Chapter 80: Cheesy Pine Needle Crab

Li Xiao closed his eyes and savored the sensation for a moment.

After receiving the system’s reward of Taste +1, he wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination.

He felt that his sense of taste had indeed changed, although the change was quite subtle.

To put it in numbers, Li Xiao figured that if the maximum possible score for a human was 100, an ordinary person would be around 70-80.

He estimated that if he wanted his sense of taste to undergo a noticeable transformation, he would probably need to add a lot more points.

Li Xiao swallowed the bite of Pine Needle Crab.

"The butter-garlic Pine Needle Crab and the Windbreak Pine Needle Crab are both dishes with a powerful impact."

"However, because the butter-garlic Pine Needle Crab uses a large amount of butter, the butter’s own rich, creamy flavor and garlic aroma fuse together, making the overall texture much smoother."

"If the overpowering garlic flavor of the Windbreak Pine Needle Crab is too much for you, you can all try this butter-garlic version instead."

After finishing his explanation for the viewers in the live stream, Li Xiao quickly turned his attention to the cheese-baked Pine Needle Crab next to it.

There were two types of cheese-baked Pine Needle Crab: one made with a mixed cheese sauce, and the other made directly with mozzarella cheese.

Without hesitation, he used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of the Pine Needle Crab made with the mixed cheese sauce.

Because he had used a generous amount of mozzarella, the moment the crab leg left the baking pan, it pulled up a fantastic, dream-like web of stringy cheese.

In the live stream chat:

"My god, that’s so much cheese!"

"Damn it!! Streamer, I could just kill you! Is that cheese free or something?"

"That’s a lethal dose of cheese!"

"Streamer, do you need another roommate?"

"Are any of the streamer’s roommates single?"

"You cowards. Streamer, do you need a bed-warmer? I don’t need a title, just a bite of your food!!"

"When I get rich, I’m gonna eat like this too!"

"The pizzas you buy outside are always so damn stingy, they only put a tiny bit of cheese. You can’t even get a cheese pull."

"Sour grapes! That cheese is definitely sour!!!"

"Who cares about dieting anymore!"

...

A rich, cheesy aroma wafted over, like the beginning of a delicious ritual.

The Pine Needle Crab on the plate was golden brown, the baked cheese having formed a golden crust under the high heat.

As the crab leg drew closer, Li Xiao felt the rich fragrance of cheese fill his nostrils, making his mouth water.

Li Xiao carefully brought the cheese-baked Pine Needle Crab to his lips.

The moment it entered his mouth, the aroma of the cheese blossomed, mingling with the fresh tenderness of the Pine Needle Crab.

The cheese, having been exposed to high heat, had begun to caramelize on the surface.

The toasted flavor danced wildly on his tongue. As he bit through the outermost caramelized crust, the molten cheese inside instantly flooded out.

A rich, creamy flavor, a nutty aroma, the slight tang of goat cheese—the four different types of cheese blossomed all at once.

The semi-liquid cheese perfectly coated the crab meat, which was plump and succulent.

During the baking process, the cheese had seeped in, forming a fine cheesy sauce that gave the entire dish a rich texture.

The texture of the crab meat was mellow and rich, and the silkiness of the cheese could be felt with every bite.

The baked crust not only kept the crab meat moist but also formed a golden, fragrant, and crispy shell, as if uniting the delicacies of the ocean and the land.

The creaminess of the cheese and the freshness of the Pine Needle Crab complemented each other perfectly, weaving a magnificent symphony of flavor.

Every bite was a perfect union of cheese and crab—fragrant but not greasy, utterly intoxicating.

[Congratulations, you have unlocked the 17th entry in the Food Guide.]

[Food Guide entry unlocked: Cheese-Baked Pine Needle Crab]

[Dish Rating: 91 Points [Excellent]]

[As the dish rating is Excellent, rewards are multiplied by 4.]

[Congratulations, you have received: Drink Preparation Insights]

[Congratulations, you have received: Drink Creation Insights]

[Congratulations, you have received a cash reward: 800,000]

[Congratulations, you have received a reward: Xihan’er Milk Tea Shop x1]

[Note 1: This milk tea shop is currently operating at a severe loss and is on the verge of bankruptcy. Please take over as soon as possible.]

[Note 2: Good food can soothe not only the taste buds but also the heart.]

...

Li Xiao frowned slightly as he read the two notes that appeared after the system notifications.

’The system’s rewards have always been pretty reliable,’ he thought.

’It was either cash or a luxury car.’

’But why did it suddenly give me such a strange reward this time?’

’What use is a milk tea shop on the brink of bankruptcy to me?’

’Is it expecting me to go sell it for scrap?’

’But I wouldn’t make much money selling it for scrap, would I?’

’Opening a milk tea shop costs a lot of money, but once it goes under, even second-hand dealers would probably shake their heads at the stuff inside.’

’Besides, what kind of stupid name is that?’

’Other milk tea shops have such trendy names, but the name of this one just feels... weird.’

Suppressing these thoughts, Li Xiao finished the Pine Needle Crab in front of him and then ended the live stream.

Before Li Xiao could even say a word, the four of them sprang into action.

Although they hadn’t been much help while Li Xiao was cooking, they were quick to tackle simple tasks like cleaning up, washing the cookware, and doing the dishes.

When they saw him about to help, the other four quickly stopped him.

Zhou Yu, clearing the leftover scraps from the table, tried to persuade him, saying:

"Brother Li, you’ve been busy for over an hour. How could we let you help with the cleaning?"

Zhang Jiawen nodded in agreement.

"That’s right, that’s right! It’s not fair to make you cook and then make you clean up too!"

"Just go sit down and get some rest."

Seeing how eager the four of them were, Li Xiao didn’t insist on helping.

After all, while he loved cooking, he really didn’t enjoy cleaning the kitchen.

Li Xiao opened his phone and found Zhou Shishi’s profile picture.

[Go ahead and edit the video. It might need to be split into a few parts. Just use your judgment on how many.]

[Also, create a text version of the recipe and pin it in the comments section.]

Zhou Shishi was clearly waiting by her phone.

Less than a second later, the "typing..." indicator appeared next to her name.

[Got it. It should be done in about two hours.]

[Oh, by the way, Boss, do you want me to set up dedicated accounts for you on other food platforms?]

[After all, only operating an account on Douyin might be a bit limiting.]

????

Li Xiao tilted his head as he read Zhou Shishi’s reply, with several question marks practically appearing over his head.

’Nowadays, are there still employees who like to make more work for themselves???’ he wondered.

While the workload of managing multiple accounts wasn’t a simple 1+1=2 equation, adding another platform would definitely increase the amount of operational work required.

What Li Xiao didn’t know was that Zhou Shishi was doing this precisely because she was worried her workload was too light.

If her workload was too light, her job as an assistant would become dispensable.

After all, with so little to do, anyone could easily come in and complete it.

That’s why she had resorted to a little bit of cunning.