BXBX NOVEL Chapter 316: 315: One After Another Flip over
Jiang Feng scrolled down the attribute panel and quickly reached the menu section. He opened it, found Cao Guixiang, and clicked in.
The friendly tips below Yun Chicken and Bicolor Shrimp turned into: The difficulty of this dish exceeds the player’s current culinary level, and there is a high chance of failure in making it.
Jiang Feng then found Jiang Weiming’s chopped chili fish head, and the friendly tip that originally indicated a certain chance of failure had disappeared.
It seemed that his current culinary skills were sufficient for making B-level dishes without any issues, yet A-level dishes still seemed out of reach.
Jiang Feng didn’t stay long at Benevolent Doctor. After having a satisfying lunch at the orthopedics canteen, which was rumored to serve the best food, he returned to Taifeng Building.
He had managed to complete four tasks in just one morning, which was quite productive. There was an interview scheduled for the afternoon, but before that, he wanted to test how the master-level seasoning and fire control could enhance his dishes.
When Jiang Feng got back to Taifeng Building, the lunch service had just ended. Wu Minqi was practicing knife skills on a carved fruit platter. She had been cutting less recently and felt her knife skills were falling behind, so she decided to focus on training them for a while.
To Jiang Feng’s surprise, Zhang Guanghang was also in the kitchen, practicing a dish.
It was well-known that Zhang Guanghang never practiced dishes in front of them.
Compared to the monotonous lives of Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi, who were constantly revolving around the kitchen, Zhang Guanghang’s life was much more colorful.
He kept to a regular work schedule, practiced dishes at Fen Garden, and had a rich life outside of work—playing basketball, hiking, climbing mountains, visiting the Great Wall, watching movies, and even occasionally heading to the bar for a drink or two to relax. Zhang Guanghang’s lifestyle was entirely different from that of Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi.
Zhang Guanghang’s life was like a romantic drama, while Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi’s were more like an inspirational movie.
Zhang Guanghang was processing a whole chicken.
He had already removed the wings, feet, neck, and collarbone; now, the remaining chicken was chopped into four pieces. He was tapping the back of his knife against the drumstick bones to break them, preparing to extract the leg bones and cartilage.
He was making Shafu Roast Chicken.
“What are you cooking?” Jiang Feng asked knowingly.
“Shafu Roast Chicken,” Zhang Guanghang didn’t conceal it, “I’ve been wanting to try it for the past few days. I’ve made it several times, but it never turned out ideal, so I’m practicing some more.”
“Shafu Roast Chicken?”
“Yes, a classic French dish. I had it as a kid made by… an elder of mine. The Shafu Roast Chicken he made had a very special flavor, so I want to see if I can recreate the same taste,” explained Zhang Guanghang, swiftly continuing to extract the broken chicken drumstick bones.
“Once I finish, I’d be grateful if you could taste it and give me some feedback,” said Zhang Guanghang.
“I’d be honored,” Jiang Feng smiled and went to look for chicken.
He had read the recipe for Yun Chicken many times and knew it by heart. Despite numerous attempts that all ended in failure, driven by discontent, the steps were flawless.
The chicken was cut with a cross pattern and fried in oil. Jiang Feng watched as the pieces gradually cooked in the oil, began to deform, and then were scooped out.
He left the oil in the pan, quickly added the ingredients, stir-fried them, thickened with starch, and drizzled sesame oil—doing all of this in one go.
Jiang Feng felt that success was within reach.
He, Jiang Feng, was finally about to flawlessly make an A-level dish without any cheats.
The dish was ready.
The Yun Chicken, gleaming like amber on the plate, exuded a tempting sweet aroma that would have surely made a child like Han Youxin cheer and pounce on it.
[Yun Chicken (Failed) B-level]
Jiang Feng: ???
I did everything so smoothly; I felt like the chosen one. And you’re telling me this is a failure?!
Jiang Feng tasted the failed B-level Yun Chicken in a state of sorrow and indignation.
The flavor was actually quite good, much better than the C-level Yun Chicken he had made before, sweet and sour—a perfect treat for kids.
But it was a failure nonetheless.
Whether it’s a 50 or a 59, regardless of how close it is to passing, it can’t change the fact that it’s a failed dish.
However, after having failed so many times before, Jiang Feng, who had rich experience with setbacks, was accustomed to his failures. He gathered his spirits and decided to try once more.
Twenty minutes later—
[Yun Chicken (Failed) B-level]
Jiang Feng: …
No worries, no worries. Victory and defeat are common affairs in the art of war. Please start again from the beginning.
Jiang Feng consoled himself inwardly.
Another twenty minutes later——
[Yun Chicken (Failed) B-level]
Jiang Feng: …
No problem, no problem. A-level dishes can fail, that’s normal. As the saying goes, third time’s the charm, the third attempt will surely succeed.
Another twenty minutes later——
[Yun Chicken (Failed) B-level]
Jiang Feng: …
Yet another twenty minutes later——
[Yun Chicken (Failed) B-level]
Jiang Feng: ???
Still another twenty minutes later——
[Yun Chicken (Failed) B-level]
Jiang Feng: (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
What the hell kind of dish is this? Is it really just highly likely to fail? Does “highly likely” mean 99.99%?!
After six flips, Jiang Feng’s mentality collapsed.
Jiang Feng fell into deep thought.
The six plates of food in front of him all indicated that both fire control and seasoning were not up to par—plainly speaking, it was his lack of skills. But if his skills weren’t up to the task, then why did the game still indicate a high chance of failure?
“High chance of failure” signifies there’s a tiny chance of success, doesn’t it?
Jiang Feng really suspected that this game had no customer service because the previous representatives had been beaten to death by irate players.
Just as Jiang Feng was doubting his life choices, Zhang Guanghang’s Chinese-style Shafu Roast Chicken was ready.
He had prepared this Shafu Roast Chicken very cautiously, taking more than an hour. It certainly qualified as meticulously crafted.
The presentation was also beautiful, with green leaves as a base, carved radish flowers, chicken pieces arranged as if a bouquet, and apples resembling buds awaiting to bloom.
Zhang Guanghang tasted every ingredient on the plate, not even sparing the decorative vegetables and apples.
Unfortunately, despite his meticulous effort, the Shafu Roast Chicken still disappointed him; it was not the flavor he remembered.
Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi also reached out with their chopsticks to taste. They had never eaten Shafu Roast Chicken before either, so they didn’t know its original flavor.
But Jiang Feng thought that the Shafu Roast Chicken Zhang Guanghang made tasted quite good, much better than the six consecutive Yun Chicken fails he had just experienced.
The chicken was first fried, then roasted, crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside, with its juices perfectly locked within the meat. There was a slight tartness to it, probably due to the addition of fragrant vinegar.
Jiang Feng picked up another piece of apple. It was decent, nothing special—just more flavorful after being stir-fried with butter.
“I think it’s pretty good,” Jiang Feng said.
“It’s not the right flavor, something’s missing,” Zhang Guanghang’s face showed a hint of perplexity.
Although he also felt there wasn’t much wrong with the taste, it was different from what he had in his childhood.
The first time he had this dish prepared by Xia Mushi during his childhood, he was amazed from the first bite. That sensation was something he’d never forget for the rest of his life. But as he grew up, Xia Mushi stopped making the dish, and even when he wanted to learn, Xia Mushi wouldn’t teach him.
What could it be?
Zhang Guanghang looked at the Shafu Roast Chicken in front of him, which seemed to have no issues, yet he felt something was amiss.