Food: Randomly set up stalls, even the little guy is drooling.

No matter what, Qingzhushan is an A-level scenic spot. Although there is no entrance fee, vehicles still have to pay to enter, especially conspicuously decorated food trucks like this one.

Lu Feng secretly wondered, "Was I brought here in the early morning because no one was watching me then? Was I being allowed to sneak up the mountain?"

Last night, he did receive this universal street vending permit from the system.

[High-Tech All-Purpose Street Vendor Permit (Level C): A legal permit issued to the host to ensure undisturbed operation. You can set up a stall anywhere there are customers! I said it!]

This black card, engraved with the words "Universal Street Vendor Permit" and a cartoon image of a white chef's hat, looks rather dubious.

"Can this thing really fool us?" He stared at the gradually brightening sky, still unable to discern anything.

Upon arriving at the scenic area entrance halfway up the mountain, we saw an elderly security guard yawning as he emerged from the pavilion.

"Where are you from? Did you record your license plate?"

Lu Feng nervously pulled out his all-purpose street vendor permit and was about to hand it to the old man when he suddenly noticed that the permit had turned blue, and the content had changed to his photo and related information. The top line of text had also changed to "Qingzhushan Vehicle Entry and Exit Permit"!

Lu Feng was genuinely shocked. Damn it, the system didn't say this certificate could be changed! Could it have produced a fake certificate?

"Huh?" The security guard took it himself.

"You're the one who rented a stall in our scenic area yesterday?" The old man scratched his sparse hair, his gaze towards Lu Feng turning strange. "Was it at the entrance of Kaiyuan Temple? I remember that area was marked out as stalls, but nobody rented them at all."

He quickly echoed the old man's words, "It's me, it's me."

"The road to Kaiyuan Temple branchs off from the main road, a bit off-center. Tourists usually go to the top of the mountain; the other two shops are in the rest area there..." The security guard suddenly covered his mouth. "Alright, as long as you have a pass. But be careful about hygiene, don't litter, and don't block the road. Go in."

The lifting barrier slowly rose. Lu Feng thanked them repeatedly and pushed his cart into the scenic area. He hadn't expected to pass this first hurdle so easily; it seemed the system did have some merit after all.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief and thought, "The system has finally done something for me," a notification appeared on the screen in front of him.

[The "all-purpose street vendor pass" is a paid item. Upon successful entry into the Qingzhushan Scenic Area, a stall management fee of 1000 yuan must be paid, which has been automatically deducted from the host's account.]

Lu Feng slipped and almost pushed the car into the roadside ditch.

The old man who let him in just now didn't seem like a kind old man at all. Rather, he must have thought that he couldn't hinder the scenic area's revenue generation, especially in a place that nobody rents out.

"1000 yuan?! And they'll deduct it from my account?!" he roared inwardly. "This godforsaken place, they charge 1000 yuan in management fees for setting up a stall for a week? Is there no law anymore?!"

"Shameless! Utterly shameless!" Lu Feng was on the verge of tears. He had underestimated the shamelessness of the 996 Blessing System.

Before the mission even started, the cost had already skyrocketed by a thousand. He could only channel his grief and anger into motivation and ride his bike up the mountain.

Following the signs, we finally arrived at the small square in front of Kaiyuan Temple. To be fair, Kaiyuan Temple is quite large, but it's a bit dilapidated and doesn't quite live up to its reputation as one of the top ten temples in Changsha.

However, just as the security guard said, the location is a bit remote and not part of the main road for tourists to go up the mountain.

It's not even 7 a.m. yet, and the temple's vermilion gates are tightly closed, so it's probably not open yet.

There were four or five elderly men and women in the square, dressed in exercise clothes, slowly practicing Tai Chi.

Lu Feng quickly parked the food cart and lit the charcoal grill. The specially made spirit charcoal produced by the system quickly ignited, emitting a faint woody aroma.

However, after more than ten minutes, just as he expected, no one showed any interest in the business.

To be precise, it has nothing to do with being ignored; it's just that there are hardly any people in this place.

In those ten minutes or so, I passed by an old man who was doing his morning exercise. After glancing curiously at his "Lu Ji Fiery Beef" sign, he immediately gave me a look that said, "Does this young man have some serious illness?"

Then the old man quickly looked away, his previously unsteady legs becoming much lighter, and he quickened his pace as if getting close to Lufeng would pick up some strange stuff.

His stall was located on the east side of the small square, while the elderly people doing their morning exercises were on the west side. They weren't far apart, and aside from glancing at it out of curiosity, no one came over.

He spoke a few words from afar, "This kid, is there something wrong with his head?" "Maybe he's gone crazy for making money?" The voice wasn't loud, but it drifted over with the wind, and Lu Feng caught the gist of it.

The morning breeze in the mountains was cool, and the charcoal fire was burning brightly, but it couldn't warm his heart, which was feeling utterly cold.

"This can't go on..." Lu Feng looked down at his panel.

Through practice in the Dream Study Room, his panel underwent significant changes.

【Master Chef System (Official Version)】

[Host: Lu Feng (23 years old)]

[Level: Advanced Apprentice (Experience Points: 549/5000)]

[Trait: Diligence Pays Off (Every bit of effort you put in will be recognized and transformed into the necessary experience and proficiency)]

[Basic Skills Panel]

Knife Skill Lv.1 (567/2000): Congratulations! You've finally mastered the true function of your kitchen knife! A man can't just last five seconds!

Cooking skill Lv.2 (274/5000): You've passed the three tests of steaming, braving the fire, and frying in oil, and you're only missing the wok hei (wok aroma) from the pot.

Seasoning Lv.1 (1676/2000): After all this time, I still only know how to copy others. If I work harder and collect more Neeko, I can get a three-star rating.

Spoon Skill Lv.0 (8/1000): There is no improvement whatsoever. You are still just an endless vegetable patch, and nothing but vegetables.

Ingredient Selection Lv.0 (23/1000): Without top-quality ingredients, you've finally learned to choose vegetables based on market prices.

Pastry Lv.3 (123/10000): No matter how long a plank is, it can't stop your entire bucket from overflowing. Dude, stop neglecting your studies!

[Recipe Proficiency]

SS-level recipe: Eight-dan wild vegetable steamed buns (Dacheng).

S-level recipes: Spicy Chicken Noodles (Mastering), Fried Chicken Cutlet (Mastering), Jie's Meat Buns (Mastering), Jie's Vegetable Buns (Mastering), Fiery Beef (Minor Mastering).

5A Grade Recipe: Layered Steamed Buns (Self-developed Masterpiece)

His knife skills and control of heat have improved, but he has not yet mastered the S-level recipe, Fiery Beef.

This means that his fiery beef cannot emit an enticing aroma, thus losing another means of attracting customers.

In other places, this wouldn't be a big deal, but here and now, it's extremely dangerous. According to the system's requirements, he can't even call over these elderly men and women in front of him.

"Fine, I might as well try anything." Lu Feng took a deep breath, deciding he couldn't just sit and wait for death. He picked up a few skewers of beef and placed them on the grill.

"Sizzle!" An enticing aroma of beef wafted through the air.

But the morning breeze blew towards the temple. Lu Feng had intended for the elderly people nearby to smell it, but now his efforts were wasted.

He just didn't see that the tightly closed side door of the temple quietly opened a crack, and a... bald head suddenly popped out?