Culinary Expert

Chapter 5: Tenfold Reward

Early the next morning, just as Bai Xiaobai was still discussing the soccer team with his dream girl, the dreaded alarm clock went off again. This alarm clock had been smashed countless times for interrupting Bai Xiaobai’s sweet dreams, so while its surface showed no cracks, its internal parts were actually malfunctioning. Otherwise, how could the alarm sound have suddenly changed from a sweet, girlish voice to the weathered voice of an old woman? “The early bird catches the worm… The early bird catches the worm…” Bai Xiaobai, a model youth, was never one to linger in bed, so he slammed the alarm clock as fiercely as ever. For most people, the first thing they do when they wake up is open their eyes, but that wasn’t the case for Bai Xiaobai. As if in a trance, he pulled back the covers, squinted through sleepy eyes, and—without even putting on his shoes—walked barefoot to the bathroom. He poured a glass of water, squeezed some toothpaste onto his brush, and began brushing his teeth. Throughout this entire process, his eyes remained closed. Just as he was halfway through brushing his teeth, the system’s cool, detached voice rang out. [Ding-dong, good morning, Host. A new day, a fresh start—do your best! ] Bai Xiaobai was startled awake by the cold voice and snapped his eyes open. Until he fell asleep yesterday, he hadn’t really dared to believe he actually had a gourmet system. He was afraid it was just a long dream within a dream—that everything would vanish the moment he woke up. It really wasn’t a dream; he truly did have a gourmet system. Bai Xiaobai gave a slight smile to the slightly mature face in the bathroom mirror. Judging by his facial features alone, the young man in the mirror wasn’t particularly striking, but when taken together, they formed a uniquely handsome look. With the help of the top-tier Culinary System, combined with his own wit and intelligence, the moment he would rise to the pinnacle of success was just around the corner. After brushing his pearly white teeth and hastily wiping his face, Bai Xiaobai rushed down to the kitchen on the first floor and began making his Supreme Tea Eggs. Yesterday, he’d been too impulsive and inexperienced—he’d made over twenty “Supreme Tea Eggs” in one go, and most of them ended up in his own stomach. Not only had he wasted money, but his stomach was about to burst. So today, not daring to make too many at once, Bai Xiaobai made only five “Supreme Tea Eggs.” On his second try, Bai Xiaobai’s technique was much more polished, and the Supreme Tea Eggs he made smelled even better than yesterday’s. “Just four more tea eggs to go to reach my goal. Today’s goal is to sell three Supreme Tea Eggs,” Bai Xiaobai muttered to himself as he carried the pot of eggs to the door as usual. Just as he set the electric pot down, his phone in his pocket rang. Bai Xiaobai took out his phone to check. The caller ID read “Uncle.” After answering, Bai Xiaobai said, “Hello, Uncle.” A deep, manly voice came from the other end of the line. “You little rascal, you’ll be at the shop at noon, right? I’m bringing a friend to your place for lunch. Make sure to prepare plenty of good food—today’s guest is very important, so don’t mess anything up.” “Okay,” Bai Xiaobai replied out of habit, then suddenly remembered something. “Hey, Uncle, wait… No, I can’t…” Beep, beep, beep… The caller had already hung up in a hurry. After hanging up, Bai Xiaobai immediately started nitpicking with the system: “System, it was my uncle who wanted to come to the restaurant on his own—I didn’t invite him. That doesn’t count as cheating, right?” He remembered a bizarre rule in the beginner’s quest: ‘You must not actively invite friends to the restaurant to boost sales,’ otherwise it would be considered cheating, and all previous sales would be reset to zero. Since his uncle had decided to come eat on his own, it didn’t count as Bai Xiaobai actively inviting him. Sure enough, the System remained silent for a long time. Bai Xiaobai breathed a sigh of relief—that meant it was tacitly considered not cheating. The person who had called earlier was Bai Xiaobai’s own uncle, Bai Yuanshan. Bai Yuanshan was in the antiques business—a line of work where you might go three years without a single sale, but when you do make a sale, it’s enough to sustain you for three years. Naturally, most of his uncle’s friends were businesspeople involved in the antiques trade. Bai Xiaobai had met some of them before. These antiques dealers were all well-off; accustomed to feasting on delicacies from land and sea, they occasionally craved simple, home-style fare. Bai Yuanshan brings these antique dealer friends to Bai Xiaobai’s restaurant for a meal almost every month. In the past, this would’ve been easy—Bai Xiaobai would just show off a bit by making some home-style dishes like braised pork ribs, stir-fried shrimp with soy sauce, crystal dumplings, or stir-fried mushrooms with Chinese cabbage. But now that he has the system, the kitchen can’t prepare any other dishes. Bai Xiaobai tried calling her uncle again, but the voice prompt said he was out of service range! She couldn’t even send a text message. Bai Xiaobai tried sending a “shake” and “poke” to her uncle on QQ and Weixin, but still got no response. Could he have been sent back to the “pit” again? Never mind. Since she couldn’t reach her uncle, she’d just treat him to some Premium Tea Eggs for lunch. After all, even though they looked a bit shabby, they tasted absolutely delicious. Bai Xiaobai already had a plan in mind: if her uncle brought a large group for lunch, she might even be able to complete her beginner’s quest early today. As noon approached, it was scorching hot outside. After eating and drinking his fill, Xiao Hei was sweltering; he stuck out his long red tongue and lay down under the shop’s air conditioner, exposing his bulging belly to the cool breeze. Exactly twelve o’clock. Right on time, a black sedan slowly pulled up under the large locust tree not far from Bai Xiaobai’s shop entrance. Bai Xiaobai glanced outside through the shop’s glass window. Only two people got out of the black car: one was his uncle, Bai Yuanshan, and the other was a white-haired old man wearing dark sunglasses. Why only two people? What’s going on? Bai Xiaobai felt a little down. He’d thought his uncle would do what he usually did—bring a whole bunch of friends to eat at the Restaurant. He never expected that today, his uncle would bring just one guest. It looked like his plan to complete the newbie quest today wasn’t going to work out. Bai Yuanshan set off, striding toward Bai Xiaobai Restaurant. When he reached the entrance, Bai Yuanshan stopped. Wait a minute! Why does his nephew’s restaurant look so different inside? Since Bai Yuanshan came to Bai Xiaobai’s restaurant for a private meal almost every month, he knew the decor inside like the back of his hand. But it had only been a month since he’d last seen it, and the interior had undergone a major transformation—not only had the wallpaper, tables, and chairs been replaced, but even the kitchen had been moved to the center of the space. If he hadn’t seen Bai Xiaobai waving at him from inside, Bai Yuanshan would have seriously suspected he’d gone to the wrong place. After collecting himself for a moment, Bai Yuanshan slowly stepped inside. “My eldest nephew, this is Professor Lin, an archaeologist.” As soon as he entered the restaurant, Bai Yuanshan introduced the white-haired elderly gentleman beside him to Bai Xiaobai. “Hello, Professor Lin,” Bai Xiaobai greeted him politely. Bai Yuanshan turned to Professor Lin and said, “Professor Lin, this is my eldest nephew, Bai Xiaobai. He’s a pretty good cook—this is the restaurant he runs.” Professor Lin, with his head full of silver hair, looked very refined. He gave a slight nod, offered a polite smile, and said nothing else. After inviting Professor Lin into the restaurant to take a seat, Bai Yuanshan said to Bai Xiaobai, “Nephew, hurry up and bring out some good dishes, and a few more bottles of ice-cold beer. The professor and I have something to discuss.” “Uncle, I’m out of beer at the restaurant,” Bai Xiaobai replied. Of course Bai Xiaobai had beer in his restaurant, but that stupid system wouldn’t let him sell it. It claimed that the ability to brew premium draft beer would be unlocked later. Knowing full well that his hard-drinking uncle would definitely want a beer the moment he saw it—and since the system wouldn’t let him sell any right now—Bai Xiaobai decided to just clear out the entire fridge of beer. As the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind. Sure enough, Bai Yuanshan—who loved his beer more than life itself—felt a tickle in his throat the moment he heard there was no beer. He grumbled, “Big nephew, what’s going on? It’s the middle of summer, and you’ve run out of beer?” “Uncle, business has been so good that we just sold out—we haven’t had time to restock yet.” Bai Xiaobai was a master of lies; he made it up on the spot without even batting an eye. “Never mind if there isn’t any. Just serve the food then.” Bai Yuanshan grumbled inwardly, but he was starving—good food would have to do even without alcohol. “Sure thing. Uncle, just a moment.” Since the Sun outside was just too intense, Bai Xiaobai had already carried the pot of “Supreme” tea eggs into the kitchen to “escape the heat.” Taking two steps at a time, Bai Xiaobai dashed into the kitchen, grabbed two bowls, scooped out two “Supreme” tea eggs with a slotted spoon, placed one in each bowl, and carried them back out. Bai Yuanshan was chatting with Professor Lin when he suddenly caught a whiff of a rich, aromatic scent. He initially thought it was a delicious dish, but upon closer inspection, all that was placed before him was a single white porcelain bowl—and inside, nothing but a single tea-eggs. Oh my god… Bai Yuanshan was instantly dumbfounded. Who serves tea eggs to guests in the middle of the day? This nephew usually seemed pretty sharp—how could he be so clueless at a critical moment? It’s not like it would cost him anything. “Nephew, did you make any other good dishes? Hurry up and bring them out.” Bai Yuanshan glanced toward the kitchen. “Uncle, that’s it. The shop only has tea-eggs. Fifty yuan each—they’re delicious.” Bai Xiaobai’s remark was honestly a bit of a letdown for his uncle, but rather than beating around the bush, it was better to be straightforward—especially since he had complete confidence in his “Supreme Tea Eggs.” Bai Yuanshan, who was so hungry his eyes were seeing stars, froze the moment he heard Bai Xiaobai’s words. Although he didn’t say anything out loud, Bai Yuanshan was already cursing under his breath. It’s no small feat for your uncle to make the long trip all the way to your shop. I was originally hoping to help you boost your sales a bit, but I never expected that you, you little brat, haven’t learned anything useful—except how to rip off your uncle. You think you can fool people with a single egg? And charging an exorbitant price—fifty yuan for one egg? You’re extorting your uncle, you little brat… … Under normal circumstances, Bai Yuanshan would have blurted out these inner monologues, but with Professor Lin sitting right next to him, saying them out loud would only make things awkward. Bai Yuanshan hadn’t invited Professor Lin to dinner for nothing; he had a difficult antique appraisal issue he needed his help with. Because the matter was so complicated, Bai Yuanshan had been hesitant to bring it up. He’d finally managed to carve out some time to meet with Professor Lin; his original plan was to treat him to a nice meal and bring up the matter at the right moment, but he never expected his dim-witted nephew to ruin everything. Seeing the awkward look on Bai Yuanshan’s face, the refined Professor Lin immediately stepped in to smooth things over: “It’s fine—I actually like tea eggs too.” Professor Lin considered himself deeply devoted to the study of antiques; he had long since renounced worldly desires and had no particular preferences when it came to food, so even if tea-eggs were served, he could accept them. Besides, the tea-eggs before him smelled delicious, and their surfaces—soaked in tea and sauce—had taken on a very tempting reddish-brown hue. Professor Lin picked up the tea-flavored egg, examined it closely, and began carefully peeling away the shell. The snow-white egg white, once peeled, was covered with brownish-red cracks. However, this tea-flavored egg was different from the ones Bai Xiaobai had eaten before. The brown cracks on the surface of the egg white were very distinct, without a single rough edge—just like the characteristic “crackle glaze” found on antique porcelain, with the cracks layered upon one another, uniform in size, and rich in texture. Professor Lin, who was usually reserved and spoke little, couldn’t help but clap his hands in admiration upon seeing this: “The crackle pattern on the surface of this egg white is so beautiful—it’s practically a work of art. Fantastic!” Almost the moment Professor Lin clapped his hands in praise, the System’s voice echoed in Bai Xiaobai’s mind. [Congratulations, Host. You have cooked a “Supreme Cracked-Pattern Tea-Egg.” Upon completing the beginner’s quest, your system rewards will be increased tenfold. ]