Food Intelligence King

Chapter 2 A Family of Three
Chen Zhou's wife, Lin Yifan, is a very ordinary woman.

She has a height that is neither too tall nor too short, hair that is neither too long nor too short, and a figure that is neither too fat nor too thin.

Standing in the crowd,
Her daughter will definitely be the first to recognize her.

It has nothing particularly charming, but it also has no obvious flaws.

Lin Yifan saw her husband and daughter and waved with a smile.

Yes. So does personality.

They weren't exactly enthusiastic, but they were by no means indifferent either.

Chen Zhou once thought their marriage lacked passion, but that also made it exceptionally stable.

While he was on the verge of being laid off from his company, his wife continued to maintain the normal operation of the family.

Incidentally, Lin Yifan's work is going relatively smoothly.

Compared to Chen Zhou's fluctuating income, her salary remained relatively stable.

It can even be quite remarkable that it has remained around the median per capita income of the coastal city.

The three of them held hands and went upstairs.

The lobsters Chen Zhou was carrying caught his wife's attention.

"Did you pay the performance bonuses back?" Lin Yifan asked curiously.

"No, the company is still the same."

"So, when I was picking up Tao Tao, we passed by the seafood shop and found a Boston lobster that had been electrocuted. It was half price, a steal!"

“I see,” the wife smiled and nodded. “That’s good.”

Tao Tao followed suit.

She gave a strong "Mmm" and said, "That's good!"

As Chen Zhou felt the warmth and trembling of that little hand, he suddenly realized that even if he told his wife that he had an intelligence network, the two of them would say the same thing.

The two-bedroom apartment, over 80 square meters, is tidy yet has a slightly messy feel, reminiscent of a family raising children.

This is Chen Zhou's home.

Before dinner that evening, there were two important things happening at home.

First, let's solve the historic problem—what to eat tonight.

Second, taking care of the children.

Chen Zhou has already linked up with the food intelligence system, partly because he needs to get positive reviews from diners, and partly because he's considering working in the catering industry in the future.

So I took on the task of making dinner.

It's still quite easy to resolve today.

A large lobster as the main dish, along with a stir-fried tomato and egg dish and a cold salad, is about right.

Chen Zhou was also quite interested in trying it out, so he bought a steamed bun recipe online.

But the mother and daughter were learning pinyin in the living room, saying "Ah, I, hungry".

Chen Zhou felt that

The steamed buns made by the chef of state banquets don't necessarily need to be made in a hurry.

He took the black apron with the word "family" printed on it from under the pink kitten apron with "happy" printed on it and casually hung it in front of him.

Let's start processing this lobster.

As the old saying goes, "High-end ingredients often require the most ordinary cooking methods."

Such a fresh lobster, which died so suddenly and precisely, is best cooked by steaming.

Before cooking, it needs to be placed in the sink and cleaned with a brush.

Among the methods I saw online, there was one that involved sticking chopsticks into the lobster's tail, but whether it was to urinate or bleed it is a matter of much debate.

Chen Zhou had no experience cooking lobsters.

All I can do is copy what they've learned and try to imitate them a few times.

Yes, water has indeed come out.

But it wasn't sprayed out.

Instead, it flows down slowly, eventually dripping.

Chen Zhou, now in his thirties, hopes he won't be like that in the future.

Before we knew it, half an hour had passed, and the steamer was already steaming.

Lin Yifan led Tao Tao into the kitchen.

The little girl raised her arm and said:
"Dad, let's help."

"Peach is such a good girl, how about I let you crack the eggs again?"

"Good~"

The family of three busied themselves in the kitchen.

As Chen Zhou put the lobster into the steamer, he turned around and saw his wife, who had just finished chopping tomatoes, picking eggshells out of the beaten eggs. This is why taking care of the kids is also a major event before dinner.

Haha, this little girl is quite the troublemaker.

In Chen Zhou's view, it would be wonderful to live such a life every day.

A few years ago, a term called "small but certain happiness" became popular online.

Tiny, yet definite happiness.

Nothing more than that.

But then I think about how a kindergarten that doesn't even teach pinyin costs 1000 a month, and a mortgage that has been heavily paid off despite the LPR being lowered still costs 2500.

These two items alone already exceed my current salary.

Chen Zhou, as a father and husband,
It would be a lie to say there's no pressure.

Food information has provided some direction, at least it won't be like before, bumping around aimlessly like a headless fly.

Accumulating positive customer reviews can increase the level of intelligence.

This creates a virtuous cycle: using intelligence to create delicious food, garnering positive reviews, and upgrading the intelligence system.

Make big money? Of course Chen Zhou wanted to get rich.

But right now, he wants to make his life a little easier.

The steaming hot dishes were all served after Chen Zhou brought the lobster to the table.

Tao Tao finally saw the shrimp's characteristic red color. Excitedly, she swung her left spoon and right chopsticks, took a large piece of snow-white shrimp meat, and immediately began to wolf it down.

The elderly couple smiled at each other and then started eating with their chopsticks.

A two-pound Boston lobster is large in size.

Taking a bite of it brings immense satisfaction. The meat is firm and juicy, with a slightly sweet aftertaste.

It's really not bad.

After tasting it plain, you have to dip it in the sauce dish thoroughly.

Because the lobster becomes a bit dry towards the end, it complements the sauce perfectly.

It tastes slightly sour from the balsamic vinegar and salty and savory from the light soy sauce and oyster sauce.

Lifting the shrimp's head reveals pale yellow shrimp roe.

Lin Yifan scooped some food for Tao Tao with a spoon.

But the little girl disliked the fishy smell and gave up after smelling it.

She was clearly proud of her father's tomato and egg dish, which made Chen Zhou feel quite gratified.

Blanching and peeling tomatoes makes cooking easier; they release their juices when stir-fried, resulting in a bright red, thick broth with a superb texture.

Eggs look better when they are yellow and tender, but when eating at home, Chen Zhou is used to frying them a little longer.

Give the eggs a few brownish-yellow spots on the surface. This will make them more flavorful.

To eat more efficiently, Chen Taotao abandoned the chopsticks she had recently mastered and started eating rice with a spoon.

Dinner is coming to an end.

Chen Zhou took the bottom of his daughter's bowl and prepared to finish.

Then, something surprising happened.

Intelligence system notification:

[One more positive customer review]

【.】

【.】

[Customer rating +0.5]

Chen Zhou looked at his daughter, then at his wife, and finally fixed his gaze on his wife.

"It made my system crash."

His wife's evaluation, like herself, was right in the middle. Even the system only gave her 0.5 points.

However, since that's the case, it's a good opportunity to assess one's own cooking skills.

If we use my wife's overall cooking skill level of 50/100 as a reference (she's good enough for everyday dishes, but definitely not good enough to be a chef) as a reference.

Chen Zhou's culinary skills are roughly as follows:
Leavening: 50/100
My wife and I are about the same; she can rise up, but she won't end up steaming a flatbread.

Seasoning: 55/100
This one is a bit better than my wife. She prefers a lighter taste, and the amount of oil and salt is healthy enough, but she doesn't find it very flavorful.

Knife skills: 40/100
When it comes to slicing, Chen Zhou isn't very good at it by hand. But when it comes to using tools, his wife has to admit defeat.

Cooking temperature: 60/100
His wife's cooking was fairly consistent; it wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly outstanding either. Chen Zhou had a few decent home-style dishes, like scrambled eggs with tomatoes, braised eggplant, and braised pork.

After considering all factors,

Chen Zhou believes he still needs to practice.

(End of this chapter)