Chapter Forty-Five: Phoenix Crystal [Four Thousand Words]

Half an hour—just one hour—to prepare six cold dishes, averaging ten minutes per dish. No matter how you look at it, this is an impossible task. Moreover, even though the imperial kitchen is better than those outside, compared to modern times it is still woefully behind. How is this supposed to be done?

The most troublesome part is that these cold dishes are for the Emperor. This isn’t a restaurant where you can toss in a few dates and drizzle some syrup to pass muster. Even if you were allowed to use dates for one dish, there are four people assigned to make cold dishes. I want to do it, but wouldn’t others know the trick as well? Dishes cannot be repeated.

Being the newcomer, how could Ming Tian not realize that Qian Shanduo was desperate, trying to use him as a scapegoat?

He stood on the chef’s platform for three whole minutes, cold sweat dripping from his brow. Behind him, Zhao Ke was chopping vegetables, casting sympathetic glances at Ming Tian. A few of the kitchen assistants nearby laughed at him.

“Look at this rookie—let’s see how he fails.”

“Exactly, does he think this is just anywhere? So what if Lord Wang Jingze recommended him? If he has no skill, he shouldn’t force his way in.”

“I bet he won’t finish—he’ll barely get three dishes done.”

“Don’t underestimate him. His technique is good for outsiders. I bet he’ll manage four.”

“Haha, he’ll still fail, won’t he?”

Facing their cold sneers, Ming Tian’s expression stiffened. This was perhaps the greatest challenge since he arrived in this ancient era.

Calm down. Don’t let these bumpkins look down on you. There must be a way! The very purpose of a problem is to be solved by someone!

From ages past, the classic scene of showing off and then being slapped in the face is the destiny of any transmigrator like me. How could I possibly let cold dishes be my downfall here? I can make as many cold dishes as needed, but the issue is the tight deadline.

And these dishes are for the Emperor—they must be impressive, not just child’s play... Wait, child’s play?! That’s it! Children!!!

Desperate times call for desperate measures... Though that’s not exactly a positive phrase, under immense pressure, Ming Tian suddenly had a flash of inspiration, recalling a life-saving idea!

He glanced around, seeing the kitchen assistants on the platform each watching him out of the corner of their eyes, their expressions gleefully malicious.

But Ming Tian was not looking at them, but at their dishes, confirming his suspicions.

As expected, not only the main and side dishes, even the cold offerings were extravagant delicacies. The mildest vegetable hearts were cooked in rich broths, greasy through and through.

The Emperor eats delicacies every day; for him, so-called premium ingredients have long lost their charm. His stomach is never free of oil and fat, so...

Before transmigrating, Ming Tian enjoyed watching anime—not because it was childish, but because, being drawn, it never suffered from bad acting, and was far superior to those posing, cold-faced young actors.

He recalled the first anime he watched as a child, the TV version excellent, though the manga was a mess.

In the last two episodes, the protagonist made a dish for the Emperor. Ming Tian had cooked it before and achieved similar results.

If he could upgrade that dish into a “six ways to eat” version, perhaps he could survive this ordeal.

Ming Tian closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and pinned all his hope on that humble dish!

Fifty-five minutes left. He steeled himself and dashed to the ingredient rack.

His targets: grapes, imperial swallow’s nest, honey, pomegranate, ginger, scallions, chestnuts, and... soybean sprouts!

Yes, that dish could indeed be recreated. Though light in flavor, it was not inferior to any luxury cuisine!

With an upgrade, for the Emperor’s greasy stomach, this dish might garner an unexpected review!

Ming Tian’s plan: Six Ways of Phoenix Crystal.

“Hey, did you see that?”

“Is this kid crazy? He’s taking soybean sprouts?”

“That dish might look pretty, but it’s commoners’ fare, through and through.”

“Leave him be. He’s scared out of his wits, using such tasteless ingredients.”

Even Qian Shanduo, watching Ming Tian choose the sprouts, wore a mocking smile. His mismatched eyes seemed to say: You garbage.

But Ming Tian paid them no mind.

Why are soybean sprouts called good-looking but tasteless? Because they have a certain grassy, vegetal odor.

It’s faint, undetectable to most, and disappears entirely when cooked with meat. But veteran diners can pick it out. When sprouts are the main ingredient, their smell is accentuated, and for an Emperor with a discerning palate, he’d notice immediately.

Most troublesome, the odor of soybean sprouts cannot be removed with ginger or cooking wine like meat can!

But this did not trouble Ming Tian. Instead, his real challenge was... time!

Phoenix Crystal—unlike the anime, it cannot stand upright, but must “fly” across the plate. To enhance its three-dimensionality, the phoenix must be plated like a relief sculpture, with striking depth!

Since it’s a six-way dish, the portion must be large. Making it small would be hard to handle and wouldn’t capture the phoenix’s grandeur.

So, unlike the anime, this dish must be particularly big—the plate itself must be at least a meter in diameter!

This means a massive amount of soybean sprouts!

Processing so many sprouts, just trimming the ends would take an hour.

Therefore, Ming Tian had to seek help!

Bang!

Just as Zhao Ke finished chopping his last cabbage and was about to rest, Ming Tian startled him by slamming a huge basket of sprouts onto his table.

“Bro... brother, what’s this?” Zhao Ke stared at the three or four pounds of sprouts, his face blank with confusion.

Fresh sprouts are light, but three or four pounds is a huge heap!

“Buddy, do me a favor,” Ming Tian said, pointing at the basket. “Your knife skills are the best. I need you to trim all the sprouts, making sure every stem is exactly the same length.”

Zhao Ke gulped, doubting his own ears. “Bro... brother... you’re not joking? There are three or four thousand sprouts here, all to be trimmed? And equal in length?”

“That’s right,” Ming Tian replied seriously. “Please.”

With time pressing, Ming Tian rushed back to his own station to prepare the sauces.

Multi-way dishes are a clever shortcut, saving time, but they have their drawbacks.

Each way of eating must not clash.

For Phoenix Crystal, using pomegranate and grape for refreshing sauces means you can’t use soy or thick fermented sauces. Otherwise, it’s a failed multi-way dish.

Juicing ginger, extracting grape and pomegranate for sauces, simmering imperial swallow’s nest with honey for another.

Thus, the six ways for Phoenix Crystal were set:

Ginger aroma, grape, pomegranate, imperial swallow’s nest, honey, and scallion.

Ming Tian worked simultaneously, finishing all six sauces in ten minutes.

The kitchen assistants beside him continued their mocking.

They knew Ming Tian had borrowed grapes and pomegranate from the chef’s pantry. To them, these were mere fruits—how could fruits be used in dishes?

As the dish progressed, even the chefs and assistant supervisors watched, convinced Ming Tian’s time was running out.

But then—

Bang!

While Ming Tian was boiling water, a loud sound startled him.

Zhao Ke slapped a basket of trimmed sprouts onto the workstation, wiping sweat from his brow with a broad grin.

“Ah, brother, that was tough! So many sprouts—no matter how good my knife skills are, it took ages!”

Ming Tian stared, pausing his work, grabbed a handful of sprouts, lined them up with his knife.

He saw that the thirty or forty sprouts he’d randomly picked were all precisely trimmed, as if cast in a mold, their lengths identical.

Buddy, you did this in ten minutes? I gave you three pounds of sprouts and...

Amazing! Besides An Luo, I’ve met another overpowered guy! Hey, is this ancient times or a fantasy online game? Are GMs around? Overpowered players everywhere—now I’m the weakest!

Despite his thoughts, Ming Tian felt lucky to have nearly two pounds of finished sprouts.

Zhao Ke’s knife skills were a tremendous help.

The hardest part of Phoenix Crystal was plating, which required lots of time. With time so tight, Zhao Ke’s skill gave Ming Tian precious minutes.

Most important, the man was genuinely helpful!

If he’d been helping other chefs, he’d probably have deliberately slowed down to sabotage me.

“Thank you. I’ll handle the rest myself—you can go rest now,” Ming Tian said, not wanting to trouble the elder further.

But Zhao Ke tasted Ming Tian’s sauce, his expression changed: “Brother Ming Tian, I don’t understand your plan, but this dish must really test your plating skills, right?”

Ming Tian paused, surprised by this slim old man.

“How did you know?”

Zhao Ke laughed heartily. “You see, honey is rich and sweet, grape juice is refreshing. If you combine them, they’ll be too sweet, so you must keep them separate. Ginger’s spicy aroma pairs well with swallow’s nest for two ways, but mixed into one sauce, it wouldn’t work. So, most likely, you’ll use six separate sauces.”

He patted Ming Tian’s shoulder. “Six ways, six sauces, all separate—this requires extremely precise plating. Honestly, I’m curious how you’ll make the sprouts harmonize with all six sauces. If you don’t mind, let me help you—I’d like to learn, too.”

This overpowered... No, this man...

Ming Tian watched his eyes, studying his expression.

This chef named Zhao Ke radiated only two emotions:

Sincerity, and a love for cooking.

So, there were true culinary enthusiasts in the imperial kitchen after all.

Ming Tian felt heartened—though, truthfully, he didn’t love cooking himself; his skills were forced upon him by bachelorhood.

But of course, if possible, he needed Zhao Ke’s help.

Time was too tight—the dish itself was quick, but plating would take ages. With Zhao Ke’s steady hand, they’d surely finish more smoothly.

“Alright, I’m counting on you,” Ming Tian nodded.

Zhao Ke’s face lit up with excitement. “So, brother, what do you want me to do next?”

“I want you to—”

“You are not allowed to do anything!!”

Just as Ming Tian was about to assign tasks, Qian Shanduo’s piggish, grating voice shattered the hopeful mood.

The fat supervisor waddled over, his belly jiggling beneath his chef’s robe, glaring at Ming Tian and Zhao Ke, eyes blazing.

“Zhao Ke, you’re just a lowly cook. Without my permission, who let you work on the chef’s platform? Get back to your yellow table!”

“But, brother, he—”

“But what?”

Qian Shanduo eyed Zhao Ke up and down, a wicked grin spreading on his face. “Not listening, are you? Have you forgotten your wife?”

……………………
PS: A temporary change to the update schedule. On top of the planned extra chapters, I’ll further ramp up my output!

Today is Sunday. Next week is crucial for me, as I’ll be facing the four strongest history authors of this season. Each is a formidable rival.

To fight these four, starting Monday, I’ll temporarily adjust my update rules.

From Monday to Sunday, except for Saturday, there will be three chapters every day! Saturday I have to get my license, which will take time, so only two chapters that day. For one week, from the 24th to the 27th, I’ll stick to the original plan, with two to three days of three chapters.

According to my intel, three of these four have stockpiled huge reserves for the competition next week, while I, Xiao Wan, have nothing.

Already at a disadvantage, I’m even more outmatched in resources, so I can only go all out updating, hoping to regain a bit of ground.

This is the limit of what I can do. I hope readers who love this book can help out—vote for me, and if possible, recommend it to your friends. Xiao Wan thanks you all!

Against four top-tier rivals, this is the toughest challenge ever. I hope you can help me through it. Xiao Wan bows in gratitude! Please! Orz.