Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“Last minute mission?” Yuan Zhou frowned, an indescribable feeling started to well within him and caused him to fall into silence.
“A mission at this time?” Yuan Zhou muttered doubtfully.
The system displayed, “Yes. A last-minute mission. Do you accept?”
“Yes,” Yuan Zhou accepted after giving it a thought.
The system displayed, “The mission has been released and is now available to be checked.”
[Unique Last Minute Mission] Differentiating the different types of fruits.
{Mission tips: Knowing all fruits is also an essential skill of a master chef. Host, please complete this mission seriously.”
[Mission reward] The fruits successfully named by the host will be given to the host as a gift.
(Reward tips: Knowledge is strength and knowledge is wealth. All the fruits the host can name will be his to do as he wishes.)
Note: This is a unique mission that would not be issued again in the future. The host has to name the fruits within the given time limit.
Yuan Zhou finished reading the entire mission tips with a single glance. He was somewhat astonished, also in some disbelief.
“Will I be able to take those fruits out the restaurant?” Yuan Zhou probed.
The system displayed, “Anything that belongs to the host can be dealt with as the host wishes.”
Yuan Zhou sank into a long silence. The restaurant was completely quiet, while the lights in the restaurant were brightly lit. Just like that, he stood in the kitchen as he took a good look at the entirety of this restaurant.
Abruptly, he spoke, “Thank you.”
It was very obvious who his “thank you” was meant for. The system immediately went silent. No reply was given.
“Let’s start the mission,” Yuan Zhou paused slightly and washed his hands before he spoke.
The system displayed, “After the mission starts, the host will be given one minute to name the fruits and list out their origins. The host is not allowed to check outside information during the duration of this mission.”
“Okay.” Yuan Zhou nodded.
The system displayed, “The fruits have arrived at the restaurant.”
Yuan Zhou nodded. Then, he found some fruits in an originally empty cabinet. The fruits were placed on a jade-white plate. There were two of them, two identical fruits.
“These are the Aksu apples from Xinjiang, also known as the Li fruit. It originated from the farms at the Red Flag District of Aksu Prefecture in Xinjiang.
The system displayed a short and concise reply, “Correct.”
Right after Yuan Zhou took the apple out of the cabinet, new fruits appeared in it. As before, the fruits were placed on top of the white plate, and there were two of them. This time, they were a pair of beautiful tangerine-yellow fruits that looked like they were glowing. The fruits were round like how most fruits would be. And on top of the fruits, a tiny protrusion could be seen, as if they were wearing tiny caps. They looked like a chubby ball wearing a cap.
“Dekopon. They probably originated from you, system. After all, the dekopons sold outside aren’t this good. When one bites on the dekopon, it would initially feel stiff to the mouth. Then, it would melt, releasing a balanced taste of both sweet and sour. The dekopon is an extremely delicious fruit.”
Once again, the system displayed that he got the correct answer. The third fruit to appear was a Hami melon. It wasn’t very big. About the size of a soccer ball, it fitted nicely into the cabinet. In any case, this cabinet wasn’t that large.
“This is a Yubari King melon, right? It has an appealing aroma and does not have a heavy taste. The fragrance on this fruit can be clearly smelled, yet it is obvious that this is not the same Yubari King as what Japan has. Looks like this is another one of those fruits bred by you, System.” Yuan Zhou held the melon on his palm before gently placing it down.
The system displayed, “Yes. Correct.”
Thud. Yuan Zhou did not continue the mission. Instead, he closed the cabinet door.
“Thank you,” Yuan Zhou voice his gratitude again while looking at the fruits on the table. He then took out a case so he could store the fruits in it.
Apart from the fruits, there were also flowers in the case. Yuan Zhou had not prepared any foods for this occasion. Instead, he had a bottle of liquor — a spicy sorghum liquor. This liquor was the favorite of Yuan Zhou’s father. However, his mother did not allow his father to drink too much of it. Therefore, Yuan Zhou only had a 100-milliliter bottle of this liquor prepared.
Then, he went upstairs and put on a set of blandly colored Han attire. Next, he left carrying the case. When he left, the sky had already completely darkened. Since Yuan Zhou was wearing some light cloth shoes, his steps were silent. He stood at the intersection of the street. Soon, he hailed a taxi. With a “zi” sound, the taxi stopped smoothly before Yuan Zhou. He opened the door, got into the taxi, and softly placed the case beside his foot.
“Sir, please go to Wuyue Hill at the western suburbs. Thank you,” Yuan Zhou immediately said after getting onto the taxi.
“Ok. Going now.” The driver was a middle-aged man. After stubbing out the cigarette he was holding, he sped off.
The location given by Yuan Zhou was a cemetery located at the west side of Chengdu. Both his parents were there in their eternal slumber.
“You’re going there quite late,” the driver said after glancing at Yuan Zhou on the rear mirror.
“Yeah. But that place only closes at 10:30 pm.” Yuan Zhou nodded.
“True. Since there’s no traffic, you can reach there before nine,” the driver did a simple calculation and said.
“Let me use a shortcut. We will reach even faster,” the driver continued, speaking crisply.
“Thank you, sir,” Yuan Zhou thanked solemnly.
“There’s no need for the pleasantries. Hold on, we will reach soon,” after saying this, the driver stopped talking and focused on driving.
The Wuyue Hill Public Cemetery was located at the suburbs. To the north of the cemetery was the Bajiao Temple and to the south of the cemetery was the Chongguang Temple. Occupying an area of 200 acres, this was a moderately sized cemetery. The city center was quite far from the cemetery. Therefore, even with the taxi driver taking a shortcut, they only reached when it was nearly nine.
The sky was completely dark, while the chirping of the insects and birds could be heard from the nearby forest. Yuan Zhou stopped the taxi at the intersection as he wanted to walk the remaining journey. He had once heard from the elderlies that the Wuyue Hill Cemetery wasn’t called that name because of its location. In truth, there was no Wuyue Hill in the suburbs. The so-called Wuyue Hill was in fact the name of the mountain god for the series of hills at the area.
The public cemetery was built on top of a dragon’s vein, abiding by the ancient customs. The terrain below the cemetery had the shape of a turtle. As per the ancient customs, a turtle was the personification of the nine stars while the cemetery alone occupied seven of the nine stars of the turtle-shaped terrain, occupying the north and east side of the terrain while facing the southwest side.
In front the cemetery was a spring, signifying that the front of the cemetery was an aquatic dragon while to the back of the cemetery was a turtle, and to the left of the cemetery was a flowing spring while to the right of the cemetery was open and wide. Although this was incomparable to Mount Babao that was surrounded by a mountain range, signifying exceptional Feng Shui, this location was still decent. This was the best and closest cemetery Yuan Zhou could find.
It wasn’t that Yuan Zhou felt that if his parents were buried too far, visiting them would be a hassle. His thought was but a simple one: wishing to be near his parents.
“Hu…” Yuan Zhou exhaled a mouthful of breath. The so-called intersection he had stopped the taxi earlier was, in fact, a location about one-kilometer away from the cemetery’s main entrance, the entrance where a monument was erected.
If one did not have any superstitions, it was entirely possible to drive directly to the entrance. However, one kilometer wasn’t too far. Yuan Zhou reached the entrance after walking for about ten minutes.
The visiting hours of the cemetery were from 9:30 am until 10:30 pm. Therefore, there weren’t many people here now. Every now and then, people could be seen leaving after speaking to the tombs.
