After seeing Yang Xiaoxi and Zhang Zhuangzhuang off, Feng Yifan glanced at his watch. It was almost half past five.
But the restaurant hasn't started serving customers yet.
So Feng Yifan said to everyone who stayed, "Let's eat first."
After hearing what her father said, Feng Ruoruo looked at the restaurant and said, "Dad, there are no customers. Let's wait a while. Feifei and I can play for a while."
Feng Yifan squatted down and said to his daughter with a smile: "Yes, that's because there are no customers in the restaurant yet, so we have to eat first. After dinner, you can still play with Feifei."
Lu Cuiling also agreed to eat first. Although the children had some snacks, they played for a while while Feng Yifan went in to cook.
It’s a perfect time to eat now as the restaurants haven’t started to receive customers yet, so it won’t have much of an impact.
Lu Cuiling said to her granddaughter, "Let's eat first. This way, when we have guests later, we won't cause trouble for Dad and he can concentrate on cooking for the guests, right?"
Feng Ruoruo was still a little hesitant, and Chen Yaofei said, "Ruoruo, let's eat first."
After a pause, Chen Yaofei asked again: "Ruoruo, when you smelled the food that Xixi and her father took away just now, don't you think it smells good? Aren't you hungry?"
Feng Ruoruo thought about it for a while and seemed to be a little hungry. She said to her father, "Dad, let's eat first."
Feng Yifan smiled and nodded: "Okay, you and Feifei go sit down with grandpa and grandma, daddy will make dinner for you, what do Ruoruo and Feifei want to eat?"
The two little girls said almost in unison: "I want to be like Xixi."
Chen Yaofei's grandfather laughed when he heard this: "You three little girls are almost like one person. Even the way you eat is the same."
Feng Ruoruo said to Grandpa Chen with a smile: "Because my dad made it for Xixi, it must be delicious."
After listening to his daughter and Chen Yaofei's request, Feng Yifan also agreed: "Okay, I'll make it for you, the same as Xixi's. You guys go and sit down with grandpa and grandma."
Feng Yifan turned and walked towards the kitchen, and Feng Ruoruo and Chen Yaofei asked their grandparents to sit down. The two little girls did not forget to push Feng Ruoruo's grandfather over as well.
Su Jinrong smiled happily and thanked: "Thank you, my two little darlings."
Feng Yifan returned to the kitchen and saw that his apprentice had already cleaned it and was standing there digesting the sweet and sour shrimp balls he had just prepared.
Lin Ruifeng was indeed very serious. He lowered his head to recall the steps while muttering to himself.
Feng Yifan saw this and walked over to his apprentice and said, "It seems like you remember it very well. In that case, how about you make a plate of sweet and sour shrimp balls?"
Lin Ruifeng was stunned when he heard this, and then quickly waved his hands: "Master, I, I am not good enough, right?"
Feng Yifan encouraged, "Nothing is impossible. You've been in the restaurant for quite a while, but you haven't cooked a dish properly. Today's sweet and sour shrimp balls are relatively simple. You can try making them once."
After listening to the encouragement from his master, Lin Ruifeng slowly ignited the fighting spirit in his heart. He had been eager to try these days, but he just didn't dare to try.
Today, I got a chance, and it was not a difficult dish after watching Master cook it before. Lin Ruifeng nodded and agreed: "Okay, Master, I will do it seriously."
In fact, at this time, Lin Ruifeng had a thought in his mind: If it is not cooked well, he can just eat it himself and regard it as a way to accumulate experience.
Feng Yifan also saw what his disciple was thinking and added, "You have to cook it well. This dish you are going to make today is for Ruoruo and Feifei. You can't cook it casually."
This sentence really scared Lin Ruifeng. He immediately began to feel guilty: "Master, I'm afraid I can't make it for Ruoruo and Feifei, right?"
This time, Feng Yifan did not try to comfort or encourage his apprentice, and his expression became serious.
"Lin Ruifeng, maybe Master was too lenient with you before. In fact, Master hates it most when people say 'I can't do it', especially before you have tried or worked hard."
Feng Yifan's serious expression and very impolite tone at this moment made Lin Ruifeng stunned.
Before the disciple could bow his head to apologize, Feng Yifan interrupted him: "Do you want to say 'I'm sorry' to me again? I hate this sentence too. I don't need you to say sorry to me like this.
I hope you can show some enthusiasm and courage, just like your master said, you must have the courage to try.
If you haven't done anything yet, you will just think that you are not good enough and keep apologizing to others, then you will never achieve anything. "
Without giving his apprentice a chance to speak, Feng Yifan reached out and took the kitchen knife and said, "Go ahead. I want to see your actions and your efforts."
Seeing his master holding the blade and handing the handle to him, Lin Ruifeng no longer hesitated or said any more nonsense, and reached out to take the knife from his master.
Holding the knife, Lin Ruifeng began to follow the process he had written down before, starting with peeling the shrimp, and proceeding carefully step by step.
It is very simple to peel shrimps because the back of the shrimp has been cut open and you just need to peel them directly.
After peeling the shrimps one by one, I washed them according to the chef's method, then wiped off the water and started to open the backs of the shrimps one by one.
Press the shrimp on the chopping board, use two fingers to slightly open the shrimp, and gently cut the shrimp back along the middle line with a spatula. Because I am not skilled, this step is very slow.
Lin Ruifeng kept his head down and worked hard. He didn't even look up at his master or ask him if he had done it well.
He was completely in his own state, doing things the way he remembered and thought was right.
Feng Yifan stood aside, watching his apprentice proceed step by step, with no expression on his face, just observing every step of his apprentice very carefully.
What made Feng Yifan happy was that his apprentice really remembered the process and did every step very well.
As for some minor flaws, Feng Yifan did not point them out, but remained quiet and let his apprentice go through the entire process.
Finally, Lin Ruifeng followed his memory and watched the cooking steps of his master, and completed the dish of sweet and sour shrimp balls that his master had made step by step.
Finally, put it on the plate and look at the chewy and plump shrimp balls and the sweet and fragrant sauce.
Lin Ruifeng felt a small sense of accomplishment. This was the first dish he cooked by himself after learning from his master in the kitchen for more than a week.
Finally completed, Lin Ruifeng also raised his head and looked at his master.
Feng Yifan asked: "What? Are you done now?"
Lin Ruifeng looked puzzled when he heard this
Feng Yifan said seriously: "Are you doing this for me? Who are you making this for? Don't you need to adjust the presentation of the dish before serving it to others?"
After being reminded by his master, Lin Ruifeng suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly used chopsticks to carefully adjust the dish.
Finally, he imitated the master and wiped off the excess sauce on the edge of the plate with a clean rag. After making sure it was done, he quickly took the dish out to serve.
Seeing his apprentice serve the dishes, Feng Yifan did not follow him, but quickly started to prepare other dishes in the kitchen. After all, there were more than two little girls eating, there were also Chen Yaofei's grandparents, Feng Ruoruo's grandpa and grandmother, and mother.
One dish is definitely not enough. Feng Yifan not only has to prepare four dishes for Yang Xiaoxi and Zhang Zhuangzhuang according to his daughter's request, but also has to prepare some other dishes.
Lin Ruifeng carried the dishes out and came to the table of Feng Ruoruo and the others. When he was about to put down the dishes, he hesitated a little.
After a brief hesitation, Lin Ruifeng took a deep breath, mustered up the courage to put the dish down and said, "I made this dish according to my master's instructions. Please have a taste."
Looking at the dishes put down and hearing Lin Ruifeng's words, everyone present was a little surprised.
However, after a brief moment of daze, Su Jinrong looked at Lin Ruifeng and the dish on the table, and a smile appeared on his face.
Feng Ruoruo came back to her senses and asked in surprise: "Oh, Uncle Xiaolin, did you make this?"
Chen Yaofei praised: "The dishes cooked by Uncle Xiaolin are also very beautiful."
Feng Ruoruo also agreed: "Yes, she looks very beautiful, only slightly inferior to her father."
Su Ruoxi heard her daughter's words, walked over and said to her daughter with a smile: "Ruoruo, it's wrong for you to deliberately praise your father like this. I think Uncle Xiaolin's dish today looks no worse than Dad's."
Feng Ruoruo pouted and looked up at her mother standing next to her: "No, Dad did a good job."
In the little girl's mind, her father is the best and no one is better than her father.
Lu Cuiling smiled and said to her granddaughter, "Let's try it and see if it can be as good as what Dad makes, okay?"
As a result, Feng Ruoruo thought about it and said, "Grandma, Dad has never cooked this dish."
The little girl said this, leaving no one to refute. Because Feng Ruoruo was right, her father had never cooked this dish for her, so she didn't know whether her father's cooking was delicious or not.
Su Ruoxi walked up to her daughter and said, "Then let's try Uncle Xiaolin's. We need to give Uncle Xiaolin some encouragement."
After hearing what her mother said, Su Ruoxi nodded and agreed: "Okay, let's try it."
Next, everyone at the table picked up their chopsticks, picked up a shrimp ball with one chopstick, slowly put it into their mouths, and began to taste Lin Ruifeng's first dish.
Seeing everyone eating, Lin Ruifeng, who was standing nearby, was really nervous and felt his heart pounding.
Although Lin Ruifeng tried hard to calm himself, he still couldn't suppress his nervousness, causing his body to tremble as he stood there.
Just when he was getting too nervous, the kitchen door was pushed open, and Feng Yifan came out holding two dishes and said, "How is it? Does my apprentice's sweet and sour shrimp balls tonight suit the taste of our two little darlings?"
Hearing what his master said made Lin Ruifeng even more nervous, and his legs felt a little weak.
But the next moment, Lin Ruifeng heard Feng Ruoruo turned around and shouted to her father: "Dad, Uncle Xiaolin's dishes are also delicious."
The four words "It's delicious too" exploded in Lin Ruifeng's heart like a blockbuster bomb. A feeling of ecstasy surged from his heart, instantly drowning him.
This is different from the pot stickers in the morning, where the master and mother help with most of the work from dough mixing, stuffing making, and wrapping. So the good sales of pot stickers in the morning and the praises from many people did not bring Lin Ruifeng great joy.
At this moment, this dish was prepared entirely by Lin Ruifeng himself. His master did not give any instructions or interfere. It was truly a dish that he made himself.
Now that Feng Ruoruo praised the food as "delicious", Lin Ruifeng was really in ecstasy.
I succeeded, it was finally a success.
This may be the first time since Lin Ruifeng grew up that he has accomplished something through his own efforts and received recognition.
Then, Lin Ruifeng heard Chen Yaofei also say: "Well, it's delicious."
Chen Yaofei's grandparents also spoke separately.
“It tastes really good.”
"The shrimps are well-seasoned, very chewy and tender. They are really delicious."
Lu Cuiling turned to her son who was serving the dishes and smiled, saying, "It looks like you really want to teach your apprentice this time and starve yourself to death."
Putting down the two dishes in his hands, Feng Yifan smiled and responded: "It doesn't matter. If the apprentice can really surpass the master, that should be what every master hopes for."
After hearing these compliments, Lin Ruifeng slowly calmed down from his state of ecstasy, and after hearing his master's words, he completely calmed down.
"Aunt, I'm not good enough yet. This dish is actually relatively simple, and the master explained it to me in great detail when he was making it in the kitchen, so I just copied the master's process."
When Feng Ruoruo heard what Uncle Xiaolin said, she turned around and threw herself into her father's arms, who had already put down the vegetables.
"Dad, Ruoruo has never tasted what you cook. Will yours taste better than Uncle Xiaolin's?"
Feng Yifan smiled and touched his daughter's face, gently pinching her pouting lips and puffed cheeks: "No, Uncle Xiaolin did a really good job this time, it's almost exactly like Dad."
Feng Ruoruo still didn't believe it: "Really?"
Feng Yifan nodded and said, "Really, Dad promises."
Feng Ruoruo was finally satisfied: "Well, Dad said it, Uncle Xiaolin is really amazing, he can even cook Dad's dishes."
Lin Ruifeng calmed down at this moment. Hearing the little girl's praise, he waved his hands and said, "No, no, in fact, Uncle Xiaolin copied your father's dishes. Some of his cooking is definitely not as good as your father's."
Su Jinrong, who had not spoken before, finally spoke after hearing this.
"Ruifeng, the sweet and sour shrimp balls are indeed well made. It's not easy to master them and make them completely in such a short time."
After praising him for a while, Su Jinrong said, "There are some flaws. The shrimp balls were fried a little too deep, the carrots were not cooked, and you didn't add pepper."
After being bluntly pointed out by Su Jinrong, Lin Ruifeng suddenly remembered that he did follow the master's process, but he still forgot something. The carrots were not boiled, and most importantly, he forgot to add pepper.
Lin Ruifeng lowered his head silently, feeling a little lost at this moment.
Feng Yifan patted his apprentice on the shoulder and said, "Don't say sorry, and don't give up just like that. You have to understand that I point these out to you in the hope that you can continue to work hard and do better."
Feng Ruoruo and Chen Yaofei came to Uncle Xiaolin together, and the two little girls shouted together: "Come on, Uncle Xiaolin."
Everyone also cheered for Raymond Lam.
Hearing these encouragements, Lin Ruifeng calmed down again. He raised his head and looked at his master while holding back his tears. He nodded heavily and said, "Master, I will definitely work harder."