Bai Xiaobai is a twenty-two-year-old restaurant owner struggling to keep the small eatery left behind by his parents alive. Everything changes when a mysterious Gourmet System appears in his mind, promising to train him into a master chef. Starting with an outrageously expensive tea egg, he must complete strict missions, master increasingly difficult recipes, and learn to work with extraordinary ingredients. As word of his food spreads, his once-empty restaurant attracts devoted customers, culinary rivals, competitions, and unexpected opportunities. What begins as a desperate attempt to save a failing business gradually becomes Bai Xiaobai’s journey toward understanding food, craftsmanship, responsibility, and what it truly means to become a great chef.
Chapter 41: New Rules
As always, she was defeated by the system. Bai Xiaobai was a bit speechless—she’d clearly obtained the item, yet now she couldn’t use it. Hehe But since she’s already at the “Da Bai” level, the next level is “Xiao Tong,” so it shouldn’t take too long. The “1,000-Yuan Card” item was quite large—about twice the size of a regular bank card. Bai Xiaobai wasn’t in the habit of using a wallet. Just as he was about to slip the 1,000-yuan card into his pocket, he realized the pockets of his shorts were too shallow—forcing it in would likely cause it to fall out. “System, it’s inconvenient to just tuck the 1,000-yuan card into my pocket, and it’s likely to fall out. Could you provide a storage space—something like Doraemon’s pocket—that can hold an unlimited number of items?” Bai Xiaobai was telling the truth—he had one small flaw. He was prone to misplacing small items and often couldn’t even remember where he’d put his own keys. Besides, this was just the first item. If he acquired new items later on, he certainly couldn’t stuff them all into his pocket—that would be way too inconvenient. The System’s cold, electronic voice rang out 【Host level is too low; you cannot currently possess a storage item. Please work hard to level up to “Xiaotong.” Once you reach the Xiaotong level, the Host will receive a mysterious storage item provided by the system. 】 As soon as Bai Xiaobai heard about a storage item, he perked up immediately. “A mysterious storage item? What is it?” 【Host level is too low; you cannot know! Please work hard to level up! 】 The system was being coy again. By now, Bai Xiaobai had become immune to the system’s tricks, so his mood wasn’t particularly affected. Leveling up is the way to go. Bai Xiaobai opened the plastic bag, took out the 10 “Little Bear” 1-XP recharge cookies he’d earned from completing a side quest, and popped one into his mouth. Bai Xiaobai had received this type of cookie before after smashing a tea-egg to reveal a double-yolk egg. Still the familiar taste. Crispy texture, subtle sweetness, and a rich apple aroma—it didn’t stick to his teeth at all. It was indeed quite good. After finishing one Little Bear Cookie, Bai Xiaobai could feel the “Experience” column on his Data Gold Card immediately increase by 1 point. “System, these Little Bear cookies taste great. What are they made of? Will it be possible to unlock the recipe for these cookies in the future?” Bai Xiaobai thought to himself. These Little Bear cookies make an excellent everyday snack—not too sweet or cloying, and far superior to store-bought cookies. System Message: The “Little Bear 1 EXP Cookie” is a food exclusive to the Host’s level-up and cannot be crafted! It can only be obtained as a reward. Seeing this system message, Bai Xiaobai felt both happy and helpless. He was happy because it was an exclusive food—meaning it was like a special treat that others couldn’t get their hands on. He felt helpless because it could only be obtained as a reward; he couldn’t make it himself. Since she can’t make them, she’ll save a few Little Bear Cookies to eat tomorrow. Bai Xiaobai put the remaining Little Bear Cookies back into the plastic bag, tied the opening tightly, and sealed it. Just then, the system’s cold, electronic voice sounded again. [Exclusive food for leveling up cannot be stored; otherwise, after ten minutes have passed, even if you eat it, it won’t grant any experience! Host, please proceed with caution. ] Bai Xiaobai “……” [Once the Host reaches the “Xiaotong” level, they will receive a Host-Exclusive Food Fridge provided by the system. At that time, they’ll be able to use the Host-Exclusive Food Fridge to store various upgrade-exclusive foods for extended periods. ] Host-Exclusive Food Fridge! All kinds of upgrade-exclusive foods! Upon hearing the system’s message, Bai Xiaobai was instantly filled with anticipation. So, the Little Bear 1-XP Top-Up Cookie is just one type of exclusive upgrade food! There will be a dazzling array of other exclusive upgrade foods to come. It seems that reaching the “Xiaotong” level is a major milestone for leveling up. Reaching “Xiaotong” not only unlocks the use of items but also grants access to items from a mysterious storage space and the Host-Exclusive Food Fridge. Each of these three rewards is incredibly tempting. I must level up to “Xiaotong” as soon as possible. Since he couldn’t store the exclusive upgrade foods right now, Bai Xiaobai simply gobbled up the remaining Little Bear cookies in one go. His experience bar increased by 9 points. After finishing the Little Bear cookies, Bai Xiaobai opened the Gold Card profile he hadn’t checked in a long time. Name: Bai Xiaobai Goal: To become a top-tier chef versed in both Eastern and Western cuisines. Gender: Male Age: 22 Ethnicity: Han (Earth Human) Item: 1,000-yuan card Title: [Tea Egg Master] Special Move: None Experience: 171 points Physical Attributes: Lock Mastered Dishes: Supreme Tea-Egg (d), Supreme Beef Noodles (c) Supreme Chili Sauce (side) Culinary Talent: ? Current System Level: Big White Remarks: Blank The “Items” section now includes the “1,000-Yuan Card,” and the “Mastered Dishes” list has been updated accordingly. As for the experience section, even though the experience has reached 171 points after gaining 10 points, the system level remains firmly at “Da Bai.” Bai Xiaobai had previously asked the system how much experience was needed to reach the “Xiao Tong” level, but the aloof system gave no response. However, constant dripping wears away the stone, and Bai Xiaobai wasn’t in a rush; leveling up to “Xiao Tong” was only a matter of time. “Oh, right, System, what new quests are coming up?” Realizing the many benefits of reaching the “Xiaotong” level, Bai Xiaobai asked about new quests for the first time on her own initiative. Since the side quest has been completed, there’s bound to be a new one. Sure enough, the System’s cold, electronic voice soon echoed in her mind. [Host, please accept the “Awesome as Hell” quest. ] The cold, electronic voice faded away. System text appears “Sky-High Beef” Quest: Sell a cumulative total of 200 “Supreme” Meal Sets. System Rules 1. The ‘Supreme’ Meal Set includes one bowl of Supreme Beef Noodles, one 5ml serving of Supreme Chili Sauce, and one Supreme Tea-Egg. Each “Supreme” Meal Set is priced at 500 yuan. Due to the Host’s low level, the price may not be altered. 2. Each customer is limited to one Supreme Set Meal per day at the restaurant, and the set meal must be consumed on-site; takeout service is not permitted. Supreme Set Meals consumed by the Host do not count toward the sales total. 3. During the “Bullish” Quest, daily operating hours are limited to 6 hours. The Host may freely schedule operating hours, but they must not exceed 6 hours; otherwise, the cumulative sales for that day will immediately be invalidated. 4. Special Note: Daily operating hours are calculated based on the opening and closing of the Restaurant’s roll-up door. Opening the roll-up door signifies the start of business, at which point the countdown begins; conversely, closing the roll-up door signifies the end of business, at which point the countdown pauses. Rewards for completing the “Soar to New Heights” mission: +1 qualification to launch a new product + 100 experience points. The system’s explicit instructions even strictly define the benchmark for business hours. There’s virtually no room to exploit loopholes. After carefully reading the system’s lengthy instructions, Bai Xiaobai briefly analyzed the situation. The rewards for this “Bullish” quest are indeed quite good. The benefits of launching a new product go without saying, and the additional 100 experience points are also quite tempting. With any luck, completing the “Soaring Success” quest might allow him to level up to “Little Tong” immediately. However, excitement aside, Bai Xiaobai was keenly aware that this quest would be a long and arduous journey. Not only was the sales target set at a full 200 bowls, but the price of a single “Supreme Set Meal” was 500 yuan. So, just the total amount required for this quest alone came to 100,000 yuan. Most crucially, a new rule had been introduced for this mission. Operating hours are limited to just 6 hours per day. Six hours—that’s less than half of his usual operating hours. Fortunately, the system didn’t strictly mandate specific times, so he could adjust and freely arrange his operating hours at any time based on actual circumstances. After silently analyzing the situation in his mind, Bai Xiaobai clicked to accept the “Sky-High” mission. Almost the instant he clicked. A countdown immediately popped up in his mind. The countdown showed 6 hours remaining out of the day’s 6-hour operating window. The countdown had already begun. The morning meal rush had long since passed, so to make the most of today’s precious 6 hours of business Bai Xiaobai immediately pulled down the shop’s roll-up gate.
