Mag was working on chili broad bean paste, while Firis was grilling kebabs.

  Without customers, the restaurant was very quiet. Now and then they sighed, but they quickly jumped into another trial again.

  Behind every delicious dish is a passionate chef and his relentless pursuit of perfection. I need to try harder! Firis thought as she stole a glance at Mag.

  When it was lunch time, Mag went to roast a duck. He put thin pancakes, spring onions, cucumber sticks, and sweet bean sauce on the table.

  Everyone else was sitting at the table looking to the kitchen and waiting with great expectation.

  It was Mamy Restaurant’s first Peking Duck, and they would be the first ones to try it.

  Mag slowly wheeled out of the kitchen a dining cart, on which lay several beautiful plates, a round wood cutting board, a heavy-looking Chinese chef’s knife, and a platter covered by a silver cloche.

  Everyone was staring at the covered platter, wondering what the roast duck looked like.

  “Peking Duck,” Mag said with a smile, and removed the cloche.

  On the platter sat a fat roast duck, its skin shiny brown. Their eyes brightened as it was so beautiful.

  It was still steaming, and the mouth-watering smell floated into the air.

  Their mouths started watering despite themselves.

  Yabemiya took a deep sniff. “Smells so good! The aroma is different from that of beef kebabs, but it’s just as inviting.”


  “Father, there’s only one duck, but there are six of us. Are we going to split it?” Amy said, perplexed.

  They turned to look at Mag, waiting for his answer.

  Mag smiled. “Yes, we are. Slicing a duck is an important process. How you do it will affect the taste of the duck.” He put on disposable gloves, put the roast duck on the cutting board, picked up the knife, and sliced it up nice and thin.

  Each piece of duck was as thin as a leaf. All pieces were of the same size, all with a little duck skin.

  The knife was heavy, but Mag used it like it was a part of his body. He sliced the duck up and placed the pieces on the beautiful plates in no time.

  Amy stared at the meat like she was ready to pounce on it.

  Firis gaped in awe. He can cut the meat into such thin pieces without the aid of magic! Such impressive knife skills.

  She didn’t believe she could have done better than Mag, even with the help of her wind magic.

  Sally and Yabemiya couldn’t hide their surprise, either. The slicing process seemed to have given soul to this dish. As they smelled the strong aroma in the air, they felt like they could almost taste it, even though they were not eating it. Their anticipation was growing by the second.

  “108 pieces,” Mag said, putting down the knife. There was barely any meat left on the bones. He smiled as he looked at the five plates full of meat.

  108 pieces. The perfect number. Only duck-slicing masters were able to slice a duck into 108 thin pieces of the same size and thickness. That was a skill that had taken Mag the most time to master.

  Slicing a duck was a skill that really needed a lot of practice to master.

  “Father, can we eat now?” Amy asked. It was all she could do not to make a grab for the meat.

  “Sure,” Mag said, looking lovingly at his daughter. “But before we dig in, let me tell you how to eat it first. You can eat it by itself, or you can dip it in the sweet bean sauce. The best way is to dip it in the sweet bean sauce and roll some cucumber sticks, some spring onions, and the meat in a pancake.”


  Now they knew what the things before them were for. That was such an elaborate way to eat the Peking Duck.

  “Go ahead, eat up!” Mag said to the girls who could hardly wait any longer.

  Amy was the first to pick up a piece with her chopsticks. She brought it into her mouth directly.

  Her face broke into a blissful smile instantly. It was the taste of happiness.

  “Mmm, so that’s what a roast duck tastes like. A roast swan must taste more or less the same. Yummy!” exclaimed Amy.

  “Let me try it,” Yabemiya said, picking up a piece and dipping it in the sweet bean sauce. She then put it in her mouth and bit into it.

  The skin was crispy while the meat was soft. It was flavorful enough by itself, but the sauce gave extra flavor to it.

  Yabemiya closed her eyes and saw a duck in an oven. Its skin was slowly turning brown. Grease seeped out of the duck and ran down the skin and into the fire.

  This was divine.