Food Intelligence King

Chapter 1: Middle Age, Refreshing Food Insights

Summer evening.

Seaside City, Mr. Xie's Seafood Shop.

A father and daughter stood watching the bubbling glass tank for about half an hour.

At that moment, the Boston lobster that had sunk to the bottom of the tank suddenly raised its claws and pinched the girl.

The girl felt safe and secure in her father's arms, and of course she wasn't going to be outdone.

With a fierce expression, she also gestured with her fingers towards the lobster.

He even spoke with great conviction:

"I'll pinch you, I'll pinch you, I'll pinch you!"

Chen Zhou smiled knowingly, picked up his daughter, and pretended to rush towards Bo Long.

Seeing the lobster approaching step by step, the little girl immediately gave up.

She turned her head towards Chen Zhou and hugged his neck tightly.

After realizing it was a prank by her father, she asked:

"Dad, why isn't this shrimp red?"

"It will turn red when it's cooked."

"Hiss Liu~"

Of course, this scene of a loving father and filial daughter,
Not everyone sees it as so warm and lovely.

Especially the seafood shop owner, Mr. Xie, who was wearing a purple polo shirt and had a beer belly.

He put his hands on his hips, already muttering to himself:

"Do you think this is an aquarium? You didn't buy tickets."

Mr. Xie has sold at least 800, if not 1,000, lobsters. No customer has ever spent half an hour looking at them before deciding which one to buy.

Chen Zhou sensed the boss's slightly displeased gaze.

I feel I need to say something:
"Boss, this lobster is dead, should I get a discount?"

Brother, you're a father now, so you need to be more careful with your words. Boss Xie emphasized:

"These shrimp are perfectly alive, two and a half pounds, 298 yuan, no discounts."

As Mr. Xie spoke, he tapped on the side of the vat.

Just then, a crackling blue light appeared in the fish tank.

"Holy crap!"

Boss Xie is safe and sound, but he caused quite a stir.

By the time people came to their senses, they could already smell the burnt electrical wires.

Turning my head back to look at the fish tank—

The lobster looked so fresh and clean, and it flipped over from the bottom of the tank.

The lobster that was just showing off its power,
It's obvious they're not going to live.

Kindergarten student Chen Taotao scratched her head and said, "Dad, he's dead."

Chen Zhou pulled her fair little arm back and said to his daughter, "It's not that Daddy died, it's that the lobster died."

"Ow!"

The seafood restaurant owner no longer had the leisure or inclination to play with the children.

He hurriedly pulled all the sockets off, taking some remedial measures. He looked at Bolong as if he were looking at an old friend of many years.

Chen Zhou reminded him:
"Is it possible that the oxygenator is leaking electricity? You can check it."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Xie disassembled the oxygenation equipment and found that it was indeed caused by aging wiring.

When she turned to speak to Chen Zhou, her tone now carried a greater respect for professionals:

"Brother, you're pretty good, an electrician?"

Chen Zhou smiled, "I did it for a while."

He then pointed to the lobster and asked, "Would you sell this dead one?"

"Sell it, sell it! Take it at half price! You two are really lucky. It's practically fresh. You saw it yourself, our shop never cheats its customers; we would never sell something dead as alive."

Chen Zhou had no idea what the boss was trying to explain.

They were even more unaware that the other party's initial customer profile was of poor guys who couldn't afford lobsters.

But to be honest,

Given his financial situation, even a half-price lobster is still a luxury for him.

At the age of thirty, I have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise.

There's also the mortgage to pay. My wife and I are just ordinary working people, earning a few thousand yuan a month, which is barely enough to make ends meet.

But today, Chen Zhou still didn't hesitate to pick up this lobster that had just died.

My daughter's happiness is of course my top priority.

The little girl carried two pounds of lobsters all by herself, her face beaming, and she refused to let go.

More importantly, Chen Zhou now has a food intelligence system.

[Local Secrets (Rare)]: The recipe for steamed buns from a chef who has served state banquets is found tucked inside a secondhand book, "Practical Tractor Repair Guide," which is currently being sold at a bookstall in the Northwest Corner.

[Food News]: The Boston lobster at Mr. Xie's Seafood Shop will die this evening due to an electrical malfunction in the oxygenator.

[Diner's Response]: Chen Taotao doesn't like the skin on the tomatoes in her scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

[Market News]: Food blogger Teacher Li is about to terminate his contract with his MCN company and will then return to being an ordinary person.

[Information will be updated in 4 days. The number of positive reviews from diners will upgrade the information system.]

Current system level: lv1 (0/200)

When Chen Zhou woke up this morning and realized for the first time that there were these few lines of small words in his mind, he felt a little apprehensive.

He even doubted whether he was hallucinating.

Even if you've read a few novels,

Even a middle-aged man shouldn't take such fantasies seriously.

But then I discovered that the book "Tractor Repair" that I bought on my way to work actually contained a yellowed recipe.
And the lobsters at the seafood shop really did die unexpectedly.

Both the "Street Tidbits" and "Food News" reports have been verified.

He was now convinced that his intelligence system was real.

Chen Zhou's mood also changed from initial doubt to increasing excitement.

Buying this lobster was almost inevitable.

"Dad, put the helmet on me."

Tao Tao's words interrupted Chen Zhou's thoughts.

He took a small pink helmet out of the electric scooter basket and put it on his daughter's head.

The little girl has a great sense of safety, but unfortunately, she doesn't have her hands free.

She could only raise her little face and beg again:

"Could you help me button it up again, Dad?"

The father and daughter got on the electric scooter and headed home.

Fortunately, the sun was about to set, and although the car seat had been in the sun for a while, it wasn't too hot to sit on.

'Let's get another car, it'll be more comfortable picking up and dropping off the kids.'

"Can you just give me the money directly?"

With this intelligence system, Chen Zhou began to envision the possibility of improving his life in the future.

However, it seems that most of my intelligence information is related to food.

The recipe goes without saying, and the lobster is already in my hand.

The food blogger mentioned in the market news has indeed stopped updating for a while, possibly due to a dispute with his MCN company. There are some rumors circulating online, and they are probably true.

As for Chen Taotao's dislike of tomato skin,

Chen Zhou could understand, but if he really asked, he might not get an answer.

He still remembers that when he asked his daughter why she didn't want to go to kindergarten, she would answer every possible question he suggested.

The name of TaoTao's intelligence report is "Diner Updates," and it requires positive reviews from diners to upgrade the report.

Chen Zhou felt that opening a small restaurant would be more efficient in the future.

There's a steamed bun recipe available now, a rare find, so I might as well give it a try.

Moreover, Chen Zhou's current company is not doing well, only paying a basic salary of two or three thousand yuan, and there has been no news about the major performance bonuses for more than half a year.

This can't go on forever.

The electric scooter drove steadily into the residential area, and the familiar outline of my home gradually emerged into the twilight.

The chirping of cicadas in the distance and the aromas of food wafting from each household made Chen Taotao feel drowsy.

Chen Zhou picked up his daughter and noticed that the little girl was staring in another direction.

"What are you looking at, Peach?"

Chen Taotao regained her composure and shouted loudly:

"It's mom!"

(End of this chapter)