I'm the Culinary God

"Old Gao, just ring the doorbell, why are you shouting?"

Gao Daye’s booming voice quickly brought Qiu Yaozu over. This old man looked speechless, having already decided to pretend not at home when Old Gao came around.

Unexpectedly, this guy didn’t play by the rules.

Not only did he not contact in advance, but he did not even ring the doorbell, just banged the door knocker loudly.

Better to open the door quickly and let him in, or else the neighbors might think you owe a debt and are being violently collected.

"My apprentice is having a wedding, and his family all came to Beijing. As his master, I have to give a decent gift, so I came to you."

Gao Daye swaggered in with Luo Shan.

Qiu Yaozu looked helpless:

"You’re giving a gift to your apprentice and you come to my place; do you really take yourself for a bandit?"

"No, I take you for a big landlord, and today I’m here to redistribute wealth."

Gao Daye, wearing a black down jacket and a woolen hat, walked energetically and looked only about fifty, while the slightly older Qiu Yaozu appeared clearly elderly.

Visually, they seemed at least twenty years apart.

After entering, Gao Daye unzipped his down jacket and pointed to Luo Shan beside him:

"This is my girlfriend, Ms. Luo Shan. We’ve traveled through much of China and gained a more direct understanding of the mountains, rivers, and cultures that we’ve only read about in books, seen online, or watched in TV shows."

Suddenly he became serious, making Qiu Yaozu a bit uncomfortable:

"Ms. Luo, what would you like to drink? Just instruct the maid. We have ginger jujube tea, rose tea, and some other drinks suitable for women."

Though he felt like he was about to be taken advantage of today, for some reason, seeing an old friend bring his girlfriend over for a visit filled Qiu Yaozu with sentiment.

When they were young, they were desperate to hone their culinary skills.

But now that the age for competing in culinary skills has passed, the retired old chefs can only compare the skills of the younger generation.

But there’s really no point in competing.

Middle-aged chefs are pretty much overshadowed by Xie Baomin.

And it’s said this rascal has secretly started practicing pastry this year.

When he catches up, there’s no need to mention Fishing Platform; even if you put together all the chefs from foreign hotels in Beijing, Xie Baomin will still stand tall.

As for the younger generation, Lin Xu has basically become their benchmark.

Not only is his culinary skill far ahead, but his business acumen is also unquestionable. Nowadays, mentioning Lin Xu, he is invariably placed alongside Xie Baomin, Qiu Zhenhua, and others.

He has already caught up with a whole generation.

Given time, he will for sure become a leader like Gao Peisheng.

As a young man, being suppressed by Old Gao was tough; finally reaching old age, and now being suppressed by Old Gao’s two apprentices, who would still bring up comparing culinary skills now? Of course, it’s about reminiscing, exchanging life’s stories, old friends close as family.

Luo Shan smiled and said:

"Master Qiu, no need to be formal. I’ll just have brown sugar ginger tea."

The maid responded promptly and then respectfully asked Gao Daye:

"Mr. Gao, what would you like to drink?"

"Just give him a glass of cold water. This guy annoys me. He’s giving a gift to his apprentice’s family but comes to my house to scrounge around—what a true bandit!"

Qiu Yaozu grumbled in bad humor, while the maid laughed and went to prepare tea.

Gao Daye wasn’t bothered at all and cheerfully continued to chat about their recent travel experiences.

"People in the Northwest Region handle sour and spicy flavors very well. Even a small eatery does a great job with potato strips and mung bean sprouts, and beef and lamb are not to be mentioned, the only downside is the presentation isn’t great."

Qiu Yaozu nodded:

"That’s the style of Northwest cuisine. The Yin Family from building twelve has been working hard in this area... I heard Lin Xu’s family has elderly folks, and it happens that I have two century-old ginseng; you may take them later."

"That’s very kind, but the Lin Family, Chen Family, Shen Family, and Han Family have a total of five elders, two plants aren’t enough... So whatever other good stuff you have, let me have a look."

Qiu Yaozu initially thought gifting two ginseng plants was quite generous, but who would have thought Old Gao, the rascal, would be so demanding.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have a dog at home; otherwise, he’d set it on the old rascal right away.

He tapped the floor with his cane:

"Everything’s in the basement; take whatever you want, these things are my wedding gift to you. If you hold a wedding, I’ll come empty-handed to the feast."

Gao Daye chuckled:

"We don’t plan to have a wedding; even if we get the certificate, we won’t bother with the ceremony; it’s tiring and unnecessary. If it weren’t for my apprentice’s wedding, I’d be wearing a T-shirt riding an elephant now."

Beijing’s cold weather really isn’t suitable for old folks.

Comparatively, the southern tropical regions are much better and nurture people well.

As they chatted, Lin Xu was at the high-speed rail station, finally picking up a whole group of family members.

Lin Hongjun, Lin Hongxin, Lin Hongqi, Lin Hongxia, the four siblings, plus Chen Meide, Chen Meiliang, Chen Meijuan, the three siblings, along with the elderly Madam Lin and Madam Chen, not to mention Lin Xu’s aunt and uncle, and young folks like Shi Moli and Chen Shaokang, a total of twenty or thirty people, like a tour group arriving.

"Mom, over here!"

Shen Jiayue handed Dundun to Lin Xu, then ran to the ticket barrier, where Chen Meijuan just scanned her high-speed rail ticket and came out, and the girl went to her, chatting warmly like a pair of mother and daughter.