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

After the three bald men left.

The woman who ran the stall took the money she had earned that day, along with a small bag of eggs, and went into the shop.

"Boss, thank you so much today! I really don't know what I would have done without you."

"This is the money I earned today, and these eggs too. Please take them."

As she spoke, she placed the items on the table.

"Big sister, what are you doing? I don't want these, you can take them back." Li Zhibai quickly refused.

The woman selling goods at the stall was quite straightforward; after putting her items down, she quickly left the shop.

"Oh, big sister! I really don't want to..."

Li Zhibai was helpless. He walked over, picked up the money and the bag of eggs from the table, and chased after her out the door, returning them to her stall.

"Sister, you really don't need to do this. I'm helping you not for these things."

The woman selling goods at the stall said, "But...but I really don't know how to thank you..."

Li Zhibai suddenly noticed a takeout plate of fried rice on her stall, so he pointed to it and asked, "Sister, is this what those people left behind?"

The older woman nodded: "Yes, they forgot to take it."

"Well then, if you want to thank me, give me this fried rice. I'm hungry too," Li Zhibai said.

Firstly, he knew in his heart that if he didn't accept something, his older sister would feel bad.

Secondly, he was genuinely curious about what the fried rice this woman made tasted like, that it could make that bald man so angry.

As Li Zhibai spoke, he picked up the fried rice, took a pair of disposable chopsticks from the stall, and began to eat it openly.

"Boss, this is getting cold, let me heat it up for you," the older woman said quickly.

"No need, no need, it's still warm to my touch."

As Li Zhibai spoke, he scooped a mouthful of fried rice into his mouth with his chopsticks and chewed it a few times.

Then his expression froze, and he chewed slower and slower...

Well, how should I put it?

If he had to give an evaluation, he felt that the bald man had been wronged.

"Boss, how's it?" the older woman asked curiously.

After all, the owner of this Shaxian restaurant was also a chef, and she wanted to hear his opinion.

Li Zhibai forced himself to swallow the mouthful of rice, then smiled at his older sister: "It's alright, quite...quite unique."

He couldn't bring himself to tell the truth.

While you can't expect too much from an eight-yuan serving of fried rice, this woman's cooking skills were indeed a bit questionable.

Then he closed the lid of the disposable lunchbox and said to the older woman, "Sister, I'll take this home and eat it slowly."

...........

Perhaps because they had gotten to know each other better over time, Li Zhibai chatted with the older sister for a while.

That's how I gradually learned about my older sister's situation.

The eldest sister's name is Zhao Xiaomei. She is from the north and is only thirty-three years old this year.

She has a six-year-old son who has contracted a very rare blood disease that local hospitals couldn't treat. After making inquiries from various sources, she was transferred to the best children's hospital in Jiangcheng for treatment.

But the treatment costs here are too high. The medication alone costs several thousand yuan a month, not including hospitalization fees, examination fees and all sorts of other expenses.

To pay for their son's medical treatment, Zhao Xiaomei and her husband sold their house in their hometown and borrowed money from all their relatives before they could barely scrape together the initial treatment costs.

During the day, her husband works as a food delivery driver in Jiangcheng while she takes care of their child at the hospital. At night, her husband comes home to relieve her and she pushes her tricycle out to set up a stall to sell fried rice until three or four in the morning.

The two of them took turns caring for the child and endured it for almost half a year.

This is why, although she is only in her thirties, she looks like someone in their forties.

After hearing her story, Li Zhibai felt quite uneasy.

He originally thought that owing 600,000 yuan in rent was bad enough, but compared to Sister Zhao, his problem was nothing.

But he can't really help the other party right now, because he himself is still heavily in debt.

Just as Li Zhibai was feeling sentimental, he suddenly noticed a detail.

When Zhao Xiaomei was making fried rice for customers, she always added significantly more seasoning than usual, and the order in which she added the seasoning was also incorrect.

Then, recalling the somewhat unpalatable fried rice he had just eaten and the bald man's reaction, he instantly understood where the problem lay.

Zhao Xiaomei is from the north, so her taste is naturally on the heavier side. In addition, after setting up a stall, she was exposed to oily fumes every day, which made her sense of taste a little duller than that of ordinary people. So when she was frying rice, she was a little rough with her hands.

If this strong flavor were to be used by a fellow northerner, they might be able to accept it.

But if you encounter local Jiangcheng diners or diners from the south, you're doomed.

The local cuisine in Jiangcheng is generally light and sweet. If you make a fried rice that is too salty and oily, how can people possibly eat it?

Of course, besides the difference in taste, there's also the fact that her cooking technique and heat control weren't quite right.

Just as Li Zhibai was pondering whether to offer some advice to his older sister, another man in a plaid shirt returned angrily carrying a lunchbox.

"No way, ma'am, what the hell did you stir-fry?! Try it yourself, is this even edible?!"

"Hurry up, what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm so sorry! I'll redo it for you. I'm really sorry," Zhao Xiaomei apologized hastily.

"No need to redo it, it won't taste good even if you do. I'm not eating it, just give me a refund!" the man said.

Even though she felt wronged, Zhao Xiaomei had no choice but to pay for the refund.

Li Zhibai, watching from the side, sighed, stood up, and said to the man:

"Brother, let me redo it for you."

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then asked, "You'll do it?"

Li Zhibai nodded, took the spatula from Zhao Xiaomei, and stood in front of the gas stove: "Yes! I'll cook you another one. If it's not good, you can get a refund, okay?"

Seeing that he had said so, the middle-aged man finally agreed with some skepticism.

Li Zhibai possesses god-level culinary skills. Even without a recipe from the system, he can still make a simple egg fried rice very well with just his own hands, although it won't reach the god-level quality required by the system.

Heat the wok, add oil, and once the oil is hot, pour the beaten egg mixture along the edge of the wok.

"Sizzle~~~~!"

The eggs expanded rapidly in the hot oil, and the golden egg flowers rolled around in the pan, emitting an enticing aroma.

Then, he poured the rice from the lunchbox into the pot.

With a snap, the rice hit the pan, and he immediately turned up the heat and started stir-frying it quickly with a spatula.

Intense flames erupted from the bottom of the pot, and the rice grains quickly dehydrated under the high temperature. The originally sticky rice balls gradually separated as he stirred them, becoming distinct grains.

Then he added a little salt, a little light soy sauce, and a little sugar in that order, controlling the amount of ingredients very precisely. Finally, he added some shredded carrots, cabbage, and other side dishes, and continued to stir-fry quickly.

Just before it was done cooking, a pinch of pepper and chopped green onions were sprinkled on top. With a flick of the wrist, the fried rice in the wok was tossed in an arc through the air before landing steadily back in the wok.

Finally, he used a spatula to quickly scoop and scoop the fried rice into the lunchbox.

The whole process took less than three minutes.

A street-style fried rice dish is ready.

"Brother, have a taste." Li Zhibai handed the fried rice to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man took the lunchbox with some skepticism, picked up a bite with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and chewed it a couple of times.

then……

Holy crap!!!

What's going on here?

It's the same fried rice from a roadside stall, with the same ingredients, but how come it tastes completely different when cooked by someone else?

It tastes so much better!

"Is it delicious?" Li Zhibai asked knowingly.

The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly and gave him a thumbs-up: "Delicious! Great cooking skills, young man!"

Then he stopped mentioning the refund, picked up his lunchbox and left, shoveling rice into his mouth as he walked.

Zhao Xiaomei, the woman running the stall, watched in astonishment. Although she knew Li Zhibai was a chef, she never expected his culinary skills to be so amazing.

The way she flipped the wok, the way she handled the seasonings, and the control of the heat—everything she did was many times better than hers.

"Boss, you're amazing! I feel like I could never reach your level in my entire life."

Li Zhibai smiled and said, "Big sister, your cooking skills do need improvement, but that's not something you can master in a day or two. However, you can change the proportions of your seasonings; that will at least improve the taste of your fried rice."

Zhao Xiaomei: "Boss, I don't know what's wrong with me, I just can't seem to get the quantity right."

Li Zhibai thought for a moment, then turned around and went back to the shop. He found a spice box with several compartments in the kitchen, and then put the salt, sugar, pepper, soy sauce and other seasonings into different compartments according to a certain ratio. The amount in each compartment was just enough for one serving of fried rice or fried noodles.

After he finished, he came out with the spice box and handed it to Zhao Xiaomei.

"Big sister, this is for you."

"From now on, when you fry a serving of rice, use the amount in one small square. After you finish using it, you can refer to my ratio to make your own. This way, you won't have uneven saltiness, and it will suit most people's tastes."

"Also, soy sauce and salt must be added separately, not at the same time. First, add soy sauce for color, stir-fry evenly, and then add salt for seasoning. In addition, if you are really unsure about the saltiness, you can add a little bit of white sugar to neutralize it, but be careful not to add too much."

Zhao Xiaomei took the spice box, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears.

"Thank you so much, boss! Thank you so much!"

"Alright, alright, big sister, you can keep working. I'm going back to sleep." Li Zhibai yawned, waved his hand, and turned back into the shop.

He pulled down the curtain, went to the bathroom to wash up quickly, and then climbed up to the second floor to lie down.

Just then, the system suddenly made a sound.

[Friendly reminder: You are not far from obtaining your first Gourmet Heart.]

Li Zhibai: "???"

"System, what did you say? Can you reveal more?"

[No, the host must figure it out on their own!]

This time, Li Zhibai didn't complain about the damn system, since it was good news after all.

He also vaguely guessed how to obtain the Heart of Gourmet Food, and he could verify it tomorrow.

Thinking of this, Li Zhibai happily picked up his phone and opened the review website for a quick look.

There's still only that one negative review...

wrong!

How did it become two?

Which son of a bitch gave him a bad review again?!