Braised Three Delicacies with Mushrooms

  Seeing Lan Fei's demeanor, Zhang Jin couldn't help but admire Wei Feng's good fortune once again. This beautiful young woman was not only elegant in the living room and skilled in the kitchen, but also surprisingly free of the spoiled and decadent attitude typical of girls from wealthy families. Wei Feng had once proudly said that when he and Lan Fei first explored human origins together as freshmen, she was still a virgin - a rare find in the 21st century, not the 1980s.

  Although Wei Feng was one year younger than Zhang Jin, he was also approaching thirty years old. In contrast, Lan Fei Fei was only nineteen years old the previous year, almost ten years younger than Wei Feng! So after that day, although Zhang Jin and Xiao Fei both had a righteous indignation on their faces, scolding Wei Feng for being a beast who destroyed the country's flowers, they were actually envious and jealous in their hearts. "Good cabbage is eaten by pigs", when the two said this, they could even smell the sour taste in their own breath.

  "Alas, I also know I'm not right, regret it. If only I had known that once you've rolled with her, you can't shake her off, I wouldn't have dared to get involved with this girl! Now it's gotten to the point where my majestic ship has just set sail and is being forced to run aground. I'm suffering!"

  Wei Feng's attitude naturally provoked Zhang Jin and Xiao Fei to attack him together, dealing with this guy who got a good deal but still acted arrogant.

  At that time, including Wei Feng, several brothers did not know about Lan Fei's family background. Because in school, although she was also sought after by many people, this little girl seemed to be just an ordinary and beautiful flower among the crowd in the eyes of several brothers.

  ——————————————————

  Zhang Jin, who was ready to show off his skills, naturally disagreed with Lan Fei's suggestion that he go down to the kitchen and wait on several old masters. He smiled and said: "What? Doesn't Fei trust my culinary skills? I won't brag about it anymore, just wait a bit and you'll see my abilities, which will surpass all the great chefs in the entire Milky Way galaxy! So, why don't you go back to your room and keep that flirtatious guy company? Just leave your stomach here to eat, that's all!"

  "Or... I'll help you with the dishes and chopping vegetables?" Although Zhang Jin's words "continue to be embarrassing" made Lan Fei's face even redder, she didn't cover her face and retreat, but instead offered to stay and help. Moreover, she rolled up her sleeves and reached out to grab the piece of beef soaking in water.

  Zhang Jin hastily intercepted and shouted towards the living room: "Fourth, come over and take your wife back to stay with her, don't affect my performance here."

  Wei Feng didn't show the same courtesy to Zhang Jin as Lan Fei did, and as soon as Zhang's words fell, he appeared at the kitchen door, dragging and pulling Lan Fei out. He said in a rude tone: "Wife, don't mind him. Otherwise, when the time comes, he'll push the responsibility of messing up the dish onto you, how embarrassing would that be? Come on, go back with your husband, we won't give him the chance to shirk his responsibilities."

  Although her husband had already said so, Lan Feifei still hesitated and asked: "This... isn't right, is it?"

  "What's wrong with that? You're not an outsider, why be polite to Lao Da? It just so happens that your husband has been bothering me all day, attending meetings and driving, making my waist and back ache. If you're really bored, come give your husband a massage." Wei Feng said loudly while forcibly pulling Lan FeiFei into the living room.

  As he gazed at the back of the quarreling couple, Zhang Jin's face turned sour and he muttered to himself before continuing his busy work in the kitchen. Suddenly, the kitchen was once again filled with the flashing lights of knives.

  A master chef is always demanding of his own work. Zhang Jin won't start stir-frying now, because if Xiao Fei comes a bit later, many dishes will have gone cold and won't taste good. So for now, he's just washing the ingredients that need to be washed, chopping those that need to be chopped, doing all the preparatory work.

  Just as Zhang Jin had just cleaned up the kitchen, Wei Feng's head suddenly popped in from the kitchen door, took two deep breaths and asked suspiciously: "What smell? It smells so good?"

  "Zhang's Secret Recipe for Stir-Fried Beef!"

  But it was the large casserole that had been placed on the stove with a low fire before Weifeng arrived, and it had already started to steam.

  While speaking, Wei Feng had squeezed in from the kitchen door and arrived at the stove. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the faint white mist rising from the large sand pot, and then reopened his eyes to reveal an expression of craving: "Boss, what's this? How come it smells so good?"

  Finally, Zhang Jin was no longer skeptical of his own craftsmanship. He was a bit proud, still busy with his hands, and explained: "This dish is called 'Three Sacrifices Mushroom Stew'. The three sacrifices refer to pork, beef, and mutton; the mushrooms include shiitake, chicken leg mushrooms, hazelnut mushrooms, and phoenix tail mushrooms, among others. With my secret spice formula, simmered over low heat, it's naturally fragrant. I'm not bragging, but our 'Three Sacrifices Mushroom Stew' is definitely not inferior to the famous 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall', which is said to be so fragrant that it can make a Buddha jump over the wall and give up his meditation."

  Weifeng, who was used to bickering with his brothers, heard Zhang Jin's boasting and instinctively curled up the corner of his mouth. He said sarcastically, "Pork, beef, and mutton all stewed together? What kind of flavor would that be? Can you even eat it? I bet the fragrance comes from adding some 'one-drop fragrance', 'ten-mile fragrance', or 'hundred-mile fragrance' to it. Don't think these things are harmless just because they smell good; in reality, they're very harmful! Eating this stuff all the time is like slow suicide, worse than smoking." Recently, TV news has been full of reports criticizing hot pot and barbecue shops for overusing "one-drop fragrance". The harm caused by these seasonings was already well-known to the public, not to mention Weifeng, who as a member of the health bureau, knew even more about it.

  In response to Wei Feng's criticism, Zhang Jin snorted: "With your family's skills, do you need to use those things to deceive people? This is the fragrance that 'Three Sacrifices Mushroom Stew' slowly stewed out! Do you think this 'Three Sacrifices Mushroom Stew' can be done just by throwing in the ingredients and stewing them? The key is to look at the selection of materials, the ratio, and most importantly, it needs my special blend of spices."

  Then Zhang Jin was like a habit, and began to introduce his proud dishes in detail: "First of all, the selection of materials. Pork must be the face meat of a male pig that has not been matched or castrated, best like the wild boar meat I bought this time; mutton should choose the buttock meat of a large-tailed sheep; beef should choose the shin meat of a small cattle within two years old. The ratio of these three kinds of meat is also very important, and it must not be different from each other. If there is too much pork, it will be greasy; if there is too much mutton, it will be smelly; if there is too much beef, it will be fishy. Moreover, the combination of ten kinds of mushrooms is also very important. Some must be fresh, some must be dried, and the order in which they are put into the pot cannot be wrong. Not only do they have to make each kind of mushroom's freshness and aroma fully expressed, but also let these flavors and aromas match up with each other in a hierarchical way without being chaotic. This is a very profound study. The most important thing is that I, old Zhang, have a special seasoning. This seasoning must be able to stimulate the unique flavor of each ingredient, and coordinate them together, so that more than a dozen different flavors can merge into a special flavor."

  As he glanced at Wei Feng, who was left speechless by his own boasting, Zhang Jin became even more pleased with himself. "Don't understand? Let me tell you, if you don't understand, then don't pretend to be a big shot in front of us! From now on, when your boss is cooking, if you can't flatter him, just shut up obediently for me, got it?"

  "Great scolding, boss! I'm with you!" Zhang Jin's words had just fallen when the loud voice from the kitchen door almost made Zhang Jin's hand, which had never stopped chopping, slip and cut his own hand. It was at this moment that Lao San Xiao Fei arrived with his wife Mu Xinran.

  Zhang Jin turned around and glared at Xiao Fei, who was standing in the kitchen doorway, before viciously saying: "You shut your broken gong mouth too!" Then Zhang Jin changed his expression with a speed comparable to a Sichuan opera actor changing masks, putting on a smiling face as he said to Mu Xinran, who was standing beside Xiao Fei and watching Zhang Jin show off his authority: "Little sister is here, don't stand there, go inside and sit down. Dinner will be ready soon."

  As for Zhang Jin and Xiao Fei's partnership criticism, Wei Feng didn't think much of it. This had been going on since the three of them lived in the same dormitory over a decade ago. Especially when Zhang Jin turned his spearhead towards Xiao Fei, Wei Feng was even more gleeful, grinning from ear to ear with a sly smile that wouldn't dissipate.

  After laughing and joking, Zhang Jin finally drove Xiao Fei and Wei Feng out of the kitchen, which was filled with the aroma of dishes. As soon as the two brothers were driven away, Mu Xinyan and Lan Feifei, who had come over later, also didn't dare to show their greedy expressions, secretly taking a few deep breaths of the fragrance before following their respective men back to the living room to sit down and chat.

  But this time, the few people chatting became somewhat absent-minded, and the aroma of that "three sacrifices mushroom stew" was really too enticing! So much so that all four of them couldn't help but look forward to Zhang Jin's personally brewed dinner tonight, just like children waiting for the white-bearded old man in red clothes to appear on Christmas Eve.

  As the kitchen utensils played a lively tune, Zhang Jin quickly completed tonight's dishes. The four cold and four hot dishes were neatly arranged on the kitchen counter. Four hot dishes, three meat and one vegetarian; four cold dishes, three vegetarian and one meat; although each dish was generous in portion, they looked exquisite. Red chili peppers, green vegetables, white and red meat, and white fish... the colors were rich but not chaotic, and the combination made people's appetite grow just by looking at them. Not to mention the aroma that wafted up and teased people's taste buds.

  Zhang Jin was very confident in his cooking skills, so he didn't dare to serve the dishes one by one. The two ladies sitting outside were okay, at least they knew how to restrain themselves in front of him. But Lao San and Lao Si, those two guys were wolves who didn't take themselves as outsiders! If he served a dish every time he finished cooking one, these two would definitely finish the previous dish before the next one was even served!

  Satisfied, Zhang Jin took another look at his work and finally opened the kitchen door to shout at the four people sitting in the living room chatting idly: "The dishes are all done, come over and take them out quickly!"