At the same time, hearing authentic Chinese makes me feel very warm and familiar.

Soon, a plate of glutinous rice balls was served. Su Luo picked up his chopsticks and took a bite. The taste immediately made him frown.

After taking one bite, I put down my chopsticks. When I looked at the owner, I found him staring at me nervously. Okay! So he had been watching me the whole time, probably because he hadn't had any business!

Su Luo continued, "Boss, bring me some other dishes as well."

"Okay." Seeing that Su Luo had ordered a few more dishes, his tense face relaxed a little.

After a while, the boy served several dishes.

After the dish was served, the boy didn't go back. He just stood to the side and looked at Su Luo, which made him extremely depressed. How could I eat if you were looking at me like that?

But after thinking about it, Su Luo simply picked up her chopsticks and ate some other things, but she only took one bite and then stopped, because they were really hard to swallow.

This also puzzled Chuang. As a small stall, wouldn't it be enough to just have one dish? Why did he make so many dishes? And not only were they too many, but they were also so unpalatable. No wonder no one came to eat there!

"Boss, where are you from?" Su Luo asked in fluent Chinese.

"I'm from northern China, but I don't know the specifics," the boy said honestly.

"Northerners?" Su Luo was quite familiar with the North. Although it wasn't the same world, he could look it up on a computer. The North was generally considered a poor place, which puzzled him. Why would northerners come here?

"Then why are you setting up a stall here? To be honest, what you make is really a bit..." Su Luo didn't try to hide anything and asked directly, not caring whether he would be upset.

"I know, what I made was really bad, but there's nothing I can do about it." The boy interrupted Chuang before he could finish speaking, seemingly quite self-aware.

After repeated conversations, Su Luo finally understood the reason.

The boy's name was Chu Yuan. Twenty years ago, Chu Yuan's parents were poor. Later, a relative told them that it was easier to make money abroad. So, through the relative's connections, they spent a lot of money to smuggle themselves into Japan. But when they actually arrived in Japan, they realized that making money here was even more difficult. It made sense, since they had no household registration, couldn't speak Japanese, and didn't have any special skills.

I thought I would starve to death on the streets, but I received help from a Chinese person who owned a small restaurant. I applied for a job helping out in the restaurant, which allowed me to survive.

Later, through hard work, the couple finally earned a considerable amount of money, opened their own small restaurant, and had a healthy baby boy named Chu Yuan.

However, many people don't always have smooth sailing, and they were no exception. Just this year, Chu Yuan's father was in a car accident, and it was Chu Yuan's father who hit someone else. Not only did he die, but he also had to pay a lot of money in compensation, and even the restaurant was directly lost.

Even so, they were basically penniless, and the mother, exhausted and traumatized, fell ill and never recovered.

Although Chu Yuan is already in his twenties, he doesn't like cooking and only helps out at the restaurant.

At that time, he thought he could attract people with Chinese cuisine, thinking that it would definitely sell well, so he set up a small stall. However, he was too optimistic, and reality was very cruel.

After a few days, he realized the importance of cooking skills, but it was too late to turn back now, because he had already invested all his money. If he didn't have any income, he would probably starve to death on the streets.

That's why Chu Yuan kept watching Chuang Ye eat.

Hearing this, Su Luoshi was speechless. How could she have encountered such a melodramatic thing?

"So what do you plan to do now?" Su Luo couldn't help but ask.

"Sigh!" Chu Yuan sighed helplessly and replied, "What else can we do? We can only take it one step at a time!"

However, that's true. The situation is already like this, and there's basically no turning back.

Seeing the Chinese people in distress, Su Luo still wanted to lend a hand. Although she was not Chinese in this life, she still had an unresolved feeling for the Chinese people.

------------

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Fried Milk

Seeing Chu Yuan's miserable expression, Su Luo felt that she would be going against her conscience if she didn't help, so she couldn't help but say, "If you trust me, I can help you."

"Really?" Chu Yuan was a little skeptical. After all, Su Luo was only an eleven or twelve-year-old child. Although he wasn't really looking forward to it, he still agreed. It was better than having no other choice.

Su Luo left the table, walked to the stall's work area, looked at the remaining ingredients, and couldn't help but think of something.

Chu Yuan really didn't understand what Su Luo was trying to do. Just as he was wondering, Chuang had already started selecting ingredients.

Su Luo knew that if she wanted to truly help them, it shouldn't be with money, as that would only lead to them running out of money. To truly help them, she needed something lasting. So, Chuang decided to teach them a snack.

Su Luo placed another pot on top, stirred the milk, cornstarch, sugar, and condensed milk together until smooth, and then poured it into the pot. The pot she used was a cylindrical pot for making soup.

After it's done, heat it over low heat, stirring constantly with a spoon. As time goes by and the water evaporates, a rich aroma of milk slowly wafts out, attracting many people to watch because the smell is so enticing and whets their appetite.

Stir the milk into a paste, making it slightly firm. That's about right, but be careful not to make it too firm, or it will lose the smooth texture of milk.

Pour the batter into a square baking dish (you can find these here), and smooth the surface, as this directly affects the appearance of the finished dish. Then cover it with plastic wrap to prevent it from freezing.

There are refrigerators here too. Because it gets quite hot in the summer, Chu Yuan bought one to sell ice water, ice cream, and the like. Business was originally very good, but as autumn approached, he stopped selling them.

Place the entire container in the refrigerator to solidify into a custard. Of course, to make it easier to handle, you can let it freeze slightly.

While the ingredients are being added, start preparing other tasks. Mix the flour and baking powder together with water until it forms a smooth paste without any lumps.

This stall does deep-fry food. I checked the temperature inside the oil pan, adjusted the temperature to about 60-70 degrees Celsius, and then turned it down to low heat.

Take the frozen milk pudding out of the refrigerator and pour it onto the table.

Su Luo picked up the knife and quickly slid it a few times, cutting the milk cake into rectangular blocks about the length of her index finger. Each piece was uniform in size and had a smooth cut.

Take out a piece of milk cake, coat it with a layer of batter, and put it directly into the oil pan. Keep doing this and quickly put all the milk cakes into the oil pan.

With the final step, the milk cake becomes even more delicious and fragrant.

As time passed, the milk cake turned an enticing golden yellow, emitting a fragrant aroma.

Su Luo used a hollowed-out spoon to scoop out the golden-brown fried milk cakes and placed them in a lunchbox with exquisitely patterned absorbent paper. She put five cakes in each box, and each milk cake was a uniform golden-brown cylindrical shape that did not deform during the frying process. They were all exquisitely crafted.

And just like that, a delicious fried milk dish was freshly made. Although it had been taken out of the oil, it still exuded a rich milky aroma from the residual heat, making it incredibly tempting.

Seeing the food being fished out of the oil, the onlookers' mouths watered, and they all asked, "Boss, how much is this?"

Hearing someone speak, everyone turned to look at Chuangye. His eyes, like greedy green eyes, gleamed with a sinister light, making Su Luo's back go cold. She instinctively covered her chest with her hands and said, "Uncle, what are you trying to do? You're not a pedophile, are you? Let me tell you, I will absolutely not let you succeed."

Upon hearing this, everyone broke out in a cold sweat. Seriously, kid, are you from the world of anime or manga?

"Young man, you're overthinking it."

"Oh! Just kidding! People these days! They can't take a joke when they get old." Su Luo immediately made a shy gesture and giggled.

The customers who saw it were so disgusted they threw up. And that "old" comment, who are you talking about?

The customers were so angry they wanted to hit someone. Seeing the menacing crowd, Su Luo said, "The lowest price in the world is 601 yen per serving. But since it's a new dish today, I'll be merciful and give everyone a discount. I'll round it down to 600 yen per serving."

Hearing this, everyone was speechless. Seriously, could I ask you if you added that extra yen yourself? And besides, it's only one yen less, and you call that a discount? Could you be any more stingy? Does this even make a difference to whether there's a discount or not?

To be honest, the price isn't much. Although it smells quite nice, I don't know how it tastes.

Even so, a few people still spoke up: "Boss, give me one."

The first customer who bought the fried milk took a bite, and a crisp sound rang out. As he swirled it in his mouth, a smooth milky aroma gradually spread out. It was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, delicious and tasty.

Like a gentle breeze, a simple wooden house stands there. Looking out, you see a lush green grassland. The breeze makes you feel like a cow, grazing on the grass and basking in the bright sunshine, feeling incredibly warm.

After taking a bite, the man closed his eyes, looking completely blissful. At that moment, the other customers realized what was happening and immediately pulled out their money to buy: "Boss, two servings, ah! No! Four servings!"

Before long, the fried milk was snatched up, and those who missed out urged Chuang to make some quickly.

While they were making it, Su Luo was instructing Chu Yuan on how to do it, and then asked Chu Yuan, "Did you understand?"

"It should be okay!" Chu Yuan said somewhat uncertainly.

"Then give it a try! I'll be watching from the sidelines," Su Luo said, seeing that Chu Yuan's answer wasn't very confident.

Su Luo understood that this dish was actually quite easy. The key was to control the consistency of the milk when boiling it. If this step was done well, there wouldn't be any major problems. At most, the presentation might not be very appealing.

Boil milk, freeze, coat with batter, and deep-fry.

At first, Chu Yuan didn't do very well, but he became more skilled as he practiced, and gradually his work became quite decent. It could be said that he had almost mastered it.

"Sorry everyone, we're out of ingredients for today. Please come back tomorrow!" The ingredients were used up in no time, so it seems this fried milk dish is quite popular.

Seeing this, everyone left reluctantly. There was no more material available, and there was nothing that could be done but to come back another time.

After finishing all of this, Chu Yuan was drenched in sweat, but his mood improved considerably.

He said to Su Luo, "Thank you so much for today. I really don't know what I would have done without your help."

------------

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Scammed

"You're welcome. I'm just helping out occasionally," Su Luo waved his hand and said. To be honest, he wasn't exactly a pushover; since he'd seen him, he figured he might as well lend a hand.

"Um..." Chu Yuan hesitated, sounding a little embarrassed.

Seeing this, Su Luo said, "Just say what you want to say!"

"Could you teach me a few more dishes? Otherwise, I really don't know how I'll survive, especially since my mother is sick. I don't think you can bear to see that," Chu Yuan said.

"Excuse me, I think you've got the wrong person. I'm just a six or seven-year-old child." After saying this, Su Luo turned around expressionlessly and left without paying any attention to him.

This isn't to say that Su Luo didn't want to help. To be honest, although she wouldn't call herself a good person, she could still lend a hand. But if you think she's a pushover, then you're wrong.

There are countless people in this world who are more pitiful than them. In any case, I only helped out of conscience this time.

But then you said to me, 'Could you teach me a few more dishes? Otherwise, I really don't know how I'll survive, especially since my mother is sick, and I don't think you can bear to see that.' What do you mean by that? Is that a threat?

If you're going to say that's all it takes, then you're being too naive. After all, I don't owe you anything. I've already done you a favor by helping you. And you're making such threatening remarks? What kind of logic is that?

If it were a matter of needing a few dishes, Su Luo would definitely provide them. The problem is that you made such a threatening statement, making it seem like you owed her something. This also annoyed Chuang. He had already done a lot of face by helping her this far. What does it matter to me whether you live or die?

Don't talk about being heartless or not, this is reality, and people should learn to be content.

As for Chu Yuan's current expression and what their future life will be like, it's none of Su Luo's business, and she doesn't care to care, regardless of Chu Yuan's reasons.

Although her face remained expressionless, Su Luo felt an indescribable anger inside.

After returning home, Su Luo didn't do anything and didn't want to get angry, because there was really no need for it. With nothing to do, she went to the hotel kitchen, paid them some money, and practiced her cooking skills when they weren't working.

A month can pass in the blink of an eye, neither fast nor slow.

In the past month, Su Luo's cooking skills have improved considerably.

A month passed after the entrance exam—in April.

“Now, the school year badges will be awarded,” a girl on the stage announced, “representative of the new first-year students, Erina Nakiri.”

"Yes!" A blonde girl, dressed in a tight green outfit with a plaid skirt and black socks, in her school uniform, gradually walked towards them from a distance.

Totsuki Culinary Academy - High School First Year - Opening Ceremony

"Ah... Ms. Erina, you look beautiful today too..."

"She has both beauty and talent, and she's the top student. She's a perfect superman..."

"I heard she ranked first in all subjects in the internal promotion exam!"

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