The Beautiful Cook Turned Out to Be a Young Lad

A man destined to become a culinary master can only cook one dish?

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"Zhang Caicai, this joke isn't funny at all," Ma Feifei said seriously. He hired a "beautiful cook," which is basically the kitchen staff, someone who cooks rice. If someone who only knows how to cook one thing, can that be called a cook? Don't joke around.

"Shopkeeper, I'm not joking. I really only know how to make one dish, the pastry you just ate. I can't make anything else. But that's okay. Now that I have this 'Chuka Ichiban!' manual, I'll be able to make a lot of delicious food in just a few days. My master told me that I have an extraordinary talent for food." Zhang Caicai held up the "Chuka Ichiban!" manual in her hand and said confidently.

"Go away... you liar, go away... give me back my book." Ma Feifei stood up, grabbed Zhang Caicai, and tried to drag her out. This was just playing games with her!

She also has an extraordinary talent for food, and my master even said I'm destined to be a ladies' man, so how come I'm still single?

"I won't leave... Shopkeeper, please, you have to believe me, I really can." Zhang Caicai clung to Ma Feifei's leg and sat on the ground, refusing to leave no matter what, clearly determined to stay with Ma Feifei.

"I believe you, my foot!" Ma Feifei wished he could make Zhang Caicai disappear immediately. He was looking for a chef who could make any kind of delicious food, not a bragging little girl. Ma Feifei had no intention of training a kitchen staff member himself.

Lying on the ground? Hugging someone's legs? No use, just pick them up and carry them away.

Ma Feifei bent down, preparing to scoop Zhang Caicai up with one hand, but Zhang Caicai seemed to know what Ma Feifei meant, and swung her legs wildly, refusing to let Ma Feifei hold her legs.

"You think this is all we can do to you?" Ma Feifei sneered, then reached between Zhang Caicai's legs and lifted her up from behind.

"Huh?" Ma Feifei had just picked up Zhang Caicai when he felt something was wrong and froze on the spot because he felt something uncomfortable in his arm...

"Holy crap!" Ma Feifei seemed to remember something and threw Zhang Caicai to the ground.

"Ouch!" Zhang Caicai was thrown to the ground and let out a wail. She got up, rubbing her buttocks, and looked at Ma Feifei with resentful eyes.

"Ahem, don't look at me like that." Ma Feifei felt uneasy under Zhang Caicai's gaze. For some reason, Ma Feifei felt a little resistant to meeting Zhang Caicai's eyes.

"Then I'll go cook. Trust me, boss, I'll definitely make a delicious meal." Zhang Caicai picked up the basket from the ground and dashed off to the kitchen, clearly determined to stay at the Mysterious Bookstore.

Ma Feifei watched Zhang Caicai enter the kitchen, opened her mouth, and finally sighed helplessly before sitting down next to Yun Qingyang.

"Disappointed?" Yun Qingyang said calmly as he wrote.

"Hmm..." Ma Feifei nodded subconsciously, but then realized what she meant, turned to look at Yun Qingyang, and asked in surprise, "You already knew?"

Yun Qingyang replied knowingly, "I knew from the moment he walked into the backyard."

"How did you find out? Why didn't I notice?" Ma Feifei asked curiously.

"Because he didn't bring any cooking utensils with him! How could a qualified cook not have cooking utensils?" Yun Qingyang said matter-of-factly.

"..."

Ma Feifei stared blankly at Yun Qingyang, unsure of what to say.

"Did I say something wrong?" Yun Qingyang stopped writing, turned to look at Ma Feifei, and asked in confusion.

"Sigh..." Ma Feifei shook her head, too lazy to answer Yun Qingyang's question, and went straight to the rocking chair to lie down, looking like she had no will to live.

"A man! It's actually a man! Laozi!"

Yes, that's right. Zhang Caicai isn't a little girl dressed as a boy, as Ma Feifei thought; she's a real boy! It's like a woman flirting with you, but suddenly she lifts her skirt and you discover she's a man.

Emmmm... Ma Feifei is speechless.

But now that the die is cast, Ma Feifei is helpless. He's still the Ma Feifei's miserable! The promised beautiful cook has turned into a cook—the difference is just too great! He feels like dying.

"Sigh~~~" Another long sigh followed, and it was unclear how many times Ma Feifei had sighed like this.

As I sighed, the sun slowly rose to its zenith. The morning's freshness had vanished, replaced by a scorching heat that made my eyes itch and my heart race.

"Clang, clang, clang~" The sounds of plates breaking and utensils clattering came from the kitchen, accompanied by Zhang Caicai's Growl, making the entire backyard seem noisy.

Ma Feifei felt that his kitchen was probably going to be torn to shreds by Zhang Caicai, to the point that he now regretted hiring Zhang Caicai as the kitchen manager of the Mysterious Bookstore.

To Ma Feifei's surprise, despite Zhang Caicai making such a loud noise in the kitchen, Yun Qingyang, who was sitting in the courtyard writing a book, didn't react at all, not even frowning. This surprised Ma Feifei.

Because Yun Qingyang usually prefers quiet, especially when writing a book, which requires a quiet environment, she would have to deal with anyone who disturbed her, even if it was Ma Feifei, let alone Zhang Caicai, whom she didn't know.

"Maybe I was too focused." This was the only explanation Ma Feifei could offer; otherwise, it wouldn't make any sense.

"Dinner's ready!" Zhang Caicai's voice came from the kitchen, and then Ma Feifei saw him bring out all the woks and pans from the stove.

"I'm dizzy..." Ma Feifei was completely defeated by Zhang Caicai. Was this supposed to be vegetables or a hot pot?

"Whoosh~" A rectangular table appeared in the yard. Zhang Caicai casually placed the large pot she was holding on it. The pot was very large, taking up two-thirds of the width of the table and nearly half its length.

The pot was oval-shaped, and it wobbled when placed on it. Zhang Caicai then took out four bricks from her spatial bag and used them to wedge the four corners of the pot to secure it.

"Clap clap~" After finishing everything, Zhang Caicai clapped her hands, looked at Ma Feifei, and said with a smug look, "Shopkeeper, it's time to eat."

"..."

Ten minutes later.

Ma Feifei sat at the head of the table, with Yun Qingyang and Luan Feng on either side. Below them were Zhang Yunji, Ba Jiu, and Zhang Caicai. As for the Sky-reaching Ape Monkey, he wasn't there to eat, so he was simply left to guard the door.

Yun Qingyang didn't originally want to eat, but Ma Feifei dragged her over. This was the first staff meal at Mysterious Bookstore, and as an employee, Yun Qingyang had to contribute something; it was all about participation.

Faced with this pot of bizarre, unknown concoction, neither Ma Feifei nor Luan Feng and Zhang Yunji had any appetite whatsoever.

"Shop owner, everyone, please enjoy your meal!" Zhang Caicai greeted them warmly. He had always been used to being alone since he was a child, and now that he was part of such a large group of people, plus he had received a recipe that could make him a culinary master, he couldn't be happier.

"Ahem, let me introduce you. This is Zhang Caicai. He'll be a member of our Bookstore from now on, in charge of everyone's meals," Ma Feifei introduced somewhat awkwardly. It wasn't because she knew Zhang Caicai was male, but rather because this so-called 'delicacies' didn't live up to the title of chef!