On the way back, Mu Jianxi couldn’t help chatting with Bao Bao.
“Bao Bao, you don’t only have food-related things, right? You should also have some basic functions, shouldn’t you?”
Bao Bao asked curiously, “What do you mean by basic functions?”
She started persuading it enthusiastically. “Like electricity, and all kinds of kitchen appliances. And aren’t I your master? I work myself to exhaustion cooking every day. Shouldn’t you help out too? For example, cleaning the house, renovating it a bit—make it more comfortable so that when I come home from work I feel happier. That way I’ll be more motivated, and you can level up faster. Everyone wins, right?”
Bao Bao scratched its head and thought seriously. It seemed… reasonable. Only when the master is happy would she have the motivation to cook delicious food, allowing it to level up faster.
“Yes, Master. You are completely right.”
“Exactly. Then it’s settled. I’ll leave the cleaning and arrangement of the house to you. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Mm-hmm!”
After returning home, Bao Bao activated its scanning system and tapped “one-click cleaning.” A blue light swept across the entire house, and in an instant everything became bright and spotless.
Then it switched to “one-click arrangement.” The furniture and items in the room were replaced with brand-new ones, with some modern elements added in—for example, electric lights that made the room instantly bright. Mu Jianxi nodded in satisfaction.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, she took out a house deed from her bag.
“Keep this safe for me. Don’t lose it.”
“Okay, Master! Don’t worry!”
The deed disappeared from her hand in an instant.
Carrying the ingredients she had bought, she went into the kitchen. There was no modern gas stove, so she had to use firewood—but that was no challenge for her.
Mu Jianxi had grown up in the countryside, living with her grandparents. Her parents had died in a car accident when she was very young, and now even her grandparents were gone. She was completely alone in the world. Because of this upbringing, she was very familiar with chopping firewood and cooking, skills she had practiced since childhood and which later even helped her become a food blogger.
She placed the pork tenderloin on the cutting board and sliced it into thin pieces. Then she put them into a bowl and added one spoon of light soy sauce, one spoon of oyster sauce, appropriate salt and pepper, one egg, and three spoons of starch. She mixed everything thoroughly by hand until each slice was evenly coated.
Next, she started the fire. Using tongs, she placed dry grass into the stove, added small broken branches, and lit the grass with a lighter. She kept adding sticks until the fire grew steady, then added larger firewood to maintain it.
After washing the pot and waiting for all moisture to evaporate, she poured in oil. Once it was hot, she added Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili, scallions, garlic, and stir-fried until fragrant. Then she added a spoon of doubanjiang and hot pot base. Seeing it was too large, she cut a small piece with a knife and saved the rest for next time. When the red oil came out, she poured in water and brought it to a boil.
On the other side, a man sat in his study reviewing official documents. His expression was cold, and the exquisite dishes on the table failed to interest him at all.
The guards outside couldn’t help shaking their heads. Their master was notoriously picky with food—he often ate only a few bites or skipped meals entirely. The chefs in the residence had been replaced many times, but none could ever satisfy him.
At that moment, a rich, spicy aroma drifted through the air. The guards immediately became curious.
“What is that? It smells so good!”
Even the man inside the room smelled it. His stomach growled involuntarily, and he swallowed repeatedly before finally calling out:
“Yeyu, go see where that smell is coming from!”
“Yes!”
Yeyu leapt onto the roof using lightness skill to trace the source.
Meanwhile, Mu Jianxi lifted the lid of the pot. She removed the spice residue with a ladle and discarded it, then added soy sauce, a bit of sugar, and prepared vegetables. After cooking them, she placed them at the bottom of a bowl.
Next, she added sliced meat one by one into the broth. Once they changed color slightly, she removed them immediately so they would stay tender. She layered them over the vegetables, poured the broth over everything, and topped it with scallions, minced garlic, dried chili, Sichuan peppercorn, and white sesame seeds. Finally, she poured hot sizzling oil over it.
The fragrance exploded instantly—water-boiled meat was complete.
Since she hadn’t cooked rice, she decided to pair it with some snail rice noodles she had in her space and have a simple dinner.
She didn’t notice that someone on the courtyard wall had been watching her the entire time, swallowing repeatedly. That person immediately flew back to report.
Yeyu returned and knelt. “My lord, I’ve found the source of the aroma. It’s coming from the house next door.”
The lord recalled that the house had been empty. “That place has always been unoccupied, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, my lord. It seems the property was sold. The owner is a young woman.”
“Go ask if we can buy a portion of her food.”
“I’m afraid not. She only made one portion, likely intended for herself.”
Hearing this, the prince immediately stood up, deciding to go himself to see what kind of dish could arouse his interest. Yeyu followed closely behind.
At that moment, Mu Jianxi had just finished cooking her snail rice noodles and placed it on the table in the courtyard, ready to eat.
Knock, knock, knock…
A knock came at the door.
She froze. She had just moved here—she didn’t know anyone. Who could it be?
Still, she set down her chopsticks and went to open the door.
Two men stood outside. The one in front wore black clothes and carried a sword, clearly a guard. The one behind wore a dark robe with a white jade belt, his posture noble and imposing, carrying the aura of a ruler—clearly not an ordinary person.
“Miss, greetings. We are from the neighboring residence. My master is very particular about food. He was drawn here by the aroma of your cooking and would like to ask if he could buy a portion.”
“You mean the one behind you, right?” she asked.
“Yes, miss.”
“In that case, since we are neighbors, there’s no reason to turn you away on our first meeting. Come in and eat together.” Mu Jianxi stepped aside to let them in.
She went to the kitchen and brought out two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
“There’s only one dish. I hope you don’t mind.”