Chapter 237 Arriving at Xiyuan
The person who came to the gate of Xiyuan to pick up Wang Jianye was a young man two years older than him, wearing a military uniform. He was very energetic, but obviously not as handsome as Wang Jianye.

Wang Jianye pushed his bicycle and followed him to the carport, put the bicycle down, and then followed several turns to reach the destination, which was the canteen kitchen where the reception dinner was being prepared.

When Wang Jianye arrived here, he met an old acquaintance, Master Cheng, and Master Cheng's apprentice Fang Zhilang was also there.

Wang Jianye stepped forward and greeted him.

Master Cheng looked at him happily, "Master Wang, this is your first time participating in the preparation of a state banquet, right?"

Wang Jianye nodded, "Yes, this is my first time. If there is anything I don't understand, please give me some advice, Master Cheng."

"Oh, it's not so much that I can give you any advice. I still need to learn how to cook from you. You are my teacher." Master Cheng smiled politely.

Fang Zhilang, Master Cheng's apprentice standing nearby, had already been convinced by Wang Jianye. Otherwise, with his rebellious nature, he would have definitely been dissatisfied with Wang Jianye after hearing what his master said. Why could Wang Jianye become his master's teacher at such a young age?
But now, Fang Zhilang knew that Wang Jianye was very qualified to be his master's teacher.

Wang Jianye came closer and lowered his voice, "Master Cheng, I know that I can come to the state banquet this time, it must be with your help, thank you."

"In fact, Master Wang, you don't have to thank me. I just did it by accident. I didn't originally think of asking you to come to the state banquet, but the dishes you cook are so delicious that they have been recognized by the senior leader. It was the senior leader who personally invited you to come and cook."

Wang Jianye was a little surprised to hear what Master Cheng said. He didn't expect that it was because the big leader personally asked for it that he had the opportunity to participate in the preparation of the state banquet.

In this case, the two dishes he cooked were very much to the boss's liking, and made the boss very satisfied. Wang Jianye thought to himself, could he cook a few more dishes that would suit the boss's liking this time?

With thoughts in mind, Wang Jianye asked Chef Cheng, who had prepared several state banquets, "Excuse me, Chef Cheng, how do you arrange me now? What dishes do I have to cook?"

Chef Cheng explained: "The menu has been finalized, and we will assign each person which dish to make in the morning."

Then Chef Cheng took out the prepared menu.

Four delicious small dishes: milk melon, amber walnut, sugar ginger, and honey pickled kumquat.

Eight cold dishes: spicy jellyfish, shrimp and bamboo shoots, stir-fried cucumber strips, mustard duck feet, crispy roasted crucian carp, monk's belly, Zhenjiang braised pork, and osmanthus salted duck.

Eight hot dishes: stir-fried jade shrimp, four treasures in abalone sauce, chicken tofu pudding, Kung Pao chicken, boiled grouper, spicy beef in salt water, five-spice chicken, spicy and sour potato shreds, and braised pork.

One soup: Family portrait.

Snacks: fried rice cakes, Huangqiao sesame cakes, pineapple eight-treasure rice pudding, Aiwowow, and large soup dumplings.

Fruit platter.

……

Wang Jianye took a look and saw that the variety was very rich, not only Shandong cuisine, but also Sichuan cuisine, Huaiyang cuisine and other cuisines, all of which had some share.

There are fifteen tables in total, and each table has twenty-eight dishes.

Master Cheng continued, "Master Wang, you will be cooking your best dishes, spicy and sour potato shreds and braised pork. There are fifteen tables in total. Master Wang, you need to cook according to the quantity of sixteen plates, just in case there is not enough and one plate is missing." Wang Jianye took note of Master Cheng's instructions and asked curiously, "Master Cheng, what dishes will you cook?"

"I make chicken tofu, Kung Pao chicken, boiled grouper and family portrait."

"Master Cheng, aren't chicken tofu, Kung Pao chicken, and boiled grouper all Sichuan cuisine? I remember you are a Shandong cuisine chef." Wang Jianye asked the question that was in his mind.

Master Cheng smiled and explained to him: "It's true that I am a Shandong cuisine chef, but I have to cook whatever the boss wants to eat. The boss can't order dishes according to your cuisine, so I have to know a little bit of all the eight major cuisines of Shandong, Sichuan, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Fujian, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Anhui."

Wang Jianye nodded in understanding.

Master Cheng then said earnestly as a person who has experienced this: "Master Wang, you are so talented, there is no need to stick to one cuisine. Try to make your dishes more diverse so that you can prepare them in case of emergency."

Master Cheng looked at the many chefs in the room, "They are all the same, not just studying one cuisine, but being able to cook many cuisines..."

Master Cheng introduced a lot of situations to Wang Jianye and really treated Wang Jianye as his junior.

This made Wang Jianye very grateful, "Thank you, Master Cheng."

Master Cheng smiled and waved his hand, "Master Wang, you don't have to be so polite. These things are common practices, but no one has told you, Master Wang."

Wang Jianye's master Chai Wenshan was only a second-class chef. How could he possibly know so many things?

It is said that your vision determines your pattern.

What Master Cheng said to Wang Jianye broadened his horizons and made him understand what real state banquet chefs are like, their level and abilities.

It also made Wang Jianye more clear about his own development path.

"Master Wang, how has Cheng Jie learned from you recently? Has he lost his temper? If he does, beat him up."

Master Cheng asked Wang Jianye seriously.

At this time, Cheng Jie, who was busy working in Fengze Garden, suddenly sneezed. He felt that someone was talking about him and had bad intentions towards him.

"Cheng Jie has been learning from me quite well recently. The condition for apprentices to become full-time employees at Fengze Garden is that they must improve their skills in cooking these ten dishes: cucumber in water chestnut cloth, spicy and sour potato shreds, dried leek tofu, sweet and sour carp, braised prawns, stir-fried kidneys, deep-fried meatballs, stir-fried pork tenderloin shreds, pan-fried yellow croaker, and flavored eggplant. Cheng Jie has already improved the skills of seven of them."

After hearing what Wang Jianye said about Cheng Jie, Master Cheng was very surprised: "This progress is too fast. He has only been learning from you, Master Wang, for more than half a month, and he can cook so many dishes. I didn't see him improve so fast when he was at home... Master Wang, can you tell me how you taught him? How come his talent seems to have become much stronger?"

Master Cheng's apprentice Fang Zhilang who was standing next to him was also very surprised, because he knew Cheng Jie's talent, which was definitely not that good and was far worse than his.

But it took him a long time to learn these dishes. He definitely didn't improve as fast as Cheng Jie in just half a month. How did Master Wang do it? Fang Zhilang stared at him curiously.

(End of this chapter)