THIS LOVE DOESN'T HAVE LONG BEANS(ENG)

Chapter 20

I'm dead!!"

Plawan complained to Kluea as his first sentence after work that night. He had made many mistakes at work today. Luckily he was only chopping vegetables and washing pots and pans, so the impact wasn't too big. He was worried about the first round of the chef successor selection test. He couldn't believe it. The chef has never even allowed him to cook a single dish. 

"Well, the first round shouldn't be too difficult, right? "

Kluea replied casually. Of course, it wouldn't be difficult for him, the top ranking contestant. The young man could only walk around the room like a trapped rat, his mind racing with calculations. How could he survive this? He wants one million baht, and he doesn't want to leave this restaurant either. But the last time he tried cooking stir-fried basil, the minced pork was still raw.

"I still can't even stir-fry basil. What should I do?"

He groaned, completely sincere. That is by no means an understatement. His roommate turned to him with a confused frown, his eyes behind his round glasses wide in disbelief.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"And you are applying to become Chef Aob's successor?"

"Well, that's because I like to eat stir-fried basil."

The young man grumbled, his voice almost a scream. How could he explain this to Kluea? Should he tell him that he was a secret agent who was undercover in order to take over the restaurant? He would probably get hit hard for that.

"If you like it, you should just order it and eat. I'll even come and stir fry it myself. "

Kluea argued jokingly, but Plawan wasn't joking. Oh, come on. This is an emergency! Don't make it sound like a trivial matter, Kluea.

"Teach me," said Plawan.

His final resolve was to become violent. He jumped up and sat next to him on the bed, acting as a cute little protagonist in a BL drama on Friday night.

"My dear friend, teach me how to stir-fry basil. You're really good at it. Am a fast learner. At your level, I can definitely learn faster."

Plawan sent him a sparkling gaze. He only knew two people in this restaurant: Chef Aob and Chef Kluea. Cross out the first name. If Chef Aob saw his current cooking skills, he would definitely lose without even having to compete. He might even be eliminated before competing. There was only one choice left: his dear friend, who else?

"Do you think I would be kind enough to teach my competitors how to compete with me?"

The glasses man laughed. You could tell he was teasing him. Oh please, what good is someone who can't cook pork thoroughly before the garlic burns to compete with him? Just don't embarrass yourself.

"Do it as a merit with Luk Nok and Luk Ka. You'll recive a great reward. You know, I can't compete with you anyway, right? But I don't want to be eliminated in the first round. Do you really want me to be eliminated out of the first round?"

Kluea laughed. The more he saw him acting pitiful and flirtatious, the more he laughed. He shook his hand seriously.

"Okay, okay, tomorrow we'll try asking for permission from Chef to use the kitchen."

In the end, he and Kluea talked to Chef Aob about borrowing the kitchen  for practice. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who thought he required practice. But other people in the restaurant thought the same. In the end, they had to share the kitchen with one group per day, according to the roommates. He ended up being paired with Kluea by default.

"The task is to stir-fry basil with round fried eggs."

Chef Aob said during his break after lunch while moving the plate of food in front of him. The pork stir fry basil looked very ordinary, with one fried egg. But the fried eggs seem to belong in an American breakfast. The egg white was not to be crispy, and the yolk was to be right in the middle of the egg.

"I don't care about the recipe or taste. You can do it however you like. Use whatever seasonings you want. I don't mind," said the restaurant owner casually. "Just make something delicious."

Plawan breathed a sigh of relief. At least he didn't have to make it taste exactly like the chef's. But just make it taste good. There is still hope.

"But let me tell you something, I don't like basil mixed with yardlong beans," the man continued. "I don't really like it, but you can try making it for me. I don't mind, but make sure it's good."

Who would do that? Look at the name of the restaurant, Stir fried basil without yardlong beans. Anyone who dares to make stir-fried basil with yardlong beans is crazy. He turned to Kluea, but Kluea turned his head to look at the chef intently.

"Can I ask you something else, Chef?"

"Yes."

"This round, we will eliminate 4 people out of 10 people and only leave 6 people, right?"

Kluea's voice was clear and loud, and the atmosphere in the kitchen where everyone had gathered for the meeting immediately fell silent. It was as if everyone was trying to pretend that after this round of exams, some people would have to pack their bags and go home. But when Kluea asked directly like this, the others had no choice but to listen.

"Yes."

"Then what about work in the kitchen? What are we going to do with 4 fewer people?"

This time it wasn't Kluea who asked, but James, another successor who they all obviously knew well, but he didn't say much because James seemed like a serious person and didn't talk much.

"In the first round, we will choose 6 out of 10," said Chef Aob in introduction. "After 4 people are eliminated, we will reduce the number of tables serving customers by half so that the workload is not too much."

Oh, what about the reservations we already made?

"After that we will carry out a second round of tests. The time has not been determined, but we will reduce the number of people from 6 people to the final 3 people."

The room became quiet again, as if everyone was lost in their own thoughts. Plawan's head was completely empty now. What would he do if he was eliminated out in the first round?

"If there are 3 people left, we will only serve one meal for dinner and may even reduce the number of tables further. My goal is to have a successor to this business within 3 months. After that, you guys can do whatever you want with the restaurant, I have no problem with that and will not interfere in any decision."

He felt Chef Aob glancing at him for a moment before turning away.

"Any more questions?"

The room was completely silent, but this time it was Plawan who raised his hand hesitantly, unsure if the question he was about to ask was worth asking.

"Yes."

"What is a round fried egg?"

Plawan asked doubtfully. The task is to stir-fry basil with round fried eggs. He understood stir-fried basil, but what was a round fried egg? Was it just frying the eggs until they are round?

"A round fried egg is like this," answered Chef Aob directly. "A fried egg must have all these characteristics: the egg white is cooked, the yolk is half cooked, and most importantly it must look beautiful. The yolk must be right in the middle of the egg white."

He nodded quickly when he heard the answer.

"And most importantly, I only have one egg for each of you."

Chef Aob smiled with a layer of mischief, and the voices of all the potential contestants groaned softly in their throats almost at the same time. Damn chef, this isn't a basil stir fry competition anymore.

This is a fried egg competition!