[Genshin Impact]: I can become stronger by cooking.

【Hate/h ...

It can be said that Xiangling's act of tasting the food made the restaurant's already difficult financial situation even worse.

----------

When Chao Ke entered the Wanmintang restaurant, he also noticed that the restaurant's operation seemed to be experiencing some problems.

Although it's not mealtime yet, isn't it a bit too deserted?

Chao Ke stepped forward and walked up to Master Mao.

When Master Mao saw customers arrive, his eyes lit up, and he quickly stood up and said something.

"Guests, would you like to try the dishes at Wanmintang?"

"Of course, whatever your restaurant specialties are, you can decide to serve them."

"Okay, do you have any dietary restrictions, sir? Can you eat spicy food?"

“I have no dietary restrictions and can eat spicy food, so please go ahead and serve, Master.”

"Dele!"

With no constraints, Master Mao put in his best effort and used all his skills to complete Chao Ke's order.

The fire was blazing hot and the frying was quick, so Chao Ke didn't have to wait long. Soon, Master Mao came over with two plates.

"Guest, this is [Peace in All Directions], and this is [Squirrel Fish]. Please enjoy."

"Well, thank you."

Chao Ke looked at the two dishes that Chef Mao had brought out.

First up is "Peace in All Directions," a dish that can be considered a semi-staple food. Various dried fruits are densely packed on top of fragrant, soft, and sticky rice.

Scoop up a spoonful and put it in your mouth. The sweet and sour taste of the dried fruit intertwines with the full-bodied texture of the rice. The subtle sweetness lingers on your lips and teeth, outlining a touch of happiness from your biological instincts.

Next up is the [Squirrel Fish].

It's clear that Chef Mao was quite restrained. Although Chao Ke indicated that he could eat spicy food, Chef Mao ultimately did not choose the oily and spicy dishes.

Instead, they chose the Squirrel Fish, a dish that also showcases the chef's superb skills but has a sweet and sour flavor that suits the tastes of most people.

There's not much to say about dishes like "Squirrel Fish"; it all comes down to the chef's knife skills.

One can tell a chef's knife skills at a glance by observing whether the patterns are regular and the shapes are elegant.

But clearly, Master Mao's knife skills are impeccable. The fish, coated in flour and deep-fried, has neat patterns and an elegant shape. Even the sauce used for seasoning has the perfect sweet and sour ratio.

Master Mao's skills are truly convincing.

Chapter 83 Apprenticeship: Laying the Foundations of Chinese Cuisine [Bonus Chapter]

(Bonus chapter to improve the rating from 6.8 to 6.9)

The food served at Wanmintang was indeed delicious, and Chao Ke quickly finished off all the dishes that Chef Mao had brought out.

After finishing his meal, Chao Ke gave Master Mao a thumbs-up, saying, "Master, your skills are superb."

Seeing the diners being so accommodating, Chef Mao felt quite proud and quickly expressed his gratitude.

While Master Mao was clearing away the dishes, Chao Ke asked him a question out of curiosity.

"Master Mao, your skills are so superb, why are there so few customers?"

Upon hearing Chao Ke's question, Master Mao sighed and explained the general reason to Chao Ke.

"Such a thing is true..."

"There is nothing wrong with pursuing rare ingredients, but valuing the rarity of ingredients more than the taste of the dish is putting the cart before the horse."

Master Mao chimed in, "Of course it is."

"Many customers have advised me that it would be a real pity to let my skills go to waste. They suggested that I should learn from some of my peers and go for a high-end approach."

"As long as the average order value is high enough, the extra profit will be enough for me to get a significant share of rare ingredients."

Chao Ke looked curious and asked.

"If that solves the problem, why not do it?"

Master Mao smiled and said, "Because I'm a stubborn person, as long as business is still decent, I want to stick to the rules my father left behind."

"Welcoming all people, serving a hundred flavors."

"This is the origin of the name [Wanmintang] and the philosophy it upholds."

"Is this so..."

Chao Ke nodded slightly and offered an idea to Master Mao.

"Master Mao, do you still accept apprentices?"

"Forehead?"

The sudden change in Chao Ke's words startled Master Mao.

"You're joking, sir."

"No, Master Mao, I'm serious. To be honest, I run a restaurant business in Fontaine. Currently, there are very few Liyue restaurants in Fontaine, and I'm thinking of systematically learning Liyue cuisine so I can bring it to Fontaine."

As he spoke, Chao Ke pulled out a check from his pocket and wrote a string of Mora on it.

“I understand the rules of Liyue. The law is not to be passed on lightly. This is my sincerity, Master Mao.”

Chef Mao swallowed hard. "There's no need for that. It's just that the kitchen space is quite small; it's already rather cramped for me and my daughter. It's really..."

"Oh I see."

Chao Ke nodded, picked up his pen, and added another zero to the amount on the check.

"Gudu."

Having confirmed the authenticity of the check, Master Mao swallowed hard and silently counted the digits on the check.

Ones place, tens place, hundreds place, thousands place, ten thousands place, hundreds of thousands place, millions place.

A full five million Mora.

Master Mao's heart wavered. Maybe... he should take on an apprentice. This apprentice's sincerity, no, this apprentice's passion for Liyue cuisine is just too much.

Seemingly noticing the wavering in Master Mao's eyes, Chao Ke's lips curled up.

He picked up the pen and added another zero to the end of the check, pushing the amount to the tens of millions.

"My beloved disciple, please come in. Tell your master what you want to learn, and I will teach you everything I know."

Master Mao immediately understood and pulled Chao Ke towards the back kitchen.

Looking at Chao Ke, he felt an instant connection; his nose, his eyes—everything about him resembled that of a disciple he had never met.

“Master Mao, I have a list here, all of which I want to learn. I wonder if you could give me a recipe first?”

"No problem, as long as it's something I know how to do, I'll write it down right away."

As he spoke, Master Mao picked up the list that Chao Ke handed him and began to examine it one by one.

"Well, I know most of the dishes myself, except for one: 'Boiled Blackback Bass,' which I'm not very familiar with."

Although its name gives a general idea of ​​how it's made, Master Mao still honestly revealed the details.

Chao Ke was stunned. Master Mao didn't know how to make this dish?

After thinking for a moment, Chao Ke realized what was happening.

This dish, "Boiled Blackback Bass," which combines the rich, oily flavor of water spinach with the fresh, fragrant, and nourishing characteristics of water spinach, was apparently invented by Xiangling.

This dish broke with convention and became the signature dish of "Wanmintang".

It seems I arrived too early; Xiangling hadn't even developed this dish yet.

However, the absence of this dish will not affect the overall situation.

After all, apart from the "Boiled Blackback Bass", Chef Mao said he could provide the recipes for the other thirteen dishes.

In other words, business at Wanmintang isn't doing very well right now, which is why Master Mao has more free time.

The entire process, from writing the last recipe to finishing it, took less than an hour.

Holding a thick stack of recipes, Chao Ke couldn't help but sigh, "When have I, Old Chao, ever fought such a rich battle?"

Hopefully, dear readers won't find this too watery.

Chao Ke's eyes narrowed. "System, use the recipe."

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Grilled Tigerfish]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Rice Cakes]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Honey Glazed Char Siu]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Tender and Spicy Chicken]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Crystal Shrimp]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe - Mint Salad]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Crab Roe Tofu]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Squirrel Fish]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe - Lai Lai Cai]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe - Kou San Si (a type of shredded vegetable dish)]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe - Peace in All Directions]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe - Beast Meat Mint Roll]

[Ding! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the recipe for Dragon Beard Noodles]

[Number of recipes unlocked in the Food Encyclopedia: 55; Number of recipes at the maximum cooking level: 8]

Looking at the number 55, Chao Ke breathed a sigh of relief. In this way, he could be considered to have achieved his goal of traveling around the Three Kingdoms.

With all the food illustrations unlocked, achieving the ultimate cooking skill is just a matter of time.