Chapter 96: The First Large Gift Packet from the System
Author: Black Lantern (黑色花灯)
Link: https://book.qidian.com/info/1009922190
Translated by Gumihou
Gumihou: From here onwards, will use ‘China’ and ‘Huaxia’ interchangeably. The author sometimes used homophones to sort of create a ‘different world-ish’, but it’s all China, really.
Warning: Possible minor animal abuse
Ye Fei had not even inserted his key into the keyhole yet when something furry touched his foot. When he looked down, an ugly, wrinkly face looked up at him
[Black Lantern: I wonder, how many people guessed it was Tian Xinlan? I can guarantee that this face absolutely does not belong to Tian Xinlan.Having no mental preparation, it would be even more surprising if he wasn’t shocked by the sight.]
Only, why did he not see this fellow when he got out of the elevator and down the corridor to his door? Just how did this fellow just appear in flash?
“Sharpie, are you trying to scare this daddy to death, ah!” Ye Fei shouted.
Sharpie licked his lips. Seeing the anger on Ye Fei’s face, he quickly scooted backwards, a low ‘wuwuwu’ sound coming from his mouth.
Seeing how pitiful this fellow looked, Ye Fei snorted. He kicked in the little dog’s direction, snapping, “Go away, don’t block the door.”
Sharpie was still going ‘wuwuwu’. It was obvious that the little fellow was unhappy.
A little surprised by how insistent this fellow was, Ye Fei squatted down to rub Sharpie’s dog head. “You should go find your master, ah. You know, the one that likes to run around sleepwalking at night. Look, it’s almost dark now…”
Almost dark?
Wait, he had forgotten until that moment, but… could it be that Sharpie was running around here because Tian-Sleepwalker-Xinlan let him out again?
That was totally possible! He was about to get up and knock on her door when Sharpie lowered his head and picked up a piece of paper it had been sitting on.
Ye Fei blinked in confusion. This fellow could also deliver letters?
With the paper in his mouth, Sharpie looked up at Ye Fei with his tail wagging and going ‘wuwuwu’ again.
“For me?” Ye Fei pointed to his own nose.
Sharpie had no idea what this fellow was talking about, but he still replied by placing the piece of paper at Ye Fei’s feet.
Ye Fei picked up the paper and was immediately speechless.
On the paper were very delicately written characters. A girl’s handwriting.
‘Dear Gourmet Neighbour,
Hello,
My parents have asked me to accompany them. It’s also to treat my illness. I can’t bring Sharpie with me. I trouble you to take care of him a little. He is a very cute little fellow. I hope you can take care of him well.
Tian Xinlan’
After looking at this paper, Ye Fei looked at Sharpie. He said, “Your master is gone.”
Sharpie, “Wuwu~”
Ye Fei touched his head and sighed. He said, “Alright, follow me. However, I’m going to say this first. You must be obedient, otherwise, you can just get out.”
Sharpie stood up, his tail wagging, looking ready to please.
“You little thing, do you actually understand human speech?”
With that, Ye Fei opened the door to his condo and entered.
Little Sharpie the Shar Pei dog followed after, his butt shaking from the force of his tail wagging.
The fellow immediately headed for the kitchen.
When Ye Fei saw this, he shouted, “You come back now!”
He was furious, especially when he recalled how this fellow had stolen one of his Potato Shrimp Balls last time. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to turn this fellow into a dog stew.
Sharpie had been bouncing towards the kitchen when he heard Ye Fei yell. This fellow shrank his neck in fright, frozen in place.
Ye Fei took three steps forward and picked the dog up. Then, he began to pinch and knead the wrinkly face, stretching it out as far as it would go and said sternly, “That place is forbidden to you. If you dare to even run towards that place, I’ll throw you out.”
Hanging in mid-air, suspended by his wrinkly cheek skin, Sharpie paddled his four paws on nothing, his whip-like tail wagging desperately. It was obvious that this fellow was quite miserable.
[Gumihou: This is… animal abuse]Ye Fei finally put the dog down. The little fellow ran away, slipping hurriedly under the table.
Seeing the Shar Pei run away from him, Ye Fei gave a bitter little smile and shook his head. He was also feeling quite miserable. Privately, he thought: Am I destined to not experience my peach blossom season, ah? I already met two pretty girls in Yinzhou, but both already ran off overseas. No wonder I can’t get a girlfriend. It’s not that I’m not handsome, but the reality was just too hopeless.
In the end, Ye Fei managed to poke Sharpie out from under the table with a broomstick. He found a cardboard box and put it by the door as this fellow’s nest. Then, he placed the little fellow inside.
The little Shar Pei dog seemed to behave this time. It tucked itself properly inside the box and did not run around unnecessarily.
Once he had settled the dog, Ye Fei took a shower and lay on the bed.
It was at this time that the DCB System suddenly spoke to him.
“In view of the Host’s outstanding performance today, a special large gift packet will be awarded. Does the Host wish to receive it?”
A large gift packet?
Hearing these words, Ye Fei bounced up from the bed.
It can’t be helped, he was just too excited. A large gift packet, ah. With this fellow’s piss-poor attitude, there was no need to consider it. It had to be something amazing.
However, just as he was about to claim it, his entire body trembled, and he could feel his eye twitching.
He suspected a trap!
That’s because he had not done anything special or unique today, so what’s with the unexpected gift?!
“Ahem, System, could you explain a little more? Just what kind of outstanding performance did I do today?”
DCB System, “The Wheel of Fortune proposed by the Host will vastly improve the overall broadcasting experience.”
“Yi~~? This also counts?”
“Outside of necessary assistance from the System, proposals from the Host that can raise the efficiency of live broadcasts will be considered a great contribution.”
Only then did Ye Fei let go of the suspicion in his heart. Well, since this was a well-deserved reward, let’s see what good things this fellow has given him!
“Accept the large gift packet,” said Ye Fei.
DCB System, “ ”
As soon as the System’s voice disappeared, Ye Fei felt a distinct chill in his mind. Then, a sudden overwhelming amount of information flooded his brain.
[Comprehensive Collection of Sichuan Cuisine, Level 2 Limited Authority: [1] Yuxiang Shredded Pork, Spicy Chicken Cubes, Kung Pao Chicken, Mabo Tofu, Madam Cao’s Rice Tofu, Husband and Wife’s Lung Pieces, Poached Meat Slices…]As countless names of dishes marched through his head, Ye Fei was dumbfounded. He had not expected the first large gift packet from the System to be so luxurious. To have all of the second-level limited Sichuan Cuisine, one of the Eight Major Culinary Cuisines of China all in his hands…
This was truly an exciting and amazing thing, ah.
The Major Culinary Practices of China are divided into eight poles, which are [2]:
Sichuan Cuisine in Xichuan Province
Shandong Cuisine in Lushan Province
Cantonese Cuisine in Eastern Guangdong Province
Jiangsu Cuisine in Sujiang Province
Zhejiang Cuisine in Jiangsu, Zhejiang Provinces
Fujian Cuisine in Southern Fujian Province
Anhui Cuisine in Huishan Province
Hunan Cuisine in Southern Shonan Province
Of course, aside from these Eight Major Cuisines, there were also Manchurian Cuisine and Henan Cuisine from the southern Henan Province with their own special characteristics
Among all of these cuisines, Sichuan Cuisine could be considered one of the most special of all Chinese cuisine due to its unique and unforgettable style of cooking. Even those not of Xichuan would be full of praise for its dishes. It was the kind of cuisine that, once eaten, one would never forget.
Sichuan Cuisine mainly followed the spicy route, but it also emphasised a lot on freshness, fragrance and strong flavours. It must be said that to make memorable Sichuan Cuisine, the cook must have extremely superb cooking skills.
As a native of Xichuan, Ye Fei had a special liking for Sichuan Cuisine. He especially loved his old mother’s Mabo Tofu. That spicy numbing flavour was just too irresistible. In fact, Ye Fei alone could probably clean up an entire plate by himself.
Part of the reason why he came to Milky Way Palace in Yinzhou City to become an apprentice chef was due to his love for the deliciousness of Sichuan Cuisine. He loved Sichuan Cuisine and wanted to be able to make dishes for his family and have his wife and kids praise his cooking.
Unfortunately, there were limits to his talents. Moreover, his opportunities were mediocre. He had been an apprentice at Milky Way Palace for so long, but barely learnt anything of value.
Who would have thought that this once great regret was compensated by DCB System’s large gift packet. He believed that with the ingredients provided by the System and with the unique, top-level cooking theory, he would be able to make an irresistible, mouth-watering Mabo Tofu with no problems at all.
As the names of various Sichuan dishes filled his head, Ye Fei felt as though he had finally stepped onto the big boys’ playing field.
Gumihou:… if you must know, Gumi does not like Sichuan Cuisine. Especially authentic Sichuan Cuisine. The Mabo Tofu was… too spicy and numbing, can’t really taste anything else. It certainly is memorable, it was the first time I had sichuan peppers, can’t feel my mouth afterwards. I prefer the mild and gentle Japanese Mabo Tofu.
Sorry China.
[1] Cuisines Mentioned – Most of the videos are from Chef Wang Gang’s channel, because he’s the best!
鱼香肉丝 – Yuxiang Shredded Pork
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpR9-9CNxAY
辣子鸡丁 – Spicy Chicken Cubes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqHI1CJU-Rg
宫保鸡丁 – Kung Pao Chicken
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jArsVnwbLmc
麻婆豆腐 – Mabo Tofu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USoC8AqirVA
曹八嬢米豆腐 – Madam Cao’s Rice Tofu
Can’t find Madam Cao’s Rice Tofu, but here are a couple of recipes for Rice Tofu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWEZIPLbBk4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssxwWvjUgKw
夫妻肺片 – Husband and Wife Lung Pieces
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlNB1XK0WE
水煮肉片 – Poached Meat Slices
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyiGCNwCMxU
[2] The Eight Major Culinary Cuisines of China
I think the author might have been trying to be clever and used puny or cheeky ways to ‘disguise’ some of the countries of origin. Like how they use ‘Hua Xia’ in place of Zhongguo for China.
Below is the list of cuisines along with notes for their weird changes.
Sichuan Cuisine in Xichuan Province (Xichuan is homophone for Sichuan)
Shandong Cuisine in Lushan Province
Cantonese Cuisine in Eastern Guangdong Province
Jiangsu Cuisine in Sujiang Province (Sujiang is really Jiangsu, Jiangsu Cuisine is written as ‘Su Cuisine’ which Jiangsu Cuisine is also known as)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangsu
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/jiangsu-cuisine.htm
Zhejiang Cuisine in Jiangsu, Zhejiang Provinces
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/zhe-cuisine.htm
Fujian Cuisine in Southern Fujian Province (‘Minnan’ the short term for Southern Fujian is used here)
Anhui Cuisine in Huishan Province (Anhui Cuisine is actually from Shexian County, southeast of Anhui Province. The author probably used ‘Hui shan’ since there is also a Huangshan or ‘Yellow Hill’ city.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_County,_Anhui
Hunan Cuisine in Southern Shonan Province (Also known as Xiang Cuisine, from the Xiang River region. Not sure why author used ‘Xiang Nan Province’ as the origin)
A more detailed overview of the 8 Major Cuisines
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