Chapter 97

The dishes had yet to be served, but the wine was already brought up.

The high-ranking official curiously examined the wooden pot and asked the female bartender, "Since this peerless wine is your shop's best, why is it served in a wooden pot?"

"Oh, this is to prevent the taste of the peerless wine from changing too much in a short time," the female bartender truthfully replied. These were all things Li Qi had taught them.

"Oh? Why is that?"

"I don't know that either."

The high-ranking official was slightly taken aback and asked, "Was this told to you by your shopkeeper or your head chef?"

"It was said by Master Li."

"Interesting, interesting."

The high-ranking official waved his paper fan, and the attendant beside him immediately poured a cup of peerless wine for him.

Looking at the clear, pink liquid in the cup, the high-ranking official's eyes flashed with surprise, and he nodded, saying, "Indeed, it is special."

With that, he lifted the wine glass, smelled it, took a sip, and immediately closed his eyes in ecstasy. After a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and praised, "Good wine, good wine. No wonder so many people speak highly of this wine. It truly lives up to its reputation and hasn't disappointed me. Very good, very good." He then turned to the female bartender and asked, "I heard that the peerless wine is just one of the varieties of the unparalleled wine. How many other types are there?"

"Besides the peerless wine, we have seven other types of unparalleled wine, including the green pear wine, golden pear wine, and so on."

"Very well, bring me a pot of each type."

The female bartender seemed to be accustomed to the official's ordering style and didn't ask any more questions. She responded and then turned to leave.

After a while, the female bartender returned with the other seven types of unparalleled wine. Seven ceramic pots, all the same shape, but each a different color.

The colors of the seven wines were also distinct: orange, green, blue, purple, and so on.

Just looking at them was a feast for the eyes.

To be honest, even Li Qi himself had never seen such a sight.

The high-ranking official's eyes were full of surprise as he eagerly lifted the wine glass to taste. After tasting each one, he praised, "Unparalleled wine, indeed, it lives up to its name." He then asked the female bartender, "The unparalleled wine seems to be made from various fruits, but why is it more fragrant and delicious than other fruit wines, and also looks much better?"

The female bartender apologized, "I'm sorry, we're not quite sure about that."

The high-ranking official was taken aback but quickly understood. Such a secret recipe wouldn't be told to these subordinates. He nodded slightly, said "Oh," and didn't ask further, but his face still showed some disappointment.

After a while, the dishes were served. The first dish, of course, was the signature dish of the Drunken Immortal Inn, the mandarin duck hot pot.

The official seemed very interested in the iron pot, praising its ingenious design. After tasting it, he couldn't stop praising it, but he didn't eat much because there were still over ten more dishes waiting for him to taste.

Next came the Mapo Tofu, which would later become famous both domestically and internationally.

The high-ranking official was quite surprised when he heard the name, asking, "Why is this dish called Mapo Tofu?"

"I heard Chef Li say that this dish was created by a person named Mapo in his hometown, so he named it Mapo Tofu. Its characteristics are numbing, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and lively."

"I see."

The high-ranking official nodded, picked up a piece of tofu, and after tasting it carefully, praised, "The eight-character description is spot on. Using numbing, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and lively to describe this dish is indeed most fitting."

The third dish was the crispy pork.

The golden, lustrous pieces of pork, accompanied by some scallions and garlic, were already making one's appetite grow just by looking at them.

The high-ranking official couldn't wait to pick up a piece of pork, and as soon as he bit into it, a crisp sound was heard. A rich meaty aroma mixed with heat swirled in his mouth, and he raised his eyebrows, unable to wait to swallow, and said, "What is this crispy outer layer? Why is it so fragrant and delicious? How is it made?"

"Oh, the key to this dish is the thickening."

"Thickening?"

The female bartender nodded slightly and then explained the general meaning of thickening to the high-ranking official.

After listening, the high-ranking official sighed, "I never thought that pork could become so delicious after such treatment. Impressive, truly impressive."

Pork in the future was so beloved, but in this era, it wasn't very popular. Why? Because no one knew how to cook it well.

The fourth dish was the stir-fried pork liver.

The high-ranking official rarely ate pork liver, so when he heard that this dish was made from pork liver, he couldn't help but feel curious. He picked up a piece of pork liver, chewed it, and then suddenly said to his attendant, "You should try it too."

"Yes."

The attendant bent over, picked up a piece of pork liver, and tasted it.

The high-ranking official then asked, "How does it compare to the chefs in our mansion?"

The attendant replied, "In terms of taste, it might still be a bit lacking, but if he uses the finest ingredients, he would probably be on par."

"On par?"

The high-ranking official laughed coldly, "He should be even better."

"Yes," the attendant hurriedly lowered his head.

The high-ranking official waved his hand, signaling him to step back, and sighed, "I never thought that such a small inn would have a chef with such exquisite skills. I am truly ignorant."

Upon hearing this, the attendant's face immediately showed fear.

As dishes like Kung Pao Chicken and glutinous rice chicken balls, which were very distinctive, were placed on the table, the high-ranking official exclaimed in delight, praising each dish. However, he only tasted a small bite of each, leaving most of them untouched. Even so, he was probably already full.

After all the dishes were served, the high-ranking official had tasted them all, frowned, and with a curious look, pointed to the more than ten dishes on the table and asked the female bartender, "Were all these dishes made by your shop's chef?"

"Indeed. All these dishes were made by Chef Li."

"This is strange. These more than ten dishes have different flavors and tastes, which don't seem like they could be made by one chef."

The high-ranking official raised his eyebrows and suddenly said, "I'll order another dish. Hmm—, the dish I most want to eat right now."

The female bartender asked, "What dish would you like to order, sir?"

The high-ranking official smiled faintly, "The dish I most want to eat right now." He paused, seeing the female bartender's puzzled face, and smiled, "If you don't know, go ask your chef."

"Oh."

The female bartender bowed and then left with a puzzled heart.

In the kitchen.

Li Qi and Wu Xiaoliu, among others, had just put down their cooking utensils and hadn't even had time to catch their breath when they heard that the guest wanted to order another dish, and without a name, which left everyone very puzzled.

"Li Brother, do you think this guest is like the fisherman last time, deliberately causing trouble?" Wu Xiaoliu asked cautiously.

"I don't think so."

Li Qi frowned, pondered for a moment, and then smiled, saying to the female bartender, "Go tell the guest that the dish he wants will be served immediately."

"Li Brother, do you know what dish he wants?" Wu Xiaoliu asked in surprise.

Li Qi shook his head, "I don't know. He didn't say, so I'll just play it by ear."

"Ah?"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

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Request for recommendations. Request for collections. Strong push tomorrow, sigh, feeling anxious.

{Piaotian Literature}