Chapter 3: A somewhat useless system

She thought to herself, "Her dad really schemed against her completely; even her tricycle driver's license can be used here."

"Ha—"

Angrily turning back to the shop, she sat down and examined the large pile of miscellaneous items in her hands.

The map on the top shelf wasn't urgent; what intrigued Qu Xiaoxiao most was the yellow booklet underneath it, its colors noticeably different and even appearing somewhat tattered.

Sure enough, judging from the font on the cover, this booklet was unusual.

She couldn't help but bring her eyes closer, trying to decipher the words, and as she pondered, she involuntarily read them aloud.

"Qu…family…recipes…!"

The moment those four words were put together, Qu Xiaoxiao's eyes widened, and she exclaimed in shock,

"Qu family recipes! Could this be a recipe passed down in our family?"

She was somewhat incredulous, but the mechanical voice that had once told her to be silent now resurfaced.

"According to big data analysis, those four words are indeed what you said."

Hearing this, Qu Xiaoxiao's heart instantly calmed down, and she said somewhat impatiently,

"Who asked you a question? Besides, what do you do? Why are you sticking with me? I don't have any goals to achieve, I don't need help. If you're bound to me, we definitely won't get anything done. The sooner the better."

The system felt like it had encountered a system-binding problem. This was the first time it had heard someone say this after binding with a system.

You see, it came with a mission. If the host didn't do anything, how could it go home?

It quickly explained, its tone full of barely concealed anxiety.

"I am the Community Canteen System, here to help you better manage the community canteen. Isn't that exactly your recent goal? With my help, you can make the community canteen a success in the shortest time."

"No need. A success means I have to do even more work, I'll be exhausted. If you can make money without me doing anything, I'll keep you."

After these words, there was only a long silence in the air.

The system was truly at a loss for words and quickly asked for help.

Qu Xiaoxiao wanted to wait and see how this obviously clumsy system would respond, to see what fun it would offer.

After receiving help, the system spoke with much more confidence this time.

"Aren't you short of money right now? I can help you earn money quickly, better showcase your culinary skills, and find the best and healthiest ingredients on the market."

Its tone was smug, confident that its reasoning would convince its host.

"Oh? What do you want?"

"A recipe!"

the system eagerly stated its purpose.

But Qu Xiaoxiao didn't understand. If it could search for ancient characters online, searching for recipes shouldn't be difficult, right?

Why did it need to be bound to her?

Thinking this, she directly voiced her question.

Instead, the system replied seriously, "Does that mean people in this world can make the most delicious food just by having a recipe?"

Qu Xiaoxiao was speechless for a moment, then nodded, "That's true."

"Therefore, we need to record the detailed methods of making the food, as well as the process data. I believe we can definitely become the most perfect partners in the world!"

"Stop."

After understanding that the system was not very useful and would not affect her, Qu Xiaoxiao promptly stopped the system from trying to draw up a future blueprint.

She lowered her head and began to carefully examine this obviously extraordinary Qu family cookbook.

It detailed the cooking methods of the Qu family from ancient times to the present, and even included illustrations in later versions. From the changes in handwriting and font, it was clear that it was the essence accumulated by each ancestor.

What should have been a light book now felt heavy in her hands, and closing the pages was particularly difficult.

She didn't understand why her father had given it to her? Why now?

So, her gaze involuntarily shifted to the envelope beside her.

In the letter, Qu Xiaoxiao found the answer she was looking for.

The Qu family recipes are incredibly precious, passed down through generations. They should ideally be inherited, but unfortunately, Qu Tao lacked the talent. Grandpa Qu could only place his hopes on the next generation, but sadly, he passed away before he could pass on even a fraction of the recipes.

Furthermore, Qu Tao wasn't in the catering industry, so he originally intended to simply seal them away, leaving them for a destined person.

However, his daughter, Qu Xiaoxiao, possessed this talent. After much deliberation, he decided to pass the recipes to her.

He only required her to delve into the very places where her father had once shone, striving to bring the flavors of the Qu family recipes back to people's palates.

The best way to verify her ability to inherit the recipes would be through those who had tasted Grandpa Qu's cooking.

He gave his daughter and himself a year.

If, after a year, his daughter's mind hadn't changed, then he would have to find another destined person to help the Qu family recipes flourish once more.

Looking at her father's earnest words, the resentment that had accumulated in Qu Xiaoxiao's heart began to slowly dissipate.

Closing the recipe book, which carried the hopes of her ancestors, she looked around, took out a map, and prepared to spend the rest of the day finding suitable ingredient suppliers and buying some odds and ends for the cafeteria.

The system, sensing its potential, immediately popped up.

"Come on! Let's check out the markets one by one, from closest to furthest. The first one is Minghua Market."

Qu Xiaoxiao didn't care about anything else, tidied up the table, and headed to her room.

It must be said that Qu's father was very prepared; he even had a bedroom and staff dormitories, leaving ample space for future recruitment.

After putting everything in her room, Qu Xiaoxiao locked the door, walked to her open-top tricycle, and drove towards her destination.

She was only there to check out the market; she didn't have high hopes of finding anything good, as it was already close to four in the afternoon.

For places like the market, you had to get there early.

But the system was completely unprepared for this; as soon as it entered the market area, it began its search.

No matter how thoroughly it searched the market, inside and out, it couldn't find any ingredients that met the highest standards set by its system.

It even tried to reboot itself, mistakenly believing there was an error in its data.

Qu Xiaoxiao, unable to bear the incessant chatter in her mind during its mental crash, told it some basic market knowledge.

The next second, the voice in its head vanished abruptly, but dared not utter another sound.

It immediately relayed its findings to Qu Xiaoxiao.

“Blink now, then look again, and things will change. They’re categorized by color from green to yellow, from high to low, according to S, A, B, C, D. The market doesn’t have any S-type, and there’s very little A-type left. Let’s hurry and buy them home!”

He then showed Qu Xiaoxiao the road signs and arrows, indicating how quickly she could buy the ingredients.

Qu Xiaoxiao wanted to try out the system.

Following the arrows, she arrived at a stall run by a young child.

The child, seeing her approach, enthusiastically introduced,

“Sister, would you like to buy some river shrimp? We caught these while playing in the river today. If you want them, thirty yuan for all of them.”

He then presented the shrimp in a bamboo basket to Qu Xiaoxiao.

The shrimp, suddenly out of the water, jumped frantically in her palm; Qu Xiaoxiao could even feel the water splashing onto her face.

She quickly closed her eyes, stopping the child.

The shrimp were about the thickness of her little finger, weighing over a pound; buying them would definitely be a bargain.

The river shrimp, caught only two hours ago, were considered second-rate ingredients. She began to wonder what kind of ingredients would earn an S rating.

After buying enough for one meal, she single-handedly went to other markets.

After wandering around for a while, she realized it was really difficult to buy good ingredients at this time of day, and she could only hope to look again tomorrow morning.

Good recipes should use good ingredients, otherwise it would be a waste of centuries of ancestral accumulation.

By the time Qu Xiaoxiao returned to the community, it was almost six o'clock, time to cook dinner.

She looked at the ingredients she had bought that day: shrimp, ribs, and greens, enough for one meal with plenty to spare.

Having just returned from abroad and experienced a somewhat thrilling day, she felt her taste buds desperately needed some flavorful dishes to awaken and soothe them.

She couldn't help but take out the Qu Family Recipe Book to find dinner ideas for tonight.

Soon, she found the answers for tonight: stir-fried shrimp, sweet and sour ribs, and garlic greens.

She first soaked the fresh ribs in water to remove the blood, and then prepared the river shrimp.

Trim off the shrimp's whiskers and legs,

then wash them thoroughly and set aside. The shrimp were still jumping in her hands, incredibly fresh. At that moment, Qu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but imagine how delicious they would taste.

However, since sweet and sour pork ribs would take the longest of the three dishes, she decided to make them first.

Fresh ribs didn't need blanching; soaking them briefly to remove the blood was enough.

Qu Xiaoxiao stood in front of the stove, recalling the recipe, lit the fire, poured in oil, added rock sugar, and began caramelizing the sugar.

Once the syrup started bubbling, she immediately poured in the ribs. The ribs contracted upon heating, quickly absorbing the caramelized sugar and turning an enticing reddish-brown.

At the same time, a meaty aroma wafted through the air.

The first to be affected were the community service center staff upstairs, nearing the end of their workday. They were initially surprised by the aroma, thinking it was their noses playing tricks on them—it was the first time they'd smelled food at this time and place during their long workdays.

Once she realized the aroma was real, she couldn't help but start searching for its source.

"How can there be a food smell here?"