Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 46

“Are you okay, Xiao Zhao? I’m sorry… we shouldn’t have argued here and scared you,” Geng Mingyan quickly handed Zhao Xiaojing a new pair of chopsticks and picked up the ones from the floor to wash.

“Sister Geng, please don’t blame yourself. It’s not your fault—you did your best. You just want your family to have a better life. Your breakfast skills are so good; wanting to open a breakfast shop isn’t wrong.”

Zhao Xiaojing hadn’t intended to intervene, but her empathy compelled her to comfort Geng Mingyan.

“Xiao Zhao, thank you, thank you.”

Geng Mingyan paused in washing the chopsticks, wiping her eyes with her hand.

Hou Guihua wanted to say more but closed her mouth upon seeing Geng Mingyan repeatedly wiping her eyes.

“Sister Geng, take a break. I’ve been learning from you for days; I can handle things here.”

“Yes, Old Geng, go freshen up. In two hours, the rest of the kitchen staff will be here…”

Both Zhao Xiaojing and Hou Guihua urged her gently. Though reluctant to trouble them, Geng Mingyan realized her appearance would prompt questions from colleagues, so she thanked them and stepped out to calm herself.

The kitchen fell silent with just the two remaining.

Zhao Xiaojing took a deep breath, dispelling the chaotic emotions stirred by Geng Mingyan’s situation. She lowered her head, made horizontal cuts on the last few dough strips for youtiao, checked the time, and took out the prepared rice batter, ready to fry rice cakes.

However, preparing to fry posed some challenges.

Though she had learned from Geng Mingyan for several days, she still struggled with the oil temperature for the rice cakes and the timing for frying seven ladles simultaneously.

Her task remained incomplete because she hadn’t mastered the technique yet.

Glancing at the oil that needed more time to heat, she discreetly glanced at the busy Hou Guihua, then decisively projected the oil pan into her virtual space to practice.

“Oil the ladle first… submerge in cold oil… lift when oil is six to seven parts hot… pour cold oil…”

In the virtual space, Zhao Xiaojing let loose.

The rice cakes formed quickly. A shake of the ladle released them into the oil. She retrieved the first trial cake, inspecting it closely before cautiously tasting it.

Uh… the outcome of flying solo was indeed unsatisfactory.

The rice cake looked misshapen—uneven sizes and thickness compared to Sister Geng’s uniform round ones.

Moreover, the outside was slightly burnt, while the inside batter seemed undercooked and runny.

As for seasoning, despite using identical ingredients, the taste differed slightly from Geng Mingyan’s, though not bad.

With lessons learned from the first failure, Zhao Xiaojing picked up the ladle again…

Three hours later, having mastered frying rice cakes effortlessly, Zhao Xiaojing exited the virtual space—only three minutes had passed in reality.

[Ding~]

[Random Task: There’s an almost perfect dish in the canteen. The creator is among you. Discover it and learn how to make it.]

[Random Task Completed]

[Congratulations, you’ve received a rice cake recipe and one free spin at the system mall.]

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaojing’s smile widened. After finishing breakfast preparations, she eagerly checked the system.

This revealed why Geng Mingyan’s rice cakes missed perfection as an almost ideal dish.

It turned out to be a simple step: soaking and blending 30-50g of soybeans separately to add thick soybean milk to the rice batter before frying.

This adjustment results in rice cakes with a fluffier texture—crispy, airy, and aromatic.

Nodding in realization, Zhao Xiaojing decided to try this the next morning.

Next, she opened the lottery page. With a 500-system coin draw now showing a lottery ticket x1, Zhao Xiaojing beamed broadly.

She wasn’t a gambler, so despite binding with the system for a while, she’d never considered trying her luck. Yet, with a freebie at hand, she couldn’t resist!

Spin!

[Congratulations, you’ve won 520 system coins!]

???

Though unexpected, she gained 520 system coins?

Spin again! This time directly spending 500 coins—it was winnings anyway.

[Congratulations, you’ve won 520 system coins!]

…

Nice, another gain of 20!

Spin again!

[Congratulations, you’ve acquired a Tai Chi course x1]

[Due to your current low level, the learning module isn’t unlocked. Therefore, Tai Chi can only be enjoyed as a course permission.]

Tai Chi? Zhao Xiaojing was taken aback.

After last time’s incident pretending to be city management, she did want to learn martial arts. However… Tai Chi seemed like an overly premature step into senior life!

Feeling a bit disappointed, she’d hoped for a culinary enhancement tool.

[Host, do not underestimate Tai Chi. Any long-standing martial art has its merits. Mastering it strengthens the body, and in danger, you could fend off multiple opponents. Furthermore, with your virtual space, extensive practice time for Tai Chi is easily manageable.]

“Really, fend off multiple opponents?”

Intrigued by the system’s brief pitch, Zhao Xiaojing felt tempted.

[At the highest mastery, naturally.]

“Alright! I’ll learn Tai Chi!”

Agreeing readily, Zhao Xiaojing missed the system’s implication that only reaching the highest level yields such prowess.

“What’s this about a learning module and course permission?”

[The learning module unlocks at higher levels. Tai Chi is meant for integration with that module’s features but was drawn early. Thus, you can only access the course now without additional functions.]

I see. Seems like the Tai Chi course is quite advanced—this freebie was a jackpot!

Zhao Xiaojing returned to the main page. Beside the lit virtual space module, a new gray learning module appeared. Opening it revealed an illuminated Tai Chi course.

I’ll explore this later, Zhao Xiaojing thought contentedly as she exited the system.

…

“Damn it, who is it! Every day they park this shared scooter here—can’t ever get it unlocked! Did you bind it with blood or something?”

Wen Jieling fumed by the bike. Overeating recently had visibly fattened him, prompting daily post-meal walks around the site.

“Haha, told you he’d come again! You didn’t believe me—ten yuan, pay up!”

Zhou Yicheng emerged from the site cheerfully, pointing at Wen Jieling beside the shared bike and calling back to Liu Yifan.

“Jie’erzi, why so persistent? Can’t unlock it today either—why come back? Made your dad lose ten yuan!”

Liu Yifan cursed playfully while reluctantly scanning the code on his phone.