"Use the Cooking Learning Card!"
Just as Lin Xu muttered that, the system’s prompt sounded in his mind: "Learning target: Zhang Xiaojun. Current Skill: use and maintenance of the Constant Temperature Intelligent Stirring Pot. Do you want to learn?"
Lin Xu was completely baffled. Damn, can’t business practices like this really be learned with a Skill Card? If that’s the case, the only way to acquire it would be to exchange points for it. Three million points for a dipping sauce Technique... that kind of hurts.
As Lin Xu was thinking this, Dai Jianli took so dry dipping powder from the outlet and said, "Actually, this is still a semi-finished product. To improve the flavor, you can reduce the spiciness and enhance the fragrance by adding more soybean powder. It’ll taste much better."
As he spoke, he turned on an adjacent stove, placed a stainless steel pot on it, and began to toast a small half-bowl of soybean powder. Once it was aromatic, he poured the previously ground dipping sauce ingredients into the pot. He continued to stir-fry until the dipping sauce’s own fragrance fully developed, then poured the contents of the pot into a nearby tray.
As Dai Jianli poured it into the tray, Lin Xu used the Cooking Learning Card again.
The system prompt finally normalized: "Learning target: Dai Jianli. Current Skill: Dry Dip Dipping Sauce Technique. Do you want to learn?"
"Learn!" Lin Xu shouted excitedly in his mind, and a flash of gold swept through his thoughts.
"Consud one Cooking Learning Card. Acquired Perfect Level Dry Dip Dipping Sauce: Ho and Comrcial Dual thods. Congratulations, Host."
Woohoo! Dual thods? I’ve used the Cooking Learning Card so many tis, but I never expected such a huge harvest! Even if the restaurant fails and closes down, I could make a coback by selling seasonings. Hmm, Perfect Level dipping sauces... if I mass-produce and sell them online, won’t they sell like crazy? But then again, Lin Ji’s Food is doing so well right now, with professional managers handling it; it’d be pretty hard for it to suddenly go bankrupt. And even if Lin Ji’s Food went under, Ziqiang Shengjian is still there to back up. Even if Ziqiang Shengjian closed down, I could just go ho and inherit the scenic area. Plus, I have a father-in-law worth billions and the Divine Artifact, Dundun... I have so many trump cards. There’s no need to treat one dipping sauce recipe like a lifesaver.
While Lin Xu was feeling sentintal, Song Dahai suddenly handed him half a stead bun. "You hungry too? Have a bite. And while you’re at it, taste Old Dai’s dipping sauce. See if it’s exactly the sa as before—don’t let that rascal skimp on quality and try to fool us."
Lin Xu chuckled, took the bun, tore off a piece, dipped it into the freshly made sauce, and popped it into his mouth.
Mm, fragrant! The mont it entered his mouth, he could detect a rich fragrance. This aroma, combined with the spiciness and various other spices, transford the otherwise plain white stead bun, making it taste almost like savory at. Holy crap! This dipping sauce is insanely good!
The bun wasn’t large, and with such an outstanding dipping sauce, Lin Xu finished it in just a few bites.
Just as he was about to go find another stead bun, Xie Baomin and Guo Weidong sauntered in.
"Old Dai," Xie Baomin began, "just watching might not be enough for my junior disciple to learn. Later, get him ten to twenty pounds of this dipping sauce to take back. Let him study it properly so he doesn’t just half-learn it and embarrass the Fishing Platform."
Lin Xu was speechless. People say Chef Dai at least *steals*, but you, sir, have gone straight to outright robbery! Truly worthy of being one of the Fishing Platform’s villainous duo.
Seeing Song Dahai watching the unfolding drama with amusent, Lin Xu shot him a pointed look. Farming Hero, you’d better awaken and unleash your special powers soon, or those little green vegetables you’ve been growing won’t be safe!
Now that he had acquired the Technique and achieved his goal, Lin Xu took advantage of everyone chatting to slip out.
He sniffed himself and caught the faint aroma of spices clinging to his clothes. It felt as if he’d been thoroughly marinated in them while watching the ingredients being stir-fried earlier.
Wandering to the seafood section, he saw two Jiangtuan fish swimming cheerfully in an aquarium. Qiu Zhenhua, whom he hadn’t seen for a few days, was there, taking photos of these two Jiangtuan with his phone.
Curious, Lin Xu approached and asked, "Chef Qiu, isn’t this type of fish common in grilled fish restaurants? Chef Song almost beat up Chef Dai over them just now..."
He had wanted to ask if Chef Qiu was really *that* interested in photographing them, but on second thought, he decided to bring up Song Dahai. After all, Chef Dai had stolen soone else’s fish—and had been caught red-handed on surveillance footage, no less.
Qiu Zhenhua said, "It seems Master Lin isn’t very familiar with Jiangtuan. These are genuine Jiangtuan, not like those impostors you find in grilled fish restaurants."
Oh? Is there really a difference? Lin Xu wondered.
Qiu Zhenhua continued, "The so-called ’Jiangtuan’ in grilled fish restaurants are often actually a fish called ’pincer fish’—scientifically, *Ictalurus punctatus*, or channel catfish. While they are a type of catfish, their taste and texture are quite different from true Jiangtuan. The real Jiangtuan is *Leiocassis longirostris*. It’s hailed as the ’Fourth Delicacy of the Yangtze River.’ Even fard ones have a flavor that vastly surpasses the channel catfish found in those restaurants."
Is that so? Hearing this, Lin Xu grew even more eager to try it. Not only did he want to taste it, but he also felt an urge to ask Chef Song where he’d bought them. If they were from Old Huang, he’d reserve ten or so imdiately. The Mid-Autumn Festival was just around the corner; it was the perfect ti to treat his family to a fish feast.
While Qiu Zhenhua was still busy photographing the fish, Guo Weidong also arrived, clearly eyeing those two Jiangtuan as well.
Taking advantage of both head chefs being present, Lin Xu curiously asked, "What’s the best way to cook these Jiangtuan?"
Guo Weidong laughed and replied, "Stead, of course! Stead Jiangtuan is one of the top ten famous Sichuan dishes, isn’t it?"
Lin Xu had never tried such a high-end dish before. He asked with genuine interest, "Is it stead with Scallion and Ginger and Stead Fish Sauce?"
Guo Weidong shook his head. "It’s much more complicated than that. After all, it’s one of the top ten Sichuan dishes; how could it be simple? You need to steam it with exquisite ingredients like Sea Scallop, dried scallop, Jinhua Ham, and similar items. Only then can you create true Stead Jiangtuan. Chef Dai will probably show off his skills later; you can watch and learn then."
Sea Scallop? Dried scallop? Jinhua Ham? Are they steaming fish or making Buddha Jumps Wall?
Lin Xu’s curiosity was thoroughly piqued.
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