"You want us to be your assistants?!"
Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri cried out in unison, both wearing expressions of disbelief. Clearly, neither had expected Fang Ye to make such a request.
Having them work under him—didn't that basically mean treating them like subordinates?!
"That's right. We need a single head chef directing everything. If we all work separately, there's no way this dish will turn out well. You don't want Grandpa Qing to be disappointed either, do you?"
Looking at their uncertain expressions, Fang Ye nodded slightly. This was an indispensable part of making the dish work.
"Then why shouldn't I be the one in charge? Objectively speaking, I have the God Tongue, so I'm obviously better suited to the role of chief director."
Erina said this with a frown on her adorable little face.
Judging by talent alone, she really was the strongest one there. Her palate was far superior to both Fang Ye's and Alice's.
"You do have exceptional talent when it comes to taste—far beyond what Alice and I can match. But that matters more at the final seasoning stage, and you're still not familiar enough with the cooking process itself.
"If you took command, it would inevitably lower the success rate of the dish. All things considered, you're not suited to coordinating the entire process—you're better suited to controlling the soup's overall flavor."
As Erina spoke, Fang Ye turned to her and laid out his reasoning with calm logic.
No matter how incredible the God Tongue was as a top-tier sensory gift, without the relevant cooking experience even the cleverest cook couldn't conjure a meal from empty air.
By contrast,
because Fang Ye possessed the passive skill Taste-Image Simulation, he had already run the cooking process through his mind countless times. All that remained now was to carry it out in reality.
"I support Brother Fang Ye being the head chef.
"Even though I haven't actually seen you cook before, you're always the most serious one in class. And just now, you were the first one to realize what was wrong with our original plan.
"I believe that with your ability, you'll definitely be able to lead us in making a dish that satisfies Grandpa Qing."
Looking at the boy whose cool expression carried a faintly domineering air, as though everything were already under control, Alice suddenly felt a strange thrill. Without even realizing it, she wanted to support him.
"Since things have already come to this, I suppose I can't keep opposing it. If you really can make this dish work, then this young lady will grace you with her assistance for once."
Since Fang Ye had clearly pointed out both her weaknesses and her strengths, and since Alice was also supporting him, Erina finally relented.
She knew perfectly well that her experience was lacking. It was just that, under conditions where none of them had much real cooking experience, she felt the owner of the God Tongue ought to be the natural commander.
But now,
Fang Ye was telling her that he was already familiar with the process and had actual cooking experience in this area. If that was true, then he really was the most suitable person to lead.
After all, the whole point of this dish was to give Liu Anqing a proper send-off.
If possible, she wanted it to be done well.
"Don't worry. I've cooked quite a bit in private, so I do have experience in the kitchen.
"And besides, we have the whole afternoon. If it doesn't work the first time, we'll do it a second time. If it still doesn't work, then a third. Sooner or later, one of those tries will produce a dish we're satisfied with."
That wasn't a lie.
Because he'd needed ingredients to practice his knife skills, Fang Ye often ended up with excess produce at home that couldn't simply be ignored. All of it had eventually been turned into dishes.
Although, up to now,
the only thing he truly excelled at was hot and sour shredded potatoes.
The reason was simple: potatoes were the best possible material for practicing knife work, and the ingredients for hot and sour shredded potatoes were also easy to find. It was perfect for drilling the fundamentals.
"So you already have real cooking experience?"
Hearing Fang Ye's words, surprise immediately spread across Erina's tiny face.
"Wow, I really didn't expect that.
"But starting two months ago, I also made my very first dish. Under Mother's guidance, I baked my very first chiffon cake.
"And after that, I followed recipe books and made quite a few Western pastries. Remember those cookies I brought you last time? The ones you said were delicious? I baked those myself, you know~"
Alice was equally surprised. She'd thought she was the only one secretly practicing cooking, but apparently everyone had been grinding in private. Fang Ye actually had hands-on experience too.
"Well, after learning so much theory, it always feels like something's missing if you never actually cook. Didn't Grandpa Qing keep telling us that theory and practice have to go hand in hand?"
Hearing that Alice had already started practicing baking, Fang Ye wasn't surprised at all.
In the original story, she had only been five years old when she defeated Ryo Kurokiba in Denmark.
And at that time, Ryo had already been the head chef of a harbor restaurant, with abundant real-world experience and cooking skill so impressive that the local fishermen all acknowledged it.
Yet Alice defeated that version of him the moment she properly appeared in the story. There was no way she wasn't the hardworking genius type from the very beginning.
"What?! Alice too?!"
That finally made Erina start to panic.
So she was the only one who still hadn't really begun?!
There were reasons for that, of course. She had been constantly traveling from place to place and simply hadn't had the time. But that still didn't change the fact that she absolutely could not tolerate falling behind others—especially without realizing it.
"So how far along are you, Erina? What kind of cooking did you start with?"
Looking at Erina, who had suddenly stood up with a thoroughly shocked expression, both Fang Ye and Alice turned toward her, curiosity plain in their voices.
"I... I'm still at the stage of practicing knife work. After all, there's always that saying, right? If your fundamentals are solid, everything later gets easier. Hahaha..."
Faced with Alice's question, Erina's gaze started drifting around. Clearly, she did not want to answer this question.
"I see."
Alice didn't intend to press her any further, and instead looked toward Fang Ye.
"Brother Fang Ye, we have most of the ingredients here, but we're missing one thing—tofu. And I've heard that if you're making soup, firm old tofu tastes better..."
"Wait here for a minute."
The moment Alice said that, Fang Ye ran out of the kitchen. Very quickly, he spotted Ikaros tidying up the house, and stopped in front of her.
"Ikaros! Go to the Nakiri family kitchen and bring back a few blocks of firm old tofu. We're making Three Delicacies, Five Flavors Vegetable Soup tonight. I'll show you my skills!"
"Understood, Master."
At Fang Ye's order, a flicker passed through Ikaros's eyes. She bowed slightly toward him, then in the next instant leapt straight out through the room's window.
"Uh... there's a door downstairs, so you really don't have to be that much in a hurry..."
Watching Ikaros spread her wings midair and vanish from sight after a single burst of acceleration, Fang Ye scratched his head helplessly.
Fortunately, Ikaros could turn invisible. As long as she didn't want to be noticed, no one would see her. Otherwise, a flying angel would definitely cause a huge uproar.
"So? How did it go?" Alice asked curiously when Fang Ye walked back into the kitchen carrying paper and pen.
"At most, ten minutes.
"For now, let's write down the process for making the Three Delicacies, Five Flavors Vegetable Soup, so we don't accidentally miss a step later and ruin the taste."
Pulling out a chair and sitting down, Fang Ye began writing out the recipe for the soup.
After all, before this,
he had never cooked anything besides hot and sour shredded potatoes.
In his previous life, while trying to save up money to start a business, he had mostly just cooked noodles for himself at home—slice a small amount of pork, boil a small amount of noodles, fry one egg, sprinkle on some chopped scallions.
That combination had accompanied him for years. Only on birthdays would he buy two or three shrimp to add to the noodles and call it a celebration.
Which meant his experience with dishes other than noodles was pitifully scarce.
"You're unexpectedly meticulous," Erina said softly, leaning over to peek at what Fang Ye was writing.
"Since it's a dish for Grandpa Qing, of course we have to take it seriously."
Faced with Erina's teasing, Fang Ye barely reacted. He simply continued writing with a serious expression, carefully noting down all the details that required attention.
The kitchen already had almost all the ingredients they needed.
Separate the stems and leaves of the komatsuna. Blanch the stems in boiling water for about ten seconds, then immediately run them through cool water to lock in the color and preserve their slight bitterness.
Liu Anqing had personally said this last year when he'd made stir-fried komatsuna. Now the relevant image surfaced in Fang Ye's mind, and he rapidly analyzed the flavor implications.
"Peel and dice the tomatoes. Cut the carrots and white radish into rolling chunks. Slice the mushrooms. Cube the tofu."
"When frying the egg, the edges need to be browned until crisp. That creates toasted aromas—Maillard reaction byproducts—which contribute a pleasant bitterness."
"The carrot and white radish pieces need to simmer over medium heat for fifteen minutes so that their sweetness fully infuses the soup. After that, add the mushroom slices and tofu cubes to release the mushroom umami and bean fragrance."
"When seasoning at the end, besides salt, a little white pepper can also be added to give the flavor more layers."
"Add the komatsuna stems and leaves just before turning off the heat, and let the residual warmth finish cooking them. That way, the intentionally preserved bitterness remains, instead of disappearing through prolonged boiling..."
"Add a few drops of sesame oil before serving."
As the written recipe grew more detailed, the image in Fang Ye's mind became clearer and clearer. By the time he wrote the final word, a completed dish—rich in color, aroma, and flavor—had fully taken shape in his imagination.
"The flavor's good!"
A gleam lit up in his eyes. According to the simulation in his mind, the Three Delicacies, Five Flavors Vegetable Soup made this way would be extremely delicious.
Now all that remained was to wait for Ikaros to return.
"Master, I'm back."
Speak of the devil—no sooner had that thought crossed Fang Ye's mind than Ikaros appeared at the kitchen door, carrying a bag containing several blocks of firm old tofu.
"Good work. Sit down and rest for a bit."
As he said this, Fang Ye put down his pen and went over to take the bag from her. After checking the tofu inside, he smiled in satisfaction.
With these blocks of firm tofu in hand, everything else had suddenly become much easier.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 150)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 110)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter95)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 55
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 45
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 32
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 31
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 31
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin