Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 59

Something about Sister Geng’s tea eggs always felt like they were missing a flavor, but Zhao Xiaojing couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was. Could it be the absence of cassia twigs? She decided to experiment with it in the virtual space later tonight.

Chef Sun’s experience really was invaluable—each day spent learning from him felt like gaining years of wisdom.

Zhao Xiaojing looked at Sun Dehai with admiration.

“Hehe, Xiao Zhao, these are all part of the journey every chef must go through. You’ll understand more as you continue. How’s your pan-flipping practice coming along? Show me an air flip, and I’ll take a look.”

Sun Dehai chuckled at the admiring look on Zhao Xiaojing’s face. After watching her perform an air flip, he began guiding her on some minor adjustments to her technique.

“Chef Zhao.”

Just as Sun Dehai was offering his advice, Secretary Fan appeared at the door.

Seeing him, Zhao Xiaojing quickly set down the pan and walked over.

Secretary Fan gestured for her to follow, and though unsure of the reason, Zhao Xiaojing obediently trailed behind him to a quiet corner. There, she saw a woman dressed in a sharp, professional outfit waiting for them with a warm smile.

“I’ll leave you two to chat, Director Wen,” Secretary Fan said respectfully before taking his leave.

“Hello, Director Wen!” Upon hearing Secretary Fan’s address, Zhao Xiaojing immediately realized this was Wen Yulan, Grandpa Wen’s daughter. She greeted her excitedly.

“Xiaojing, finally! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I didn’t want to disturb you in the kitchen, so I asked Secretary Fan to bring you here. But there’s no need for formalities—just call me Auntie.”

Wen Yulan had a broad face, large eyes, and well-defined features. Her friendly smile created small crow’s feet at the corners of her eyes, giving her a warm, maternal vibe that made Zhao Xiaojing feel right at home.

“You’re such a hard worker. When I heard about your breakfast duties and saw Xiao Li’s report on your salary, I was shocked. Isn’t it too tiring for you?”

“It’s not tiring at all, Auntie Wen. I get plenty of rest during lunch and go to bed early every night. What brings you here today?”

“My daughter Yunyun is home for summer vacation, so I took some time off to come back as well. We’re lucky this year—with the lunar calendar lined up just right, we’ll be able to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival together in a few days.” Wen Yulan smiled warmly as she affectionately put an arm around Zhao Xiaojing.

“Since I’m back, I wanted to check on the construction site and see how things are going. Your grandmother also told me about your family situation, which is why I wanted to invite you to spend Mid-Autumn Festival with us at my parents’ house. We’d love for you to join us for dinner.”

“But your grandma mentioned you might be having lunch with relatives that day, so I’m here to ask if you’ll be free in the evening.”

During Zhao Xiaojing’s last visit to the Wen household, Madam Fan had talked at length about her family situation. That was when she discovered Zhao Xiaojing had lost both her parents and was living alone in a rented apartment.

When Wen Yulan called home afterward, Madam Fan had brought up Zhao Xiaojing’s background again, which tugged at Wen Yulan’s heartstrings. She couldn’t bear the thought of the young woman spending Mid-Autumn Festival alone, so she made a point to invite her over.

“I wouldn’t be intruding? My workday ends pretty late…” Zhao Xiaojing felt incredibly touched but hesitated, worried that her presence might disrupt their family reunion.

“Haha, you think the construction site is a mafia den? Sure, there’s a lot of work right now because everyone wants to finish the project and enjoy their vacation sooner, but we still have time off for Mid-Autumn Festival.

Even if you didn’t get a break, we’d be happy to have you come by after work. There’s no need to worry about intruding—it would be our pleasure to have you join us. Your grandparents are really looking forward to seeing you again, and Yunyun and I both adore you. Besides, it’ll just be us and Yunyun’s uncle—everyone else you’ve already met. You won’t be intruding at all!”

“Auntie Wen, thank you so much for inviting me. I’ll definitely come.”

Wen Yulan’s sincerity moved Zhao Xiaojing deeply. Her eyes welled up with emotion as she thought about how lucky she was to have met the Wen family, who made her feel so cared for.

“Oh, stop thanking me! We already think of you as one of our own.”

Wen Yulan patted Zhao Xiaojing’s shoulder gently, feeling both sympathy and admiration for the young woman. Despite her youth, Zhao had already endured life’s harshest trials and was working hard to build a stable future for herself.

After chatting for a little while longer, they said their goodbyes and went their separate ways.

Zhao Xiaojing let out a deep breath as she walked away.

Before she knew it, Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. It had been seven years since she’d last enjoyed a truly happy one.

After her mother passed away, every Mid-Autumn Festival was spent at her aunt’s house. Back then, it was her, her aunt, her cousin, and later her cousin’s husband and child—five people eating lunch together.

But there was never any warmth or affection at those family gatherings. The meal was usually filled with her aunt criticizing her cousin, her cousin snapping at her husband, and Zhao Xiaojing sitting there quietly, keeping her head down as she ate.

After her cousin got married, they would rush off after lunch to spend the evening with her in-laws, leaving Zhao behind to help clean up. Then it would just be her and her aunt awkwardly eating another meal in silence. It never felt like a true reunion.

This year was different—after the fallout with her aunt, she wasn’t even sure if she would go over for lunch…

…

At 11 PM, Zhao Xiaojing entered the virtual space and prepared a batch of tea eggs using Sister Geng’s recipe with the added cassia twigs.

The flavor was indeed improved with the addition, but the yolk still didn’t absorb enough of the seasoning.

Pondering the problem, Zhao suddenly remembered a technique she used when cooking quail eggs for a picky eater in her past life.

Back then, she wanted to make the quail eggs tenderer, so she added salt to the water and boiled the eggs for three minutes before turning off the heat. She then covered the pot and let them sit until the yolks were perfectly cooked.

Since quail eggs were small and fragile, sometimes their shells would crack during boiling. Whenever that happened, Zhao would scoop them out and eat them herself.

Originally, she added salt to make peeling easier after boiling. But when the shell cracked during cooking, both the egg whites and yolks absorbed the salty flavor.

Suddenly inspired, Zhao Xiaojing started another round of experiments.

After several tries, she finally tasted success and broke into a smile.

“The trick is to start the eggs in cold water, cover the pot, let it come to a boil, then turn off the heat and let them sit for five minutes. This way, the egg whites are cooked but the yolks aren’t fully set yet. Then you soak them in the marinade—that’s how you get the yolks to absorb the flavor.” Zhao clapped her hands together as she spoke aloud to herself.

[Ding~]

[System Evaluation Complete. Current Chef Level: 12 (Still a beginner—nothing too special yet). You’ve received 100 system coins and 200 cash.]

Huh? Even experimenting with tea eggs earned her an upgrade? It seemed that persistence really did pay off!

Her phone chimed with a notification that her bank account had been credited, and Zhao Xiaojing couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear.

Her salary had also been deposited today, and with the additional 200 yuan from the system bonus, she now had 8,500 yuan in hand!

Not counting the funds circulating for her skewer business, she had managed to save 25,000 yuan so far—leaving only 55,000 yuan remaining on her debt!