Gourmet of Another World

Bu Fang opened his eyes. All of a sudden, he sat up from his original position. He rubbed his drowsy-eyes and yawned.

After washing his face and rinsing his mouth, Bu Fang walked out of his room. The guest room was as usual, shut tightly.

Going downstairs, Bu Fang arrived in the kitchen. It looked the same as usual, without a single speck of dust. It was clean to the point of making one feel extremely comfortable just by looking at it. Bu Fang patted on Whitey’s plump tummy and curled the corners of his mouth. His mood was entirely free from worry.

Bu Fang picked up the uniquely heavy kitchen knife and started his daily practice of knife work and carving skills. That heavy kitchen knife looked very light-weighted when in his hands, making it look rather inconceivable.

Following the aroma of the Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs pervading the air, Yu Fu swayed her snake tail and descended unhurriedly from the second floor. With just a quick glance, she saw Bu Fang practicing his culinary skills inside the kitchen. Immediately, her face was filled with admiration toward him.

”Good morning, Owner Bu.” Yu Fu smiled and greeted.

Bu Fang shot a glance at her and nodded his head faintly. His concentration had all been used on cooking the Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs while Yu Fu looked at Bu Fang’s technique curiously. She was extremely curious toward the Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs which was suffusing an exquisite fragrance all around.

Bu Fang skillfully cooked the Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs while Yu Fu studied it earnestly. The scene of them looked rather harmonious momentarily.

The Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs was taken out from the pan and was given a generous splash of the drunken juice. Bu Fang took the porcelain bowl and walked out of the kitchen.

”Continue practicing your knife work and carving skills. Later, I will evaluate your Egg-Fried Rice,” Bu Fang passed by Yu Fu and said nonchalantly. Thereafter, he walked into the small store and opened up the door boards.

”Blacky, time to eat,” Bu Fang said.

He placed the fragrant Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs in front of Blacky and rubbed against its back fur gently. After that, Bu Fang stood up, pulled a chair over and curled up on it at the entrance.

The Spring wind blew as it brought along the slight chill from the early morning. It was very slow and gentle, making one feel the urge to go back to sleep.

Inside the kitchen, Yu Fu picked the kitchen knife she chose yesterday and started to cut the ingredients Bu Fang had prepared for her. There were a lot of them, as it was filled to the brim of the large basin.

Yu Fu practiced her knife work conscientiously. Even someone as skilled as Owner Bu had to practice every day as well. What excuse did she have to not practice conscientiously?

Not long after, the small store seemed to be bustling with noise and excitement. There were people who called out to Owner Bu. Afterwards, it was the call for ordering dishes.

Yu Fu looked at the half completed basin and her wrist was already feeling numb. She was somewhat flustered immediately.

Bu Fang stepped into the kitchen and saw the somewhat panicking Yu Fu. He was slightly puzzled, ”What’s wrong? Didn’t I say before that, as a chef, you must have confidence in the skills you possess?”

”I... I did not manage to finish cutting all the ingredients.” Yu Fu’s face reddened and she said with some shame.

Bu Fang was taken aback. He took a quick look at the half-completed ingredients and the corner of his mouth curled up. He patted on Yu Fu head and said: ”I did not stipulate that you had to finish cutting all of these ingredients, they are only meant to be used for practice. Alright, let’s call it a day for your knife work practice. Cook a portion of Egg-Fried Rice for me to taste.”

Yu Fu heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. She thought that Bu Fang would have scolded her severely because of that.

A small cooking bench appeared beside the large kitchen table. Bu Fang looked at the small cooking bench while rubbing his nose. Since when did this table appear? Without a doubt, this cooking bench must have been prepared by the system.

”Go to that cooking bench to cook your Egg-Fried Rice. In the future, that cooking bench shall belong to you.” Bu Fang pointed at the small cooking bench that had just appeared out of nowhere as he said to Yu Fu.

Yu Fu was incessantly flabbergasted. She glanced at the cooking bench while her heart was amazed. There was no such cooking bench there yesterday… How did it suddenly appear today? It’s so magical...

However, Yu Fu knew that some things are better left unanswered. Therefore, she picked out the ingredients she needed and started to cook her Egg-Fried Rice.

As usual, Bu Fang started working on the diner’s dishes. His knife flickered and the ingredients were sliced very quickly. The speed was so fast that it was like a blurred image in someone else’s eyes! On the other side, Yu Fu was somewhat in a daze. Owner Bu’s knife work... was simply too frightening!

All kinds of fragrant dishes were placed at the window by Bu Fang. Ouyang Xiaoyi walked over with her face full of smiles as she carried the dishes away.

”Owner Bu, the Egg-Fried Rice is ready.” When Yu Fu saw Bu Fang finally had some spare time to rest, she said charmingly.

Bu Fang nodded his head and walked out of the kitchen. The customers greeted out to him passionately and Bu Fang nodded at them in return. He pulled out a chair and sat down as he got Yu Fu to place the Egg-Fried Rice onto the table.

Yu Fu’s Egg-Fried Rice was emitting a rich fragrance. It was a lot better compared to the previous Egg-Fried Rice she had prepared as a test. Maybe, it was because of the ingredients used.

Bu Fang scooped out a spoonful and placed it into his mouth. The fragrance immediately burst forth within his mouth. The egg fragrance and the sweet scent of the rice blended together as it stirred up Bu Fang’s taste buds. His eyebrows pricked up, and he was a little flabbergasted.

”The heat intensity is still not good, and the control of the true energy frequency is too far off. The taste was still tolerable, but that was because of the ingredients used. You have to use your heart to cook and also to experience every change the ingredients go through.” Bu Fang evaluation was the same as befor. Straight to the point and ruthless.

Yu Fu nodded her head constantly as she listened to Bu Fang’s evaluation earnestly.

...

Time flies, and Yu Fu had been learning from Bu Fang for a very long time. From her unceasing practices, a lot of dishes were finally able to taste almost the same as Bu Fang’s.

Among the dishes, her forte was still the Egg-Fried Rice. After all, this was the first dish she had learned.

And in those days, Bu Fang had also taught her other two dishes. The Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs and Red Braised Meat. The Sweet ’n’ Sour Ribs difficulty was extremely high. Yu Fu had practiced for a long time and was never able to meet Bu Fang’s expectations. Every time, she would be severely criticised by Bu Fang for that.

Bu Fang’s evaluation was the most cruel and strict she had ever seen before. He would always look for the flaws in her dishes. Afterwards, he would analyze it in detail to her, making her feel as if her dish had become something worthless.

At the entrance, Bu Fang lay down on his chair drowsily and looked at the drifting clouds in the sky.

Yu Fu carried a plate of dish and walked out. She placed it in front of one of the customers and smiled.

”This is your Egg-Fried Rice. Please enjoy it,” Yu Fu said.

That diner was a regular. Previously, when Bu Fang had gotten Yu Fu to carry out her dishes to let the diners have a taste, this person was one of them. Bu Fang said that after the diner had tasted it, they could take out any amount of crystal they deemed fit for this place of Egg-Fried Rice.

After this customer had tasted Yu Fu’s Egg-Fried Rice, even though it was still somewhat lacking compared to Bu Fang’s, he still took out a crystal satisfyingly.

At that time, Yu Fu was extremely touched. This was the first crystal she had earned after those stringent practices!

”It’s been half a month... Still lacking an additional apprentice,” Bu Fang continued lying down on his chair while the spring wind blew. He immediately got clear-headed and frowned.

Who should he choose to be the remaining apprentice?

Juan’Er, who loved to eat egg tart? Bu Fang was somewhat at a loss of what to do. During half a month, Bu Fang had inquired with Luo Sanniang. Luo Sanniang told Bu Fang in a carefree manner that in Juan’Er’s heart, there was only egg tart. She loved egg tarts. She would definitely not spend a lot of time learning Bu Fang’s other dishes.

This caused Bu Fang to be dumbfounded at that point of time.

Ni Yan had also come to bid farewell to Bu Fang a few days ago. He had also tried to tell Ni Yan about accepting her as an apprentice because, no matter how he looked at it, Ni Yan was the most suitable person for it.

Unfortunately… when Ni Yan came, she was in a rush. Bu Fang was able to tell that Ni Yan was also somewhat excited about his proposal, but apparently she seemed to have something more important to do. Grudgingly, she followed the old drunkard and left.

Therefore, the candidates left for Bu Fang to pick from got even fewer. And as the deadline given by the system grew nearer, he also got a little panicky.

Bu Fang yawned. He stood up from his chair and stretched.

Sharp and clear footsteps resounded within the small alley. Thereafter, two familiar figures stepped into Bu Fang’s small store.

”Owner Bu... I can finally eat your dishes again!”

The moment Bu Fang entered, a silhouette pulled open his mouth and complained. This person was the pretty boy, Xiao Xiaolong.

This young fellow seemed to have grown a lot taller recently and his appearance have become even prettier. Became... even more sissy.

Xiao Yanyu wore her veil in a cultured and refined manner and found a place to sit down effortlessly.

Ouyang Xiaoyi looked at Xiao Yanyu. Immediately, she ran over joyfully.

Bu Fang’s eyes brightened up when he saw the two people. Xiao Yanyu and Xiao Xiaolong? That’s right, how could he forget about this two siblings?

”Owner Bu, for these past few months, we had been thrown to the Southern City by our father. To be unable to eat Owner Bu’s dishes... was simply a painful suffering! Today, we are finally here. We must definitely gorge ourselves with food!” Xiao Xiaolong licked his lips and said excitedly.

Southern City. It was a big city which was located at the southern part of the Light Wind Empire. Even though it was as luxurious as the Imperial Capital, it was still a rather majestic big city.

Bu Fang did not pay any attention to the intolerable Xiao Xiaolong but looked at Xiao Yanyu first as he asked her if she was interested in becoming his apprentice to learn how to cook from him.

Xiao Yanyu and Xiao Xiaolong stared at Bu Fang blankly. What exactly had happened while they were out of the Imperial Capital?

Owner Bu actually started accepting apprentices?

”Even though this proposal is very enticing, it’s a pity... In a few days’ time, we will need to set off to Southern City again. I don’t think it’s possible for me to have the opportunity to learn cooking from Owner Bu.” Xiao Yanyu was regretting so much that she even had the urge of not going to the Southern City to stay there and learn how to cook. However, the matters in the Southern City were too important. She had no choice but to go over.

Bu Fang frowned. Xiao Yanyu was not free...

Xiao Xiaolong widened his eyes and stared at Bu Fang. His face immediately changed to become somewhat indignant!

”Owner Bu, why did you ask my sister and not me? Could it be that you do not wish to know if I am willing to learn how to cook from you?” Xiao Xiaolong said indignantly.

He felt that he had been ignored by Bu Fang.

Bu Fang was taken aback and his gaze fell onto Xiao Xiaolong.

”System! How is Xiao Xiaolong’s culinary talent?”

”After the system’s evaluation, Xiao Xiaolong’s culinary talent meets the requirement. If the host were to teach him how to cook Egg-Fried Rice, it would most likely take him one and a half days to learn it.”

Bu Fang’s mouth dropped…. What the heck? This glutton actually possessed this kind of culinary talent?!

”System, is it possible that you have mistaken him for someone else? He is Xiao Xiaolong... not Xiao Yanyu.”