Zhuang Daozhong led Zhuang Zhebin into the private room. Several people, including Chen Wei, all stood up and greeted Zhuang Daozhong very respectfully.
Su Lanxin had a rare smile on her face and stepped forward to support Zhuang Daozhong: "Master, you are finally here. Why didn't you tell me that you were coming in advance? I could have arranged things for you in advance."
After saying this, Su Lanxin looked at Zhuang Zhebin and said angrily, "Xiaobin, you didn't even tell Grandma Xin."
Faced with Su Lanxin's enthusiasm, Zhuang Zhebin said a little embarrassedly: "Grandma Xin, you can't blame me for this. It was my great grandfather who didn't let me tell you, and he also said that if I tell you, I won't be allowed to enter the kitchen again."
Su Lanxin laughed when she heard this: "What are you afraid of? If the old master uncle won't let you in, then you can come and learn from Grandma Xin."
If it were in the past, Zhuang Zhebin might be very happy, but now he accompanied his great grandfather to meet the people of Su Ji. Especially he learned about the whole process of Su Jinrong's stroke and saw Feng Yifan's craftsmanship.
In fact, at this moment, Zhuang Zhebin looked a little unnatural when facing Su Lanxin.
Su Lanxin naturally saw it at a glance, and probably guessed the reason why Zhuang Zhebin was unnatural.
But she didn't point it out, instead she helped Uncle Master Zhuang Daozhong to sit down. Then she said to Chen Wei and his apprentice, "Okay, Uncle Master is here, why don't you two show off your skills?"
After Zhuang Daozhong sat down, he smiled and waved his hand: "No need to bother, Xiao Bin and I had already had dinner before we came."
Chen Wei's expression didn't change much, he had obviously guessed it long ago.
Tan Xueli was obviously prepared, but now that she had no chance to show her skills, she could not hide her disappointment.
Su Lanxin paused for a moment, then continued to smile and asked, "Uncle Master, did you go to Su's? Did you meet my eldest brother? It seems that you also tasted the cooking skills of my eldest brother's son-in-law?"
Zhuang Daozhong nodded without hiding anything, and then asked: "Lan Xin, I heard that you also tried it? Then tell me about it first."
Su Lanxin's expression began to become unnatural. She sat there hesitantly, and was unwilling to express her intuitive feelings for a long time.
Zhuang Daozhong looked at Su Lanxin's hesitation and entanglement, smiled at Chen Wei and said, "Xiao Wei, it's been a long time since we last met. Do you think that if you make the stir-fried shrimp dish again now, it will be better than the original one?"
When Chen Wei was asked this question, the smile on his face froze and his expression became serious.
What Zhuang Daozhong called "the stir-fried shrimps back then" has been a pain point in Chen Wei's mind over the years.
When Chen Wei and Su Lanxin left Su Ji together, they went directly to Beijing with great ambitions. They planned to open a private chef restaurant in Beijing, make a name for themselves in Beijing, and prove themselves to Mr. Su.
But they didn't have enough funds at that time, so Su Lanxin and Chen Wei went to find Zhuang Daozhong together.
The two were also very courageous. They directly asked Zhuang Daozhong to borrow money and threatened that they would pay it back before five years.
Zhuang Daozhong had actually spoken to Grandpa Su on the phone and knew that Grandpa Su still loved his daughter and had asked him to lend money to his daughter.
However, Zhuang Daozhong added a condition of his own.
That was to ask Chen Wei to fry him a plate of stir-fried shrimps. If they were satisfied, Zhuang Daozhong would lend them the money without interest.
Stir-fried shrimps may not seem difficult to make, as all the cooking steps are traceable. However, it can test a chef's precise control over fire.
Chen Wei was also extremely confident at that time. After all, before he left, he had already obtained the status of the eldest senior brother in Su Ji.
Most of the time, he is the head chef and leads his fellow apprentices in cooking Su Ji’s dishes.
So Chen Wei accepted it with pleasure.
The result is self-evident. Chen Wei naturally failed, and his stir-fried shrimps did not really reach top standards.
Many years have passed, and now when Chen Wei hears Zhuang Daozhong talking about the past events and the dish of "Stir-fried Shrimp", it is obvious that the knot in his heart has not been resolved.
After hesitating for a moment, Chen Wei could only helplessly say, "Uncle Master, I admit that the stir-fried shrimps I make now may be slightly inferior to the level of those days."
Actually, this cannot be blamed on Chen Wei. After all, he has been the executive chef of the entire restaurant group for many years, and he rarely cooks dishes such as stir-fried shrimps when he is abroad.
In addition, foreign cooking does not pay much attention to fire control, so Chen Wei's decline is inevitable.
Zhuang Daozhong did not blame or ridicule him, but just nodded and said, "In this case, I think, Lan Xin, you should just run your catering company well. As for Su Ji's affairs, let Jinrong and his family handle it."
After hearing what Zhuang Daozhong said, Su Lanxin's expression changed immediately, and the smile on her face could no longer be maintained.
Su Liancheng saw his mother's face change, so he stood up first, pulled Tan Xueli and said, "Mom and Dad, Uncle Master, Xueli and I will go back first. Fujing Building still needs us to take care of many things."
Tan Xueli hadn't come to her senses yet and was dragged away by Su Liancheng with a confused look on her face.
After Su Liancheng and Tan Xueli left, Su Lanxin suppressed what she wanted to say and said to Zhuang Zhebin, "Xiaobin, why don't you go to Fujing Building with your uncle Liancheng and give them some guidance?"
Zhuang Zhebin glanced at his great grandfather, and when he saw him nod, he stood up and said, "Okay, Grandma Xin, I'll go out first."
After the younger generation had left and the door of the private room was closed, Su Lanxin finally couldn't help but say, "Uncle Master, you were partial to me once before. Are you going to be partial to me again this time?"
Su Lanxin was obviously trying to control her anger, but her voice still unconsciously rose a few notches when she spoke.
Seeing this, Chen Wei quickly said, "Lan Xin, calm down. I think what Master said is right. Our company model is doing very well now. We don't necessarily need to use the old Su Ji plaque when we return to China."
Su Lanxin slapped her ex-husband's hand away, and then said angrily: "You are always like this. Do you remember what you promised me when you took me away? You said that you would prove your strength and help me get the old plaque back."
Facing Su Lanxin's venting questioning, Chen Wei's face was full of helplessness.
So many years have passed, and for Chen Wei, he no longer covets the old plaque, nor does he want to fight for the authenticity of Su's food.
But Chen Wei was also very clear that Su Lanxin had never let it go, and she still stubbornly wanted to take back the old Su's plaque.
Su Lanxin just couldn't swallow the humiliation she felt back then.
Seeing this, Zhuang Daozhong sighed and said, "Lan Xin, do you know that when you came to me, I called your father. At that time, your father asked me to lend you the money, and he was even willing to pay you back."
Su Lanxin was stunned for a moment, then said: "I don't need the old stubborn man to pity me."
Zhuang Daozhong stood up, stared at Su Lanxin and said, "Do you think that's out of pity for you? But in my eyes, that's the pity in the heart of a father who loves his daughter so much that he wants to do his best to do something for his daughter, even if she hates him."
Without giving Su Lanxin time to speak again, Zhuang Daozhong continued, "Think about it carefully. If your father really didn't teach you cooking skills because of his old-fashioned idea of 'passing down the skills to sons but not daughters', would you really have a chance to learn from him?"
Having said that, Zhuang Daozhong felt that there was no need to stay, so he turned around and prepared to leave.
When they reached the door, Zhuang Daozhong said one last thing: “Your father didn’t pass on his cooking skills to you because he loves you and appreciates the hard work of being a cook. He doesn’t want you to be like him and your brother, guarding the stove.
That’s all I have to say. As an old man, I have also made my position clear. I will not support you in taking away the old plaque of Su Ji.
That old plaque belonged to your eldest brother."
After saying this, Mr. Zhuang Daozhong did not stop, opened the door of the private room and walked out.
Su Lanxin and Chen Wei were the only ones left in the room. Chen Wei looked at Su Lanxin and said softly, "Don't be stubborn anymore. It's been so many years since the incident. You've already achieved success. The old plaque has no value to you anymore."
Su Lanxin came back to her senses and looked at Chen Wei. Finally, she asked, "What if I still want you to compete?"
Chen Wei sighed helplessly: "If you really want me to compete, I will try my best to compete once."
Su Lanxin said with satisfaction: "Okay, I will arrange it. Before the old street is closed for reconstruction, I want you to compete with Feng Yifan once."
Chen Wei sighed again and could only nod and agree: "Well, I will be ready."