Boiled Fish
In her sleep, Ina felt a sudden jolt and sat up abruptly, only to find that the wooden bed beneath her had turned into a pile of debris. How could the bed have collapsed so suddenly?
The system automatically explained: [Switching to human form changes your appearance, not your weight.]
Ina frowned, trying to understand. Did that mean she was now a young girl weighing twenty tons? But when she sat on the chair in the dining room, the chair remained intact. She didn't think the cherry wood chair was sturdier than the bed.
[Dragon Passive Skill: Anti-gravity Spell, effective only when you are conscious. This is a self-preservation method of the dragon race, used to prevent treasure from being stolen by thieves during sleep. As you know, dragons always rest on piles of gold coins.]
She used to have a mountain of gold coins, but now she couldn't even put one together. Ina got up from the debris of the wooden bed, realizing that she couldn't sleep like this. Would she have to ask a blacksmith to custom-make her an iron bed in the future?
The system emerged again, enthusiastically recommending: [The decoration shop has high-quality beds that fully meet your requirements~]
Ina skeptically opened the decoration shop and frowned at the glittering gold. What kind of design did this game have in mind? Looking at the European-style luxury four-poster bed, the extravagant carvings, unnecessary gemstones, and dazzling gold color—it was just too beautiful!
Ina was fascinated as she browsed through the pages, with gold shining brighter than the sun, sapphires outshining the stars, and the lustrous pearls captivating her. If walls were made of gold, gems made the dome, and glazed glass made the windows… Ina couldn't help but wonder, had her taste always been like this?
The prices that followed were certainly in line with the materials used. Ina patted her dust-free skirt and left the room. Sleep could wait! It was time to work and make money!
Ina looked seriously at the pile of ingredients in front of her. It was time to prove her worth. Yesterday's lettuce salad was a Failure. Even if a master chef were present, seeing that wilted yellow lettuce wouldn't inspire any cooking desires, so she couldn't blame herself for not trying harder.An hour later, Ina was presented with [Burnt Cucumber Stir-fried with Onion★: Completion 50][Half-cooked Lettuce☆: Completion 75][Thick Tomato and Ham Stir-fry★☆: Completion 65]
These evaluations were too harsh in Ina's opinion. The cucumber and onion stir-fry was just a little burnt, the lettuce was cooked just right, and the tomato needed to be stewed until tender!
But she still needed to complete the task. Staring at the round tomatoes in front of her, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
Lusen yawned and got out of bed, having not slept well. He kept hearing strange noises at night. First, there were sounds of wood breaking and something heavy falling, followed by hissing and crackling noises accompanied by a burnt smell. Was there a fire in the restaurant?
He rushed out to find the restaurant still as it was the day before, with Ina having been busy for a while. There were several plates of vegetables on the table. Ina smiled as she looked at a plate of sliced tomatoes, making Lusen feel a little uneasy.
He carefully asked, "Miss Ina, did you hear any strange noises last night?"
Ina's expression was very calm, "No."
[Tomato Mixed with Sugar★: Completion 95]: Refreshingly sweet and sour, thank the tomatoes and sugar!
[Congratulations on completing the career entry task: Make a dish with a completion rate of 90 or above. Reward: Chef skill book [Complete Guide to Home Cooking] has been sent to your backpack. We hope you study diligently and serve more customers!]
[Completed Daily Task 1: Make an edible dish, reward achievement points 20.]
Ina took the [Complete Guide to Home Cooking] out of her backpack and slapped it on herself, but the skill book didn't disappear into the light. Wasn't it supposed to be learned automatically?
The system repeated: [We hope you study diligently and serve more customers!]
So she had to study. Ina threw the cookbook back into her backpack and turned to Lusen, "Time for breakfast."
Lusen looked at the colorful stir-fried vegetables in front of him. Ina was generous, filling the table with vegetables that were expensive in Misty Town. However, eating these first thing in the morning seemed a bit strange, didn't it?
Lusen picked up a piece of tomato with his fork, wondering if this was a new way to make a vegetable salad. Why didn't he see any other seasoning?
The taste of this dish was quite novel for Lusen. It was pleasantly sweet and sour, with the delicate sugar and the slightly acidic tomato creating an appetizing mixture. The credit mainly went to the seemingly expensive snow-white sugar. Lusen had never seen such pure sugar cubes even at the most formal banquets he had attended.
Wouldn't serving such dishes at a small restaurant on the empire's border, catering mainly to mercenaries and townspeople, result in a loss?
Ina didn't have to worry about that. All the seasonings came from the system store's self-selected seasoning packages. They were one pound each and very cost-effective. Lusen didn't know yet that the limit to the restaurant's revenue wasn't the seemingly expensive seasonings, but the skill level of the restaurant owner.
After finishing his meal, Lusen was eager to repay Ina's warm hospitality. Hearing his inquiry, Ina pointed to a chair: "There's no work. You can sit and rest or mind your own business."
Lusen looked back and saw Ina studying something, completely ignoring him. Ina was selecting chili peppers. The sliced fish, although preserved in the refrigerator, couldn't stay there forever. She flipped through the cookbook she had just received from completing the task and immediately saw a recipe for boiled fish. Chili peppers and fish fillets were the perfect matches. Just thinking about the snow-white fish fillets in the bright red broth made Ina feel like she could smell the rich, savory aroma.
Her cooking skills were average, but she was good at making chili oil. Her family had a secret recipe for a chili oil that had been passed down through generations. Ina not only remembered it well but had also experimented with it many times.
The quality of the chili peppers determined the quality of the chili oil. Ina exchanged several types of chili peppers from the system: slender, lantern-shaped, and knuckle-sized ones. She wasn't sure if the chili peppers in this world would taste the same as the ones she was familiar with, but she gathered her courage, picked up one, and tentatively took a bite.
It felt strange. Ina felt that her sense of taste had become more sensitive. Although she couldn't be considered a novice in cooking, she was barely on the doorstep. But now, she could accurately distinguish the subtle differences between these similar chili peppers and even had a faint intuition about which chili pepper was more suitable for certain ingredients.
Had her hidden talent finally awakened?
The system poured cold water on her thoughts: "Have you ever considered that it's because you've changed your job to a chef?"
Ina clenched her fist, turning the chili pepper in her hand into a minced chili pepper.
The chili peppers in her hand were already dry enough, so she skipped the frying step. She poured different types of minced chili peppers into a bowl with a fragrant aroma, adding a little salt and sesame. The oil nearby was heated just right, and Ina scooped out the spices and slowly poured the hot oil onto the minced chili peppers.
With a sizzling sound, bubbles began to emerge in the bowl, and a dominant aroma spread. Lusen, who was processing cold thorn fish's bone nearby, suddenly raised his head, curious about the rich aroma.
As he approached, Lusen keenly noticed the bright red chili peppers next to the cooking station and gasped. He had worked in restaurants before, but this was the first time he had seen a chef use chili peppers as ingredients and in such large quantities.
The people of the Moro continent had relatively light tastes, often eating only sweet peppers that were crisp and almost not spicy. Lusen had only seen such brightly colored chili peppers in a border town frequented by beastmen. The drink made from these chili peppers was called Fire Sprite's Kiss, a punishment for losing a bet among the beastmen.
After drinking a cup of Fire Sprite's Kiss, one's lips and throat would immediately swell and ache, as if they had shared a passionate kiss with a fire sprite.
Lusen 's memories of that time were not vivid, so he was somewhat skeptical. Did Fire Sprite's Kiss also have such an indescribable aroma? It made his mouth dry and his throat tense, yet he couldn't help but flare his nostrils, wanting to smell more.
Ina marinated the fish fillets and set them aside, explaining proactively: "Tonight we're having boiled fish."
Lusen 's heart settled, as boiled fish, as the name suggested, was just fish soup, right? It had nothing to do with the seemingly dangerous concentrated chili extract beside it. He might be overthinking it; perhaps it was some kind of offensive potion the boss had made.
Using such a terrifying potion to attack enemies would surely make them flee in terror.
———
Simon was shopping for food for his entire team. He had two loaves of "Hanna's White Bread" on his back and a piece of black smoked meat in his hand. They would probably spend three or four days in the Midnight Swamp, and food was essential.
It was dinnertime, and Simon's stomach growled, but he had no expectations for the food he was carrying. Instead, he thought of the onion soaked in meat sauce and clam soup he had eaten in Eton City not long ago.
The thick meat sauce soaked into the tiny onions, and with a little black pepper and herbs, the taste was even more delicious than real grilled meat. The snow-white clam soup was mixed with mushrooms and basil leaves...
A breeze carried the aroma of food, making Simon's mouth water even more. Wait a minute, he turned his head curiously. Wasn't this the direction of the Dragon Flame Restaurant?