Chapter 2 Egg Fried Rice Really Glows

“Oh! Does Little Qin have guests at home?”

Qin Lang, who was carrying bags of groceries, ready to go home, paused in his steps and quickly recognized the voice. It was Aunt Zhou, who lived in the same building.

“I bought these to practice cooking.” Qin Lang responded casually.

“That’s right, I forgot you’re a chef.” Aunt Zhou nodded with understanding and chuckled, “Carry on then. Remember to refrigerate any leftover ingredients. They spoil quickly in this weather.”

“Thanks for the reminder, I will.” Qin Lang nodded and quickly went upstairs.

Only after closing the door of his home did he release his load of bags with spread arms, his face gaining some life again.

He did not know why his predecessor was so well liked by the neighbors. He had already met many neighborhood folks like Aunt Zhou who greeted him on his way back from the market.

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Despite having his predecessor’s memories, Qin Lang was worried about revealing himself, so he responded vaguely.

“I’ll get to know this place a bit better; then I can interact with people he knew.” Qin Lang muttered, shaking his hands that were marked by the weight of his bags, before swiftly entering the kitchen with his groceries.

As a chef, the previous occupant was certainly qualified.

The house was small, but the kitchen was kept very clean, spacious enough, and equipped with all commonly used utensils.

Once the marks on his hands had faded, Qin Lang placed the fresh ingredients he had bought from the market on the counter.

These included a freshly slaughtered old hen and duck, pork hocks, lean meat, and ham—everything he needed, even the star of the show for the boiled cabbage dish.

With every ingredient he took out, Qin Lang’s face twitched in a painful manner.

In the Food Spirit World, the quality of ingredients greatly affected their price.

Ordinary ingredients were inexpensive, but if you sought high-quality ones, the price would be significantly higher.

That’s why the seemingly common ingredients cost Qin Lang over a thousand yuan.

“It doesn’t matter. Once I become a Spirit Chef, I’ll find other ways to make money.” Qin Lang comforted himself, then picked up the cleaver and started preparing the ingredients with smooth, flowing motions.

Although the previous owner was poor, his knife was quite good.

The ingredients were blanched and stewed in a pressure cooker for an hour…

Qin Lang patted the lid of the pressure cooker, “Thank God for technology.”

If he had used a traditional simmering method, this process would have taken six hours.

The day lily would’ve wilted by then.

He picked up a book at random to pass the time. About fifty minutes later, he smelled an aroma wafting around the kitchen; even the pressure cooker couldn’t completely contain it.

The scent was heavy with the flavors of the old chicken and duck, the unique aroma of the pork hock, and the distinctive smoky flavor of the ham, enticingly penetrating Qin Lang’s nostrils.

It was hard to imagine how rich the aroma would be when he finally opened the pressure cooker.

As a chef, it was such moments that Qin Lang loved the most.

Smelling the aroma of delicious food made him feel as if he was communicating with it.

He put down the book, took a few steps to the counter, then started processing the raw meat and cabbage while the broth was still cooking.

He minced the meat, mixed it with water into a paste, and shaped the cabbage to look like a flower bud. Then it was time to open the pressure cooker.

Inhaling greedily the scent that instantly filled the kitchen like an explosion, displeasure washed away from Qin Lang’s face.

A soup like this was worth the hour-long wait.

He plucked the ingredients out of the soup and cooled it by placing the pot in a water bath. He then gradually added the meat paste to absorb the impurities in the soup. After filtering twice, the previously murky soup became crystal clear.

The clear soup was ready.

Afterward, he put the cabbage and clear soup together in the steamer to stew for half an hour.

“Ugh…”

As Qin Lang smelled the rich and pure aroma of the meat soup, he was gripped by hunger. He casually picked up a gelled pork hock that had been cooked in the soup and began eating.

The pork hock had been stewing in the pressure cooker for a full hour and was extremely tender. The meat slid off the bone and the skin outside was white and tender. The gelatin in the middle had also been cooked until it was soft and translucent.

“Quickly mix in some dipping sauce and roll it in…mmm.” Qin Lang said as he prepared one for himself.

Soon, the pork hock, awash in the shiny brown dipping sauce and decorated with bright red pepper flakes on its surface, was in his mouth.

After indulging in a fine meal and satisfying his craving, Qin Lang casually opened the steamer.

With this, the preparation of Boiled Cabbage with Water could be considered complete.

However, for this particular dish, there was one more step that was as crucial as the dot in the character “龍”.

An attractive porcelain plate was brought over, onto which the steamed cabbage was placed upright in the center, and then the clear soup was poured out from the spout, trickling down from the tip of the cabbage.

Immersed in the soup, the cabbage slowly unfolded, just like a tightly closed bud blooming into a flower in the water, an overwhelmingly beautiful sight.

Boiled Cabbage with Water, done!

“Come forth! My Food Spirit!” Qin Lang’s face was full of indomitable confidence.

One second…

Five seconds…

Ten seconds…

Qin Lang fell silent.

If he was not mistaken, he had probably failed, right?

He, a Special Class 1 chef, had failed to summon the Food Spirit?

Still unwilling to concede defeat, he waited a little longer. Looking at the exquisite Boiled Cabbage with Water still on the table, Qin Lang sighed.

“I’ll just eat it myself.” He brought the porcelain plate to himself, “it’s still missing a staple.”

If he remembered correctly, there were leftover rice and fresh chicken eggs in the refrigerator.

The unexpected failure left him feeling a little disinterested; might as well just make some Egg Fried Rice to appease himself.

He took out the ingredients from the refrigerator and got busy again.

Mix the leftover rice with egg yolks until evenly combined, fry the egg whites and set them aside, add the rice into the pan, and stir-fry until each grain is separate, then add the fried egg whites and continue to stir-fry.

This proficiency ingrained in him allowed him to become somewhat oblivious while stir-frying.

The master who had guided him on the path to becoming a chef in his previous life had taught him Egg Fried Rice as his first gourmet dish.

Egg Fried Rice is very common, but it encapsulates the test of the heat control and it is not uncommon for apprentices to practice on it.

The master had a bad temper, and each mistake he made would result in a scolding, but he was actually very responsible, a typical softie at heart.

Even after leaving that restaurant and becoming a Special Class 1 chef, Qin Lang still held a deep sense of gratitude towards his master.

However, he will probably never see him again.

As Qin Lang was stir-frying the Egg Fried Rice which was about to be served, it was as if he was stirring in his inexplicable confusion about his mysterious time travel and his unresolved failure to create a Food Spirit.

He did not notice that an extremely slight glow had somehow appeared around his body.

The glow was brightest at his forehead and then diffused all over his body.

After the stir-frying was finished, Qin Lang quickly plated the steaming Egg Fried Rice from the pan.

The rich and thick egg flavor had already filled the entire kitchen during the stir-frying process, and each grain of rice on the plated Egg Fried Rice was wrapped in golden egg liquid, clearly individual yet visibly soft.

The moment the plating was finished, a blinding golden light suddenly burst from the Egg Fried Rice.

An overwhelming suction exploded from the Egg Fried Rice, as though it intended to drain Qin Lang’s vitality.

“Since when does Egg Fried Rice shine?”

Qin Lang simply felt his mind go blank, his body growing weaker and weaker.

Finally, everything went black before his eyes, and he fainted.

—————–

End of chapter bonus content:

[Boiled Cabbage with Water]

[Egg Fried Rice]