Chapter 25: This Is the True Definition of a Trap
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
[Random Reward]: The Soup Dumplings (Available)
The system read, "The price is 66RMB per serving"
"This might be the cheapest food in the restaurant. I can eat more tomorrow."
Yuan Zhou couldn’t help murmuring when he saw the price.
Without even thinking, Yuan Zhou directly clicked the button "receive". Since it was the first time he received a reward for wheat-based foods, the Soup Dumplings also turned into an image of a book and with a blast of light, wrapped Yuan Zhou’s head. Then the light entered deep into his brain and disappeared afterwards.
The Soup Dumplings rewarded this time conformed to the regular style of the system. There were no introductions concerning the ingredients, but it had strict requirements regarding the execution and timing for mixing the flour to create dough. The stuffing and the sauce soup were complicated as well.
When he opened his eyes, Yuan Zhou felt he had become a master who had made the Soup Dumplings for dozens of years. It was an amazing feeling to cook the world-class cuisine with top ingredients.
"These Soup Dumplings could conquer the world as well."
At that moment, Yuan Zhou felt hungry again. But when he looked at the clock, it was almost 12:00 p.m. Considering that he still had to open his restaurant the following day, Yuan Zhou could only restrain his excitement and prepare to go to bed.
Lying on his bed, Yuan Zhou suddenly thought of his title. Thus he clicked on it and carefully checked his mission information.
Target: the system will help you to get a thorough knowledge of both western and traditional Chinese foods so you could become the top Master Chef in the world.
Host: Yuan Zhou (ordinary Chinese Han nationality human)
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Physical quality: C (overall evaluations of neutral responding speed, strength, coordination and sensibility, etc.)
Culinary talent: Unknown
Skill: None
Tool: None
5 Dimension Cooking evaluation: Novice
(A novice that had just mastered how to cook the Egg Fried Rice)
Level: 1
Title: Master of Cooked Wheaten Food
(As a Master of Cooked Wheaten Food, how could you be so busy in the kitchen? You need some time of your own to improve your culinary skills. Therefore, business hours must be less than 6 hours every day.)
The glaring word of six hours
"System, can I abandon this title?"
Not until now did Yuan Zhou realize the intention of the system. How could he make money if he could only work for no more than 6 hours? The revenues would fall by a large amount. This really was a trap.
The system read, "The title will be worn automatically. Removal is not allowed while upgrades are possible."
"Aha Aha"
What the f*ck is this! Those few words best described Yuan Zhou’s mood. Is this the feeling of sacrificing long term gains for short term benefits?
However delicious the Soup Dumplings was, it couldn’t compensate the pain of losing money.
The only means that could alleviate the severe pains was to make more money.
"Then when can this restriction be canceled?" Yuan Zhou asked the system with faint hope.
The system read, "Host can decide on the business hours once he reaches Level 5."
Actually Yuan Zhou knew it was good for him to limit his business hours. Business hours that were too long would not help his small restaurant. Although he could make a decent sum in the short term, it would not help the Master Chef Restaurant in any way, merely exhausting him. It was common knowledge that restaurants had to create new dishes while serving existing ones. Currently, Yuan Zhou didn’t have an assistant, thus he also felt quite tired after working for such long periods every day.
Even as Yuan Zhou comforted himself this way, he still couldn’t accept the fact that a large source of his income had now disappeared. However, this was all due to his low level, thus he was helpless.
While consoling himself over and over again, Yuan Zhou fell sound asleep. Though he had the system, the Fried Rice with Eggs was still all prepared by his hand. It was tiring to work continuously for 12 hours a day.
"Ling Ling Ling"
Yuan Zhou set the clock very early today. It was barely 6 o’clock and the sun had just risen up outside the window.
"Peng"
Yuan Zhou was groggy since he hadn’t woken up this early in a long time. As he was getting up, he knocked over the laptop that had accompanied him for years. Even then, Yuan Zhou didn’t notice it as he still wasn’t completely awake. Not until he finished brushing his teeth and washing his face did he saw that tragic sight.
The laptop which was originally black in color, had turned grey due to all the dirt on it and from its old age. The reason why Yuan Zhou didn’t use it recently was because the laptop was too old to play even a mini game. Its performance speed was as slow as an old lady.
It was 6:20. He decided to cook the Soup Dumplings first, then only solving the computer problem.
"Pa"
He flipped the light switch for the kitchen. Immediately, the light lit up, revealing a clean and spotless kitchen.
Yuan Zhou came to the rice cabinet whose neighboring cabinet had been marked as strong flour. He discovered it was filled with white flour once he opened it. The fragrance and the faint sweet taste of wheat rushed toward his nose.
There was also a new white cabinet, about 50cm high, that appeared at the foot of the stairway. The pork belly used to prepare the stuffing were stacked neatly inside. Yuan Zhou took up a piece casually and found it was of top quality, with an even ratio of meat and fat, which were up to six layers. Furthermore, the skin had been shaved clean.
One glance gave Yuan Zhou a great appetite.
On the other side, the drawer marked with raw ginger contained pieces of old ginger filled to the brim. It gave of a spicy scent with a hint of sweetness. As for the most important ingredient in the gravy, the pig skin, it had been frozen and preserved well.
Beside the furnace, a steamer had appeared. The steamer consisted of a big iron pan at the lower part and a bamboo cover at the top. The bamboo cover was a beautiful green and emitted the fresh scent of bamboo too.
The steamer baskets were specifically for steaming the Soup Dumplings, each with a diameter of 10cm, just suitable for one Pork Bun in each basket. The baskets were also made from bamboo, giving the pale kitchen a sudden contrast with its extraordinary dark green.
The work desk was still beside the azure stone countertop. Yuan Zhou began to scoop the flour up and put it into a big basin. Afterward, he first sifted the flour, then added a mixture of warm water and eggs into the flour before starting to knead dough.
"Peng"
Kneading dough was a tough job. Since Yuan Zhou had a fairly good strength and some special skills from the system, he kneaded the dough perfectly without leaving any residuals. After kneading for a little while, he covered the dough with a wet cloth and set it aside to rise.
Yuan Zhou knew the technique for stuffing by heart. First, he cut the big blocks of pork belly into small diced meat, then minced them. Next, he crushed the ginger and chopped it into very small pieces. Finally, he mixed it with the mince little by little using a cleaver.
The key to creating tasty stuffing was to mix all the spices into the mince by cutting with a cleaver rather than mixing it with other tools. This way, the spices could penetrate the mince deeply and make the mince tougher and chewier, rather than dispersing in the mouth.
After adding the spices in sequence and mashing them into the mince with the cleaver, Yuan Zhou chopped for a few more minutes. Then he put the stuffing in a big basin and then left it in the fridge for a quick freeze. The purpose was to solidify the gravy.
While the dough was rising, Yuan Zhou sliced the frozen pig skin into small pieces.
The risen dough was kneaded into a long strip and then cut into small pieces. Then Yuan Zhou started to create the dough wrappings for the Soup Dumplings. The basic requirements for the dough wrappings for Soup Dumplings were light, thin, clear and tough, which had baffled many.
However, it wasn’t a problem for Yuan Zhou. The Soup Dumplings appeared one after another very quickly once he started. In spite of that, he was still trying to speed up, aiming to imitate the main character in Cooking Master Boy that could roll dough wrappings with one hand while making Soup Dumplings with the other.
The mouth of the Soup Dumplings required 36 folds. It was too difficult for Yuan Zhou at his current state to complete such an exquisite job with only his left hand, thus he had to use both hands. Nevertheless, even the old masters who had been doing this job for dozens of years would still clap their hands and give compliments if they saw Yuan Zhou’s speed and exquisite skills.
Yuan Zhou didn’t prepare to make a lot of Soup Dumplings. He just stopped when he filled the Soup Dumplings in all the steaming baskets. The prepared ingredients were just right, as if they were calculated beforehand. Altogether, there were exactly 100 Soup Dumplings.