A Miscalculation (First Update)

The dish was steaming hot, and looking at the cook serving it, Zhao Ke felt the plate was still hot to the touch. Yet, when he tasted it, it was icy, hard, and even undercooked.

If it weren't for the aroma of the dish before him, which convinced Zhao Ke that it was an exceptional delicacy, he would have suspected the old man was deliberately playing a trick on him.

"Young man, how does it taste!"

Zhao Ke turned his head and saw the old man looking at him with a sincere expression, waiting for his evaluation of his signature dish.

"Mmm... delicious!"

Zhao Ke forced himself to lie, barely managing a smile as he swallowed the sweet and sour pork in his mouth.

Hearing Zhao Ke praise it, the old man's face immediately showed a smug expression. He smiled with satisfaction and said, "Of course! Let me tell you, I put a lot of thought into this dish..."

The old man then recounted the entire process of making his dish from beginning to end. Although Zhao Ke couldn't taste the flavor, listening to the process allowed him to form a basic evaluation of the dish.

"Come, come, have some tea. Young man, your taste is excellent. Why haven't I seen you before?"

The old man personally handed Zhao Ke a cup of tea, making the other cooks in the kitchen envious.

Their master had been with the Bai Family for at least three to four hundred years. While he was a cook, no one knew his true identity.

Some rumored he was an elder of the Bai Family, while others said he was the spirit medium of their first generation.

But his exact identity was something only the old man himself knew, so even the Bai Family's stewards would greet him respectfully as "Teacher Father."

In short, in all the time they had worked with the old man in the kitchen, they had never seen him show such enthusiasm towards anyone except the young miss of the Bai Family.

Zhao Ke took the tea, brought it to his lips, and smelled a faint fragrance. However, when he drank it, the tea was cold and astringent, like stale tea left out for several days.

Seeing the old man sip his tea with apparent satisfaction, Zhao Ke couldn't help but ponder, "Could it be... because I'm a living person?"

As Zhao Ke considered this, he felt it was possible. Whether it was Cui Lan, the sweet and sour pork he had tasted earlier, or even this cup of tea, everything felt alien to him.

Ultimately, it was because he was a living person. Everything in the Underworld felt cold to his touch.

With this thought, Zhao Ke couldn't help but glance at the flames on the stove. An idea popped into his head, and he turned to the old man and said, "My master just joined the Bai Family today and hasn't completed the seven-day initiation period, so you haven't seen me before."

"Oh, oh, oh! So the wedding banquet today is for your family." The old man nodded repeatedly, and a hint of kindness entered his eyes as he looked at Zhao Ke.

"Please forgive me, old sir. Your sweet and sour pork is indeed superb. It is my honor to taste such a dish. How about I make a dish for you to try?"

"You!"

The old man sized Zhao Ke up, his eyes showing a newfound curiosity. He immediately agreed and followed Zhao Ke to the stove, standing by to observe.

"Young man, what ingredients do you need? I'll have them prepared for you."

Zhao Ke glanced at the basin of rice noodles on the table and raised an eyebrow. "This will do."

"Rice noodles?"

Seeing that Zhao Ke only chose rice noodles, the surrounding cooks looked disappointed, wondering what kind of dish could be made from a basin of rice noodles.

On the other hand, the old man squinted his eyes and stood behind Zhao Ke, looking forward to his next move.

Of course, some of them also wanted to find fault. No matter how straightforward the old man's personality was, being challenged like this was a blow to his pride, and he couldn't help but want to regain some face.

However, the old man's wish was soon dashed. Zhao Ke picked up his cleaver, and with a series of rapid, precise cuts, a peony carved from a radish quickly took shape.

This display of knife skills alone astonished the old man, let alone the other cooks.

A cook's skill could often be judged by their knife work. The initial dissatisfaction they felt towards Zhao Ke completely vanished as he began to work.

"Sizzle..."

The wok was heated with a large flame, and a ladle of hot oil was added, causing the flames to leap up in the pan. The heatwave that rushed towards them made the surrounding cooks instinctively step back.

"As expected!"

Zhao Ke's heart tightened. Faced with the roaring flames in the wok, he felt not heat, but a gust of cold wind, causing him to shiver and goosebumps to rise on his arms.

It wasn't just the fire; the oil that had ignited in the wok was the same. Zhao Ke quickly flicked a drop onto his hand with his spoon, but he felt no heat whatsoever.

"It seems everything in the Underworld is the opposite of the living world."

Zhao Ke steadied himself. Although he couldn't feel the heat or temperature, it didn't prevent him from cooking. Instead, it gave him a novel experience.

He deliberately turned the heat up to maximum, added the prepared ingredients, and began stir-frying rapidly. Relying on the aroma emanating from the wok, Zhao Ke could still accurately judge the heat.

Salt, vinegar, sesame oil, and then stir-frying. It looked no different from ordinary stir-fried rice noodles. But soon, Zhao Ke reduced the heat and continued to add seasonings, mixing in the beef from the side plate and stir-frying again.

Then, with a flick of his chopsticks, the rice noodles wrapped around the beef, rolled into a flower roll, and were placed on the plate by Zhao Ke.

"This beef seems a bit raw!"

Before the old man could speak, the other cooks couldn't help but point out. Although the beef was supposed to be cooked, Zhao Ke had only stir-fried it once, likely only to about thirty percent doneness.

Zhao Ke ignored the reminders from the side. He took out a bottle of Maotai from his storage ring and drizzled it over the rice noodles. He then lit the Maotai with his hand, and a pure blue flame ignited on the plate.

As the flame burned, the rice noodles on the plate began to tighten rapidly. The beef wrapped inside was immediately squeezed, releasing golden-yellow grease, and emitting the unique aroma of beef as it roasted.

"Volcanic Beef Ho Fun, please advise."

Zhao Ke bowed slightly, inviting the old man to taste.

"Excellent! Using wine for the final heating stimulated the aroma of the meat and preserved the texture of the beef and rice noodles. A formidable young man."

Although the old man didn't taste it himself, he could tell from Zhao Ke's technique and couldn't help but nod in praise.

"I'm short an assistant here. I wonder if you'd be willing to help me out, young man? Of course, I won't have you working for free. You can be my deputy chef, and I'll give you a monthly offering."

As soon as the old man finished speaking, Zhao Ke's ears immediately received a notification.

[You have obtained an extended mission: Kitchen Assistant]

[Hint: Working as an assistant under the Ghost Chef King will provide you with good treatment, as well as a certain status and position within the Bai Family.]

[Mission Conditions: One main dish must be prepared daily and gain the Ghost Chef King's approval, otherwise the mission will fail.]

Receiving the mission prompt, Zhao Ke raised an eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he sized up the old man before him. It was clear that this short, stout fellow was the Ghost Chef King mentioned in the mission.

Zhao Ke didn't agree immediately. Instead, he held up a finger and said, "Alright, but my offering must be paid daily!"

This main quest only had seven days. Although he didn't know what a monthly offering entailed, he clearly couldn't wait that long.

If that were the case, Zhao Ke would rather give up this mission and look elsewhere.

"Good!"

To Zhao Ke's surprise, the old man agreed without even thinking about it. He casually handed Zhao Ke a bag and said, "Then let's start today. This is your offering for today."

Zhao Ke took the bag and looked inside. It contained a stack of hell money and some gold ingots. Seeing this, Zhao Ke's mouth twitched, and he instantly regretted his decision. He had miscalculated.

Not only could he not use these things here, but even if he took them back, they would just be a pile of spirit money. What use would that be?

However, since he had already agreed, Zhao Ke couldn't go back on his word openly. He could only accept the job.

"I've just arrived today, and there are still things to pack up. I'll come back tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, yes. Here's the back kitchen waist token. Take it."

The old man handed Zhao Ke a waist token. Zhao Ke took it and examined it. The token appeared to be cast from gold, but it felt very light in his hand.

Putting away the waist token, Zhao Ke got up to leave.

"Master Dian, this person's cooking skills are good, but he uses too much oil. Look... more than half the oil is gone."

A cook, holding the oil basin Zhao Ke had used earlier, walked up to the old man and complained.

"It's not that he uses a lot of oil when he cooks, it's that this dish is very oil-consuming. Bring it here."

The old man had the cook bring the oil basin closer. He grabbed the braid on the back of his head and gave it a sharp tug. "Ssss..." A slit opened on the old man's forehead. He lowered his head and poured the contents of his skull into the oil basin. A stream of yellowish-green oil flowed from the old man's scalp into the basin.

There will be two more updates tonight. I'm going to take off my makeup and will be back to write soon.