Although Xia Yongen was still inside the teahouse, the shabby, outdated interior had suddenly been transformed into something completely new.
Waiters pushed carts loaded with small bamboo steamers through the diners, while the sounds of laughter and conversation constantly reached her ears. However, every person’s appearance was extremely blurred.
The place where she stood was an open kitchen. Gleaming stoves and brand-new cooking utensils filled the kitchen, while fresh meat and vegetables were neatly arranged nearby.
【Ding! Boundless Space is a simulated space. Host, you can practice your culinary skills here. All ingredients and seasonings are available without limit. Host, do your best!】
Xia Yongen’s eyes lit up.
The teahouse was heavily in debt, and she didn’t have enough money to buy ingredients and seasonings for practice. This Boundless Space was simply amazing!
She rolled up her sleeves and opened the detailed page for Bo Zai Gai.
Bo Zai Gai was a sweet snack made from rice milk, also known as potjai pudding. Xia Yongen remembered that when she was little, there were often aunties carrying two large baskets through the streets, calling out as they sold them. Her favorite had always been the red bean flavor.
However, traditional Bo Zai Gai seemed to have become increasingly rare nowadays. Most businesses used tapioca starch instead. Although the resulting pudding looked crystal clear and had a pleasantly bouncy texture, it felt far too gummy when chewed, unlike traditional Bo Zai Gai, which was soft and glutinous with a subtle fragrance of rice.
The system had currently unlocked only two classic flavors: red bean and mung bean.
Xia Yongen washed 500 grams of rice and soaked it in water. She then measured out 50 grams each of red beans and mung beans, washed them, and soaked them as well.
According to the recipe, the rice had to soak for a full six hours before she could proceed to the next step.
She was just worrying about having to wait six hours when a button suddenly appeared above the basin of rice:
“Press and hold to accelerate!”
She lightly tapped the acceleration button.
A progress bar appeared above the basin, and the system notification sounded:
【Host, when making dim sum in Boundless Space, if you encounter a step that takes too much time, you can choose to accelerate it!】
This… was way too amazing!
It was exactly like the cooking games she usually played!
Making Bo Zai Gai was very simple. The ground rice milk was divided into raw and cooked mixtures, combined together, and then steamed.
Although it looked easy, Xia Yongen was attempting it for the first time. Just grinding the rice into rice milk took quite a while, and quite a bit of the mixture splashed everywhere, leaving the entire worktop in complete disarray.
However, with a cheerful bling, all the rice milk splattered across the worktop vanished without a trace, accompanied by a sparkling special effect.
Wow, she didn’t even have to clean up herself!
This was way too convenient!
She took out more than a dozen small Bo Zai molds and arranged them in the steamer. She poured the mixed raw-and-cooked rice batter into the molds, then sprinkled a handful of red beans or mung beans into each one.
The little molds were arranged neatly inside the steamer, filling the kitchen with a rich fragrance of rice.
This time, Xia Yongen didn’t press the acceleration button. She stayed by the stove and quietly waited for the Bo Zai Gai to finish steaming.
Twenty minutes later.
She eagerly lifted the lid of the steamer and took out a red bean Bo Zai Gai. Using a bamboo skewer, she loosened it from the mold and gently took a bite.
Why does this… not taste very good?
The system notification chimed at just the right moment:
【Dim Sum Obtained: Bo Zai Gai. Proficiency +5】
【Dim Sum Level: D (5/100)】
Xia Yongen put down the Bo Zai Gai.
“System, what does this Level D mean?”
After a brief explanation, she finally understood.
Every dim sum item started at Level D. To increase a dim sum’s level, she had to accumulate proficiency by making it inside the space and reach the required proficiency threshold for the next level.
Every completed batch of dim sum awarded 5 proficiency points.
In other words, she currently needed to accumulate 100 proficiency points to reach Level C.
She finished eating the Bo Zai Gai in her hand and planned to bring the rest back to the real world as souvenirs.
But the system notification sounded again:
【Dear Host, items within the space cannot currently be taken outside. All finished products will be reclaimed by the system and broken down back into their original ingredients, making them available for your next use!】
Well, at least the system was pretty environmentally friendly.
After all that work, she was tired. She decided to go outside and rest for a while before coming back to continue practicing her culinary skills.
With a thought, the scenery around Xia Yongen once again returned to the old, dilapidated teahouse.
Out of habit, she took out her phone and was about to read some novels for a while when she noticed the time displayed in the status bar.
She was instantly startled.
She had just spent at least an hour working inside Boundless Space.
So how had only three minutes passed in reality?
She must have remembered incorrectly.
But something as absurd as being bound to a system had actually happened to her. Could it be that…
“System, is the flow of time in Boundless Space different from that in reality?”
【Yes, Host. Twelve hours inside Boundless Space is equivalent to one hour in the real world!】
Xia Yongen was stunned.
To think that such good fortune would actually fall into her lap.
She hurriedly asked, “Then is there no limit to how long I can stay in Boundless Space?”
【Boundless Space has a daily limit of 10 stamina points. One hour inside the space consumes one stamina point. Once your stamina is depleted, you must wait until the following day before you can enter again.】
【At the same time, when the Host enters Boundless Space, her physical body will enter a state of sleep. An abrupt onset of sleep may be considered abnormal by the real world, potentially leading others to discover the existence of this system. Host, please take note.】
Only then did Xia Yongen notice a small box in the upper-left corner of the space. On the left side of the box was a lightning-bolt icon, followed by a yellow stamina bar with the number “10” displayed inside.
Her heart leaped with joy.
She immediately put down her phone.
Rest?
No way!
The stage quest required her to sell 100 portions of Bo Zai Gai within three days. To be on the safe side, she would have to start selling them tomorrow.
It was obvious that Level D Bo Zai Gai would never sell.
She had to work hard tonight and raise the Bo Zai Gai’s level!
She went to a nearby northern-style noodle shop and bought two large steamed buns. After eating them with plain water, she immediately returned to Boundless Space.
With the experience from her previous attempt, she was much faster at making Bo Zai Gai this time. She accelerated every step that could be accelerated, and system notifications continuously sounded in her ears:
【Dim Sum Obtained: Bo Zai Gai. Proficiency +5】
【Dim Sum Level: D (25/100)】
…
【Dim Sum Level: D (50/100)】
…
【Dim Sum Level: C (10/200)】
【Congratulations on leveling up! Keep up the good work!】
…
【Dim Sum Level: C (50/200)】
…
【Dim Sum Level: C (150/200)】
After using up all ten stamina points, she was still 50 proficiency points short of raising the Bo Zai Gai to Level B. Xia Yongen decided to wait until early the next morning before entering the space to continue practicing.
She had expected to be exhausted after spending so much time inside, but surprisingly, she didn’t feel tired at all after returning to the real world.
Now, she needed to figure out how to complete the sales quest.
Rongxing Teahouse wouldn’t be able to reopen anytime soon, and she had no experience running a business. If she wanted to get sales going quickly, the best option was obviously to set up a street stall!
And when it came to running a street stall, the most important thing was the location.
She didn’t have a car, and with so many Bo Zai Gai to carry, she certainly couldn’t walk very far. Therefore, she restricted her search to an area within one kilometer of Rongxing Teahouse.
Rongxing Teahouse was located in Lifang District, one of Huacheng’s three major old urban districts. There were many former residences of famous figures and historical sites nearby, as well as numerous old schools and aging residential neighborhoods.
The closest school to Rongxing Teahouse was Huacheng Railway No. 3 Middle School.
Bo Zai Gai was soft, sweet, fragrant, and pleasantly chewy, making it an absolute favorite among children.
Unfortunately, the next two days were the weekend, so there definitely wouldn’t be much foot traffic around the school.
She therefore went back to studying the map and soon found a suitable location.
Five hundred meters from Rongxing Teahouse was a historical and cultural district. It contained numerous boutique cultural and creative shops as well as exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage. Over the years, it had become one of Huacheng’s must-visit tourist attractions.
And right next to this historical and cultural district was a food plaza.
Xia Yongen thought the location was excellent. However, in a place like this, she probably couldn’t simply set up a stall wherever she wanted.
So she immediately set off to inspect the food plaza and its surroundings.
It was Friday night, and the plaza already had a considerable amount of foot traffic. She estimated that there would be even more people over the next two days.
Xia Yongen quickly discovered that all the good spots had already been taken. Only a few tucked-away corners remained unclaimed.
However, after looking at the food being sold by the other vendors, she felt that this really was an excellent place.
There was absolutely no need to worry about Bo Zai Gai not selling.
Because 80 percent of the food sold in this plaza had nothing to do with Huacheng at all.
Grilled buns, beef pies, sizzling squid, insanely spicy jumbo sausages… There was even grilled cold noodle!
This was practically an entire night-market street of snacks!
Even so, quite a few people patronized these shops, while the several stalls selling traditional Huacheng snacks were especially popular.
She immediately contacted the person in charge of commercial leasing for the district and paid 200 yuan for a stall.
The system clearly knew the predicament she was in, which was why it had given her such a beginner-friendly recipe.
The ingredients were simple, the food could be prepared in advance, there was no need to cook anything on-site, and no tableware was required. All she needed was a few bundles of bamboo skewers.
She didn’t even need a food cart. A small table and a low plastic stool were enough for her to run the stall for an entire day.
She went to the supermarket and bought rice, white sugar, red beans, and mung beans. Then she found a table and a low stool in the teahouse’s storage room.
Once everything was taken care of, she went to bed early.
At first light the next morning, Xia Yongen immediately entered Boundless Space. The Bo Zai Gai’s level finally rose to Level B.
Since it was her first day running the stall, she didn’t dare make too much. She prepared just over fifty portions of Bo Zai Gai.
Although she no longer had the assistance of Boundless Space, she had become quite proficient by now. Before long, she had neatly arranged all the Bo Zai Gai in a basket.
Xia Yongen picked one up with a bamboo skewer and popped the Bo Zai Gai, studded with red beans, into her mouth.
After chewing just a few times, she tasted the rich fragrance of rice. The distinct red beans added even more texture.
Since she hadn’t added much sugar, the natural sweetness of the rice itself provided most of the sweetness. Even after finishing an entire piece, she didn’t find it overly sweet or cloying.
This Bo Zai Gai was even more delicious than any she had eaten before.
She was confident that these Bo Zai Gai would definitely be a huge hit!
Author’s Note:
None.