Chapter 63: The Knife for Chopping Vegetables (Part Two)

Yu Ling quickly dried her hands, picked up her phone resting on the vanity, and opened the WeChat group chat of her best friends, "Plastic Sisterhood Forever." She sent the candid photo she had just taken: Zhao Chen, wearing an apron in the morning light, holding an archaic kitchen knife, captured in a focused profile.

Lingling Is Not 00: [Image] Morning eye candy! Let me ask you all, whose husband is as thoughtful as mine? He’s wearing a little apron and stewing braised pork belly for his wife! [Smug] [Spinning]

Just seconds after the message was sent, the group chat exploded instantly!

Addicted to Hot Pot and Breakout-Free: [Holy shit!!! Lingling, your stealth photography skills are on point! The ambiance is out of this world! Morning light, handsome guy, kitchen play? Sucker for this!]

Hates Coriander: [Wait! Lingling, you are missing the point completely! That knife in your husband's hand!!! Quick! Zoom in on the picture! The knife handle! Look at the handle!]

Lingling Is Not 00: [? What's wrong with the handle? It's just an old kitchen knife, looks pretty heavy though.] She doubtfully clicked on the original image she had sent and, following her friend's prompt, zoomed in and in further, focusing on the dark sandalwood handle of the thick-backed chef's knife.

When that extremely tiny dark gold emblem clearly filled her phone screen, Yu Ling's breath hitched sharply!

An eagle with spread wings, the scepter and wheat sheaves clutched in its talons, intricate vine patterns... The fleeting familiarity from a moment ago instantly found its source!

She had stumbled across a piece of extremely obscure auction news just a few days ago! The finale lot was a set of antique kitchen knives that had supposedly been lost overseas for a century, originating from the private imperial kitchen of a long-vanished minor European royalty! The close-up of the chef's knife handle shown in the news—that unique royal emblem symbolizing abundance and power—was identical to the one on her screen right now!

That chef's knife in the news had sold for an eight-figure astronomical sum! Worth the price of ten small-town apartments in her hometown!

Yu Ling's fingers froze on the screen, her fingertips icy cold. She stared fixedly at the emblem emitting a subdued, profound glow in the morning light, her mind buzzing. Zhao Chen... was he just using this antique worth a house—or several houses—to chop pork belly?! And he even used it to scrape ginger skin?!

Her phone vibrated frantically, and her friends' messages popped up like consecutive bombs.

Hates Coriander: [Did you see it?! Is that the eagle emblem?! Oh my goodness, Lingling! If I'm not mistaken, that "old kitchen knife" in your husband's hand is the finale piece from last month's Sotheby's autumn auction "Royal Relics" exclusive session! The "Golden Wheat Sheaf Eagle" chef's knife! Hammer price thirteen million! And that's in US dollars, motherfucker!!!]

Addicted to Hot Pot and Breakout-Free: [?????????????????????????? US dollars????????? Zhao Chen is cutting pork belly with over ten million US dollars' worth of antiques??????? Lingling, pinch me, am I still dreaming???]

Lingling Is Not 00: [………………]

Looking at the string of exclamation marks and astronomical figures on her screen, Yu Ling felt her worldview undergoing a magnitude-ten earthquake. She braced herself against the cold vanity just to stay standing.

Right when her mind went blank and her fingers trembled, unsure how to reply, the bathroom door behind her was knocked on gently.

"Lingling?" Zhao Chen's gentle voice came through the door panel. "The braised pork is almost ready. If you don't come out, I'm going to eat all the best gelatinous bits myself, you know?"

Yu Ling snapped back to reality, fumbled to lock her phone screen, shoved it into her pocket, took a deep breath, forced down the raging tumult on her face, and pulled open the bathroom door.

Zhao Chen had already taken off his apron, wearing a simple white T-shirt and grey sweatpants, looking as fresh as a college student. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, a tender smile playing at the corners of his mouth, his amber eyes looking at her brightly.

On his left wrist, that deep blue "Deep Space Gaze" watch quietly exuded a profound luster in the morning light.

"What are you daydreaming about? Charmed senseless by my good looks?" He smiled, reached out, and naturally ruffled her half-damp hair.

Yet Yu Ling's gaze uncontrollably bypassed his smiling, handsome face and went straight to the kitchen counter—that antique, heavily built, thick-backed chef's knife with a sandalwood handle resting quietly there. The dark gold royal emblem stung her eyes in the morning light.

"N-nothing." She looked away with difficulty, her voice somewhat dry. She pointed at the knife, trying her best to make her tone sound like a casual inquiry, "Honey, you... that knife of yours... looks quite special, where did you buy it? It seems pretty... easy to use?"

Zhao Chen glanced at the knife along her line of sight, his expression as natural as could be without a single ripple, as if it truly were just the most ordinary kitchen tool.

"You mean this?" He walked over, casually picking up the heavy knife as effortlessly as if he were picking up a rolling pin, weighing it in his hand, which produced a dull, whistling sound through the air. He turned around, grinned broadly at Yu Ling, revealing a row of neat white teeth, his smile sunny and carrying a touch of a big boy's mischievousness:

"Got it on Pinduoduo! 9.9 yuan with free shipping! The store owner said it's the same model as 'Yangjiang Shibazi', forged from refined steel, heirlooms quality!" With a flick of his wrist, he spun the knife in an extremely crisp and pretty flourish, a cold flash crossed, and the tip of the knife accurately pointed at a spare bone on the cutting board, his tone carrying a bit of showing off, "I tell you, chops through bones like lightning! Not a single chip on the blade! The king of cost-performance!"

Yu Ling: "..."

Looking at Zhao Chen's sincere, handsome face that practically screamed "Praise me for being good at living frugally," and then looking at the "Pinduoduo 9.9 yuan free shipping heirloom" worth over ten million US dollars that he was effortlessly twirling, Yu Ling felt her facial muscles spasming out of control.

Pin... duoduo? 9.9 yuan? Chops through bones like lightning? King of cost-performance?

She opened her mouth, her throat feeling as though it had been blocked by something, unable to squeeze out a single syllable. Her mind was left with only a fierce collision between the "thirteen million US dollars" frantically flooding her friends' group chat and the sincere, innocent smile before her eyes.

On the dining table, that bowl of vibrant red, heavily sauced braised pork emitted an incomparable, fatal temptation. Yu Ling scooped up a piece with a spoon. The trembling, glistening piece of meat had a fat portion exhibiting a translucent, jelly-like gelatinous quality, and the lean meat showed distinct grain, having fully absorbed the thick, rich sauce.

She carefully blew on it and popped it into her mouth.

Her teeth made a gentle contact, and the fat portion melted on the tip of her tongue instantly like the finest lard, devoid of any greasy sensation, leaving only the ultimate richness and sweet aroma! The lean meat part was tender without being stringy, its fibers brimming with dense, fresh, and sweet meat juices. The interweaving of salty and sweet soy flavors, the rich spice notes of star anise and cinnamon, and a lingering, subtle hint of caramel exploded brilliantly inside her mouth! It formed a flavor storm so richly layered that it made her scalp tingle!

This taste... Yu Ling's eyes widened abruptly! This was definitely no ordinary home-style braised pork! This richness, this layering, this melt-in-your-mouth texture... it was clearly the realm achieved only through complex procedures and meticulous preparation by a master chef in a top-tier restaurant! She had once eaten signature braised pork at a Michelin-recommended restaurant; it was expensive, but the taste fell far short of this bowl right in front of her!

"How is it?" Zhao Chen sat across from her, elbows propped on the table, hands crossed against his chin, looking at her expectantly like a primary school student waiting for praise from a teacher. "First time following the steps on the 'Xiachufang' app completely, didn't mess it up, right?" He pointed to his phone lying at the corner of the table. The screen clearly displayed the interface of a food app, resting on a recipe page titled "Home-style Braised Pork (Zero Failure)."

Yu Ling swallowed the supremely delicious piece of meat in her mouth with difficulty. Her taste buds were still frantically clamoring for satisfaction, but her brain was exceptionally clear. She looked at Zhao Chen's handsome face, which was plastered with "begging for praise," then looked at that bowl of braised pork that clearly transcended the categories of "home-style" and "zero failure," and then glanced back at the utterly ordinary recipe on his phone screen...

What acting skills! This ability to play the pig to eat the tiger! Yu Ling felt like she was about to suffer a mental breakdown.

Just as she was about to speak, her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket. Subconsciously, she took it out and saw a new WeChat message.

The sender was an unfamiliar name: [MiChel Chen].

The profile picture featured a middle-aged man wearing a tall chef's hat with a serious expression.

[MiChel Chen]: Good day, Mrs. Zhao. I am MiChel, the head chef at Le Jardin. Apologies for the intrusion. The three top-tier A5 Miyazaki Wagyu ribeyes ordered by Mr. Zhao at our restaurant last week (each weighing 500g, with marbling grades reaching the optimal standard), along with the accompanying secret-recipe roasted meat sauce, were delivered by air this morning. According to Mr. Zhao's special request, the ingredients have been specially processed, cut, and packaged under a cold chain the entire way. Shall we have them delivered to your residence now, or would Mr. Zhao prefer to arrange another delivery time later? [Smile]

Yu Ling's gaze slowly, slowly shifted away from this message.

Her line of sight bypassed the bowl of braised pork exuding ultimate meat aromas on the table, bypassed Zhao Chen's handsome face carrying an innocent inquiring expression, and finally landed over in the open kitchen—on that massive, double-door built-in refrigerator with a liquid crystal temperature control panel.

Through the transparent glass door of the refrigerator's refrigerated section, it was clearly visible.

A few boxes of frozen pork belly bearing striking red labels like "Supermarket Special" and "Buy One Get One Free," with a very ordinary fat-to-lean distribution and even carrying traces of congealed blood, were resting quietly inside.

The fingertips gripping Yu Ling's phone trembled slightly.

She raised her head and looked straight at Zhao Chen opposite her, who was using serving chopsticks to place another crystal-clear piece of braised pork into her bowl with a warm-as-jade smile.

Then, she lowered her head, and with all her might, her fingertips poked out a huge, soul-searching question mark on her phone screen and sent it.

Lingling Is Not 00: [?]