Chapter 1424: A Grand Culinary Display

Chapter 1424: Chapter 1424: A Grand Culinary Display

A total of five or six people quickly cleaned and washed the vegetables. Jiang Xue started preparing the dishes that required a long time to make.

While Jiang Xue was cooking, Ah Li watched from the side. She only knew how to cook Sichuan dishes, but today Jiang Xue was preparing not only Sichuan cuisine but also dishes from other styles. Ah Li knew Sichuan food, but not the other cuisines, so she planned to learn from Jiang Xue.

Seeing that Ah Li wanted to learn, Jiang Xue didn’t hold back. She taught earnestly while cooking. Watching Jiang Xue cook, Ah Li couldn’t help but feel envious.

For a long time, she thought her cooking skills were quite good. But watching Jiang Xue cook, she realized that cooking could be an art as fluid as flowing clouds and water.

As Ah Li learned and observed, Jiang Xue taught seriously. Sometimes, Jiang Xue would ask Ah Li to lend a hand. The two of them busied themselves in the kitchen for several hours until they had prepared some dishes that required long cooking times, just waiting to be put on the stove in the afternoon.

Because they were entertaining guests today, Ah Li had hung a sign outside in the morning saying they weren’t accepting other customers. So at noon, there wasn’t anyone coming in to eat.

However, when it was mealtime, Jin Hao arrived. Seeing Jin Hao, Ah Li couldn’t ask him to leave. After all, he was her nominal benefactor, and she was about to cook two dishes for him. But Jin Hao, looking at the dishes on the table, said, "Ah Li, don’t go to the trouble. Just add a set of utensils, and I’ll eat with you all."

Hearing Jin Hao’s words, Ah Li glanced at Jiang Xue, and upon seeing her nod, she had someone bring over a set of utensils.

Their interaction didn’t escape Jin Hao’s notice. He quietly sat down and then took a bite of the dish on the table with his chopsticks.

As soon as he tasted it, he knew Ah Li hadn’t cooked this dish, so he looked at Jiang Xue and said, "Miss Jiang, you cooked this dish, right? It tastes so good."

Jiang Xue nodded and replied, "As long as Mr. Jin doesn’t mind."

"Miss Jiang, you’re being too modest. With such delicious food, how could I mind?" Jin Hao said, and then he stopped hesitating and started to eat heartily.

Fortunately, Jiang Xue had made plenty of food, so even with Jin Hao joining, there was enough. After lunch, Jin Hao didn’t leave but sat down to chat with Jiang Xue and the others.

Pointing to the sign Ah Li hung outside the shop, he asked, "Ah Li, are you entertaining some important guests tonight?"

"It’s not me, it’s Jiang Xue. We attended a Chinese community gathering the other day and heard Jiang Xue could cook, so I wanted to taste her skills."

"I see, that makes sense."

Jiang Xue didn’t want to talk much with Jin Hao, so after a short rest, she planned to go back to the kitchen to get busy. Jin Hao watched, his eyes flashing.

After she left, Jin Hao said to Ah Li, "Ah Li, Jiang Xue’s cooking skills are better than yours. Aren’t you worried she might overshadow you?"

"If she does, she does. She won’t be staying here long anyway."

"Ah Li, I think you should watch out a bit. What if one day she decides to stay here, what will you do then?"

Jin Hao acted as if he was concerned for Ah Li but was actually trying to stir up trouble. If Ah Li didn’t know Jiang Xue’s background, she might have fallen for Jin Hao’s tricks.

For now, she was just listening. Even if one day Jiang Xue decided to stay, she could invite her to work at her shop, couldn’t she?

After all, all the Chinese in the vicinity knew about her shop. If Jiang Xue cooked there, the business could only get better, not worse.