Food Bureau

"Of course! She is tall and good-looking. She can go to the hall and go to the kitchen. Let me tell you about her cooking skills. I dare not say anything else. If you go out and find a restaurant, you will definitely not be as good at cooking as she is! "

As soon as I entered the door, I heard my mother's exaggerated tone. Mr. Li Qihong, my mother's husband, took a bunch of things from my hand. I was greeting him, and I didn't smile enough. Suddenly, I realized what my mother was doing. He rushed forward, stretched his arms, spread his five fingers, and was about to shout "Keep people under the sword", my mother raised her eyes, "Oh, my daughter is here, I will let her tell you a few words~"

watt? ? ?

Full brakes, what?Too much inertia?Is the inertia large because of the large mass? ...My own mother, I don't want to talk to the matchmaker!

I dodged into the bathroom, closed the door, and planned to stay in there for an hour. They could think that I was constipated or had diarrhea, and I didn't want to lose face.

For the next 10 minutes, I didn't move to everyone's shouts, until I heard my mother hang up the phone, and when I walked out of the bathroom, my mother sat on the sofa angrily and practiced killing eyes on me.

"What's the matter with you? Mr. Li is a young talent!"

"Ah?" I glanced at Mr. Li Qihong.

"Oh, it's not your Uncle Li! The little Mr. Li introduced by Aunt Song just now is only 30 years old, and he is already the product director of a multinational company. People don't dislike you for being old. What's your attitude?"

"What? Is he older than me?"

Ms. Wang Yaru sighed dignifiedly, "You are a 28-year-old girl and you don't have a serious job. Do you need me to explain these things thoroughly?"

You already said it.

Old Mr. Li may see that I am about to lose face, so he smoothed things out with a smile: "The times are different now. There are a lot of people who are not married at the age of 30, and girls in their 20s will have to play for a few more years. It’s excellent, and it’s normal to pick a few.”

This is not a matter of choice, I said ten years ago that I like girls, and I showed Wu Fei to you seven years ago, are you selective amnesia, my real mother?

"You, let me tell you, after passing this village, there will be no such store. This Mr. Li is the best-qualified boy among the boys introduced in the past two years. I have seen the photos. He looks energetic and tall. I also match you, 1.8 meters, have a career and money, live on the beautiful waterfront and drive a Maserati, a diamond king with this kind of condition, a bunch of girls in their early twenties will grab it, it’s rare that people are still interested in you, you go If I don’t see it, I won’t be bothered.”

It sounds a little sad to me, I don’t know if my mother realized that she didn’t like boys with such conditions ten years ago, and if anyone introduced this worthy boy to me at that time, her old man would say that It's the son-in-law who tricks the door.

I sighed, "Mom, he has such good conditions, what does he like in me? He is old and not like a girl, and he has no education or career. Wake up."

"Nonsense! You grow your hair long, stand up and let me see who can compare to you!"

No, your original words a minute ago were "1-year-old girl, and she doesn't have a serious job..." Is it possible that the transformation of goddess and female nerves is all about a handful of hair?

"I don't have long hair." My face turned cold, but I said clearly in a low voice.

Ms. Wang Yaru paused, made up her mind not to offend me, and then sighed, "Don't worry about hair, anyway, it won't grow out anytime soon, put on your clothes first." She took my T-shirt The shorts swept up and down.

"what?"

"You go back tonight and find a dress ordered by a lady. Mom and Aunt Song have an appointment at six o'clock tomorrow night..."

"Mom! I have to work tonight."

"Don't even mention your job. I told people that you invested some money in your friend's restaurant in Shanggu, and you usually pamper yourself at home. Don't tell people that you open a restaurant to serve others."

I think Ms. Wang Yaru is deliberately finding fault with her on her birthday, so if I'm not happy, I won't be unhappy on this day.Old Mr. Li was obviously sweating, and made a gesture of avenging me behind her, which was a relief to me.

To be honest, I couldn't accept Lao Li in the past few years. I couldn't tell whether it was because he took away my father's wife or because he took away my mother.Originally, my dad was so unreliable, and I should have neglected him for two years, but because of Lao Li, I quickly formed an alliance with my dad, and Lao Li also made outstanding contributions to the relationship between father and daughter.

Lao Li was the same age as my mother. He was a widower at the time and had a son. When his son Li Hyuk was in high school, his ex-wife died of cancer.Later, Lao Li worked hard to make himself stronger, and in a daze, he expanded the electronics store where [-]% of the products were parallel imports, established rules, and became the owner of the company.It's hard to say when he and my mom started flirting, maybe it was when my dad started getting carried away day by day and forgot that he was a cook.

In the past two years, my mother has gone through menopause, and her temper has become more and more strange, but Lao Li is very patient, coaxing her and coaxing me all the way, probably like this, I gradually no longer resist Lao Li. More reliable than my dad.

There is only one thing, I don’t take Lao Li’s money, even though he has money, even though he wants to spend money for me, but this is the bottom line, I earn money by myself, I don’t stop talking.

My mother is still panting for an answer from me, menopause is hot.

I raised my chin, "I can go if you want, but I won't go with Aunt Zhang, Aunt Song, or you. You people are too embarrassing. I can see him alone."

"How can I do that? How can there be a first-time blind date where the matchmaker is not present?"

"No, I won't go." I shrugged and planned to go to the kitchen.

"Stop!" My mother pointed at the orchid with a missing orchid, "Let me ask."

I was happy, "Happy birthday, Mom~ By the way, guess what gift Ayou gave you?"

……

At noon the next day, when I woke up, I saw a friend application called KevinLee. I was wondering what kind of fraud it was, and then I saw a message from my mother: Xiao Li has added you, so add him quickly.

Dare to be Maserati Li, I curled my lips and pressed the pass.

The other party soon sent a smiling face, and said politely: Hello.

I snickered, you'll soon find out that I'm not good.

——Hi, where are you going to meet tonight?

The other party took a long time to come back, probably not used to my rhythm.

——I heard from Aunt Song that you are going to be active in the Shanggu area tonight, so make an appointment around there?Is there any particular restaurant you want to go to?

——It’s okay to be old, there’s nothing special I want to go.

Dallyed there for a while.

——What about NMCuisine?

I was stunned. The western restaurant called NMCuisine is located in the core area of ​​Shanggu, the revolving restaurant on the top floor of Pinyue Building. Its predecessor was called "Ruliu".

I sent a message to my mother: Does the surname Li know about my father?

Reply quickly: I don't know!Don't tell me!Let's talk about this kind of thing when the goodwill is stable!

Alright, I'll call Maserati Li back: sorry, but this one is fine.

……

——Well, what about LaScarola?

I was overwhelmed by this guy's western style, and chose another Italian restaurant, which is a restaurant on the second floor of Shanggu Hotel.To be honest, I don’t really go to Italian restaurants. Italian food tastes different when it comes out of Europe. The pizza eaten in Italy can taste the taste of the ingredients itself, the sweet and sour tomato, the freshness of basil, the richness of salami, and even the milky fragrance in the cheese, and you can finish a pizza without oil on your hands .In the United States, there is only a greasy and crooked taste. In China, it is... In short, there is a lot of misunderstanding, just like the misunderstanding of Chinese food overseas.

But I can't say no more, anyway, meeting him is to complete the task, not to eat.

—Okay, see you at six in the evening?

—See you at six!By the way, you can call me Kevin, what should I call you?

——to and from.

In order to make up for the time lost by the blind date, I came to the store at 04:30, and got all the washing and preparations ready. I planned to go past 07 o'clock and come back at 30:[-]. I gave Maserati Li an hour and a half, which is very generous. , that is the minimum respect for food.

Ladies' clothes, since Wu Fei moved away, I haven't seen this kind of thing in my house. It's still a black T-shirt, but it's just a more regular pattern. I don't wear shorts and flip flops. It's not for a blind date. I was afraid that I would not be able to get in the main restaurant, so I changed into beige overalls and canvas shoes.

It takes only 10 minutes to walk there from the bureau. The evening rush hour is here, and the street is very congested. I was swiping my phone at the intersection of traffic lights, and I saw Xiao Ziyan post a few dishes I made last night on Moments. These girls There are also ten filters and frames added to the serving dishes. If I didn’t look carefully, I wouldn’t recognize that I made it. When I turned to the last one, I didn’t know when I secretly took a picture of my back. It looked pretty good.

I don't do much of these promotions and marketing, I just rely on word of mouth from customers, I think it's good, otherwise I can't do it alone, and I don't want to hire another person, after all, the store is so big.

Shanggu Hotel has chains in many cities. This one in the CBD of R City is the first batch, but Shanggu’s business is interior design, and it is relatively late to build its own brand hotel, so this one has a history of more than ten years. In the past two years It has been renovated again, and it feels very new and fashionable when you walk in.

From the lobby on the first floor to the second floor, you can take the indoor elevator, take the sightseeing elevator outside, or climb the spiral staircase. I chose the last one. After I went up, I realized that it was still a long way to go to LaScarola. Clean and long hair The carpet is very comfortable to step on. This area is very quiet, with the faint sound of the piano. I passed by a gallery and looked in from the door. It looked very stylish.

After finally touching the door of LaScarola, Maserati Li was already waiting inside when I entered, and I can’t always slander others like this, so let’s go to Kevin. Kevin booked a seat by the window, and his face was full of spring. Just here for a blind date.

It took me a second to make a judgment, and then strode over. Kevin looked at me, a little hesitant, and when I walked to the table, he stood up, "Miss, right?"

I was also convinced that I could still call me "Miss" after seeing a real person, so I just nodded and smiled, and said "Sit down."

The two of us sat down, and I saw that he was very gentle, wearing a pair of glasses, and he was tricked by a matchmaker. I probably thought that he was going to meet some kind of 170+ tall lady who returned from studying in the United States and was raised in a deep boudoir. I want to spoil him all.

Without further ado, I looked at the menu first.

"Miss Lai is doing activities nearby tonight?"

I raised my eyes from the menu, "Just ask me to visit, um, I have to go back to work later."

There was a look of doubt on his face, and it flashed past, "So hard? Do you have to work overtime at night?"

"I only work at night. I'm a cook, and I cook food for people." I said and held up the menu board.

His expression froze for a while, and he probably had tens of thousands of questions in his mind, but he didn't give up, "Is it true?"

"Really, the restaurant where I work is nearby, let's walk for 10 minutes."

"Oh... I thought..."

"Aunt Song said that I invested in a high-end restaurant, and I usually play at home, right?" I waved my hand, "Don't blame her, the restaurant is mine, but it's not high-end, it's a small shop, and there are no helpers. I am alone from cooking to entertaining guests, and the restaurant is open from night to night, so I do play at home during the day, and she probably doesn't know much about the situation."

"Oh……"

I feel embarrassed for him.

"But my situation is correct. I am now the product director of the smart home department in the Beluga R city branch."

"White Whale?" I gave him a thumbs up, "It's awesome."

Saying this on the lips, I thought in my heart, this buddy is really the axis, is your situation wrong and it has nothing to do with me?Do you really want to continue?

"No, it's just a part-time job." He paused, "You are quite special."

don't...

"Bypass them and meet me alone. To be honest, I'm not used to elders around me." He explained.

"Oh, you said this, the main reason is that if you are not satisfied, you can express it directly, and then AA will leave, so you don't have to act with them."

Kevin laughed, nodded and said, "Okay, that's cool enough," he picked up the liquor license, "Don't you want something to drink?"

"Sorry, I have to work later."

"Oh! I forgot, so let's get straight to the point."

We ordered what was recommended on today’s menu. Normally, I wouldn’t order this, but maybe I didn’t have any expectations, so I didn’t spend much thought. The appetizer was Bruschetta alpomodoro, with regular soup. Kevin said he couldn’t drink Western-style soup. , he ordered a Tortelli as an appetizer. This dish is a bit like Chinese dumplings or wontons. He felt that it was not enough, so he insisted on another Arancini ball. It is a very popular dish in Sicily. I said you ordered too much If there are too many, you will be full after eating. He said that everyone eats together. I am more used to ordering each, but it is not easy to refute.

For the main course I would have liked the handmade Linguine, which I enjoyed with PestoGenovese and a variety of shrimp and crab meat, but the garlic was too strong to work for a while, so I had to order the bland veal CotolettaallaMilanese, Kevin ordered the classic Spaghettiallaputtanesca, he said he used to eat this often, he likes it very much.

To be honest, this Italian restaurant still made me look at Italian cuisine outside of Europe differently, and it may be different in recent years. I can afford authentic Italian chefs, and I am willing to fly in the freshest local ingredients. In short, I am keen As far as the taste nerves of the tongue are concerned, the details are very authentic.

Kevin frowned, he could see that he was not satisfied with his favorite Spaghetti entree, and put down his knife and fork while eating.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

Kevin shook his head, "Sure enough, the taste will change as you cook it. Many restaurants are like this. Now this side tastes weird."

"is it?"

"You are an expert in food, try it, I haven't touched most of it." He said.

I didn't care about this nosy business at first, and I guess this buddy and I will only be friends with this meal, but out of curiosity about the food, I picked up an unused fork and tasted it.

To be honest, I think there is no problem, the crushed tomato sauce is very fresh in the mouth, and the basil I tasted is European sweet basil, unlike the Italian food I ate in other places before, it is strange to replace it with Asian varieties.

Just thinking about how to express my opinion, the waiter came over, "Sir, do you have any questions?"

Kevin looked at the sincere waiter, "That's it. I've eaten here several times before, and I really like it. The taste is a bit strange today. I don't know what's going on."

"I'm sorry sir, I can help you communicate with the chef and redo it for you, so where is the fault?"

Kevin thought for a while, then shook his head, "I can't tell, it seems that today's sauce tastes quite strong, not as good as the previous sauce."

"Okay, if you don't mind, sir, I will remove this plate for you and make another one for you."

Kevin looked at me, "Forget it, what time do you go to work?" He asked me.

I looked at my watch, and there was still time, "It's okay, as long as you feel comfortable eating, I'm still early."

While Kevin was still hesitating, I told the waiter, "Then I will trouble you."

After the waiter left, Kevin looked a little embarrassed, "Actually, I'm not a troublemaker either."

"Oh, no, no, it's because of their good service."

We talked for a while, and after about 10 minutes, a short foreigner in a chef's uniform came over with a plate.

When I turned my head to look at it for the second time, I recognized him immediately. His name is Matteo Lombardi. He is a star chef in Milan. He has been in China for several years, but he did not expect to be the chef in this restaurant.

This is Senior Da Niu. I didn't know that I stood up respectfully. Lombard looked at me and nodded, "Ma'am."

He turned to Kevin again, "Hi sir, I am the new chef here, Matteo Lombardi," he said in somewhat broken Chinese, "The Spaghettiallaputtanesca I made disappointed you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry for you Make a new plate," he put down the plate, "I just asked the kitchen assistants how the previous chefs made this dish." He raised the bottle in his hand, it was a bottle of tomato sauce, "they told I, I use this, and the sauce I use for this dish is prepared by myself with tomatoes and basil, so there will be deviations."

I almost laughed, it didn't mean anything else, I just thought that after the old man figured out the truth, how many mud horses should gallop past in his heart. These chefs are very proud of their work and their craftsmanship. The ketchup bottle came out, a wordless protest.

"Uh, Mr. Lombardi," I thought I should comfort him and give Kevin a step down, "I have long admired your name, my father and I are both cooks, although they are not on the same level as masters of your level, but I understand how you feel. It’s actually quite interesting. Sometimes I think that ‘authentic’ is actually a philosophical category. If someone’s first bite of Spaghettiallaputtanesca is made with bottled tomato sauce, then for this person Said, this is authentic, you are a master, you have cooked so many dishes and traveled so many places, you must understand better than me.”

Lombardi took a serious look at me with his brown eyes and nodded, "Ma'am, you will be an outstanding cook, and you are welcome to come to LaScarola more often." After speaking, he held out his hand.

Wow!This is a great honor for me. In foreign countries, it is very difficult to shake hands with such a star chef. Today, Lombard offered to extend his hand to me. I think I should always show off when I visit the prison another day.

We walked out of the restaurant at a quarter past seven, and the timing was perfect. Kevin insisted not to let me AA, he said that being with the blind date AA will bring stains to his life, well, I will take it as a good deed and let him pay for it.

The two of us walked out of the restaurant and learned the lesson when we came here. There is still a long distance to the escalator from the entrance of this restaurant, so we simply waited for the elevator, which was right in front of us.

"Xiangchang, when you meet me tonight, you are actually here to reject me, right?" Kevin asked suddenly.

At the quiet elevator door, the atmosphere became awkward.

"Hi..." I smiled.

"Actually, it's nothing. I think you are quite comfortable. Make friends with the head office, right? If you don't develop in that direction, just be friends."

"No problem, anyway, you have my contact information, please contact me at any time, I will treat you to dinner another day."

"Um... oh, hey, you're welcome..." Kevin smiled.

I was afraid that he would be unhappy, so I added: "You are fine, I don't mean anything else, I am... You can see it too, like a tomboy, men are not interested in me, I am interested in men Not interested either."

When I said the last half of the sentence, a private elevator that can only be entered by fingerprinting rang next to it, and a person stepped out of it.

We all froze for a moment, and I glanced at the person who came out. It was a long-haired woman with a very good temperament, very beautiful.

She obviously heard the second half of my sentence, and she also looked at me, and she seemed to react when she touched my eyes, her face flushed slightly, she nodded politely, and then walked towards the gallery go.

I was like a fool who was shocked by high-voltage electricity, and my mind was crackling: Did she hear that?Did she understand?Why is she blushing (though only for half a second)?Is she nodding at me?Damn, why didn't I nod my head back like a fool?Why does the elevator entrance smell so good?

……

I was still on the phone, but Kevin beside me yelled out: "Mr. Shang!"

Ah ah ah ah ah!I looked at him with some horror.

The woman turned around, sure that it was Kevin who called her, and there was a trace of doubt in her eyes.

"Oh, Mr. Shang, I'm Kevin Li Houze from Beluga, we met at the exhibition in spring."

I'm going, who remembers about spring?just you...

I was so embarrassed that I wanted to break open the elevator with my bare hands and get in.

The question in the woman's eyes disappeared, and she turned into a smile, "Hello, Mr. Li, it's a pleasure to meet you again."

Damn, count you as ruthless, the acting is really like, moving.

"Mr. Shang still remembers me, what an honor!"

I think Kevin is really stupid. He can't be blamed for the ketchup incident just now.

Wait...Mr. Shang...The cover of the magazine flashed in my mind, and the voice on the radio...she couldn't be...

I looked at the woman again, she had voluminous shoulder-length hair with only a slight curve, she looked intellectual and gentle, she was completely different from the sleek style combed back into a ponytail on the cover of the magazine, and she was dressed casually, It seems that she is not here for work today. The white short-sleeved loose knit sweater is lazy and sexy, and the dark denim cropped pants are close-fitting. The lines of the legs and crotch are beautiful. A chunk of ankle is exposed between the casual shoes.The woman is not short, we both wear flat shoes, she is only a little shorter than me.

"Mr. Shang, last time you said that Shangu's new project will consider artificial intelligence home furnishing. No company can compete with Beluga in this regard."

Sure enough, it was Shang Wan.

"Well, Beluga is indeed a leader in AI. Does Mr. Li have Stephen's contact information? He is the engineering director in charge of this project." When talking about work, Shang Wan's rhythm became brighter, but always with a comfortable smile, even though I heard her real meaning was "you shouldn't have stopped me here to talk to me".

"Oh! Is Stephen Lin right? Yes, I will contact him."

"Okay." Shang Wan smiled, showing a completely unassuming look, and I saw that there was a small mole under her right eye, which was originally a blemish, growing on this face But cute and special, especially when she smiles, the mole is just under the lying silkworm, making her eyes touching.

"Then I look forward to cooperating with the white whale." After speaking, she looked at me again and nodded slightly. When I realized it again, she had said goodbye to Kevin and walked away with the soft sound of the piano.

So I've been standing here, and people nodded at me twice, but I didn't respond, right?

When the elevator came, Kevin's face was flushed, and he didn't know whether he was talking to himself or telling me: "This is a very powerful character of the Shanggu Group, you can't tell it just by looking at it?"

I got into the elevator and shook my head. Not to mention the appearance, I couldn't tell much from the sound.

"Hey!" Kevin sighed, "It would be great if this cooperation works!"

This guy went into business mode and completely forgot he was asking me if I could be a friend.

"Hmm... Working in a well-known company is really a moving business card. Once you say the word 'Moby Dick', Shang Wan will respect you."

"Haha, what is there?" Kevin was so satisfied that he suddenly remembered, "Eh? You know Shang Wan?"

"...Oh, I just know her, she doesn't know me."

Kevin nodded, "Yes, who doesn't know her?"

This is wrong, if it wasn’t for Xiao Ziyan, I would have never heard of her before, there is a threshold for acquaintance, we are a few levels apart, and she is not the number one person in Shanggu, so everyone will not know about her .

In short, when I first met her, I felt good about her, but the word "Shang Wan" to me is like a beautiful scenery far away in the clouds. I can't think of any intersection with her. A person like her, I think, even if I go out to eat, I won't go to my small place. If my father's "Ru Liu" is still there, she may become a guest and open a private room.Whether in public or private, I know I can't reach her.