39: Chapter 39 The Tortoise

Chapter 39: Gourmet's Captive (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

In the narrow and dim stairwell.

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Fang Cheng carried a gas canister with one hand, walking briskly up the steps.

Zhou Xiumei crossed her hands in front of her, lowering her head and eyes, carrying two bags as she followed behind him.

Inside were Fang Cheng's changed clothes, as well as still-warm steamed buns and soy milk.

When the two walked to the landing at the 5th-floor turn.

Fang Cheng placed the gas canister on the ground, then switched to his left hand to continue carrying it up.

Seeing this, Zhou Xiumei quickly stepped forward and spoke:

"Brother Cheng, why don't you rest for a bit? Don't wear yourself out."

Fang Cheng let out a slight breath and shook his head.

12 points of Strength, 20 points of Physique.

Carrying a gas canister up to the ninth floor was still a relatively easy matter.

The amount of exercise was far less than doing a hundred consecutive Push-ups, so how could it possibly require a rest?

However, recalling a month ago, he still needed to carry it up on his shoulder, resting for half a minute every other floor.

He had undoubtedly improved far too much now.

Perhaps feeling that there was a bit too little conversation between the two of them, Zhou Xiumei muttered to herself:

"That big brother just now was really greedy, asking for twice the usual price. Clearly, there was money to be made, yet he wouldn't earn it..."

Fang Cheng turned his head to glance at her and smiled, saying:

"Doing business is always this shrewd. He knew for sure that you couldn't carry it up yourself."

Zhou Xiumei also smiled slightly, but subconsciously averted her gaze.

Ever since that night when she helped apply injury medicine to Fang Cheng's back.

Whenever the two met, Zhou Xiumei would more or less feel a bit flustered.

Soon, they arrived at the 9th floor.

Zhou Xiumei pushed open the half-open iron security door with force.

A hoarse and faint voice came from inside the room.

"Xiumei, has the gas been delivered up?"

"Brother Cheng helped deliver it up."

Zhou Xiumei walked in first, hurriedly squatting down to hand Fang Cheng a pair of slippers.

"Grandma Zhou."

Fang Cheng followed her inside, greeting her while changing his shoes.

Old Lady Zhou's face was kind, and she nodded with a smile, only her ears seemed a bit hard of hearing.

There was no one else in the room; Uncle Zhou was probably handling a case at the police station, and Auntie He and Zhou Xiumei's younger brother seemed to have gone out for something.

Fang Cheng didn't ask much either, carrying the gas canister as he walked into the kitchen.

It took a minute or two to reconnect the hose and tighten the valve.

"Brother Cheng, have some water. I added some honey..."

Zhou Xiumei carefully held a cup of boiled water in both hands and walked over.

"No need, I brewed spare rib soup in my room and need to go back and check on it immediately."

Fang Cheng waved his hand in polite refusal, then asked: "Right, where is my bag?"

Hearing this, Zhou Xiumei's cheeks flushed, and she softly replied:

"I've already helped soak your clothes in water..."

Fang Cheng couldn't help but freeze upon hearing this.

"Anyway... I was just getting ready to wash clothes anyway, so I'll just wash yours along the way."

She bit her lip and then added another explanation.

Fang Cheng had no choice but to take the bag containing the breakfast:

"Then... thank you."

Zhou Xiumei lowered her head and let out an "Mn".

A shy blush slowly spread across her cheeks, turning even the tips of her ears completely red.

Seeing that the atmosphere was slightly awkward, Fang Cheng changed the subject and politely invited:

"I've prepared a lot of dishes over there. Why don't you and Grandma don't bother cooking at noon and come over to eat together?"

Hearing this, Zhou Xiumei hurriedly shook her head.

Fang Cheng gave a slight, wry smile.

You don't believe in my Culinary Arts, right?

Returning home, he pulled out his key and opened the door.

Suddenly, a slightly pungent, burnt aroma drifted over.

Fang Cheng sniffed with his nose, and his expression changed instantly:

"Oh no, I cooked it for too long!"

...

In the kitchen, cooking fumes rose in wisps.

The gas stove spat out deep blue flames that licked the bottom of the pot, and the oil temperature was moderate.

Chop chop chop chop—

The sliced garlic sprouts and chicken breasts were poured into the pot, instantly erupting with a sizzling sound.

Fang Cheng used wrist strength to shake the pan handle, making the meat and vegetables roll rapidly in the hot oil, stirring-frying them as evenly as possible.

Soon, a tender and delicious dish of garlic sprouts fried with chicken breast was done.

As it was plated, the panel prompt information immediately surfaced.

[You skillfully toss the pan, completing a qualified stir-fry dish, Culinary Arts experience +1]

The corners of Fang Cheng's mouth curved upward, quite appreciative of his own craftsmanship.

"Toss the pan" could be said to be the most basic yet most important skill for Xia Kingdom chefs, heavily testing the flexibility and stability of one's wrist.

Just with this move, going out to apply for a chef job and calling himself an outstanding graduate of Lanxiang shouldn't be considered excessive, right?

[Culinary Arts lv0 (96/100)]

Looking at the progress bar displayed on the panel, Fang Cheng nodded slightly.

Error-free first release content to read here!

This belonged to a lifestyle-type skill, and before he knew it, it was about to level up.

Ever since he inadvertently unlocked "Culinary Arts" while cooking, he hadn't specially gone to learn any recipes or practice knife skills.

At the very beginning, frying rice or eggs caused his daily experience to soar upward rapidly.

With the increase of every single point of experience, his skills in stir-frying and cutting became more and more proficient, and his sense of controlling the heat became increasingly precise.

Only when the progress bar exceeded 50 points, similar to other skills, the rate of experience growth gradually slowed down.

For every dish he completed, the panel would give comments and scores.

At least 0 points, at most 1 point.

This lavish feast carefully prepared before his eyes only increased experience by 1 point.

Fang Cheng took a look.

Three dishes and one soup, with both meat and vegetables, its presentation was actually quite good.

Except that the "soup" had turned into a few somewhat charred spare ribs, at least it was edible.

"It's fine."

Fang Cheng shook his head and gave a slight wry smile; his current mindset was very good.

Anyway, he had to cook for himself every day, so leveling up the skill was a natural progression.

Carrying the stir-fried chicken breast and dishing up a large bowl of rice, Fang Cheng sat down in front of the dining table.

Then he turned on the TV and buried his head in hearty eating amidst the background sound of the midday news broadcast.

Despite being in the middle of fitness training, he still preferred eating stir-fried dishes full of worldly Qi.

Especially recently when his training volume was on the larger side, his appetite had increased significantly, almost four to five times what it was before he started fitness training.

If he only ate those plain and watery foods, his body might endure it, but his stomach and intestines wouldn't be able to take it.

What Fang Cheng was pursuing was muscle building, not weight loss.

At least, he had to ensure the oil and salt intake of one stir-fried meal every day.

"According to this station's report, through the joint efforts of various municipal departments and the national security garrison in organizing rescue operations, the fire in Xishan has been completely extinguished, the explosion hazards have been eliminated in a timely manner, and relevant personnel have been effectively rescued..."

"Starting from 18:00 today, the alert status in Xiguan District will be lifted successively, with only some areas of Xishan remaining under long-term blockade. For safety reasons, the general public is requested to pay attention..."

The news anchor's pleasant voice echoed in the room.

Fang Cheng raised his head, his mouth chewing minced meat.

He looked at the footage of Xishan appearing on the screen, which seemed to have returned to a tranquil scene.

Staring for a long while and gaining a brief understanding of the news, he added a second bowl of rice and swept away the remaining chicken breast and other dishes.

Finally, when he added the fourth bowl, the three bowls of dishes were already almost gone.

Fang Cheng looked at the only remaining "spare rib soup".

Thinking about it, feeling that he couldn't waste food, he picked a piece of spare rib with decent presentation and put it into his mouth.

Although the spare rib soup had been cooked into the appearance of pan-fried spare ribs.

But eating it seemed to have a different flavor.

Fang Cheng savored and chewed slowly, finally managing to gnaw a piece of spare rib clean.

Suddenly, the panel before his eyes lit up.

Several prompt messages actually surfaced.

[You diligently practice your skills to a certain extent, able to endure food that ordinary people cannot endure, comprehending that all ingredients have their own value]

[Unlocked skill: Gourmet lv0 (0/100)]

"What does this mean?"

Fang Cheng's mouth, containing rice, couldn't help but open slightly, failing to close for a long while.