The Gourmet Customizer

The peak an ordinary person could savor was S Level. Only by possessing the Peak of Flavor could one use their own palate to further improve their dishes and reach the even more incredible SS Level.

I mean, could someone who can’t even tell if something is salty or bland possibly be a good cook?

In that case...

Su Chen tried inputting the keywords for the main quest.

After the last quest, he hadn’t really thought about his next priority. Now that he had a new focus, it would be ideal if he could find a way to complete two quests at once.

’Wang Xiaoyi?’

[Searching keywords...]

[Search failed. Please input again!]

’Well, I’ll be. Looks like that was too direct. The system won’t accept it.’

Instead of trying new keywords, Su Chen started thinking about the hidden quest.

Based on Wang Xiaoyi’s condition, the sensitivity of her taste buds would be significantly dulled if she ate just one truly exceptional dish.

’In that case, I’ll just have to find a way to make all sorts of different delicacies for her. But there’s a whole world of food out there; you could never eat it all in one lifetime.’

’So this hidden quest definitely isn’t asking me to do that.’

’Even if I could keep making dish after dish, she wouldn’t be able to keep eating them. I can’t just tie Teacher Wang up in a dark room and force-feed her, can I?’

’You dare refuse to eat? I’ll take out my little whip on you!’

’Nope, nope.’

Su Chen shook his head. That would be completely out of the question.

As he continued to ponder, he realized that no matter how you cook the world’s countless dishes, and despite the endless variety of ingredients, the only constants are flavor and texture.

There are only so many types of textures, and only so many types of flavors.

Different textures and flavors combine to create all sorts of dishes. ’What if I approach it from that angle?’

For example...

Su Chen suddenly grew excited. He paced to his desk and began scribbling on a piece of paper.

Take Hubei Cuisine, for instance. There’s a yam paste dish that is soft, sticky, and sweet. There’s also a dish called rock sugar green pea purée, which is also soft, sticky, and sweet. The only real difference is the main ingredient, which results in a slight variation in flavor.

’If she can become desensitized to the "sweet" and "soft and sticky" traits, will she then be "immune" to all dishes of that type? That has to be how I can complete the quest, right?’

’Otherwise, this would truly be an impossible task!’

Of course, this was just Su Chen’s speculation.

If that were the case, then there was no rush to activate the main quest. Su Chen needed to first test whether his theory was correct.

So...

’I need to find a way to get Wang Xiaoyi to come eat here every day!’

’That’s the only way I can reasonably and quickly test my theory and complete this quest!’

It was mainly because that passive Skill, Peak of Flavor, was just too tantalizing, too overpowered.

Never mind whether it would let him create SS Level dishes—the Skill alone meant he could taste the most delicious food in the world.

And in the entire world, besides Wang Xiaoyi and his future self, no one else would ever be able to taste it.

Wasn’t that just insane?

No sooner said than done.

After standing silently by the window for just half an hour, Su Chen came up with a plausible plan.

’Damn! I really should have been an entrepreneur. Who needs to cook?!’

Without another word, he went back to sleep, setting an alarm for 10 a.m.

...

「10:00 a.m.」

The Meiweilai Company conference room, 19th floor.

"What’s going on? The boss isn’t the type to call meetings. Why’d he call one as soon as we got in today?"

"Must be something important. It’s not about that Zhang Dali incident from yesterday, is it?"

"Maybe it’s about that order for two weeks from now? Looks like we’re going on another business trip."

Liu Shengnan shot Bai Xiaobo a vicious glare. "If you turn off your phone this time, I’ll kill you!"

Bai Xiaobo shivered in fear.

Amidst the chatter, Su Chen pushed the door open and took a seat at the head of the conference table.

"I’ve called this meeting because I have something very important to announce."

The Meiweilai employees were waiting eagerly, but as soon as Su Chen began to speak, everyone noticed something.

They saw Ling Shuyu lower her head and begin writing in her notebook.

Bai Xiaobo: ’Damn it, President Ling is making the rest of us look bad! Why didn’t I think to bring a notebook?’

Liu Shengnan: ’As the finance person... I should probably bring a notebook next time, too.’

The others stared intently at Su Chen. Aunt Fang, clutching her broom, nervously scraped it back and forth on the floor, clearly unaccustomed to such formal meetings.

"I believe that as a company, we shouldn’t just be thinking about profits. We should also be thinking about giving back to the community. A company that doesn’t give back to society can’t last for long."

All the employees: ???

A sea of confused faces.

What was with this sudden, high-and-mighty speech?

Even a giant like ALBB isn’t talking about giving back to society, but our little company that nearly went bankrupt is?

Su Chen continued, "To do our part for the betterment of society, I, as the head of this company, have made a decision."

"From this day forward, all meals at Meiweilai will be completely free for all teachers from the Mechanical Kindergarten!"

A collective gasp filled the room.

Liu Shengnan shot to her feet. "Boss! The Mechanical Kindergarten has ten teachers! Is that really a good idea?"

Her mind raced. If they charged normally, ten people would mean at least three to four hundred in extra revenue per day. That was three to four thousand a month!

That was almost enough to cover He Shuting’s entire yearly salary!

"This is, uh..." Liu Ahbao was also a bit stunned, but as a chef, he wouldn’t readily offer his opinion. All he had to do was cook his food well. The rest had nothing to do with him.

"This is my decision. It’s how things are today, and it’s how they’ll be in the future. If a new school moves into the area, we’ll do the same for them. As long as their students eat here, the teachers can eat for free."

"And not just lunch. Breakfast and dinner will be free for them, too!"

Su Chen paid no mind to Liu Shengnan’s objection. "This is a company decision, not a negotiation. Draft a letter and send it to the Mechanical Kindergarten now."

With that, Su Chen casually turned and left.

He left everyone staring at each other, a single thought running through all their minds.

’Has our boss gone insane?’