Chapter 111: Xinteng Ge, nice ride!

  The chicken liver slices were arranged like flower petals in a delicate cold dish. A sunflower floated subtly in the dish, with freshly mixed pickled mustard greens in the hollow gaps. The red and green peppercorns and chili peppers added a finishing touch.

  Jiang Di drooled and insisted on trying a piece first. Li Xiaoteng lowered his voice and said, "If you want to eat, go with my parents to be judges..."

  Jiang Di swallowed a mouthful of saliva and dryly laughed twice before falling silent.

  Sun Dabao smashed two cloves of garlic and chopped them into small pieces. He put them in the just-marinated chicken breast, then poured some soy sauce and rice vinegar into a small bowl. He added a little sugar and drizzled a bit of sesame oil. He stirred it twice with his hand, then placed the bowl on the table. He casually picked up a Dutch cucumber, sliced off a few thin pieces like maple leaves, and arranged them in a cool dish. The remaining cucumber was finely chopped into shreds and placed on a plate. Only then did he transfer all the mixed chicken breast to the dish.

  Jiang Di asked in a low voice with some surprise, "Teng Ge, is this dish so simple? Is that it?" Li Xiao Teng smiled and said, "Chicken middle treasure is rich in gelatin protein. It's the most flavorful part of the chicken feet. Eating it also has the best mouthfeel. Since we're using soy sauce to cook it, let's bring out the garlic flavor. The simpler it is, the more it shows off the seasoning skills!"

  Jiang Di seems to be saying something profound, but it's hard to understand what he means. He sounds like a real expert, but it's actually quite obscure.

  Li Xiaoteng immediately rushed up to Jiang Di and said: "You first take these two dishes over to my parents, let them try them."

  Jiang Di looked at Li Xiaoteng with a puzzled expression and asked, "Teng Ge, aren't you going to take the first bite?" Li Xiaoteng smiled and said, "Who eats the first bite makes no difference! You go ahead!"

  Jiang Di took the dishes away, but Sun Daren's hands didn't stop. He grabbed a small handful of jellyfish skin from the refrigerator in the cold dish room, chopped some garlic, mixed it with sugar and vinegar in a one-to-one ratio, added a bit of salt and monosodium glutamate, sprinkled a few drops of sesame oil and fragrant oil, and casually put it aside.

  Sun Dabao turned his head to look at Li Xiaoteng, but didn't say a word. He picked up the cabbage and quickly chopped it into fine shreds with swift and agile knife movements, the flashing knife light creating a flurry of shadows beside him, revealing delicate white cabbage threads.

  From head to toe. Li Xiaoteng secretly estimated that it only took a dozen seconds or so. Li Xiaoteng smiled and said to Sun Dabao, "Master Sun is indeed a master, I really can't compare to Master Sun's knife skills." Master Sun humbly said, "It's okay, when I was young, I chopped a lot, the more I chopped, the better I got!" Although he was talking to Li Xiaoteng with his mouth, his hands were not idle. He quickly sprinkled some salt and sugar, and then rapidly stirred it up and down a few times. He arranged the shredded cabbage into a bird's nest shape, put the cooked sea jelly in the middle, and garnished it with two sprigs of cilantro on top. The color, fragrance, flavor, and shape were all complete.

  At this time, Jiang Di happened to push the door and come in, looking at the finished cold dishes. He exclaimed: "Ah, these dishes are beautiful!" Li Xiaoteng didn't say a word. In his heart, he thought: Too focused on appearance, if you put the coriander into the jellyfish skin and mix it together, the flavor will be even better...

  Right after that, Sun Dabao casually grabbed a handful of chilled walnut kernels from the refrigerator. Jiang Di couldn't help but whisper to Li Xiaoteng with some disdain: "Isn't this too much? He's actually going to make a cold dish with walnuts! This is the simplest dish, even I can make it!"

  Li Xiaoteng gently patted Jiang Di and said in a low voice, "You don't understand, do you? An ordinary chef wouldn't make this dish. This dish is particularly simple, but it's also very difficult to make it stand out. The control of the flavor is very tricky! I think Master Sun might have some profound seasoning method!"

  The words were not finished, and Sun Dabao casually grabbed some salt, chicken essence, and fragrant oil, and stirred them together. He picked up a small piece of lemon, squeezed out a bit of lemon juice and poured it over the walnut kernels. Then he added a few dried red dates that had been soaked in water. And then he served it directly...

  Suddenly Li Xiaoteng felt a bit of a collapse. He thought he could do it very well, but unexpectedly it was over, and he felt that it wasn't even as good as what he had done himself.

  Only Sun Dabao said: "Boss Li Xiaoteng, it's all done, have a taste!" Li Xiaoteng nodded and glanced at Jiang Di with his eyes. Jiang Di hurriedly picked up the plate and followed Li Xiaoteng out.

  Li Xiaoteng only saw his parents tasting the cold dishes while chatting about something. Jiang Di hurriedly placed the other two dishes on the table, and after Li Xiaoteng sat down, she sat beside him.

  Jiang Di wanted to quickly pick up two chopsticks and take a bite. But seeing Li Xiaoteng not making a move, he didn't dare to either. However, Jiang Di was also clever, using words to prompt Li Xiaoteng, saying: "Teng Ge, don't you think this Chicken Middle Treasure is pretty good? It looks very flavorful and has a great mouthfeel. Why don't you try some?"

  Li Xiaoteng nodded and didn't move his chopsticks. He asked his father, "Dad, what do you think of these dishes?"

  Mr. Li nodded and said, "Hmm, the flavor is not bad, but the chicken giblets have a bit of fishy smell." Li Xiaoteng smiled and said, "Yes, if you use more Sichuan pepper and star anise to cook for a while, it would be better. The chef who tasted the dish earlier was a bit too hasty. That's why the dish feels fishy!"

  Jiang Di looked at Li Xiaoteng with a puzzled expression and said, "Teng Ge, since you've figured it out, why didn't you say anything?" Li Xiaoteng smiled and said, "Why should I tell him? What's wrong with what he did? You want to try that dish, go ahead!" Jiang Di asked strangely, "Then do you need this Sun Da Neng or not?"

  "What's wrong with it? Why not use it. It's so hard to find people now......" Li Xiaoteng picked up some jellyfish skin and chewed on it while speaking.

  Jiang Di said in a depressed tone: "Since you've decided to use him, why bother letting him try out the dishes? Are you just teasing him?" Li Xiaoteng nodded helplessly and said: "If I didn't let him try out the dishes, how would I know if he's capable or not? Actually, when he was making those dishes, there were some cooking techniques that I still didn't like. It was when I saw him chopping scallions that I suddenly decided to use him!"

  Mrs. Li watched her son talk eloquently, without the patriarchal air he had at home, but instead gave off a kind motherly feeling. Seeing that her son could stand on his own at just over twenty years old made her feel indescribably happy.

  Just then, Kong Zhen suddenly pushed the door and walked in. Seeing Li Xiaoteng and several people sitting at a table, he shouted at Li Xiaoteng: "Teng Ge! I didn't expect you to be here! The contract is all set!"

  He immediately ran over to Li Xiaoteng's side. Li Xiaoteng hastily said to Kong Zhen, "Come, let me introduce you. This is my dad, my mom!" Kong Zhen hastily nodded towards Li Xiaoteng's parents and said, "Uncle, Auntie! My name is Kong Zhen. I'm an employee of Mr. Li!"

  Li Xiaoteng smiled and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? We're all good friends! Don't put on such a low posture!" After finishing speaking, he glanced at the contract in Kong Zhen's hand and hurriedly asked, "Have I finished making the labor contract for you?" Kong Zhen responded with a puzzled "ah".

  Jiang Di looked at Li Xiaoteng, who was staring at Kong Zhen with a serious expression. He seemed to have understood something and quickly stood up to take the contract from Kong Zhen's hand, saying: "Alright, let me handle all the contracts. I'll study them this afternoon!"

  Kong Zhen wasn't a fool either, and hastily said: "Ah! Alright! If there's anything in the future, just tell me directly!"

  Li Xiaoteng smiled and said, "You send a copy to Fat Sister later! I'll go out with my parents for a while. When I come back, we'll continue studying together!"

  "Mom, let's go see the house!"

  Mom Li looked at the cold dishes on the table and saw that there were still quite a few left. She said regretfully, "It's such a pity to leave so many cold dishes behind! Why don't we pack them up..."

  Li Xiaoteng couldn't help but smile at his mother and said, "Mom, we can't be too frugal, can we? Just don't worry about it!" After finishing speaking, he immediately instructed Jiang Di and Kong Zhen to tell Sun Da Nian that he had been hired. The treatment would be the same as that of the older generation, with bonuses included!

  Jiang Di hastily nodded. He then said, "Don't worry, Teng Ge. We'll wait for your return!" After seeing Li Xiaoteng out the door, he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up. Taking a drag, Jiang Di asked, "Did you really finish making all the contracts? Did you make one for He Jinghua too?"

  Kong Zhen nodded and said, "Yes! I'm ready. What's wrong?" Jiang Di shook his head helplessly and said, "Xiao Teng doesn't know what he's thinking either. With this kind of treatment, if the client sees it, they'll be eager to let Li Xiaoteng do the deal!"

  Kong Zhen said helplessly: "Don't you feel that there's something fishy going on here? And finding He Jinghua is not just a coincidence, why only look for him alone!" After a pause, he continued: "I don't understand what the reason is, but there must be one. Do you think Li Xiaoteng is an idiot?"

  Jiang Di shook his head. Kong Zhen smiled and said, "Since Li Xiaoteng is willing to do it, let's just cooperate! We'll find out why eventually. No need to get hung up on it." Jiang Di sighed and said, "I originally thought I'd found a big tree to take shelter under, but now he wants to cut down the tree himself! It feels weird in my heart."

  Kong Zhen laughed and said, "Alright, don't think too much about it!" Jiang Di sighed, took another bite of the sea cucumber dish, and said, "Just now I heard Teng Ge and his parents talking about going to look at houses. Look at others who have already bought houses, and then look at us, it's really frustrating!"

  Kong Zhen also took a mouthful of shredded cabbage, chewed twice, and sighed. "You're doing well, being a local. My family still has a house, I originally wanted to come to Beijing to develop my career. I wanted to make a name for myself, but I didn't expect that in Beijing, buying a place of my own would be like an unattainable dream."

  Jiang Di said casually: "Locals can't even afford a nest..."

  Li Xiaoteng didn't know that Kong Zhen and Jiang Di were both feeling depressed. If he knew they were so down, he would definitely tell them: "Xiao Teng Ge, drive carefully!"

  Sun Dabao helped the Xiang family brothers to wear meat skewers, feeling a bit depressed. He said anxiously: "It's been so long, and you haven't said a word! In such a long time, ten dishes should have been finished eating..."

  He helplessly said to Lao Da, "Why don't I go out and ask?" Sun Da Neng sighed and said, "I didn't try it myself earlier. Maybe it's not done well? Can't be..." (......)