Chapter 61: Killing Chickens p2
11:30 AM, one of the busiest times in a restaurant kitchen. However, this kitchen was empty… well, there were two people, wearing chef uniforms, probably the staff. One was chubby, the other thin. They looked… interesting.
“Mi Hongdou, the entire kitchen is yours! Go for it!” Jiang Lingling didn’t even approach the kitchen door, just pointed them, mainly Mi Hongdou, towards the entrance and stayed far away. It had to be said that Jiang Lingling, constantly reminding everyone of her sick status, was strangely adorable.
So, after booking the entire kitchen, Jiang Lingling had also booked the entire restaurant? Jiang Lingling, you’re so rich, does your godfather know? Mi Hongdou’s face was full of black lines. Then she saw Dong Yuannan, rubbing his slightly protruding belly and smiling, standing a few meters behind Jiang Lingling. Okay, her godfather knew… Mi Hongdou reluctantly entered the unfamiliar battlefield, followed by Ji Junxin, who wouldn’t be of much help.
But at least there was the assistant.
The assistant handed the two boxes of tissues she had been holding to Jiang Lingling and then led Mi Hongdou into the kitchen, pointing at the ingredients on the table. “These are the fresh ingredients Miss Jiang ordered this morning. Considering the limited time for lunch, we asked the chefs here to prepare them, washing and chopping everything. They’re all semi-prepared now.” The assistant then introduced the two chefs who had been standing by the ingredient table. “These two are the… head chefs of this restaurant. Miss Mi, if you need any ingredients or utensils, you can ask them. They prepared these semi-prepared ingredients.”
Mi Hongdou wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she felt… the two chefs seemed arrogant and unfriendly. So, she just smiled at them without saying anything and turned to examine the ingredients.
Chunks of chicken breast, uncut. Five or six chicken legs, uncut. A large bowl of diced chicken, cut too large. Two cleaned fish, uncut. A large piece of beef, uncut. A small bowl of silver carp… and some washed vegetables and seasonings. Okay, although they weren’t exactly semi-prepared, it was still better than having to start from scratch, killing the chickens herself. Mi Hongdou thought this and resignedly rolled up her sleeves, ready to work.
Then… she heard… a clucking sound?
“There’s a cage of chickens here!” Before Mi Hongdou could react, Ji Junxin, following the sound, had already found the chickens.
So, a foodie’s radar could even detect live food?
Mi Hongdou walked over and counted. One, two, three, three chickens. These must be the three extra chickens Jiang Lingling had ordered for the spicy chicken. Mi Hongdou turned and walked away, pretending not to see them.
“Heh, little girl, these three chickens are also part of your ingredients. Why did you just leave after looking? Being a good cook isn’t just about stir-frying. You have to be able to kill chickens, kill fish, even slaughter pigs, hahaha, right?” The chubby chef spoke.
Mi Hongdou glanced at him, puzzled. Why would she need to slaughter pigs? Who could slaughter a pig by themselves? Did he think she was stupid? Mi Hongdou ignored him, washed her hands, and prepared to start cooking.
Perhaps angered by her indifference, he walked over to Mi Hongdou and held out a kitchen knife, its tip pointing at her. “Heh, so the little girl took the money to cook, but she’s afraid to kill chickens? I’ve already helped you clean the fish. If you’re afraid to kill chickens, call me ‘big brother,’ and I’ll kill them for you.”
Mi Hongdou looked at the knife tip. She didn’t want to kill chickens. If it were Jiang Lingling, she might consider it. Such a big restaurant, and there wasn’t a single normal chef? Why did she have to deal with this uncooperative, provocative, and seemingly violent person? Should she ask for his help, or not?
“What are you talking about!” Ji Junxin, who had been standing by the chicken cage, rushed over to Mi Hongdou and then… saw the knife tip. She quickly pulled Mi Hongdou back a few steps, her face slightly pale, but she still shielded Mi Hongdou with her body.
“It’s okay.” Mi Hongdou patted Ji Junxin’s hand reassuringly. “You go out first.”
In this situation, how could Ji Junxin leave? Mi Hongdou helplessly removed Ji Junxin’s hand from her sleeve. “Then close your eyes later, don’t look.”
Ji Junxin shook her head and whispered, “Let’s go find Jiang Lingling, she’s strong.”
“Pfft… it’s not like we’re fighting.” Mi Hongdou chuckled. “I’ll kill a chicken, and they’ll shut up.” Although she didn’t know how she had offended them, it seemed they were deliberately looking for trouble. Finding Jiang Lingling could definitely solve the problem, but using force wasn’t the best solution. Since he kept mocking her for not being able to kill chickens, she would kill one, and he would have nothing to say.
Ji Junxin froze.
Seeing the little foodie’s stunned expression, Mi Hongdou, who had been confident in her skills, suddenly felt deflated. “You don’t like me killing chickens?” Oh, it did seem… a bit cruel. No, she couldn’t leave such a bloody image in the little foodie’s mind.
Mi Hongdou, who had planned to impress them with her chicken-killing skills, quickly changed her strategy.
“Hehe, I’m just kidding, I can’t kill chickens.” Mi Hongdou smiled gently at Ji Junxin, trying to salvage her image.
Ji Junxin patted her chest, relieved.
The two chefs heard their conversation. The chubby chef’s expression darkened even further, while the thin chef, after watching for a while, walked over and pulled the chubby chef’s arm. “Uh… look, look…” He pointed at Ji Junxin. “Doesn’t she look like Ji Junxin, the one who played the thousand-year-old fox demon?”
“What thousand-year-old fox demon? I don’t watch TV!” The chubby chef shook his hand off.
“Tsk.” The thin chef, who had been watching coldly from the side, hurried over to Ji Junxin with a fawning smile. “Hello, little girl, are you Ji Junxin?”
“No.” This time, it was Mi Hongdou who pulled Ji Junxin away slightly and pushed her towards the kitchen door. “You go out first.”
“Oh, you are!” The more the thin chef looked, the more certain he became. It was all because of the earlier incident, he had been so angry, trying to act tough, that he almost didn’t recognize Ji Junxin, he loved the thousand-year-old fox demon she played! He was a die-hard fan! He rubbed his hands, rummaged through a drawer, found a pen, and walked towards Ji Junxin. “Are you Ji Junxin? If you are, give me your autograph, and I’ll kill all three chickens for you! Anything else you need killed, just say the word! I’m your fan, a die-hard fan…”
Killing people, is that okay? And a fan… Mi Hongdou didn’t want to acknowledge that this slightly crazy thin chef was from the same organization as her.
“I am!”
Just as Mi Hongdou was about to send Ji Junxin out and ask Jiang Lingling if they could get two normal chefs, or even no chefs at all, Ji Junxin spoke firmly. Not only did she speak, but she also took the pen from the thin chef and signed his apron.
Her idol was truly kind, always so friendly to her fans, Mi Hongdou thought, her gaze softening as she looked at Ji Junxin. Then she heard Ji Junxin say, after signing, “Okay, now go kill those three chickens.”
Oh my dear, why so cruel! Mi Hongdou was shocked. So, she didn’t mind the killing of chickens, just her killing chickens?
“Should I dice them?” Ji Junxin tugged at Mi Hongdou’s sleeve.
“What?” Mi Hongdou, still stunned that her idol had actually asked someone to kill chickens, three of them, didn’t register what Ji Junxin was saying.
“I’m asking, after killing the chickens, should I dice them? For the spicy chicken, right?” Ji Junxin glanced at the thin chef, who was walking towards the chicken cage. “I heard it’s dangerous to kill chickens, they might peck or scratch you. It’s good that someone volunteered, otherwise, there would be no spicy chicken.”
Oh, so she wasn’t against her killing chickens, she was worried she would get hurt? Mi Hongdou’s heart bloomed with tiny flowers. But the question was… who said all six chickens were for spicy chicken! That was just Jiang Lingling’s assumption!
At the same time, the thin chef, walking towards the chicken cage, stumbled. Although killing chickens wasn’t dangerous, wasn’t it a bit much to trick your fan like this? Idol…
Anyway, the shocked fan was still a considerate fan. To avoid scaring Ji Junxin, he took the chicken cage outside to kill the chickens, making sure to keep his distance so the squawking wouldn’t disturb his idol. Finally, Mi Hongdou reluctantly accepted him into her organization.
They had agreed to give the newcomer a hard time, but his colleague had suddenly switched sides and was now helping kill chickens. The chubby chef was very unhappy. He didn’t want to help kill chickens, didn’t want to leave the kitchen in defeat, and didn’t want to assist the little girl. He could only sulk in a corner, pretending no one was there.
Mi Hongdou glanced at the seemingly pitiful chubby chef and decided to ask the slightly more normal thin chef, after he returned, why they were so hostile towards her.
Putting the hostility aside, it seemed that she couldn’t get rid of her little tail for now. Mi Hongdou had originally planned to give Ji Junxin some flour and water to play with, to keep her from getting bored, but thinking about Ji Junxin’s age, she dismissed the idea. For some reason, in her previous life, Ji Junxin had been her idol, an unreachable moon in the sky. Even after they became closer, Ji Junxin was like the moon reflected in a basin of water, closer, but still… But in this life, Mi Hongdou, although initially seeing Ji Junxin as her idol, now saw her more like a child. Innocent, unguarded, incredibly endearing. If the Ji Junxin of her previous life was someone she admired and adored, then the Ji Junxin of this life was someone she wanted to protect and cherish every second. Even while busy cooking, she was worried that Ji Junxin would be bored, hence the idea of giving her some dough to play with.
Of course, it was just a thought. Mi Hongdou was still rational.
She calculated that there would be five people for lunch: herself, Ji Junxin, Dong Yuannan, Jiang Lingling, and the assistant. Five dishes, plus fried rice, should be enough. And she still had to film in the afternoon, had to go back for makeup. It was already late, she didn’t have time for more dishes.
The most time-consuming dish was the braised beef brisket with potatoes. Mi Hongdou washed and diced the beef, then put it in a pot of cold water to boil. While waiting for the water to boil, she examined the two cleaned fish. Fortunately, although those two chefs seemed eccentric and unreliable, they had cleaned the fish properly. Mi Hongdou skillfully removed the heads and tails. Just as she finished, she stopped. Cutting off fish heads seemed a bit violent too… She turned to Ji Junxin, who was looking in her direction with a smile. Okay, she must be imagining the delicious fried fish.
A foodie’s heart was truly vast… Mi Hongdou, relieved, quickly chopped the fish into flat pieces, washed them, and marinated them with scallions, ginger, garlic, cooking wine, and soy sauce. The water for the beef was now boiling. Mi Hongdou skimmed off the foam and rinsed the beef.
After stir-frying and braising the beef, she could start on the other dishes. Mi Hongdou worked efficiently, calculating and occasionally glancing at Ji Junxin.
And this glance almost scared her out of her wits.
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