Traveling through various miniature worlds with a small restaurant

Lin Xiaoqian has hardly ever cooked in her life. Apart from making a pack of instant noodles, she usually just buys a pack of hot pot base and has a homemade hot pot meal.

She locked the shop door and hurried home.

I took two eggs and some leftover rice from lunch out of the refrigerator.

I walked into the kitchen with some trepidation.

The recipe for fried rice was sent directly into her head.

The recipe said that scallions were also needed, so she put the eggs on the stove and went to the refrigerator to find scallions.

Thankfully, she knows Cong.

"...Host, those are garlic sprouts." The system rolled its eyes. Was it really the right decision to bind itself to this host?

"..."

"The leaves of scallions are round, while the leaves of garlic sprouts are flat."

Lin Xiaoqian went back and put the garlic sprouts down, then found the scallions.

Turn on the gas, heat the pan, add cold oil, then crack two eggs into it. Use a spatula to scramble the eggs, and the egg whites and yolks will quickly separate, turning golden and bubbling with small oil bubbles.

Lin Xiaoqian poured a bowl of cooked rice into the pot and used the back of a spatula to break up the rice grains, which quickly became distinct.

Add salt and pepper, then add the chopped scallions, stir-fry a few times, and it's ready to serve.

Looking at the fairly decent bowl of fried rice, Lin Xiaoqian felt a little proud, thinking that she did have a talent for cooking.

He excitedly picked up the spoon, took a bite, and then spat it out.

Too much salt was added; it's a bit salty.

Lin Xiaoqian looked at the fried rice in front of her with a bit of disappointment. Would anyone buy this kind of fried rice? If she sold it, people would probably smash up the shop.

"System, don't you have any special abilities for me? Like, the kind that make cooking taste amazing?"

"No." The system replied coldly.

"If I don't have any, how can I make delicious fried rice?" Lin Xiaoqian asked urgently.

"The host can improve his cooking skills by completing the task."

What mission?

"We sold 100 servings of fried rice within a month."

"But my fried rice isn't good, so nobody will buy it."

"The host can improve his cooking skills by completing the task."

"...Are you playing these nested dolls?" Lin Xiaoqian was speechless.

"..."

Lin Xiaoqian took a deep breath: "How about this, let's make a deal. You give me some reward first, and then I'll complete the task."

"No." The system refused.

"If you don't give me a reward, I won't be able to complete the task. Wouldn't that be a vicious cycle? You've bound me to you, so you don't want me to fail even the first task, right?"

"...Then you should try to sell ten bowls of fried rice first."

"No, system, we..."

"Five bowls, no less! If you talk any further, I'll destroy myself."

"...Okay!" Since they'd already gone this far, what else could they do but agree?

In the evening, Grandma Lin returned home from get off work and smelled the aroma of eggs as soon as she opened the door.

"Honey, you're cooking?"

After changing her shoes, Grandma Lin walked towards the kitchen, where she saw Lin Xiaoqian carrying a plate of fried rice towards her.

"Grandma, please sit down."

Grandma Lin looked at the egg fried rice in front of her: "Did you make egg fried rice, my sweetie?"

Lin Xiaoqian handed her the spoon: "Grandma, please try it." This was something she made again later, without adding as much salt. She took a bite and thought it was alright, just like fried rice.

"Okay, I'll try the egg fried rice that Guai Guai made." After eating it, she opened her eyes wide with amazement.

"Mmm! It's delicious! My sweetie's cooking is really good, amazing!"

Lin Xiaoqian blushed as her grandmother praised her: "Hehe, Grandma, please eat, please eat."

How could she not know her skills? Grandma just loves to praise her.

After working all afternoon, Grandma Lin was a little hungry, and she ate half a plate before slowing down.

Lin Xiaoqian tentatively asked her grandmother, "Grandma, how much does a plate of this fried rice cost outside?"

Grandma Lin thought for a moment and said, "The prices in our town are not expensive. A plate of fried rice costs at least 6 yuan. Our plates are big, so this should be about 7 yuan."

Lin Xiaoqian said somewhat embarrassedly, "Then, Grandma, would you be willing to give me seven yuan?"

Grandma Lin was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "You little rascal, are you out of pocket money? Grandma will transfer some to you later."

As he spoke, he took out his phone, opened WeChat, and was about to transfer money to his granddaughter.

Lin Xiaoqian quickly stopped her: "No, Grandma, I have money. It's just that I thought it would be a waste to throw away the things Aunt Guo left in the store, so I thought I might as well continue to use those things to open a fast food restaurant."

Grandma Lin pointed to the plate in front of her: "You want to sell fried rice with eggs?"

Lin Xiaoqian hesitated for a moment, then said, "I guess... right?"

"Oh dear, running a fast food restaurant is hard work. You have to get up early every day to buy and prepare the ingredients. Your Aunt Guo has indeed made some money over the years, but it's all hard-earned money. Are you sure you can handle it?"

Lin Xiaoqian said firmly, "Yes!"

She has to be able to, even if she can't, because she's still tied to a useless culinary god system.

Seeing her granddaughter's firm tone, Grandma Lin sighed and said, "Alright then, whatever you do, Grandma will support you."

Lin Xiaoqian leaned closer: "Could you give me seven yuan to buy this plate of fried rice?"

Grandma Lin laughed heartily: "Good, good, good! Grandma will be your first customer."

After saying that, he transferred seven yuan to Lin Xiaoqian.

Seeing that the task completion rate was 1, Lin Xiaoqian breathed a sigh of relief.

That counts as one bowl sold.

When Lin Xiaoqian woke up the next day, Grandma Lin had already gone to work. Lin Xiaoqian found two thousand yuan in cash on the table with a note on it.

"Sweetie, there's breakfast in the pot, remember to eat. Also, you'll need to buy groceries and seasonings to open the shop, consider this money Grandma is sponsoring your initial investment."

Lin Xiaoqian felt a warmth in her heart and did not refuse again, putting the money away.

To be honest, she really didn't have much money left.

After a quick breakfast, Lin Xiaoqian rode her electric scooter to the nearby market and bought some seasonings such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, eggs, rice, scallions, and ginger.

They brought these things to the fast food restaurant.

The fast food restaurant only had woks, not rice cookers, so I went to a nearby small appliance store and bought a super large capacity rice cooker.

After wandering around for a while, it was almost noon.

Grandma Lin eats lunch at the hospital cafeteria and doesn't go home, so Lin Xiaoqian has to take care of her own lunch.

Looking at the seasonings and other ingredients she had just bought, Lin Xiaoqian decided to cook at the shop and also try out the wok that Aunt Guo had left behind.

Start steaming the rice first.

The rice would take a while to cook, so Lin Xiaoqian strolled around the shop.

This storefront has two floors.

Below is the fast food restaurant, and above is where Aunt Guo and her family live.

Lin Xiaoqian went up the stairs from the kitchen doorway. Upstairs there was a bedroom and a small bathroom.

The bedroom contained only a wooden double bed and a set of table and chairs.

The balcony faces south, and you can see the entire street view from the window.

Lin Xiaoqian thought she could tidy up the upstairs a bit more, add a set of bedding, and maybe take a nap there sometime.

After a quick look around and a little tidying up, Lin Xiaoqian figured the rice would be ready soon and went downstairs.

She went into the kitchen and looked at the groceries she had bought, wondering if she should make scrambled eggs with tomatoes. She had seen her grandmother make it before, and it seemed quite simple.