Cooking System: Street Food Rules
Chapter 83: The System Wants Me to Ascend to the Throne?!

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: The System Wants Me to Ascend to the Throne?!

It was the last day for Jiang Feng’s stall at the University of Science and Technology, featuring a Dongpo pork special.

Word of the special spread, and students and teachers alike formed a long queue.

Jiang Feng was busy all afternoon and, having given it his all, finally made three hundred pieces of Dongpo pork.

The Dongpo pork sold very well, and before long, it was all gone. Thus, his task of running a stall at the University of Science and Technology was completed.

This stint at the school had caused quite a stir. It was said that some outsiders had even tried to sneak onto campus, but security guards caught them all.

Jiang Feng went to the finance office to clear his meal card account. His average daily turnover for the seven days was around 7,000 yuan, which was quite good.

「Jiang Feng went home.」

[Task Completed]

[Reward received: mutton-fat jade chopsticks*1 pair]

[New task starts in two days.]

Jiang Feng took out the task reward.

One gram of mutton-fat jade for a hundred grams of gold.

True mutton-fat jade is extremely rare and prohibitively expensive, far beyond the reach of ordinary people. Nowadays, many white jades are marketed as mutton-fat jade, a practice that has gradually degraded its esteemed reputation.

The pair of mutton-fat jade chopsticks Jiang Feng received was of pure, top-quality material. Both were perfectly symmetrical, and the thicker end of each featured a carved dragon pattern.

Based on material value alone, this pair of chopsticks could be worth four to five million yuan. Considering the craftsmanship, styling, and the rarity of two perfectly symmetrical pieces of jade, their value would be immeasurable.

Jiang Feng took out a custom-made red brocade box lined with black sponge, into which the mutton-fat jade chopsticks fit perfectly.

He ran his fingers over the chopsticks, feeling the unique, gentle warmth characteristic of jade.

Jiang Feng didn’t know much about jade, but he instinctively knew this was a treasure. The impression it gave was overwhelmingly strong. Merely looking at them seemed to awaken something deep within his bloodline.

After all, this was part of China’s heritage; a love for traditional culture is, for some, written into their very genes.

In most countries, people love gold and prefer flashy items like gemstones and diamonds. Only the people of China have a deep-seated love for jade, treasuring the "stone marrow" formed over countless years within mountains and appreciating jade’s understated, gentle warmth.

Now that Jiang Feng had acquired a pair of jade chopsticks, he felt quite pleased after admiring them for a while.

Jiang Feng stood up to open his safe and placed the jade chopsticks inside. Also inside the safe was a golden flat-bottomed pan.

Since he wasn’t usually home during the day, he kept these valuable items in the safe for security, despite having surveillance cameras. He could take them out to admire whenever he wished.

With the next system task two days away, Jiang Feng could enjoy a proper rest for two more days.

He drove around to enjoy the scenery, walked his dog, and even strolled through the pet market. He had initially planned to buy an adorable kitten, but after looking around, although the kittens were cute, none truly captured his heart enough to take one home, so he decided against it for now.

「Two days later, the system issued another task.」

[New Task: Set up a stall outside the entrance to Hospital 322 for 7 consecutive days, selling 100 portions of snacks each day (including stinky tofu, stir-fried cold noodles, iron plate squid, crispy potato, Xinjiang roasted buns, potato with shrimp paste, iron plate tofu, fried fresh milk). Unlock a new recipe for each day the task is completed.]

[Task Reward: Kesi-weave Chef’s Robe*1, Filigree Inlay Chef’s Hat*1]

[Kesi-weave Chef’s Robe: A chef’s robe made using the traditional Kesi silk tapestry weaving technique from China, adorned with dragon patterns.]

[Filigree Inlay Chef’s Hat: A chef’s hat crafted with pure gold threads.]

[Recipes Acquired: Stinky tofu recipe, Stir-fried cold noodles recipe]

[Do you accept?]

Upon seeing the task, Jiang Feng raised an eyebrow. Kesi?

China boasts many intangible cultural heritage crafts of exquisite fineness. Some of these handicrafts are so expensive that ordinary people cannot afford them, such as Longquan Seal Paste, filigree inlay, and the Kesi silk tapestry weaving technique.

Kesi is famously known as "an inch of Kesi for an inch of gold," and the emperor’s dragon robes were made using this technique. Filigree inlay, on the other hand, involves weaving intricate shapes from gold threads, typically used for ornamental pieces like miniature palaces or pavilions.

Damn, does the system want me to ascend to the throne?

Jiang Feng had not expected the task reward to be these items.

Good thing it’s the 21st century. If this were ancient times, the mere appearance of these items would be enough to have my entire clan executed!

What does a chef like me need these for?

A white chef’s uniform is perfectly fine.

These are a bit too ostentatious.

Though Jiang Feng was verbally expressing reluctance, his hand immediately chose to accept the task. Regardless, a task was a task and had to be accepted.

Setting up a stall to sell snacks in front of the hospital wasn’t particularly difficult. He had a food truck equipped to make anything.

Tomorrow I’ll sell stinky tofu and stir-fried cold noodles; that’s simple enough.

They’re common street foods, and with the hospital’s high foot traffic, selling 100 orders shouldn’t be difficult.

Jiang Feng, having rested enough, began to prepare by studying recipes and purchasing ingredients. After preparing everything, he went to the hospital to find a spot for his stall.

Hospital 322 was the best in the city. The hospital comprised several large buildings for different departments. A bit further down the road stood a few more buildings, which housed the hospital’s inpatient department.

In this era, good hospitals were never short of people; they were always crowded, no matter the time of day.

Outside the hospital’s inpatient department, a few small stalls sold fruit and fresh flowers. This indicated that setting up a stall in this area was permitted. The potential customer flow was significant.

Jiang Feng was somewhat worried he would be recognized by his patrons. It wasn’t that he minded being recognized, but he didn’t want to cause congestion. The traffic near the hospital was already quite bad and often jammed. If he were recognized and his regular customers flocked over, forming a long queue outside the inpatient department, it would create a problematic scene. Jiang Feng didn’t want to inconvenience others.

I should wear a mask. The situation here is different from other places, Jiang Feng thought to himself, observing the roadside conditions. It’s already congested enough.

He found an area to set up his stall that had ample space for the food truck to park and operate, but it couldn’t accommodate a long queue of customers. Seven or eight people would be fine, but if fifteen or twenty lined up, it would obstruct the walkway. Moreover, many regular customers might drive, and the road in front of the hospital was already heavily congested, making driving there even more troublesome.

Therefore, Jiang Feng decided to keep a low profile for the time being. He would operate more openly once he moved to a different location.

Business being too good could also be problematic. Other vendors were there to earn money; he just wanted to complete his system tasks.

Once all the ingredients were prepared, Jiang Feng went to the mall and bought enough disposable paper bowls and long skewers, ready to head over the next morning to start selling stinky tofu and stir-fried cold noodles.

The raw materials for the stinky tofu were purchased directly from a reputable manufacturer. The tofu was cold-packed in a sealed plastic bag and was still fresh when he received it. Jiang Feng bought two bags: one contained hundreds of black tofu cubes, and the other contained white ones.

Whether stinky tofu tastes good or not, the tofu itself doesn’t vary much; the key is the flavor of the minced garlic chili sauce and the brine. The authentic stinky tofu from Changsha uses brine aged for hundreds of days, a flavor other places cannot replicate. It’s not just the tofu that’s delicious; the soup remaining in the bowl is also considered a delicacy. However, many street stalls today don’t adhere to such high standards, so the concept of a finishing soup is often absent.

「The next day, Jiang Feng got up and busied himself in his small shop making minced garlic chili sauce.」

Three pounds of oil and three pounds of minced garlic went into the pot. He added the minced garlic to the pot gradually. As soon as it hit the hot oil, countless white bubbles frothed up. Once the aroma of the garlic was released, he poured in a basin of chopped red chili peppers. Frying the garlic and chili together quickly produced a pot of golden-red liquid. Then he added salt, MSG, chicken powder, white sugar, oyster sauce, and chili oil. When made with the correct proportions, this garlic chili sauce was delicious not only with stinky tofu but also with grilled oysters, grilled eggplant, or even just mixed with rice or noodles.

The red oil garlic chili sauce looked incredibly flavorful.

He also needed to simmer a broth, though this one didn’t need to be as complex as a meat-stewing broth. He simply added water, a bit of the minced garlic chili sauce, and a few pieces of crushed Wang Zhihe brand stinky tofu, then let the base simmer for five minutes. This process brought out the characteristic flavor of the stinky tofu.

Once the broth base and minced garlic chili sauce were ready, he set out bowls of chopped coriander, salted vegetables, preserved mustard greens, and pickled long beans as toppings.

The preparation for the stinky tofu was complete.

Making stir-fried cold noodles was even simpler. He prepared the cold noodles, sliced ham, coriander, and onions, cracked two eggs into a bowl, and mixed a separate bowl of sauce. When it was time to cook, he would simply stir-fry everything in sequence.

With Jiang Feng’s culinary skills at a master chef level, making famous dishes was already easy for him. Preparing simple street food like stir-fried cold noodles was therefore child’s play.

Everything was ready—all that was left was to open the stall!

Jiang Feng drove his new food truck toward the hospital. The new food truck was faster and more efficient. It was also equipped with various cooking appliances. This included a small, temperature-controlled deep-fryer, a high-temperature griddle for frying, two stovetop burners for boiling, and a small steamer cabinet. The appliances weren’t too large, just perfect for a small stall.

Jiang Feng soon arrived at a small, somewhat secluded corner situated between the main Hospital 322 buildings and its inpatient department. Ordinary vendors, aiming for maximum visibility, usually set up their stalls directly on the sidewalk. They might overlook such an interior spot, but its spaciousness was perfect for Jiang Feng.

He drove his food truck into the spot, put on a mask, and set up his stall. His days of officially operating at the hospital entrance had begun.