The Cooking God System sensed something different about this host it had bound to.

Still, it was delightful to see the host brimming with renewed vitality.

The method for making taro paste wasn’t complicated.

Ji Rongxia followed the demonstration video a few times and quickly completed the task.

【Ding, a barely passable batch of taro paste.】

【Random task completed.】

“Host, how would you like to handle the reward?” the Cooking God System floated over to ask.

“Divide a small bowl of the taro paste and put it in my room. Store the rest for me. Also, place the snack recipes in my room—I’ll study them later,” Ji Rongxia said after a moment’s hesitation.

He hadn’t forgotten today’s goal was to practice cutting meat. With only half an hour of study time daily, the snack recipes could wait until he went out to review them properly.

“Oh, and I’ve been practicing meat cutting lately. You know what I mean, right?” Ji Rongxia looked expectantly at the Cooking God System.

The Cooking God System flashed: “Oh, Host, I understand!”

【Ding! Basic Skills Module Major Beginner Task: Beef Cutting. (Includes demonstration video).】

【Task Requirement: Learn to cut different cuts of beef.】

【Task Reward: 10 catties of spicy beef jerky, 5 catties of fresh beef shank, 5 catties of beef brisket, 30 catties of milk, 1 catty of beef tallow.】

“Beef! Wow, beef! I’ve never even eaten beef before!!!” Ji Rongxia was pleasantly surprised.

Though neither family farmed, his brother-in-law’s household owned several plots of land and kept an old ox. That ox was already sixteen years old, officially registered with the government. It could only be slaughtered when it died of old age. His brother-in-law mentioned they’d saved some silver, planning to buy a three- or four-year-old calf for plowing once the old ox passed. Beef was a precious delicacy he’d never had the chance to taste before.

“Host, keep at it! Once you become a culinary god, you can eat whatever you desire.” The Cooking God System continued to dangle promises before its host.

Ji Rongxia spread his hands helplessly. “What if I want to eat dragon liver and phoenix marrow? Don’t talk about things that don’t exist.”

Cooking God System: “…”

The host is too clever. Carrot-dangling failed.

Ji Rongxia looked down and saw that the taro paste, whipping cream, and purple sweet potatoes on the stove had vanished, replaced by fresh beef.

This was his first time seeing what fresh beef actually looked like.

From beef shank to brisket to tripe.

Every cut of beef lay before him.

Ji Rongxia began to grasp just how massive this grand mission truly was.

First, he’d have to learn which part of the cow each cut came from. Then he’d need to master the cutting techniques for each section. This task wouldn’t be completed anytime soon.

“Should I say I’m glad you didn’t assign me the task of slaughtering the cattle?” Ji Rongxia held the knife for the first time, unsure where to begin. And this reward… no wonder it was a major task—the rewards were truly substantial.

“The Cooking God System includes slaughtering tasks, though most related assignments fall under ingredient preparation. Some foundational tasks involve slaughtering, but those are for small livestock like pigs, chickens, or ducks. Cattle are too large, and the slaughtering and processing methods are far too complex. If the host were to learn slaughtering, it would make this major task excessively difficult. But rest assured, host. Within the system space, you feel no pain. You needn’t worry about getting hurt while learning slaughtering.” The Cooking God System stated.

Even if a culinary master doesn’t personally select or slaughter ingredients daily, they must understand the intricacies of the process.

Ji Rongxia’s lips twitched. So he still had to learn how to slaughter cattle.

Suddenly, becoming a culinary master felt rather daunting.

Truthfully, what Ji Rongxia needed to learn most right now was how to cut pork, chicken, mutton, or fish.

These four were the meats commonly served in restaurants.

But since the task was assigned, Ji Rongxia rolled up his sleeves and got to work!

After grunting and chopping beef for nearly half an hour, the time was up, and Ji Rongxia was ejected from the system space.

He opened his eyes and shook out his arms.

The scent of beef still lingered in his nostrils.

“How’d it go? You look pretty worn out today.” Gu Tangjin picked up the bowl of cooled water from the desk and held it to Ji Rongxia’s lips.

Ji Rongxia took it without hesitation, gulping down more than half the bowl. Gu Tangjin wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief.

Ji Rongxia obediently let him tend to him. “Today was indeed exhausting. I did two things… That beef was piled as high as a mountain. I memorized the names of all the different cuts, how to prepare them, and how to slice them. It was exhausting.”

When it came to tonight’s events, Ji Rongxia’s little mouth chattered on.

“Oh, right! That thing called light cream was surprisingly delicious, and the purple sweet potato was pretty good too. Hey, did you put my taro paste in the room? Let’s try some.” Ji Rongxia rubbed his hands together, looking eager to dive in.

“You mean this?” Gu Tangjin picked up a small transparent bowl from the table. It was filled to the brim with pale purple taro paste, thoughtfully accompanied by two clear little spoons.

“This little rascal is getting more and more attentive, knowing how to give us spoons, and even two of them.” Ji Rongxia sat up on the bed, picked up a spoon, and scooped a small portion of the paste.

The sweet flavor filled his mouth, and Ji Rongxia closed his eyes in satisfaction.

He scooped another spoonful for Gu Tangjin: ”Try it. This tastes better than mine. They added a lot of seasoning.”

Gu Tangjin lowered his head to eat. “Smooth and creamy, sweet and delicious, with a unique fragrance. It’s really good.”

“Right? Right? I know how to make this, but I couldn’t get all the right seasonings. If we make it, we can tweak it a bit—substitute butter for the light cream, and skip the purple sweet potato if we don’t have it. The light gray taro paste looks pretty, too. If you like it, I can still make it!“ Ji Rongxia ate while pondering how to tweak the recipe.

”Besides this bowl of taro paste, there are three more recipes in the room. You should keep these three safe.” Gu Tangjin stood up and picked up three more sheets of paper from the table. On the simple, white paper were written the recipes for three snacks.

“Oh, right—there are also snack recipes. I was so focused on cutting meat, I completely forgot about those three sheets.” Ji Rongxia took the papers, studied them carefully, but found many characters unfamiliar. He could only return them to Gu Tangjin. “Why don’t you read them to me?”

Gu Tangjin sighed helplessly. “I’ll teach you to read later. Just don’t complain about being tired again.”

“Alright, alright! I promise I’ll study hard!” Ji Rongxia declared, raising three fingers in a solemn vow.

Gu Tangjin shook his head with a smile, pressing Ji Rongxia’s hand down. “This paper is exceptionally fine and white, quite extraordinary. The writing on it is also very neat.”

“This recipe describes how to make crumbly pancakes. They need to be baked in a stove, primarily using flour and pork…”

“This recipe explains how to make jianbing guozi. It starts by detailing how to prepare the crispy layers inside…”

“The last one describes making pork pan-fried buns. To make these pan-fried buns, you first need to prepare pork skin jelly, using only the finest pork skin…”

Gu Tangjin patiently read through all three recipes.

Ji Rongxia’s eyes lit up as he picked up the recipe for pan-fried pork dumplings. “I’ve been pondering what new breakfast items to offer. Making steamed buns or noodles? My skills aren’t good enough to outdo the other shops in our alley. I need something unique, but I’ve racked my brain and can’t think of anything fresh. Why not try this?”

“This is unique, but we’ll need to make pork skin jelly first. Tomorrow we should go tell Butcher Ye we need some pork skin and fresh pork,” Gu Tangjin said.

Braised pork was one of their signature dishes, requiring a fair amount of pork daily. The Gu family had a good rapport with Butcher Ye, who raised and slaughtered pigs. Every day, Butcher Ye would send an apprentice to deliver fresh pork to their home. However, they had never used pork skin before, so they needed to inform Butcher Ye in advance.

“Alright.” Ji Rongxia nodded.

By the dim light of the oil lamp, they shared a small bowl of taro paste. Gu Tangjin fetched a bowl of water for Ji Rongxia to rinse his mouth.

After washing up, Ji Rongxia slid into the bed with a soft plop.

“You’re not angry with me tonight, are you?” Ji Rongxia asked, tugging at the edge of the thin quilt.

Gu Tangjin snuffed out the oil lamp and lay down beside him, puzzled. “Angry about what?”

“Me cursing people? And me saying I don’t care about the Zhang family anymore… I just… couldn’t help it.” Ji Rongxia mumbled.

Gu Tangjin gently stroked Ji Rongxia’s forehead. “Mother was right. When others humiliate us to our faces, we should curse them back.”

“Do you really think so?” Ji Rongxia bumped his forehead against his.

“Of course. Just don’t go thinking about that Tongsheng Zhang anymore.” Gu Tangjin said with a hint of mischief.

“Why would I think about him? I’ve almost forgotten what he looks like.” Ji Rongxia glared at Gu Tangjin and lunged at him playfully.

After a while of roughhousing, Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia sold leek cakes and fruit drinks as usual.

The leeks would only last for today, but there was still plenty of fruit syrup left, enough to sell for quite some time.

Gu Tangjin went early to the butcher shop of Butcher Ye, two alleys away.

Seeing Gu Tangjin approach, Butcher Ye, who had just slid open his shop door, greeted him warmly. “Mr. Gu, why have you come today? If you need anything, just tell Wu Erlang to come back and discuss it with me. No need for you to make the trip.”

Gu Tangjin bowed politely and said, “Uncle Ye, could you deliver a pound of pork skin to the eatery in the future? Please send them early, as Xia-ger and I need them for breakfast.”

Pigskin was tricky to prepare and didn’t have much flavor, so few customers wanted it. The eatery’s willingness to take some daily-made Butcher Ye quite pleased.

“Sure thing. I’ll pick out some with a bit of fat for you. Pigskin doesn’t fetch much, so how about fifteen wen per pound?”

A pound of fatty pork is currently sold for forty coins. Since the eatery bought in bulk, Butcher Ye gave them thirty-eight coins per pound. Even with the low price of pork rinds, fifteen coins for a pound, including some fat, wasn’t expensive.

“Alright, thank you, Uncle Ye. I’ll take a pound of pork rinds home today.”

“Sure thing.”

Since Gu Tangjin was already there, he conveniently carried back the pork and pork skin he needed for the day. Butcher Ye had worried this frail Xiucai couldn’t lift over thirty pounds of meat—yet Gu Tangjin walked off effortlessly with the load!

Butcher Ye smacked his lips. “That little Xiucai’s got some strength on him.”

While setting up his stall today, Ji Rongxia told the customers buying chive pancakes that she’d be switching to new breakfast items tomorrow.

“No pancakes tomorrow? What will you be selling then?” Lin Dongshan, a regular at the breakfast stall, asked while holding a cup of fruit drink at the stall’s edge upon hearing the news.

He came daily to buy five or six pancakes and drink two cups of fruit juice, making his day complete. What if he didn’t like the new food?

“Tomorrow I’ll make some southern-style food called pan-fried buns. They’re sort of like fried dumplings,” Ji Rongxia said after a moment’s thought.

“Fried dumplings? I’ve never heard of them. I’ll definitely come try them tomorrow.” Liu Dalang, who also came to buy cakes, trusted Xia-ger’s skills. He’d eaten many kinds of buns, but never these fried mini buns.

Lin Dongshan was curious too and planned to come try them tomorrow. If they weren’t good, he could always drink the fruit drink, right? At least he wouldn’t leave empty-handed!