Myriad Immortals Matchmaking Conference

Zhang Ye was not entirely sure how many advanced realms there were in knife skills. Times had changed, cooking had continued to evolve, and schools, cuisines, and methods were constantly being refined. But he knew of Dual-Mindedness, which allowed one to make Winter Melon Bowls simultaneously, and its opposite—to perform Tofu Carving.

These two techniques nearly represented the pinnacle of knife work.

Zhang Ye stared at Qin Fen, unable to find the words. He had never expected this unremarkable young man to be a master. Seeing the admiring, worshipful gazes around him that should have belonged to him made him feel displeased.

With a sharp scrape, Qin Fen withdrew his knives and set both down at once. He cut off the two ends of the half-carved winter melon, flipped it upside down, and it stood steadily on the table.

The surrounding surface was carved with images of flowers, birds, fish, and insects, exquisitely beautiful.

"That's incredible. Dual-Mindedness. Those knife skills are razor-sharp."

"More than that. Didn't you see that he carved the flowers upside down? Most people carve in the normal direction, but he did it in reverse. Just imagine the understanding and arrangement required for the design, while still carving with such precision—and his right hand was chopping meat. This guy isn't even human anymore. He's a beast."

"Who do you think is better, Qin Fen or Chef Zhang?"

"I don't know. Qin Fen's knife skills are absolutely top-tier, but cooking isn't just knife work. There are many other aspects, and he hasn't shown them yet. Still, judging by what he said when making beef balls yesterday, he's probably trained mainly in white and red dough work and doesn't cook many dishes. I think Master Zhang is still better."

"Not necessarily."

Listening to the apprentices whisper among themselves, Zhang Ye became even more displeased. What was most important in a restaurant? Its dishes and flavors. Naturally, the key was the chef. As this restaurant's head chef, having a competitor suddenly appear on his own turf naturally caught his attention.

At first, he had thought Qin Fen was ordinary. But now he was a little nervous. Qin Fen's knife skills were definitely no worse than his own. If he could also cook well, that would be truly dangerous. Zhang Ye might usually act meek and submissive around Sun Yating, but he knew that woman did not dare do much to him. He handled the entire kitchen. If he left, the whole restaurant would fall into crisis.

That was what he relied on.

"Brother Qin, you're amazing. Can you teach me?"

"Yeah, I want to learn too." Several apprentices immediately crowded around Qin Fen, chattering endlessly with excitement, as though they themselves had been the ones carving the flowers.

"Sure. I'll teach you when I have time."

"Qin Fen, stop focusing only on carving flowers. Cut the lean beef that needs cutting too. Have you all had enough looking? Don't you want to work anymore? If you don't, then get out. Don't think cooking is all about knife skills. That's only a basic foundation. Being good at cutting vegetables doesn't mean you're good at cooking. Haven't you heard the saying, 'All glitter on the outside, rot within'?"

Zhang Ye shot the apprentices a vicious glare, then turned and returned to his station, gripping his wok with an ugly expression.

Looking at the two men, the apprentices immediately understood. Instinctively, they put some distance between themselves and Qin Fen. No matter how skilled he was, Zhang Ye still called the shots here.

Glancing at the meat beside him, Qin Fen began working without a word, anger rising in his heart. So he's already using his authority to suppress me? Sure enough, wherever there were people, there was conflict. He had not intended to do anything. He was only passing the time here as a temporary stop. He knew he would not stay at this restaurant for long, because his Moments belonged to the Heavenly Court.

As he cut, Qin Fen kept his head lowered and quickly adjusted his mood. Those who draw no jealousy are mediocrities! He spent the entire morning cutting vegetables, resting, resting, then cutting vegetables again. It was not until the afternoon that things gradually eased up. He could not help shooting Zhang Ye a fierce look. This guy was clearly abusing his position for personal revenge.

Rubbing his hands, Qin Fen felt a little bored. He walked out of the kitchen, took off his work uniform, and sat down at a dining table. The kitchen was too stuffy; it was cooler outside, and he could enjoy the air conditioning.

After the meal rush, there were hardly any customers left. When Xiaomei saw Qin Fen come out, she poured him a glass of water.

The male coworkers around him had basically heard about what had happened in the kitchen as well, and instinctively kept their distance from him. Qin Fen, the newly arrived New Oriental chef, could only sit alone in the corner and take out his phone.

WeChat was quiet. It seemed that most immortals were living quite comfortably, except for one person—Matchmaker Yue.

Matchmaker Yue: Sigh, mortal festivals aren't what I imagined them to be. I haven't seen many young men and women confessing their feelings to each other. What am I supposed to do?

Of course. Under the ancient system, curfews were strict. Qin Fen laughed. What should he do? Make it big.

"Then make it big," Qin Fen typed directly.

Matchmaker Yue, who was eating noodles in a mortal city, jolted suddenly. It was this person again. How did he appear and disappear so unpredictably?

"Make it big? How? Queen Mother's birthday has already passed, and Jade Emperor's birthday is still far away. The Heavenly Court doesn't have any festivals. Could it be some anniversary of Investiture of the Gods?" Matchmaker Yue was stunned as well.

You really do have ideas. An anniversary of Investiture of the Gods? Qin Fen nearly burst out laughing. "The pretext isn't important. The key is the event itself. It would be best to hold it in the name of the government."

The moment he sent it, Qin Fen regretted it. He had made a habitual cognitive mistake.

Sure enough, Matchmaker Yue was dumbfounded. "Fellow Daoist, what is a government? How does one hold something in the government's name? I've heard of prefectural governments, but what kind of prefecture is a government? There is 'proper'—so is there also 'improper'?"

I knew it. Qin Fen's face darkened.

"Government was just an analogy. Don't worry about what kind of prefecture it is. What I mean is simple: hold it in the name of the Heavenly Court. I think Jade Emperor would support it too, since this is the result he wants."

"That won't be a problem. I can report it to Jade Emperor, but I'm worried that quite a few immortal families are still rather old-fashioned," Matchmaker Yue voiced his concern.

"Make attendance mandatory. As long as they're around the right age, cast a wide net and there'll always be fish." Qin Fen was somewhat disdainful. There was really no pressure at all in solving such a problem.

"Fellow Daoist is right. Even a blind cat can catch a dead mouse, let alone people. I have learned much." Matchmaker Yue sincerely admired this immortal friend he had never met. His thinking was far too broad; he could do what immortals could not.

"Then how should this event be held? Should we do something like mortals and arrange a lantern festival with poetry riddles?" Matchmaker Yue had looked around and had some experience.

Such a rigid mind. What fun is a lantern festival? Qin Fen thought for a moment. "Choose a venue, arrange food, then draw lots. Pair one man with one woman and have them participate in all sorts of games. The winners get prizes. For activities, you could have three-legged races and passing an Apple." Qin Fen listed several familiar little games, all meant to bring people closer together.

"Fellow Daoist, you are truly talented." Matchmaker Yue was completely stunned. By the Three Pure Ones, games could be played like this? Not bad. It was creative, eye-catching, and gave people something to look forward to. Haha, this actually seemed feasible.

"What should the event be called?" Matchmaker Yue was now thoroughly convinced. At least, he could never have thought of something like this.

"Isn't that easy? The Ten-Thousand Matchmaking Conference!"