughter.

After they stopped laughing, Zhang Jinxuan asked, "President Wei, President Zhu, President Long, it's past three o'clock now. The roast duck will take another one or two hours to cook. Shall we get started now?"

"Okay, Xiao Zhang, you'll be the main player, we'll cheer you on!"

"Mr. Wei, that's not fair of you. You're making Xiao Zhang run around doing all the work by himself?"

"I don't know how to cook, so I won't cause any trouble for Xiao Zhang. Just wait to eat."

Grandpa Yu shook his head and said, "That's called professional division of labor, professionals doing professional things. Mr. Wei, let's sit down and have some tea, grab a handful of melon seeds, and watch Xiao Zhang's performance carefully. If his performance is excellent, let's cheer when the punchline lands. What do you think?"

"Teacher Yu is professional."

"Ha ha."

Grandpa Yu was quite the entertainer; he actually brought over a small table and five chairs, set them up in the kitchen, served tea and pastries, and watched Zhang Jinxuan cook as if he were listening to a crosstalk performance.

Zhang Jinxuan: "..."

It turns out the clown was myself.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiangyang was interested in roast duck and didn't join them in their wrongdoing. Instead, he went with Zhang Jinxuan to see the roasting oven.

"Hey, why is it a stainless steel oven? I thought you built a special roast duck oven in the kitchen."

"I just took over the new shop a few days ago, and we need to redesign and renovate it. There wasn't enough time to build a proper oven, so I bought a stainless steel oven to use temporarily. This oven was custom-made by a roast duck shop, and its specifications and dimensions are very standard. The roast ducks it produces will definitely be of good quality."

Hearing their conversation, Wei Ming asked while eating pastries, "Xiao Zhang, your Wild Kitchen business is doing well. Are you opening a branch so soon?"

Zhang Jinxuan explained, "It's not opening a branch, it's moving to a new store. The old store was too small, so we're moving to a bigger one."

"I think you can take bigger steps and open more branches. If you have funding problems, I can help you find connections."

Has the "wild kitchen" model been targeted by capital?

Zhang Jinxuan's eyelids twitched slightly, but he smiled calmly and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Mr. Wei. I opened Wild Kitchen mainly to satisfy my hobby of cooking. I still prefer acting. Wild Kitchen will stay open if it can be opened, and will be closed if it can't. It's a good way to focus on filming."

The implication is that they are refusing to allow capital to enter the market.

TV series and movies are the core products of the film and television industry chain. There are many stakeholders and concentrated resources. Platforms hold absolute power. Ordinary people cannot succeed by going it alone. They have to give up profits and pay tuition fees in order to obtain a smooth monetization channel.

The connection between the catering and film and television industries is very weak. The film and television industry chain does not play a decisive role in the catering industry. Why should Zhang Jinxuan share what he can do and earn on his own with other useless people?

Moreover, the catering industry relies too much on "conscience," and attracting capital is not necessarily a good thing.

Is it so easy to get money from capital?

Once you've taken a bribe, it's hard to get off. People on board are often not in control of their own destiny and are easily swayed by capital.

It doesn't matter if Wild Kitchen's development is a little slower. As long as Zhang Jinxuan does well in the entertainment industry, maintains good quality control of his dishes, and constantly innovates, he can continue to make money. Even if he only opens one store, his annual net profit may not be lower than that of some listed companies.

Wild Kitchen's total revenue in March was over 400,000 yuan. After deducting costs, expenses, and taxes, all the profit went to Zhang Jinxuan. April's revenue will only be higher, so what more could you ask for?

What more could you want?

Grandpa Yu chimed in, "As the old saying goes, hobbies are the best teachers. Young Zhang has excellent cooking skills at just over twenty years old, which is inseparable from his love and dedication to food."

"When it comes to hobbies, it's all about what you love and what you enjoy; nothing else matters. For example, I love raising small animals, so I started a horse farm and I'm constantly putting money into it. Even the wealthiest landlord couldn't afford to spend like that. But I can't help it, I just love it."

Zhu Huilong asked with a smile, "Teacher Yu, haven't you thought about starting some revenue-generating projects?"

"This shows a lack of business acumen. The CEOs here are all business elites; why don't you give me some advice?"

Wei Ming became interested and asked, "Teacher Yu, tell me about your horse farm."

Zhu Xiangyang stopped looking at the roast duck oven and went over to try and be a cobbler.

Zhang Jinxuan glanced over there, a slight smile playing on his lips. He was glad he had invited Uncle Yu today; his interruption had drawn all the attention from Wei Ming and the other two to himself.

He helped Zhang Jinxuan, and he also helped himself.

Wei Ming and his team did indeed give Grandpa Yu a lot of great ideas, which were very practical, and they even made plans to go horseback riding at the horse farm another day.

Wow, look at how well they build connections.

I can't accept it.

Zhang Jinxuan, now that he had some peace and quiet, didn't disturb the four of them discussing their plans to make money at the horse farm, and started preparing dinner.

Around 5:30 p.m., at Zhang Jinxuan's instruction, Grandpa Yu invited Wei Ming, Zhu Huilong, and Zhu Xiangyang to move to the private room.

Zhang Jinxuan served as a waiter, first bringing out two cold dishes: braised meat platter and cucumber salad. Then came braised pork, blanched lettuce, steamed chicken, braised bamboo shoots, steamed sea bass, and finally Peking duck.

Five people, eight dishes, no more, no less, and each dish was exquisitely prepared.

The braised meat platter is made with the restaurant's braised meats, which are carefully arranged on a plate. The tiger-skin chicken feet are red and large, and the braised black duck has an enticing dark brown color.

Chicken feet were used as paws, and duck parts were used as bodies, arranged in the shape of a duck. As soon as it was served, Wei Ming and the other two praised it highly.

The cucumber slices, arranged in a spiral pattern on a plate, are all of similar thickness, forming a continuous strip. The slices are slightly separated from each other, creating a beautiful, ribbon-like effect. The dressing, like morning dew, clings to the cucumbers, making for a delightful sight.

The braised pork was a deep reddish-brown, glistening with moisture, and the pieces of meat were incredibly bouncy, almost trembling at the slightest touch.

The Peking duck was even better than the one in the first episode of "Wild Kitchen," with an enticing jujube-red color, plump and round, and shimmering with a glossy sheen.

The most amazing dish is Steamed Chicken in a Clay Pot. It has a golden color and is made of a genuine golden broth. Tender chicken pieces, ham slices, matsutake mushrooms, morel mushrooms, astragalus, notoginseng, cordyceps flowers and other ingredients are soaked in the oily soup, which looks very appetizing.

"President Wei, President Zhu, President Long, Uncle Yu, let's start with the soup before eating the steamed chicken. You can all try it."

"it is good."