Maverick Chef - Chapter 45：The Chef Becomes a Doctor

After hearing his long-winded speech, the couple exchanged a few glances, and said, “How about buying a bowl of soup.”

Bai Lu sighed. “It’s up to you,” he said, and he returned to the kitchen.

Just now, he was prepping the ingredients. After that, he tidied up the place nimbly, and now he was fully prepared. He put on the white uniform and the white chef hat. It was officially time for him to start work.

The man thought for a moment, and he asked, “Doctor, no wait. Chef, if we bring the patient here, how much would we need to spend?”

A doctor would definitely not be a chef. Bai Lu was a little moody, and he said, “If it is a normal meal, then you just need to pay for the food. For example, if it was a big plate of tofu that costs $8, then you can just pay me $8 for the food.”

“Are you serious?” The two of them could not believe what they have just head.

Bai Lu’s moodiness seemed to be worsening. “Who cares if I was lying or not? The money is in your pocket. Wouldn’t you know for certain after you tried it?”

The two of them discussed it, and the woman said, “We will come back in the afternoon. What time will you be around?”

“Come back at 1pm.”

“Thank you. Thank you.” The couple left the restaurant.

As soon as they left, Liu Wen Qing asked, “You know how to cure illness?”

Bai Lu coughed, and he said, “Let me tell you. Take a pen and note this down.” As he saw their uncooperative behavior, Bai Lu had no choice but to continue his statement. “Good doctors are also mostly good gourmets. Similarly, a good chef could most likely be a good doctor.”

“You are referring to TCM right?” Liu Wen Qing said.

“Its the same for Western Medicine. Aren’t the foreigners also researching about food nutrition?”

“Lie. Continue to lie. Girl… How old are you?” What He San Qing wanted to say initially was that she should not let herself be fooled by this man. But the moment he said those words, he realized that this woman seemed to be older than him.

“Why should you care about whether or not I am lying? Is there anything else you want? If not, then hurry up and leave. I am about to start work,” Bai Lu said.

He San Qing treated his words like air. He refused to leave and waited to see how Bai Lu would cure that patient.

As there was a patient that would be coming over soon, Bai Lu was a little excited. He thought, “What’s so important about cooking? No matter how good it is, it is still just a meal. But if my food could cure someone’s illness, then it would be so much cooler. Looks like it is time for me to adopt an alias. From now on, I would be the legendary culinary physician that would be known as the Mystical Jade Dragon in the underworld.”

As he got excited, he treated the customers much better. Thus, the customers that came for lunch were blessed with an excellent meal. They paid less than $30 for the food but enjoyed a meal that was worth more than $40 instead. This group of customers kept shouting that it was worth it and started taking photos with their phones. There was even an outrageous guy who yelled, “I have waited for four days. Just counting the messages that I have left on the front door, there were already eight of them. Now I have finally managed to eat your food. How satiating!”

Bai Lu said to He San Qing, “If this guy is not starring in a movie, it would be a huge waste of his acting talent.” Then he also said, “What a bunch of unsophisticated citizens, they are so easily satisfied.” He San Qing condemned him.

After the payment for the meal was collected, Liu Wen Qing made a suggestion to Bai Lu. “Boss, you are collecting $30 per person? What are you thinking? Are you so rich that you have no idea how to spend your money? You are running a business! This is not a charity! If you want to be charitable, then you should earn more money from your business, so that you can do more charity when you are rich.”

Bai Lu looked at her serious expression. With a gentle smile, he said, “Are you aware that there is a small little number ’11’ between your eyebrows.”

“What?” Liu Wen Qing was stunned.

“Normally, these type of people would be very adept intellectuals, and they love to think a lot. However, they would often be unhappy. Also, these people would be very obstinate with a powerful will. How many previous jobs did you have?”

Liu Wen Qing finally understood what he meant, and she said, “Why do you want to know?” She slammed the money that she has collected onto the counter, and she said, “It’s yours. I am going off now.”

“You haven’t had lunch yet,” Bai Lu said.

“I am not eating.” Liu Wen Qing wanted to leave.

Bai Lu laughed, and he said, “Come on, just stay and eat. I have to cook for this shameless guy anyway so it wouldn’t matter if there were one more person. Besides, there is also a patient that will be coming over in a while so I would need your help.”

Finally, she was convinced to stay.

Bai Lu gave Sha Sha a call. “There is something on in the afternoon, so lunch would have to be delayed. Come to the restaurant at 2pm, and bring that pig, Ding Ding, along as well.”

He treated a celebrity like a pig; He San Qing and Liu Wen Qing looked at him while harboring malicious intentions.

Bai Lu made a coughing sound, and he yelled towards all the customers in the restaurant. “Are you guys finished? If you are done, then please hurry up and leave. Our crew will have to tidy up the mess.”

Thus, in the midst of joyous sounds of laughter, the customers began to leave one by one.

Liu Wen Qing was really diligent; She took the initiative to clear up the bowl and chopsticks. Bai Lu stopped her and said, “Do not dirty your clothes. Let me do it.” Liu Wen Qing ignored him and continued to work.

“Sigh, women… Why are they so obstinate? If you are willing to work, then so be it,” Bai Lu thought. He set up his gaming apparatus and said, “Xiao San, come. Let’s have a tag team battle.”

“What are those for?” When He San Qing finally realized what he was seeing, he exclaimed with admiration. “You are a genius. You are definitely a genius!”

The moment when they sat down to play Battle City together, the door of the restaurant opened. The same couple that came just now was supporting a girl whose bones were as thin as a match.

The phrase ‘As thin as a match’ was supposed to be just a metaphor. However, Bai Lu has finally seen a real person who physically embodied this phrase today.

When they saw this girl, both He San Qing and Liu Wen Qing were in a state of disbelief with their eyes wide open.

The girl was around 1.6m tall, with her cheek sagging inwards, which made her eyes looked incredibly large. Her hair was dry and yellowish. The clavicle at the base of her neck had a pit that could fit in 150ml of alcohol. Her arm was so shriveled that there was basically only a thin layer of skin left. She was wearing slim-fitting shirt and pants. However, she made it look like a Taoist robe with that level of spaciousness…

Bai Lu could not bear to look at her. He thought, “If this child were in the desert, she would definitely not be allowed to go outside when the wind force status is more than three. Who knows where she would end up flying to?”

He hurried to the closet and retrieved a few stacks of clothes. Then he bunched it up and used it as a cushion on the chair so that the girl was able to sit.

With her body composition, if she sat on the stool, the hard surface would press painfully against her body.

“How many pounds does she weigh?” Bai Lu asked softly.

With a worried expression on her face, the mother of the child said, “50 pounds. These are the medical records. It has already been three years.

“50 pounds?” She stopped whatever she was doing, and observed the girl from afar. She thought, “With a height of 1.6m and a weight of only 50 pounds, is that even a human?” She looked down at her own waist, but it was unclear what she was actually thinking about.

Bai Lu took the medical records and examined carefully. After he finished, he sat down and pondered for an extended period. Then he took the pen and wrote down a few words. He grabbed the money on the chopping board and handed it over to Liu Wen Qing. “Go and buy these stuff.”

At first, he wanted to ask He San Qing to go. However, knowing his personality, it was really not assuring to Bai Lu.

Liu Wen Qing only took the slip of paper. “I have cash.”

“What do you mean by you have cash? Xiao San, you will help to drive her around. First, go to the pharmacy. Then, go to the wholesale market and get me the freshest ingredients.” Bai Lu handed over the money.

He San Qing said yes and took over the slip of paper. After he looked at it, he said, “Just these two items?”

“If I ask you to go, then you should just go.” Bai Lu went back to the kitchen to work

After a while, the two of them came back. There was a small bottle of pepsin, and also a big bag of fresh goat’s blood.

Bai Lu put the goat’s blood into the fridge and continued to work busily on his own.

After 20 minutes, the soup boiled until it was no longer able to be cooked. He scooped out a small bowl of soup. Then he grabbed the small bottle of pepsin granules, and he obtained just a tiny tiny amount. It was only a few small granules, and he tossed it into the soup. With a small spoon, he stirred it a little and then he served the bowl of soup to the girl.

Ever since the girl came in, she was unhappy and did not say a word. Her silence was a form of protest. However, with her skeletal and thin body, that kind of stubborn expression would not make anyone angry, but instead, it would invite a feeling of pity for her.

Now, Bai Lu brought the soup over. However, the girl turned her head away in disgust, without even taking a look.

Bai Lu was not in a hurry. He used the small spoon to scoop up a mouthful of soup, and he gently blew above it in the direction towards the girl. In an instant, the scent of the soup wafted through the air and spread throughout the area.

Liu Wen Qing sniffed a little bit of the scent, and she said, “What a marvelous smell.”

Even the anorexic girl was attracted by the scent. Out of curiosity and skepticism, she took a glance towards the small spoon. It seemed as though she was perturbed by the mystery of this incredible smell that emanated from the soup.

Bai Lu poured the mouthful of soup back into the bowl. Then he scooped out another mouthful and repeated the blowing action. Once again, the scent diffused all over the space above the table.

The eyes of the girl lit up, and her hand trembled as she was hesitating to reach over to grab the spoon. She was a little bit embarrassed.

Bai Lu said to her mother, “Half a bowl of soup only. Do not over-consume it.” Then he said to He San Qing and Liu Wen Qing, “Let’s go out and wait.” And he dragged the both of them outside of the restaurant.

As soon as the three of them went outside, He San Qing sighed. “That girl just came back from Africa? It was so horrifying. I don’t think that she would need any makeup for a horror film.”

Liu Wen Qing said, “I will never go on a diet in the future.”

Bai Lu despised the two of them, and he said, “Are you two a comedy duo?”

After five minutes, the dad ran out of the restaurant with tears in his eyes. “She drank it. She drank it all by herself.” Bai Lu smiled, and he said, “Let her rest for a while. After half an hour, she can drink another bowl of soup.” The dad said yes, and he went back into the restaurant.

He San Qing looked at him and shook his head. “Amazing.”

Liu Wen Qing also had a sense of wonder in her eyes. “How could you be so amazing?” she said, and paused for a while, “you did not use the fresh goat’s blood?”

Bai Lu said, “I will use it afterward.”

The girl had been starving for a long time, so her digestive ability was compromised a long time ago. The pepsin could help to restore some of its function. It was much easier to be consumed when mixed into the soup. The goat’s blood contained plenty of nutrition. If he used it to make a bowl of soup, as long as he controlled the portion well, then it would restore her health very quickly.

All these things were easy to say. The hard part was making the girl consume the food willingly.

It must be delicious so that the girl would want to eat it. But it must also not be too appetizing, otherwise, she might get used to eating good food. And she might not eat anything again after she has recovered. Her anorexia might evolve into pickiness about food, which would become another form of illness.

After half an hour, Bai Lu went into the restaurant to re-heat the soup. Similarly, he mixed a little bit of pepsin into the soup. When the girl was drinking the soup, he went on to make another kind of soup with the goat’s blood.

After another half an hour, Bai Lu handed over a big lunch box to the couple, and he said, “The soup is inside. Let her drink it tonight. Two small bowls of soup would do. The main thing for her is to heal her stomach. Once her stomach is healed, she could eat anything she wants.”

“Thank you. Thank you.” The mum was very emotional, and she asked, “Doctor, how much do I need to pay you?”

The medicine was cheap, and the goat’s blood was also not expensive. Bai Lu said, “$100.”

“So little?” The mum could not believe it, and she felt embarrassed when she took out a single note.

Bai Lu smiled, and he said, “It’s not little. In the future, you would have to cook and make a lot of delicious food for her. Who knows how much that would cost.”

“Can we ask you to cook instead?”

Bai Lu said, “Nope, I am only responsible for the early treatment to whet her appetite. When she has the appetite for food, you should look for a TCM practitioner to prescribe some nourishing medicine for her body. The focus should be on tonic foods, so you should ask the doctor what she could eat and what not to eat.”

The mum was finally convinced that Bai Lu was not a scammer. She bowed continuously and said, “Thank you. Thank you.”

“You should hurry up and go home. When it is time to drink, just re-heat the soup,” Bai Lu said.

Bai Lu felt a sense of accomplishment, as the couple was filled with tremendous gratitude. He thought, “In this huge city, no one could solve her anorexia. Yet, I was able to cure it with a single bowl of soup. Yes, I am really incredible. I am so impressed with myself.”

Right when he felt that he was fully content, He San Qing yelled, “I am hungry.”

“Oh.” Bai Lu went back into the kitchen to make a meal. In his heart, he heaved a sigh. “This idiot. Why can’t he be more accommodating with me and compliment a few nice words to make me feel good at this moment?”

While Bai Lu was cooking in the kitchen, Sha Sha and Ding Ding came into the restaurant. Ding Ding was very unhappy, and she said, “Didn’t I ask you to come back home for lunch? Now, I have to make a trip down personally.”

Bai Lu made a coughing sound, and he said, “When you are speaking with the legendary culinary physician, you should be more respectful.”

“Who is that?” Ding Ding asked loudly.