Chapter 11：The upgradeable braised pork recipe.

Although Bai Ye wasn't upset, Jiang Lan still felt a bit sorry for him, while Bai An'an was angry. She got into the car, pouting with her cheeks puffed out.

Bai Ye put everything away and started the car.

Bai Lao (Father) looked at the items, "Bai Ye, you mentioned you were going to prepare some seasonings, have you got them ready?"

"Almost, but I think I'm still missing one crucial ingredient," Bai Ye replied vaguely.

"What's missing? What did you buy?" Bai Lao asked.

Bai Ye listed all the seasonings he had bought, many of which Bai Lao and Jiang Lan had never even used in their lives.

For their stewed meat, they typically only used things like cinnamon, star anise, and bay leaves. Bai Ye, however, had dozens of items.

"That's impressive, I've never heard of so many seasonings," Bai An'an whispered from the back, curiously rummaging through the bags.

"If you ask me, the one seasoning we absolutely can't do without is the soybean paste. Without it, how can it have any flavor?" Jiang Lan chimed in.

"Right, without soybean paste, it wouldn't be called braised meat," Bai Lao agreed.

Bai Ye's eyes lit up.

That's it!

Soybean paste!

How did he forget about that?

The reason he hadn't thought of it was because it wasn't available at the market. In their area, every household made their own soybean paste. Whenever the time came, everyone would gather and make it together.

The big market in Nan Village was filled with people from nearby villages, so who would come to buy soybean paste?

Bai Ye had a sudden realization, and his face brightened with joy. If soybean paste was the last seasoning he needed, then he'd have everything!

"Right, makes sense. I'll try it when we get back!"

Excited, Bai Ye sped up the car. Fortunately, the roads had been improved in recent years; otherwise, the journey would have been quite uncomfortable.

When they reached the gate, Bai Lao opened the door before Bai An'an even had a chance to get out of the car.

Bai Ye parked the car at the door, unloaded everything, and then parked the car in the spot he used yesterday, which had a roof to protect it from the snow.

Now that they had a car, it was time to think about building a proper parking space at home. Plus, the back seat needed to be reinstalled—it wasn't comfortable to sit in the back.

As Bai Ye got out of the car, he saw the wood incense that Bai An'an had tossed onto the firewood pile and quickly pulled it down.

This was a precious item. If his mom used it for cooking, it would be a waste.

But how should he use it?

Bai Ye searched on his phone and found out that it was the root and stem that could be used. The rest was useless.

He quickly removed the roots, tossing the rest back onto the firewood pile.

"Hey, bro, what are you doing with this stuff?" Bai An'an asked, seeing this with curiosity.

"You think I need anything? This is an herb and a seasoning. I need it!" Bai Ye bragged in front of his sister.

"Ah, I see!" Bai An'an said with an enlightened expression. "I knew my brother was amazing!"

"Hahahaha!" Bai Ye laughed heartily, using a ladle of water to wash both the wood incense and his hands.

"Bai Ye, hurry and take off your clothes. I'll sew them up for you," Jiang Lan said, taking the clothes and talking while she worked. "This clothes has been around for years. I remember it was bought when Bai Ye was in high school, right?"

"Yeah," Bai Ye nodded, "Mom, when our braised meat makes money, we'll buy new clothes."

After washing his hands, Bai Ye went to check the soybean paste jar at home. This was something every family had in their area, and the jar in the corner could last until the next year. By the time the soybeans were harvested, they'd have used up the old batch and made a new one.

The moment Bai Ye scooped up a spoonful of soybean paste, a notification sound came from his phone.

[...Found recipe ingredient: Soybean paste. (33/33)]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have completed Task (3)! Rewards: 1) 50 experience points. 2) B-grade secret braised meat recipe (Upgradeable). 3) 2888 yuan. Please check.]

The notification rang on his phone, and with the remaining money, it instantly added up to more than 3,000 yuan.

"Bro, your phone's ringing," Bai An'an said.

Bai Ye was overjoyed. Not only had he obtained the recipe, but it was also upgradeable.

"Dad, Mom, our braised meat is definitely going to taste great. When we make big money, we'll buy new clothes."

"Bro, I want some too!" Bai An'an ran over, grabbing Bai Ye's hand and shaking it.

"Don't worry, you won't be left out," Bai Ye teased, giving his sister a playful poke on the nose. "Come help me!"

"Okay!"

After being out for several hours, it was time for lunch. Jiang Lan was busy cooking, while Bai Lao took advantage of the half-frozen pork to cut it into pieces.

As for Bai Ye, he was preparing to make the braised meat using the secret recipe the system had given him.

The recipe was for 50 pounds of braised meat, and the amount of each seasoning needed to be precise.

The weight couldn't be altered lightly, because sometimes a small difference could make a big difference in taste.

"An'an, do you remember where our small scale is?"

"Is it the copper one, the one Grandpa left behind?" Bai An'an thought for a moment and answered.

"Yes, that's the one."

"I know where it is!" Bai An'an ran into their parents' room and rummaged through a cabinet opposite the bed, bringing out a small copper scale.

The scale plate was only the size of a palm, and the rod was thin, about half the length of the chopsticks Jiang Lan used to fry dumplings in the morning.

Bai Ye wiped the scale clean. Fortunately, it was made of copper, so even though it had some surface dust, a few wipes with a dry cloth made it spotless.

"An'an, let me teach you about these seasonings," Bai Ye said, picking up one of the seasonings, explaining it to his sister, then placing it on the scale to measure the exact amount and dumping it into the large bowl in front of her.

The siblings had fun, happily measuring the seasonings, until they heard Jiang Lan calling them for lunch.

For lunch, they had leftover dumplings from the day before. It was a quick meal, and then they were all back at work on the braised meat.

In the living room, the couple divided the pig meat into pieces, carefully singeing the skin over the fire.

When pigs were slaughtered, they didn't bother with such detail, so there was often some residual hair. Burning it off like this was just right.

After Bai Ye measured all the seasonings, he rinsed them briefly and soaked them in white wine.

Making a pot of brine was no challenge for Bai Ye; he had done it before when working in a shop, but now he had a much more detailed recipe.

Bai Ye took over from Bai Lao, skillfully placing the meat into the pot of cold water. After it boiled, he skimmed off the scum and cleaned the meat.

Now came the process of simmering the brine.

This was a job that Bai Lao and the others couldn't help with, so Bai Ye had to do it on his own.

He loved cooking, especially when it came to new recipes, and he was excited to get to work.

After a while, while the family was sitting on the bed, chatting and eating the crispy peanuts they had just bought, they suddenly smelled a delicious fragrance wafting through the air.

4o