The First Opening of the Personal Shop

"Crackling..."

The flames smoked the meat skewers, giving them a glossy sheen from the oil.

Nanxu flipped the meat skewers over, sprinkled on a layer of spices, and instantly, a strong aroma burst out!

The aroma of charred oil mingling with the spiciness of seasonings made the surrounding players involuntarily swallow.

"Gulp..."

"Brother Nanxu, can we eat these meat skewers yet?" Xiaoyao Suifeng stared longingly at the meat skewers on the grill, his mouth watering.

Seeing this, Nan Xu reached out and gently brushed the skewers. An invisible stream of heat flowed into the skewers, and under the catalysis of his true energy, the skewers were instantly heated to a perfect doneness.

"Okay, go ahead and eat." Nan Xu smiled slightly and handed over the meat skewers. "Remember to give me your feedback after you finish eating."

Players who had been eyeing it for a long time couldn't wait any longer and rushed in to grab it:

"This one has more meat, I want this one!"

"Don't try to grab it, I already pre-ordered this!"

"Line up one by one, I'm first!"

In an instant, the meat skewers were devoured by the players in a whirlwind.

Then, they all shed tears of emotion:

"Mmm...it's so delicious! This is just too good!"

"What kind of pig swill was I eating before...?"

"Boss Nanxu, please, let me have one more skewer! I'll do anything!"

[Ding! The "Magic Book Catalogue" is impressed by your dish, experience points +325!]

[Ding! "Master Chef of Tianfu" is impressed by your dish, experience points +410!]

[Ding! "Red Dust Rolling" is impressed by your dish, experience points +388!]

……

Looking at the constantly fluctuating experience points on the panel, Nan Xu's smile became even brighter.

It's not that he can't make more delicious food, but if we're talking about food that's easy to cook, low-cost, doesn't discriminate against ingredients, and is convenient to sell to players in large quantities, then grilled skewers are the best choice.

Although he didn't use Xiangxue Salt this time, and the skewers he made were only grade seven, the players still showed their support.

Sigh, poor gamers. What can they eat in real life? Nothing more than pre-made meals and semi-finished products.

Even the most exquisite delicacies in reality would barely reach the seventh rank in the world of "Chef Soul".

Nan Xu hadn't even used his full strength, yet the food he made was already a delicacy they would never have the chance to experience in their lives. In the beginner village environment, it was practically a game-changer.

It's incredibly useful for harvesting experience points from players.

Unfortunately, the current players are too low-level, so even though the Seeker's rank is much higher than that of ordinary NPCs, the experience points they provide are not much.

Thinking of this, Nan Xu shook his head and refused the players' request for another skewer:

"Everyone, my ingredients also have a cost. The first skewer is just for tasting. If you want to try more, please pay for it."

"Yes, yes, of course!" The players nodded hastily. They were now completely following Nanxu's lead, and Nanxu's words carried great weight in their hearts.

And this request couldn't be more reasonable, right? For a chef of Nanxu's caliber to offer them a free skewer is already incredibly generous.

Thinking of this, several players who were worried about losing favor with Nan Xu glared at the person who had made the suggestion, fearing that they would be implicated.

There are no obvious prompts for increasing or decreasing favorability in this game; this option is only occasionally included in the rewards and punishments of missions.

"Brother Nanxu, how much is a skewer?" Xiaoyao Suifeng didn't think too much about it. He just thought the skewers were really delicious and couldn't wait to eat the next one.

"Seven copper coins," Nan Xu quoted a price that was neither too high nor too low.

This time, he used ordinary grade nine ingredients, the only commendable thing was that their quality scores were not low.

Although his craftsmanship gives him an edge, it's reasonable for him to sell at a higher price, but his main goal is to gain experience from players and expand his influence among them; making money is secondary.

"Alright, Boss Nanxu, I'll go make money right away, you wait!" Xiaoyao ran off in a flash.

Nan Xu nodded: "Okay. I'll stay here for a day, and tomorrow morning I'll set off for the next village."

"What? Boss, you're leaving?"

Xiaoyao Suifeng stopped abruptly halfway through his run, turned around, and asked incredulously.

"There's no other way. I have to head north to Yangzhou to attend a culinary event. I can't stay here forever," Nan Xu sighed, feigning helplessness.

In reality, the event is still a long way from starting; this move is simply to visit more beginner villages and recruit more players during the seven-day closed beta test.

Upon hearing this, the players immediately became anxious and said in the player channel:

"Damn it, what are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and earn money to collect ingredients! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

In the blink of an eye, the players scattered.

Nan Xu was preparing to pack up his stall when he looked up and realized that there was still one person who hadn't left.

"Huh? You didn't leave with them?"

"Because you said that the tasting was for us to give feedback." The head of Tianfu clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and said, "Just now I only focused on saying how delicious it was, but I didn't explain why it was delicious. I'm afraid such feedback won't be of much use to you."

Nan Xu raised an eyebrow upon seeing the ID above the other person's head.

The leader of Tianfu, the guild leader of the top-tier guild "Tianxialou", was also a renowned chef in his previous life, ranking slightly higher than himself.

Moreover, he has good relationships with many high-level NPCs and is even considered one of the players with the best NPC affinity.

"That's true, but I wasn't expecting any particularly valuable suggestions from you anyway." Nan Xu smiled. "Just saying it's 'delicious' is enough."

"But I was fortunate enough to taste such delicious food, so naturally I want to do everything I can to repay you," said the head chef of Tianfu Restaurant. "Although it's far from being as good as your cooking, I have still tasted some foods that are considered delicious by ordinary people."

"In my opinion, your skewers are particularly outstanding in terms of cooking time and seasoning, far surpassing those other foods, especially the complex spice flavor in the seasoning..."

The head of Tianfu spoke eloquently for over a minute before finally stopping his flattery of Nanxu.

Nan Xu nodded repeatedly, not because he was pleased by the praise, but because he could tell from the words of the head of Tianfu that the other party had a certain amount of experience in tasting food and that his ability to taste was not bad.

He casually waved his hand, increasing the favorability bonus in the mission rewards:

"The fact that you can taste these things means you have a good palate, which is a very important talent for a chef. I hope you don't waste it."

The head chef of Tianfu Restaurant's eyes lit up: "Yes! My dream since I was a child has been to become a chef, and I'm willing to put in any effort for it!"

As he spoke, he knelt on the ground, about to kowtow to Nan Xu: "I hope you will accept me as your disciple! Whatever tests you give me, I am willing to accept!"

Nan Xu was amused by the Tianfu leader's ability to climb the social ladder. He shook his head with a smile, "I'm just a student myself, how can I take on apprentices?"

As he spoke, he reached out and channeled a surge of true energy. The leader of the Heavenly Mansion felt an invisible force supporting him, preventing him from kneeling any further.

The leader of Tianfu sighed in disappointment. Sure enough, it wasn't that easy to become an apprentice of such a high-level NPC.

But Nan Xu's next words instantly excited him.

"...However, I can still teach you some basic cooking skills without any problem."

As he spoke, Nan Xu opened his own interface.

A system notification sounded in the ears of the leader of Tianfu, a sound as melodious as celestial music to him:

[Ding! "Nanxu" has decided to teach you "Basic Swordsmanship Explained". Do you wish to spend 1500 experience points to learn?]