Chapter 317 - 179: Calculating Influence...

Chapter 317: Chapter 179: Calculating Influence...

Lin Zhiqiang returned with the magazine and sat down. Meng Anhe immediately leaned in for a look and said in surprise, "*Sichuan Cuisine*? This is a pretty professional publication. My office director loves it—he subscribes to every issue and says he wants to learn how to cook from it."

"Yeah, it’s a whole roster of First-Level and Special Level Chefs. It does look very professional," Lin Zhiqiang said, nodding as he opened it to the table of contents.

"Here, page eighteen." Meng Anhe pointed, having already found the article on Kneeling Beef.

Lin Zhiqiang quickly flipped to the page. Seeing the photo at the start of the article, both of them smiled.

"This photo is actually pretty good. It makes him look tall and handsome enough. The photography in this food magazine is way better than in your architecture industry magazines," Lin Zhiqiang laughed. "That picture they took of you last time... when it was printed, you could barely see your face. A complete waste of your beauty."

"And I even did a full face of makeup for it. It pisses me right off!" Meng Anhe added through gritted teeth.

The two continued reading, nodding from time to time with smiles on their faces.

"Weren’t you asking me how to write back to your sister last time? I say don’t bother saying much at all. Just buy a copy of *Sichuan Cuisine* and mail it to her. Let her see for herself," Lin Zhiqiang said with a laugh. "Look, it has a photo of Zhou Yan, photos of his food, a professional summary of his character, and specific examples to back it up."

"If you and I tell her all this, your sister might think we’re exaggerating. But now, you have a feature interview from a third-party, professional culinary magazine. It’s professional and objective."

"I completely forgot until you mentioned it. I’ve been rushing to meet project deadlines this whole trip and haven’t even written back to my sister." Meng Anhe nodded with a smile. "That’s a great idea. I’ll just send her a copy of the magazine. This feature is really well-written. It has a lot of inside details we didn’t even know.

Zhou Yan is truly a young man willing to work hard and study his craft deeply. Just the perseverance he showed in recreating Kneeling Beef already puts him ahead of most young people."

"Getting a feature in a professional industry magazine at just twenty... Zhou Yan is definitely going to make a huge splash in the culinary world. You’ll see. Little old Suji is definitely not his final stop." Lin Zhiqiang’s smile held a hint of pride. He had always been very optimistic about Zhou Yan.

Meng Anhe flipped through a few more pages before gently closing the magazine. She nodded and said, "I admit it, you had a better read on him than I did this time. To be featured in a professional industry magazine at twenty, and this Kneeling Beef is just one of the dishes he excels at. The other Sichuan Cuisine on his menu is on par with the master chefs at high-end restaurants in Rongcheng. He’s bound to make a name for himself in the future."

She wasn’t a Chef, so it had been difficult for her to accurately judge Zhou Yan’s skill level before.

But as an architect who was often featured in industry magazines herself, she could flip through a few articles and get a good sense of the publication’s professionalism.

Among all the instructional interviews with First-Level and Special Level Chefs, the prestige of Zhou Yan’s article was self-evident.

Furthermore, Zhou Yan had revived the heritage of a dish, imbuing it with profound significance and historical context. The article even suggested that Kneeling Beef could become the new culinary calling card for Jiazhou.

That was remarkably high praise.

It went far beyond the scope of a typical Chef simply making a good dish.

In her experience, Zhou Yan would be able to make his mark in the industry with this feature alone.

Even if it didn’t bring him direct financial benefits in the short term, when he went to open a restaurant in Jiazhou, or even Rongcheng, in the future, this feature would be his foot in the door.

Becoming famous was something most people could only hope for, not achieve through effort alone.

Countless old chefs worked their entire lives without ever getting a chance to be in a magazine or leave their name in the annals of the industry.

Zhou Yan was only twenty, yet he already had a two-page feature, and his dish was on the magazine’s cover.

She took back her earlier thought that it was a pity Zhou Yan didn’t go to college. If one could achieve mastery in a profession, a formal education became less important.

Zhou Yan had only missed a few years of school, but his eloquence, insight, calligraphy, and professional skills were all widely recognized.

In their family, Xia Yao and Lin Zhiqiang held him in high regard, believing he possessed an incredibly forward-thinking mindset and a unique perspective on things.

As for the two little ones, they were utterly in awe of his culinary skills and wished they could adopt him as their big brother.

"Here you are, your Mapo Tofu and braised pork ribs." Zhao Hong came out with the dishes and placed them on the table.

"Jingxing, Bingwen, come and eat. You can play with the little girl again after you’ve eaten." Meng Anhe spoke up, closing the magazine and handing it to Lin Zhiqiang. "Put this back, so it doesn’t get greasy."

"Okay," the two little rascals replied, scampering over to their seats.

Lin Zhiqiang returned the magazine to the menu wall and sat back down as well.

The whole family’s eyes were fixed on the Mapo Tofu, fresh out of the wok and still steaming.

"It’s so red! Is it spicy?" Lin Bingwen asked, looking a little conflicted.

"It smells amazing! The tofu is cooked with meat, it looks delicious!" Lin Jingxing gulped. When in doubt, he first filled his own bowl with rice. Picking up a spoon to scoop up some tofu, he said, "Little brother, I’ll try it for you first. If it’s too spicy, you shouldn’t eat it."

"Mm-hmm," Lin Bingwen nodded, picking up his chopsticks to grab a piece of braised bean curd skin and pop it in his mouth.

"This Mapo Tofu looks pretty authentic. It looks similar to the one we had at Chen Mapo Tofu last year," Lin Zhiqiang commented.

"Yes, it does. It looks better than what the chef at our cafeteria makes," Meng Anhe agreed. There was a chef at their cafeteria who had transferred from Chen Mapo Tofu. His Mapo Tofu was quite authentic and was the star dish, with a huge pot made almost every day that colleagues would fight over.

Seeing Lin Jingxing open his mouth wide to shovel in a whole piece of tofu, Meng Anhe quickly said, "It’s hot! It just came out of the wok. Blow on it before you eat."

But Lin Jingxing’s mouth was faster. Before she finished speaking, he had already shoveled the entire piece of tofu in. His eyes went wide, and he started panting with his mouth open, his tongue flailing about in an emergency attempt to cool the tofu down.

Hot!

It was really hot!

The moment his teeth touched it and his tongue gave it a stir, the silky-smooth tofu immediately melted in his mouth.

Before he could spit it out, a numbing, spicy, savory fragrance erupted, actually suppressing some of the scalding pain.

’Now, he couldn’t bear to part with it.’

’So fragrant!’

’Numbing and spicy, so delicious!’

He quickly shoveled in a mouthful of rice to cool things down. The sweet, fluffy rice tempered the numb-and-spicy sensation on his tongue, mingling with the Mapo Tofu and becoming more fragrant with every chew.

"Brother, is it spicy? Is it good?" Lin Bingwen asked, staring at him.

"It’s deadly spicy, and super hot! Little brother, you definitely can’t handle it. Let your big brother bear this suffering for you," Lin Jingxing said, while simultaneously using the serving spoon to scoop two more spoonfuls of Mapo Tofu into his own bowl.

"Brother, you’re such a good person," Lin Bingwen said, his face full of genuine gratitude.

Meng Anhe glanced at her gullible younger son and shook her head helplessly. She also scooped a spoonful of Mapo Tofu into her bowl, broke a piece in half, blew on the small bite, and then put it in her mouth.

The freshly made Mapo Tofu was indeed very hot, but the flavor was truly excellent!

Numbing, spicy, savory, and fragrant; crispy, tender, harmonious, and scalding!

This one bite contained it all.

The seasoning was even more distinct than what the chef at their cafeteria made, yet it was also more perfectly integrated.

Paired with a mouthful of rice, it was even more delicious.

"This Mapo Tofu is so authentic! I feel like there’s no difference from the one at Chen Mapo Tofu, in fact, the flavor might even be more vibrant." Lin Zhiqiang couldn’t help but exclaim:

"This minced beef is so fragrant. The sauce feels like it was made with a beef bone broth, infused with the crispy aroma of the minced beef. After being absorbed by the tender tofu, it’s all tightly bound by the starch thickener. Finally, a thin layer of Sichuan peppercorn powder is sprinkled on top, making it a perfect whole."

"In this red chili oil, besides the doubanjiang and chili powder, I can smell the aroma of fermented black beans. All the different flavors are perfectly integrated into this one bite of tofu. I’m getting dizzy from how good it smells!"

"Paired with a bowl of rice, it’s just too delicious. No, no, I should say... it’s just damn perfect!"

Lin Zhiqiang’s passionate outburst made the customers at the next table, who were in the middle of ordering, swallow hard.

’The deputy factory director himself gave it such high praise. We have to order that Mapo Tofu!’

"Miss, we want to order a Mapo Tofu!"

"We’ll have one over here, too!"

The customers started ordering one after another, with nearly every table getting a portion.

A customer waiting in line got anxious and quickly asked, "Mrs. Zhao, can you save a portion of Mapo Tofu for us? I’ve never tried it before!"

Mrs. Zhao finished the last stroke of the fourth tally mark and said with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, dear. The last portion has just been ordered. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow."

After speaking, she hung the "Mapo Tofu" sign in the "Sold Out" section.

The customers still in line let out a collective sigh.

Mapo Tofu was too famous!

A renowned dish from Rongcheng with a long history, even those who hadn’t eaten it had heard of it.

It was just that you couldn’t get an authentic version in Suji. Even the one at the state-run restaurant was criticized for not even counting as real Mapo Tofu.

Now that Zhou Yan’s Mapo Tofu was receiving rave reviews, everyone naturally wanted to try it.

Such a large portion for only eighty cents, and with minced beef in it—a half-meat, half-vegetable dish. That price wasn’t expensive at all!

"Zhou Yan is so skilled. Everything he makes looks the part," Lin Zhiqiang sighed in admiration.

Meng Anhe was eating the braised bean curd skin. Her dark brows arched slightly and her eyes widened, her beautiful face filled with astonishment. She chewed, swallowed, and exclaimed, "This bean curd skin is delicious! The bean fragrance and the savory meat flavors blend together, it’s soft but not mushy, and it gets more fragrant the more you chew. I’ve never had bean curd skin this good before!"

"Mom, I love bean curd skin the most," Lin Bingwen said, placing a piece of dried tofu in her bowl. "You should try this, the dried tofu is super yummy too!"

Lin Jingxing, who was busy shoveling rice into his mouth, glanced at him and followed suit, putting a slice of lotus root in her bowl. "Mom, try this lotus root. It’s crispy and delicious."

"Alright, I’ll try them all," Meng Anhe said with a smile. She tried the dried tofu first, then the lotus root, nodding repeatedly. "Mmm, the dried tofu is very fragrant too, as tender as egg tofu. And the lotus root is delicious, so crispy and flavorful."

Hearing this, both sons grinned widely.

"When I head back up in a couple of days, I’ll bring two boxes of braised snacks for them to try. I’ll bring a separate portion of the braised vegetables for Director Fang. She really likes bean curd skin; she makes a trip to the north side of the city every week to buy some, and I think it’s nowhere near as good as what Zhou Yan makes," Meng Anhe said.

"Sure," Lin Zhiqiang nodded. He then asked, "You’re so close with Director Fang, should you bring a pig’s trotter for her daughter too?"

"Just the braised vegetables will be fine. If I bring too much, she’ll think I’m asking for a favor," Meng Anhe shook her head.

"Alright, I’ll talk to Zhou later and ask him to save some for you. The bean curd skin is a bestseller; it’s always the first thing to sell out."

...

「As dusk fell.」

A bonfire was lit under the large tree at the entrance of Zhou Village. It was especially lively today, with men and women, young and old, gathered around the fire to warm up and hold a Dragon Gate Formation.

"Ze, I hear Old Fourth’s son got into a magazine? Some kind of feature interview?"

"For real? I heard them talking about it in the fields today. Hasn’t Zhou Yan only been a Chef for two or three years?"

"Everyone’s just making hot pot. It can’t be that impressive."

The main topic of conversation in the village today was Zhou Yan’s appearance in the magazine.

In the village, this was huge news.

Last year, two students from the village got into university, and they only got a brief mention in the Jiazhou Daily without even their names being printed.

As the representative of the Zhou Family, Zhou Ze had finished his dinner early and snagged a conspicuous spot on a bluestone rock under the tree. He listened to everyone’s discussion without saying a word, a ridiculously smug grin plastered on his face.

’When your nephew makes you proud, you get to share in the glory!’

Seeing everyone’s eyes turn to him, Zhou Ze cleared his throat and began, "The cover of *Sichuan Cuisine* magazine features the Kneeling Beef made by our family’s Zhou Yan. Pages eighteen and nineteen are a feature interview with him by the magazine’s deputy editor-in-chief.

"The page before his article is a Special Grandmaster teaching everyone Sword Technique, and the page after is a First-Level Chef teaching everyone how to make Pan-Fried Chicken. Now, you tell me, how prestigious is that?

"If you ask me, this is no different from being crowned the top chef in the land..."

...

After stir-frying the last portion of pork liver, Zhou Yan let out a long sigh of relief. He untied his apron and was about to leave the kitchen when a message popped up before his eyes:

[Side Quests: Feature in *Sichuan Cuisine* Magazine has been completed! Calculating influence...]

[Quest Reward: Rarity of reward will be determined by influence!]