Upon hearing Wen Mingtang’s words, Liu Yuantong and Bai Zhu fell silent, subconsciously turning their gazes to Wen Mingtang.

Thinking of Wen Mingtang, Ah Bing, and Tangyuan, who were usually chopping vegetables and meat behind the counter, a strange feeling arose within them.

Master Wen’s words were indeed reasonable, but coming from her own mouth, weren’t they a bit too frank?

Just as they were thinking this, Lin Fei, who was flipping through the files, said, “And coroners like Wu Bucai should also understand the skeletal structure of the human body, as well as those doctors who treat illnesses and stomach upsets.”

Although the events of recent days have been somewhat chaotic, it’s not impossible to find a connection.

Seeing Liu Yuan’s and Bai Zhu’s expressions change drastically upon hearing this, Lin Fei shook his head and said, “I was just saying the two things may not be related. More important than dealing with the stomachache is resolving the still-unidentified corpse at the market!”

The two nodded, about to speak, when Wen Mingtang, who was sitting to the side, suddenly stood up and walked to the “oven” on the counter. She peered through the hole into the “oven” for a moment and, seemingly satisfied, opened it through the thick cloth.

The crispy pork belly, which had been “locked” inside and only emitted a faint aroma through the hole, was already tempting enough. Now, as Wen Mingtang opened the “oven’s” door, the aroma that had been “locked” inside exploded out, quickly flooding the entire kitchen like a tidal wave.

The pork belly, infused with the unique aroma of the grilled pork belly sauce, has been elevated to its peak after several hours of marinating and nearly an hour of complex grilling.

The moment the “oven” door is flung open, the aroma that has been locked away for so long bursts forth, overwhelming everything in its path.

Liu Yuan offered no resistance and was immediately defeated. He kept sniffing the enticing aroma, pressing his tongue down to stop the drool from flowing, exclaiming, “Master Wen… Master Wen… quick… quick…”

He was so excited he could barely speak… The slightly more refined Bai Zhu glanced at Liu Yuan, shook his head, and, although much more reserved than Liu Yuan, still swallowed hard and praised Wen Mingtang. “Master Wen’s crispy pork belly is truly amazing. All that effort put into it, and it’s already defeated us the moment it appears.”

While the crispy pork belly certainly deserved praise, Bai Zhu’s praise was limited to this one sentence. His gaze involuntarily fell on the crispy pork belly, and he asked with a slightly “reserved” tone, ‘This crispy pork belly needs to be eaten while it’s hot, right?’ It won’t taste good when it’s cold.”

His calculations were practically written all over his face! Liu Yuan rolled his eyes at Bai Zhu and said, “It’s all the same! Old Bai, you’re so unrefined. Master Wen isn’t stupid; everyone can understand what you mean.” Before Bai Zhu could speak, he turned to Lin Fei, who was silently staring at the pork belly while holding a file, and expressed even greater admiration. “It’s our Young Master Lin who’s truly unhurried by not saying a word…”

Before he could finish, the “unhurried” Lin Fei put down the file, stood up, and walked to Wen Mingtang’s side. He proactively took a knife from the row of various sizes and shapes and handed it to Wen Mingtang, asking, “Is this the one for cutting cooked food?”

Liu Yuan: “…”

Bai Zhu: “…”

He’d forgotten that their Young Master Lin was always a man who preferred actions to words.

Seeing that Lin Fei had accurately chosen the knife for cutting cooked food, Wen Mingtang nodded, glanced at him, and said, “Young Master Lin is indeed meticulous!”

Although there were quite a few kitchen knives, she had categorized them neatly from the moment she arrived—knives for cutting meat, vegetables, bones, and cooked food—and never mixed them up.

The officials from the Dali Temple usually only came to eat and rarely saw her busy chopping and cooking, let alone the fact that all the knives were the same style, differing only in size and shape.

Most people wouldn’t even notice. This was evident from the clueless look on the faces of the officials who came to ask her about the knives that afternoon.

Unexpectedly, Lin Fei immediately picked out the one for cooked food!

Wen Mingtang took the knife from Lin Fei, once again marveling that “this Shaoquing of the Dali Temple truly deserves the title”, before holding the knife to the pork skin, which had been drained of oil and roasted to a golden brown.

Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu also put down their files and stood up to gather around.

Liu Yuan initially thought Wen Mingtang would find the right spot and cut into the pork skin, but unexpectedly, upon seeing everyone approach, Wen Mingtang hesitated, instead using the blade to scrape the roasted pork skin twice.

The crispy, hardened pork skin immediately emitted two “shh” sounds from the scraping.

This sound… Liu Yuan felt his saliva uncontrollably welling up again, a feeling similar to smelling the pungent spiciness of chili peppers; before even tasting it, just hearing the sound and smelling the aroma evoked an instinctive reaction. The “shh” scraping sound, combined with the rich aroma of roasted meat, was already almost unbearable even before tasting it.

Fortunately, Wen Mingtang knew to restrain herself, scraping only twice before finding the spot where she had initially cut during marinating and making her cut.

Holding the knife in one hand and aiming it at the incision, Wen Mingtang lightly tapped the back of the blade twice with the other. Using the force from her hand, she inserted the blade between the pork belly pieces, slicing the entire piece open to reveal a beautiful cut.

The repeatedly “acupunctured” pork skin, brushed with rice vinegar and salt and grilled, had all its oil removed, forming a golden-brown crispy crust. Beneath the crispy crust, the pork belly remained tender, and at the moment the blade sliced ​​it open, you could even see the juices bursting out.

After slicing off a piece of pork belly, Wen Mingtang swiftly cut it into small pieces and arranged them neatly on a plate. Beside her were various dipping powders: chili powder, five-spice powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper powder, and so on.

The chef handed over the crispy roasted pork belly, and before pulling away, Wen Mingtang unceremoniously took two pieces of the sliced ​​pork belly and stuffed them into her mouth right in front of everyone. The chef openly “stole” a bite.

Seeing Wen Mingtang eat the pork belly, the others, who had snapped out of their daze, stopped staring at the pork belly and hurriedly reached for the crispy roasted pork belly in imitation.

Hearing the immediate gasps of pain from the heat, Wen Mingtang chuckled to herself. The chef’s ‘ruthless iron hands’, honed through years of cooking, were best left untouched. It was far better to stick to chopsticks and pick up the freshly roasted, crispy pork belly!

(End of Chapter)

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