I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

After making the call to Attorney Huo, Li Zhibai stopped paying attention to the other party.

He has one advantage: he can prioritize tasks. Since Attorney Huo said she would leave it to her, he really wouldn't worry about it too much. Instead of wasting time staring at the clown on the other side, he'd rather think about how to fleece a few more suckers.

By 8:30 pm, the store was not very busy.

After finishing their meal, Ke Yi and Ding Ling prepared to go out for a while. They had come all the way to Jiangcheng, so they definitely wanted to visit some of the famous attractions nearby, otherwise it would be a wasted trip.

"Then you guys go ahead and shop, but remember to be careful and don't get ripped off again," Li Zhibai cautioned.

"Don't worry, cousin, we'll definitely be careful."

For the rest of the time, Li Zhibai stayed in the shop alone, intending to stay until closing time at nine o'clock. However, at nine o'clock, a few particularly talkative customers came in, and the meal lasted until almost 12 o'clock before they finally left.

If it weren't for the fact that they had spent a considerable amount, Li Zhibai would have wanted to kick them out, since he had to get up early the next day.

After seeing off the guests, Li Zhibai checked the water, electricity, and gas, and made sure the doors and windows were locked before leaving the shop and heading towards his residence.

Just as he reached the entrance of an alley, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

It was that boy, A-Che.

He was pushing his food cart out of the alley, heading to the intersection to set up his stall.

Li Zhibai glanced at his watch. Last night, he casually mentioned that he would come out after midnight, and this kid really did come at that time.

A-Che chose a spot at the corner of a nearby intersection, where there is relatively more foot traffic and the streetlights are bright enough. After midnight is the peak time for people to come out for late-night snacks.

He had just set up his stall when customers started coming over.

"Boss, one serving of fried rice with egg, extra sausage and egg."

A-Che nodded, turned around, and began to work.

Lighting the fire, pouring oil, cracking eggs... the movements are fluid and effortless.

Li Zhibai originally planned to leave directly, but when he saw A-Che's skillful movements in making fried rice, he stopped as if possessed and watched from a distance for a while with his arms crossed.

The moment the egg mixture hit the pan, A-Che flicked his wrist, and the egg mixture spread evenly, instantly expanding into golden egg flowers. Then he quickly added the rice, and immediately used a spatula to stir-fry it over high heat, creating a strong wok hei (wok aroma).

Li Zhibai was slightly surprised.

Although this kid's technique still had a bit of a self-taught, unorthodox feel to it, his control of the heat was quite good, especially the amount of seasoning he used, which was very precise.

Judging by this level of proficiency, they must have been doing this for quite some time, otherwise they wouldn't have developed this kind of muscle memory.

"Much better than Sister Zhao." Li Zhibai gave it a very high evaluation in his mind.

A few minutes later, a plate of egg fried rice was ready, golden and glistening, steaming hot.

The office worker took the lunchbox, paid, and left.

A-Che seemed to sense that someone was watching him. He turned around and saw that it was Li Zhibai. As before, he didn't say anything, but just nodded slightly as a greeting, and then continued to work.

Li Zhibai didn't disturb him and turned to leave.

The city was quiet at night, so quiet that only the whistles of cargo ships could be heard on the distant river.

After returning to his apartment, he took a shower and lay down on the bed. His hair was still wet, and he was too lazy to dry it. He then sent a WeChat message to Zhao Xiaomei.

Sister Zhao, please reply to this message. How is Siqi doing lately?

It was sent out but then disappeared without a trace.

Li Zhibai frowned, a vague unease creeping into his heart.

Zhao Xiaomei wasn't the type to ignore messages; even when she was busy, she would always reply when she saw a message.

It's been two days now, and I haven't received a single reply.

He sent the message not only to inquire about Siqi's situation, but also because Siqi's family circumstances met the criteria for impoverished students. If Siqi recovered and wanted to go to school, he could provide financial assistance on behalf of Grandpa Huo.

"I hope nothing's wrong," he muttered to himself, then put away his phone and went to sleep.

The next day.

It was 10 a.m. on the third day of the long holiday.

Not long after Li Zhibai opened for business, a figure in a white dress skipped and hopped into the store.

"Good morning, Master!"

"Why are you up so early?" Li Zhibai asked.

"Master, didn't you ask me to come here for a meal?" Su Su said, "I didn't eat this morning, I was just waiting for this meal, so I can have breakfast and lunch together."

Li Zhibai nodded upon hearing this. He had indeed invited Su Su to dinner in order to obtain fragments. Of course, he could also make some extra money on the side, killing two birds with one stone.

"Find a place to sit!"

"Okay!"

Li Zhibai turned around, tied on an apron, and went into the kitchen.

Today, he arranged a simplified version of the luxury set meal for Su Su, with fewer dishes than for a normal diner. This was mainly to take into account Su Su's appetite; he was afraid she wouldn't be able to finish if he served too much. Even so, this set meal would still cost several thousand yuan.

When Ke Yi and Ding Ling saw Su Su, they both looked her over curiously.

"Who is this?"

"Looks like my cousin's apprentice?"

"So young?"

"And it's so cute!"

"……."

The two girls carried the dishes over and, driven by curiosity, quickly struck up a conversation with Su Su.

"Hello! My name is Ke Yi, and I'm my cousin's cousin."

"My name is Ding Ling, and I'm Ke Yi's classmate."

"Hello! I am Su Su, Master's disciple."

The three girls were about the same age and quickly became acquainted, then started chatting away about gossip.

They talked most about gossip about Li Zhibai, in particular.

The conversation started with Li Zhibai's shady deeds circulating online, then moved on to his cooking skills, then to his appearance, and finally to why he doesn't have a girlfriend.

"Sister Su Su, why doesn't my cousin find a girlfriend?"

"Maybe it's because all he cares about is making money?"

"I think so too. He's much more interested in money than in girls."

"Yes, yes, yes! I saw him touching the account book yesterday, and he looked so engrossed that he didn't even want to let go."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Li Zhibai came out of the kitchen and overheard the girls gossiping about him. He immediately shooed them away, saying, "Go away, you don't have to do any work, do you? There are so many tourists at the door, go and greet them."

Ke Yi and Ding Ling stuck out their tongues and obediently got up to get to work.

Li Zhibai placed the stew pot in front of Su Su and said, "Sister Su Su, you eat yours and stop chatting with them."

Looking at Li Zhibai's dark face, Su Su smiled and said, "Master, your cousin is quite cute."

Li Zhibai snorted: "What's so cute about it? You're just too gossipy."

He changed the subject and asked, "Sister Su, what's the food you most want to eat?"

Su Su was taken aback: "Huh?"

"I'll ask you, what's the food you most want to eat in your life? Or, is there any dish you've always wanted to eat but haven't been able to?"

Li Zhibai asked this question with a purpose; he wanted to see if he could induce Su Su's memories of gourmet food in this way to increase the drop rate of fragments.

Currently, the drop rate of fragments is quite unstable for both Su Su and other diners. He has been trying to find a way to increase the output. If talking about what she wants to eat most can trigger her food memories, there might be a chance.

Su Su immediately said, "Master, I want to eat everything you make."

Li Zhibai: "Besides what I made, is there anything else?"

"Well... it seems like there really isn't any. I've basically tried everything I wanted to eat."

Li Zhibai: "..."

That's true. The Su family is in the catering business, and Su Su grew up eating all kinds of delicious food. In addition, she likes to explore new restaurants and has been abroad, so there are really not many things she hasn't tried.

"Is there any dish that has special meaning to you?" Li Zhibai asked from a different angle.

Upon hearing his master's words, Su Su began to ponder them seriously.

Special significance... It seems that she does have a memory of such a dish, but she has never actually eaten it. She only heard her father talk about it when she was a child, saying that it was something passed down from the older generation of the Su family and that it was the root of the Su family.

As she pondered, she vaguely recalled some unpleasant fragments of memory, and she couldn't help but frown, feeling somewhat dazed.

Just as she was lost in thought, a notification sound suddenly rang in Li Zhibai's mind.

[Beep! Detected fluctuation in the customer's "Heart of Food" memory.]

Congratulations on obtaining 3 fragments!

Li Zhibai's eyes lit up; he had actually figured it out.

Chatting about food while eating actually increases the fragment drop rate, and this time three fragments dropped directly. Including the one from before, Su Su now has four fragments, just one less than Yu Shen.

It seems we can try this method more often for communication in the future.

Next, he examined the contents of the fragment.

[In the scene, a man in a dark suit is speaking sternly to a little girl with a slightly chubby face: "Our Su family has been chefs for three generations, but we've never had a female head chef. You're not allowed to study cooking. Go abroad and do your studies!"]

After watching the fragmented footage, Li Zhibai was almost certain that the man in the suit was Su Su's father.

But this guy is really arrogant!

My apprentice is so talented, why can't she learn to cook? Su Su's dad, you wait, I'll let your daughter prove you wrong with her skills!