Chapter 44
She would definitely live a remarkable life. Jiang Jitang had no doubt about this; he had been certain from the first moment he saw her. Some people’s brilliance simply cannot be hidden.
But he never expected her to shine so brightly, like gold.
A world reborn after the apocalypse… Just thinking about the term felt both beautiful and arduous, born from her hands. The thought that he had participated in the life of such an extraordinary person felt like an honor.
Jiang Jitang felt as if he had drunk sweet dew; he was utterly satisfied.
“The little stars are from the graduation gift?” He then remembered the star clusters surrounding the moon. Although they were all small, each one represented a brilliant victory over fate.
This was a different kind of awe compared to the Dying Wish order. It’s not easy to meet even one person in reality who breaks the shackles of fate, yet over a dozen emerged from those seven hundred ordinary children?
Comment: And they still remember me, whom they never even met face-to-face?
Those seven hundred and forty-eight children were the mediocre ones left behind. They didn’t have the robust physique to withstand the mutation of gene warriors, nor outstanding scientific research talent to stand out. They had no background, no resources, some not even parents.
They were one of the millions of ordinary people in the world.
Barring any surprises, these children would have become nameless characters in the history books that were turned. But through a series of coincidences, the tasker prepared a special graduation gift for them.
A special graduation gift?
A small graduation gift with a total value of less than ten yuan?
Jiang Jitang suddenly wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He sat down, holding the salted lemon jar, listening to the electronic voice converted by the speech bubble.
In that world, a child’s first metal knife usually comes from their parents or other elders, generally representing their love, recognition, and expectations.
Although the tasker didn’t intend this, it indeed represented an elder giving all of them the psychological suggestion: ‘I love you, I recognize you, I have full confidence in your future.’
For many orphans without parents, this was a tremendous energy, an axe capable of allowing the mediocre to break through the ceiling of social rules.
That’s the first reason. The second reason is that they caught the tide of epochal change; it was an era of upheaval where heroes could emerge.
Influenced by the Young Legion Commander, the era they lived in was at a critical juncture of transition from wasteland to rebirth. So they seized the opportunity, proved themselves, and further proved that the kind-hearted person who prepared the graduation gift for them ‘did not misjudge them’.
Only seventeen children possessed Wishing Stars. They left their mark in history, shining in different fields. But the number of people whose destinies were changed was not just seventeen.
The Tasker received nearly one hundred gifts for this single order. These gifts came from all walks of life, each carrying the imprint of gratitude.
Additionally, the gift left by the Young Legion Commander is the medal of honor symbolizing her life’s achievements, plus a civilization’s gift from the task world.
The number of gifts was excessive, and there were extremely special ones among them, so the system performed synthesis. The final synthesis result is the growth-type special building: Dream-Fulfilling Food House.
Dream-Fulfilling Food House: Born in response to calamity, with my power, I fulfill your unfulfilled dreams. O life gazing at the starlight in the darkness, I come for you. Will generate ‘Food Windows’ according to the needs of the world. All food sold carries magical power.”
Want food? Want warmth? Want strength? Want love? I have it all!
Upgradable.
Jiang Jitang, sitting on the stairs, was stunned for a long time.
He wouldn’t even dare to dream this big. A special building synthesized from over a hundred gifts? Moreover, judging by the description of this special building, it’s an even more bug-like existence than the Mini Temple, and it suits him very well.
“It’s a special building related to food? Is it because in the post-apocalyptic world, food represents survival and happiness?”
Remembering something, he immediately opened the points mall. He saw the ‘Dream-Fulfilling Food House’, marked with a ‘New’ label, freshly listed.
“So sneaky, did you copy-and-paste?”
Jiang Jitang glanced at its price and gasped.
“One, two, three, four… nine digits? One hundred million points?”
The speech bubble added: “Nine digits is the limit of the points mall, not its limit.”
“System, was it really synthesized? You didn’t rig it, did you? Think about it, Wish Fulfillment General Store, Dream-Fulfilling Food House… the naming style is the same.”
[…Please do not doubt, Tasker. The medal of honor from the War God who changed the course of the world, gifts from all walks of life, and a civilization’s gift – synthesizing this special building is entirely reasonable.]
“You seem to have become more human-like,” Jiang Jitang suspected instinctively. It had been very businesslike before, very ‘AI’, but now it even offers explanations.
The speech bubble promptly disappeared, not wanting to deal with him.
“Wait a moment. Now that I have a special building, what’s the process for activating business mode?”
[First, you need a legally registered food and beverage establishment under your name.]
“How big?”
[Eighty to two hundred square meters.] The speech bubble gave a precise number.
Jiang Jitang still couldn’t visualize what kind of shop that would be, but he already had an idea.
Tomorrow is the first of the month. After work, he could go to the Sun Glory organization headquarters. Zhao Jianming might have property sources, perhaps even get an insider price.
The harvest today was enormous; he should have a good meal to celebrate. Jiang Jitang picked up the glass jar, mounted his electric scooter with a swaggering stride. He secured the jar, put on his helmet, and set off humming a tune.
The ‘One Bowl Fresh’ Chinese restaurant was in the east city. Even taking shortcuts and hurrying, it still took nearly half an hour.
“The beef brisket needs to be blanched first to remove the scum, the tomatoes and other ingredients need to be cut into pieces, and finally, it needs to cook in the pressure cooker for twenty-eight minutes…” He calculated on his fingers – there was still time, just enough to catch the meal.
Sure enough, when he entered the restaurant’s main hall, the complex aromas still lacked the unique tangy fragrance of tomato beef brisket soup. Jiang Jitang immediately happily carried the jar towards the kitchen.
“Hey, sir…” The server attending to customers tried to stop him but was pulled back by another, more experienced one.
“He’s a friend of the boss.”
“…Isn’t our boss a man in his fifties or sixties?”
“Our boss is only in his forties; he just went bald early. But that’s not the point. They really are friends, so don’t worry about it.”
—
Inner Kitchen.
“Hello, Grandpa Zhang. Hello, uncles and aunties.” Jiang Jitang called out as soon as he entered. “I saw your social media post. What delicious food are you making today?”
Head Chef Zhang was directing his disciple on adding spices. Seeing Jiang Jitang, he laughed heartily.
“See, I told you. Others are like Zhou Yu [1] noticing mistaken notes in music; this kid turns up wherever there’s good food. Come, come. These folks here all have their specialties. You’re in for a treat today.”
Him saying this let everyone know this was a recognized junior. The atmosphere, which had slightly stiffened upon a stranger’s entry, became lively again.
“Wouldn’t dare say we have specialties, just making a living.”
They were being modest. Although not national banquet chef-level figures, they were all veteran chefs capable of independently running established restaurants, each with at least one or two signature dishes honed over ten or twenty years.
Jiang Jitang was clear on this too. He showed the clarity expected of his age: “I’ve really come at the right time today!”
A young man standing among a group of retired elders was quite conspicuous. One chef with a slicked-back hairstyle and wearing Western-style chef’s attire offered a plate of prepared colorful bruschetta: “Try it? Does it suit you youngsters’ taste?”
Head Chef Zhang also nodded: “This is Chef Ding, well-versed in both Chinese and Western cuisine. His restaurant was reviewed by food critics as ‘an old shop not to be missed’. The students he trained are also quite famous in our line of work.”
“Stop puffing me up.” Chef Ding couldn’t help but pat his old friend’s shoulder.
Jiang Jitang put down the jar he was holding, carefully washed his hands, dried them, and only then picked up one piece.
The main ingredient of this bruschetta was sliced French baguette, brushed with egg wash and cheese, baked golden, topped with a small piece of red wine foie gras, garnished with a few fresh mango cubes, and finished with mayonnaise.
Its appearance alone was appealing – the type you’d buy to try even if you weren’t planning to eat – provided the price wasn’t outrageous.
After observing it, he took a bite. The baked baguette was crispy with a slight granular texture. Then his tongue encountered the delicate, slightly cool red wine foie gras and the refreshing, sweet, soft mango cubes, all tied together with the mayonnaise.
The final presentation was a complex texture: rich creaminess without being greasy, interwoven with crispiness and smoothness.
If he had to point out a flaw, the wine flavor on the foie gras was too prominent, somewhat overshadowing the main elements.
Jiang Jitang honestly shared his feelings, just like when he used to taste-test for Ms. Jiang.
Chef Ding, who had initially just intended to show kindness, found it interesting. The young man could articulate his impressions truthfully, both the good and the not-so-good, and crucially, he hit the mark – his comments were substantive.
Thinking this, Chef Ding simply brought the whole plate over again: “Try the other two types as well. Say whatever comes to mind. It’s a tasting, after all.”
Besides the cheese bruschetta with red wine foie gras, the plate also held garlic bread topped with roasted apple slices, garnished with roasted walnuts and pine nuts, and sprinkled with cheese slices.
And another piece piled with plump, large shrimp and small tomato slices, garnished with cilantro leaves, and lightly sprayed with olive oil and pepper.
The other chefs, originally working on their ingredients, gathered around upon seeing the commotion, watching the pair with curiosity.
Jiang Jitang ate one of each type of colorful bruschetta on the plate, his cheeks bulging, leaving no room to speak, so he just gave Chef Ding a thumbs-up. Chef Ding smiled and waited for him to finish before asking: “So, what do you think?”
“Personally, just my personal preference, I prefer this one with the shrimp more. The charred effect on one side of the bread is absolutely the finishing touch.”
Chef Ding nodded, signaling him to continue.
Jiang Jitang picked up another shrimp bruschetta; the surface of the bread still had a char mark:
“It feels like this wasn’t made with a blowtorch, nor pan-fried. It’s more like quick-roasted in an open oven, using the Maillard reaction to impart a more complex roasted aroma to the bread.”
“Such an aroma isn’t suited to being covered by overly strong flavors, so it’s balanced with the refreshing umami of the shrimp and just a hint of pepper aroma, garnished with a small cilantro leaf. Of course, the springy sweetness of the black tiger shrimp and the sweet-sour juiciness of the tomato slices also add multi-layered texture to this bruschetta.”
“I think a bruschetta like this would be very suitable, whether considering taste or nutrition, as either breakfast or afternoon tea.”
The more Chef Ding listened, the brighter his eyes became. Chefs like him love customers like this – those who can eat, know how to eat, and especially when they point out every little hidden detail, the sense of pleasant surprise of meeting a ‘kindred spirit’ even surpasses the age gap.
He immediately took out a brand-new smartphone, fumbled with it himself unsuccessfully, and then handed it to Jiang Jitang: “Come, come, add me. Let’s go out to eat together sometime in the future.”
They were all retired folks with no other hobbies but getting together to eat and drink. It was only because Jiang Jitang knew how to eat that they were willing to include him.
Jiang Jitang thought, this works, his network was about to expand again. He immediately added him and was pulled into their small group of retired old chefs.
Upon entering the group, Jiang Jitang sent a red envelope to warm up the atmosphere – just a hundred, for fun – but it actually drew out over a dozen people, who even sent a few classic elder-style meme images in response.
There were also a few ingredient suppliers in this small group.
Could ingredient suppliers in a foodie group like this be ordinary? He might need them when opening his shop later. Jiang Jitang felt this trip was even more worthwhile.
“Let me try it. Is there anything special about this in Western cuisine?” someone asked.
“It’s not that particular.” Chef Ding said with a smile.
“Actually, it’s just like fried rice in our country – it’s a way to reuse leftover staples. Our staple is rice, so leftover rice is used to make various fried rice dishes. Their staple is bread, so they use leftover bread slices to make filling snacks or appetizers. As for the toppings, it depends on what they have at home and what they like to eat.”
Following this example, the other retired head chefs couldn’t resist wanting to test him too, coming over one by one with small plates and bowls for him to comment on.
How could Jiang Jitang dare to comment casually? Moreover, what these head chefs brought out were things they considered good. First, in terms of quality, they surpassed what was sold on the market, with basically no obvious shortcomings. He couldn’t just nitpick.
Boneless Phoenix Claws (Chicken Feet), White Cut Chicken, Ginger Crab Salad, Crystal Pork Skin Aspic…
The portions were small, but there were many varieties. Moreover, Jiang Jitang drank some plain water to rinse his mouth after eating each one. Before he was even halfway through, he was half-full. He immediately covered his stomach and waved his hand: “Uncles, aunties, I can’t eat anymore.”
Just then, Head Chef Zhang brought out his tomato beef brisket soup, steaming hot, along with a few small dishes of beef dipping sauce: “Come, come, time to eat. Let’s go to the private room.”
Tomato beef brisket soup!
That aroma, that clear broth color, that…
“Oh? I thought you were full?”
Jiang Jitang’s face flushed slightly: “I can still make room for some soup.”
Everyone laughed. Head Chef Zhang even took out the salted lemon jar Jiang Jitang had brought. It had a label stating the date and materials used to make this jar of salted lemons.
“These are the salted lemons Jitang pickled himself. I think they’re good quality. Perfect for making a couple of jars of salted lemon drinks. What do you all want to drink? Let me say this first: if it’s something I don’t know how to make, then be proactive and make it yourself. Self-reliance leads to plenty.”
“Good stuff, and self-pickled too. Do you have 7-Up? Make Salty Lemon Seven Up. I can’t stand the ones sold in the market.”
“How old are you, drinking carbonated drinks? Don’t you know this stuff accelerates calcium loss? Your daughter will come after you later. Listen to me, drink salted lemon black tea.”
“I just won’t tell her. Besides, just one time, what could possibly go wrong?”
The group, bantering and joking, went to the private room where the dishes were already set out, all summer-appropriate dishes Jiang Jitang had sampled earlier.
Head Chef Zhang placed a large clay pot of tomato beef brisket soup right in the center, along with the prepared dipping sauces.
“All set, let’s eat.”
Footnotes:
[1] Zhou Yu was a prominent military commander and strategist who served the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during China’s late Eastern Han dynasty.
