Starting from a Bankrupt Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant

Zhou Yan honestly hadn't expected his master to pass the buck to him. He'd wanted to watch his master put on a show and make him proud.

Who would have thought his master had the exact same idea.

There was no helping it. The atmosphere had been set, and all he could do was smile and face the challenge.

Pulling his cleaver from his bag, Zhou Yan stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Esteemed masters, uncles, and senior brothers, please excuse my humble performance."

"Go ahead. Let's see if you've mastered your Knife Skills after two and a half years," Kong Qingfeng said with a nod.

Zhou Yan first washed his hands and his cleaver, then took the last piece of pig liver from a basin to the side.

This was a leftover piece from which a slice had already been taken. It was from near the center, riddled with tough membranes and blood vessels, making it the most troublesome part to prepare.

Everyone crowded around, ready to see how Zhou Yan would handle it.

Even the junior apprentices, who had just been scolded into submission, squeezed their way to the front, their faces full of anticipation.

'This junior brother is handsome, the youngest, and has only been studying for two and a half years—the shortest time of anyone here,' they thought. 'Logically, his skills must be the worst, right?'

A Chef's worth is measured by their skill.

As long as they weren't the absolute worst in the room, they wouldn't be the most humiliated and might even get chewed out a little less when they returned.

'Poor little junior brother,' they mused. 'Today, you're destined to be our fall guy.'

The senior brothers' faces were already etched with pity.

Xiao Lei stood to the side, hands clasped calmly behind his back. He looked even more relaxed and at ease than the three elder masters.

Zheng Qiang stood beside him, his expression rather peculiar.

He had to recount every misfortune he'd ever suffered in his life just to bite his tongue and keep from speaking.

'Master Xiao is really something,' he thought. 'Who else here knows that Zhou Yan's quick-fried pig liver is actually a level above Master Xiao's?'

Lately, he had even been going to the restaurant every day to ask Master Zhou for lessons on how to perfect the dish, and he was often the one getting scolded into submission.

Yet today, Master Xiao could so casually declare: "The last piece of liver... I'll leave this opportunity to my disciple."

'Truly something else.'

Zhou Yan placed the liver on the cutting board. He examined the grain from both sides, his brow furrowing slightly.

'This liver is a real piece of work,' he thought. 'It's the dregs left over after a whole crowd of Chefs picked through the good stuff. It's riddled with sinew. In my kitchen, this would be nothing but scraps.'

Kong Qingfeng, holding a lidded teacup and about to take a sip, noticed his predicament. He smiled and began, "Don't worry about it, just cut it how you..."

Before he could finish, Zhou Yan's knife was already moving.

The cleaver danced in his hand—fast, precise, steady, and exceptionally clean and efficient!

Slice after slice of uniformly thick liver fell onto the cutting board. In the process, he precisely separated out the tough membranes and blood vessels, placing them on the other side of the board.

In just a moment, the liver that had been riddled with sinew was perfectly prepared.

On one side lay the uniform slices of liver; on the other, the cleanly excised membranes and vessels.

The room instantly fell silent.

The senior brothers who had squeezed to the front all stared with wide eyes.

GULP.

Someone swallowed, their gulp echoing loudly in the silence.

"Excellent Knife Skills!" Kong Qingfeng clapped the lid onto his teacup, unable to hold back his praise.

Li Liangcai also nodded repeatedly. "That's really something. His blade never paused, yet he managed not to leave a single shred of membrane on the liver. His Knife Skills are exceptionally skilled."

"For his Knife Skills to be this solid after only two and a half years of training! This kid must have put in an incredible amount of hard work," Qin Kun added in admiration.

The three elder masters praised him one after another, their eyes filled with undisguised admiration for Zhou Yan.

The masters of the senior generation couldn't handle the loss of face. The more they thought about it, the angrier they got, and they once again started scolding the disciples who had gathered around them.

"Look at him! He can cut a liver like that after just two and a half years! Tell me, what in the world have you been learning for the past ten years?"

"Look at how cleanly he removed the membranes! And the liver is so uniform in size and thickness! You picked a much better piece of liver, and you still turned it into a complete mess!"

The disciples: ???

'Wait, Junior Brother... are you messing with us?'

"Master, it's not like you cut it any better than him..." a defiant voice piped up.

"Do I need you to point that out?! Go back and wash the kitchen for a month."

"Master, I was wrong!"

Xiao Lei tried his best to hold it in, but he could no longer suppress the smile spreading across his face.

Zhou Yan, however, remained calm and composed. He had mastered the recipe for *perfect* quick-fried pig liver. When a liver came into his hands, no matter its condition, he had a way to cut it into a perfect state.

It wasn't a fundamental rule of the world, but it was close.

An ability carved into his very muscle memory.

He first rinsed the cut liver under cold water to wash away excess blood scum.

Some of the previous Chefs had performed this step, while others had skipped it.

Those who had done it ended up with a watery final product and were chewed out for it.

So, when they saw Zhou Yan rinsing the liver, many of the senior brothers breathed a sigh of relief.

'It seems that while this junior brother's Knife Skills are superb, he probably hasn't learned to stir-fry properly yet.'

The three elder masters said nothing, watching Zhou Yan's process with keen interest.

In their eyes, achieving such mastery of Knife Skills in just two and a half years was already remarkable. They wouldn't make excessive demands about his other abilities.

With this kind of perseverance, his future was bound to be bright.

After two rinses with cold well water, the water ran clear. Zhou Yan poured the liver into a bamboo sieve, gently pressing and shaking to drain the majority of the surface water. Then, he took a clean cheesecloth from the side and patted the liver again, absorbing every last bit of moisture.

His movements throughout were gentle yet efficient, leaving the delicate liver completely undamaged. Once the surface was dry, he began to marinate it with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine to remove any gaminess.

Only then did he begin to slice green peppers, dried chilis, scallion whites, and garlic. He grabbed a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns and finely chopped a spoonful of fermented broad bean paste, setting everything on a plate in preparation.

The entire process was methodical, showing that he had everything under control.

Kong Qingfeng and Qin Kun exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

"Junior Brother, I'll help you with the fire," Zheng offered, moving to the front. He opened the stove door, took a look, and tossed in a log. Closing the door, he gave the bellows two hard pumps, and the flames immediately roared to life.

"Thanks, Zheng," Zhou Yan said with a smile. He ladled the hot water out of the wok and waited for the steam to evaporate and the bottom to heat up. First, he added a spoonful of rapeseed oil, then half a spoonful of lard.

The two oils quickly melded together as the temperature steadily rose.

Unhurriedly, Zhou Yan prepared a starch slurry and coated the liver. The coating was thinner than that of any of the previous Chefs, barely a gossamer-thin film.

The three elder masters subconsciously leaned forward half a step, their eyes glued to Zhou Yan's every move.

When the oil reached the perfect temperature, Zhou Yan tipped the liver into the wok, using a ladle to quickly separate the slices.

Blasted by the high heat and hot oil, the thinly coated liver slices sputtered, curling and changing color in an instant.

He then added the prepared aromatics. The hot oil instantly released their fragrances—garlic, scallion, and fermented broad bean paste—which washed over the crowd in a spicy wave.

The finely chopped broad bean paste bloomed, releasing its red oil and evenly coating each slice of liver. After a few quick tosses, he swiftly removed it from the wok and plated it.

The liver, mounded on the plate, was still sizzling.

Zhou Yan had already scooped a ladle of water into the wok, which erupted with a loud SIZZLE.

Everyone stared at the plate of quick-fried pig liver on the stove. It had a brilliant red luster, coated in a thin layer of sauce that shimmered with an amber-like sheen.

Scallion whites, green peppers, and segments of red chili were nestled among the piles of liver, which looked like slices of red agate. The intermingling ingredients created a vibrant tapestry of color, dotted with Sichuan peppercorns, and the aroma was simply intoxicating.

The crackle of firewood from the stove only served to deepen the surrounding silence.

How good is a dish?

For an experienced Chef, a single glance is usually enough to tell.

This plate of quick-fried pig liver that Zhou Yan had just made was better than all the previous ones.

And not just by a little, but by a lot!

The liver looked clean and crisp, not gloppy from a thick layer of starch, nor was it burnt black. The thin slurry had formed a micro-crisp shell in the hot oil, giving it a beautiful sheen.

There was only a small pool of oil at the bottom of the plate—unlike some of the others that had the liver swimming in grease, looking utterly unappetizing.

Kong Qingfeng looked somewhat dazed. He stared at the dish for several seconds before looking up at Zhou Yan, his voice filled with emotion. "Excellent! Such effortless mastery. Kid, I can actually see the shadow of my senior brother in you."

A gasp went through the crowd.

Who was Kong Qingfeng's senior brother?

None other than the late, great Chef of Jiazhou, Kong—Kong Huafeng himself!

Kong Qingfeng hadn't even taken a bite, yet he had given such an astronomical evaluation.

Xiao Lei, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, let them fall to his sides. A proud, gratified smile played on his lips.

Zhou Yan set down the large ladle and smiled. "I invite the esteemed masters, uncles, and senior brothers to offer their critique."

"Come, let's try it." Kong Qingfeng invited the other two masters to taste with him. He was the first to pick up a piece and put it in his mouth. His brow furrowed for a moment, then slowly smoothed out, replaced by a look of fond remembrance.

"It's full of wok hei, and all the flavors—numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant—are perfectly balanced. The use of the slurry is masterful. The intense heat and oil created a micro-crisp shell on the outside, but when you bite through, it's the epitome of fresh tenderness. That sharp contrast between crisp and tender creates a sublime texture," Kong Qingfeng praised. "This is a masterful plate of quick-fried pig liver! It's better than I can make. The only other time I've had one of this caliber was when my senior brother used to make it."

"It's truly excellent!" Qin Kun said, looking at Zhou Yan. "The texture is so tender and smooth, without a hint of graininess. The thin coating captured all the numbing, spicy, and savory flavors without compromising the liver's texture. It truly has the flair of our old brother Huaifeng. Though I received his guidance, I was never able to replicate his technique. To think that Zhou Yan, at such a young age, has already achieved this level of mastery over Fire Control and seasoning!"

"This is the best quick-fried pig liver of the day, and the best I've eaten in years," Li Liangcai said, putting down his chopsticks with a sigh of emotion. "The Kong Sect truly produces one generation of talent after another."

After the three elder masters had spoken, all of Kong Qingfeng's disciples and grand-disciples drew in a sharp breath.

Could there be any higher praise?

Second Master Kong had elevated Zhou Yan's dish to such a legendary status!

Not only was it better than his own, but it was comparable to Kong at his peak!

Even the notoriously strict Mr. Qin said it had the flair of Kong!

And Li, a man who represented the highest standard of the Feiyan Restaurant, was sighing with emotion about the Kong Sect's wealth of talent.

And who was this talent?

The answer was obvious.

The way everyone looked at Zhou Yan had changed completely.

Could it be...

This is what a genius looks like?!

Kong Guodong and the other senior brothers looked at Xiao Lei with a gaze that was a twisted mix of envy and jealousy.

Xiao Lei stood up straighter, a grin slowly but surely breaking across his face.

'So this is what it feels like to be the master of a genius?'

'It feels pretty damn good!'

Heh heh heh...

Zheng Qiang folded his arms, looking left and then right. The only thing missing was the word "smug" tattooed on his forehead.

'Did you see that?'

'That was Zhou Yan!'

'My junior brother!'

'When it comes to the Kong Sect, our Huaifeng branch is what really matters!'

'Qingfeng's lineage is just a collateral branch, after all.'

Zhou Yan smiled and cupped his fists. "The three of you are too kind. My meager skills are all due to my master's excellent teaching. I am not worthy of being compared to the great Master."

"Don't be so modest. We're old enough to know true skill the moment we taste it," Kong Qingfeng said, smiling and waving his hand. He then gestured to the crowd. "Come, everyone! Come and taste what a top-tier quick-fried pig liver is supposed to be like!"