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

Ah Che is here again.

Ke Yi assumed he would start working as soon as he entered, as usual, so she kindly reminded him, "Little brother A-Che, we're going back tonight. If you really want to stay and work at my cousin's shop in the future, you can tell him. He's short of temporary workers."

A-Che nodded, then walked straight to the cashier, took out his phone (which cost a few hundred yuan) and scanned the payment code.

Ke Yi was taken aback: "Little brother A-Che, what are you doing?"

"Let's order," A-Che said.

Koy: "???"

"I'll order a regular fried rice," A-Che said.

Li Zhibai came out of the kitchen and said directly, "If you want to eat, I'll treat you. I haven't even paid you for all the work you've been doing these past few days. Consider this meal as payment."

A-Che shook his head and tapped the screen twice to complete the payment.

"288 yuan received via Alipay~"

Li Zhibai still couldn't figure out what this kid was thinking. It was rare for him to be willing to treat others, yet he insisted on paying for it himself.

That's really stubborn.

"Okay, one order of fried rice, please. Please wait a moment."

Li Zhibai turned around and went back to the kitchen, turned on the stove and heated the pot.

Li Zhibai has made the regular version of fried rice many times. The basic steps are similar to the deluxe version, except for some adjustments to the ingredients.

Before long, a fragrant plate of fried rice was ready.

Li Zhibai personally carried the plate out and placed it in front of A-Che.

"Ah Che, your food is ready."

Ah Che whispered his thanks, then carefully examined the plate of fried rice in front of him.

Even though he had seen this Bodhi Jade Fried Rice at the store many times, he was still amazed by it.

The rice grains are white and translucent, with each grain distinct, and you can hardly see any trace of an egg, yet they exude an enticing egg aroma.

This technique of completely incorporating eggs into rice is simply miraculous.

Ache swallowed hard before picking up the spoon, scooping up a full spoonful of rice, and putting it in his mouth.

Just one bite.

His expression suddenly changed, and a light seemed to shine in his eyes.

He started making fried rice with eggs when he was eleven or twelve years old.

Back then, his family was poor, and his parents were busy in the fields. During the busy farming season, they had no time to cook, so he learned to cook on his own and did so for several years.

Later, he dropped out of school and set up a stall selling fried rice and fried noodles. He thought he knew a lot about fried rice.

For example, rice should be steamed in advance and left overnight before use, so that the rice grains will not stick together when fried.

First, beat the eggs. You can also add a little water to make the egg drop soup more tender.

The heat should be high, the hands should be quick, and the stir-frying should be even to ensure the rice has enough wok hei (wok aroma).

He learned all these skills on his own, and he was often praised by customers for his delicious cooking. He was a little smug and felt that he had a great talent for cooking.

It wasn't until he tasted the plate of fried rice in front of him that he finally realized that what he had made before didn't deserve to be called fried rice at all.

This is the real fried rice.

This is the kind of fried rice where every detail—the aroma of the eggs, the texture of the rice, the proportion of the seasonings, the control of the heat—is perfected.

He ate a plate of fried rice for almost twenty minutes, and only reluctantly put down his spoon after scraping the last grain of rice off the plate.

Ache looked again at the figure in the kitchen, dressed in a chef's uniform, cooking.

If it weren't for the owner's righteous intervention that night, his food cart would probably have been confiscated by the city management officers long ago.

He didn't know how to express his gratitude, and he wasn't good at speaking. From childhood to adulthood, he was the kind of kid that other people described as having clumsy words.

When others ask him something, he will at most grunt or nod. Even if you ask him to say thank you, he will blush.

He could only express his gratitude through actions.

So he came on the second day of the long holiday, went straight to work, and left as soon as he finished.

He originally intended to come and work for free once to repay the favor and then never come back.

But on his first day of work, he noticed a very strange phenomenon: all the customers in the store seemed to be possessed.

Some people complain about how expensive the food is, but they still eat with great relish, and after each meal, they have a satisfied look on their faces, as if their souls have been cleansed.

He was confused. Was the food at this Shaxian restaurant really so delicious that people could completely ignore the price?

Driven by curiosity, he began to come to the store every day to help out for free.

While observing the dishes, the customers' reactions, and the young owner who looked only a few years older than himself.

Then the more he looked, the more alarmed he became.

Today, he finally made up his mind to spend 288 yuan to order a regular version of fried rice, just to find out how delicious it was to make so many people go crazy.

I want to know just how big the gap is between myself and this boss.

Now he knows.

It was so big that he couldn't even muster the slightest thought of chasing after it.

He chose to drop out of school and secretly run away to sell fried rice because, besides not wanting to study, his dream was to become a chef.

Of course, there was also a more practical reason: his younger brother was sick and needed money for treatment, and he wanted to help ease the burden on his family as soon as possible.

At first, he wanted to find a kitchen helper job to learn while working, but because he was two months shy of turning seventeen, no restaurant dared to hire him.

He didn't have the money to go to a culinary school for systematic training, so he could only set up a food cart and sell fried rice as a temporary measure.

He thought that when he was old enough, he would find a job in the kitchen.

Until he met this boss from Shaxian County.

Besides being deeply shocked, he also felt an unprecedented longing.

He wanted to become the boss's apprentice.

He felt that if he missed this opportunity, he might never meet another chef as skilled as him as he was in his lifetime.

But the prerequisite is—he has to make money.

During the few days he helped out at the restaurant for free, he overheard some information from the customers' conversations.

The boss does take on apprentices, but it's not for free.

The tuition is 30,000 yuan a month, and I also have to help with chores.

If you only look at the numbers, 30,000 yuan is indeed very expensive.

Because many restaurants now offer free apprenticeships and even pay wages, you can still learn the skills. In comparison, spending 30,000 yuan to learn how to make Shaxian snacks seems like a very poor value for money.

But after so many days of work experience, and after eating that plate of fried rice, he no longer felt that way.

With such incredible culinary skills, it would be abnormal if she taught apprentices for free.

But 30,000 yuan is indeed an astronomical figure for him.

He sends almost all the money he earns from his daily stall home to pay for his younger brother's medical treatment, after paying for his own food. There's simply no way he can afford to give it to anyone else.

But he really, really didn't want to miss this opportunity.

Just when he was at his wit's end, a burst of exaggerated laughter suddenly came from the side.

"Hahaha... Lao Lu, you don't actually think you can get the national ranking just by using your brain, do you? Look at how many games you've lost in a row. You might as well just hire a boosting service."

"Why make things difficult for an old man like you when a game boosting service can be done for a few thousand dollars? Hahahaha..."

A-Che turned to look at the man who was playing games on his phone, his eyes flickering slightly.

Power leveling?

Several thousand dollars?

Is this industry very profitable?