Gourmet: The Master Chef Just Wants to Leisurely Set Up a Stall - Chapter 60

It was yet another new day. As soon as her shift ended at noon, Zhao Xiaojing eagerly went to pick up a package and hurried back inside to open it.

This was the blender she had ordered a couple of days ago, intending to use it for making sweet soups.

Originally, she had planned to buy all the equipment at once, but after browsing around, she decided against it.

The blender was affordable—she got one with a six or seven-liter capacity for about three or four hundred yuan. But the ice shaver was shockingly expensive. The small one like the system provided cost at least three to four thousand yuan, and even then, it didn’t seem as good as the one in the system. Larger commercial models were priced at five or six thousand at the very least.

With her debt repayment looming over her, Zhao Xiaojing couldn’t bring herself to splurge, so she only bought the blender and planned to use it to crush ice for now.

Just as she finished inspecting the packaging for the blender, her phone rang.

It was her cousin, Zhou Chuyan—Dong Mei’s daughter.

“Hey, Jingjing, did you have a fight with my mom?” As soon as the call connected, Zhou Chuyan’s voice came through, full of eager curiosity.

“Yanyan, shouldn’t you be putting Hanhang down for a nap right now?” Zhao Xiaojing asked, puzzled.

“She just fell asleep. I’m calling because I was dying to gossip! Did you argue with my mom?”

“Yeah, why do you sound so excited?” Zhao Xiaojing paused. “How did you find out? Did Auntie tell you?”

“Of course not! She called me earlier and asked me to invite you over for Mid-Autumn Festival dinner. That’s when I figured something must’ve happened between you two—since when do you need me to play messenger? There has to be a story behind this!” Zhou Chuyan laughed mischievously. “So what did you do to set off our family’s resident firecracker?”

“She wanted to set me up with that woman at her office’s son…” Zhao Xiaojing started to explain but was interrupted by the sound of a baby crying on the other end. “Never mind—I think you should go soothe Hanhang first.”

“Oh, oh! Don’t cry, sweetheart. Mommy’s here, mommy’s here…” There were hurried footsteps from the other side before Zhou Chuyan started cooing to her child. “Alright then, we’ll talk when we see each other. Don’t forget to come over for Mid-Autumn Festival!”

“Alright, alright.”

After hanging up, Zhao Xiaojing shook her head, smiling wryly. Auntie was still the same—stern on the outside but warm-hearted inside, always worrying and meddling.

Now that her cousin had called, there was no point debating whether or not to attend the family dinner—it was clear Auntie expected her presence.

Zhao Xiaojing carefully washed the blender piece by piece.

Over the past few days, she had been practicing sweet soup recipes in the virtual space, projecting herself into a milk tea shop at night. She had already mastered some of the recipes. Since today was hot, and since she needed to test out the new blender anyway, she decided to make herself a bowl of sweet soup.

Earlier in the morning, she had already purchased red beans, mung beans, milk, and other ingredients from the wholesale market.

After neatly sorting everything, Zhao Xiaojing used the system fridge’s built-in ice tray to freeze some ice cubes, along with portions of red beans and mung beans soaked in water.

The system’s fridge was top-notch—in just two hours, both the ice cubes and beans were perfectly frozen.

Excited, Zhao Xiaojing gathered all the necessary ingredients and began making mung bean milk shaved ice.

First, she took a portion of the frozen mung beans and put them in a pot, adding just enough water to cover the ice cubes.

Once it boiled, she squeezed in a quarter of a lemon. This not only kept the mung beans bright green but also enhanced their fresh flavor.

Next, she added an appropriate amount of yellow rock sugar and stirred continuously in one direction while cooking.

When the mung beans burst open and most of the water evaporated, she turned off the heat.

She scooped out half of the cooked mung beans and set them aside.

For the other half, she blended them in a 2:1 ratio with ice cubes in the blender.

Then, she added a small spoonful of homemade condensed milk (following a recipe she learned from the system) and a splash of milk before blending everything into a smooth, creamy shaved ice texture.

Once the mixture reached a soft and creamy consistency, she poured it into a bowl and topped it with the reserved whole mung beans.

A refreshing bowl of mung bean milk shaved ice was complete.

For an extra touch, Zhao Xiaojing sprinkled a spoonful of dried osmanthus flowers on top, enhancing both the aroma and appearance.

She snapped a photo at just the right angle and sent it to Su Yuchen.

Afterward, she scooped up a large spoonful and took a bite.

The rich, creamy texture of the mung beans combined with the subtle sweetness of the milk filled her mouth instantly, melting on her tongue. The osmanthus flowers added an elegant fragrance that lingered delicately after each bite.

The coolness of the dessert immediately dispelled the summer heat, leaving her feeling refreshed and satisfied.

Nodding in approval at her creation, Zhao Xiaojing felt that all those evenings spent practicing outside the milk tea shop—while feeding mosquitoes—had finally paid off.

Meanwhile, across town, Su Yuchen stood in a stairwell holding a large canvas bag, staring blankly at the picture Zhao Xiaojing had sent her.

“Susu, let me carry that for you. Really, thank you so much.”

A woman emerged from an office nearby, carrying two large bags herself. She tried to take the canvas bag from Su Yuchen’s hands.

“It’s fine, no worries, Sister Hong. I’ll walk you downstairs.” Su Yuchen sidestepped Sister Hong’s hand and headed down the stairs with the bag.

After escorting Sister Hong down to the roadside and helping her into a taxi, Su Yuchen lingered outside for a while, lost in thought.

Sister Hong was one of the veterans at the company and had worked there for eight years. She had been the one who mentored Su Yuchen from her very first day.

Now that Su Yuchen had finally secured her permanent position, Sister Hong had become the sacrificial lamb—fired by the new leader brought in to shake things up.

Ever since starting here, Su Yuchen had grown increasingly unhappy. Every day, she could feel the oppressive atmosphere tightening around her like a noose.

Seeing how Zhao Xiaojing’s life seemed to have picked up momentum recently—how she had finally found something she loved doing—Su Yuchen couldn’t help but feel both happy for her friend and envious.

Inevitably, she thought about her own passions and dreams.

Design wasn’t something she enjoyed; it had always been just a means of survival.

As far as survival tools went, there was no need to pour any emotion into them. Just do your job well enough to get promotions and raises—that was all that mattered.

But now that Sister Hong had been fired, Su suddenly felt like a fish on a cutting board—helpless under someone else’s control. She viewed her job as a tool for survival, but wasn’t she just someone else’s tool for making money?

Years ago, her parents had chosen this school for her—as well as her major. Back then, she loved singing and music, but her parents dismissed those as frivolous hobbies that would never lead to success—just a waste of time and money.

Yet now, this so-called “respectable job” demanded endless overtime while constantly grinding her down. After entering the workforce, she realized that she was just another fish on the chopping block—with no hope of ever escaping.

If one is destined to be a fish on the board, does it really matter if the board is fancy or not?

“Su Yuchen! Are you planning to quit too? Want to join her?”

Upstairs, her new boss leaned out of an open window and barked angrily at Su Yuchen standing in a daze on the street below.

Her eyes flashed briefly before she hurried back upstairs…