The sky was just beginning to lighten at dawn. Today was the day agreed upon to deliver meat to the base canteen.
Ji Nanxi had already tidied up efficiently and borrowed a flatbed cart from Auntie Li.
From the System Space in the backyard, she moved out ten large sacks that had been prepared in advance.
Two large sacks contained neatly cut pieces of mutton and donkey meat, each weighing two hundred jin.
Another large sack held a mixture of chopped sheep and donkey bones, totaling two hundred jin.
The remaining seven sacks contained giant sugarcane obtained from the Interstellar world yesterday—one hundred stalks per sack, totaling seven hundred jin.
Because the giant sugarcane was too large and would frighten people if taken out as is,
Ji Nanxi had handed it over to Tongzi to help with peeling and cutting. Half was cut into thick, arm-length sticks, while the other half was directly juiced!
She also bought Interstellar beverage cups.
Earlier, the sixty servings of duck egg soup she had listed were already sold out. Now, Ji Nanxi’s Mall System Credit Points had increased by +6,813.
Yaoyao Zero Tongzi agreed to Ji Nanxi’s proposal and directly requested 3 Credit Points, leaving her total Credit Points in the Mall at +6,810.
Ji Nanxi took a deep breath, bent down, and tested the weight of each sack.
For an ordinary woman, even one hundred jin would be a struggle, let alone two hundred.
But her body had been strengthened by the Gene Repair Agent, and the foundation honed over three years in the Interstellar world remained. This weight was still within her manageable range.
Ji Nanxi cleverly tied the three sacks containing meat and bones together with thick hemp rope, forming a stable triangular structure. With a grunt, she exerted force from her waist and back, lifting all ten sacks onto the flatbed cart and arranging them properly.
She adjusted her breathing, took a step forward, and headed toward the canteen.
On the way, she encountered soldiers on early morning patrol. Seeing Ji Nanxi’s setup, they all widened their eyes in disbelief.
“Sister-in-law Ji, what are you…”
A young soldier couldn’t help but step forward to offer help.
Ji Nanxi, sweat beading on her face, smiled brightly. “It’s fine. I’m just delivering some things to the canteen. I can manage. You all go about your duties.”
The soldier saw her steady pace and even breathing, confirming she didn’t seem to be struggling. He could only scratch his head and watch her continue on with admiration.
When Ji Nanxi arrived at the back entrance of the canteen, pulling ten large sacks, Squad Leader Li was dumbfounded on the spot. Coming to his senses, he quickly jogged over. “Good heavens! Comrade Ji, why didn’t you ask me to bring people to help fetch the goods?”
Ji Nanxi was slightly out of breath. “Squad Leader Li, hurry and have someone unload the goods.”
Squad Leader Li immediately called over two young soldiers assisting in the kitchen. Working together, they unloaded all the goods from the flatbed cart.
The ten large sacks landed on the ground with dull thuds.
Squad Leader Li opened one of the sacks and saw neatly stacked, bright red pieces of meat inside. His eyes widened. “Is this mutton?”
He hurriedly checked another sack. Good heavens!
Even donkey meat was here!
Squad Leader Li’s heart raced with excitement!
He felt even more convinced of Ji Nanxi’s impressive connections.
To be able to procure such ingredients!
When Squad Leader Li opened the third sack and saw the sheep and donkey bones inside, his hands trembled with excitement.
“Comrade Ji, these… these bones…”
Pointing at the sack of bones, Squad Leader Li could hardly speak coherently.
In these times, meat was hard to come by, and sheep bones were even more of a treasure!
Simmering soup and stewing dishes are both excellent ways to enhance flavor, and according to Ji Nanxi’s earlier statement, with so many bones, this was practically a free gift!
“We agreed earlier that for every hundred jin of pork, beef, lamb, or donkey meat purchased, bones would be included as a bonus.”
Ji Nanxi wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and smiled, “This time, it’s lamb and donkey meat, two hundred jin each. Additionally, this bag of two hundred jin of bones is an extra. Squad Leader Li, would you like to weigh them?”
“Weigh them? Absolutely! We must!”
Squad Leader Li rubbed his hands together, his face beaming with joy, and quickly called someone over to weigh the goods.
As they weighed, he couldn’t help but mutter, “Comrade Ji, you truly are a great benefactor to our Base canteen!”
“This is wonderful—four hundred jin of meat means the soldiers will all get a taste of something hearty!”
“The quartermaster will be overjoyed when he sees this!”
After weighing, the amounts were more than sufficient, even exceeding by a few liang.
Squad Leader Li repeatedly expressed his gratitude and took out the money he had prepared earlier.
A thick stack of ten-yuan notes was carefully counted according to the price list Ji Nanxi had provided.
Along with the payment for the previous hundred jin of meat, not a single cent was missing as he handed it to her.
“Comrade Ji, thank you so much! You’ve been a tremendous help to us!”
Squad Leader Li shook Ji Nanxi’s hand firmly, his gratitude evident in his expression.
“You’re too kind, Squad Leader Li. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
Ji Nanxi put the money away, feeling reassured.
This income would allow her to exchange for plenty of ingredients. Once the food was prepared and sold in the Interstellar market, she would earn a considerable amount of Credit Points.
She glanced at the busy kitchen staff in the back kitchen and suddenly had an idea.
Lowering her voice slightly, Ji Nanxi said, “Squad Leader Li, there’s one more thing I’d like to trouble you with.”
Squad Leader Li patted his chest, “Just say the word! If it’s within my power, I won’t hesitate!”
“It’s like this: I’ve come up with a soup recipe myself—Braised Duck Egg Soup—and it tastes pretty good. But making it alone is troublesome and yields too little. I was thinking, since the canteen has plenty of stoves and enough hands…”
Ji Nanxi carefully chose her words, “Do you think it would be possible, during less busy times like the afternoon, to help me make a few large pots?”
“The duck eggs, scallions, seasonings, and other ingredients will all be provided by me.”
“Of course, I won’t let you and the brothers work for free. I’ll pay for the labor.”
Upon hearing this, Squad Leader Li quickly waved his hand, “Oh, Comrade Ji, what are you saying? Labor fees? That’s too formal!”
“You’ve brought so much affordable, high-quality meat to the canteen, helping us solve a major problem. Making a pot of soup is nothing!”
“Just give me the recipe and let me know how many duck eggs you need. I’ll have the procurement team keep an eye out and make sure it’s done perfectly! As for labor fees, there’s really no need.”
“In the future, if you have any connections to exchange for more good meat for our canteen, that would be better than anything!”
That was exactly what Ji Nanxi wanted to hear.
A smile spread across her face, “That’s wonderful! Thank you, Squad Leader Li! The recipe is simple—I’ll write it down for you. The key is the heat control and a few small tricks. I’ll bring some duck eggs over tomorrow.”
She had her reasons for doing this.
Last night’s conversation with Minister Kane had confirmed that the “Blue Star-Style Scallion Braised Duck Egg Soup” indeed had a slight calming effect on the Mental Power of Interstellar soldiers.
However, Ji Nanxi wasn’t sure whether this effect stemmed from her unique cooking techniques or if any Blue Star native ingredients, prepared using similar methods, would yield certain effects.
If Squad Leader Li followed her recipe, using ordinary Blue Star duck eggs and seasonings, and managed to produce a soup with similar effects—even if somewhat weaker—on the large canteen stoves, it would mean a massive loophole!
Ji Nanxi would no longer need to handle everything personally; she could fully leverage the existing cooking capabilities of this era!
Mass-producing valuable Blue Star cooked food to supply the Interstellar market!
This way, she could fulfill the special supply agreement with Minister Kane, introduce more varieties of Blue Star home-style recipes to the Interstellar market, earn vast amounts of Credit Points, and avoid exhausting herself.
Just then, the electronic voice of the System, Yaoyao Zero, stuttered briefly, followed by a faint and feeble burst of static, as if expressing a speechless, choked-up emotion.
It hadn’t explicitly stipulated that the host must personally prepare every item sold.
Its rule was that as long as the listed product matched the host’s description—such as being made from Blue Star native ingredients and hand-cooked—it could be put up for sale.
Strictly speaking, Ji Nanxi’s approach didn’t violate any written rules.
But it clearly exploited the ambiguity in the rules, openly taking advantage of a loophole.
Yaoyao Zero tried to dissuade her, [Host, is this really okay?]
Ji Nanxi blinked. “Why wouldn’t it be? I’m simply making reasonable use of resources, expanding production, meeting customer demand, and promoting Blue Star culinary culture in the Interstellar realm. What’s wrong with that?”
Yaoyao Zero: […]
Its simple logic module seemed unable to refute Ji Nanxi’s reasoning and ultimately fell silent, pretending not to exist.
Oh well, when the host earned Credit Points, it also collected a commission.
As long as the core rules weren’t violated, it would turn a blind eye.
“No problem!”
Squad Leader Li happily agreed, thinking Comrade Ji was straightforward and sincere, even caring about improving the canteen’s meals.
Ji Nanxi was also satisfied. After arranging to deliver the duck eggs and detailed recipe tomorrow, she bid farewell.
Squad Leader Li quickly called out to her, “Comrade Ji, what’s with these seven large bags of sugarcane?”
Ji Nanxi pulled the cart and replied cheerfully, “The meat vendors happened to come across a batch outside. I can’t possibly eat all of it myself, so I’m giving it to the soldiers as a sweet treat. No charge.”
With that, she walked away briskly, feeling particularly lighthearted.
Once the braised duck egg soup prepared in the canteen tomorrow proved effective, Ji Nanxi would start listing other cooked foods.
Selling Blue Star cooked food to the Interstellar market!
This way, her Dimensional Mall Credit Points would surely skyrocket at an astonishing rate as these cooked foods sold.
Hmm, she’d better think it over carefully when she got back.
Besides braised duck egg soup, what other simple, reliable Blue Star home-style dishes could she list for sale?
What’s most abundant on an island?
Of course, seafood!
Braised prawns, steamed fish?
As long as it was confirmed to be Blue Star ingredients with the ability to soothe Mental Power, Ji Nanxi was determined to exploit this loophole!