Maverick Chef - Chapter 1：From the Desert, I Come

Boundless desert, a tiny oasis.

Within the oasis, a helicopter ascended. As it rose into the sky, lots of voices could be heard from below. It was noisy and confusing.

“That little scourge is finally gone.”

“Old Wang, can we drink a little tonight?”

“Oh thank God. Finally, we can experience normal life for a few days.”

“Don’t let him come back ever again, go and harm somebody else!”

…

When the helicopter had flown far away, a warning siren sounded from within the oasis. A loud screaming voice was heard, “Have you lost your mind? All of you behave yourself! And a shot of alcohol shall be added tonight.”

“Hooray, hooray.” Several dozen men exclaimed. Maybe it was because of the departure of that little scourge or perhaps because of the addition of the alcohol at dinner.

…

Three days later, at the train station of the Northern City. A bald man holding a slip of paper was looking around. “Such a big city and not even a single public telephone? How unmodern.” With his sights set only upon the countless beautiful women, the various payphones in the vicinity were invisible to him.

The name of the bald man was Bai Lu. Having grown up in a weird place, he knew many eccentric people and learned many unusual abilities.

As someone once said, “Everything comes to those who put in the effort.” After looking at enough beautiful women, Bai Lu finally found a public telephone. He dialed a number and waited, then came the beeping sound “Du Du Du” of an empty number.

“That’s weird, have I misdialed,” Bai Lu thought. After he dialed again, “how could it still be an empty number?”

Then he dialed again, and it was still the same beeping sound.

And so he dialed again…

The boss could not take it anymore, “Young man, the number in the Northern City has eight digits. You had left out one.”

“What? Eight digits? Since when did it change?” Bai Lu appeared surprised.

The boss was speechless. He said, “Sir, are you a visitor from Mars?”

What a joke. Bai Lu had been treated with contempt, but luckily there’s a map. Bai Lu asked, “Uncle, how can I get to Xiao Wang’s Village? Should I take the train or the railway?”

“What? Train? Railway?”

“Since it is a village, so shouldn’t one leave the city?”

The boss was utterly speechless. Then he said, “A map cost eight dollars, buy it and see for yourself, or just simply look for a public bus and ask the conductor after boarding.”

“It’s so inconvenient in the Northern City,” Bai Lu muttered with a soft voice as he bought the map.

First looking at the edges of the map, and after a minute the problem was found. There were villages within the city like Gong Village, farmsteads and such. Xiao Wang’s Village was also within the 3rd Ring Road.

Having seen the news, Bai Lu had already known that the price of accommodation within the 3rd Ring Road was shockingly high. But looking at the slip of paper again, it showed Xiao Wang’s Village Great 5-Star Restaurant. Bai Lu started imagining, “Never would I have thought, that Dad’s friend was pretty rich. Even if it were a pigeon house, he would still be a millionaire at least. Not to mention that it’s a 5-Star restaurant, just how rich is this guy? Why not share some of the wealth with me; couldn’t he live a little less comfortable?”

Holding this feeling of positive expectations, Bai Lu headed to Xiao Wang’s Village with high spirits.

An hour later, he felt weary and exhausted after being squeezed like sardines in a can. Bai Lu stood by the street and sent off the public bus. He said, “I will never take the public bus ever again.”

Bai Lu took a look at the road sign, and he said, “Xiao Wang’s Village Road.” He walked forward. “The Great 5-Star Restaurant.” He nagged that name repeatedly and scanned the surroundings for any high-rise building to search for the luxury restaurant.

Having walked back and forth on this small little street multiple times, he still could not find the Great 5-Star Restaurant. Pulling the trigger and asking an older lady, Bai Lu said, “Aunty, where can I find the Great 5-Star Restaurant?”

“I don’t know, aren’t a local here.” The older lady turned and walked away.

When he looked forward, there was a familiar figure about ten meters away. What Bai Lu recognized was the uniform, and he shouted, “Police, don’t go!”

Sun Min jolted slightly. It had always been her in the past shouting for someone else to stop. However, at this moment, hearing a command from someone else, it was rather hard for her to react. She stopped and turned around.

“Oh, it’s a female cop?” Bai Lu thought. He jogged towards her, and he said, “Police Aunty, how can I get to the Great 5-Star Restaurant?”

“Who are you calling Aunty? With that wrinkled face of yours, how dare you to call me that?”

“… Police Sister, how do I get to the Great 5-Star Restaurant?”

Sun Min was enraged. She thought, “What a naïve kid.” Then she pointed her finger. “Forward.”

“Forward?” Bai Lu asked. In front were high-rise buildings and underneath stood a market that was entirely closed. There were also a few stalls outside selling cakes, shoes, bento lookalikes, authentic Lanzhou Ramen, authentic Gou Bu Li Dumplings. And between the ramen and dumplings store was a restaurant with words on the sign: The Great 5-Star Restaurant.

“This… is simply shocking,” Bai Lu thought.

“Thanks, Police Sister.” After saying thanks to Sun Min, Bai Lu walked towards the Great 5-Star Restaurant. As he walked, he brooded over the thought, “What time is it already? Why is the restaurant still closed?” A big shutter door drooped heavily in front of the restaurant.

He looked left and right. There was nobody outside the ramen and dumpling store. Walking into the dumpling store, Bai Lu asked, “Boss, when will the Great 5-Star Restaurant open for business?”

“That guy works as and when he feels like it, God knows when he does. Here, have a dumpling instead, made with delicious and fresh meat.” The boss was passionate.

“I’m just looking for someone.”

“Ah, you are looking for someone, then I’m not sure. Why not try knocking on the door and see what happens.” After the indifferent comment, the boss walked into the kitchen to make more dumplings.

“Doorknock?” Bai Lu followed his suggestion obediently and went to knock on the door of the restaurant.

“Knock Knock Knock, Knock Knock Knock, Knock Knock Knock”… Bai Lu persisted for two minutes. Finally, the person inside couldn’t take it any longer. He shouted, “What’s the point of knocking? We are closed for the day.”

“I’m looking for Wang Mu Dun.” Bai Lu retorted with an even louder voice.

The words Wang Mu Dun seemed to have some kind of magic, as rustling sounds instantly erupted from within the house. After two minutes, the shutter door rose. Pushing away the glass door, an imposing man walked out. He was at least 1.85m, tall and robust, just a tad old, probably reaching his fifties. Wearing a sports attire and dragging a pair of shoes, he sized up Bai Lu, and he asked, “Who are you looking for?”

“Wang Mu Dun, my dad asked me to look for him.”

“What’s the name of your dad?” The big guy asked excitedly.

“… I don’t know, except for his surname, Wang. Everyone else calls him either Old Man Wang or Boss Wang.”

“Good child, what is your name?” Not sure if it was because of Bai Lu being unable to recall his dad’s name or maybe it was merely hearing about his dad’s news, but it made Wang Mu Dun happy.

“My name is Bai Lu.” The surname of the dad was Wang, but instead, the surname of the son was Bai. Also, the son did not know about his dad’s name. What a harmonious family.

“That’s you indeed, come, come inside,” Wang Mu Dun showed the way in for Bai Lu, “where is your dad now?”

Bai Lu asked, “Are you, Wang Mu Dun?”

“You have to call me Uncle, 2nd Uncle. And also, my name is Wang Zun, not Wang Mu Dun.” Wang Mu Dun wanted to receive the luggage, but he only saw a tiny sling bag. With admiration towards Bai Lu, he said, “Men should behave exactly like this, carefree.” He dragged him inside.

After Bai Lu entered the house, he examined the room and casually asked, “Did you change your name?”

The house wasn’t big, but there was another compartment inside. The kitchen was in the big room, while the smaller room was the bedroom. Living conditions here looked harsh and comparable to the desert. As he looked around, an older woman with a rosy complexion came out of the toilet. She seemed very fair and beautiful, although her hair was a little bit disheveled. Noticing Bai Lu, she felt a little bit embarrassed and bolted out of the inner room. Peeking out of the glass door at the edge of the shop, she looked out for any familiar faces. After she confirmed that the coast was clear, she opened the door silently and left in a hurry.

“How professional indeed!” Bai Lu looked towards Wang Mu Dun and said, “Was that Aunty? I’m very sorry for disrupting your ‘exercise.’ ”

“Stop that. Let’s not talk about this, how about telling me more about your father.”

“Pretty good.”

“How’s his physical health? Where is he? What is he doing now?” Wang Mu Dun had a lot of questions.

Bai Lu was a little curious, so he asked, “Just how long have you two not met each other?”

“Yes, a meeting. I did not think of that.” Wang Mu Dun stood up from the spot. He went into the room to search haphazardly and retrieved a small pouch. Then he said, “Give me his address.”

Wang Mu Dun took out a pen and paper and wrote down a few numbers, and he said, “These are my mobile number, our restaurant’s number and also my ID number, remember them.” As he spoke, he also took out a bunch of keys and shoved it to Bai Lu along with the vital slip of paper.

“Why are you giving them to me?” Bai Lu felt a little confused about his actions.

“I’m going to look for your dad, give me his address and phone number quickly.” Wang Mu Dun urged him.

Bai Lu wrote down the address, and then Wang Mu Dun grabbed it in one go. “I’m off. The restaurant now belongs to you.” After he finished speaking, he rushed out of the restaurant and flagged a cab to the train station.

Bai Lu stood there in a daze. He pondered, “Dad was already abnormal but looks like 2nd Uncle is even weirder. He just entrusted the restaurant to me like this? What exactly is going on?”

After daydreaming in the house for half a day, it was confirmed that Wang Mu Dun would not be coming back. Bai Lu took a look around the house and realized how dirty it was. He sighed, “Right, it’s time to work,” and he started to clean up the place.

He worked all the way to midnight to clean up the restaurant entirely. Even the crockery and utensils were scrubbed like new. Afterward, he cooked some noodles and fell asleep after the meal.

Waking up very early the next day morning, Bai Lu contemplated on the big plans in his new life.

“Dad wanted me to come into this big city to make a name for myself. Also, 2nd Uncle just abandoned his restaurant and escaped. Perhaps, I am supposed to use this restaurant to make a name for myself?”

After repeatedly pondering about it, he decided to embark on this journey. And so, the Great 5-Star Restaurant was reborn.

He bought some red paper and a brush pen, then he flamboyantly wrote down a few sentences, and attached it outside the restaurant.

On the red paper: Only ten customers will be accepted per day in the shop, any more will not be entertained, please understand. Also, if one was certified by the doctor to be anorexic, he shall be eligible for 80% of the price, but every person is only entitled to one meal each.

Not sure if it was because of the restaurant having lousy business in the first place or people were being turned off by the boldness of the advertisement, but there was not a single person coming in for food the entire day. Out of pure boredom, Bai Lu climbed onto the table and fell in and out of sleep. It wasn’t until 7:30 pm when he couldn’t sleep anymore, that he went out the door.

Just when he stepped outside, the middle-aged boss of the Gou Bu Li dumpling store nearby sneered. “You are relatives with Old Wang? How crazy,” he said, while pointing to the new red sign on the wall.

Bai Lu giggled and said, “It’s the truth.”

The boss of the dumping store paused for a while, and he thought, “This kid is so unrealistic and ignorant,” and he laughed while shaking his head.

In the big city, 7:30 pm was precisely the time to get off work. From the corner of the streets, three young men walked by. Bai Lu thought, “They should be looking for an affordable restaurant that serves delicious food.” When they reached the entrance of the Great 5-Star Restaurant, a skinny lad with glasses saw the red sign and laughed. He said, “Look here, look here, how preposterous.” Peeking through the glass into the shop, he could only see empty chairs and tables. No one else was there.

The other two also came over to read the red sign, and they burst out laughing. “Let’s go in for a look.” Pushing the door to enter as they spoke.

The boss of the dumpling store reminded Bai Lu. “Your customers have arrived.”

Bai Lu walked back into the restaurant, and he said, “Sit, what do you three want to have for dinner?”

The three of them did not order. They just smiled and asked, “The sign outside is rather interesting, do you think that you are the God of Cookery?”

Bai Lu nodded and said, “That part about the anorexia was indeed referenced to the movie God of Cookery.”

The skinny lad asked, “Is your food that delicious?”

Bai Lu laughed, and he said, “Try it, and you will know. It’s on the house if it’s not delicious.”

“Deal. Precisely for what you have just claimed, we shall eat here. Come, lets order.” The three of them sat down quickly.

Bai Lu asked, “What cuisine do you crave the most now?”

The first person asked, “I want to eat the Liang Pi Cold-skin Noodles, do you have it here?”

Then the second person said, “I want to eat the Cornmeal Pancakes.”

Lastly, the third person also said, “I want to eat lobsters.” All three of them said something different.

Bai Lu smiled lightly. Then he said, “Wait.” And he walked into the kitchen.

After eighteen minutes, he came out with three bowls of chilled noodles, a few Mantou, a small plate of marinated prawns, and three other side dishes.