The thinly sliced beef was coated with a layer of red oil. As Mag got closer, the red oil’s spicy aroma slowly greeted his nose.

  Observing its color, it was bright red and glistening; smelling its aroma, it was spicy aromatic but not pungent. The looks and aroma had already fulfilled the basic requirements for “husband and wife lung slice”.

  Then, he put it into his mouth.

  The beef was tender, and melted in the mouth with a gentle bite. The spicy aroma blossomed in his mouth, and intermingled with the beef. It could be described as scrumptious.

  However, Mag began to frown a little. After some thought, he popped another piece of tripe into his mouth.

  The tripe was still crisp, but he found that certain parts weren’t easy to chew and swallow.

  Mag pondered as he roughly knew where the problem was.

  Harris was staring at Mag nervously, eagerly expecting his review.

  But Mag simply put down his chopsticks without saying anything. Instead, he rinsed his mouth, took a new pair of chopsticks, and then picked up a piece of beef from Chapman’s plate.

  Judging from its looks, it wasn’t much different from the one Harris made, but the red oil’s aroma was much richer.

  Putting the beef into his mouth, Mag chewed it gently. The tender texture gave him a refreshing sensation. The meaty aroma of the beef blended together with the spicy aroma of the red oil and exploded in his mouth, giving him a pleasantly surprising texture and a wonderful taste.

  Mag nodded. This was the proper taste. It should be tender but not mushy. Although they looked almost the same, the texture and taste were completely different, and the control of the heat was the deciding factor.

  Furthermore, Chapman’s red oil’s aroma was also richer than Harris’. The taste of the chili and all the spices were completely simmered into the red oil.

  Then, Mag moved onto a piece of tripe. The springy texture gave the teeth an exquisite experience, and it dissolved completely after chewing.

  It was obvious whose was better.

  “Harris’ ‘husband and wife lung slice’ was sliced perfectly, and there was nothing wrong with the cooking steps and procedures, but because you’re unfamiliar with the spices, ingredients, and cooking methods, it affected the final outcome.

  “The beef was too mushy, and disintegrated in the mouth immediately. I wasn’t able to enjoy the rich meat aroma by chewing the beef. The tripe was slightly overcooked, so it was crisp but not tender, and certain parts couldn’t be chewed out completely at the same time. This greatly affected the tripe’s texture and taste.

  “It’s already very exceptional that you could reach this standard for your first time making ‘husband and wife lung slice’.” Mag smiled at Harris.

  “Master, you’re too kind, too kind.” Harris smiled humbly, but his expression became increasingly smug. He had expected that the heat control would have a little problem as it was his first time making it, after all. He still wasn’t very familiar with the cooking method and ingredients. It was already very good that he could reproduce the whole process almost perfectly.

  Mag then continued talking to Chapman, “However, comparatively speaking, Chapman’s ‘husband and wife lung slice’ has already reached the professional level. Both the brewing of the red oil and the braising of the beef and beef offals have displayed his understanding of this dish. Moreover, when it comes to the control of the heat, he has grasped the tempo perfectly.

  “The tender beef and the springy tripe have showcased the essence and scrumptiousness of the “husband and wife lung slice” perfectly.

  “He could be called a genius as he’s able to make such a high-standard ‘husband and wife lung slice’ on his very first try!”


  Harris’ smile gradually froze on his smile as he suddenly sensed something wasn’t very right.

  There was a gigantic gap between “very exceptional” and “genius”.

  He had never expected these two descriptions would be used on Chapman and him one day, and furthermore, he would only be “very exceptional”, while Chapman was the “genius”.

  “Hence, for this duel of your very first try on making ‘husband and wife lung slice’, I choose Chapman’s ‘husband and wife lung slice’.”


  “This can’t be happening……” Harris looked crestfallen. This actually happened.

  One had to know that Chapman was a very slow learner. Every time Harris tried to teach him a new dish, it would usually take him a whole month to master it.

  But today, he had mastered the dish simply by watching and listening to Mag’s demonstration once. This was totally unlike Chapman!

  Chapman quickly shook his head. “I am not smart. It’s all due to Grandmaster’s teaching that allowed me to grasp the ‘husband and wife lung slice’ so rapidly. I won’t dare to say that I’ve defeated Master.”


  “Let me try it too.” Harris was still not very convinced. He picked up a piece of the beef that he made with his chopsticks. It was exactly as Mag described. It was too mushy with no texture. The original taste of the beef was all lost.

  “This terrible texture.” Harris frowned. This heat control problem was indeed rather serious. It had completely lost the taste that he should have achieved.

  He then popped a piece of Chapman’s beef into his mouth.

  The tender texture together with spicy aromatic red oil, aroma of the marinate, and meat brought along the double ecstasy of chewiness and scrumptiousness.

  “I suspect you’ve been playing me all along.” Harris put down his chopsticks after a long time, and gazed at Chapman with a complicated expression.

  Chapman was embarrassed, and he was at a loss for how to reply.

  Harris exhaled a breath as he felt rather fortunate. “It’s good that I calmed myself earlier, and didn’t bet on accepting another master.”


  “Comparing these two ‘husband and wife lung slice’ versions, mine was indeed completely defeated. The difference simply isn’t in the control of details alone, it is also in the understanding of this dish,” Harris acknowledged honestly. However, he still curiously asked Mag, “Master, how did you wake this blockhead up? That is something that even I couldn’t achieve after teaching him for over 20 years.”


  “See this.” Mag slowly put out his middle finger. “This is the legendary gold finger. It will enlighten anybody.”


  Harris stared at Mag’s protruding middle finger. Although he felt something was amiss somewhere, urged by his intense curiosity, he couldn’t help asking, “Can you please tap it on me, too?”


  “Alright. Let your master enlighten you too.” Mag nodded, and reached out toward Harris’ forehead with his middle finger.

  “Ah~”


  “Shut up! Don’t make weird sounds like this.”


  “Mmm~”


  Mag put down his finger, and took two steps backward.

  Meanwhile, Harris’ eyes were still closed, and his eyebrows were slightly raised. His expression was rather interesting.

  The messy information about the “husband and wife lung slice” in his brain seemed to be pointed into the correct direction by this tap, and was rearranged into information that he could easily understand and absorb quickly. The problems that he couldn’t understand earlier were also resolved.

  “T-this is simply too amazing!” About three minutes later, Harris opened his eyes and looked at Mag with amazement. “It’s really enlightening. I really get everything after one tap! Master, you’re really a genius as a teacher.”


  Mag shook his head, and humbly said, “It’s only a small trick. I’m really not very good at being a teacher at all.”