Chapter 90: Biggest Competitor

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Biggest Competitor

[Teacher Nan! I don’t get this part. Can you explain it again?]

[What does slicing the pork diagonally mean? Diagonally to what?]

[You look at the grain of the meat, dummy!]

[What’s the grain?]

[...I suggest you stop asking questions and just order takeout!]

[I can’t believe I’m getting free cooking lessons from a variety show! What a score! What a score!]

[The God of Cookery, Nan Zhi, is teaching us herself! We’ll be master chefs in no time!]

...

Amid the laughter and chatter, the audience returned to its usual cheerful atmosphere.

Time passed without them realizing it.

Xie Yu even tried his hand at it a couple of times, and his improvement was more noticeable with each attempt.

Nan Zhi was very pleased.

Now she understood why the master chef Xie Yu had mentioned wanted to take him on as an apprentice.

Xie Yu was truly intelligent. He got it instantly and was skilled at extrapolating from a single example.

Even she felt a pang of desire to recruit such a talent.

Unfortunately, he had already achieved fame and success as a director and couldn’t become a chef.

He was probably one of those high-IQ geniuses who would succeed at anything they put their mind to.

As for why Nan Zhi was going to the trouble of training Xie Yu...

The answer was simple. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

She didn’t want to spend the next two weeks completely exhausted!

Last time, just running the fried rice stall had left Nan Zhi so tired she could barely lift her arms. She had just gritted her teeth and pushed through.

Now, the complexity of running a restaurant with a full menu had grown exponentially.

If Nan Zhi tried to handle every step by herself again, she’d end up working herself to death.

That’s why she needed an excellent assistant to take on the bulk of the work!

At times like this, Nan Zhi would miss the subordinates she had in the Otherworld.

Rumor had it that the ancient, corrupt official Cai Jing was so particular about his food that in his estate, even a simple dish of steamed buns required a dedicated chef just for julienning scallions. Others were assigned to knead the dough, roll the wrappers, and peel the garlic... A single dish could require the cooperation of over a dozen people.

While Nan Zhi’s staff in the Otherworld hadn’t been quite that extravagant, they weren’t far off.

Tending the fire, washing pots, chopping vegetables, cutting meat...

A team of several dozen people, each with a specific task. Nan Zhi had personally trained every one of them, so they were the easiest for her to work with.

Often, a single glance from her was enough for them to know what she needed. They would deliver the perfect result, saving her a great deal of effort.

’But now...’

’I’ll just have to make do.’

Nan Zhi sighed softly in regret.

Her hands, however, moved with deft precision. The knife rose and fell without pause, moving even faster than when she had been teaching!

Xie Yu’s gaze was fixed on her hands.

The viewers in the livestream also marveled at her silent display of skill.

Suddenly, the rhythmic CHOP-CHOP-CHOP of the knife came to a halt.

Nan Zhi turned her head.

Xie Yu turned his head as well.

A small, fluffy head peeked out from the kitchen doorway.

"Daddy! Auntie Zhizhi!"

It was Xie An’an.

She wore her hair in pigtails, and the fluffy balls on her hair ties bounced as she moved her head. Her voice was sweet and child-like.

"Uncle Fu said a customer is here, and he told you to get ready... get ready..."

’Get ready for what, again?’

Xie An’an’s eyes widened; for a moment, she couldn’t remember.

Xie Yu, knowing her well, finished her sentence:

"To take an order?"

"Right!"

Xie An’an clapped her hands happily, her eyes shining with adoration as she looked at her father.

But even after delivering her message, Xie An’an lingered at the kitchen door, unwilling to leave.

Xie Yu was focused on his cooking lesson. When he caught sight of his daughter out of the corner of his eye, his brow furrowed.

"An’an, don’t stand here!"

Everyone understood his intention.

The kitchen doorway was the main path for carrying out food. If An’an stayed there, what if she got scalded by hot soup or splattering oil?

Xie Yu meant well, but his tone was a bit cold and harsh.

But he clearly didn’t understand his daughter’s sensitive feelings.

In the next instant, the rims of Xie An’an’s eyes turned red.

She clenched her little hands and said dejectedly:

"...I’m sorry, Daddy."

Nan Zhi hadn’t wanted to interfere.

But seeing Xie An’an on the verge of tears, desperately trying to hold them back, reminded her a little of Nan Yi earlier.

Her heart softened, and she couldn’t help but say:

"Come on in, An’an."

Xie Yu looked at her in surprise.

Nan Zhi explained calmly:

"It’s fine as long as she stays away from the stove. When we were making the braised pork earlier, wasn’t An’an very well-behaved and kept her distance?"

Xie Yu recalled a detail he had overlooked.

The kitchen wasn’t cramped. In addition to the L-shaped counters along the walls, there was a central island that separated the different work areas.

When everyone had been in the kitchen that morning, the other children had all crowded near the stove at one point or another.

Only Xie An’an had stayed behind the island the entire time.

Xie Yu suddenly remembered.

"She was scalded by a pot once, and I warned her about it... It seems she remembered."

Nan Zhi’s words were both a gentle persuasion and a heartfelt observation.

"Children are smarter than we think."

Xie Yu fell silent.

After a few seconds, he said to Xie An’an:

"Come on in. Stand behind the island and don’t go near the stove, understand?"

"Okay, okay!"

The hurt expression on Xie An’an’s face vanished.

She skipped into the kitchen, hopped onto a small stool, and leaned over the island to watch Nan Zhi and Xie Yu work, not even blinking.

When Nan Zhi glanced over her shoulder, she saw that An’an had barely moved and asked with a smile:

"Aren’t you bored?"

Xie An’an thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Auntie Zhizhi, I want to help you."

Nan Zhi brought over a small bowl of garlic.

"These have already been prepped. An’an just needs to peel off the skins. Can you do that?"

Xie An’an nodded vigorously with excitement, her chubby cheeks jiggling.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh!"

When Nan Zhi returned to the stove, she heard Xie Yu say in a low voice:

"Thank you."

Nan Zhi simply smiled, thinking nothing of it.

She took stock of the spice jars, not noticing another little head quietly peeking around the kitchen doorway.

A moment later, Nan Zhi caught a shadow in her peripheral vision...

"Yiyi?"

Nan Yi walked in slowly, clutching an order slip.

"Here."

At first glance, his calm expression seemed no different than before.

But Nan Zhi could just tell he was unhappy.

’Could it be because of... Xie An’an?’

Nan Zhi decided to ask directly:

"Yiyi, would you like to stay in the kitchen and help Mommy too?"

Nan Yi’s face instantly lit up.

"C-Can I?"

"Of course. Why not?

Nan Zhi set Nan Yi up next to Xie An’an.

He, too, stood on a small stool, also in charge of peeling garlic.

Xie An’an raised a hand to greet him.

Nan Yi: Hmph!

He glanced at the progress in Xie An’an’s bowl and snorted with disdain.

Then he put his head down and peeled with all his might, determined to finish his mother’s task quickly and perfectly! ’I have to beat Xie An’an!’

The completely oblivious Xie An’an: ?

’Big Brother Yiyi is so weird!’

She scratched her head and went back to peeling garlic.

Nan Zhi watched the two little ones interact, especially the way Nan Yi was competing with Xie An’an, and thought, ’Just as I expected.’

And yet, she felt a subtle, indescribable shift in her mood.

’In the original novel’s plot, my Yiyi is supposed to like the female lead, Xie An’an, right?’

’Something about craving her warmth, how she was his only salvation.’

’So... who is this boy in front of me who’s treating Xie An’an like his greatest rival...?’