Chapter 14: I Am a Prince, Why Don't You Become My Chef!
Chapter 14: I Am a Prince, Why Don't You Become My Chef!
Translator: OnGoingWhy Editor: mole, Vermillion
As the third young master scooped the Egg-Fried Rice into his mouth, the rich flavor immediately enveloped his taste buds. It was like the pearl-like rice grains were jumping around in his mouth. The smell of the rice mixed with the eggs was like a cloud that clustered around his body, giving him the feeling of being immersed in a sea of fragrance.
The third young master was captivated as he had never tasted such a delicious Egg-Fried Rice before. He thought that Xiao Xiaolong was right about the fact that his family's chef could not make Egg-Fried Rice that tasted this good.
After swallowing the first spoon of Egg-Fried Rice, the second spoon immediately entered his mouth. In front of delicious food, the only thought left in his mind was to devour it. The greatest respect a person could show to a chef was to completely immerse themselves in the food.
As Xiao Xiaolong enviously watched the scene, his appetite was already triggered. The richness of the smell of the Egg-Fried Rice was simply unbelievable. It was like the smell was gathered together, then was released at once.
Bu Fang was indifferently watching the third young master devour the food as the corner of his mouth widened into a smile. In front of delicious food, a person's identity did not matter. Even an emperor would be captivated by delicious food. He did not know the identity of the third young master and he was not interested either. At that moment, he only knew that the third young master was his customer and that was enough for him.
Soon Bu Fang returned to the kitchen. He expertly took out the dough and kneaded it, then he pulled it into noodles and soaked it inside hot water. The cooked noodles were then placed into a bowl filled with seasoning that was already prepared. Using chopsticks to mix the noodles with the seasoning, a bowl of piping hot Dry-Mixed Noodles was ready.
After the Dry-Mixed Noodles was done, Bu Fang did not serve it immediately. Instead, he took out a bundle of vegetables from the freezer.
The vegetables were turquoise green and the leaves were lush and shiny. There were even water droplets on it that had not dried off yet. The droplets reflected the light and emitted warm rays.
"These vegetables are wild Purple Ling Vegetables picked from the mid mountain area of Mount Tiandang[1]. It has to receive sunlight for three hours and an hour of moisturizing from the mountain rain everyday. The soil needs to be watered with the water from the crater lake in Mount Tiandang. In order to preserve its vitality and nutritions, it should be harvested early in the morning when the dew has not disappeared yet."
The system's explanation of the vegetable instantly appeared in Bu Fang's mind. He was startled by how fancy it sounded, it was no wonder that a plate of Stir-Fried Vegetables could cost a hundred gold coins.
Mount Tiandang was a well-known mountain on the Hidden Dragon Continent. At the very top of the mountain, there was a crater lake. The water in the crater lake was actually full of spirit energy that was gathered from the world. If a person were to drink the water, it would augment the meridians in their body and their cultivation level would increase.
It was not the first time that Bu Fang prepared this dish and he had already reached a miraculous level when it came to cooking it after practicing so many times.
When Bu Fang removed the vegetables from the frying pan and placed them on a plate, it looked the exact same way before he started cooking it, like it had not been stir fried at all.
The truth was that it was only able to retain all of its moisture due to Bu Fang's meticulous control of the heat when cooking.
He carried both the Dry-Mixed Noodles and Stir-Fried Vegetables out of the kitchen and placed them in front of Xiao Xiaolong.
"Your Dry-Mixed Noodles and Stir-Fried Vegetables, please enjoy your meal," Bu Fang expressionlessly said.
Xiao Xiaolong's eyes immediately lit up as he grabbed the bowl of Dry-Mixed Noodles and started to gobble it down. He had been enduring his hunger since he saw the third young master eating.
By the time Xiao Xiaolong started eating, the third young master had already finished his meal. The quantity of the Egg-Fried Rice was too little, so it was quickly finished. However, even though the quantity was not much, the quality was good!
"It's delicious!" The third young master resisted the urge to lick the bowl clean and gave a thumbs up to Bu Fang.
"Shop owner, your Egg-Fried Rice is excellent. I am sure the ingredients are not ordinary as I can feel the spirit energy within the Egg-Fried Rice. As I was eating, I could actually feel my true energy level increase. Even though the increase wasn't much, it is already hard to come by for me."
The third young master continuously gave praises. The fact, that a fifth grade Battle-King like him was able to experience a small amount of increase, had already proven that the Egg-Fried Rice was extraordinary.
"If I didn't guess wrongly, the egg used is from a fifth stage demonic beast, the Deep Sea Foal Eagle!"
Bu Fang looked at the third young master in surprise as he did not expect him to be able to guess the origin of the egg.
"Improved version of Egg-Fried Rice: The egg used is the first egg laid by the fifth stage demonic beast, Deep Sea Foal Eagle. Due to the nourishment and impact by sea energy from the deep sea, the egg contains a rich amount of spirit energy. The rice used is the Wuchang Monarch Rice from the Southern Wastelands. Its grains are plump and it is full of nutritions. It is chosen as the royal tribute to the emperor."
"I knew it." the third young master thought as a gentle smile appeared on his face. He was correct, the egg was from the fifth stage demonic beast, Deep Sea Foal Eagle. He once tasted the egg before, but it was not made into Egg-Fried Rice. He ate it as fried eggs, but the rich flavor that it produced was still unbelievable.
On the other hand, the third young master paid no heed to the rice since he was familiar with it. He also noticed the plate of Stir-Fried Vegetables that Xiao Xiaolong ordered and clearly remembered that it cost a hundred gold coins.
It was not cheap, so he was curious about what was so special about it.
"Is there anything special about the vegetables?" The third young master curiously asked.
"These vegetables are wild Purple Ling Vegetables picked from the mid mountain area of Mount Tiandang. It is picked early in the morning to preserve the spirit energy," Bu Fang replied.
When the third young master heard that they were Purple Ling Vegetables, he realized the reason for the price.
Purple Ling Vegetables was a type of expensive vegetable that could only grow in extremely strict conditions. However, it was an excellent ingredient as it was nutritious and would augment the meridians in the body.
If it was Purple Ling Vegetables, then a hundred gold coins would be considered cheap.
"Is it that formidable?" Xiao Xiaolong's mouth was covered in oil from the noodles. When he heard the conversation between Bu Fang and the third young master, his eyes lit up as he muttered to himself.
Swallowing the noodles in his mouth, Xiao Xiaolong picked up the lush and raw-looking Purple Ling Vegetable leaf with his chopsticks.
"Is this really cooked?" Xiao Xiaolong skeptically asked.
He was only certain that the leaf was cooked after he took a sniff and smelled a light fragrance coming from it.
He placed the leaf into his mouth and a crunching noise sounded out as he lightly bit down. Xiao Xiaolong's eyes immediately widened in surprise. He felt as if a cold stream was emanating from inside his mouth. The stream tasted of light sweetness and enveloped his taste buds, refreshing him. It flowed down his esophagus and entered his stomach, then expanded into his four limbs. The feeling was indescribable, it was like countless beauties were massaging his body with their soft hands.
"Is this really vegetables?!" Xiao Xiaolong was shocked. It was his first time eating this kind of Stir-Fried Vegetables and he could not describe how he felt at the moment.
"This dish of Stir-Fried Vegetables is a test of a chef's skill. It needs to retain all of its moisture and nutrients, which requires the chef to be extremely proficient at controlling the heat and grasping the right timing," The third young master commented, then swallowed his saliva.
Bu Fang nodded in agreement. The third young master was correct. Stir-Fried Vegetables was the most demanding in terms of skills among Bu Fang's dishes.
"May I have the pleasure of knowing your name?" The third young master suddenly stood up and gently smiled at Bu Fang.
"My family name is Bu, my given name is Fang," Bu Fang was startled and replied in a straightforward manner.
"I see, so you're Owner Bu. I am very impressed by your culinary skills. I'll be honest with you, I am Ji Chengxue, the third prince of the Light Wind Empire." The third young master faintly smiled as the confident aura of a royalty emanated from his body.
Xiao Xiaolong was stunned. "Why did the young master suddenly reveal his identity?"
"Oh." Bu Fang expressionlessly looked at Ji Chengxue, while thinking, "So this fellow is a prince. A prince... Is that something impressive?"
When Ji Chengxue saw that Bu Fang was not surprised by his identity, he was slightly bewildered.
"Would Owner Bu be interested in becoming my personal chef? Rest assured that your salary will be satisfactory, how about a hundred crystals per month?" Ji Chengxue said with a smile. He believed that Bu Fang would not reject such an offer.
It was the dream of many chefs in the empire to become his personal chef because it was a chance to instantly achieve fame and recognition.
Besides, a salary of a hundred crystals per month was even higher than what the imperial chefs received.
Xiao Xiaolong was stunned once more by the third prince's unethical actions. Was he trying to headhunt Owner Bu? How was he going to find delicious Egg-Fried Rice that raised his cultivation level in the future?!
"Owner Bu, you need to hang on! You can't give in to temptations!" Xiao Xiaolong shouted in his mind.
Bu Fang expressionlessly looked at the confident third prince, Ji Chengxue, while the latter was expectantly looking at him.
"Oh... You want me to become your personal chef?"
"That's right!"
"Sorry, but you're not qualified."
Under Ji Chengxue's expectant gaze, Bu Fang simply replied.
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[1] Mount Tiandang (天蕩山) - This is an actual mountain in China.