America's Greatest Villain: I Defeat Magic with Magic

As a seasoned chef, Lao Cao was still furious when Chen Yuan belittled his hard work, even though Chen Yuan was the boss.

At the same time, a red information panel popped up in Chen Yuan's field of vision:

[Target: Cao Deguang, 34 years old, Head Chef of Rongdingge Restaurant]

[Recent criminal acts: For several consecutive days, he has been accepting kickbacks from suppliers during the procurement of food ingredients.]

It's an industry norm for chefs to take kickbacks when purchasing supplies, and Chen Yuan didn't bother with it. His real purpose in wasting so much breath today was to use [Sin Scan] to unlock system skills.

Sure enough, as soon as he focused his attention on the system panel, a pleasant notification sound immediately rang in his mind:

[Ding! Detected that the host has engaged in verbal provocation, resulting in a substantial conflict with Chef Cao Deguang over culinary philosophies.]

[Sin Scan Successfully Completed, Unlocked "Culinary Mastery" in the Life Skills tree.]

[Currently available for redemption: "Beginner Culinary Mastery". Do you wish to immediately pay 200 Villain Points to redeem?]

"exchange."

Immediately afterwards, Chen Yuan felt a slight stinging pain in his brain.

Subsequently, countless cooking tips on ingredient handling, heat control, and spice ratios were forcibly imprinted into his mind by the system, like a surging stream of data, and at the same time, his hands developed the muscle memory of an experienced chef.

When he looked up at the ingredients on the cutting board, he already had more than a dozen different cooking methods in mind.

Then he saw Old Cao staring wide-eyed at him, looking like he wanted to devour him alive.

Chen Yuan simply took out an apron, tied it around his waist, and said calmly:

"How about this, I'll cook a dish too, and everyone can judge for themselves, shall we?"

Old Cao was initially surprised upon hearing this, then asked with a hint of disdain:

"Can you cook?"

After all, in his opinion, although Chen Yuan is now the boss, he is still just a young man in his early twenties. He can do well serving dishes in the front hall, but he is only there to cause trouble in the back kitchen.

Chen Yuan smiled without saying a word. After spending 200 villain points to exchange for the [Beginner Culinary Mastery] skill, his mind not only gained a lot of professional culinary knowledge, but also recipes for various classic street foods.

Anything produced by our system is guaranteed to be of high quality.

Even with only "basic cooking skills," their spice ratios and heat control are far more precise than those of seasoned chefs with decades of experience.

Without further ado, Chen Yuan immediately turned around, took out several prepared frozen squid from the refrigerated display case, picked up the chef's knife on the cutting board, and quickly cut off the squid tentacles one by one.

With just this one move, Old Cao, who had been looking down on him, suddenly became serious.

As the saying goes, the layman sees the spectacle, while the expert sees the details.

Just by looking at Chen Yuan's posture when holding the knife and the rhythm of his strikes, you can tell that he is definitely an expert.

That steady stance and machine-like precision and speed in knife work can't be achieved without more than ten years of daily kitchen cutting and preparation experience!

But how old is this kid this year?

In no time, squid tentacles of roughly the same length and thickness were prepared.

Chen Yuan threw them into the pot to blanch them quickly, and then scooped them out and skewered them with long bamboo skewers.

Seeing this setup, everyone understood what dish Chen Yuan was going to make.

"Boss, you want grilled squid?"

The question was asked by Hu Dan. She knew very well that although squid was a common ingredient in Chinese night markets, for American locals, there were very few ways to eat it other than fried squid rings.

Moreover, the high-temperature electric grill used for grilled squid is rarely found in American homes or even ordinary restaurants.

Unexpectedly, Chen Yuan, an ABC who grew up in the United States, actually knows how to make this authentic Chinese street food.

"My family used to really like this dish, so I learned a little bit about it myself."

Chen Yuan casually made up a lie. As he spoke, he pressed several strings of squid tentacles firmly onto the hot iron plate.

"Sizzle—"

Accompanied by the loud popping sound of oil, Chen Yuan did not use any American sauce.

Instead, they strictly followed the recipe provided by the system, sprinkling cumin powder, chili powder, white sesame seeds, and a secret thirteen-spice seasoning that the store had on hand, in a certain proportion and order, onto the sizzling squid skewers.

As an enticing aroma filled the air, Chen Yuan presented the grilled squid, which had been pan-fried until golden brown and crispy, to everyone.

Old Cao stared blankly at the sizzling squid skewers in front of him. Although he had been in the kitchen for decades, when the soul-stirring aroma of cumin and grilled meat wafted over, his Adam's apple bobbed and he couldn't help but swallow.

Meanwhile, Hu Dan, who was standing to the side, couldn't wait any longer and picked up a skewer to devour it, gasping for breath as she sizzled from the spiciness while praising it:

"Boss! Your grilled squid looks simple, but the flavor is amazing! It's so delicious!"

Su Nian was equally surprised, because the grilled squid in her hand tasted even better than the ones she had eaten at a barbecue restaurant in her hometown.

Thinking to myself, Brother Chen has clearly never been to China, how could he make such authentic-tasting grilled squid?

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Because this dish will be made and sold fresh at the snack window, I only kept the most essential steps. Once you and Su Nian master the proportions of the ingredients, you'll be able to make it just as delicious as I do."

By this time, Lao Cao had already eaten two skewers of squid.

He subconsciously wiped the red oil from the corner of his mouth with the towel hanging around his neck, his eyes filled with disbelief and shock.

As a master chef who has worked in front of the stove for thirty years, he knows the weight of this string of squid better than anyone else.

There's no fancy plating, no expensive ingredients, and even the control of the heat is quite casual.

The key to making such delicious grilled squid is the perfect blend of spices!

In other words, there is almost no skill required to cook this snack!

As long as you master the amount and order of each spice, even a complete novice can make top-quality grilled squid with a flavor that is almost identical to the real thing.

He sighed with a complex expression, the arrogance and resentment from before completely gone from his face, and said with complete acceptance:

"Truly, the younger generation surpasses the older. Boss Chen... with your unique skill, our restaurant is definitely not going to go out of business."

Hearing Lao Cao's heartfelt praise, the other employees also looked surprised.

Everyone knew that Chen Yuan's grilled squid was indeed authentic, but no one expected it to be so delicious that it could save the restaurant.

Chen Yuan picked up a tissue to wipe his hands and said to Su Nian, who had just finished eating a skewer of squid:

"Su Nian, I'll teach you how to make grilled squid tomorrow morning. From now on, you'll be in charge of making this snack at the window."

"Shall I make it right now?"

Su Nian looked unsure of herself. Although she usually made fried chicken, as long as she put the ingredients that Lao Cao had marinated in advance into the oil and took them out in time, there would be no problem.

Although grilled squid looks simple, it actually involves several steps, which made Su Nian quite nervous.

However, Chen Yuan laughed and said, "Don't worry, as long as you remember the quantities and order of use of the spices, the taste will definitely be great!"