At that moment, the kitchen became Su Chen’s personal stage.

He heated lard in a wok, then added the stemmed and halved shiitake mushrooms and the high-heat steamed dried scallops. A furious stir-frying commenced!

With his Max Level [Stir-fry] proficiency, this step was effortless for Su Chen. Over the roaring flame, he gripped the wok’s handle with his left hand, periodically lifting it up and down, while the large ladle in his right hand swirled back and forth.

As they were flash-fried, the mushrooms and scallops let out a constant CRACKLE AND POP. The scene was surprisingly pleasing to watch.

"How old is your boss?" Lu Yongliang asked, tilting his head.

He didn’t know that Ling Shuyu and Su Chen were from two different companies; he just assumed Su Chen was the boss and Ling Shuyu was his employee.

"Probably around twenty-six? Or maybe twenty-four." Ling Shuyu herself wasn’t sure of Su Chen’s exact age.

For someone whose WeChat location was set to Andorra, digging up personal details from his social media was pretty difficult.

"At his age..." Lu Yongliang murmured, stroking his chin.

If Su Chen were just flipping the wok to toss the ingredients, Lu Yongliang wouldn’t have been surprised. Many culinary schools teach that method, and wok-tossing is certainly a practical skill.

But that wasn’t what Su Chen was doing.

He was doing all the tossing entirely with the large ladle in his right hand. His left hand, meanwhile, was lifting and lowering the wok to control the distance from the flame, precisely regulating the heat!

’Now this is interesting...’

After flash-frying the ingredients for a minute, Su Chen poured in the reserved steaming liquid from the scallops, along with some chicken stock. Once it came to a boil, he added MSG, sugar, salt, soy sauce, and scallion segments in quick succession.

After braising for two minutes, he thickened the sauce with a cornstarch slurry, drizzled half a ladleful of lard over the top, and began plating.

The moment that dish was plated, Su Chen turned to another stove.

"Holy cow!" The move left Lu Yongliang stunned. "No wonder Boss Su didn’t want me to get involved earlier!"

He had just plated one dish, and he was immediately starting the next!

There wasn’t a single moment of hesitation!

He heated sesame oil and lightly sautéed some minced ginger until fragrant. Then he added about a hundred grams of cooked cured meat, stir-fried it for a minute, and set it aside.

Next, he tossed in the red caitai, added salt, and stir-fried for two minutes before returning the cured meat to the wok to cook together for another minute.

Just watching him, you’d think this dish required no technical skill whatsoever.

In truth, it really didn’t require much...

Still, Lu Yongliang nodded in approval. "Red caitai usually only hits the market around the Spring Festival. But with modern agriculture, you can get it anytime now. This dish is all about that rustic flavor; it’s a classic seasonal plate."

"A seasonal dish?" Ling Shuyu repeated, almost to herself.

"Like Di San Xian from the Northeast. Dishes that follow the seasons."

Shang Mingke also nodded slightly. "Stir-fried caitai on its own is delicious, too, but it has to be cooked in lard."

The entire dish took maybe four or five minutes. Su Chen then turned back to his other station to plate the crispy fried meatballs he’d made earlier.

He immediately placed another wok on the now-free burner.

"This Boss Su..." Lu Yongliang laughed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "He’s a one-man army. He could replace an entire hotel kitchen staff by himself!"

Then he turned and asked, "Is he always like this?"

Ling Shuyu replied calmly, "Usually, he just makes simple meals. A lot of staff help with the prep work. He only handles the critical steps."

"That’s good to hear!" Lu Yongliang said. "It’d be a shame to waste such a promising talent on tedious grunt work."

As they spoke, the lard in the next wok was already shimmering with heat.

He dropped in shredded chicken, pork tenderloin, and pork tripe, using the ladle to separate the strands as they fried.

After about two minutes, he poured out most of the oil, leaving just enough to coat the bottom. He flash-fried some ginger and scallions until fragrant, then returned the three types of shredded meat to the wok. He followed them with shredded ham, shiitake mushrooms, and tender bamboo shoots, stir-frying everything for two more minutes. Just like that, the Sautéed Three Shreds was ready.

Su Chen wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced at the remaining ingredients on the counter. ’Two dishes left!’

"That’s enough, Boss Su. This is plenty," Lu Yongliang said, stepping forward.

"How can I do that? We still have a few more dishes to go," Su Chen said, gesturing to the ingredients.

The Osmanthus Sweet Potato Cakes and Honey-Glazed Sweet Lotus Root were still left.

"This is really more than enough. We won’t be able to finish it all," Lu Yongliang said, shaking his head. "We hadn’t planned on having a meal, to begin with. I just stumbled upon your video and got curious... my hands got itchy, you could say. This one’s on me."

"Ah..." ’This is the first time I’ve ever seen someone so eager to take the blame,’ Su Chen thought.

"It’s my fault for meddling in your kitchen. I see it now. If it weren’t for me, you’d have finished all these dishes ages ago."

’So that’s what he meant.’

’He’s not wrong about that.’

According to Su Chen’s original plan, the sweet lotus root should have just finished steaming by now, ready for its sauce. But as it was, the lotus root hadn’t even gone into the steamer yet.

"So, really, it’s fine. Missing two dishes is no big deal, as long as we don’t miss *that* one," Lu Yongliang said, pointing to the fish tank.

It was clear he was fixated on the Steamed Wuchang Fish.

Shang Mingke nodded in agreement. Eating Hubei Cuisine without trying the Wuchang Fish would be like visiting the Mountain City and not having hot pot.

"Alright then. Please, have a seat," Su Chen said, picking up the finished plates. This time, Ling Shuyu was finally able to help, taking two plates herself.

The four of them returned to the dining hall.

In a little over ten minutes, six freshly cooked dishes were laid out on the table.

The round table, which had been picked clean moments before, was once again filled with fragrant dishes.

Serving food is its own art form. Bring out dishes one by one, and they’ll be gone in a flash. Bring out many at once, and people tend to eat much less.

Faced with so many dishes, Shang Mingke stretched his arms, his chopsticks reaching first for the Sizzling Sea Cucumber that Lu Yongliang had made.