Master Chef?

Xu Le muttered in his heart before he thought of something. He asked, “Who are the judges?”

Lu Yuxi tacitly guessed Xu Le’s thoughts and said, “They’re all familiar faces that you’ve met before. They’re very authoritative in the industry, so it’s impossible for them to agree to destroy their own signboards and collude with the production team to do dirty work.”

“Oh?” Xu Le smiled and said, “In that case, that chef must be really skilled.”

Lu Yuxi wrinkled her nose. “Not necessarily.”

Li Qing also felt that it was strange and said, “Is there a need to make it so mysterious and full of gimmicks to participate in a competition? Is there a possibility that there’s more than one chef behind the scenes…”

Before he could finish his guess, his speculation was immediately rejected by the driver. “Young man, you can’t speak nonsense. The competition is interesting. I’ve been watching every episode. He must be trying to hold back his ultimate move.”

The driver spoke confidently and excitedly, “What do you think? Could that chef have come back from his further studies overseas? It’s very likely that he’s a Michelin grade chef. Not only is he proficient in Chinese and Western cuisine, he has also made many delicacies from other countries in the special episodes. How could there be such a knowledgeable and highly skilled chef?”

“Special episodes?” Li Qing frowned and scrolled through her phone. “Why didn’t I see it… Oh, it was accidentally skipped because of my video membership.”

Half an hour later, Xu Le returned home. He felt especially relaxed and snuggled into the sofa. Xu Tian jogged over to get a iced cola and handed it to Xu Le.

“Brother, drink it.”

“Good girl.”

Xu Le stroked his younger sister’s head like a fluffy dog and pulled open the can tab with one hand. With a ‘pop’, the splashing foam brought a chill to him.

Lu Yuxi crossed her legs on the sofa opposite and said, “The moment you came back, Tiantian became much more obedient. When you weren’t at home, she would fuss about looking for her parents after school and wanted you to return home…”

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly realized that something was wrong. Looking at Xu Tian’s teary eyes and pouting mouth, she immediately grabbed the chips on the table as a cover. As she stuffed them into her mouth, she changed the topic unnaturally. “Do you want to watch the show Li Qing mentioned just now?”

Just as she finished speaking, what she was worried about happened.

“Wah!”

Xu Tian cried and threw herself into her brother’s arms. Xu Le had just taken two sips of his cola when he was almost knocked over by her. He hurriedly put the drink back on the coffee table and patted his sister’s back to comfort her.

“Tiantian, don’t cry, don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong!”

“Boohoo, all the kids in school are saying that no one wants me. When are Daddy and Mommy coming back?”

“Soon.”

Xu Le pulled out a tissue for his sister to blow her nose. He said gently, “Dad and Mom are just overseas to further their studies. It’s just like you going to school. When they’re done, they’ll come back from school.”

Xu Tian looked up, her nose red as she sobbed. “Really?”

“Of course! When have I ever lied to you?”

Xu Le reached out to rub Xu Tian’s nose and said, “Now that I’m back, I can cook anything for you.”

The child was quick-witted and quickly forgot about this matter. She demanded to eat fried chicken thighs.

Lu Yuxi interrupted, “Your social media account hasn’t been updated for a while, so there are a lot of people urging you to update it. I’ll record the cooking process for you later and edit the original videos.”

Xu Le had just returned and his original intention was to rest for a few days. He smiled and said, “Don’t we have time in the future?”

“I might need to take leave.” “What’s the matter? Are you looking for a new job?”

“No.” Lu Yuxi lowered her head and pursed her lips. “You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. It’s a class reunion.”

“What do I not understand…”

Before Xu Le could finish speaking, he suddenly stopped. He recalled that with his current identity, he was only an eight-year-old child. If he continued speaking, he would expose himself.

“By the way, I know a way to cook the world’s most tender fried chicken thighs.”

“Yo.” Lu Yuxi leaned against the door, crossed her arms, and smiled. “You’ve already thought of the video title for me?”

“It’s not a title, it’s real!”

He had learned a western-chinese fusion marinating method from the system. The fried chicken would be crispy and tender, with the juice overflowing.

“Yes…”

Lu Yuxi was obviously distracted. She lowered her head and fiddled with the phone tripod stand.

Xu Le started preparing the ingredients and the two of them started chatting. “Aren’t you going to watch that Master Chef competition?”

“I’m not interested. Maybe the program is set up for that chef who doesn’t reveal his face.” Xu Le tied his apron and rolled up his sleeves. “I want to stay at home to accompany Tiantian. She’s on summer break soon. Also… I’ve chosen the new address for the new restaurant recently.”

Xu Le, who had been given the reward by the system, had been busy the whole time. He only remembered it when he landed, so he decided to choose a big shopping mall in the prime area of Shanghai. There were many luxury brands on the second floor of the mall.

As for the rent and renovation, that was something the system had to worry about.

Lu Yuxi said half-jokingly, “You participated in a variety show, and you’ve already seen through their tricks?”

Alex’s face flashed across Xu Le’s mind. He waved his hand and said, “What? Are you done setting up the tripod?”

Lu Yuxi made an OK gesture.

As Xu Le cut the condiments, he said, “Hello everyone. I’m Xu Le. Today, I want to share the method for preparing a very crispy and tender fried chicken thigh. How can an ordinary snack like this become an amazing dish? If you want to know, just continue watching.”

“The essence of this snack lies in having salt water, chopped onions, chopped garlic, sea salt, rosemary, lemon juice, clear water, and some vegetable oil.”

“Pour some oil into the frying pan, pour in the onion, garlic and rosemary, add some salt, and fry it until it’s smoking. Then, after producing a sour, salty, and pungent smell, add 500 milliliters of clear water and lemon juice. Then, cool it down away from the fire.”

A pot of thick, light purple salt water was served in the pot. Lu Yuxi refused to believe it and went forward. “Is this purple stuff really going to make fried chicken delicious?”

As she said that, she took a small sip and immediately frowned at the salty taste.

“What is this for?”

Xu Le placed the freshly processed drumsticks into a food-sealed bag and poured in the thick salt water he had just prepared. He explained, “This step is for marination. In order to ensure that the drumsticks are more flavorful, it’s best to put them in the fridge for a few hours.”

After doing all this, he looked at Lu Yuxi, who was stunned behind her phone. “Let’s go.”

“You’re not filming anymore? Where are we going?”

“The store branch.”

“Oh.” Lu Yuxi suddenly realized what he was talking about. “Ah? When did this happen? You never mentioned it!”

“I only wanted to talk about it after I’ve confirmed it. Let’s go over to check the store today and call Li Qing along.”

“What about the drumsticks?”

“Leave it marinating first. We’ll continue when we get back.”