It was a shape very difficult to achieve if the spine wasn't severed.

Once Lin Xu had cut through the spine, Guo Weidong picked up the butchered section, examined it, and gave Lin Xu a thumbs-up. "Master Lin, your Knife Skills are truly impeccable! You chopped it perfectly without damaging the Pork Skin at all."

Cooking is a skill where mastering one aspect opens the door to many others. With the Technique of roasting whole lamb as a foundation, coupled with his mastery of the Basic Cooking Techniques for whole pig butchery, Lin Xu performed this step both quickly and skillfully.

"Next, separate the pig's legs and remove the shoulder bones," Guo Weidong instructed. The shoulder bones would hinder the suckling pig's shaping, so they had to be removed. A few ribs near the neck also needed to be taken out to facilitate roasting.

Following Guo Weidong's guidance, Lin Xu carefully teased the meat away from the leg bones and then scored the ribs one by one, making them easier to roast and marinate.

Then, he methodically scored the thicker parts of the meat. This not only allowed the suckling pig to marinate more thoroughly but also helped excess fat and moisture escape during roasting, making the pork tastier.

After completing this, he evenly sprinkled a layer of suckling pig salt inside the pig's abdominal cavity. After sprinkling, he massaged it thoroughly by hand to ensure the salt penetrated deeply into the meat. Next, he added suckling pig sauce and spread it evenly, allowing the sauce to completely seal the dry ingredients within the meat, resulting in a more flavorful marinade. He applied it both inside and out, then placed the pig on a tray to begin marinating.

"Chef Guo, how long should this marinate for?" Lin Xu asked.

"Half an hour is enough. Once it's thoroughly marinated, I'll teach you how to skewer it and scald the skin—essential steps in preparing roasted suckling pig," Weidong replied. After speaking, Guo Weidong went to inspect other areas of the kitchen.

Unlike the sparsely visited Building 2, Building 10 had many dining reservations every day. Thus, Guo Weidong couldn't afford to be as hands-off as Xie Baomin; he had to inspect everywhere to prevent any culinary mishaps.

It seems Chef Guo really wants to teach me, Lin Xu thought as he watched Weidong's retreating figure. He then glanced at Xie Baomin, who was engrossed in his phone. Wasn't it Senior Brother who proposed the exchange? Why does he seem completely indifferent now? Is it because he feels he already knows everything, or is he too caught up in a rekindled romance with his wife to care about learning?

Lin Xu didn't dare ask. He just gave his Senior Brother a few disdainful glances and then went to the cold storage to fetch another suckling pig for more practice with the cuts. With ready ingredients and an expert available for questions at any time, this was an excellent learning opportunity, one not to be missed even without a Cooking Learning Card.

「Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.」

When Guo Weidong returned and saw that Lin Xu had marinated another pig, he couldn't help but nod and say, "With such high talent and willingness to work hard, how could he not succeed?"

He brought out a long fork and a hook fork. The long fork was for manually rotating the suckling pig during roasting, while the hook fork was for hanging it in the roasting oven.

First, practice with the long fork. Weidong started by inserting the fork at the pig's tail end. He threaded it through the hind legs, then the ribs, and finally to the front leg shanks. Once in place, Weidong slid a long, rectangular piece of wood vertically down the suckling pig's spine. Then, he took two more wooden bars and inserted them behind the front legs and in front of the hind legs. These wooden bars latched onto the steel fork, perfectly supporting the rectangular piece of wood. The bones pressed against the steel fork. The fork, in turn, pressed against the wooden bars, and the bars supported the rectangular piece of wood. This propped up the suckling pig's spine, causing the body, which had been lying flat on the tray, to bulge out robustly.

"That's how you brace it with the long fork. For the short fork, the orientation is reversed because when you hang it, the pig's head must be facing up; otherwise, the rendered fat will ruin the suckling pig's appearance," Weidong explained. Since Building 10 lacked a suitable open-fire stove for the long fork, Guo Weidong dismantled it and switched to the hook fork.

Lin Xu, holding the other marinated suckling pig, first tried the long fork and then the shorter hook fork, getting the hang of the process.

Next came scalding the skin. This step was to make the Pork Skin stretch and puff up, and to wash off any surface marinade residue that could char and spoil its appearance during roasting.

He boiled a pot of water, let it cool to about 70-80 degrees Celsius, and then used a ladle to pour the water over the Pork Skin until it firmed up. After drenching it thoroughly, he wiped the surface dry and hung it in a ventilated area to air for a while. Once the surface was completely dry, he began applying Crispy Skin Water.

"When applying Crispy Skin Water, the Pork Skin must be kept dry; otherwise, the color will be uneven and affect the overall appearance," Guo Weidong instructed.

Lin Xu, emulating Guo Weidong, scalded the pig he had marinated. He then hung it in a well-ventilated place to dry and used a brush to evenly coat the Pork Skin with a layer of Crispy Skin Water. For the roasted suckling pig to look its best, it needed to be brushed three times. After three applications, it was hung in a well-ventilated place to dry completely before it could be placed into the roasting oven.

This automatic oven with adjustable temperatures was quite convenient for roasting suckling pigs. Once the temperature was set, no further attention was needed. The hanging rack inside even featured an automatic rotation function, eliminating the need for manual turning.

However, there was no such appliance in the villa, prompting Lin Xu to ask Guo Weidong curiously, "Chef Guo, if I were to use fruitwood charcoal to roast it in the yard, what would be the procedure?"

"You'd need to keep turning the spit constantly. Also, the suckling pig must be kept at least half a meter away from the charcoal. Definitely don't get too close; suckling pigs are delicate and can char easily."

As they were discussing this, Xie Baomin, having finally finished flirting with his wife, chimed in, "Roasting with charcoal requires patience. For the first ten minutes, there's basically no visible change, but you still need to keep turning it. No slacking off, or the suckling pig won't cook evenly."

Guo Weidong asked, somewhat surprised, "You know how to roast a suckling pig? Then why did you propose an exchange with me earlier?"

Xie Baomin smiled and said, "Of course, I do. This thing isn't difficult at all. It's my Junior Brother who doesn't know how, so I wanted you to teach him."

"Then why didn't you teach him yourself?"

"Well, you were idle anyway, so I thought I'd find something for you to do. The internet says that being idle can lead to problems; I did it for your own good."

Guo Weidong was speechless. Believe it or not, I'll run you through with this steel fork! This is the busiest time at Building 10, and you dog, you're just making more trouble!

"Chef Guo, please calm down. Don't stoop to my Senior Brother's level," Lin Xu said quickly, stepping between them, worried that Guo Weidong might actually grab a steel fork and stab his Senior Brother in the stomach. "Later, I'll make Qingshui Furong for you, from start to finish. I guarantee you'll learn it."

「Forty minutes later.」

The roasting oven opened, releasing a delicious aroma. Using a specially made iron hook, Guo Weidong lifted out the fork holding the suckling pig. A beautifully reddish-gold, shiny, and fragrant roasted suckling pig was ready.

After removing both suckling pigs, they quickly took off the hook forks and the grease-soaked rectangular pieces of wood while they were still hot. The suckling pigs were then arranged on a platter.

Lin Xu couldn't help but exclaim, "This suckling pig is fantastic! Chef Guo, your skills are truly impeccable."

Guo Weidong said proudly, "If you want to maintain the crispiness, you can brush a layer of Sesame Oil on the surface. That way, even when it cools down, the skin will remain crispy."

As he was speaking, Xie Baomin took a cleaver and scraped it across the suckling pig's skin. The CRUNCH! CRACKLE! The crisp sound was incredibly tempting.

"How does it sound, Junior Brother?"

"Sounds good."

"Good sound means good taste!" With that, he chopped the suckling pig in half, placed one half into a takeout box he had apparently prepared earlier, and said to Lin Xu and Guo Weidong, "You guys carry on. I'm going to take some food to my wife."

Lin Xu was speechless. You better watch your lower back, Senior Brother. Don't overexert yourself!

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