Electronic Nezha

Chapter 210 Mapo Tofu
Why does everyone's expression change when the koi fish cooks? The answer lies in the riddle itself—because the koi fish is cooking, and I change too.

Why didn't Yuan Yuan cook? Because Yuan Yuan's cooking schedule is based on mine. I came home early today, and she hadn't had time to cook. With an extra person in the Sixth Division, and the kitchen door facing the living room, Yuan Yuan couldn't be there! Nobody expected this. Ma Fugui was right; details determine success or failure. Many major historical turning points are no exception. A small oversight leads to a series of serious incidents. Now, we're going to eat food cooked by Jinli!
Dressed impeccably, Koi stood before the bright stainless steel countertop, her expression serene, her breath calm and focused. Even before the finished product was ready, her poise was a sight to behold—truly a culinary performance artist. We stood in line at the kitchen door, our hearts pounding with anxiety, like a long line of relatives waiting for a woman to give birth.

The difference is that the pregnant woman has something in her belly, while the koi fish only feels guilty.

Completely bewildered by the koi fish's appearance, Ma Fugui shouted into the kitchen, "Make me some Mapo Tofu."

We all glared at him angrily.

"What's wrong?" Ma Fugui asked.

The koi fish said, "I'll eat whatever I make, don't be picky!"

Ma Fugui exclaimed, "Good cooks all have their tempers, so I'll listen to you."

The koi carp opened the refrigerator and reached for the vegetables.

Our hearts skipped a beat.

Koi took out a piece of meat, placed it on the cutting board, and picked up a cleaver.

The blade gleamed, as if it were hanging over everyone's necks.

Sixth Master sighed and said, "Stop reading, everyone go about your business." What does "unbearable to read" mean?

The atmosphere in the Sixth Division was extremely strange; everyone harbored their own secrets, except for Ma Fugui, who was full of hope.

There was someone here who could have left, and that was Hao Hao. I tried to signal to him with my eyes several times, but he didn't understand. An idiot is an idiot.

With a sizzling sound coming from the kitchen, the first dish was soon served.

To be fair, the stir-fried pork with green peppers looks alright. But this is a factual novel, and we don't advocate using exaggerated rhetoric to smear someone.

Ma Fugui picked up his chopsticks and, as usual, politely declined to offer them to Sixth Master.

"Please go first, guests." Sixth Master didn't touch his chopsticks, but lit a cigarette with a heavy heart.

Ma Fugui picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed. He said to us calmly, "You guys eat too."

Forced into a corner, everyone started eating.

I took a bite, and it was still awful. The meat was cooked, but the seasoning powder was still stuck to it, making it obvious what he had used. The green peppers were undercooked, and they burst with juice when I bit into them. It was a kind of beauty of living in a modern kitchen but eating raw meat.

It's true that Jinli has no talent for cooking, but it's hard to say he has no talent when he can make such terrible food. How can I describe how bad it is? It's like someone who has been starving for three days can wolf down the food and then say it's so bad!

It's very bad to eat with your bowl up and then curse your cook, unless the person who cooked it is incredibly lucky.

After taking a bite, Ma Fugui put down his chopsticks and commented fairly, "This is subpar. You can keep this dish to feed the dogs. Go and cook another one."

The chubby boy muttered, "What did the dog do to deserve this?"

Jinli felt immense pressure from Ma Fugui's expectations. He hesitated to speak, but finally gritted his teeth and went back into the kitchen.

Sixth Master, puffing on his cigarette, said leisurely, "Fugui, you really dare to speak like that. Do you know what level he used to be at?" Then he directly asked Shark, "Has he fallen below his level?"

The shark said, "I must say, it's a bit better than before." To show off his uniqueness and extraordinary bravery, he actually took another bite!
Ma Fugui frowned and said, "Be a little more considerate. Even when you're playing with a gun, you sometimes miss the target."

Sixth Master said, "Well, then you wait for him to hit the target."

There was another hissing sound from the kitchen, and we all shuddered as if someone had died inside.

This time, the dish served was scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Sixth Master said, "Oh, here comes your signature dish."

Ma Fugui's eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to take a big bite, then closed his eyes while chewing.

Based on my experience and initial judgment of the old man's expression, I felt that he wasn't amazed, so I took the initiative and put a piece in my mouth myself.

Well, this time it was really subpar. The tomatoes and eggs were either raw or burnt, and the salt particles were gritty. I didn't want to waste it, so I picked up a cup of expired coffee and forced it down!

Everyone else was on guard, but Hao Hao, being honest and straightforward, picked up a large piece with his chopsticks, then frowned, just like when he was still a professional fool and ate an orange peel, before finally swallowing it!

Ma Fugui glanced at the fool and suddenly said, "I've discovered one of your strengths: you're quite hardworking!"

Hao Hao said, "Because I've experienced even harder times before!"

The next second, Ma Fugui suddenly slammed his chopsticks on the table and shouted angrily, "You did this on purpose! You just wanted to force me to leave!"

Sixth Master calmly said, "You wish. I won't allow you to leave. You'll have to stay and work—we used to eat this too."

"I don't believe your nonsense! I was chased for ten days in the Amazon rainforest and I didn't suffer like this!"

Koi said guiltily, "Senior Canglang, Sixth Master didn't lie to you. I've always been the one cooking. My skills... aren't very good."

Ma Fugui angrily retorted, "If you dare to cook for others with your skills, you'll be court-martialed!"

The group found it both funny and unfair to Jinli. He was a sniper, yet he was being scolded like a grandson in a shooting game. It was because he didn't want to play, okay? His abilities were limited!

Everyone tried to dissuade him, but Ma Fugui asked Ma Chaoran, "Are you really going to eat the food he cooks?"

Ma Chaoran nodded vigorously.

"But you didn't tell your family either."

Ma Chaoran said, "I felt that cooking such bad food was a secret, so I didn't tell you or my mom."

The koi fish said speechlessly, "Hey, hey, hey, that's enough, I'm still here."

Ma Fugui suddenly had a sudden thought and said, "Wait a minute! Who cooked lunch?"

Everyone looked at Sixth Master.

Ma Fugui keenly sensed something fishy was going on. He sat on the sofa, flailing his arms and legs, and said, "Call him out and redo it for me. I refuse to believe that I can't get a decent meal at the Sixth Bureau!" It seemed that if Sixth Master didn't agree, the old man was about to lie on the ground and throw a tantrum.

Sixth Master said, "Let's all vote. This can't go on like this. Raise your hand if you agree to let 'her' appear."

Ma Fugui suddenly had a brilliant idea: "You've captured a foreign spy who's really good at cooking and are hiding him in the Sixth Division?"

Sixth Master ignored him and said again, "Vote." Dolphin raised his hand and said, "Then I'll campaign for votes. I think Senior Canglang is completely trustworthy. It's time to let more people know about her, otherwise we won't even be able to eat properly, and it will be hard to guarantee the combat strength of the Sixth Division."

Although the koi fish felt guilty, it still retorted, "Did you eat shit before?"

The chubby boy protested, "So what if we ate? Don't dwell on it!"

If Ma Fugui weren't trustworthy, Sixth Master wouldn't have kept him around. Everyone understood that. After this meal of reminiscing about the hardships, everyone was now absolutely certain that the Sixth Bureau couldn't do without Yuan Yuan, so they all raised their hands. Jin Li also raised his hand while cursing.

It passed unanimously!

Sixth Master suddenly said, "No, I think we should ask Fengzi for his opinion on this matter."

I quickly replied, "I have no objection."

Ma Fugui curled his lip and said, "You're just making a fuss. I'll be disappointed if you can't pull a snail spirit out of the water jar."

“Fugui, you’re a veteran Party member, how can you say such things—” Sixth Master said, “How much do you know about our country’s AI robots?”

Ma Fugui scoffed and said, "I definitely know more than you do. I don't pry into the secrets of the Sixth Bureau, so don't ask me any more questions."

Sixth Master said to me, "Let her come out."

Before I could even speak, Yuan Yuan poked her head out of the kitchen and asked, "Are you calling me?"

Ma Fugui glanced at Yuanyuan, his expression still calm, but anyone could tell it was feigned.

Yuan Yuan looks like an AI robot, and she's not even as cool as some of the robots at tech expos. In this age of information overload, even farmers who deal with crops every day won't scream when they see a talking robot. Even high-end hotels now offer various AI services that can turn on the lights, draw the curtains, and deliver takeout.

However, there are still differences between robots. Throughout our conversation, we didn't use any words that could trigger the AI's senses. Yuan Yuan appeared on her own, which means she is a robot that can understand human speech based on context. Ma Fugui should be able to judge the value of this.

Yuan Yuan came out, and Jin Li took off her apron and handed it to her. Yuan Yuan put it on naturally and walked up to me, saying, "Master, what would you like to eat?"

Ma Fugui said, "Why are the robots in the Sixth Division so snobbish?"

Sixth Master said, "Is it possible that without Fengzi, there would be no robot?"

Ma Fugui said, "Then I need to check the quality of this thing."

I said to Yuanyuan, "Let's stir-fry some Mapo Tofu first, and then reprocess these two dishes on the table so as not to waste them."

“Yes, Master.” Yuan Yuan took the dishes off the table and suddenly turned to Ma Fugui and said, “Grandpa Ma, my name is Yuan Yuan.”

Ma Fugui was stunned for a long time, then seemed to have figured something out and said, "A double act! One of you is putting on a double act with me behind this thing, right?"

Sixth Master was too lazy to explain: "If you say so, then so be it. Anyway, we called Yuanyuan out for dinner. Remember the rules, don't talk nonsense after we leave."

Ma Fugui was probably afraid we'd cause some trouble again, so he stood at the kitchen door watching Yuanyuan cook.

While cutting the tofu, Yuan Yuan asked, "Would you like anything else to eat?"

Ma Fugui asked, "Are you a man or a woman?"

Just like when I first encountered AI...

"What do you think? How would you like to regard me?"

Ma Fugui said, "I've always wanted a son."

Yuan Yuan said, "Then good luck."

Everyone wanted to laugh, but felt a little awkward in front of Ma Chaoran.

Ma Chaoran said speechlessly, "Dad, sit down! Yuanyuan isn't some kind of dim-witted AI; she's smarter than you."

Not to be outdone, Ma Fugui retorted, "Can you help me predict the military spending of various countries over the next five years?"

Yuan Yuan is selectively deaf and only cares about cooking.

Ma Fugui said smugly, "What's there to hide? You don't know, do you? You can get the answer on your phone."

Yuan Yuan said, "Yes, you have a cell phone, don't you?"

Ma Fugui yelled at us, "Hey, how come this thing can choke people? I can't call AI an idiot, can I?" Well, he just hadn't met Xiao Wu yet.

Sixth Master said, "You should sit down. After all, you are not her master."

Ma Fugui sat down, looking completely lost and itching to try, muttering, "I'll talk to you when your cooking doesn't taste good!"

Soon, a plate of delicious Mapo Tofu was served. Yuan Yuan put down the dish and said to Ma Fugui, "Grandpa Ma, don't eat with your emotions on your mind, it's easy to get indigestion. I was wrong just now, I was so focused on cooking that I didn't give you feedback in time."

Ma Fugui said, "Then your computing power isn't good either."

Yuan Yuan said, "Your criticism is correct."

Ma Chaoran said, "Dad, stop embarrassing yourself, okay? Eat your food!"

Ma Fugui picked up a piece of tofu with his chopsticks, ate it, and then fell into a long silence.

"Yuanyuan, I was wrong too, don't be angry," the old man suddenly said. We wanted to try some, so the old man pulled the plate in front of him.

Yuan Yuan said with a smile in her voice, "You are one of the few humans who apologize to AI, which shows that you have a strong ability to accept new things, your mind is still active, and you have a kind heart and rich emotions. I am a robot and I will not get angry. You can tell me what you want to eat in the future, and I will try my best to satisfy you as long as it does not conflict with the master's demands."

"Okay, okay, you go ahead and get busy, thank you for your hard work." The old man perfectly demonstrated the difference between being arrogant at first and obsequious at second.

I whispered to Ma Chaoran, "Your dad is actually a pretty good person, straightforward, a bit like you."

Ma Chaoran laughed and said, "He's just greedy. And what do you mean by 'like me'? I'm like him! It's genetic."

"Is cravings hereditary?"

Ma Chaoran didn't hear what I said after that; her attention had already shifted to the plate of Mapo Tofu, and she furtively reached out with her chopsticks towards her father.

Without any hesitation, Ma Fugui pushed his daughter's chopsticks aside, grabbed the plate, and said, "Have Yuanyuan cook another plate. This one is for mixing with rice."

(End of this chapter)