The Arrogant Chef

As it turns out, things rarely go as smoothly as people expect.

By the time the players had carried the ingredients to the nearby village, it was already late at night.

"I can't take it anymore... I'm exhausted. My stamina bar has been depleted five times, and now it's almost half full," Xiaoyao Suifeng said, panting.

"Why don't we spend some money and hire an oxcart to take us and this pig to Wanling?" one player suggested. "By the time we get there, Nanxu should be there too."

"Yes, yes, the best reward is the one given to Nanxu!" Gummy Bear nodded. "I learned so many cooking skills for free, and even internal energy and lightness skills!"

"The protagonist of the world? Sounds good." Vanishing Time pondered for a moment. "How about we split the expenses?"

"It's okay, I'll play." Xiaoyao Suifeng patted his chest. "Brother Shiguang, just give me a friend slot."

During this time, he found many ingredients on the road that Nan Xu didn't want, so he sold them all and made a small fortune. He could still afford to hire a car.

Time Bro hesitated for a moment, then nodded. The other players, seeing that someone was paying for them, readily agreed as well.

"By the way, you said that Nan Xu, besides his cooking skills, can also teach internal energy cultivation and lightness skills?" Vanished Time asked again.

Little Gummy Bear nodded: "Yes! But I got it after giving away a grade three ingredient. I didn't see it in the character shop. It must be a hidden reward?"

"I see..." Vanished Time was a little disappointed and didn't say anything more.

He wasn't very interested in cooking skills because he had always been a kitchen disaster since he was a child.

As if cursed, whenever he cooks, the final product is always a disaster.

In this game, he also tried cooking, but the result was the same—he had absolutely no talent for it.

Although cooking skills can also be used to deal damage, the thought that practicing and upgrading cooking skills also requires culinary expertise makes him a little hesitant.

"I wonder if Nanxu has any pure martial arts techniques..."

As he pondered these thoughts, he boarded the oxcart.

The answer to this question may be found soon.

……

The scenery of Wanling is beautiful and picturesque.

It boasts not only verdant mountains and clear lakes, but also numerous rare birds and animals, exotic flowers and plants, creating a naturally beautiful landscape.

Since ancient times, Wanling has been an important cultural center in the Jiangnan region. Li Bai, the "Poet Immortal" who was known for his "three perfections" of poetry, wine, and swordsmanship, wrote famous poems such as "Sitting Alone on Jingting Mountain" here.

Nan Xu had been in Wanling for half a day. He briefly strolled through the market, intending to buy some local specialties, such as Xuan papaya, Shuidong jujubes, Nanhu silver fish, and Shuiyang river crabs.

As a result, I unknowingly bought a bunch of local specialties while being enthusiastically promoted by the vendors.

"Seriously... as soon as they have a little money, they inherit their bad habit of spending money like water from their previous life." Nan Xu shook his head helplessly.

In his previous life, he was a second-rank culinary immortal with a net worth in the hundreds of millions, so he naturally didn't consider this small amount of money as money.

But things are different now. He only has a little over a thousand taels of silver on him. If he continues to squander it like this, he'll run out of money sooner or later.

"No, no, I can't buy any more. I need to save the rest of the money to make some good kitchen utensils."

Having suppressed his desire to continue spending, Nan Xu stepped into a grand long street, where the aroma of food wafted from the restaurants on both sides.

It was nearly noon, and time for lunch.

Nan Xu looked at the shops on both sides of the street and fell into deep thought.

A philosopher once said that the three great questions in life are: what to eat for breakfast, what to eat for lunch, and what to eat for dinner.

"Xuandelou? I remember that Chef Shao shouldn't have retired yet at this time... This is a safe choice, the quality will be very consistent, but unfortunately I've already tried all their signature dishes."

Thinking of this, Nan Xu shook his head: "Forget it, I'll consider this place again tonight."

His special ability, [taste deduction], will continuously increase as he tastes more flavors, so he should try as many new and unusual flavors as possible.

Even disregarding that, as a foodie, he also harbors a strong curiosity and desire to explore flavors he has never tasted before.

As he looked at it, Nan Xu's eyes lit up.

"Ningquan Residence? The environment looks nice, and it seems quite popular..."

"Okay, you're the one!"

Nan Xu gladly went there, and after queuing for a while, he was led by the waiter to a private table.

"What are your signature dishes?" Nanxu asked while looking at the menu.

"Are you here for tourism? Then I recommend you order this 'Three Treasures of Shuiyang,' which is made by stewing duck feet, duck wings, and dried tofu from Shuiyang. It's one of our chef's specialties. And this steamed pork with rice flour is also very delicious," the waiter enthusiastically introduced.

"Okay, these two will do, along with a stir-fried vegetable dish and a bowl of rice." Nan Xu closed the menu and handed it to the waiter.

"Okay~ Please wait a moment, your food will be served shortly!"

After a while, the dishes were served one after another.

Nan Xu stretched out his chopsticks and reached for the three treasures of Shuiyang.

He chewed a few times and nodded slightly.

This dish alone shows why this restaurant is so popular. The duck feet and wings are incredibly delicious, the dried tofu is very flavorful, and the three ingredients blend together perfectly.

Then, he reached for the steamed pork and vegetables with his chopsticks.

After taking a few bites, Nan Xu frowned.

"Bring up the chefs who made these two dishes," he said to the waiter.

The waiter noticed the customer's expression was off and his heart tightened. He quickly replied, "Yes, yes!"

After a while, a pale-faced, beardless, and somewhat young-looking chef came out of the kitchen.

"You have a problem with the food I cooked?" His tone was very rude.

"You made both of these dishes?" Nan Xu raised an eyebrow. "Then that's it. I just have a problem with your cooking."

"Your steamed pork with rice flour is cooked to perfection, and the seasoning is also fine, but the rice flour is soggy and has absorbed too much oil. After a few more bites, it becomes greasy and disgusting, completely ruining the balance of the whole dish."

"And this stir-fried vegetable dish, the cooking time is okay, but you added way too much seasoning, which completely suppressed the natural aroma of the vegetables."

"In my opinion, both of these dishes are substandard."

However, the chef still maintained an arrogant demeanor:

"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense. We've been in business for so long, and these two dishes have always tasted the same. Don't tarnish my dishes because of your personal taste."

"I'm an eighth-rank chef, not some ninth-rank chef you can find anywhere on the street. You're just a kid, you probably don't understand what it means for someone my age to be an eighth-rank chef. You just need to know that I definitely know more about cooking than you do."

"Besides, no one else thinks there's anything wrong with my cooking, but you do, so it must be your problem."

"I suggest you go home and learn some cooking skills before you judge my dishes!"