SailorStar9: Well, I've uploaded Chapter 2, and here's Chapter 3. So, read and review. Come on guys and girls, is it so hard for you to leave a review other than put this on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: Me no own, you no sue.

Chapter 3: Super Chef

"Calm down, boy." Ya Xue chided the horse Mao was riding on, the pair having arrive on a ledge overseeing Canton.

"So this is Canton." Mao gushed. "What a big city."

"So, it's true what they say." Mao remarked as the pair walked through the marketplace. "The best food can be found in Canton, and they're all fresh to boot. Master Lou, it is. But where is Yousen Shuka?" he looked around.

"Someone catch him, please catch him!" Mei Li shouted, thundering through the market, chasing a flailing rooster.

"It's a gamecock." Mao blinked.

"You there!" Mei Li called. "Please! Catch him for me!"

"Leave it to me." Mao handed his baggage to Ya Xue. "Hold it!" he dived for the gamecock. "Now I've got you." he managed to catch the rooster. "That's it, be a good boy. Wait!" he shouted, the rooster having pecked himself free and fled.

"That was very clumsy." Mei Li sighed. "I expected more from a boy. Shape up, will you? Stop right there!" she took off after the rooster.

"Mao-sama..." Ya Xue blinked in worry. "Do I need to get my herbal paste? Now what should we do?" she sighed as the pair walked through the streets aimlessly. "I don't even know where to start. Where in Canton is Yousen Shuka anyway?"

"Hey, you two." Sanche called out. "What do you want with Yousen Shuka, the best restaurant in Canton anyway?"

"My name is Mao." Mao introduced himself. "I'm the head chef at Kikkaro in Szuchuan."

"What?" Sanche echoed. "Stop joking around. Kikkaro is where Pai, the Fairy of Szuchuan cooking, used to be."

"You knew about it?" Mao was astonished. "Pai's my Mom."

"I see." Sanche glared. "So a brat like you is a chef. Szuchuan must be full of junk food."

"What?" Mao snapped.

"Come with me, brat." Sanche remarked. "I'll show you the cooking here in Canton."

"So, this is Yousen Shuka." Mao gaped when the trio stood in front of the restaurant. "Just look at all the customers."

"But of course." Sanche boasted. "The best cooks in Canton, like myself, work here. Yousen Shuka is the best restaurant in Canton... no, the best in all of China."

"So, you work here?" Ya Xue blinked.

"Yeah." Sanche replied. "Come on, the kitchen is over this way."

"It really is busier than Kikkaro..." Ya Xue was awed after Sanche showed them the kitchen.

"Then, where is Master Chef Lou?" Mao thought to ask.

"Master Lou doesn't come here often." Sanche replied. "It's Chouyu-san who runs the show."

"I am Mao from Szuchuan." Mao was immediately behind Chouyu. "Please allow me to learn from you. Please, I'll do anything!"

"Not again..." Ya Xue sighed as she pulled Mao back. "Mao-sama's bad habits have acted up."

"You idiot!" Sanche barked. "A country boy like you can't just budge inside the kitchen of the best restaurant in Canton! Now get out of here."

"Wait!" Mao protested. "I have a recommendation from Admiral Lee right here."

"It's supper-time for us now." Chouyu stated, crashing the letter and set a basket of vegetables beside a wok. "You can cook a dish for us. Perhaps some fried bok choy."

"Certainly." Mao beamed.

Should I tell him that cooking bok choy normally won't work? Ya Xue wondered as she watched Mao went to work. "Take a good sniff at your bok choy, Mao-sama." she advised after the workers refused his plate of vegetables.

"Kitchens are filled with many smells, yet everyone noticed just a tiny hint of mud in my dish." Mao gave the plate a whiff.

"Cooking is not just about taste." Chouyu stated. "You always start eating food by smelling it. Who would ever think of touching food with a bad aroma?"

"Aroma?" Mao echoed. "But when I made it in Szuchuan, there was no smell."

"Mao-sama," Ya Xue sighed. "Canton and Szuchuan are very different in every way."

"Your servant is right." Chouyu agreed. "If you don't understand that, then your skills are useless in here Canton. I suggest you go back to Szuchuan."

"You there!" Master Lou called after the pair took refuge under a willow tree to get out of the rain. "Get my wine bottle for me. It fell into the river. There, that one over there." he pointed. "Would you mind getting it for me? If you hurry... sorry about it." he chuckled after Ya Xue retrieved the gourd.

"There you go, jii-sama." the bond-maid returned the gourd.

"Ah, thank you." Master Lou beamed. "There's still a lot in there." he opened the cork, only to have the bottle fall into the water.

"The wine is coming out!" Mao gaped as the bottle drifted away.

"It can't be helped." Master Lou shrugged. "I'll just offer my wine to the river. Look at that. The beauty of wine stands out in the water."

"You're right." Mao realized. "The flowing wine looks so much cleaner."

"You know what they say." Master Lou chuckled. "A river churns with dirt."

"Mao-sama!" Ya Xue exclaimed, Master Lou having smacked Mao into the water with his fishing rod.

"It smells like mud." Mao winced, coughing out the water. "So, that's it." he realized. "I got it now."

But just who is that jii-sama? Ya Xue wondered.

"This empty plate is the answer." Chouyu tapped the plate with his chopsticks after giving Mao a second chance the next morning. "I'm surprised you learnt it in one day."

"Yes, the difference between Szuchuan and Canton is the water." Mao explained. "In Canton, the particles of yellow dust are found in the water. That's why the muddy smell seeped into the bok choy when it was boiled."

"And so?" Chouyu prompted.

"I tried many ways, but I couldn't completely eliminate the muddy odor." Mao continued. "So I changed my tactics. I tried boiling it without touching the water." he took out a bamboo bottle.

"What you put into the water must be the secret." Chouyu surmised. "What is it?"

"It's an oil." Mao replied.

"I know it's an oil." Chouyu stated. "But it can't just just any oil."

"This oil is a mixture of chicken fat and peanut oil, a combined in a certain proportion." Mao explained. "This oil mixture also matches well with bok choy's taste and aroma. I've tried many ways, and found this works the best."

"You found that out in just one day?" Chouyu asked.

"Yes, sir!" Mao nodded.

"I see." Chouyu noted. "Now I know why Admiral Lee recommended you."

"I will strive to do my best." Mao knelt on one knee. "Please allow me and Ya Xue to stay here."

"You name is Mao?" Chouyu inquired.

"Yes, sir." Mao replied.

"We train people hard in Yousen Shuka." Chouyu stated. "So be prepared."

"Chouyu!" Master Lou called from the kitchen door. "All of the wine is gone from the cellar."

"You're the drunken jii-san from yesterday." Mao blinked.

"That man is our Head Chef, Master Lou." one of the cook chided, knocking Mao on the head.

"You mean he's the Master Lou Admiral Lee spoke of?" Mao was shocked.

"Hey!" Master Lou spotted Mao. "You're the boy from yesterday. Let's see..." he let Chouyu lead him to a bench. "What are you doing here?"

"Master, he wishes to train here." Chouyu replied.

"I see..." Master Lou nodded. "Chouyu, did this boy undergo the yellow soil trial?"

"Yes, and he solved it in a mere day." Chouyu replied.

"All thanks to the hint you gave me, Master." Mao smiled.

"Did I do something?" Master Lou feigned ignorance. "Anyway, you've solved the yellow soil trial in one day. Canton's yellow soil colors the ground yellow in one day and turns the East China Sea into a sea of yellow the next. Thanks to that, cooking in Canton has been a constant struggle against water. But you know what they say, 'The wise play with water.' If you can enjoy the muddy waters of Canton, then you've won a seat in here. Chouyu."

"Yes." Chouyu nodded. "Mao." he turned to the boy. "I'm assigning you as a fourth-level cook, in charge of vegetables. You will be training under me for a while, so beware."

"Bok choy is just the beginning." Master Lou warned. "Use the many vegetables here to hone your cutting and cooking skills."

"Someone, catch him!" Mei Li shouted, chasing the gamecock. "Hold it right there! Not there!" she scolded as the rooster fled into the kitchen. "Stop, I say! Just come back here!"

"What are you doing, Mei Li?" Chouyu chided. "Don't let that gamecock come in here."

"I'm sorry, father." Mei Li apologized.

"Are you missing this, Chouyu-sama?" Ya Xue asked, the gamecock resting securely in her arms.

"Why?" Mei Li was astonished to see the younger girl calm the rooster so easily. "How..."

"Maybe I have a way with animals." Ya Xue smiled. "But seriously, the reason why he's so fidgety is because of this." she revealed a slim needle in her palm. "I found an acupuncture needle under its wing."

"You're the girl from yesterday!" Mao recognized the newcomer.

"Hey!" Mei Li spotted the shorter boy.

"Let me introduce you to my daughter, Mei Li." Chouyu remarked.

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.