Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 4

After checking her phone, Zhao Xiaojing confirmed that her total assets, including the system’s 250 yuan, were less than 500 yuan.

Nervously, she asked the system what to do if she didn’t have money for practice.

The system immediately switched to the third module, Virtual Space.

Perplexed, Zhao Xiaojing tapped into the virtual space. A burst of white light entered her mind, leaving her astonished.

She found herself in a pure white space with nothing around her.

This was actually a space!

Excited, Zhao Xiaojing explored and communicated with the system.

It turned out this wasn’t the kind of space where she could farm and prosper, but rather a virtual space, essentially a learning tool.

In the virtual space, everything was virtual. It only had basic functionality—projection, meaning it could project real-life scenes into the virtual space, currently limited to 20 square meters.

Once projected, Zhao Xiaojing could engage in virtual activities. For instance, she could practice frying skewers by projecting a kitchen and practicing repeatedly in the virtual kitchen.

After projection, the consumption of items was also virtual. Once she exited, everything reverted to its original state, but the practice was real, allowing her to assess the quality and taste of her creations.

It’s like having a dream; upon waking, everything returns to normal, but the experiences gained remain.

Most importantly, time in the virtual space flowed very slowly. An hour in there equated to just one minute outside!

Zhao Xiaojing was most satisfied with this time flow.

As a chef, both time and experience were valuable assets, requiring constant practice and experimentation to reach a certain level. With this, she had 60 times more practice time than others!

Understanding how to use it, Zhao Xiaojing had a bold idea.

“System, can I project any scene? Not just my room?”

[Yes]

“What if I project outside? Will passersby be projected in too?”

[No, projection is limited to scenes, not people.]

“When I enter the space, what do others see me doing?”

[They see you standing in place. While in the virtual space, you can observe the outside world and exit quickly if needed without others noticing anything unusual.]

Zhao Xiaojing was instantly thrilled. This was like a divine cheat—a money-saving tool!

She immediately grabbed her keys and ran outside.

She intended to realize her bold idea, racing against time to maximize system benefits and learn fried skewers!

Zhao Xiaojing sprinted to a street lined with small restaurants and found the only skewer stall, standing beside it.

“System, project this skewer stall!”

She shouted in her mind at the system, amused by her actions, while the skewer stall owner gave her a puzzled look.

After projection, Zhao Xiaojing re-entered the virtual space and indeed saw a solitary skewer stall standing in the night breeze.

It worked! What could be more convenient than practicing on an existing skewer stall? She truly was a genius at maximizing benefits!

Delighted, Zhao Xiaojing approached and examined the stall.

However, upon closer inspection while selecting items for practice, she froze on the spot.

The oil was blackened, the sauce made from unknown mixed spices smelled only spicy, and the ingredients were semi-frozen products that had been stored for some time—none met the system recipe’s standards!

Reluctantly exiting the virtual space, Zhao Xiaojing found a small restaurant on the street with its stove, condiments, and ingredients all laid out. She silently stood beside a closed shop and projected the small restaurant’s kitchen.

Luckily, the restaurant itself was small, with its stove, chopping table, condiment table, and food preservation fridge tightly arranged, fitting within Zhao Xiaojing’s 20-square-meter virtual space limit.

Upon entering and inspecting everything, Zhao Xiaojing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The ingredients were reasonably fresh, and the condiments were mostly complete.

Selecting several ingredients from the preservation fridge, Zhao Xiaojing began marinating, slicing, preparing batters, heating oil…

Initially clumsy, she gradually gained precise control over the recipe through repeated practice, becoming wholly absorbed in her learning.

It wasn’t until midnight when the restaurant closed, the owner packed away everything from outside, and the virtual space projection lost its anchor, returning to a blank slate, that Zhao Xiaojing realized and exited the space.

In reality, nearly four hours had passed—equivalent to 240 hours in the virtual space.

Since fatigue and day-night cycles didn’t exist in there, she hadn’t noticed so much time passing.

Uncertain of how many rounds of practice she’d completed, though not yet perfect, she felt quite accomplished.

Shaking her head clear and stretching her body, Zhao Xiaojing prepared to head home.

“Sis, choose wisely! Never judge people by their appearances!”

As she passed by the restaurant, its owner earnestly offered advice while pulling down the aluminum door shutter.

An unusual way of greeting, he seemed to enjoy offering counsel. Surprised, Zhao Xiaojing nodded politely before continuing home.

“I wonder if our cryptic words made any sense to the young lady.”

Behind her, the owner’s wife emerged, watching Zhao Xiaojing’s lone figure fade into the distance, shaking her head as she spoke to her husband.

She’d noticed Zhao Xiaojing for hours that summer night—a lone figure standing desolately by the doorway of a closed store.

“I asked you to speak with her earlier and you didn’t; now you say she might not understand!”

The owner glared at his wife, then sighed while watching Zhao Xiaojing’s retreating figure.

“What a pity! Lao Zhang’s son isn’t trustworthy, bringing another girl here who seems quite pretty.”

“Indeed, she appears earnest—not causing a fuss or drawing attention. Much better than previous flashy troublemakers. But why such poor judgment?”

“Why not introduce her to our son? He’s grown quite handsome; surely better than that playboy Little Zhang.”

Suddenly inspired, the owner suggested excitedly.

“Drop it! Your son’s not even 18 yet! It’s illegal for him to be with her!”

His wife smacked the back of his head.

“I was just saying! She’s so polite; she even smiled and nodded at me just now!”

Rubbing his head, the owner replied bashfully.

“You’re right; I can’t stand it either! Tomorrow, once Lao Zhang opens up shop, I’ll have a word with him directly!”

Standing firm in indignation, his wife received a silent thumbs-up from him.