Daddy! Come Home for Dinner!

Wendy nodded: “I haven’t had Quire’s Yellow Croaker in soup yet, and the day after tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. We’ve agreed to go to the family mansion then, so we can’t eat it that day. How about tomorrow? Shall we go to Quire and give it a try?”

“Sure.” Adrian Zhekova gladly agreed.

“However, can you really taste the difference just by trying it?” Adrian Zhekova could only taste the subtle differences.

But he couldn’t figure out exactly what was missing or what Michael Greene had added.

“Actually…” Cindy Clarke said with an embarrassed smile, “I didn’t tell you about this, not because I wanted to hide it from you, but because I really didn’t think of it.”

“What?” Adrian Zhekova was curious.

“I have absolute taste,” said Cindy Clarke. “It’s just that this is so natural for me, something I was born with. So, unless you ask me specifically, I don’t think of it.”

“Absolute taste?” Adrian Zhekova was surprised. “So there really is such a skill. But how do you know you have absolute taste?”

“When I was in Nork City, as a child, I started helping out in the kitchen as soon as I could. I was always busy with my dad in the back. When I grew older, I began to learn about cuisine. I inadvertently discovered that I could taste the intricate flavors of dishes and discern the seasonings.”

“Although I couldn’t accurately taste the proportions of the seasonings, I could tell which flavor was more and which was less. Based on what I tasted, I slowly tried and eventually replicated the seasoning proportions of that dish.”

“At first, I didn’t think much of it and thought it was quite normal. Later, when my dad started teaching me how to cook, he asked me to taste a dish and tell him what ingredients were in it. I was able to name all of them.”

“My dad was surprised but didn’t think much of it, believing that my taste buds were simply more sensitive. However, after I consistently identified the ingredients accurately, he realized that I had a natural ability for absolute taste.”

“So, he thought of passing on the recipe to me, hoping I would take over the family restaurant someday. With my skills and talent, I could certainly make our small restaurant even better. Even if we couldn’t turn it into a big restaurant, we could still have a certain reputation.”

“So, my dad has been teaching me ever since. However, he never told anyone about my absolute taste, and he didn’t allow me to tell anyone either. Even my mother and sister don’t know about it,” Cindy Clarke said.

“My dad knows their personalities and fears that if they find out, they might cause trouble and try to use me for their own purposes,” Cindy Clarke continued. “So, the first people he kept it from were them.”

“My dad is a very cautious and conservative man. He believes that if a person possesses an extraordinary talent, especially one that others lack, they must take great care to keep it a secret and not let others know easily,” Cindy Clarke explained. “Otherwise, it could attract unwanted attention.”

“We are just ordinary people with no connections or background. If we are bullied, we can only endure it,” Cindy Clarke said. “Furthermore, it’s impossible to just hide it from my mother and Wendy. If others find out, they would know as well. So, in the end, we decided not to tell anyone and only my dad and I know about it.”