In the 1970s, it started with contracting out communal dining.

Congratulations on your upgrade!

[Reward Skill: Recipe Analysis]

[The third equipment slot is now open!]

Chen Wei stared at the semi-transparent prompt panel in front of him, his heart pounding with excitement. After grinding for so many days, he had finally unlocked the third equipment slot on the eve of the competition. Now, it would be difficult for him to lose!

Suppressing his wildly beating heart, Chen Wei quickly began to examine the equipment slots in front of him.

Based on his experience of acquiring the previous two equipment slots, Chen Wei felt that the equipment for the third equipment slot should also be in his kitchen.

Walking to the stove, Chen Wei planned to touch all the tools he usually used and those he didn't.

Anyway, the system will give a prompt as soon as you touch it.

Just as his hand touched the large ladle he usually used for cooking, a line of small characters immediately appeared on the semi-transparent panel in front of him.

[Ding! Equippable item detected: Large Ladle]

[Equipped or not]

They guessed right on the very first try! That's incredible luck!

"equipment!"

Without a second thought, Chen Wei immediately muttered a word to himself.

Immediately afterwards, a new list of equipment prompts popped up in the equipment bar.

[Equipped item: Large ladle]

[Tier: 1 item]

Completeness: 92%

[Proficiency Level: Beginner (0/1000)]

[Equipment Effect: Grants Seasoning Mastery (Beginner)]

[Note: This is an old, well-worn ladle that has accompanied many chefs on their culinary journeys. Although it is now quite old, its years of immersion in the art of seasoning have given it a unique understanding of the art. Whoever acquires it will gain unparalleled culinary skills.]

The purpose of this spoon is actually to help me season the ingredients precisely! How is that different from the seasoning measurements provided by the system in the previous recipes?

Chen Wei felt a sense of doubt.

He couldn't help but pick up the large ladle in his hand and scoop towards the salt jar next to him.

The moment the large ladle touched the salt shaker, a progress bar panel resembling that of a food game suddenly appeared in front of Chen Wei's eyes.

There is a small, moving ball on top, sliding left and right as the large ladle shakes.

According to Chen Wei's experience, the small red section in the middle of the progress bar should be the optimal amount of salt for the current dish.

Chen Wei's eyes were fixed on the progress bar ball, and his hand swayed the large ladle as the ball moved left and right. When the ball reached the position of the red cursor, he immediately stopped and the large ladle left the salt jar.

In that instant, a huge "perfect" icon suddenly appeared on the screen.

Hmm? It's really turned into a food game!

Then, Chen Wei tried scooping up a spoonful of soy sauce, and sure enough, the semi-transparent progress bar immediately reappeared in front of him.

The small ball of light on top continued to sway back and forth as the large ladle shook.

When the small ball of light arrived at the location of the red cursor, Chen Wei reacted quickly and immediately stopped.

"Perfect!"

The big, eye-catching icon reappeared. Isn't this just like the perfect judgment in those cooking games from my past life? It's actually quite fun.

In this light, the flavor of this equipment slot is indeed quite different from the flavor that came with the system before.

Previously, Chen Wei used the seasonings that came with the system recipes, estimating the weight of the seasonings and mixing them all together in advance, then pouring them all in at once when the sauce was ready to be added.

For dishes where the sauce can be added together, it's fine. But if more elaborate recipes appear in the future—like the braised dried bean curd strips he saw in the library this afternoon—the order in which seasonings are added will have a significant impact on the final product. That's when the function of this equipment will be needed.

Chen Wei was testing the functions of the new equipment slot when Wu Xiaochun suddenly poked half his head over.

Looking puzzled, he asked, "Brother Chen? Brother Chen! What are you daydreaming about! The food's all ready, let me try a bite first! I'll test for poison!"

"Wait!" Chen Wei was suddenly jolted awake from his exploration of the system interface and immediately saw Wu Xiaochun reaching out his chopsticks towards the glistening dish of stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers.

He quickly stopped him, saying, "I haven't finished cooking this dish yet. I'll make the next batch for you!"

It's not that Chen Wei lacks confidence in his cooking skills, but this dish wasn't produced by the system. If it weren't for the equipment slots before, it would have been fine, but now that he has the seasoning control equipment slot, he naturally wants to make a new pot to test this new equipment slot!

Ignoring Wu Xiaochun's aggrieved look, Chen Wei ruthlessly took the food from the enamel basin off the stove and covered it with a large basin.

He turned around and went to the cafeteria shelf to get potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers again. Without saying a word, he started processing the new ingredients.

He had to make a new pot. Chen Wei planned to use the seasoning control in the third equipment slot to see what the difference in taste was between the two pots of food.

Just as Chen Wei finished processing the three ingredients and was about to pick up the cleaver to cut them, a system notification suddenly popped into his mind.

[Ding—New ingredient detected. Would you like to analyze the recipe?]

Huh? What's this?

Chen Wei suddenly remembered that he was so excited when he unlocked the third equipment slot that he forgot that the system also gave him a new skill along with the unlocking of the third equipment slot—recipe analysis.

Chen Wei quickly reopened the system panel and carefully examined the skill's description.

It turns out that this skill is an active skill, unlike the previous passive skills. Active skills can be activated by Chen Wei himself.

The conditions for using the skill are also very simple. As long as Chenwei comes into contact with a certain type of ingredients, he can then silently recite the recipe in his mind and analyze the most suitable recipe for the current operation based on the ingredients he is currently in contact with.

In this way, Chenwei will no longer need to rely on the fixed recipes provided by the system store.

That's great!

"Recipe Analysis!"

Chen Wei immediately recited it silently in his mind.

[Initiating analysis of the most suitable recipe for the current ingredients. Please wait patiently, host...]

A line of small text appeared on the semi-transparent panel in front of me, followed by a small progress ring, which should be the parsing progress.

Chen Wei stood there holding the potatoes, eggplants, and green peppers in his hands, waiting. Wu Xiaochun, who was next to him, was full of questions when he saw him like this.

He couldn't help but wonder, what's wrong with Brother Chen?

He must be... thinking...

Wu Xiaochun thought to himself, "I've heard that capable people think like this, what's it called again?"

Yes! No fat bird in mind! Brother Chen is currently in that state of "no fat bird in mind"!

As expected of a master, he entered the state of "no fat bird in mind" without breaking a sweat.

But since Brother Chen has already gone on a date with that bird, can he...?

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the large basin covered by Chen Wei next to the stove.

The freshly cooked stir-fried potatoes, eggplant, and green peppers in the large basin were emitting a strong aroma of garlic and caramel, making Wu Xiaochun's mouth water.

Anyway, Chen Ge isn't paying attention right now, so it shouldn't be a problem if he sneaks a bite of this new dish...