Chapter 39: Slicing a Thousand Radishes
Translator: OnGoingWhy Editor: Vermillion
They were as bright as a full moon in darkness and as clear as a white spot in black ink.
The eyes of the big black dog were staring straight at the steaming piece of ribs—coated with the tangerine sweet and sour sauce and exuding a tempting fragrance—between Bu Fang's chopsticks.
The craving bursting out from the eyes of the dog made Bu Fang jump up in shock.
"My gosh! Blacky, do you know how frightening it is when you suddenly appear like that?" Bu Fang's hand trembled and almost dropped the piece of Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs.
Blacky's tongue was hanging out of its mouth as it stared at Bu Fang.
"Do you want to eat this?" Bu Fang expressionlessly waved the piece of Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs around and Blacky cooperatively nodded its head with its tongue hanging out.
Bu Fang's stiff face was unmoved as the corner of his mouth widened into a smile. Then he opened his mouth and shoved the fat and tender Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs into his mouth in one go.
His entire mouth was bulging with the Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs as he started to bite down and chew. There was even some tangerine sweet and sour sauce stains on his lips.
Blacky's eyes had been staring at that Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs. When it discovered Bu Fang was about to eat the piece of rib, its eyes turned dark and lost its will to continue living as it felt the entire sky was about to collapse.
"How infuriating! This human is definitely doing this on purpose!" Blacky thought.
For the sake of that piece of rib, Blacky was enraged. Its hackles were raised as it bared its teeth while staring at Bu Fang.
Bu Fang, at that moment, did not have the time to care about Blacky. The extremely good taste of the meat of the Flying Cloud Boar was bursting out from within his mouth. The rich fragrance of the meat was like a bomb as it instantly exploded and completely collapsed his taste buds.
The perfectly-done sweet and sour sauce flawlessly mixed with high-grade pork was neither too sour nor too sweet.
The texture of the meat was not hard and after a perfectly controlled deep-fry, it became appropriately crispy. The taste of the starch coating mixed with pork was extremely delicious.
The pork used was the meat near the spine and had become soft and tender after Bu Fang had sufficiently tenderized it. There was even some crunchy cartilage mixed inside, which made creaking sounds when chewed and also slightly increased its tastiness.
Bu Fang's eyes completely lit up as his chopsticks picked up another piece of Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs and shoved it into his mouth with lightning speed. His eyes were narrowed as he enjoyably chewed the ribs in his mouth while being captivated within the sea of fragrance.
The big black dog was furious! It was shaking its tail as it paced around. Its doggy eyes were filled with conflict as it thought, "Should I directly snatch the ribs from this foolish human?
"No, what if this human refuses to feed this handsome dog later? This handsome dog's taste has already been spoiled by the foolish human's cooking!
"Should I snatch it? Or should I not snatch it?" As the amount of Sweet 'n' Sour Ribs rapidly disappeared from the blue and white porcelain plate, Blacky felt as if its heart was constantly being emptied…
Finally, there was only a single piece left on the plate.
Bu Fang's chopsticks had already slowly landed on that final piece of rib. As the chopsticks clamped onto the meat, the sweet and sour sauce coated on it splattered everywhere and filled the air with a fragrant scent.
Blacky's eyes were almost filled with tears as it stared at the final piece!
Bu Fang's mouth was still chewing; his expression was both comical and hilarious, and might be his most colorful expression ever.
"Here, take it. It looks like I am still too kind-hearted." Bu Fang simply said as he handed over the final piece to Blacky.
Blacky was immediately overjoyed. Its doggy eyes were filled with an inexplicable light as it ate the piece of rib in one bite.
The rich aroma of the meat bursted out within Blacky's mouth and its entire body shivered. With a face filled with pleasure, it lightly howled out.
Bu Fang was dumbfounded… How did it turn from a dog into a wolf just by eating a piece of meat?
After swallowing the piece of rib, Blacky was still slightly unsatisfied. However, that heinous Bu Fang had already finished all of the ribs. It could only helplessly return to the entrance and resume its sleep.
Bu Fang leisurely cleaned up the plate and went to bed.
The next morning, Bu Fang got out of bed early.
He went into the kitchen after washing up. He specially got up earlier that day in order to practice the Meteor Cutting Technique mentioned by the system. From the sound of it, it seemed pretty impressive.
The moment Bu Fang entered the kitchen, his line of sight was immediately attracted by a kitchen knife that was both thick and big.
"Please slice a thousand radishes using this custom-made kitchen knife within an hour. Every single piece should be exactly the same. After finishing, you shall be awarded with ten points of Meteor Cutting Technique Proficiency," the system solemnly said.
Slicing a thousand radishes within an hour and each piece had to be exactly the same... It was almost an impossible mission for an ordinary chef, but it was not that difficult for Bu Fang.
However, when he grabbed the thick and big custom-made kitchen knife, his entire face darkened.
The kitchen knife made from unknown materials was extremely heavy. When using a single hand, Bu Fang could only lift it up. It would be too difficult if he had to use this kitchen knife to complete the mission.
"System, are you deliberately making things difficult for me?" Bu Fang asked the system with a cold expression.
"As a young man aiming to become the God of Cooking, are you telling me that you can't take a little hardship? The road to becoming the God of Cooking isn't easy. Young man, you need to learn to endure hardships. The system thinks highly of you, work hard," the system seriously encouraged him, causing Bu Fang to be dumbfounded.
He knew that arguing with the system was pointless, so he could only train according to the requirements.
Retrieving a white and plump radish, Bu Fang lifted the kitchen knife and started to skillfully dice it. The radish was only an ordinary white radish, but the quality was extremely good and was both succulent and plump.
After the first radish was done, Bu Fang expressionlessly grabbed the second one and immediately started dicing it. Since he had already started the training, then he would wholeheartedly engage in it. A cutting technique was actually a type of skill that needed attentiveness and paying attention was the only way to perfect the skill.
And so, the sound of a kitchen knife colliding with a chopping board rang out from Fang Fang's Little Store since early in the morning.
...
"Eh? Smelly boss didn't open the store for business today?"
As Ouyang Xiaoyi and the rest arrived at Fang Fang's Little Store, they discovered that there was already a group of people queuing up at the entrance. Many of them were trying to peek into the store with faces filled with doubt.
"Hmph! Don't tell me he found out about our wager and is afraid of opening for business?" Zhao Ruge, dressed in white, was elegantly sneering.
"Owner Bu is afraid? Are you here to make jokes? You just have to obediently wait and hand over the fifth grade Spirit Gathering Pill to elder sister Yanyu!" the little loli snorted in reply.
The three barbarians of Ouyang and the Xiao siblings were there as well. They were also baffled by the fact that the store was not open for business yet.
"It could be that Owner Bu was delayed by some matter." Xiao Yanyu gently said with her beautiful voice, "Let's wait for a while."
Just as her voice faded, the entrance of the store suddenly opened and Bu Fang expressionlessly appeared in front of their eyes.
"The store is open for business," Bu Fang simply said, then turned around and went back in.
There were only eight people in the queue and even after adding Zhao Ruge and the rest, there were only fifteen customers.
Ouyang Xiaoyi eagerly ran in to help while taking the opportunity to conveniently inquire the smelly boss about the status of the wine brewing.
"Eh? Smelly boss, why does your hand keep shaking?" Ouyang Xiaoyi curiously stared at Bu Fang's hand that was continuously twitching.
Bu Fang glanced at her and simply said, "It's nothing, it'll be fine after a while."
His hand was shaking because he had been slicing radishes with that heavy kitchen knife for over an hour… It would be shaking even if he had used an ordinary kitchen knife, not to mention that heavy custom-made kitchen knife.
Soon, the system manipulated a stream of gentle energy to flow into Bu Fang's arm, causing the numbness and the spasm to disappear.
Fatty Jin and his buddies excitedly ordered their dishes and Xiaoyi did not immediately inform Bu Fang about the wager. After Fatty Jin and company were satisfied, it was finally the turn of Zhao Ruge and the rest who had just stepped into the store.
As Zhao Ruge stepped into the store, he suddenly had an inexplicable urge to cry… He would finally be able to taste the store's dishes!
"Smelly boss, this fellow is wagering that your wine is inferior to the imperial palace's Bejewelled Nectar!" As Zhao Ruge and the rest entered, Ouyang Xiaoyi loudly said to Bu Fang.
Bu Fang was slightly startled, but then expressionlessly replied, "Bejewelled Nectar Wine… is nothing."