Chapter 87 - 82: Mutant Chili Pepper

Chapter 87: Chapter 82: Mutant Chili Pepper

"...Her father is also a Third-level Chef and has always worked in the academy cafeteria. There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly noteworthy about her..."

"Are you saying all the suppliers rejected her partnership application?"

Gates casually flipped through the documents in front of him, asking with great interest.

"Yes, several companies under us also received her application. There are issues with her credit report, and the variety of ingredients she applied for is far greater than the average for a Level 3 Restaurant in the Fourth Ring, so she was rejected across the board."

"The credit report? What’s wrong with it?"

The assistant pulled a sheet from the files and handed it to Gates.

"For some unknown reason, her credit value shows high risk. Under these circumstances, almost no company will work with her."

Gates stared at the document in his hand for a moment before suddenly bursting into loud laughter.

"Good, I’d like to see how she plans to open a restaurant without any ingredient suppliers! Notify the chamber of commerce members to blacklist her and everyone working with her. No business under the chamber is allowed to sell her any ingredients whatsoever."

"Yes, sir!" The assistant nodded in agreement, then added, "Then what about Mr. Leitel’s banquet?"

Gates crossed his legs and leaned back, settling comfortably into the sofa chair.

"We’ll handle that just as we previously discussed. Let her have her moment in the spotlight. The higher she climbs, the harder she’ll fall. Won’t she just end up begging me to work with her when the time comes?"

"Understood. I’ll get right on it!"

Watching his assistant’s retreating back, Gates revealed a malicious smile.

’You arrogant little brat. We’ll see how you cry your eyes out later, regretting your foolish decision to reject me to my face today!’

Gates imagined the scene and felt extremely satisfied, but in the very next moment, his smile faded.

He walked out of his luxurious villa and waved at the approaching servant.

"Get the car ready. We’re going to the Saint Ford Restaurant. It’s time to properly whip those unenterprising fools into shape!"

Ning He had no idea that because of her, the managers and head chefs of several top Level 3 Restaurants in the First Ring had received a fierce, face-to-face scolding from Gates, along with a forceful demand to immediately update their menus. Right now, she was busy training the helpers that Youzhen had brought in.

Like Youzhen, these people had already obtained their Level 1 Chef certificates. They were nearing graduation, and their academy classes were basically over. All of them were either preparing for the Second-level Chef certificate exam or looking for full-time jobs and part-time internships.

Ning He called them over and immediately began teaching them hands-on techniques for preparing various ingredients. They were absolutely overjoyed, each of them listening intently.

With so many dishes and large quantities, the prep work was particularly tedious. Ning He divided the eight people, including Yu Zhen Vance, into four groups. Each group was responsible for prepping a few specific ingredients to maximize efficiency. Meanwhile, the actual cooking processes were entirely handled by her and Connie Ahui.

The renovations for the Heqi Chinese Restaurant were already complete. Ning He took time out of her schedule to hunt for some tables and chairs at the secondhand market. The kitchen equipment had to be bought brand new, but she saved money wherever possible in every other aspect.

Ning He clearly didn’t have enough time. As soon as she finished her shift at the cafeteria, she had to return and instruct Connie Ahui on stove techniques. The main dishes on the menu all required specific cooking methods, especially regarding heat control. Ning He had to stand next to them, watching and giving reminders. In addition, as long as the weather permitted, they still had to make Malatang.

Ning He reapplied for a different street market, and her new stall location wasn’t far from the restaurant. The Malatang business hadn’t been as good recently, but the deep-fried dough sticks continued to sell exceptionally well. Even after raising the price to 3 original coins for two sticks, they still sold out very quickly every day.

Supported by these two streams of income, Ning He wasn’t too worried even though she still hadn’t secured a supplier for the restaurant. She refused to believe that she couldn’t buy vegetables with money in hand!

With three days left until Leitel’s banquet, Ning He was absolutely exhausted. Since Connie Ahui was finally cooking the green beans, shredded potatoes, and braised chicken with near perfection, she hurriedly took a day off. After returning home from the cafeteria, she collapsed into bed and slept soundly.

Ning He slept until evening before finally feeling alive again. She turned on the TV for background noise and started washing up.

Recently, Beiluo City had returned to its pre-cold wave frequency of natural disasters. Hail, hurricanes, and thunderstorms attacked in rotation, but fortunately, none of them were severe, and they didn’t cause massive damage. The past few days brought torrential rains with an astonishing amount of precipitation. Luckily, the city’s drainage system could still handle the load. Aside from severe flooding in a few areas, there wasn’t much impact. The residents continued to go to work and school as usual.

Ning He changed her clothes and glanced at the reporter’s interview on the TV, which showed the face of a military man in his forties. Leo, who invariably appeared at times like this, was nowhere to be seen.

"...That’s strange. It seems like he hasn’t shown up the last few times. What is he busy with?"

This thought flashed through Ning He’s mind before she tossed it to the back of her head. She rubbed her growling stomach and took the stairs two at a time, ready to whip up something to eat.

Grabbing two eggs, a few leftover shrimp, a bit of greens, and some noodles from the fridge, Ning He made herself a plate of mouth-watering fried noodles.

As she held the fried noodles and was about to head downstairs, Ning He suddenly remembered something. She reached out and pushed the nearby wall, which was hanging full of various spatulas and ladles.

The wall swung open easily. Ning He habitually glanced inside. In the next second, the crisp sound of a shattering plate echoed throughout the entire house.

"Wh-Wh-What’s going on here...?!"

Looking at the unimaginable scene inside the secret room, countless question marks and exclamation points flooded Ning He’s mind.

’Where is my vegetable garden?’

’Where is the vegetable garden I worked so hard to zone, plant, and meticulously plan according to my calculated needs?’

’And what about my spice seedlings? The second batch was just about to ripen!’

’Where did everything go?’

’What is this thing crawling all over the four walls, bearing a room full of red fruit?!’

However, in the next second, the system’s mechanical voice suddenly rang out:

"Improved mutant plant detected. Scanning... Scan complete."

"Mutant Chili. Vine plant. A single fruit is a sphere with a two-centimeter diameter. Thirty to fifty fruits grow in a cluster. The spiciness is moderate, and the fragrance is relatively light. The color is bright, it is edible, and it is excellent for use as a seasoning."

"The plant is heat-resistant and cold-tolerant, capable of surviving in environments ranging from -40°C to 45°C. It has a well-developed root system with nodular tissues that can store large amounts of water and inorganic salts. After the above-ground plant dies, the underground root system can still survive for a long time, and its regeneration speed is extremely fast."

"...Reward: 600 Experience Points, ten cubic meters of pollution-free planting soil."

Ning He stood frozen for a long while before suddenly snapping back to her senses. She immediately opened the system interface to check.

Sure enough, a new plant category had been added to the illustrated handbook page, resembling a grapevine covered in red fruits.

’What on earth is going on?!’

’Where did this mutant plant come from?’

The system hadn’t mentioned that the plant was aggressive or poisonous. Taking a deep breath, Ning He finally stepped into the secret room.

Once she got closer, Ning He noticed something was wrong.

There were clearly two different types of clustered fruit in the room!

She quickly clicked open the system to search and sure enough, she saw a similar photo.

"It’s a Dragon Red Fruit."

With the guess in her heart confirmed, Ning He reached out and touched the other type of red fruit. She followed the vine down to its roots, which was indeed the exact spot where she had previously planted chilies.

"So, all the other vegetables were absorbed as nutrients by this mutant plant, and only the chilies underwent some strange combination with it to produce a new mutant plant?"

At that moment, Ning He was practically ecstatic!

’If I try all the collected mutant plants one by one, won’t I be able to complete the handbook task without even leaving the house?’

’And these chilies! The yield is way too high. If I process them into chili sauce and sell it, won’t I strike it rich?’

’No, no, I need to calm down!’

After a brief moment of ecstasy, Ning He suppressed her excitement and quickly thought of a few problems.

First, bolstered by the black mud, this plant grew far too wildly—it was practically squeezing out through the cracks in the door. If she experimented recklessly, she might come home one day to find a gaping hole busted through her house, and her secret would no longer be hidden.

Second, many plants in the handbook were noted as toxic. She couldn’t ignore the possibility of accidentally synthesizing something highly poisonous. After all, the uncertainty of mutant plants was too great.

Third, this type of plant was too domineering. Ordinary vegetables would be strangled and turned into fertilizer. She wouldn’t be able to plant any of them, which would also be a massive loss for her.

Thinking about it this way, it felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over Ning He’s head right when she was burning with enthusiasm, and she instantly cooled down.

It seemed this matter required careful, long-term planning.

However, Ning He was also certain that since it could help her complete the system tasks, she had to give this method a try no matter what.

Following that, Ning He spent the entire night dealing with these mutant plants. She replanted all the vegetables and spices in the black mud, exhausted and dripping with sweat. Fortunately, the next day was Saturday, so she didn’t have to go to the cafeteria.

But Ning He immediately ran into an even more headache-inducing problem:

How should she dispose of the harvested fruits and plants?

The appearance of mutant plants in the city was strictly forbidden!

Ning He sat in front of the mountain-high pile of things and pondered for a long time. Finally, she tossed all the mutant chilies into the blender and puréed them. As for the branches and leaves, she chopped them all up, dried them in the oven, and then tossed them into the furnace to destroy the evidence.

But there was still a Dragon Red Fruit that she couldn’t manage to destroy no matter what.

Ning He tried adding vinegar, soaking it in lye, boiling it in a pressure cooker, flash-freezing it in the fridge, and smashing it with a hammer... None of it worked.

Its pit was practically as hard as a bullet.

Sporting dark circles under her eyes, Ning He fussed with it until dawn but still couldn’t come up with a good solution.

Just as she was considering buying a safe to lock the thing away, her phone rang. It was Macken calling.

Her eyes lit up, and she instantly thought of a solution.

"...Tomorrow? Okay, I’ll definitely be there!"