As silly as it sounds, an oven toaster brought them together.

Lu Xinyi had expected that the judges would ask for difficult desserts but not as this difficult as this. She already had an idea of what to make using the mandarin oranges, but damn, croquembouche and baked Alaska were both time-consuming and difficult to make. One should at least have advanced skills in pastry and baking to be able to produce such desserts.
However, would she accept defeat that easily? No way!
Starting to move on her kitchen counters, Lu Xinyi threw her mandarin oranges in water and let it sit for an hour. She also took several ice cream flavors from the freezer and set them aside to soften a little. She then took a medium-sized bowl that was almost the size of the sponge cake she would make later.
Lightly brushing the inside of the bowl with vegetable oil, Lu Xinyi lined it with a plastic wrap and made sure there was overhang before setting it aside for later use.
She then started preparing the ingredients she needed for croquembouche and baked alaska.
Croquembouche should be the first one she should serve as soon as possible because of the risk of collapse if it's left too long, particularly under room temperature. Humidity and the high temperature was the biggest problem she could face on making one.
Compared to croquembouche, making baked alaska was easier than it sounds.
Baked Alaska was a dome-shaped ice cream cake covered with meringue. Right before serving, the cake was either torched or baked in the oven briefly to create a golden brown color on the meringue. The meringue would act as a barrier so the ice cream wouldn't melt in the process. It made a beautiful showstopper for any dinner party or special occasion.
The best thing was the leftover could be returned to the freezer and kept for a week, unlike the common ice cream cake that needed to be eaten at once.
The baked alaska consisted of three parts: the sponge cake, ice cream, and the soft marshmallow-ish Swiss meringue topping. Since there were several ice cream flavors and variants that the academy prepared, Lu Xinyi knew that she only needed to work on the sponge cake and the meringue later.
First things first, she needed to start working on the first part on making croquembouches, the pastry cream.
Lu Xinyi gathered all the ingredients she needed at once and started working. In a small saucepan, she warmed the milk over low heat until it just began to steam.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, she whisked together the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and flour until completely smooth. When the milk was steaming, Lu Xinyi added half the milk to the egg mixture while whisking continuously to blend and to prevent the eggs from curdling.
She then added the milk and eggs back into the hot milk in the saucepan, stirring constantly. She let the custard heated up for a minute or two until it was thick and reached 170-degrees Fahrenheit on her digital thermometer.
Once she reached her desired consistency, she removed the saucepan from the heat and stirred in vanilla extract. Now, her cream was ready to be chilled for two hours and used later for her profiteroles.
Moving on, she started to make the choux for the croquembouche and baked alaska's sponge cake at the same time. Preparing two batches of ingredients, Lu Xinyi started to make the chocolate sponge cake for her baked alaska.
In a large mixing bowl, she sifted together the cake flour, cocoa powder, three ounces of sugar, baking powder, and salt and whisked to combine them. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, she whisked together oil, water, and egg yolks and poured them into the flour mixture she made earlier; combining the two by whisking until it turned smooth.
Once it's done, she poured in the batter on a round cake pan and baked it in the oven.
Lu Xinyi stopped for a while to wipe the sweat on her temples before washing her hands to continue with her next dessert. Damn, not an hour had passed; and she could feel her body aching already.
She easily made the choux batter. Transferring it to a piping bag, Lu Xinyi piped it on her baking sheet. The crowd went nuts and started talking again after seeing what she'd done. Unlike Han Yixin who spooned her prepared choux dough into twenty small rounds on each baking sheet, Lu Xinyi piped hers in low, almost puddle-like ones which wouldn't produce ball-shaped later.
"What is she doing? Does Lu Xinyi really knows how to make croquembouche?" the youngster asked the old man again. This time, the old man answered him excitedly.
"No, what Lu Xinyi doing is acceptable. She chose to make profiteroles not round instead opt to shape it like an egg with a flat side. It would make stacking the profiteroles easier later."
"Ohh, so that's why." The young man nodded.
After piping, Lu Xinyi tapped down any points or peaks with a moistened finger before baking the profiteroles in another oven.
While the sponge cake and the profiteroles were in the oven, she started removing the skin of the mandarin orange with a peeler, making sure that only the skin was removed. In just minutes, the mandarin oranges were left with its white inner skin.
The sponge cake was cooked faster than the profiteroles so Lu Xinyi took it out first from the oven and let it cool down in a wire rack. As the sponge cake was ready, Lu Xinyi checked the ice cream she'd left earlier. She scooped the vanilla flavor into the bowl she lined with a plastic wrap and flattened the top with a spatula, before adding a raspberry sorbet layer next and then lastly the chocolate ice cream.
In the end, Lu Xinyi was able to make an ice cream dome with three layers of different flavors. Leaving enough space at the top of the bowl, she brought it back to the freezer to harden.
At this rate, Lu Xinyi was halfway through to finish her Baked Alaska; but she was far from finish for Croquembouche and Mandarin Orange dessert.


[Status: Completed]

“You’re not taking me to bed. Ever.” 
“Who said it had to be on the bed?” 
“What?! You wouldn’t dare kick me off the bed, and I will not share it with you!” 
“The only reason I would force you out is so I can have you on the floor.” She gritted her teeth and glared at her grinning husband. 
“Go fuck yourself!” she hissed. 
“Only if you show me how,” he winked back. 

Once the tabloids released an article claiming business tycoon Shen Yi was gay, his family forced him to date and seek a relationship to stave off the false accusations. After many failed encounters, Shen Yi came upon Lu Xinyi.

Orphaned since childhood, Lu Xinyi had no safe haven left the moment her boyfriend and her best friend betrayed her. Losing her only treasures left, she felt like dying inside as soon as she boarded that ship. However, after a week-long cruise with Shen Yi, she struck a deal with him. Now the Young Madam of the most powerful Shen family, Lu Xinyi turned into a better version of herself. She would not only fight back against those who had hurt her, but she had also taken a shot at accomplishing her father's broken dream.

Attending the country's most prestigious culinary school, Silver Leaf Academy, Lu Xinyi was compelled to compete not only for herself but also for her husband’s pride. Through Shen Yi's love and support, she dreamed to emerge victorious one assault after another from a family that she had long abandoned. Oh, but love for food can be a dangerous thing! As Lu Xinyi and her friends struggle to survive the competition and schemes, more and greater challenges await her, putting her love (for food and Shen Yi) to the test. 

---------------------
Little Miss Series
(1) Little Miss Devil: The President's Mischievous Wife
(2) Little Miss Witch: Revenge of the Tainted Angel
(3) Little Miss Sunshine: Conquer the Emperor's Heart
(4) Little Miss Trouble: The Emperor's Rebellious Consort
(5) Little Miss Heiress: The 30 Days Free Trial Lover
(6) Little Miss Fae: Banshee in the Modern World
(7) Little Miss Immortal: The Nine-Tailed Imperial Consort
---------------------
My Other Books
(1) PS I'm (Not) Over You
(2) Gourmet Empress: Hubby, Why's Your Name on the Menu?

Official Website: https://www.anjeerikunovels.com/
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Little Miss Devil Book Cover 2019 anjeeriku

The tilapia Wang Qian bought was still half frozen. The fish had already been cleaned by removing the head, tail, scale, bones and guts. The fish was sashimi-grade, so it could be consumed raw if chosen to. This was exactly what Zhang Zian asked for. 
The fish smelled fresh. The texture of the flesh was clear and delicate. The meat seemed very flexible when pressed down. It was fatty and tender. The thickest part was about as thick as a finger. He must have experience picking out fish. This kid was rather reliable, although he was sometimes silly.
Zhang Zian half-closed the door. If someone entered, the cat bell would ring. 
He took the fish to the kitchen upstairs. Fina followed him closely. She could not take her eyes off the shopping bag. She looked as if her mouth was watering, but when Zhang Zian looked at her, she immediately switched back to a calm face. Haixing also followed purely out of curiosity. Zhang Zian put the shopping bag on the counter. Fina jumped up immediately. Her body had an infinite power; however, she used it very carefully without any waste.
The kitchen still looked the same. 
Zhang Zian had little experience in the kitchen. His mother was always busy here with her apron on. He always heard the concerto of pots and pans and smelled the scents of various sauces from the kitchen. 
Hunger breeds discontent. The most important place of life in a family is undoubtedly the kitchen.
Now, the kitchen was empty. 
Mother's apron was hanging behind the door. The original color had been washed away. Only a faint pattern of bears was still noticeable.
The crooked stitches reminded him that this apron was made in crafting class when he was in elementary school. He gave it to his mom as a Mother’s Day gift.
It had been over 20 years, and Mother was still using it. 
Zhang Zian put on the apron and felt as if his mother was around. It felt like she was holding his hand.
"Well, let’s cook!" He tried to cheer himself up.
Zhang Zian knew the only way to make sure his parents rested in peace was to live a fulfilling life. 
Baking fish was relatively simple. There were many cooking apps online to show novice cooks how it was done. So, he downloaded one.
The tilapia was wide. He cut the fish from the middle, and followed the tutorial on the app using scallion, ginger, wine and soy sauce for marinating. He replaced salt with soy sauce. 
He rinsed off the rice while he was waiting for the marination. Then, he used a rice cooker to cook rice. 
Fina was curious about the various spices. She was sniffing them with her beard almost sticking to the spices. 
Zhang Zian suddenly came up with a mischievous idea. How about having her sniff the black pepper? However, he decided not to risk his life.
"What kind of spices did you have in your fish?" he asked.
Fina shook his head, "Fish is fish. They were baked on a dish containing palm leaves underneath and then topped with chopped olives and Persian dates."
Damn! What a way to enjoy fish!
Now he had a rough idea where Fina used to live. It must have been close to the sea. She could get fresh Tilapia. There were olive trees and palm trees. It was also not far from Persia. 
When the rice cooker began, he placed the marinated tilapia on a rack in the oven. Then he put another pan under the rack to catch any oil that may drip onto the oven. 
When he opened the oven, Galaxy made a "meow woo" sound and was so scared, she rushed out of the kitchen. She was trembling to stick out her head and said, "Galaxy hates black boxes ..."
"It is not a black box. See? There is a light inside," Zhang Zian turned on the oven and the built-in light. The whole oven was lit up.
Galaxy walked back to the kitchen with her body against the wall. She still did not want to get close to the oven.
The oven started buzzing and operating. Wiggling her tail, Fina was sticking out her head and neck. She had been observing very cautiously. 
"I could not feel the heat," she commented.
"Of course. This is so much better than a stone." For the first time Zhang Zian took pride in the modern technology. Finally, there was a chance to brag about what he knew in front of her!
"You didn’t build it! Why are you so proud?" Fina immediately put on a contemptuous face.
Damn it! She was always sharp!
Although embarrassed, Zhang Zian still wanted to defend himself, "How did you know I didn’t build it?"
"The way you looked at the scale was so unwise. If you built the oven, you wouldn’t have to study it before you used it." She simply turned away.
Lies exposed!
Well, I could not be mad at a cat! Zhang Zian secretly comforted himself and then pretended to pay serious attention to the oven. 
This was his first time baking. He’d better make sure the fish didn’t burn.  Otherwise, he would lose more face in front of this cat, a gold digger.   
Whatever it was in the oven, the mastery of temperature was most important, especially for fish and meat. The variance could be huge based on the cut.  
After some time, the fish began to change color. Golden oil dripped from the most tender part and fell into the bottom pan.
Even though the oven door was closed, the aroma was gradually flowing out. Zhang Zian's stomach was growling. 
He turned off the oven, put on some thick gloves, and warned Fina, "Do not touch. It is very hot."
He took out the half-way cooked fish, dipped it into the marinating sauce making sure to cover the top and bottom and then put it back into the oven.
Fina's eyes did not leave the fish. She kept licking her lips, raising her forepaws and then lowering them.  She would’ve jumped up to the fish if she wasn’t being restrained. 
This was a critical time. Zhang Zian would rather turn down the temperature than burn the fish. 
He immediately turned off the oven when he saw just a bit of a burn mark on the edge of the fish.
He removed the fish from the oven. He was happy that it smelled fine and not burnt. 
It was time to plate it. It would be even better if he had some cilantro, celery, broccoli or lemon for the plate. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been grocery shopping since his return to Binhai City. 
The rice was ready. Beautiful hot steam came up as he opened the lid. 
Zhang Zian served himself a bowl of rice. As he turned around, Fina had already dug in. Man, where had her elegance and royal characteristics gone? 
Fina licked the fish, but her tongue was burned. She stepped back immediately. 
Cats have very sensitive tongues. That’s why some people are described as having "a cat’s tongue" when they are unable to eat hot food. 
 "Let me cut it into small pieces. Eat when it cools down!" His warning came too late. Fina gave him an livid look. 
He cut the fish for Fina into small pieces just as big as the nail on a pinky finger. Cutting it small would help cool down the fish and the pieces would fit Fina’s mouth perfectly.
When two servings of baked fish and one bowl of rice was put on the table, Fina jumped to the table directly from the counter. 
Galaxy was running around on the second floor. She might be practicing for the hide-and-seek game later. Honestly, she didn’t need it. She would definitely beat Zhang Zian nevertheless. 
"Looks good now. Please enjoy," he said as he picked up the chopsticks. 


1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

Ever since Mag had opened his restaurant, he had truly been made to comprehend what it meant for people working in the same occupation to be enemies. 
As such, he wasn't fazed by the antagonistic eyes cast toward him at all. It didn't take a genius to know how much rage and resentment would be boiling in the hearts of these chefs.
None of that mattered to him anyway. He was a man who could see the bigger picture, and he certainly wasn't going to pay any heed to these ignorant chefs.
The butler who had led Mag to the kitchen smiled, and said, "Mr. Mag, here are all of the things that you asked for, as well as all of the ingredients that you requested. If you need anything else, feel free to tell me." 
Mag carefully examined the items on the cooking bench to verify that everything he had requested was ready, and he nodded as he said, "That should be all for now. Thanks for your hard work."
There was no such thing as a gas stove in this world, but Beate had displayed his intelligence to the world by devising a magic stove that derived its heat from a magic formation. The stove was able to provide consistent flame temperature, and the heat was easily adjustable.
All of the chefs in the second prince's manor were naturally using this type of magic stove, while Mag had bought one off the streets, and had taken a long while to grow accustomed to using it.
Prior to coming here, Mag had asked the system to convert the oven into a magic oven as opposed to having to rely on electricity. There was clearly no reliable source of electricity here in Rodu, so that would've been a major problem.
Mag asked Amy to take a seat on a little stool nearby while she ate her biscuits. He then pulled out an apron and chef's hat from one of the bags on the cooking bench before putting them on. 
"Is that the chef that His Highness sourced from Chaos City? He's so young; is he even able to cook anything good?"
"The chefs of Chaos City can't compare to the chefs in Rodu. If you ask me, any of the chefs in this kitchen is a far better chef than him."
"He's not that old, but he sure is a cocky little brat. Look at all the stuff he asked the servants to prepare; is he looking down on the kitchenware in our manor?"
The chefs weren't saying anything, yet the sous-chefs and student chefs were all discussing spiritedly among themselves.
Mag merely smiled upon hearing these barbed words. These were the most elementary playground insults, and they certainly weren't going to hurt him. Instead, he was struck by the urge to laugh.
Most of the chefs in the kitchen were already middle-aged men, so they weren't as eager to air their views as the young sous-chefs and student chefs were, but many of them were looking at Mag with disdain in their eyes. The most renowned chef in Chaos City, Head Chef Beate of Ducas Restaurant, had studied cooking in Rodu.
Of course, they would be able to tell whether Mag was the real deal once he began cooking. They were all esteemed chefs, and had to maintain their poise and dignity. Otherwise, if they were to also deliver verbal insults toward Mag, they would be stooping to the level of the student chefs.
However, they were going to air their opinions once Mag's dishes were ready, and they were going to thoroughly enjoy stomping him into the ground during that process.
Mag pulled out his condiments one by one and placed them in the positions that he was accustomed to. He then reached into the water tank beside him, and pulled out a kirin carp that was still swimming about energetically.
He knocked the fish unconscious with the hilt of his blade, and proceeded to remove its scales with a long and thin knife. He then sliced several gashes into the fish's body, pulling out some small fishbones in the process. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, a small pile of tiny fishbones had accumulated on the cooking bench.
A portly chef turned to his student with a derisive sneer, and said, "Heh, do you all see that? That's the worst way to prepare a kirin carp. The scales of the kirin carp are the most delicious parts of its body, and it's what makes the kirin carp so beautiful. Not only has he removed all of the fish's scales, he's also sliced so many unsightly gashes into the fish's body. The entire fish is going to fall apart during the cooking process, and the end result will not only be hideous, but also very unpleasant to eat."
As he was the chef that was the most proficient at cooking fish in this entire kitchen, Matthew's evaluation was naturally regarded to be correct, and all of the student chefs immediately began to suck up to him.
"So you're saying the rank fish scales are the most delicious part of a fish; no wonder you can't cook a good fish." Mag placed the cleaned fish into the marinating condiments before pursing his lips as he scoffed, "The most rank part of a kirin carp's body is its scales. Furthermore, they seal off the flesh of the fish, preventing other flavors from seeping in while trapping the rank odor, making the fish completely bland and tasteless aside from an overwhelming rank flavor. As for the cuts I'm making in the fish, this is to let in more flavor as well as to remove the fishbones. There's no point in telling you this, though; it's a technical skill that not everyone can master."
Mag's voice wasn't very loud, but the entire kitchen immediately fell silent. Contemplative expressions appeared on the faces of the chefs, while the student chefs were trying to gauge the chefs' reactions before saying anything, in fear of saying something wrong if they were to speak too soon.
Matthew's face immediately became flushed with rage and humiliation. He didn't think that Mag would dare to rebut him in front of so many people. He pointed a trembling finger at Mag, and retorted, "T-that's nonsense! I've cooked fish for over three decades! When I first started cooking fish, you were still in your diapers! Do you think I have less experience than a brat like you?"
"Perseverance and dedication are indeed qualities worthy of respect. Stubbornly following the wrong path for over 30 years is also very much commendable." Mag nodded with a smile.
"You… You…" Matthew was trembling with rage, but he couldn't find a counter to Mag's insult. In the end, he swept his hand through the air with clenched teeth, and spat, "You've got a very sharp tongue; let's see if you can back up that big mouth of yours!"
Mag wasn't someone who would allow others to push him around. The fat chef looked as if he wanted to kill Mag, but he couldn't do anything, and Mag was feeling very content upon seeing this.
He felt as if his sharp tongue from his past life was awakening from its dormancy again.
During the fish marination process, Mag prepared the ingredients for both the steak and the braised chicken. When he opened that bottle of wine, Mag could clearly sense that the eyes of everyone in the kitchen had lit up.
The fish was being grilled in the oven, the chicken was being braised in a pot, and the steak was being seared in a pan. Mag was cooking three dishes at the same time.
The aromas of beef and red wine wafted throughout the kitchen along with the scent of the braised chicken that was escaping from the pot. Only the aroma of the fish had been completely sealed off by the oven.
However, everyone had already fallen silent.
Nothing could make people eat their words more effectively than actions. All of the people in this kitchen were either chefs or aspiring to become chefs. They had all been cooking for a long time, yet they had never encountered a dish that was making it difficult for them to repress their drool, making them want to inhale its aroma with all their might.
However, Mag had managed to achieve this.
"It smells so good! I've never smelled such a fragrant dish. Both the chicken and the beef smell simply extraordinary," a student chef couldn't help but praise, and everyone nodded in agreement with this sentiment. Many of them were unconsciously getting up on the tips of their toes, trying to catch a glimpse of what Mag was putting into his pot and pan to create such an alluring aroma.
"Hmph, even if he can cook a good beef dish and chicken dish, his fish may not be on par," Matthew harrumphed coldly, but his fists were already clenched with anxiety.
"Ding!"
A crisp notification sound rang out from the oven, and Mag plated the steak before opening the door of the oven.


In Chaos City on the Norland Continent, there is a strange restaurant.

Here, elves and dwarves share tables. Beastmen are prohibited from making a din, and giant dragons can only seat around the tiny square in front of the restaurant. Even demons have to bring their own stools…

But it is such a strange restaurant that has long lines outside every day.

Elves are stuffing kebabs, paying no mind to their manners; giant dragons are sitting around a hot pot, strainers in their hands; demons are eating nice-looking dango…

"There's no other place on this continent where you can find food like that! The boss here is a genius!" a customer provides such a review. Then, he gives a furtive look at the door. "Also, don't you think of kidnapping the boss away or dine-and-dashing, or you will suffer a tragic death."

"Eat, pay, or you will be beaten to death." says a cute little girl in her childish voice as she trots forward. A five-meter tall dragon shivers when it meets her eyes.

At

    this time, the oven is preheated to 160 degrees, and the red wine and water in the cast iron pot are also boiled. Xia Yu wraps the hot pot along the cloth and puts the pot into the oven.

    Close the oven door, the set time is 30 minutes, Xia Yu turned to the kitchen counter, leaving two face-to-face helpers, and the chef of Xia Zhiqi who dared not to stare at the baking time.

    "Is it out in 30 minutes?"

    "Impossible! We just did regular steps. I didn't see any secret processing of beef. How can it be baked in 30 minutes? If it is an ordinary oven, say less to wait for one." It will take two hours."

    The chef of Xia Zhiqiu listened to the whispers of the two chefs and frowned.

    Where are the different links, where?

    His chin in his hand, cut the beef from the beginning to the final step of the oven, thinking back and forth, and finally mind a flash, the hearts of speechless, "that will not be on the hands and feet move ... Daogong?"

    How to manage outsiders Fantasy and Xia Yu are facing them, and they are busy with themselves.

    Continue in the wok and fry the fried mushrooms with yellowed mushrooms.

    Half an hour actually passed quickly, and the oven was reminded. Xia Yu turned and took the cast iron pan out of the oven, poured all the soup into a pan, and used a spoon to clean the foam and grease on the surface of the soup.

    This is a degreasing step. If the taste is heavy, you can continue adding salt and pepper after removing the fat.

    Pour out the soup, heat it to boil, return to the cast iron pot, add the fried mushroom slices, and continue to cook on the gas stove.

    In fact, many western restaurants will stop the cooking of Burgundy red goulash at this step, put a lid on the refrigerator and prepare for tomorrow.

    In other words, it is to leave the upcoming dishes until tomorrow, when the guests order, a little heating can be served on the table.

    You know, if you don't have a special treatment, it takes an average of 4 hours to cook a Burgundy red wine stew. Which restaurant guests are so patient?

    "咚咚咚..." The

    bright kitchen knife pulsates on the chopping board, and Xia Yu finally grabs the chopped parsley and sprinkles it on the surface of the dish that has been placed on the plate, so that the burgundy red wine stewed beef It is done.

    "Serve it -"

    Xia Yu took off his apron and kitchen hat, and told the two chefs.

    The scent of the dish has been swayed to the extreme during the platter, and the whole kitchen is full of beef flavor.

    Uncontrolled creep of the larynx.

    The two chefs sniffed the smell in the air and suddenly found themselves hungry and the stomach acid was secreted.

    Seeing two drooling, the chef who can't walk in front of the kitchen counter, Xia Yu washes his hands and laughs: "There is still a little left in the pot, the plate can't fit, you can try my craft."

    "Is it OK?" "The two cooks have bright eyes."

    "You don't want me to eat it myself. I have a big appetite, never too much...

    " "Don't! "

    One to help cook quickly got a fork, and give to a companion, both around the kitchen table before the cast iron pot, close-sniffing cooking pot flavor blowing, emitting faint green eyes hungry eyes.

    "嗤 "

    Silver-colored fork, gently punctured, and pierced one piece of beef. The

    surface of the beef collapsed into a small piece, and a broth seemed to find a venting mouth, and the mouth pierced from the fork quickly overflowed.

    "Good soft ...Why is there so much soup in the beef, and the beef has been boiled and baked, why is the elasticity so amazing...? "

    Xia Zhiqiu chef is next to him, his eyes are condensed."

    The entrance to the beef, the facial expressions of the two chefs, from the initial shock, to the taste of delicious happiness, is finally a kind of piety looking up to the holy mountain.

    Appetite also occupies the heart for a time, Xia Zhiqiu finds a knife and fork, carefully cut the next corner of the beef, slowly put in the mouth.

    The rich flavour of the meat suddenly spreads over the tip of the tongue.

    Then, the sweet taste of another red wine is spread throughout the mouth.

    The first feeling of the entrance was amazing. The chef of Xia Qiu carefully tasted it for a while, then gently bite it down, chewing the beef in the mouth, and the more fragrant taste made him know that the soup contained in the beef. Ingest with the meat.

    Hey.

    At the moment of swallowing, the enjoyment of the chef's face on the Xia Zhiqiu suddenly turned into shock.

    The body is warm and mellow.

    Why is it that the taste is filled with happiness?

    ...

    Starlight rotates the western restaurant.

    Three male diners yelled in position impatiently.

    "It's almost an hour, our Burgundy red wine stewed beef?" The bald diners rolled up their sleeves and looked at the watch. They kept shouting loudly. "Let the guests wait so long, this is your restaurant's Service? Bad review!"

    Two Chinese ladies and sisters sit silently.

    "Gourmet hooligans are disgusting." A

    cute female tourist with a round face sent a squirting microblog and secretly took a photo upload and wrote: "It's really disappointing. Today's Ami Yokocho, in neon Tokyo, met the legend. The food was wandering. The chef of the restaurant was too tender, and almost got a cover, but my sister also married a funny little brother."

    Weibo finally attached a smiley face.

    "Serving!"

    The companion suddenly pulled her sleeves. Female tourists quickly put away their mobile phones, holding their round faces with their hands, a very expectant expression.

    The kitchen and the waiter successively placed six white round porcelain plates with beef stew, side dishes and broth on two tables, three on the side and three on the other.

    Just after the dishes were served, the eyes of two female tourists were attracted.

    "Dish and taste full!" Round-faced female tourists can't wait to pick up the knife and fork, cut the next corner of the beef to the entrance, this is the first, the female tourist's mouth will not close together, surprised and delighted.

    "It's so soft, it tastes great! I have never eaten such soft beef. How to deal with it?!" After

    swallowing the beef, the round-faced female tourist turned her head and stared at the two chefs.

    "And, after a beef stir fry and stew, meat residue has not changed, contrary very delicate, slippery, accompanied by soup swallow together, that feeling, I almost immortal ..."

    female tourists a The face was excited and the eyes were bright, but she suddenly remembered that it was a Japanese restaurant in the West. Two chefs who couldn't understand Chinese stood up.

    A young chef used English with a strong accent and slowed down: "I'm sorry, madam, this is not the work of our Xia Zhiqiu chef."

    Both female tourists understood.

    "...is the little brother just now?" Both of them have tasted this Western food, and they look at each other and their faces are incredible.

    Not long ago, they tasted the burgundy red wine stewed beef of Xia Zhiqiu chef. The dishes were really good, and they were considered to be medium-sized in many western restaurants.

    You can taste the burgundy red wine goulash in the back, and then go back and think about the taste of the dish in front, it is very obvious.

    More cruelly, the taste of the two is not on one level.

Waking up in the world of MHA (My Hero Academia).
But it is not like those fan-fic that I read in which the MC is the same age as the protagonist.

He is 3 years older than Midoriya Izuku.
---------------------------
"Shit, I don't know who sent me here but at least because you didn't give me Izuku's age"

"And why I keep hearing a damn sound in my head"
--------------------------------------
Well this is my first fan-fic I hope you like it

The treaty of bringing together the worlds of
BHNA --- boku no hero academia
SNS --- shokugueki no soma
Kenichi the most powerful disciple
As the story progresses I will try to integrate more.

I started making the coffee and said: " I will make the best coffee mankind ever made, Just you wait, I will let you realize, your child's talent isn't just limited to painting and mathematics solving".

So as I said before I started making the coffee, of course, it was my original type of coffee, after I finished making the coffee, I baked some cookies.

After that, I went to the guest room, and on the way there, I was determined to impress my mother,  and on the way, I thought why don't I  show my father the fact that I have grown up since three years ago.

Before I entered the guestroom I said: "It's Showtime".

My plan was to act like an Elegant lady, impress my mother, show my dad that I have grown-up, and while I'm at it, I will impress Mr. Levin as well, So he might realize that it's wrong to play dumb with me hehe 🙃.

I open the door and I entered the guest room and said: "Hello, sorry for being late".

Mr. Levin said:  "oh no, not at all".

And mom said: "Oh my, you made coffee how thoughtful of you".

And dad said in a surprised voice "whaaat!!, my little Ann can make coffee all on her own now?".

I told him "Well, it's not really a big deal, I even baked some cookies, would you like some??".

This time he was so shocked he said: "is this some kind of a joke ??, not only can you make coffee at your age, but you can also use the oven ??".

Then Mr. Levin laughed and said: "Ann, you really are full of surprises".

I told him with confidence "You haven't seen a thing yet".

Then dad said: "my little Ann grow up before my eyes😭".

I told him "you don't have to make a big deal about it, anyway try it, the coffee will get cold soon, and the cookies are best when they're fresh from the oven".

Mr. Levin said: "indeed, you're right, I will try them then".

And he started drinking, Mom said: "sooo... how is it??".

Mr. Levin had a weird look on his face, then he said: " OMG, Ann what kind of coffee is this ?, it's beyond perfection, I never tasted anything like it".

Then dad tried it as well, and said: "I drank coffee from all around the world, but none of them has this taste, it's a whole different level, how on earth did you make this??".

I told him "I think I'll keep it a secret".

At that time, I think I saw a whole different Mr.Levin back there, he was smiling, laughing and speaking happily it felt strange.

But I told them "I am sorry, but it's my bedtime now,  and I must go to sleep, so I will Excuse-myself".

Then Mr.Levin said: "can you wait a second?, Miss  Stella, may I invite you and your family to have dinner with me and my family tomorrow?".

Mom said: "we would love to accept your invitation".

Mr. Levin said: "then I will send a car to pick you up tomorrow".

Then mom said: "thanks for the invitation".

Mr. Levin said: "oh no, I really enjoyed my time here today and besides, I would love for you to meet my family".

Dad said: "I am sure you have a lovely family".

Mr. Levin said: "trust me Mr.Jake, they're the exact opposite".

By the way, Jake is my father and Stella is my mother.




End of chapter eleven :) .

Ann is a kid who is only six years old she always dose what her mom tells her she is a genius and a talented kid .one day her mom tells her to win first place in an art competition in order to win a Scholarship to the most famous school St:Royal Indoor Academy .not long after that she fell in love with the art of painting after seeing a painting from a shop's window the shop Owner told Ann about the painter and gave her the painting saying that she is the chosen one what will Ann do and what will happen to Ann after taking the painting will she know more about the painter and will she be able to win the competition?

"Relaxing sure is hard," Jin mumbled to himself after he woke up to a series of sludge crystals once again. As usual, he took a few for himself and the rest was absorbed by the System.
After the impromptu lunch, Jin decided to man the store for a few hours allowing Yun to take a break. Ironically, some of the new regular customers mistook him for a brand new employee and kept asking for 'Lady Boss Yun' instead.
Jin figured he should try to come out in person a little more to make sure that his presence was still felt. Or perhaps, that should be placed into consideration when he creates the new shopfront instance.
After that, the group dinner was a slew of reviewing the city defences for one last time. Despite her absence in the previous war room briefing, Lynn wasn't entirely out of the picture. She had merely focused on what she's best at.
Feeding the cultivators good food so that they could be in tip-top form for the fight. The Sub System User also revealed that they had prepared an energising breakfast for all the soldiers so they should be able to even exceed their peak conditions.
"We've even prepared emergency snack packs for the soldiers in case the fight drags on too long," Lynn added and Jin asked if the cultivators have such privileges as well.
"Add that option in the Pandamonium mobile app store. We can earn a lot of money from those people." Qiu Yue chimed in immediately. She also suggested offering the first snack pack with a 50% discount to entice people to try it out.
Other than that particular issue, Qiu Yue was mostly the one educating them about the latest changes to the city defences, and everyone except for Kraft was listening intently to all of it.
-------
"Morning Jin." Lynn greeted him after she heard Jin coming down from the stairs.
"You're really making breakfast for us? I figured you'd need to be in the Kitchen instance to oversee the production for today's meals?" Jin asked groggily as he took out a carton of milk from the fridge to drink.
"Silly, did you already forget that I promised to make breakfast for everyone at the end of our dinner conversation last night? Can't go around breaking promises." Lynn smiled with her eyes closed so she could smell the fresh bread baking in the kitchen's oven.
She woke up early to try out baking bread after receiving some tips from Qian Qian. The older woman was also currently awake in her bakery instance to finish up the last few orders for the soldiers' breakfast buffet.
"Anyways, you woke up at the perfect time. Come and take a whiff of this." Seeing how the Cultivator of the Perfectible Penguin Ruling the Kitchen Hell was so focused squatting at the oven to sniff the making of the bread, Jin copied Lynn and smelt the bread.
While the general scent was full of wheat, focusing his attention on the oven and watching it bake did make him start to feel very hungry even though with his cultivation and yesterday's spread of food, there was no actual need to eat for another day. (It's a surprise how all those extra calories escaped from Jin's body, though he suspected they might have been used up during his cultivation.)
"Were you aware that Qian Qian is an accomplished food science graduate? She even published a few research articles in the Journal of Cereal Science."
"What is it about?" Jin asked as he opened the cap to the carton of milk and started sipping it.
"She had discovered that her traditional methods of baking allowed a special form of fermentation to happen, despite the fact that according to modern culinary arts, this should not be possible? It's crazy, and many peer reviews tried to disclaim her thesis as fake, but all failed." Lynn rambled about some facts that Jin had no prior knowledge of.
His culinary knowledge was at a point where he had been amazed that cereals had their own science behind them until he thought about it logically.
"Does that mean you were also one of the doubters? That you actually didn't believe it, until you saw it?" Jin asked to try to keep the conversation going when it was exceptionally rare for Lynn to ramble on like this.
"You got me. I was taken aback by it until Qian Qian quickly took one out for me to analyse. Of course, I had to use Ayse's lab on standby to do so, and everything she claimed was true." Lynn admitted with her eyes open and with elation in her expression.
"Then we can consider ourselves lucky to have a hidden expert in our midst." Jin replied as he heard the 'ding' from the oven and Lynn had already put on the pair of oven gloves. As she took out the bread, the aroma of it spread throughout the house. It was strong enough to attract the sleepyheads out of their room.
"What is that heavenly smelllll~?" Peppers shouted in a slurred manner as she was leaning her head over railings from the second floor.
"Smells like a good hearty breakfast," Kraft answered as he picked Peppers up by her waist and brought her down with him. Unlike her usual antics, she did not make a single noise and allowed him to do so.
"Indeed. We are truly blessed to have Lady Lynn in our household." Zeru mentioned as he came in from the backyard with a towel in hand. He had never missed a day of training in his life, but all the more he would not miss this tasting of freshly baked bread.
"I won't say no to any of Lynn's food." Yun had already teleported into the living room upon System's notification that the bread was ready.
"Too bad, Milk and Qiu Yue are not here with us." Lynn lamented while she was preparing the side dishes and that prompted Jin to help out by taking the various fruit jams from the cabinet. It was already a rare occasion for Lynn to make breakfast in the morning, yet an even rarer situation had occurred for the Devilman was helping arrange the cutlery.
Even Zeru was taking the various cartons of drinks from the fridge and assisted in pouring everyone's favourite drink. It looked like a harmonious family dinner picture… If it were not for Peppers. It would have been okay if she had sat down quietly at the dining table without contributing but nope.
Her curiosity for the freshly baked bread led her to sneakily try to pinch a small portion of bread aiming to have the first taste while everyone was distracted with their various tasks.
"Don't you dare." Yun immediately pulled Pepper's ear and dragged her by her red panda pyjama's collar away from the heavenly bread before she even had the chance to touch it.
"Noooooooo!!" Peppers moaned as she ended up tied by Yun's binding spell. Even though the mage Bellator had the power to break the spell easily, she was acting as the child of the family, yearning for the bread to be served to her right now.
The rest of the group chuckled at Pepper's behaviour, and they continued aiding Lynn with the breakfast before the big fight.


In a modern world where cultivators need a place to cultivate or vent their boredom, there are private businesses that set up instance dungeons with the aid of technology and cultivation magic to enable cultivators to train and commoners to experience the life of cultivation. They are called dungeon suppliers.

Xie Jin's one and only dream was to be a dungeon supplier and when his only relative passed away, the relative's inheritance gave him a plot of land and surprisingly, a 'System' Module which the relative had previously used. 

With the help of the system, Xie Jin decided to pursue his dream of becoming the number one dungeon supplier.

Glossary Page:
nodsglossary.wordpress.com


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Discord channel: https://tinyurl.com/pandawan

If you have some spare change, please buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/moloxiv

It was six days after the food truck mission and the three-star meal ended. No missions were given after that. Since they worked hard in the truck for a week, they might have given them a break, or maybe the judges were just busy.

There were no missions, but an episode aired on TV. The 7th episode. The team mission at the time was shown. It was the one where Kaya and Jacob formed their own teams and Jacob messed up. Also…

Cho Min Joon looked behind him. Peter was looking at his phone with his butt against the cooking station. He had no other choice. It was Kaya and Peter who were mentioned the most after the broadcast. Martin was a pro. He wasn't the type to edit Peter's parts out just because he felt bad.

All the things Peter said were broadcasted. Despite the fact that he was now more mentally mature, it was too much to just ignore. He made personal attacks after all. Cho Min Joon understood Peter. He knew that he was less mature and didn't have many good human experiences, so he had a hard time controlling himself.

But the public didn't know that, and even if they did, they wouldn't have cared. All they heard was what he said on TV. Peter became a villain, and many people expressed their rage and demanded he pay the price.

Some people were suspicious. Although his words were harsh, they wondered if Kaya might have started it, but Kaya couldn't completely cover up Peter's wrongdoing. After all, he even burned the Tandoori chicken after that… So people had no choice but to feel angry. Cho Min Joon sighed as he said,

"… Don't read the comments."

But Peter couldn't hear him. There was no way he could. Kaya couldn't either, and even if he tried not to, he would eventually get back on the internet without realizing it.

Compared to him, Cho Min Joon was better off. To be more exact, his love line was more conveyed than his abilities, but after his perfect palate was revealed, things turned around. Everyone started to think that there must have been a reason for everything he did. The foreign aspect of being Asian became wings for Cho Min Joon. People thought that Cho Min Joon was a genius that was out of their realm.

And to be honest, he didn't hate that. It was a little burdensome, but it also made him excited and smile. People liked him. People who he didn't even know anticipated his next big thing. That was a fascinating thing for him.

"We're going to start filming! Please put your phones away!"

The staff's voice rang through the house. Peter immediately put his phone in his pocket. Not long afterward, the judges entered. As usual, they said a few words to hype them up before Joseph spoke in a calm voice, "You'll see a box on your cooking station. When I count to three, please open the lid. One, two, three!"

The lids all opened at the same time. Some sighed of relief while others frowned. Cho Min Joon was the latter. Inside was a large piece of meat. To be more exact, a piece of meat and bone.

A t-bone. It was a part that also had sirloin and tenderloin attached. Joseph spoke in a serious voice, "The t-bone isn't the most delicious part of a steak. That all depends on the person, but I can say this for sure. The t-bone steak is the hardest to make. If you cook it all at the same temperature, the sirloin will cook faster than the tenderloin, but we want all of the parts to be cooked equally.

Everybody sighed. This mission was all about technique. If they made one mistake, it was over. But what Joseph said next gave them some relief, "But don't be too nervous. This mission is just a warm-up, but 1st place will get a prize. You'll be exempted from disqualification in the next mission."

In response, the contestants' eyes sparkled. Cho Min Joon sighed out of relief. It wasn't enough to go after 1st place. In Korea, it wasn't easy finding t-bone. Most meat shops just sold sirloin and tenderloin separately. They rarely sold t-bone. It was hard to find at large supermarkets as well.

So he didn't have much experience with it. When he looked at the meat, it was less than 2 centimeters thick. It wasn't thin, but it wasn't thick either. When it came to steaks, the thicker ones were easier to cook.

It was inevitable. The thinner it was, the less time they had to keep it over the fire. It was common to just sear the outer region and then end up overcooking the inside.

"You won't use a separate sauce for it. Just use salt and pepper. Remember, the most important part is to cook all of the regions equally, and flavor is important, too. You may begin! You have 10 minutes."

Cho Min Joon immediately turned around. There was no particular method of cooking t-bone, it was all about experience. When steak houses hired chefs, they usually evaluated them based on how they cooked t-bone, so that made him realize how difficult this was.

It wasn't hard to get the right flavor. All he had to do was overlook the part of making it cook equally. The sirloin would be medium while the tenderloin would be medium-rare. Some customers liked to enjoy the differences in those two parts.

But there were those who wanted both parts to be cooked the same. The perfect chef was able to provide customers with both types of t-bone.

What he had to focus on now was the cooking method. When he looked around, Kaya was getting a grate. He saw something that he couldn't understand. Peter was heating up the oven. Allan must have wondered the same thing because he approached Peter himself.

"… How do you plan on cooking it?"

"After cooking it in the oven, I'm going to sear the outer side on a pan and then rest it."

"Do you think you can control how the oven cooks it on both sides?"

"As long as I just place the tenderloin part on the pan first and cook it a little more, it should be fine.

"I'm not sure. Let's keep an eye on it."

Peter's face grew dark. He thought there was potential, but Allan's remark made his confidence go down, but he couldn't change his plans just because of one remark.

Most of the contestants were seasoning the meat. 5 minutes passed. As soon as 5 minutes passed, the contestants began to move faster.

Cho Min Joon put some pepper and salt on his. He then put it on top of a greased pan. As it made a refreshing cooking sound, Allan asked, "Do you have experience cooking t-bone?"

"No, not really."

"Focus on the range of the fire that touches the pan. That'll help you a great deal."

He was intending to do that anyway, but Cho Min Joon just smiled. There was no need to respond sharply to an intention to help.

Like Allan said, controlling the heat was key. Cho Min Joon tilted the pan and put the tenderloin where the fire was the hottest, but it couldn't be too different in temperature either. Then the tenderloin could end up more overcooked than the sirloin.

All chefs gave different tips regarding how to cook steak. Some said one could flip it more than twice while others said to fillip it every 30 seconds to a minute. Cho Min Joon flipped it every minute. When he did it that way, the juices gathered in the middle making the meat nice and juicy.

Rather than who was right and who was wrong, it all depended on the person. Cho Min Joon checked the time as he flipped the steak. He didn't use any arosser methods. It would only distract him, and the added oil could make the meat cook differently, and Cho Min Joon wasn't so skilled that he could calculate what the additional oil would do to the meat.

The predicted score was 6. It couldn't have been better. He cooked it without any sauce, so the score couldn't have been higher.

What Cho Min Joon wanted was medium. After flipping it three times, he put the meat on top of a paper towel. As long as he waited a minute for the juices to come back… He was certain that both sides would be cooked well.

The buzzer rang. The 12 contestants took their hands off of their plates, but Cho Min Joon stared at his. The cooking score of the t-bone steak after resting was 6. It was as the recipe predicted.

The judges called the contestants up one by one. They cut into the sirloin and then the tenderloin. If they were cooked differently, they didn't even taste it. That was the case for Peter.

"I asked you if you could do it well. Look at this."

Allan showed the cut meat to Peter. One side was medium and the other side was rare, and the rare part still had blood in it. Emily sighed.

"I know this isn't a disqualification round, but this is too much. You can't experiment with food like this."

"… I apologize."

Peter responded with a pale face. He was already pressured because of the negative comments online. They didn't know what else to say to that face. They sent Peter back and called up the next contestant. It was Anderson's turn. Joseph cut into both sides and smiled.

"Both sides are medium well-done. They're not burnt either. You cooked it perfectly. I'm impressed, Anderson. You haven't been able to show off your full potential until now. I feel like you've returned."

"Thank you."

Anderson answered without a smile. It was too early to be happy. He wasn't the 1st place yet. They praised him after tasting it. All the contestants commented that the medium-rare steak was nice and moist.

Cho Min Joon understood that evaluation. After all, Anderson's steak showed up as 7 points. The fact that he achieved that score with just salt and pepper meant that he would have reached 8 points with proper sauce.

Next up was Cho Min Joon. He carried his plate with confidence. As soon as Emily cut into the meat, she nodded.

"Medium. It's equal throughout. There's a slight difference… but I don't think any customer would complain about this. You haven't cooked t-bone before, have you?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then this is impressive. And the texture… Hm. It's not bad, and it's juicy, too. Good work."

Compared to Anderson's praise, Cho Min Joon's was a step down. He felt a little disappointed, but he had no choice. Experience meant a great deal when it came to cooking.

The last contestant to be evaluated was Kaya. She carried her plate to the front. Joseph looked at the plate with great interest.

"You're the only one who cooked it on a grate, Kaya. Are you confident in your job?"

"My top skill is using fire. If I didn't cook, I might have become an arsonist."

"I'll take your word on that."

Joseph cut the meat with soft hands. Kaya was right. Medium. The meat was perfectly cooked to look pink inside, both the sirloin and tenderloin. Joseph slowly put it into his mouth.

When Joseph took his first bite, his face was bright, but as he took his second and third bites, his face turned strange. Same with the other judges. Kaya looked at the judges with anxiousness.

"You cooked it well. But Kaya, I think you forgot something. When you cooked the meat, did you cook the outside first before you cooked the inside?"

In response, Kaya looked surprised. She was so busy cooking the sirloin and tenderloin at the same time that she forgot to cook the outside in order to contain the juices. Cho Min Joon just stared at Kaya. Unfortunately, her steak was a 5. It was understandable. There was plenty of fire flavor, but there wasn't much juice.

'I didn't know Kaya can screw up like that.'

Besides fighting with team members because of her personality, this was the first time he saw her mess up. Joseph spoke in a caring voice, "You seem to know where you messed up. That's okay, Kaya. All chefs make mistakes. Please go back."

"… Yes, Sir."

Kaya walked back with a sad look on her face. It was clear who took the 1st place. There were a few contestants who cooked it equally, but there was only one person who did it perfectly—Anderson. Cho Min Joon glanced at him. He tended to be consistent in his output, but the more he watched, the more impressive he got. He lost to Kaya and took 2nd place, but that meant he would've won if she wasn't there.

"We've chosen who came in 1st place. It was unanimous. Anderson, congratulations! You're excluded from the next disqualification round. Please go up to the 2nd floor!"

"Thank you."

Anderson answered calmly and began walking. While the other contestants stared with jealousy, Allan said, "Then let us announce our next mission. Some of you might not like this one."

Allan then glanced over at Cho Min Joon. Cho Min Joon twitched his eyes. He felt anxious. Allan continued in a calm manner, "This mission… is a dessert."

Because of his love for cooking, he had thrown away his career as a teacher and had become a chef.
But despite his desires, his lack of cooking skills was the harsh truth he had to face.
But when he reached the age of 30, he had been sent back 7 years back into the past.
Another chance.

The boxes under the tent were piled up high. Li Du went to take a look and said, "Are these the cookies that the children are selling?"
Mother Mesa smiled. "Yes, this is the first batch. We are rushing to put in the time to order and bake more."
As she spoke, she opened a box and passed a packet of cookies to him, indicating for him to try some.
Inside the packet were some regular cookies. Li Du took a bite; the taste was great as it was fresh out of the oven—fragrant and crunchy.
The cookie flavor was peppermint. It had a sweet, refreshing taste, and was more delicious than the cookies he had bought from the supermarket.
Li Du commented, "They're yummy. No wonder you guys are confident about making more. Mother Mesa, give me two big boxes—no, make it four big boxes."
The black woman's eyes gleamed. She said, "Take two big boxes first. They taste better when they are fresh out of the oven. Come back when you want some more. Hans, that kid, also loves them."
Li Du asked, "How much are they?"
Mother Mesa waved her hand, and said, "How much? Don't worry about it. They were baked by this old lady for the children."
After hearing that, Li Du could not bear to reject her kind offer.
A few children ran back, perspiring as they pushed a small cart along, and said, "Mother Mesa, we finished selling all of them. Load some more for us."
It was cooler than the summer, but it was still warm enough for the children to get hot and tired after pushing the cart around.
At this point, Li Du had an idea, and said, "Mother Mesa, I can't just eat your cookies for free. How about I help you today? I will be the driver, and ferry these boys and girls around, in exchange for the cookies."
Mother Mesa asked, "You are not busy today?"
Li Du replied, "I've got nothing going on."
Hearing that, the children were thrilled. But the reason for their happiness wasn't because of the transportation to deliver the cookies. "Wow, can we work with the ocelot?"
"We can definitely sell more cookies if we bring the ocelot along to promote them!"
"His name is Ah Meow. He is Brother Hans's best buddy."
"And Crispy Noodles—I know their names!"
Li Du laughed as he opened the door of his car. He brought Ah Ow out. "There's a new little buddy. She is Ah Ow, she's an obedient kid."
Mother Mesa glanced over and asked, "Wow, where did you get that wolf from?"
Surprised, Li Du asked, "How could you tell?"
Mother Mesa chuckled, "My father was a hunter in Tucson, protecting the farm and ranch. They often hunted wolves, and when I was young I followed them for the experience. Of course I can tell."
She had a look of nostalgia on her face as she recollected. "How time flies! There were so many wolves then, so commonly seen. We were filled with fear and hatred when we spoke about them. Now, they are all under our protection."
The children had returned to take a break, but they did not rest at all. They all helped out with the chores.
There was an empty room in the welfare home, which had temporarily been transformed into a bakery. There were two large ovens in there and some elderly folks were busy baking the cookies.
Ingredients like eggs, milk, butter, and flour needed to be mixed together; someone weighed out ingredients, someone adjusted the proportions, someone mixed the dough and someone rolled it out. The people at the welfare home had formed a production line of sorts.
The rolled-out dough was cut into various shapes using cutters and then baked in the oven. They were sorted after they had been baked; there was also a packaging machine, to be used to seal the packets of cookies up.
The children were responsible for packing; they were busy, hot, and sweaty, but they were high in spirits. They talked and laughed joyfully as they worked.
Li Du asked, "Is this how they rest?"
Mother Mesa smiled at him helplessly. "Yes, I know—the children are tired, but there ain't much time for the Scouts to sell the cookies. We have gotta take advantage of the opportunity."
The scouting activity of cookie selling could not be carried out any time they wished. They had to make use of the Scout's name to conduct any business-related activities.
This was to prevent child labor or the hindrance of their development and studies. Ultimately, for most of the children, this activity was just to have fun. However, for the children of the welfare home, this was an opportunity to make earnings for their own livelihood.
Looking at the children working hard in front of the packaging machine, Li Du suddenly recalled a time when he was young.
He was in school then, dealing with stressful school work. He would learn mathematics, followed by languages—the alternating of subjects was considered a break.
The children were in a similar situation, alternating laborious work with less laborious work. It was indeed very exhausting.
With Li Du's help, however, they could ease up a little.
He loaded the boxes into his car; there were one hundred small boxes in total. He would help sell them to the community at the malls and shops where there was a lot of people.
As he was about to leave, an ecstatic and agile Sally climbed into his car for a look, shook her head and said, "Not enough, bro. You can still load another 50 boxes!"
Li Du was stunned. "So many?"
"Each of us can sell 40 to 50 boxes of cookies each day," the little boy Kent said proudly.
Li Du exclaimed, "That's awesome!"
The children of the poor needed to manage their own affairs early in life—they needed to learn how to do well and make money. It would also be difficult for the welfare home to survive if they only relied on the government's funding and donations from the public.
For regular Scouts, the sales target of their one-off activity could be about 100 boxes, and that would be for the whole week.
However, that would not be sufficient for the children in the welfare home; they needed to sell a lot more cookies.
They were so much more driven than other children because, according to the Scouts' regulation, the money that the other children earned would go to the Scouts, whereas the children of the welfare home could keep the money that they had earned.
Mother Mesa was a selfless woman. Not only had she adopted these children, but she had also ensured that they grew up healthily. This did not only refer to the health of the physical body, but it also included their mental health.
The few children who were with Li Du did not feel tired; instead they felt blessed to have his help.
Using his pickup truck as the mode of transportation, Li Du brought along more small carts so they did not have to share any.
In the car, a few children excitedly discussed their sales tactics.
Listening to their conversation, Li Du learned that the Scouts Association had sale experts give them lessons during the Scouts training camp to teach them how to promote the cookies.
These children were keen learners. Beside applying what they learned, they had also practiced with each other to gain experience and had shared their conclusions with each other.
They drove to a square where Li Du had planned to drop the children off. Here, he saw that there were already a few Scouts performing the activity with their little carts. Furthermore, they had their guardians with them.
He suddenly realized something, and said, "You guys came out here all by yourselves before? Isn't that dangerous?!"
To Li Du, the public security in the US was much worse than that in China. Even back in China, parents wouldn't allow children to do any sort of promoting like this outside alone.
In addition, for some unknown reason, there was an exceptionally high number of pedophiles in the US. After he had arrived in Flagstaff, he often heard about sexual predators attacking children in the news.


They love gold, and they love silver. Even more so, they love gems that dazzle, like stars across the skies. 
Firearms, jewelleries, and precious metals; A collector’s world will not be complete without antiques.  
Storage auctions, old goods trade, re-estate sales and gold-digging. But the truth is, if one wants to make money, then the supreme way is through searching for the legendary treasures. 
Holding the fort, there’s an ocelot, a wolf, and an Andes condor. At the side, there’s a loyal hound, an irascible ape, and an African honey badger. Who said that you can only rely on humans when treasure hunting?! 

When Xin Mei returned home, she frowned when a pungent smell hit her nose. She sniffed and made her way towards the kitchen.
Her eyes went wide when she saw the condition of her kitchen and then of Su Yuchen. Kitchen and Su Yuchen both were covered with chocolate and floor.
"What happened here?" Complete shock could be heard in her voice.
"Flop experiment happened." Su Yuchen shrugged his shoulder with a sad smile on his lips.
Carefully, Xin Mei walked inside the kitchen and gasped when she saw packets after packets of cake mix, floor, cocoa powder and other ingredients that were used to prepare a batter of cake.
Her eyes nearly popped out when she saw black coal (burnt cake) placed on the counter of the kitchen.
"Chen, were you planning to burn our house like Su Zixin?" she asked and again looked at him with wide eyes.
"Nah, I was trying to bake a cake." Su Yuchen lifted another pack of cake mix in his hand. "But guess what, even after five experiments, I can't bake a perfect cake."
"Why were you baking a cake when you don't know how to do it? Look at my kitchen, look at yourself and look at this burnt cake." 
Su Yuchen smiled innocently and again shrugged his shoulder. "I didn't think baking a cake can be so difficult. The man in the video said it is easy to bake a cake."
Xin Mei again looked around the kitchen and sighed. Now, she had a lot of work to do, cleaning the kitchen covered with cake batter was not an easy task.
"You should have asked me if you wanted to eat the home-baked cake." She sighed. "Nether less, you go up in your room and get a shower. Meanwhile, I will bake a cake for you."
"No, I want to bake it myself. I want to bake a cake for you."
"What do you mean?" she looked at him with alarm. Sirens of alarm rung more loudly in her brain when Su Yuchen walked towards her and wrapped his batter covered arms around her waist, even though she tried to protest.
"Mei, I remember, you have once told me that mother used to bake a cake for you in your every success and today also you have achieved a big success, so I wanted to bake a cake for you."
Xin Mei smiled brightly on hearing him. He was again proving himself to be the husband number one!
"You don't need to work hard. You could have ordered one from outside."
"Nah, that is no fun. I want to feed you a cake baked from my hand."
Xin Mei smiled softly when she saw the stubborn expression on his face. "Ok, let me help you. Let us first clean the kitchen."
"Ok."
To clean the kitchen, Su Yuchen immediately called his bodyguards much to the shook of Xin Mei. He pulled Xin Mei towards the bedroom so they could get a shower and get changed from their dirty clothes.
"Chen, I don't think that your guards can clean the kitchen." Xin Mei protested.
"They will, trust me. They have already cleaned the kitchen a lot of times. Trust me."
Xin Mei did not say a thing and could only pray that the kitchen would be clean on their return not dirtier than before.
**
After getting a bath and getting changed into a fresh pair of clothes, when Xin Mei and Su Yuchen returned to the kitchen, she was surprised that the kitchen was completely clean. It was shining brightly. There was no ounce of cake batter on the floor, kitchen counter or cupboards.
She looked at the guards with wide eyes. "You are good at this cleaning job."
"Missus, when boss was learning cooking, he used to dirty the kitchen. Then it was our duty to clean his kitchen, So, we know how to do this job."
Ears of Su Yuchen turned red in embarrassment when he heard his guard. Xin Mei grinned in his direction and looked at him with a teasing smile.
"I thought you were a natural cook but I guess, I was wrong."
"I never said, I am a natural cook. I learnt cooking so I can fill my stomach. You cannot forget, Su Zixin is my brother. If he is so worse, you should expect no less from me."
Xin Mei chuckled and looked at him.
"Now stop chuckling and teach me how to bake a cake."
Xin Mei smiled and nodded her head. 
Su Yuchen pulled out a chair and made Xin Mei sit on it. Xin Mei started to give him instruction and according to them, Su Yuchen took out all the ingredients and started to prepare the better.
He was very cautious this time. He did not want to repeat the blunder like before. He did not add a big spoon of vanilla essence in the batter. He took a big bowl to prepare the batter unlike before. He kept the speed of the beater at the slowest and he carefully checked the temperature of the oven.
"I made it." 
Su Yuchen yelled loudly when he pulled out the cake from the oven. His eyes became wide and they shone with happiness. He looked at the color of the cake and felt satisfied. 
"It looks perfect." Xin Mei nodded her head in appreciation. "And why not, great baker like Xin Mei is your guide."
Su Yuchen chuckled when he heard her. He placed the cake on the kitchen counter and gave a clean knife to Xin Mei.
"Cut it and tell me, how it tastes?"
Su Yuchen started to pray in his heart that this cake was eatable. He wanted to make Xin Mei eat a home-baked cake on her success.
Xin Mei smiled at him and was about to cut the cake when Su Zixin also arrived at home. He looked at the cake with greedy eyes and urged Xin Mei to cut the cake.
"Xin Mei quickly cut the cake. I can't wait to have this delicious cake from your hand."
"I am not the one to bake this cake. Su Yuchen baked this."
"What?" eyes of Su Zixin became wide when he heard Xin Mei. "Xiao Mei, don't cut this cake. You will die if you cut this damn cake. You do not know but big brother can do blunder when baking a cake. Once, he had learned how to bake a cake from grandma and from then onwards, she never let him enter her kitchen."
Su Zixin stopped himself when he felt a chilling and deathly glare on his head. He looked up only to found Su Yuchen glaring at him.
"Mei, from today onwards, Su Zixin is not allowed to eat any food item cooked from my hand."
Su Zixin became pale when he heard Su Yuchen. His brother was not good in the bakery but he was good in many other dishes. He could not wash his hand over them.
Su Zixin immediately realized his fault and started to butter Su Yuchen. He also started to praise his bakery and cooking skills unlike before.
Xin Mei chuckled when she saw his drama. She cut the cake which she and Su Yuchen ate to their delight, looking at the dull face of Su Zixin who was now regretting his words!


"These are my conditions. You have to agree upon them before we can get married."

"Accepted. Each one of them is accepted. Any more conditions, soon to be wife?"

"Yes, I want your help to destroy my jerk of an ex-boyfriend."

A sly smile appeared on the lips of the men sitting opposite her. 

"With pleasure." How could he let his competitor stay unharmed? He would be having his own fun in destroying the man who had made him taste vinegar a lots of times.

"Something as?"

Before she could even shake her head, he stood up from his seat and held her hand. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Civil affairs bureau. Any time later and it will be closed."

Xin Mei looked at the man with wide eyes, and before she could comprehend, she was sitting in civil affairs bureau with a marriage license in her hand.

****

Xin Mei woke up from coma after 3 weeks of long sleep. She faced a brutal reality like every other female lead; her boyfriend was cheating on her with her best friend. Feeling vengeful, she decided to have her revenge.

It's payback time.

"She snatched my boyfriend; I will snatch her career from her." 

"He rejected me. No problem. I will find a more handsome man than him."

"His father made my father beg; now I will make him beg."

And who will help her? Su Yuchen!

Su Yuchen believed that a person can fall in love only once and he had already fallen in it. His belief was broken badly when he met Xin Mei. After tasting a lot of vinegar, he could not wait for another second to make her his wife. He could not lose his second inning in love.

******

Story Discord Link: https://discord.gg/4bKHKmS

Note: This is an original story by me.
The cover is edited by me but I don't own the picture. Credit to the owner.

Update schedule: 2 chapters daily
                             14 Chapters in a week

Current editor and proofreader: Harry_7, StormAthena5, TannyChan

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