Chapter 63: Chenpi Red Bean Soup

Li Xiao scooped up a spoonful of the red bean soup and brought it to his lips.

The next moment, the system’s notification sound rang in his ear.

[Congratulations, you have lit up the 11th entry in your Food Index.]

[The food item you have cataloged is: Red Bean Soup with Aged Tangerine Peel.]

[This dish’s rating: 71 points [Average]]

[As the rating is Average, you will receive a 2x bonus reward.]

[Congratulations, you have received: Expertise in Selecting Aged Tangerine Peel.]

[Congratulations, you have received a bonus reward: Recipe for Red Bean Soup with Aged Tangerine Peel.]

As the red bean soup entered his mouth, Li Xiao frowned slightly.

In just an instant, he understood why the system had given it such a low rating.

Because amidst the sweetness of the red bean soup, there was a faint, lingering burnt taste.

This had clearly happened because whoever was cooking the soup hadn’t stirred the bottom of the pot regularly, causing some of the red beans to stick.

The prolonged high heat had burnt the beans stuck to the bottom of the pot.

Looking at the bowl of red bean soup before him, Li Xiao fell into thought.

To be honest, aside from that slight burnt flavor, this bowl of red bean soup was actually quite good in all other aspects.

The red beans were cooked just right. They weren’t completely mushy, but they had a grainy, melt-in-your-mouth texture.

The sweetness was also very well-balanced—neither too sweet nor too bland.

So he was pondering how to properly review this bowl of red bean soup.

If this were an ordinary shop, such a faint burnt taste would be excusable, and he could completely accept it.

After all, it was hard to expect perfection from a bowl of red bean soup that cost just a few yuan. At most, he would just make a casual comment or two.

But this bowl of red bean soup in front of him cost 88 yuan.

If it were too sweet or not sweet enough, he could chalk it up to his own personal preference.

After all, everyone has different preferences for sweetness. But a burnt taste was a clear mistake, completely indefensible.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xiao finally made a decision.

’Praise what’s good, and point out what’s bad.’

However, before he could say anything, Huang Zhiyuan, who was sitting next to him, spoke up with a puzzled tone.

"Wait, do you guys taste something strange in this red bean soup?"

Zhou Yu nodded repeatedly.

"I think I taste it too."

The three of them immediately looked to Li Xiao, awaiting his final verdict.

Li Xiao shrugged.

"You’re not imagining things. It’s definitely burnt, though not too badly."

’If all three of his roommates noticed something was off, then the burnt taste must be quite strong.’

Of course, it was more likely because all the previous dishes had been excellent.

This made the flaw in the final dessert stand out even more.

Listening to the four of them talk, Taotao could feel a cold sweat about to break out on her forehead.

The black truffle incident earlier had already scared her half to death.

Thankfully, Executive Chef An had handled it swiftly and properly, quelling a potential scandal that could have damaged Jiuhe Garden’s reputation.

She never expected that not long after, the final dessert would also have a problem.

Li Xiao waved to Taotao, who was standing a short distance away.

Taotao felt the smile on her face about to crack, but she still braced herself and quickly walked over to Li Xiao’s side.

"Excuse me, is there a problem?"

Li Xiao nodded.

"Yes, there is. There’s a noticeable burnt taste in this red bean soup."

Taotao felt like she was about to cry, but she forced a smile.

"Th-this... sir, we are terribly sorry."

Seeing Taotao’s expression, on the verge of tears, Li Xiao felt as if he had committed some terrible, unforgivable crime.

He wanted to reach out and pat her shoulder to comfort her.

But halfway through the motion, he suddenly realized she was a woman, and they didn’t know each other well. The gesture could be misinterpreted as harassment.

Li Xiao awkwardly retracted his hand and then pushed the bowl of red bean soup toward Taotao.

"Could you check this red bean soup...?"

Taotao gave an apologetic smile.

Although even a humble waitress like her could taste the burnt flavor in the soup, she couldn’t possibly take a bite right in front of the customer.

"I’m very sorry, Mr. Li. Our mistake has caused you too much inconvenience."

"How about this... why don’t I take this bowl to the kitchen and have our executive chef take a look?"

Taotao hastily picked up the red bean soup and fled in a panic.

Before Taotao could even enter the kitchen, she saw An Chongwen standing at the kitchen entrance with a dark expression.

Taotao, somewhat confused, arrived at the kitchen entrance. Just as she was about to explain, she saw An Chongwen wave his hand at her.

"I already know what you’re going to say. I was just watching the livestream. I heard everything Mr. Li said, and I’ve already found the cause."

Taotao asked with some curiosity.

"Does the red bean soup really have a burnt taste?"

An Chongwen looked up at the pendant light on the ceiling, a helpless expression flashing across his face.

"I just tried it. There is indeed a slight burnt taste. It’s not strong—you can’t smell it directly, but you can taste it the moment it enters your mouth."

"It’s my fault, too. While I was reprimanding Zhao Ming earlier, Zhang Siyang, who was in charge of the red bean soup, was too busy watching the drama unfold. His hands stopped moving, and the bottom of the soup got a little burnt."

After hearing Executive Chef An’s explanation, Taotao didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She never imagined the problem with the red bean soup was due to such a reason.

An Chongwen sighed softly.

"When he tasted it, he didn’t stir it all the way to the bottom, so he didn’t notice the slight burnt taste from the bottom of the pot at all."

"But when he was serving it, to prevent the soup from being too cool by only scooping from the surface, he subconsciously used the ladle to scoop from the bottom of the pot."

"This resulted in the soup served to the customer having a particularly obvious burnt taste, while he himself hadn’t tasted it."

On the verge of tears, Taotao asked:

"So... so what do we do now?"

An Chongwen also hadn’t expected two such serious problems to occur in one day—no, to be precise, during a single meal—and for the same table of customers.

Honestly, if there were a block of tofu right now, he felt like he could just smash his head into it and die.

For a star-rated chef, let alone the executive chef of Jiuhe Garden, to make such a huge blunder was simply unacceptable.

An Chongwen said:

"What else can we do? I’ll go out there again."

When the two returned to Yichun Pavilion and Li Xiao saw An Chongwen appear once more, a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

Honestly, in his opinion, the main dishes at Jiuhe Garden were excellent. Aside from the two problematic dishes, all the others were rated "Excellent" or higher.

The flavors, plating, and pairings were all nearly impeccable.

Even the two dishes with problems had reached an "Average" quality. If not for the issues, they would have likely rated "Good," or perhaps even "Excellent."