Divorced Dad's Gourmet Shop

Chapter 369: Chapter 368: Ham-Slicing Technique Shocks 6-Wei Zhai

With that, he stood up and pulled Jiang Liu.

An unexpected delight.

"You guys wait here, I’ll go. Qingmeng, go to the back kitchen and ask for a Meat-Carving Knife and a Bone Knife."

"Okay!"

"Daddy, can I go with you?"

"Let’s go."

Jiang Liu held Tongtong’s hand.

On their way out, they passed the fresh seafood section.

Jiang Tongtong was curious about the small fish inside and poked one on the head with her finger.

"Daddy, the little fish is cold. It’s so timid, hehehe."

Jiang Liu crouched down to look at the fish. "Want to give it a little squeeze?"

He wanted to cherish and protect his daughter’s childhood innocence.

"Can I?"

"You can."

Jiang Tongtong had been scared at first; she was about as timid as the fish.

’But now, I’ve got Daddy to back me up.’

Tongtong reached out her small, soft hand and carefully stroked the fish’s back, even giving its fin a little tug.

"Hehe, little fishy, don’t be scared. Tongtong won’t hurt you."

The little fish stared at Tongtong with wide eyes, seeming to have accepted its fate as it stopped struggling.

Jiang Liu explained, "This fish is called a yellow croaker. They’re docile, so it’s okay to touch them. But if you see a fish you don’t recognize, you shouldn’t touch it, okay?"

"I know, Daddy."

"Such a good girl!"

"Hehe."

Jiang Liu picked up Tongtong, and they bumped their foreheads together.

「Soon.」

Jiang Liu went back to the car and retrieved a cured ham.

After he came back in, a waitress stared strangely at the dark, grimy-looking pig leg in Jiang Liu’s hands.

"Sir, that is..."

"Ah, I brought this from my hometown as a gift for an elder. Your restaurant allows customers to bring dishes you don’t serve, right?"

The waitress smiled slightly. "Of course, sir. Please, go ahead."

She was scared to death.

She had heard earlier that the middle-aged man was a very important person.

How could she dare to stop him?

Jiang Liu carried the ham back to the private room.

He pushed open the door to find several chefs there as well.

"What’s this?" Jiang Liu was confused.

Jun Qingmeng smiled and said, "I went to the back kitchen to get the tools, and a few of the chefs heard we brought a ham. They want to have a competition with us, using their ham against ours."

Jun Xinghe was suppressing a grin. ’Compete with Boss Jiang over ham? Even I wouldn’t dare!’

The short, triangle-eyed chef in the lead, Qiu Guohua, said, "Our restaurant is launching a ham menu next month. When we heard that Mr. Jiang also brought a ham today, we had the idea to hold a little competition."

He had an arrogant demeanor, his triangular eyes looking with disdain at the ham in Jiang Liu’s hands.

The restaurant owner had just specifically asked him to come over and observe, but he didn’t see it as a learning opportunity. He had absolute confidence in the hams he procured!

Jiang Liu was taken aback, then nodded. "How will we compete?"

"First, knife skills. Second, appearance. Third, taste!"

Qiu Guohua calmly held up three fingers.

The chefs behind him crossed their arms, ready to watch the show.

Last time, a customer had come in with a ham, mocking them for being a high-end restaurant that didn’t even serve ham.

What a disgrace!

That time, Qiu Guohua had taken out a ham he’d procured through special channels and thoroughly shamed the customer into submission.

Jiang Liu didn’t refuse.

’This restaurant probably isn’t very confident,’ he thought. ’They just want to use a customer’s ham for their own promotion.’

The two hams were mounted on their stands.

Qiu Guohua looked at Jiang Liu’s dark, grimy ham, which looked like it had been dug out of the ground, and felt a wave of contempt. It was complete overkill.

’If this ham costs more than a thousand yuan, I’ll start stir-frying while doing a handstand from now on.’

Jun Qingmeng and Jun Xinghe watched quietly.

Just then, the restaurant owner also came over. He was a tall, middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap, a look of great interest on his face.

He found this very amusing.

Qiu Guohua was about to greet him, but the owner, Huang Jinsheng, raised a hand to stop him.

He loved seeing his restaurant’s ham crush someone else’s. It was the best kind of publicity.

"Can we start?"

Jiang Liu was getting a little impatient.

"Heh, young man, you’re a bit restless. You should know that a fine ham is precious. Before carving, one must stand silently for three minutes to ensure a steady hand..."

Qiu Guohua prattled on, showing off his professional knowledge and glancing at Huang Jinsheng from time to time, trying to curry favor.

Finally.

Huang Jinsheng interrupted him and announced the start.

Jiang Liu held the Meat-Carving Knife. It wasn’t as good as his own, but the confidence etched into his very bones now shone from within.

’Here it comes, here it comes!’ Jun Xinghe held his breath.

"Go, Daddy, go!"

With a casual-looking flick of his wrist, Jiang Liu sent a slice of the dark, dry rind falling silently away, revealing the tender, fat-marbled red meat beneath.

Another flick of his hand, and another piece of dry rind with a thin layer of meat attached fell away.

Effortless and elegant.

Looking to the side, beads of sweat had already appeared on Qiu Guohua’s forehead. He was completely focused, meticulously slicing away at the hard rind bit by bit.

He had no time to look at anyone else.

But the expressions of the onlookers had already changed.

Huang Jinsheng’s pupils constricted, his heart filled with shock.

He hadn’t even seen how the other man had brought the knife down. He had just moved his arm, and a perfectly cut piece of old rind had fallen off.

One must understand that the old rind of a ham is both hard and taut, making it extremely difficult to cut. A single slip-up could waste good meat.

The difference in skill was immediately obvious!

’This technique...’

The other chefs watched, dumbfounded.

They had also carved ham before and were well aware of the technical difficulty involved.

"This..."

"What’s going on? Is he a chef, too?"

"His carving is too good. Forget the quality of the ham for a second, look at our boss’s expression! If this guy came to work here, Old Qiu would definitely be out of a job!"

The chefs whispered amongst themselves.

Jiang Liu was still carving. With a few "SHWISH, SHWISH" sounds, the front face was already done.

A smoky aroma gradually filled the room, an exceptionally rich fragrance.

It also carried a faint, fruity scent.

SNIFF... SNIFF...

"So fragrant. Is that our ham?"

"Heck no! We’ve barely made a scratch. That smell is coming from the customer’s ham!"

Huang Jinsheng was no longer watching Qiu Guohua. His gaze was now locked onto the ham in front of Jiang Liu.

「One minute later.」

Jiang Liu placed the two knives on the table.

Qiu Guohua heard the sound and assumed Jiang Liu’s arm had gotten sore.

He glanced up, looked away, and then snapped his gaze back.

He froze.

His pupils contracted.

His hands began to tremble.

Before his eyes, three large platters of sliced meat sat neatly piled.

Each slice of ham had a marbled texture, with intricate lines crisscrossing like a work of art.

A drop of sweat fell from the tip of his nose.

Shock.

’Am I dreaming?’

’I must be!’

Huang Jinsheng said, "Alright, Old Qiu. There’s no need to continue the competition."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"President Huang..." Qiu Guohua was still in a daze.

Huang Jinsheng clasped his fists together in a slight bow towards Jiang Liu. "It seems I have eyes but failed to see Mount Tai. May I ask where this young master practices his craft?"

He still maintained an air of superiority.

In his mind, Jiang Liu might very well become his employee in the future.

Jun Qingmeng let out a soft huff.

Jiang Liu said, "I have my own shop."

As he spoke, he placed one platter of ham in front of Jun Xinghe and another in front of his wife and daughter.

’Eating is more important.’

Huang Jinsheng thought for a moment, then asked, "Have you ever considered working at my restaurant? You’d only be responsible for carving ham. I can offer you a salary of sixty thousand a month."

These days, few people knew how to carve ham, and even fewer could do it well. Someone like this, who carved so quickly and perfectly, was a rare talent you couldn’t find even if you searched with a lantern!

Hearing "sixty thousand," Qiu Guohua was even more stunned.

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