Reaching fourteen folds means you're essentially acknowledged as an industry expert, someone who can have their way within the culinary world.

As for Master Gao, who can stretch noodles to sixteen folds, he's absolutely a figure to look up to in the hand-pulled noodle industry.

Just stretching the noodles to sixteen folds isn't enough; the noodles, pulled finer than hair, must then be placed in lard and deep-fried in warm oil.

During frying, the oil temperature must be constantly controlled to keep the noodles white.

After frying, the noodles are first blanched in Clear Soup to wash off the excess grease, then transferred to a new bowl of soup.

The Egg accompanying the bowl is also no ordinary Egg.

The egg white preparation is relatively simple, resembling the common Furong Chicken Slices.

The yolk, however, is made from goose liver cooked thoroughly, mashed into a paste, and then filtered through cheesecloth.

The bowl of noodles looks deceptively simple, yet it utilizes almost all the Techniques of cooking, with extreme requirements for both pastry and hearty dish preparations.

Guo Jichang, who was present at the time, tried it and couldn't stop praising it, stating that no other chef would be able to make this bowl of noodles independently within the next fifty years.

And indeed, he was not exaggerating.

This was because, these days, pastry and hearty dish preparations are distinctly separate fields, and specialists in each even look down on one another.

It's rare to find a chef proficient in pastry who is also equally skilled in hearty dishes.

Moreover, the demand this bowl of noodles places on one's mastery of Cooking Technique is so high that one must be an industry leader in both pastry and hearty dishes to even consider attempting it.

"Old Xie, if you could let us witness Master Gao's Clear Soup Noodles, I'd treat you to Wangjing kidney skewers for six months!"

He Baoqing, rubbing his hands excitedly, had an eager expression on his face.

He had never seen such a legendary bowl of noodles before.

If he could just have a glimpse—never mind poaching two chefs—Boss He was even thinking of offering two more of his chefs.

Song Dahai also exclaimed excitedly, "Old Xie, I have a nephew who is also in the cooking field. Should I send him to Lin Ji?"

Only Qiu Zhenhua remained relatively calm, remarking, "Old Xie, with your pastry skills, you'd struggle to even reach nine folds, right?"

Xie Baomin, also aware that pastry was his weak point, said, "I plan to work with Old Yin from Building Twelve. Aren't those Northwest cuisine guys always boasting that their beef noodles are superior? Well, I'm going to challenge his limits."

Qiu Zhenhua laughed immediately. "You rascal, you never miss a chance to set someone up... Old Yin drove to the Northwest for a culinary inspiration trip a couple of days ago. So, when he gets back, shall we do it then? I'm dying to see those Clear Soup Noodles."

"Sure, sure, it will definitely be an eye-opener for all of you!"

Xie Baomin then turned to the other head chefs and said, "My wife complains I'm not romantic enough. I'm thinking of carving some roses out of red beets. How do you think I should arrange them? As a flower basket or a bouquet?"

This question deeply interested Qiu Zhenhua and the others.

They gathered around the workstation and began discussing it seriously.

And just like that, the few people who had originally come to confront him, because of a legendary bowl of noodles, became close friends with Xie Baomin again, even helping him brainstorm ideas.

「Inside the West Fourth Ring Villa.」

After finishing the Tomato Beef Noodles, everyone once again felt the familiar agony of being overstuffed.

Shen Guofu patted his belly and said to Lin Xu, "Lin Xu, shall we start our game later?"

Lin Xu stood up and replied, "Not right now. I need to use this time to make some Black Sugar Shaqima. I'm visiting the great calligrapher, Master Lishan, tomorrow morning, and it wouldn't be right to go empty-handed."

Upon hearing he was making Shakima, Chen Yan, who had originally planned to bring her homemade Watermelon Curd for the elders to taste, suddenly decided not to leave. "When will it be ready, Brother-in-law? My grandma tasted the Shakima you made and has been raving about it ever since. She says it's much tastier than the store-bought ones."

Han Shuzhen also looked tempted.

The last time she ate the Shakima her son-in-law made, her daughter even conned her out of a good bit of money for it. She hadn't eaten any since.

So, as soon as she heard he was making Shakima, Director Han immediately said, "Could you make some extra, Lin Xu? The Shakima Yueyue brought over last time was devoured by my close friends who came for afternoon tea before I barely had any. I've been craving that Shakima ever since."

Shen Baobao, using a fruit fork to feed her mom a piece of Watermelon Curd, said to Lin Xu, "Paternal Grandma and Maternal Grandma will need some too... That means you'll have to make a lot. Won't that be too tiring for you, Lin Xu?"

Lin Xu said with a smile, "It's no problem, it's not that difficult. I'll just make a larger batch of dough in a bit."

Since everyone wanted some, he might as well make more.

Once the restaurant opens, we can add Shakima to the pastry section. Packaged in gift boxes, customers can buy them as souvenirs or as gifts when visiting friends and relatives. This would subtly boost Lin Ji's reputation, wouldn't it?

Just as he was pondering this, the system's notification sounded in his mind:

"The host plans to launch new snack gift boxes, triggering the side mission [New Gift Box Launch]: Within one month, the host must launch more than five types of takeout snack gift boxes. Completion reward: one Perfect Level Imperial Snack lottery draw."

Whoa! The mission popped up just as I had that thought. Imperial-style snacks... if I get my hands on those, that'll be another profitable venture!

While musing over this, he glanced at the mission tab.

He saw that the Beijing snacks mission had new progress: [3/10].

This is?

Lin Xu glanced at the Watermelon Curd on the table and suddenly understood. Watermelon Curd also counted as a Beijing snack, so the mission progress had updated.

Right, I mustn't forget the mission for the lost snacks. When I get the chance, I'll make a few more Beijing snacks to push the progress forward.

After Aunt Liu finished tidying up, he went into the kitchen and began making Black Sugar Shaqima.

When he went to the storage room for flour, he noticed some Horse Hoof Flour and grabbed a few packets as well.

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