Chapter 142
In the supermarket on Williams Street in Hillston, Bekeland, Feng Xue, dressed in an expensive gown, walked down the aisle carrying a shopping basket. Every now and then, she would pick up an item or two to examine it closely, or put it back in its place, or add it to her shopping basket.
Throughout the entire process, no passersby thought there was anything wrong with his attire, as if he wasn't wearing a men's suit but just ordinary everyday clothes.
While both the ability to blend into one's environment and the ability to reduce one's presence are ways to conceal oneself, their characteristics are diametrically opposed. The more crowded and bustling the place, the more useful it becomes. On the contrary, in dark, narrow places that are easy to hide in, people will think, "This guy is so compatible with this dark corner, he must be some kind of dangerous person."
Before leaving home, Feng Xue exchanged all her collected False Book for Tower Coins, and then bought various Bundle Cloth of all sizes. These days, besides spreading the food culture of the Celestial Empire to the British Housewife, she has been collecting all sorts of things that might be useful, and then Reforge, destroying, and Smelt some of them, and then transforming them into all sorts of [Element] that are hard to obtain in the Infinite City.
As for the source of funds, it's naturally those generous ATMs!
However, his visits to the supermarket were clearly not just for shopping, or rather, if it were just for shopping, he wouldn't have been accumulating goods for two months.
His main goal in choosing this time to enter the supermarket was to select a suitable Housewife.
This sounds like an easy job, but it actually requires quite a keen eye.
The first thing to consider is the other party's financial situation.
There's a difference between Housewife who are forced to stay home full-time due to unemployment and those who choose to stay home full-time because they have enough money. The former usually live a relatively frugal life, while the latter belong to the middle class or even the bourgeoisie.
If it's the former, they probably wouldn't be in the mood to gossip at all. Moreover, Feng Xue's unauthorized intrusion could make things even worse for the already impoverished family.
The latter is completely different. Being wealthy means that one's social circle is mostly made up of Rich Person and wealthy Housewife, which in itself means having free time.
Moreover, given their family's financial situation, they wouldn't lack the ingredients for one or two meals. Even if his existence were exposed in the future, investigators wouldn't dare to go too far with these Rich Person women in the background. Feng Xue's presence in their lives, aside from providing some gossip, wouldn't have any negative impact.
Of course, being too rich isn't good either, after all, Feng Xue doesn't want to run into someone who drives to buy groceries again!
Besides the economic situation, the quantity and type of ingredients that the other party purchases must also be considered. When she first started Role-playing Supernatural Tale, Feng Xue had no experience and had to make some English dinners with little room for creativity due to the limited availability of ingredients, seasonings, and tableware.
His "chef" Tag comes from Chen Xiyao herself, not from Infinite City. The breadth of the recipes included is quite limited. In other words, the basic skills are comprehensive. Victoria is also a country with a culinary desert. If he had done this in Yan Country, he might not only have failed to gain recognition as a chef, but he might even have been ridiculed by Yan Country Housewife for his trendy cooking.
However, as the word spread among these Housewife over the next two months, Feng Xue's "chef" Tag gradually grew stronger, and the elements associated with it became increasingly active. To this day, even if Feng Xue went to Yan Country, she could shamelessly call herself a "professional chef."
In addition to the two points mentioned above, the factor of "distance" should also be considered.
All Weird Tale start by spreading slowly from a small circle before eventually spreading outwards. That's why Feng Xue chose this supermarket as her base for selecting people. But even so, she would occasionally encounter "landmines." For example, once, she followed a woman and took the subway all the way from Hillston to South Bridge. Although she managed to complete her daily task, the woman was not even in the Hillston area. It was likely that for a long time, this would have little effect on the spread of her Weird Tale.
Besides these, factors such as the other person's age, personality, and taste should also be considered. Age determines the other person's acceptance level, while personality determines whether the other person will talk about themselves. As for taste, this needs to be judged from the ingredients purchased and the kitchen utensils at home, which mainly affects Feng Xue's subtle seasoning when cooking.
Ultimately, the kind of foreigners who are amazed by Chinese Cuisine on their first try, as often seen in novels, is just a fictional plot. Different countries have different eating habits. If you give a Colombia guy who's used to heavy oil and salt to the elaborate Huaiyang cuisine, it's like casting pearls before swine. To win over the customer on the first bite, the key is to adjust the seasoning according to their individual taste. While it's fun to make someone who can't handle spicy food fall in love with hellish spiciness, Feng Xue, who is still in the early stages of starting her business, is clearly not at the point where she can afford to indulge in such luxuries.
The lessons learned over the past two months flashed through my mind. I kept passing by Housewife. Don't ask me how I knew they were Housewife. At this time of year, any young adult woman (under forty) loitering in the supermarket, even if she's not Housewife, is probably unemployed.
By observing the scent of the person, the condition of their clothes and shoes, and the luster of their skin, Feng Xue quickly identified his target for the day. He followed behind the person, subtly observing their choice of ingredients. After confirming that the person had completed their shopping and that their basic requirements were met, Feng Xue began to mentally plan his dinner menu while heading to the cashier to pay.
"Hello, that'll be £70 in total." After the cashier finished scanning the barcode, Feng Xue immediately took out seven £10 notes and slapped them on the table. Learning from her previous experience of losing track of the cashier because she was using a calculator, Feng Xue now makes sure to round the price every time she shops, and prepares the amount to pay beforehand.
Carrying her shopping bags, Feng Xue, relying on her excellent stamina, stepped out of the supermarket first. She then quickly packed the shopping bags into a large cloth bag and stuffed them into her Storage Bag. Only then did she activate her Breath Concealment and follow her target from a distance, avoiding patrolling police officers and community security guards along the way, until she arrived at the expected townhouse.
"Very good, no 'landmines'!" Looking at the small villa in front of him, Feng Xue's lips curled up slightly. He went to the window, pulled open his cloak with both hands, and as his body turned into shadow, he appeared inside the house in the next moment.
Without a sound, Feng Xue, who had somehow donned a white bone mask, appeared behind the young Housewife. She precisely tapped several acupoints on her, then spoke in a somewhat affected, aria-like tone:
"Don't be nervous, madam. I've already finished get off work today. I just wanted to borrow the kitchen from you for a moment..."
Although everything seemed normal, why did this lady's eyes not seem fearful, but rather... fanatical?
"Am I running into a psychopath?"
Housewife group isn't necessarily full of Housewife, just like an author group isn't necessarily full of authors. It's normal for a few oddballs to slip in on the internet, right? Maybe there's even a yakuza househusband (laughs)!