Chapter 62: Sell to Master Hu!

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Sell to Master Hu!

Compared to the average person, Chen Jingle’s current level of knowledge could already be considered erudite. Barring any surprises, his next task would simply be to continue learning.

Chen Jingle pondered, "This week’s results have been remarkable. I can definitely aim higher and further now. Hmm, let’s set a timeline of a month! Let’s see how drastically things will change after one month!" A month was neither too long nor too short. If he eagerly awaited the next day every single day, it would seem endlessly long. But looking back at the end of the month, time would feel like it flew by.

Chen Jingle planned to spend this month testing his limits. Once he knew how far he could go, he would decide his professional direction for the next year, two years, or even the next decade—whether to specialize or continue pursuing broad, generalized knowledge. This was an experimental process. The human knowledge system was far too vast. In the social sciences alone, mastering Marxist philosophy or national history would take a very long time, not to mention the countless other categories of knowledge. Beyond that, there were fields like natural sciences, humanities, applied sciences, and technological sciences. For specific details, one could always refer to the Encyclopedia.

Only by looking at it from a macroscopic perspective could one truly realize that there was no end to learning. No one could become a true polymath in everything.

A short while later.

For his upcoming practical lessons, Chen Jingle continued to study culinary arts. Cooking was a subject far richer in content than any single language. Since he had gorged himself on a heavy meal of meat and fish at noon, he decided to keep dinner simple and make a little dessert to whet his appetite. Coincidentally, he had recently watched a top food influencer share a video on how to make Michelin-style dishes at home. Chen Jingle had gained a lot of inspiration from it.

"If nothing else," he muttered to himself, "their business philosophy of selling simple ingredients for eight hundred and eighty-eight bucks a plate is definitely worth learning." Their main selling point was that they never scammed the poor.

The so-called Michelin experience could be summarized in two lines: Use a massive plate, serve a tiny portion, and place a single blade of grass in the empty space. Smear some sauce, scatter some crumbs, and charge the customer eight hundred and eighty-eight.

Whether he could actually sell it for that much was up for debate, but the bourgeois crowd would definitely eat up the exquisite plating. For instance, a dish that normally cost twenty-eight at a Lingnan tea restaurant could easily fetch two hundred and eighty-eight at a Michelin-starred restaurant in the Hu District. After all, the Hu District practically had its own currency. Four thumbnail-sized mini croissants for twenty, a pot of plain white porridge for a hundred, and a seasonal fruit platter for two hundred and fifty-eight. It was truly an eye-opening experience. He could only admit that poverty had limited his imagination.

Deeply inspired by this, Chen Jingle decided to whip up a dessert whose main selling point was its visual appeal. The primary ingredients were yogurt, grass jelly, and cookies. The method was simple. First, he picked out an aesthetically pleasing plate. He spread a layer of yogurt at the bottom, making it slightly higher on one side. Next, he poured in some grass jelly that had been dyed a pale blue. The two sides formed distinct colors, separated like a clear shoreline. All he had to do then was wait for the jelly to set naturally.

To dye the grass jelly, Chen Jingle had mixed fruit juices to create that perfect light blue hue. If he had blue cura?ao syrup at home, he could have skipped this step. Next, he sprinkled a layer of crushed cookie crumbs over the yogurt side to act as the sandy beach. Between the yogurt and the jelly, he scattered a pinch of shredded coconut to mimic the crashing waves. Finally, he added some shell and starfish-shaped decorations, and placed a couple of sago pearls onto the set jelly. With that, a high-end dessert—worthy of the name Enchanted by the Aegean Sea—was complete.

Fixed price: 588! He was confident that the Master Hus and Brother Fus out there would be more than willing to foot the bill. After all, they wouldn’t just be eating food; they would be consuming prestige, art, and extraordinary creativity! It was a high-class, limited-edition bespoke service!

Looking at the finished product in front of him, Chen Jingle felt a little too embarrassed to eat it. He felt like a dead-broke pauper who truly didn’t deserve such a luxury. "Wouldn’t a single bite cost me a hundred bucks?" The economy was bad these days. You couldn’t even earn a hundred bucks standing in line all day as a filler customer at a real estate sales office.

Later that afternoon.

"What’s that?" Chen Qiyun appeared out of nowhere.

Chen Jingle was slightly startled. He turned his head to glance at her. "When did you get here?"

"Just now. Didn’t you hear me push the door open?" As she spoke, her eyes were glued to the striking, visually stunning dish in front of her. She wasn’t entirely sure if it was a dessert, but her eyes were wide, and she looked like she wanted to crane her neck over and take a lick just to see what it tasted like. It looked absolutely delicious.

"Have Auntie and the others gone back?" Chen Jingle asked.

"Yeah, they all went back."

"Then why are you here?"

"To see if there’s any dessert, of course." Chen Qiyun lifted her chin high, her small mouth forming a slight pout.

Hearing this, Chen Jingle shot her a sidelong glance. "You ate so much at noon, and it still wasn’t enough?"

"There wasn’t any dessert at noon!" Chen Qiyun argued righteously.

"There isn’t any in the afternoon, either!" Chen Jingle picked up the plate.

"Hey, hey, hey! Who says there isn’t? Isn’t that it right in your hands? You still haven’t told me what it is!" Chen Qiyun circled around Chen Jingle anxiously. It clearly looked amazing. It would be such a pity if she couldn’t get a taste.

Chen Jingle rejected her outright. "You can’t afford to eat this."

"Nonsense! How can I not afford it? How much is it?" Chen Qiyun was unconvinced.

"It’s 588 a serving. Are you sure?"

"Huh? How much?!"

"588!"

Chen Qiyun was shocked, her eyes widening in disbelief. "How dare you?" Even though it looked really pretty, it surely couldn’t be worth 588, right? How many snacks could she buy with 588? A Choclitz ice cream bar only cost three and a half bucks! Why didn’t he just go rob a bank?

Chen Jingle sneered. "How ignorant. This is exactly what those high-end Michelin restaurants charge."

Chen Qiyun looked at him with disdain. "But this isn’t a high-end restaurant."

"I’m the head chef, this is a limited edition, and I have pricing power."

"Crazy!"

"Hmm?!" Chen Jingle narrowed his eyes.

Chen Qiyun instantly switched on a smiling face. "No, no! I meant, Brother Le, you are... uh, kind-hearted and reasonable. Since it’s food, I’m sure you’d be willing to share a portion with me, right?"

"I’m not willing."

"Oh, come on, don’t be like that! Please, please, please! Just give me a little bit. Just a tiny bite to see what it tastes like." Chen Qiyun put on a pitiful expression, begging for charity.

Chen Jingle’s assessment of her performance was simple: A total drama queen! Her face-changing skills rivaled those of a Sichuan opera grandmaster.

Chen Jingle gave her a preemptive warning. "It only looks pretty. The taste actually isn’t that great."

"I won’t know until I try it." Chen Qiyun was practically buzzing with impatience.

Chen Jingle only wanted to tease her anyway, so he told her to get a bowl and a spoon, then scooped out a portion for her. Filled with anticipation, Chen Qiyun scooped up a spoonful and put it into her mouth. Suddenly, her brow furrowed slightly. What on earth was this?

"I told you," Chen Jingle said, looking entirely unsurprised.

"Grass jelly? Yogurt?"

"Yep."

Chen Qiyun chewed a few times before shoveling another spoonful into her mouth. "It really is just pretty, but it doesn’t taste that good." Even after finishing it, she still reached out, wanting to dig more out of the plate.

"...If it’s not good, why are you eating so much of it?"

"At least the grass jelly is sweet. What’s wrong with eating a little more?"

"Alright, alright! If you eat it all, what am I supposed to eat? This is a dish worth several hundred bucks!" Chen Jingle was heartbroken over the loss. He picked up a spoon and took a taste himself. He smacked his lips—the taste really wasn’t up to much. It was something nice to look at but useless in practice. He decided he wouldn’t make it next time and would honestly stick to prioritizing flavor over aesthetics.