The Max-Level Chef’s Magical Town Game

Isaac ate as devoutly as ever, while Ye Mu sat opposite him, boldly spearing the bread cubes with her fork to dip into the sauce. Looking up, she saw him delicately scooping a spoonful of sauce with a small spoon, carefully selecting a piece of bread, and meticulously coating it on every side before putting it into his mouth.

“…” By the time she finished her third piece, she was chewing noisily and watching him.

Isaac noticed her gaze, looked up, and met her teasing eyes: “What’s wrong…”

Ye Mu took a sip of milk, “Although the food here is slightly better than outside, you don’t have to be so…” She paused, searching for the right word, “ceremonious.”

Isaac disagreed: “You call this ‘slightly better’?”

Ye Mu shrugged, “I just think it looks exhausting to eat like that.”

Isaac stubbornly replied, “It’s not exhausting.” He lowered his head again, starting to “coat” his second piece of bread, continuing to say, “This way, I can appreciate the food.”

“…But sometimes, eating heartily is tastier.” Ye Mu recalled how cautious he had been last time. He seemed to want to apply “artisan spirit” to his eating, measuring precisely how many strands of vegetables, how many pieces of meat, and how much sauce he had with each bite of rice.

As a chef, Ye Mu could sense his respect for the dishes from this approach, but it just didn’t seem appetizing to her.

Isaac clearly disagreed with her. He shot her an amused glance: “Chewing slowly makes it taste better.”

—Oh, so you’re being stubborn, huh!

Ye Mu tightened her grip on the fork, feeling that annoying competitive spirit rise within her!

She didn’t continue the topic, finishing breakfast nonchalantly before Isaac left. After he was gone, Ye Mu ground her teeth and cut a large piece of pork belly, carefully blanching it with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine. She then chopped some large pieces of potato and took out the expensive [Advanced Magic Potion] and [Advanced Life Potion].

Which were actually just light soy sauce and rock sugar.

She heated the pot with oil, adding the rock sugar!

Ye Mu skillfully melted the sugar over low heat, and when it turned light brown, she seized the moment to toss the pork belly into the pot.

“Sizzle—” The pot crackled with excitement as she flipped the meat, evenly coating it with an appetizing brown, then added the potatoes to stir-fry, followed by light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and salt, pouring in a bowl of clear water to submerge the ingredients.

If she were cooking braised pork in the real world, she would typically need oyster sauce, star anise, and bay leaves, for a southern flavor, fermented bean curd would also be required.

In Ye Mu’s eyes, the star anise and bay leaves were the soul of the braised meat.

But even without these, the flavor was already quite good. She hadn’t made such rich, hearty dishes for over a month, and the aroma of the meat made her quite hungry.

Then came the long wait. She simmered it slowly on low heat, then raised the heat to reduce the sauce. The process wasn’t difficult, but it required enough patience.

As she waited, Ye Mu gradually became accustomed to the scent, her sense of smell numbing so that it no longer felt enticing. However, Ivy and the others, arriving on time for work, were completely unprepared for such a delightful surprise, almost everyone’s first comment upon entering was, “What smells so good!”

“Hehe, I’m adding a dish for everyone today!” Ye Mu said with a smile, sending a message to Xibel to let her know that she had created a new dish, which was limited in quantity and not for sale to the public, inviting them to come and eat at noon.

Of course, she also messaged Isaac.

In the Dragon Mountains, Xibel’s team, upon hearing about the “limited edition new dish,” didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately decided to head back to town.

—Hesitating even for a second would be disrespectful to the culinary god!

About half an hour later, they arrived at the Nightfall Restaurant. They timed their arrival perfectly, Ye Mu’s braised pork was at the “high heat to reduce the sauce” stage, the aroma peaking. As Xibel pushed the door open, she was instantly enveloped by the scent.

“Whoa!!!” Xibel exclaimed.

The others followed, catching the smell and rushing in, all heading to the kitchen to see what Ye Mu was cooking.

However, the last one, Nala, paused, turned around, and closed the door first, feeling that such a fragrant aroma shouldn’t escape outside!

Even so, the whiff of aroma that drifted out upon opening the door caught attention, and neighbors and passersby perked up, whispering, “The culinary god must have a new dish!”

“What a delicious smell! What could it be?”

“I don’t know, but it smells a bit sweet? Yet it doesn’t seem like dessert.”

“Why do I feel like it smells like meat? But… can meat taste sweet?”

Outside, people were buzzing with discussion. In the kitchen, Ye Mu finished the last step of reducing the sauce, lifting the pot to find a large bowl generated automatically by the system. She poured all the braised pork into it.

The value panel instantly appeared:

[Braised Pork with Potatoes (Epic)]

—Will continuously restore health and stamina while consumed,

—Can restore up to 20,000 health and 20,000 stamina (total restoration amount depends on the quantity consumed),

—If the amount consumed reaches 10% of the dish, an extra buff [Full of Happiness] will be granted, which makes the player immune to all negative effects for 2 hours (if the amount consumed exceeds 10% of the dish, the duration will increase proportionally),

—If the amount consumed reaches 50% of the dish, an extra buff [Energy Overflow] will be granted, which makes the player immune to all negative effects, increases movement speed by 20%, and reduces stamina depletion by 50% for 4 hours (if the amount consumed exceeds 50% of the dish, the duration will increase proportionally),

—If the amount consumed reaches 100% of the dish, an extra buff [Big Eater] will be granted, which makes the player immune to all negative effects, increases movement speed by 20%, and reduces stamina depletion by 50%, while all eating and drinking actions will grant 20-100 random experience points (if the amount consumed exceeds 50% of the dish, the duration will increase proportionally).

This panel left the already cramped kitchen, filled with eleven people, in stunned silence.

Everyone: Wide-eyed and speechless!

Ye Mu: I’m speechless too!

It was at this moment that Isaac arrived at the restaurant. As usual, he knocked on the door but received no response, so he hesitated and pushed the door open to take a peek inside.

Seeing everyone in the kitchen, he walked over, greeting them politely, “Good afternoon, I—” but midway through, he noticed everyone seemed frozen in place.

His first thought was that they had collectively fallen under some spell, perhaps something like [Advanced Petrification]. Just as he approached to investigate further, he spotted the panel hovering above the braised pork.

The eleven petrified people turned into twelve.

After a long while, Xibel finally gasped, managing not to suffocate from the shock.

The others were pulled back to reality by the sound of her intake of breath, and the atmosphere lightened. Isaac continued to stare at the panel, genuinely impressed, “That’s amazing! How did you make it?”

“…Actually, it’s a very simple dish. I didn’t expect the values to be like this.”

“What?” Isaac looked puzzled and turned to assess her, “Isn’t the value different from what you made before?”

Ye Mu: Damn it, I got flustered!

The dishes Ye Mu made before didn’t have any value at all!

But she quickly composed herself and said nonchalantly, “This is a new dish. I imagined the recipe myself and thought it would turn out well, so I gave it a try. I’ve never made this before.”

After saying that, she beckoned everyone, “Let’s eat! You all serve yourselves rice, and I’ll make a couple of vegetable dishes to balance it out!”

“Long live the culinary god!!!” Xibel team cheered as they went to serve rice. While their hands were busy, their minds were still reeling from the shock of the panel.

If Ye Mu’s previous dishes were considered “noble cuisine,” what level was this dish? A royal chef’s creation?

The dish was labeled as “Epic” by the system, something they had never seen before!

It must be incredibly delicious!!!

At the stove, Ye Mu quickly made two simple vegetable dishes. One was stir-fried bok choy, made with just a bit of minced garlic and salt, and without much oil—it was light and fresh.

The other was smashed cucumber, a cold dish that in the real world often uses a lot of vinegar and a small spoonful of soy sauce, but soy sauce was too expensive here, and there was no vinegar, so Ye Mu used only sugar and salt. After tasting it, she found it refreshing and tasty.

She brought these two dishes out and saw that three tables had been pushed together to form a long one. Everyone was seated but hadn’t started eating, they were all waiting for her.

“Go ahead and eat!” she smiled, placing the stir-fried bok choy and smashed cucumber on the table before sitting down in the space everyone had left for her.

Then, under everyone’s eager gazes, she picked up a spoon and served herself the first piece of meat.

Using a spoon for the meat was really inconvenient, she thought she might ask Isaac to help her make a pair of chopsticks next time.

—While scooping the meat, Ye Mu was thinking about this.

But the others didn’t know about the existence of chopsticks. Even if they did, they couldn’t focus on such details right now. Seeing the chef move first, they all reached for the food!

Xibel was the first to take a piece of braised pork, and as soon as she bit into it, she was stunned, wide-eyed, banging the table and trying to describe the deliciousness to Nala beside her, but she was so amazed she couldn’t say a word.

The meat she had just eaten had both sweet and salty flavors, which didn’t feel strange but instead blended perfectly.

The seemingly greasy fatty meat and skin turned out to be completely non-greasy, the fat was unexpectedly sticky, and the skin was slippery!

Meanwhile, Isaac was still eating with devotion. He carefully ladled a spoonful of meat sauce over the rice on the left side of his bowl, then took a piece of meat, feeling that it was too large to eat in one bite, so he leisurely cut it in half. He even wanted to scoop a small piece of potato…

At that moment, Leah slammed the table, exclaiming, “What the hell! Oh my god! What is this?! It feels like it’s not meat… but tastes even better than meat!”

Ye Mu smiled softly, “It’s potato.”

“Potato?!” Leah looked at Ye Mu in disbelief, repeatedly scrutinizing her expression, trying to figure out if she was joking.

She had eaten potatoes—roasted, fried, and stir-fried with mixed vegetables. But the piece he just had was completely different from any potato!

That unknown ingredient was stewed until it was tender, not only did it soak up the flavor of the sauce and the meat’s aroma, but its texture was incredibly soft, melting away with just a slight press of the mouth.

As it melted, the fragrance intensified, mingling with its own subtle aroma, lingering tantalizingly between his lips and teeth.

Ye Mu earnestly said, “It really is potato. I had considered making other dishes with potatoes, but I felt that this ingredient, like a staple food, restores stamina, and it wouldn’t be meaningful to make it alone. Using it in the stew today fits perfectly.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Isaac cutting the potato in his bowl, her expression one of disbelief.

He was so serious! He was meticulously carving away, unconsciously leaning in closer to the bowl, his long eyelashes almost brushing against the edge.

What’s wrong with him!

Ye Mu couldn’t help but mentally roll her eyes, raising an eyebrow and clearing her throat: “The best way to eat this dish is to mix it all together with the rice in a messy way. The sauce should be evenly mixed, and the meat and potatoes should be thoroughly combined. It might not look great, but it’s really satisfying to eat.”

“Okay, okay! I’ll give it a try!” Leah immediately responded.

To be honest, even though she hadn’t eaten yet, just imagining how that potato would mix with the rice based on the flavor she just tasted was driving her crazy!

The others quickly followed Ye Mu’s suggestion, with Ivy even helping the youngest, Della, mix her portion.

Meanwhile, sitting next to Ye Mu, Isaac’s hand holding the spoon trembled slightly.

…Mix it?

He took a deep breath, instinctively rejecting that method.

He gritted his teeth, suppressing the impulse to follow suit, preparing to place the small piece of potato he had just cut onto the rice that was drenched in sauce and accompanied by meat.

Then he heard Leah, who had quickly mixed her rice and tasted it, exclaim, “So good!!!”

Suddenly, the impulse to follow along surged again, shifting from “a little” to “a considerable amount.”

Isaac took another deep breath, continuing to restrain himself.

But for some reason, his gaze darted toward Ye Mu’s bowl.

Ye Mu was still mixing her rice, and he clearly saw how the white rice slowly turned a brownish color, how the meat was broken into small bits mingling with the rice, and how the potatoes were reduced to a sand-like consistency, disappearing into the mix…

At the same time, he felt something strange happening to his senses.

From an aesthetic perspective, he found the process utterly terrible. The once appetizing chunks of meat and potatoes had become a messy mixture, and combined with the rice, it looked even more unappetizing.

…But the reality was, as he looked at the chaotic brown mix, he surprisingly felt hungrier.

He couldn’t understand why, only hearing a voice inside him saying: Why not give it a try?

Yet his upbringing held him back.

Finally, Ye Mu finished mixing her rice.

When it came to eating, she didn’t share Isaac’s odd “craftsmanship,” but she had her own meticulousness—when it came to things that needed to be mixed or spread, she insisted on making sure everything was evenly combined.

For instance, when mixing rice or noodles, she preferred that no white rice or noodles were left uncoated, when spreading jam or butter on bread, or sauce on steamed buns, she would try to make the spread even, ensuring uniform thickness everywhere.

So, the bowl of rice she mixed looked particularly appetizing.

She had noticed Isaac’s gaze while mixing, so she deliberately avoided looking at him, secretly amused.

It wasn’t until she took a bite that she lifted her eyes, meeting his gaze as she asked, “What’s wrong? Aren’t you hungry?”

“Cough…” Isaac quickly looked down, feeling inexplicably guilty.

He wanted to continue eating in his own way, but when he glanced back at the rice in front of him, it suddenly seemed less appealing than Ye Mu’s bowl.

Ye Mu rested her chin on her left hand and scooped another spoonful of mixed rice into her mouth: “There’s nothing like a warm bowl of mixed rice in winter!”

“Yeah, yeah!” Everyone, except Isaac, nodded vigorously.

Isaac was on the verge of breaking down. In the past twenty-two years, he had never felt this way. Even when facing turmoil that shook the capital, he had remained steadfast.

He only did what he believed was right and could clearly discern what was correct.

He had always strived to live like those he admired. He wanted to be a shining knight—brave, just, with good manners and all the wonderful qualities.

But now, he was in a dilemma, he was wavering, starting to question himself.

This was tormenting him, making him feel like he was undergoing an unprecedented trial.

And all this torment… actually came from a bowl of potato braised pork mixed rice!

¹”you can’t bleed the residents dry” means you shouldn’t exploit or overburden people by taking so much from them (such as money or resources) that it leaves them with little or nothing left.