Zhong Jing didn’t know whether to laugh or be mad. "Are you crazy? It’s not that exaggerated. Besides, age is a minor issue. As long as he’s handsome and looks young, that’s what matters. It’s always better than looking old."
"Heh, how handsome could he possibly be? If he were a real catch, wouldn’t he have a girlfriend by now? You probably don’t realize how many girls chase after handsome guys. Unless he has some physical or psychological defect, he’s probably impotent, or gay!" Zhong Qing firmly refused to believe it.
"He’s more handsome than Liang City. I’ve seen him. He’s neither impotent nor gay; he just had some bad luck and got held up until now."
"The problem is, Liang City isn’t handsome either."
Zhong Jing was immediately displeased. "How is he not handsome? He was very handsome when he was young, okay? Now he’s fair-skinned and just a little chubby, but he provides an absolute sense of security!"
"Ew, you’re the only one who likes Liang City’s type!"
Zhong Qing felt exhausted. There were just too many things to complain about. While Liang City wasn’t ugly, he definitely had nothing to do with the word ’handsome.’ Looking at it this way, the man being introduced definitely wouldn’t be very handsome either. It was highly likely just the matchmaker’s biased opinion. As expected, you could never trust a matchmaker’s words, even if they were your own sister and Liang City!
Zhong Jing rolled her eyes. "You need to trust Liang City’s judgment. He and Chen Jingle were high school classmates and have known each other for over a decade; he couldn’t be clearer about the guy’s situation. If his social circle wasn’t so narrow and he didn’t basically stay home all the time, it wouldn’t even be your turn. Do you really think Liang City and I don’t have single female coworkers around us?
"To put it bluntly, compared to him, your only advantage is your age. You have to know that a girl’s most precious years are the decade between eighteen and twenty-eight. Once you pass twenty-eight, it’s like produce at a dusk market—you have to be sold at a discount. At a banquet, no dish is ever left over because it tastes too good. The golden age for men and women is different. This is determined by biology, so you absolutely cannot be foolish about this.
"Let’s not talk about others, just look at me. Back then, I took the initiative and picked Liang City. Now, Mingyue is already a year old. On the other hand, some of the female coworkers in my unit who started working earlier than me are still going on blind dates. They’re nearly thirty-five and still looking. Their standards haven’t lowered one bit, but the problem is, does anyone even pay attention to them? Even if they occasionally make sour remarks about me, it’s mostly out of envy for my happy family.
"Remember! Your biggest advantage is being young and pretty! If an early-game hero can win early, don’t drag the match into the late game!"
"..."
Zhong Qing didn’t say anything stupid about not wanting to get married. If she could find someone suitable whom she genuinely liked, she would be more than eager to dive straight into a passionate, shameless life together. She also believed her sister wouldn’t harm her.
"But when I think about how he was in college while I was still in elementary school, my skin just crawls." She shuddered subconsciously; she still couldn’t get over this mental hurdle.
Zhong Jing replied, "It’s not like ten years ago when you were in elementary school. You’re a college student now and about to graduate. Or are you saying you love working so much that you insist on taking a beating from society?"
"What? If I marry him, I won’t have to work?"
"Logically speaking, yes. According to Liang City, he saved up enough money and retired early to embrace the lie-flat lifestyle at home. Doesn’t that perfectly match your ideals?" Follow the newest chapters on NovelPing.
Hearing this, Zhong Qing was stunned. She wondered, "Wow, someone actually did that?"
Skipping the working stage entirely and jumping straight into retirement—ah, that sounded way too comfortable. For a moment, she was actually tempted. Feeling a bit guilty, she asked, "I still feel like the age gap is too big. Do you have a photo?"
Seeing this text, Zhong Jing knew exactly what she meant. "I’ll ask Liang City later."
"Ugh! So after talking for half a day, you don’t even have a picture? What a waste of breath!" Zhong Qing was instantly deflated.
Zhong Jing sighed. "...Do you really think I’d introduce you to some bottom-of-the-barrel loser? Get this straight: he’s the one holding the initiative right now."
It was said that a good daughter from one family would be sought after by a hundred households. The same applied in reverse; a good son was also heavily sought after. Everyone wanted to marry a tall, rich, and handsome man, but the problem was, where would the world get so many of them? As long as every condition was slightly better than the average person’s, the overall package would be significantly superior.
Those who hoped their partner would be a public servant earning a million a year, owning several houses, having retired dual-income parents, and still be willing to settle for a girl who failed to meet a single standard... those people simply had shit for brains!
Later that evening.
Chen Jingle had no idea that by simply doing Liang City a small favor, the guy would ’bite the hand that fed him’ by trying to introduce his wife’s younger sister to him, planning to turn their brotherhood into a family bond by marriage.
After finishing his shower, he returned to his room and turned on his computer. He decided not to read a book tonight. Instead, he planned to scroll through some videos and study topics related to cooking and cuisine. On the one hand, he wanted to consolidate what he had learned from the system; on the other hand, he wanted to broaden his horizons. He always had to take the initiative to learn; he couldn’t expect to rely on the system every time.
Although the system was powerful, it had its limitations. Chen Jingle had to exert his own subjective initiative to combine it with the system’s power, thereby better enhancing his talent and strength in cooking.
For instance, he was currently watching a tutorial video by a state banquet chef. With the advanced state of the internet today, people could use video platforms to witness and learn about many unheard-of top-tier dishes. The so-called official mansion cuisine, imperial cuisine, and state banquet cuisine were no longer exclusive to high officials and nobles.
Take this dish, braised cabbage with chestnuts, for example. It used simple ingredients to create an extraordinary taste. Another example was the rich shrimp bun; the ingredients were conventional, but the craftsmanship was complex, and the taste was stunning.
Thinking about it, the contents of the Eight Great Culinary Traditions were incredibly rich, not to mention the various minor regional cuisines. Expecting to master all of them was impossible. Besides, not every dish suited his personal taste.
Chen Jingle’s idea was to establish a foundation in Cantonese Cuisine, learn Lu Cuisine and Northeast cuisine, and then experiment with other regional styles. This was determined by geographical factors. The south was humid and hot. Having lived there for a long time, he was essentially insulated from chili peppers. Almost no one around him liked spicy food, including Chen Jingle himself. At most, he would try it occasionally, and after eating, he would have to vigorously chug herbal tea. Therefore, his approach to Sichuan and Hunan cuisines was to merely dabble in them, or to make non-spicy dishes like boiled cabbage or chicken tofu. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
He thought, "If I can do Cantonese Cuisine and Lu Cuisine well, I think that will be enough."
This really wasn’t false modesty; it was important to know one’s limits. Even mastering just a single culinary tradition was enough to be called a grandmaster chef. Looking at those state banquet-level chefs and culinary titans, which of them didn’t possess outstanding talent and hadn’t toiled in the culinary field for decades? Although Chen Jingle had the system’s help and was making rapid progress in learning how to cook, he hadn’t grown so arrogant as to think he could easily crush others.
He told himself, "I still have to learn! There is no end to learning!"
Meanwhile.
Chen Qiyun hid under her covers, secretly sending messages on her smartwatch.
"Teacher Li, are you asleep?"
"I’m asleep."
Chen Qiyun replied, "Teacher Li, my brother made steamed buns with soy-braised pork today. They were super delicious! I took a picture with my watch; I’ll send it to you!"
On the other end of the internet, Li Beixing looked at the picture Chen Qiyun had sent. Staring at the mouth-watering, massive meat bun, she ground her teeth in frustration.
"Chen Qiyun! Do you want to check what time it is?!"
"Are you hungry, Teacher Li? If you’re hungry, you can go out and get a midnight snack."
"I don’t want to eat. I need to lose weight."
"You don’t need to lose weight, Teacher Li. I think you’re perfectly fine the way you are now. Oh, right! I secretly took a picture of my brother with my watch this afternoon. Do you want to see it?"
Though phrased as a question, Chen Qiyun actually sent the photo without waiting for Li Beixing to reply.
Li Beixing was both annoyed and amused, but after seeing the person in the photo, her previous trace of irritation vanished into thin air.