The morning sunlight fell across Ye Qiuling’s face. She squinted uncomfortably, raising a hand to block the light before slowly opening her eyes.
After getting up and washing, she looked at herself in the mirror. She had gained a little weight, no longer as thin and frail as when she had first arrived. Even her dry, yellow hair had begun to grow darker. Everything was moving in a better direction.
After freshening up, she went downstairs, where Shen Wanru and Ye Dazhi immediately came over. Shen Wanru pointed at the hotpot stoves with a shocked expression. “Qiuling, were all these sent by that master?”
“Yes,” Ye Qiuling replied, glancing away guiltily. “He said we can pay later.”
Shen Wanru sighed in admiration. “That master is really kind.”
While Shen Wanru continued praising endlessly, Ye Qiuling quietly slipped into the kitchen.
She went to the flour jar, scooped out two large bowls of flour, poured them into a big basin, added water, and began kneading.
This time, to save time, she used upgraded flour from the Gourmet Recipe System, which could ferment without yeast.
After kneading the dough, she set it aside to rest, then prepared another batch in the same way until it became smooth.
She took out pork and beef from the system, washed them, and placed them in a bowl.
Cutting the pork into small chunks, she placed it into the meat grinder from the system, plugged it in, and the machine began to hum.
Hearing the buzzing sound, Shen Wanru and Ye Dazhi came in to check. They followed the sound and saw the machine running.
“Qiuling, what is this?” Shen Wanru asked, pointing at it.
“It’s a meat grinder. It can turn whole pork into minced meat. But you must unplug it before opening it, otherwise the blades are so sharp they could cut off your fingers.”
Hearing this, Shen Wanru was startled. “Why don’t I just chop it by hand next time? This machine is too dangerous.”
“It’s fine. As long as it’s used properly, nothing will happen,” Ye Qiuling reassured her.
She then placed the beef into a small pot, added water and a pre-prepared spice packet from the system, and began braising it.
Once the grinder stopped, she poured the minced pork into a bowl, added salt and soy sauce, and mixed it thoroughly.
Looking at the minced pork, Shen Wanru smiled. “It really is faster than doing it by hand.”
“Yes, it’s very convenient,” Ye Qiuling replied as she began rolling out dough.
She rolled it into long strips, divided it into small portions, and flattened each into wrappers.
Beside her, Shen Wanru and Ye Dazhi started making buns. Ye Dazhi had never done this before, and he put too much filling in, causing the buns to burst open.
After wasting several wrappers, Shen Wanru finally snapped, “Just roll the dough, stop wasting the filling!”
Ye Dazhi grinned sheepishly and obediently picked up the rolling pin.
At first, he rolled them too thin, causing them to break again, but under Shen Wanru’s guidance, he gradually improved and made evenly shaped wrappers.
Meanwhile, Ye Qiuling began pulling noodles, stretching small pieces of dough into long, thin strands with a springy texture.
She boiled water, added the noodles, stirred them with chopsticks, and once they floated to the surface, she removed them and rinsed them in cold water to make them chewier.
She then added water to the pot, placed a steamer on top, and put the buns inside to steam.
Soon, the rich aroma of braised beef filled the kitchen.
Shen Wanru praised her, “Qiuling, your beef smells amazing.”
Ye Qiuling smiled awkwardly. She did not dare take credit, since the ingredients and seasoning all came from the system. She had only done the processing.
Turning off the heat, she took out the beef, wearing several layers of gloves to avoid burning herself.
Following the grain, she sliced the beef into thin pieces.
She placed the slices into a bowl, then took out Shanghai greens from the fridge, washed them, and added them to the braising broth to cook.
After a while, the greens were done.
She lined up five bowls, added noodles to each, topped them with seven or eight slices of beef, added the greens, and poured in the broth.
The beef noodles were ready.
Opening the steamer, the pork buns were also done, steaming hot.
By then, Ye Feng and Ye Qi had finished washing and came downstairs.
Seeing the transformed house, Ye Feng’s eyes widened in shock. Pointing at the hotpot stoves, he exclaimed, “Th-this… what is this?”
Seeing his reaction, Ye Qi smirked slightly, having expected it.
Hearing his shout, the three in the kitchen came out.
“Xiao Feng, look at your expression,” Ye Dazhi laughed.
Ye Feng was speechless.
Shen Wanru also laughed but quickly tried to smooth things over when she saw his darkened expression. “Alright, come eat breakfast. Stop dawdling, you’ll be late for school.”
“Okay, Mom,” Ye Feng said, holding Ye Qi’s hand as they sat down.
He picked up a slice of beef and put it in his mouth. The tender meat, coated in rich broth, had just the right flavor, neither too salty nor too bland. The noodles, soaked in the braised broth, slid into his mouth, making him exclaim, “Delicious!”
Ye Qi also buried his head in eating, not wanting to waste time talking.
Each person took a bun. With a bite, the soft dough and fresh filling made everyone feel satisfied.
After breakfast, Ye Qiuling held one child in each hand and walked them to Qizhi Hall.
The old woman there glanced at Ye Qiuling and snorted but did not dare cause trouble again, fearing she might lose her voice like before. She now thought Ye Qiuling was somewhat ominous.
After entering Qizhi Hall, Ye Qi and Ye Feng waved goodbye.
Ye Qiuling, Ye Dazhi, and Shen Wanru nodded, watching them go inside before leaving.
Under the blazing sun, the ground heated up. From a distance, they saw a line forming outside their house.
The people Shen Wanru had recruited had arrived.
They hurried home, opened the door, and welcomed them in. Shen Wanru even took out fruit from the fridge, washed it, and served it.
Sitting on the sofa, Ye Qiuling asked, “Can you accept day and night shifts?”
She then explained, “Day shift is from mid-morning to evening, with one hour of break. You can go anywhere during the break, but you must return on time, otherwise your pay will be halved for that day.”
“Night shift is from evening to the next morning, also with a one-hour break.”
“The shifts will rotate. Those who can accept may stay, those who cannot, we simply have no fate.”
The group looked at one another, hesitating, while Ye Qiuling gave them time to decide.
There was a separate locked room for storing items from the Gourmet Recipe System, where Ye Qiuling would prepare food at night.
There were two kitchens, one for her cooking and another spacious one for preparing hotpot ingredients.
She took out a large amount of vegetables and placed them in multiple sinks, demonstrating once before letting them try.
Out of the twelve people, ten washed very well, even using basins to catch dripping water.
The other two were brought to the cutting machine, where she taught them how to slice meat. They turned out to be particularly suited for it.
She also taught them how to prepare spicy and clear broth hotpot bases, unconcerned that they might open their own shops, since she trusted the superior ingredients from the system.
Once everything was ready, she had each of them bring a dish they liked and led them into the private rooms, placing the dishes on the tables.
She set up the hotpot as a divided pot and taught them how to cook meat and vegetables properly, controlling the timing so the meat stayed tender and the vegetables remained crisp.
The employees listened attentively.
Ye Qiuling glanced at Shen Wanru with bright eyes, impressed by her hiring ability. Shen Wanru smiled back.
The employees had never eaten such food before. They had expected it to taste gamey, but it was surprisingly delicious.
One by one, they ate heartily, unable to stop until the food was gone.
Finally, one female employee spoke timidly but firmly, “I’ll stay.”
With someone taking the lead, the others quickly agreed.
Ye Qiuling looked at her approvingly. “What’s your name?”
The woman hesitated, afraid her name would invite ridicule, but unwilling to lie, she softly said, “My name is Chen Zhaodi.”
As expected, the others burst into laughter.
Ye Qiuling’s expression darkened, and the room fell silent.
“Here, everyone is equal. There will be no bullying among employees. Chen Zhaodi, right? From now on, we’ll call you Sister Chen.”
Tears filled Chen Zhaodi’s eyes. “Thank you, Boss.”
“Call me Boss from now on,” Ye Qiuling said with a laugh, feeling a sense of pride at finally becoming one.
She then brought Ye Dazhi and Shen Wanru forward. “This is the shopkeeper and his wife. I also have two younger brothers in school, you can call them Xiao Feng and Xiao Qi.”
After reminding them to be punctual, she let them return home.