1907: World's Number One

World's Number One

From French and Chinese to Japanese, he had tried them all.2

Simply because his mother was fond of steak with pan-seared foie gras, for a period, he had taken up French cooking and was truly skillful at making it.

He had cooked so much French food that just the thought of it made him feel nauseous now, yet his mother's love for it had not abated in the least.

…

His stupid mommy must have become a member of the lover-of-French-cuisine cult!

"This bistro's signature dish, pan-seared steak, is one of a kind." Mu Yazhe carefully flipped through the menu and patiently explained each dish to his woman.

His wife looked at him with mild surprise. "How did you know that I'm fond of French steak?"

The man did not reply and, instead, smiled as he glanced at his younger son, who was sitting beside him.

The boy returned a faint beam.

"I told daddy what's your favorite dish when he asked me!" He turned to his father. "Daddy, do you know that mommy is a foodie?! She's gotten picky with food due to my superb culinary skills! If this bistro fails to live up to its reputation, mommy will be very disappointed!"

His mother burst out laughing when she heard that and could not help grazing the boy's nose tip. "Oh, my; no world-class chef can measure up to Youyou!"

The older of two lads took this chance to suck up to his brother. "That's right! Lil' bro's skills are world-class! His pan-seared steak is number one globally!"

His younger brother could see through him and retorted icily, "When have you tried my pan-seared steak?"

The older boy's eyes twitched hard.

"I haven't, actually."

From the side, their father chipped in, "Little Yichen, so much for your flattery! What a way to get caught with your foot in mouth."

Yun Shishi was so tickled that she could not stop laughing.

This made her older son even more agitated, not wanting to back down. "This is the truth; I'm not currying flavor! Besides, I've eaten brother's pan-seared steak before!"

She exchanged puzzled glances with her younger son.

"When was that?"

"I-In my d-dream…" stammered the boy.

There was a dead silence.

The trio looked sympathetically at him as he wrangled his fingers and muttered piteously, "That's just because lil' bro doesn't wanna cook for me!"

"You're such a glutton! What do you know besides eating?" His sibling poked his small head indignantly.

His brother hung his head ruefully. Looking sorry, he sighed and grumbled with much resentment, "I really want to try his steak… but what else can I do besides tasting it in my dreams…"

She broke into a chortle. This lad is just too adorable!

Her husband, on the other hand, was made speechless by his son's confession. Is this fellow born to be a comedian?

"This isn't a big deal; it's just a piece of pan-seared steak. I'll cook for you next time!"

Youyou's firm and proud reassurance earned his older brother's cheers instantly.

"Alright. You two, stop fooling around. Hasn't mommy taught you to maintain a gentlemanly behavior in public?"

The two boys immediately quieted and sat up, prim and proper, in their chairs.

"Have you both washed your hands?"

The two shook their heads.

The man lovingly caressed his older son's raven hair by the ear before telling his woman smilingly, "I'll bring these two to the washroom to clean their hands. You go ahead and order our food."

"Alright." She turned around questioningly. "What do you want to eat?"

"I'm good with any order," responded the man.

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