Chapter 525 Link, Restriction

The next morning, the four of them arrived at the kitchen two hours early.

The time agreed with Nan Rongquan was 8 o'clock, but everything went wrong yesterday and not a drop of the clear soup was left. We had to come early to put the soup up so that the old man wouldn't have to wait with them.

After Zhao Xiaojing went home yesterday, she lay on the bed and drank clear soup in the virtual space for half a night. Her clear soup skills have improved a lot now. The only difference is that she has a large blue-black area under her eyes due to staying up late.

But the others were not much better, they all had dark circles under their eyes and burst into laughter when they met.

"I couldn't sleep well last night. As soon as I closed my eyes, all I saw were onions and sea cucumbers. I was almost hallucinating!" The fat man shook his head as he took the ingredients.

"When I close my eyes, all I see is the onion and pepper paste. I didn't get the ratio right yesterday, and I thought about it half the night." Yu Yiyuan also smiled bitterly.

Guan Yingxia sighed, "I'm a green onion, my head is full of fried onions."

"I've been on the hook for half the night." Zhao Xiaojing said this in a half-hearted way.

While chatting, everyone put the broth on the stove. After it was put into the pot, Zhao Xiaojing and Guan Yingxia watched the fire in the kitchen, while Yu Yiyuan and the fat man went to bring breakfast.

When the clear soup was finished and taken out of the pot, and then divided and cooled with an electric fan, Nan Rongquan came in, supported by his apprentice.

Just as everyone was about to say hello, they all felt a pang of fear when they turned around.

The old man rested for a night, and his complexion was only slightly better than when he left yesterday. It can be said that he has not recovered at all.

Upon entering the kitchen, the apprentice first moved the chair from the corner.

"The soup is drying and hasn't been swept for the first time. It seems I'm here at the right time." Nan Rongquan walked around the kitchen and looked at everyone's soup.

"Yes, old man, please sit down first. You can get up later after cleaning the soup." The fat man hurriedly supported him.

Nan Rongquan nodded and didn't try to be stubborn. He let the fat man help him sit down. The apprentice quickly moved the pillow on the chair and placed it under Nan Rongquan's waist.

"Little Fatty, tell me about the problems you encountered yesterday." Although he was sitting, Nan Rongquan's mind was obviously still on the food.

Seeing that Nan Rong was restless, the fat man squatted down and told him about the problem he encountered. The others followed suit and squatted beside him.

When the apprentice came over with the water, he saw four people squatting on the ground like toads. He twitched his lips, turned around and moved the other five chairs from the corner...

The lecture lasted nearly half an hour. As soon as she finished talking about the fat man's problem, Guan Yingxia stood up and touched the soup bowl, reminding the three people that the soup was almost hot.

Everyone hurriedly got up to sweep the soup.

Nan Rongquan also stood up, looked around, and finally stood next to Zhao Xiaojing.

Zhao Xiaojing originally thought that the old man wanted to give some instructions, so she swept extra carefully. However, Nan Rongquan just looked at her for a while and then returned to his seat.

It wasn't until the second time sweeping the soup, when Nan Rongquan stood behind Zhao Xiaojing again, that Zhao Xiaojing hesitantly spoke, "Teacher Nan, can I sweep the soup?"

"You've made great progress. Yesterday, it seemed like you were just learning how to make clear soup, but I didn't expect you to have mastered it today. It's a rare and good ingredient." Nan Rongquan sighed.

Zhao Xiaojing was stunned, wondering how Nan Rongquan knew that, when he pointed to the fixed cameras installed above the kitchen. "There's more than just a cameraman. The fixed cameras can see you cooking, like a live stream from behind the scenes. But don't worry, I just had something to do this afternoon and stopped by the computer room to take a look."

Zhao Xiaojing suddenly realized something and looked up at Nan Rongquan, then glanced at her apprentice who was sighing behind her. She had been wondering why the old man looked like he hadn't rested at all during his day off. It turned out he hadn't rested at all; he was a complete workaholic.

"Teacher Nan, the times are developing very quickly. Young chefs have more channels to obtain resources and are making rapid progress. You must take care of your health so that you can see a more prosperous catering industry and guide more potential chefs." Zhao Xiaojing said solemnly.

"Okay, okay, I'll pay attention and take care of myself." Seeing Zhao Xiaojing so serious, Nan Rongquan smiled happily like an elder, turned around and walked behind the fat man.

While feeling helpless, Zhao Xiaojing also found it a little funny.

After the clear soup was finished, Nan Rongquan inspected each of them and tasted a mouthful. Each pointed out a minor flaw, but nothing more was said. Of the four, Zhao Xiaojing aside, the remaining three were already skilled at making clear soup, their technique differing only in the use of Shandong cuisine's characteristic scallion and pepper paste. Zhao Xiaojing, however, had a system and had practiced for half a night, clocking in at five or six hundred virtual hours, so this stage wasn't a problem.

However, when it came to the step of seasoning the sea cucumbers, everyone started to have all sorts of problems. Every step was outrageous, and every pot had its own problems. The old man tasted it for the whole morning, and by the end his brows were furrowed and his throat was dry.

The result of this was that the old man who had agreed to teach for only half a day came back after lunch, and his complexion was even worse, and no amount of persuasion could persuade him to stop.

After two more days, the four of them had noticeably improved their skills and the flavor. While their sea cucumbers were a far cry from the old man's, they were no longer so delicious that they'd never want to eat a second bite. However, the old man's complexion hadn't improved, and his hands were shaking even more. The apprentices' brows were furrowed ever more.

On the third day, Nan Rongquan once again left after the four people's earnest persuasion, but the four people stood at the door and looked in the direction Nan Rongquan left.

"There's something wrong with the old man's teaching method. It's a bit too hasty." Yu Yiyuandao said.

"Yeah, such a difficult dish would require at least a few years of practice to master, but the old man seemed to have taught us everything in just a few days... Could he be suffering from some kind of illness?"

"Has anyone familiar with the old man asked? I'll ask my master, and you look for your master?" Guan Yingxia looked at the fat man.

"Okay." The fat man said, and took out his cell phone swiftly.

Yu Yiyuan and Guan Yingxia also took action at the same time.

Zhao Xiaojing didn't say anything. She didn't know anyone in the circle.

but……

"System, the enhancer you mentioned last time didn't have much effect, but it still had a small effect, right? If we combine all those drugs and give them to the old man all at once, it would be better than nothing, right?"

[Yes, it's not very effective, but it will still provide a slight improvement. However, since the host has not established any connection with the user, using system potions comes at a cost. It will cost the host all of their current experience points and system coins. Are you sure?]

"Establish a link? What does that mean?" Zhao Xiaojing was stunned.

There was never such a prompt when Su Yuchen used it before?

[Relationships like family, friends, lovers, teachers, students, and colleagues are all links. The closer they are, the lower the cost. Using someone outside of a link will incur a price, a constraint imposed by the system. Furthermore, medication can only alleviate or improve pain, but not the underlying cause.]

Zhao Xiaojing paused and took a deep breath.

"OK."