Qi Yue looked up and saw Chu Yi at the door, mouth wide open. He’s hungry?
“Anyone here a water-ability user? Call a few over to wash the vegetables.”
Qi Yue said unceremoniously. Not using something for free was a waste, they have so many people here, they definitely have free tap water. Might as well call them over to release water and at the same time act as free laborers. He loved cooking, but really had no patience washing vegetables.
Chu Yi: “Okay. Need anything else?”
Looking at this posture, his cooking skills definitely can’t be bad right? He hadn’t eaten well for half a month, just thinking of eating, his stomach immediately growled. Chu Yi quickened his pace going to the brothers’ side, calling over the water-ability people.
Qi Yue took out from his space all kinds of various sized vegetable-washing basins. Thought for a moment, then sent Chu Yi to go ask Han Fei for some eggs. Standing there stupidly, and during the afternoon when he towed himself he even acted so fierce toward him, if he didn’t order him around, who else? Anyways, it’s cooking for them, making him work made him feel completely at ease.
Chu Yi ran off happily, transforming into an errand boy without even knowing. After a while, he came out hugging a whole box of eggs, placing it beside Qi Yue.
Qi Yue had a headache, what to do? Just this one box of eggs at least has more than a hundred. It can only be like this. When a boat gets to the bridge it naturally straightens, anyway he made himself come, they can forget about making him leave!
Before starting, Qi Yue first cut the ginger, scallions, garlic, then put them aside. He then took out all the other seasonings that may be used in cooking.
Different sizes, different packaging bottles. Easily ten or twenty kinds of seasonings, this is salt, this is MSG, um this is chicken bouillon, licked it, um this is white sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, white vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, pickled chili, star anise, pepper powder, tenderizing powder, starch, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and a bunch he can’t name. Chu Yi was even more dumbfounded than earlier, his mouth opened even wider, couldn’t close it at all. Even the water-ability gangster A helping wash vegetables was stunned, this is a national-level chef right!
Qi Yue ignored them, busying himself.
He took a bowl from his little kitchen, poured in flour, then cracked in eggs, added salt, five-spice powder, baking soda, and water, mixing until it formed a runny batter. Next, he chopped the meat, thirty percent fat, seventy percent lean, into mince. He added chopped scallions, minced ginger, salt, chicken bouillon, cooking wine, and light soy sauce to the meat, then stirred vigorously in one direction.
He pulled lotus roots from the wash basin cleaned earlier by the “free labor,” took out a peeler from his spatial storage, peeled them, and sliced them into thin rounds. After slicing, he sandwiched meat filling between two lotus root slices, pressed them tight, and set them aside to make the next one.
Because of his ability, Qi Yue moved quickly. He chopped cucumbers, added salt, MSG, and dry chili shreds on top. He set a wok on the gas stove, lit the fire, poured in sesame oil to heat, threw in a few Sichuan peppercorns, and once the oil was hot, he poured it over the cucumbers and chili. Then he added white vinegar and a pinch of sugar, mixed it well, and set it aside to cool, sour-spicy cucumbers tasted best chilled. He continued working.
Han Fei was impressive, who knew where he had scavenged all these ingredients? Everything was so well stocked. Had he gone to a vegetable market?
Qi Yue cut up the bok choy, mushrooms, spinach, cabbage, onions, lotus root, and pork belly. Some he diced, some he sliced, some he shredded. He boiled a pot of water with a small spoonful of salt and blanched the vegetables one by one, draining them afterward. After thinking for a moment, he reluctantly took some dried shrimp and squid strips from his spatial storage, ingredients he had prepared before the apocalypse and blanched them as well.
He heated oil in the wok, added minced doubanjiang and stir-fried until red oil came out, then added fresh and dried chilies. He stir-fried the pork belly, squid, and shrimp first, then added onions and finally the green vegetables. After everything was cooked, he transferred it into ceramic bowls and covered them with lids. Three servings, there were too many people to feed otherwise.
Time passed slowly. Thanks to his ability, Qi Yue wasn’t tired at all from cooking so much. In fact, he realized his spiritual power was increasing. Could cooking raise his spiritual power? Was his ability upgraded through cooking?
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. He cooked in increasingly good spirits.
But it was torture for Chu Yi and Thug A beside him. They were drooling all over the place, completely unlike gangsters! They stared fixedly at the finished dishes, but because of their “status,” neither dared to ask for a taste. The boss hadn’t eaten yet; they didn’t dare eat first, but couldn’t bear to leave either. Their hearts were in knots.
Qi Yue was puzzled. He had just finished the spicy shredded pork Han Fei requested and glanced at them while plating. Seeing the two staring without blinking, he silently despised them. These gluttons calling themselves gangsters? What a disgrace to the underworld!
He heated oil to fifty percent, dipped the stuffed lotus root slices into the batter, and fried them until golden on both sides, then drained the oil.
After he fried a plateful, he handed it to the two and gestured for them to try it.
The moment they heard him, they didn’t care that it was piping hot, each grabbed one and shoved it straight into their mouths.
“Tasty,” Thug A mumbled through his stuffed cheeks, completely ignoring his image.
Chu Yi was more refined, eating silently. Likely he didn’t want to talk, if he talked, Thug A would get more than him. It was delicious… and not just delicious, the food filled him with spiritual power and made his whole body feel comfortable.
Everything was prepared, three servings of each dish. Their group always ate separately. At Han Fei’s table sat only Glasses and Chu Yi. It seemed their status by Han Fei’s side was fairly high.
Qi Yue placed the dishes neatly on the table Han Fei had brought out. Then, like a loyal lackey, he took bowls and chopsticks from his little kitchen and set them out. After finishing, he looked at Han Fei with bright, expectant eyes, urging him to taste the food.
Han Fei frowned at the dishes. They were richly colored and fragrant, crispy yet tender, fresh and glossy, looking incredibly appetizing, though he wondered how they tasted. Then he glanced at Qi Yue. Those moist, eager eyes staring at him made his scalp tingle. Glasses and Chu Yi were already having trouble holding back, both saliva pooling as they sat waiting.
Steeling himself, Han Fei took a bite. His eyebrows lifted, this kid hadn’t lied. It was delicious. Even a professional chef might not match him. Very satisfied, he signaled for Glasses and Chu Yi to eat as well, then said to Qi Yue, “Sit down and eat with us.”
Seeing that the boss was pleased, Qi Yue smirked proudly. “You eat first, I’ll go get the rice.” He left to fetch it.
Qi Yue was now certain, cooking really raised his ability. After making all these dishes, his spiritual power had increased slightly. It wasn’t enough for a full upgrade yet, but his overall stats were better, and he wasn’t the slightest bit tired. While getting the rice, he sat on the ground and meditated for a few minutes. Yes, his hearing was even sharper now. He could hear them eating inside the room.
Actually, it was that they were just eating too loudly. Han Fei was fine, still refined as usual, though his chopsticks were moving much faster. The other two, however… their eating was a disaster, devouring the food like a whirlwind.
Qi Yue came over with a basin of rice, smiling brightly. Han Fei let him eat at the same table, none of the other underlings had that privilege. Did that mean he had been acknowledged? A future trusted aide? He was still happily fantasizing when he reached the table and instantly exploded.
BANG!!!
He slammed the basin on the table and glared furiously at the three.
They were obviously bullying the newcomer! In just that short time, they had eaten everything!
Chu Yi and Glasses gave awkward smiles. Not really their fault, the food was just too good. They hadn’t even tasted it properly before it was gone. Maybe he hadn’t made enough?
Han Fei leaned back in his seat: “Go stir-fry a couple dishes you like.”
Hmph! After cooking so long, he hadn’t gotten a single bite. Qi Yue was furious but didn’t dare throw a fit. He snorted at them and went back to cook more for himself.
Han Fei had already sensed something earlier, his level-two ability made him sharper than the others. After eating Qi Yue’s food, his body felt warm, his blood surging slightly, and the spiritual power he used during the day was slowly recovering.
What was going on?
Who exactly was Qi Yue?
His cooking was definitely unusual. Did he know his food had such effects?
Even knowing something was off, Han Fei still ate a lot. Just like the others, he couldn’t help himself, the food was delicious, appetite-boosting, and made his body feel comfortable afterward. Without realizing it, he had eaten more than usual.
When Qi Yue returned with the rice, Han Fei quietly watched him. Although suspicious, he felt no danger from him and decided to observe further.
Qi Yue was starving. Still annoyed, he cooked two dishes for himself: stir-fried beans with eggplant, and crispy salt-pepper baby potatoes plus a cold salad of lettuce leaves. He had planned to eat outside, but since the rice was inside, he carried everything in.
When he entered, the aroma hit them again. Though all vegetarian dishes, they looked delicious. Han Fei reached out with his bowl, signaling for Qi Yue to serve him more rice. Qi Yue glared at him so hard his eyes almost shot daggers, but Han Fei didn’t even look, just kept picking at the food. Chu Yi and Glasses, seeing the boss eating, also got up to serve themselves more rice and began devouring the new dishes.
Qi Yue mentally stabbed them with his eyes.
Do they have no shame? After eating so much?
But the three were far too busy eating to even notice him.
Irritated, he plopped down, shoveled two bites of plain rice, and reached his chopsticks out for a dish.
But there was no food left. They had eaten it clean again. He only managed to grab a single tiny potato.
