“Boss! BOSS! BOSSSSSSS!!!!!” Xiong Da could not help but hug Jin tightly. Even though he was just a Grade 3 cultivator, Jin could feel that his grip could rival a Grade 4 cultivator. “I know Zeru said he needed a lot of spiritual force to gain strength, but this is really a bit -OoF!” Jin thought to himself before he felt that the squeeze was too straining.
“Okay okay! Xiong Da, you can let go of me now!” Jin tried to push Xiong Da away but he noticed Xiong Da was crying. “What are you crying for? The food is too good? You getting your grade 3?” Jin struggled more against Xiong Da’s grip.
“BOTHHHHHH!!! Thank you Bossss!!” Xiong Da loosened his grip before he composed himself. “As much as I would like to comment on the taste, it’s simply cannot be described with words right now. Also, the Salmon Sushi Nigiri has so much spiritual force that I could foresee the inevitability of it being very popular too.” Xiong Da commented.
“That is because as I was cutting, I slowly concentrated the spiritual force of the entire salmon fish all into one portion of its meat. This way though, you would not be getting much spiritual force from the other portions.” Chef Roro explained why he would only do one particular dish for a fish caught. “However, Boss Jin said to allow you to sample every part of the fish. I guess he wanted to maximise the whole fish’s spiritual force.”
“So there you go Xiong Da. Continue to catch fishes while doing your exercises and eat them to gain spiritual force. This is the plan for the next few days before your decisive duel. Till then, I will be minding my own business as usual.” Jin told Xiong Da as he stole a piece of the sushi from him.
“Don’t mind me,” Jin said and Xiong Da just laughed it off as he enjoyed the remaining pieces while Chef Roro continued to prepare the remaining dishes for Xiong Da.
———-
“So, have you decided on the cultivation that you want?” Jin asked Zhen Qing when he entered the Kitchen Instance from his Panda Port after leaving the Reservoir of Deep Fishing Service Instance. He even purposely brought some Black Ivory Coffee for Zhen Qing to drink along with a well decorated box of cheesecake.
“Not really, since most of the cultivation was fighting based, very violent and don’t suit me. Although one caught my eye. The cultivation of the Penguin Styles” Zhen Qing said and Jin could not help but snigger. “That much of a coincidence?” Jin thought to himself before he took his phone out and checked out the penguin styles. He knew for sure that Zhen Qing had never tried nor was very interested in the shops’ dungeon instances. She was just too focused on her cooking.
“Why the penguins?” Jin once again tried to strike a conversation with Zhen Qing as she was preparing the black pepper pork buns while he read up on the different penguin styles.
“Mainly because of their adaptability. They might seem clunky on land, but when they are in the water, they are like a fish… in water… I think it applies to me too as truth be told, I am…slightly awkward if I am not in the kitchen.” Zhen Qing was more talkative than usual and what she said had already proved that fact.
“However, I still feel like they are still lacking something. It’s not my number one choice, but in my opinion, the penguin styles suit me better than the rest.” Zhen Qing smiled as she finally finished the fifth batch of buns that were to be sold later.
“I see, let me take a look at the styles in detail and ask around to see if there are any good cultivation manuals around. In the meantime, my store is going to sell this dessert soon. Take a break and give me your opinion about it.” Jin showed the box to her and she agreed to take a short break. Besides, she needed the spiritual force energy from the Black Ivory Coffee.
“What is it? The box is really pretty though, sturdy enough to hold the contents properly if the interior is just as good.” Zhen Qing took a thorough look at the box and gleed at the red panda.
“It’s a cheesecake. Let me open it for you.” Jin gently removed the cake box lid and the steam from the evaporating dry ice flowed out of the box. “Ooh, great contraption to keep the cheesecake cool.” Zhen Qing now further investigated the interior of the box and saw that the cake was covered by another layer of some sort of insulating plastic that prevented the dry ice from contaminating the cheesecake. The plastic layer was easily removed and Zhen Qing took the cake out.
“Having no design on the cheesecake is sometimes the best design.” Zhen Qing commented as she saw how simple yet alluring the yellow dessert was. With a spoon she took from the kitchen instance, she cut the tip of the cheesecake and scooped it up to eat.
“Hmm. It’s delicious.” Zhen Qing did not show any other expression when she was eating. She was really analysing not just the taste, but also its shape, smell, texture and even the box design. “But it’s cold.”
“Ehh of course, it’s cold. The dry ice made it cool. Is that a bad thing?” Jin queried as he was getting a little worried. He knew it was delicious but he did not expect such a ‘cold’ response from Zhen Qing.
“No, not that kind of cold. It feels void of emotions. The cheesecake didn’t induce any feelings in me when I ate it. It is quite rare for me to feel that way. I get that the coffee had a feeling of voidness since it was generated by a coffee machine but to feel the same way from the cheesecake…Is it from the same food supplier that you contracted?” Zhen Qing asked a straightforward question.
“Ehh…yes, it is. Do I need to complain to them or anything?” Jin was a little startled by Zhen Qing’s response but she shook her head.
“No, this cake is fabulous and to the common folk, the food will be a hit. Maybe to the food gourmets too. However, it felt too calculated for me. Sure, having the right amount and maybe the exact amount would produce explicitly wonderful tastes but I feel like this is not how food should be made.” She walked towards the kitchen’s oven and took out a trial bun that she always made to test the new batch of ingredients.
“Here, try this.” Zhen Qing gave the Black Pepper Pork Bun to Jin for tasting. “But I ate it a few days ago, I know what it tastes like,” Jin replied to Zhen Qing, which made her sigh before she shoved her bun into his mouth.
It was at that moment that he finally understood what she meant.
.
.
