“System, can we negotiate? I’ll just make one dish.”
The system fell silent for a moment before replying.
[“Yes! But the reward will be reduced from a maximum of 500 points to 100 points.”]
“……”
Even though you’re not human, you’re really something.
Under pressure, Su Qinghe had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree.
She smiled at Su Jianguo. “Dad, I’ll just make one dish, okay?”
Su Jianguo let out a sigh of relief. “Okay!”
One dish it is. With him helping out, it should be fine.
Zhang Xiulan couldn’t bear to watch. “Qinghe, just cook with your dad. I’ll go pack your things. Qingbai, go keep your brother-in-law company in the living room!”
After Zhang Xiulan and Su Qingbai left, the small kitchen suddenly felt much more spacious.
Su Jianguo didn’t waste any time and immediately got busy, asking, “Qinghe, what dish do you want to make?”
Su Qinghe was determined to earn those 100 system points.
She had already been cut from 500 to 100—if she couldn’t even earn the full 100, that would be a total loss.
She had to do this properly!
But her cooking skills… she didn’t trust herself, and she couldn’t start with anything too difficult.
After thinking for a moment, she said, “Dad, do we have eggs? And tomatoes? I’ll make tomato scrambled eggs.”
This dish should be easy!
“We do!” Su Jianguo said. “I’ll help you beat the eggs and cut the tomatoes—”
“No!” Su Qinghe quickly refused. “Dad, you can’t help me. I want to do everything myself! It all has to be made by me personally!”
Seeing how serious she was, Su Jianguo—the ultimate daughter doting father—finally let her be.
Su Qinghe put on Zhang Xiulan’s apron, washed two tomatoes and two scallions.
Cutting the tomatoes… was the next step.
But the knife was too heavy.
She couldn’t even lift it properly.
Only then did she realize this body was even weaker than her original one.
In her previous life, although she didn’t cook, she had been working part-time since high school as an orphan, so she had strength.
She could even lift a water dispenser bottle.
But now, she couldn’t even hold a kitchen knife steadily.
Afraid of cutting herself, she ended up gripping the knife with both hands and chopping randomly.
The tomato pieces came out big… but that was fine—bigger pieces meant more satisfaction when eating!
Next step:
Beat four eggs in a bowl until smooth.
Cut two scallions into segments.
Heat the pan, add oil. When hot, add scallions.
When the scallions turn slightly dark, add tomatoes, stir-fry a bit, then pour in the eggs.
Add salt, stir evenly, and serve!
Under Su Jianguo’s verbal guidance, she executed the process like a storm.
After plating, she carried the dish to the living room and placed it in front of Qin Wang.
“Qin Wang, this is your stepmother’s tomato scrambled eggs!”
At the same time, she asked the system in her mind, “System, give me the rating!”
Qin Wang stared at the plate of tomato-and-egg mush, noticing the suspicious black bits inside, his face turning red with anger.
This really was a bad woman!
She was serving him this in front of his father!
If his father weren’t here, she would definitely abuse him!
Su Qinghe didn’t notice his expression at all. She was waiting for the system rating.
Soon, the system responded.
[“Task 2 completed: Tomato scrambled eggs, rating S, reward 100 points.”]
Su Qinghe froze for a moment, then put her hands on her hips and smiled brightly.
She really was a genius chef!
The system actually gave her an S rating!
A full 100 points, easily earned!
Look at her go!
Qin Wang looked at her smile and almost cried from anger.
“Dad! Look at her! She’s an evil stepmother! She even made this kind of thing for me to eat!”
Su Qingbai quickly stepped in to explain, “Factory Director Qin, please don’t misunderstand. My sister has never cooked before—this is her first time in the kitchen! She’s really trying her best!”
Qin Yu had been watching Su Qinghe the whole time, and he believed him.
The previous Su Qinghe had looked like a pampered young lady—beautiful and delicate.
But now she looked completely disheveled, bangs soaked with sweat sticking to her forehead. Her face had black smudges she didn’t even notice.
Most importantly, there were small blisters on her fair cheek from oil splatters.
If she hadn’t genuinely wanted to cook, she wouldn’t have made herself look like this.
The dish might not look good, but her intentions were sincere.
That was enough.
Qin Yu nodded. “I understand.”
After a pause, he added, “Not bad.”
Su Qingbai: “???”
Even though it was his own sister’s cooking, he couldn’t bring himself to say that.
But Qin Yu actually praised it?
He must be blinded by her beauty!
But then he got excited.
His sister’s good life was secured!
Meanwhile, Su Qinghe had been focused entirely on her system reward and hadn’t paid attention to the others.
Only after hearing Qin Yu’s “not bad” did she come back to her senses.
What did he just say?
Not bad?
Even the system shamelessly gave her an S rating, and now this man is praising it too?
Well…
Maybe older people just prefer soft, mushy food that’s easy to chew and digest.
That must be it.
Not long after, Su Jianguo finished the rest of the dishes: stir-fried pork, braised eggplant, loofah soup, and mixed grain rice.
Except for the tomato scrambled eggs, everything else looked, smelled, and probably tasted great.
As soon as Qin Yu sat down, he noticed Su Qinghe occasionally glancing at the tomato eggs with a complicated expression.
Was she worried no one would eat it and feeling disappointed?
She was only about eighteen or nineteen years old—still very young.
He should be a bit more gentle with her.
He picked up a spoon and took a bite of the tomato eggs.
Although it looked bad… it tasted even worse.
But his expression remained completely calm as he swallowed it.
Seeing everyone staring at him, he said, “Not bad.”
Zhang Xiulan immediately teared up, her eyes full of pride.
As expected of her daughter!
She had only just married and already made this “old man” lose his sense of taste!
Got him!
Completely got him!
Su Qinghe gave Qin Yu a long look.
Does this man have no taste buds?
How can he say that and still look so serious?
“If it’s not bad,” she said, “then you should eat more.”