Called by the boss, Xie Wanying and Song Xueling stood up together.
On the way to the kitchen, Xie Wanying put the phone to her ear, waiting for Senior Cao and the others to respond.
Taking off his jacket, Zhang Huayao rolled up his wool sleeves, posing like a grand chef, and asked, "What dish do you want to make?"
Maybe Senior Cao and the others were busy and didnât answer the phone. Xie Wanying put down the phone, tucked it into her pants pocket, and introduced todayâs dinner ingredients to the teacher: "We have white radish, napa cabbage, kale, pork, chicken, and beef. We had chicken at noon, and thereâs leftover pork belly and beef in the fridge."
"Do you want to stir-fry beef tonight?" Zhang Huayao said, opening several plastic bags to check the freshness of the vegetables and fruits, picking out the subpar items, and saying, "Who bought the groceries? These potatoes might start sprouting in a few days, they wonât last long."
Xie Wanying silently raised her hand; it was her. She really wasnât good at buying groceries.
Song Xueling glanced at her and sighed inwardly: Dr. Xie is a bit pitiful.
"You bought them." Zhang Huayao bluntly pointed her out, "Normally, you probably donât know how to cook."
At home, her mother was a good mom, letting her and her brother focus on studying and absolutely not letting them do much housework. She knew a little about cooking simple home dishes, but reaching the level of a grand chef was a pipe dream. Unlike Boss Zhang, a clinical big shot, who excels at everything.
The young generation is quite distant from the versatile predecessors. Today, the two young doctors were destined to be thoroughly educated in the kitchen.
"Letâs make Northeast stew. Then stir-fry beef with kale." After Zhang Huayao had carefully inspected the ingredients, he quickly planned tonightâs menu and instructed the two youngsters to start working. So, he casually grabbed the large white radish from the plastic bag, not even looking, and tossed it behind himself.
The boss didnât give any prior warning. Song Xueling flailed his arms like a frog, frantically catching the airborne white radish.
"Wash and peel it," Zhang Huayao gave him the task.
The teacher needs to work quickly, so the young ones hurriedly positioned themselves at their stations.
Picking up a peeling knife, Song Xueling scraped off a strip of peel from the white radish. The action seemed okay. For a pampered nobleman like him, household chores were likely unheard of; his performance should be praised.
Unfortunately, the venomous-tongued boss they encountered today wouldnât be that loving and kind teacher.
Zhang Huayao checked what he had peeled, and a flurry of curses came from his mouth: "Youâve peeled off a huge chunk with the skin; can everyone still eat it?"
Song Xueling immediately squinted his eyes, aiming for the thickness of the peel and taking action, complying with the bossâs demand to make the peel as thin as possible.
You could see Doctor Song was quite fearful of the big boss, Xie Wanying thought.
Who wouldnât be afraid of someone like Zhang Huayao, who is famous in the industry and has a terrible temper, a great devil king? Only Dr. Xie wasnât afraid. Song Xueling also thought in his mind.
"Whereâs the meat?" Zhang Huayao patted the kitchen counter.
Xie Wanying quickly ran to the fridge, taking out the pork belly sheâd just bought today from the top refrigerator compartment, rinsing it under the running water of the sink, and placing it on the cutting board for Teacher Zhangâs approval.
"Cut," Zhang Huayao commanded, his tone was no different from directing someone to make incisions on the operating table, tapping his knuckles on the counter again, "Remove the skin, cut out the whiter parts. I want to render some lard for a good stir-fry; I notice thereâs no lard in this kitchen."