Finally, Ye Chui, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun finally stayed at Chen's Hotel. Chen Jiao didn't look like a bad guy, and he seemed sincere when he said he wanted to help Ye Chu deal with his sister.
Of course, Ye Chui didn't really trust him completely, and he was still a little cautious. After all, they were not really here to challenge him, and even if the Chinatown people united to deal with them, they would definitely not do such a thing as taking human lives. As for stealing recipes, the Chen Family Tofu at Chen Family Restaurant was actually very similar to the authentic Mapo Tofu in Ye Chui's opinion, and there was no need for that at all.
What's more, Ye Chui really needs to find a place to live now, and the best place is in Chinatown.
"Mr. Ye, today my hotel only has these two rooms, but a businessman is leaving tomorrow, so I'll clear out a room for you then." Chen Jiao led Ye Chui to the top floor of the hotel, pointed to the two rooms opposite each other and said to Ye Chui apologetically, "Please squeeze in for tonight."
Two men and one woman, two rooms are definitely enough, and... Although Chen Jiao couldn't tell for sure, he felt that Han Yuyan and Ye Chui were a couple... There seemed to be a big age gap between them, but isn't sister-brother romance uncommon
When Ye Chui only had two rooms left, he glanced at Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun, thinking that it would be no problem for him to squeeze in with Li Xiuyun at night, since there would be a new room tomorrow anyway, so he nodded happily: "Okay then."
When Li Xiuyun heard Ye Chui's agreement, he suddenly felt an inexplicable pain in his heart. He couldn't help but think that it seemed that Ye Chui and Han Yuyan were really together. That morning, he called Han Yuyan but it was Ye Chui who answered the phone, and Ye Chui also said that Han Yuyan was getting dressed... It seemed that the relationship between them was really like this. Although he had Lin Wei as his girlfriend, Ye Chui and Han Yuyan already had that kind of relationship. Now that they were abroad, it was normal for them to sleep in the same room.
Although he wanted to condemn the other party's moral problems, he never knew how to start. This is a capable man...
As for Han Yuyan, she didn't think much about it at this time. She knew that Ye Chui meant that Ye Chui and Li Xiuyun slept in one room and she slept in another room. She was just very vigilant and wondered whether Chen Jiao really wanted to help them or had some other plan...
The three of them had their own thoughts. After Chen Jiao briefly introduced the rooms, Li Xiuyun put his luggage in one of the rooms. Han Yuyan carried Ye Chui and Han Yuyan's luggage, and she threw them into her room. This made Li Xiuyun sigh in his heart. The two of them were really going to sleep in the same room...
"Boss Chen, since you want me to make Mapo Tofu here and compete with your sister, can I take a look at your kitchen first?" Ye Chui then said to Chen Jiao.
A good chef is very demanding about the cooking place. The stove, kitchen utensils, every aspect must be to his liking in order to make the best dishes.
Actually, Ye Chui had planned to bring his own incense with him this time, but unfortunately it was impossible for it to pass through customs, and it was very troublesome to go through other procedures, so he could only think of a solution here. I wonder if Chen Jiao’s kitchen can satisfy him
When Chen Jiao heard Ye Chui's words, his face darkened. He said awkwardly, "I do have a kitchen here, but I've basically never used it. But don't worry, it's fully stocked with everything. Mr. Ye Chui, why don't you follow me downstairs to the kitchen and take a look."
"Okay." Ye Chui nodded in agreement.
The Chen Family Hotel did have a decent kitchen, but because it had not been used for a long time, it was covered with dust and there were no ingredients for cooking. Chen Jiao seemed to be very concerned about letting Ye Chui challenge his sister, and he immediately asked someone to clean up and buy ingredients. However, Ye Chui was not confident in other people in this regard, so he asked Han Yuyan and Tang Shanshan to prepare, and he also made a special list for the two of them.
In the afternoon, Ye Chui and Li Xiuyun also helped to clean the kitchen thoroughly, and all the pots, pans, and utensils were cleaned. At this time, Ye Chui became a little strange, and pulled Chen Jiao to ask: "Since you don't prepare meals for guests here, why do you have such a kitchen? Who is this kitchen for?"
"Alas, when this hotel was first opened, my sister couldn't make Chen's tofu well. My father was in poor health at the time, and my sister and I weren't very good at cooking. Seeing that the hotel was about to close, the kitchen here was just to cope with the daily expenses of food and accommodation. But unexpectedly, when my father passed away, my sister resolutely took over the hotel opposite. She was not a good cook, so she focused on making the family heirloom Chen's tofu. It was this dish that actually became famous and became the signature dish of Chinatown..."
At this point, Chen Jiao couldn't help but sigh: "My sister has devoted her entire life to this dish. People put her in that position and she can't get off. It's a heavy responsibility. She can only work harder to make this dish more perfect. I don't know how many things have been delayed over the years... I help you challenge her so that my sister can wake up and not put all her thoughts on this. I know her. If the tofu you make is really better than hers, I think she probably won't be as persistent as she is now."
Listening to Chen Jiao's story, Ye Chui was silent for a while. He remembered that when he first met Chen Jiao at Chen's Restaurant today, he was arguing with Chen Tian. At that time, the content of the quarrel seemed to be because Chen Jiao revealed some privacy to his sister's suitor. It seemed that Chen Jiao wanted his sister to solve the problem of being single as soon as possible.
At this moment, Ye Chui still couldn't completely believe Chen Jiao, but when Chen Jiao talked about his sister, Ye Chui believed that the kindness he showed was true, so Ye Chui patted Chen Jiao on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely help you with this."
Chen Tianchong smiled at Ye Chui and said, "That would be the best. However, my sister is not good at other things, but she is already an expert at making tofu. She plans to spend her whole life on this one dish. You better be careful."
"Yes." Ye Chui also laughed.
By the evening, the kitchen had been cleaned, but Ye Chui glanced around the kitchen and found that the most important thing was missing: "Boss Chen, you don't seem to have a wok?"
Chen Jiao patted his forehead and said, "The original wok here was taken away by my sister, but it doesn't matter. I'll go buy another one tomorrow... Oh, I suddenly remembered that there is a ready-made one in my old house. It was used by my father before. I don't know if it can still be used now. I'll go get it tomorrow."
"Okay then." Ye Chui nodded.
Not long after, Han Yuyan and Tang Shanshan returned to Chen's Hotel carrying a lot of things, including various necessary seasonings, etc. As for the tofu, they would prepare it specially after the formal cooking tomorrow.
But at this time, Han Yuyan's face was not very good: "Master, Tang Shanshan and I just walked through the supermarkets and vegetable markets in Chinatown, but we didn't see any peppercorns for sale."
"There are no peppercorns for sale here?" Ye Chui was stunned.
"No." Han Yuyan shook his head.
"Zanthoxylum bungeanum has other names, such as big pepper, mountain pepper, Sichuan pepper, and Shu pepper. Don't we have all of these?" Ye Chui asked.
"No, Master, I specifically looked up some information online, and there is no peppercorns sold here... But is it okay if I find pepper?" Han Yuyan asked Ye Chui tentatively.
"No, pepper and Sichuan peppercorns are not the same thing at all." Ye Chui shook his head. No wonder Chen's tofu had no numbing taste and did not contain Sichuan peppercorns. It turned out that there was no Sichuan peppercorns for sale here at all.
Indeed, Sichuan peppercorns are a Chinese spice, and many Chinese spices are difficult for foreigners to accept. Even in the previous life, it was very difficult to buy Sichuan peppercorns, five-spice powder, cinnamon and other things in American supermarkets, but there was no shortage of such things in Chinatown. However, this world is different from the world in Ye Chui's impression. Even in Chinatown, there is no Sichuan peppercorns to sell.
So, does that mean that all the dishes in Chinatown don’t contain Sichuan peppercorns
"Sichuan peppercorn?"
At this time, Chen Jiao, who was standing aside, heard this word and suddenly thought: "I seem to have heard of this term, but I forgot where I heard it... Well, it always feels very familiar."
"It should be your father who said that." Ye Chui said to Chen Jiao with a wry smile. The Chen family is the authentic creator of Mapo Tofu. The most formal method of making it cannot be without Sichuan peppercorns. Chen Tian and Chen Jiao's father may have known the importance of Sichuan peppercorns, but by Chen Tian and Chen Jiao's generation, they completely ignored this most important seasoning.
Han Yuyan said with some concern: "Then what should we do, Master?"
"Without Sichuan peppercorns... I'm afraid the Mapo Tofu I make won't have much of an advantage over the tofu made by Chen Tian." Ye Chui said with some embarrassment. He had eaten Chen Tian's Chen's Tofu today. Although the cooking method was slightly different from the orthodox method that Ye Chui knew, and there was no Sichuan peppercorns to embellish it, the taste was still very outstanding. Of course, if Ye Chui made this dish without Sichuan peppercorns, he could still beat Chen Tian, but it would not be the crushing victory that Ye Chui wanted.
He shook his head and said, "Dayu, call Xiao Du and ask him to mail some peppercorns. But it will take several days. During this time, I will try to find other things to replace them."
"Oh, I'll call Senior Brother right now." Han Yuyan nodded and turned away in a hurry.
This was the only way to deal with the Sichuan pepper problem for the time being. Chen Jiao then ordered some takeout for dinner. Some guests in the hotel specifically asked for Mapo Tofu, so Chen Jiao tried to ask one of his employees to go across the street to bring back the Mapo Tofu, but was sent back.
"Boss, your sister is still angry. She knew that Mr. Ye and several other guests were staying in your hotel, and she threatened that she would no longer care about you." The clerk said with a bitter face, "I was slapped by your sister..."
"Okay, I'll give you a raise this month as compensation." Chen Jiao said quickly, turning his head to look at Ye Chui helplessly.
So I could only eat takeout at night. The dishes in Chinatown were very similar to those in China, but there were some differences. It was more like a regional difference. The difference was neither good nor bad, but from Ye Chui's point of view, the level of this food could never exceed that of Chinese food...
As for why Chinatown cuisine is now far more popular than Chinese cuisine in the international arena, it is probably more because Chinatown is influenced by the broader environment of countries such as the United States, France, and Japan, making it more likely for high-star chefs to emerge.
After dinner, it was already around eight or nine o'clock. Ye Chui, Han Yuyan and Li Xiuyun, who were suffering from jet lag, were so sleepy that they could hardly open their eyes. The three of them said good night to Chen Jiao and walked towards the room on the third floor.
Han Yuyan and Ye Chui walked behind. Han Yuyan had just called Tian Xiaodu. It was early morning in China now, and Tian Xiaodu rushed to prepare for this matter. So far, he has sent out a bag of one kilogram of Sichuan peppercorns, using FedEx's expedited delivery. It is estimated that it will be received the day after tomorrow morning.
Li Xiuyun walked in front of the two people. When he arrived in front of the room, he glanced at Ye Chui and Han Yuyan, and said to them with a sad face: "I'm too sleepy, so I'm going to sleep first. Good night to you two."
After saying that, he walked into the room and closed the door with a bang.
Ye Chui was stunned for a moment, walked over and pushed the door, only to find that it was locked from the inside.
"This... what's going on?" Ye Chui looked at Han Yuyan speechlessly.
Han Yuyan's face was even more speechless than Ye Chui's: "He means... let the two of us sleep in the same room?"
Ye Chui tried to knock on the door, but after knocking for a long time, there was no response from inside - the heartbroken Li Xiuyun simply lay on the bed and put on headphones to comfort himself...
Han Yuyan stood in the corridor and watched Ye Chui knocking on the door. This elder sister suddenly understood something and thought to herself, he is indeed worthy of being called brother by me. Li Xiuyun is deliberately creating conditions for her...
Even though it felt embarrassing, she was determined to seize this great opportunity.
So, thinking of this, Sister Han patted Ye Chui's shoulder with a shy and coquettish face and blushed: "Master, I think Brother Li has probably gone to bed. He must be uncomfortable sleeping in the same room with you after coming to the United States with us..."
Ye Chui turned his head and looked at Han Yuyan with a strange expression: "So you mean we really have to sleep in the same room?"
Sister Han nodded shyly: "There is nothing we can do about this..."
"Why do I feel the atmosphere is so weird..." Ye Chui muttered in a low voice, thinking back to when he first opened Xiaoyu Home Cooking, he and Han Yuyan lived only separated by a wall and were quite familiar with each other. Sleeping in the same room did not mean they had to sleep together, so there shouldn't be any problem, right
Thinking of this, Ye Chui nodded: "Okay then..." (~^~)