I'm the Culinary God

"There must be some trick to it, spill the beans!"

"..."

While everyone was surrounding Shen Guofu asking for weight loss tips, Lin Xu greeted them and then headed out the door.

Once outside, he took a few sips of tea handed to him by a waiter and then made his way to his mother-in-law's private dining room.

Han Shuzhen had been looking for an opportunity to introduce her treasured son-in-law to her close friends. Since they were having roast suckling pig today, she had notified everyone to come early.

Now, a group of brightly dressed aunties was seated around a table set for ten, enjoying exquisite dishes and sipping on fine red wine, looking very content.

As Lin Xu entered, Shen Baobao was just offering a glass of red wine to these aunties.

Seeing her dear Xu finally arrive, Shen Baobao immediately handed him the wine glass, saying, "I can't hold my liquor. I'll go rest in Sister Yan's room for a bit. You accompany Mom and toast the aunties."

"All right."

The aunties at the table stared at Lin Xu, completely stunned.

"Oh my, Shuzhen, your son-in-law is so handsome!"

"Yueyue is truly blessed to have such a handsome husband who cooks so well. She'll enjoy endless happiness."

"It's truly enviable."

"I wonder when my daughter will find such a perfect husband."

"Shuzhen, you're just fortunate. First, marrying that wealthy Old Shen, and now Yueyue is so lucky too..."

Han Shuzhen smiled and chimed in. Then, noticing Lin Xu's face was a bit red, she asked curiously, "Have you been drinking?"

"I just toasted my dad over there. Mom, how are you all finding the food? If any of the aunties have feedback, please encourage them to share it. We're in our trial operation, so now is the time to identify any issues."

As soon as she heard her son-in-law had been drinking in the next room, Han Shuzhen was displeased. "Your dad should have stopped you! The restaurant is so busy; what if you got drunk? I'll deal with him when we get back!"

Then, she asked with concern, "Do you want to sit down and rest for a while?"

Lin Xu took a seat next to his mother-in-law, in the spot Shen Baobao had just vacated. He used Shen Baobao's chopsticks to eat a few bites of food, which finally helped him manage the aftereffects of the potent spirit.

In the future, it might be wise to drink less of such high-proof alcohol.

It's too potent.

After a few bites, he raised Shen Baobao's glass of "red wine" to toast the aunties. As everyone lifted their glasses, Lin Xu realized his cup actually contained cola.

I knew it! After that last time with red wine, this girl still dared to overreach so badly.

She had sneakily poured herself a glass of cola to pass off as wine.

Luckily, I didn't swirl the glass before the toast, otherwise the fizzing would have been incredibly embarrassing.

He downed his "red wine" in one go, prompting Han Shuzhen to exclaim with a pang of concern, "Silly boy, red wine is meant to be savored slowly. Why drink so much at once? That wine is strong. Do you need to slow down?"

No need to slow down at all. In fact, I could go for another!

Who would have thought that after the kick from the potent spirit set in, an ice-cold cola would be so incredibly refreshing?

He ate another couple of bites of food.

Auntie Zhou, sitting beside him, suddenly asked, "Xu, I wanted to ask you, how do you make winter melon taste good?"

As soon as she spoke, the other aunties turned their heads toward Lin Xu, eager to hear what the chef would suggest—if it was something they could replicate at home.

Stewing it with pork ribs is good, or with large soup bones too, Lin Xu mused, knowing the auntie wanted to know how to keep it low-fat while still enhancing the flavor.

He thought for a moment and said, "You can steam it. After it's cooked, simmer a little sauce using Steamed Fish Sauce and drizzle it on top. The winter melon will taste exceptional."

He had seen Zhu Yong practicing this exact method just yesterday, apparently for that delicate Lin Taisen.

Steam it?

The aunties' eyes lit up.

If there was a dish that was both delicious and could help them maintain their figures, how wonderful would that be!

Han Shuzhen was also somewhat tempted.

Who wouldn't love such a low-fat delicacy?

She asked, "Is it complicated to make? Could you prepare a serving now? It would be great for your aunties here to see it for themselves. I've been singing your praises so much, they're probably tired of hearing it!"

It's actually not complicated at all,

And since Lin Xu also wanted another cola, he stood up and said, "It's quite simple. I'll go make a serving right now. I'll prepare this dish again when I go to the TV station to record my show in a couple of days. That way, even people with no cooking experience can learn how to make it."

Hearing this, everyone became enthusiastic.

"We appreciate your effort, Xu."

"At Lin Ji's grand opening, Auntie will give you a big red envelope!"

"With a tutorial, we can make it ourselves at home."

"..."

Lin Xu stepped outside, where the waiter immediately took a bottle of ice-cold cola from a nearby cabinet and handed it to him, saying, "The missus asked me to prepare this. She was worried you might get drunk."

Lin Xu smiled, twisted off the cap, and took a large gulp.

Phew... So refreshing!

He said to the waiter, "When they finish the third bottle of liquor in my father-in-law's private room, remember to let my mother-in-law know."

"Certainly, Boss. The missus gave the same instructions just a moment ago."

What a thoughtful sweetheart.

Sipping his cola, Lin Xu headed downstairs. He was off to the kitchen to prepare the low-fat winter melon dish that even his mother-in-law was somewhat keen on trying.

As he descended the staircase and was about to head to the kitchen, he bumped into Shu Yun, who was coming up from the first floor. She reported, "Boss, Mr. Jin just reserved a whole roasted lamb. He also opened an account and deposited 500,000. Several of his friends also deposited 100,000 or 200,000 each. In total, they've added 900,000 to their accounts."

See? This was the advantage of poaching the star manager from Fishing Platform.