“This is like a virgin land of gourmet food, just waiting for me to cultivate it.” Alex pursed his lips, looking at Emily, who was holding the sweet crispy cake in both hands and munching away happily. A gentle smile appeared on his face. He wasn’t particularly interested in the grand ideal of spreading food culture, but he did want his daughter to eat real delicacies and live a comfortable life. With that in mind, learning to cook didn’t seem like such an unacceptable thing after all.

Because he was truly hungry, Alex could only soak the cake in plain boiled water, waiting for it to soften before eating it. He could barely swallow it down.

Emily’s teeth were quite good, though—the big cake made a crisp crunch as she bit into it, and she finished it in no time. She picked up her bowl with both hands and took a big gulp of plain water, then let out a satisfied burp. Looking at Alex, who was still poking at the mush in his bowl with chopsticks, she smiled and said, “Father, isn’t the sweet crispy cake super delicious?”

“No, this can only barely fill your stomach, Little Emily. In the future, I’ll make you a whole Manchu Han Imperial Feast, just for you, and you can eat until you’re full.” Alex shook his head, reached out to gently tap Emily’s soft little nose, and said with a smile.

“Manchu Han Imperial Feast? Is it really tastier than sweet crispy cake?” Emily’s eyes lit up completely, but as she looked at Alex, a bit of hesitation appeared on her little face. The food her father made before always tasted strange—could he really make something a hundred times tastier than sweet crispy cake?

“Of course it’s true. And the Manchu Han Imperial Feast isn’t just one dish—it’s a grand banquet made up of one hundred and eight delicacies from the mountains and seas. You could eat for three days straight.” Alex nodded seriously, naturally guessing the little girl’s thoughts. In her mind, sweet crispy cake was the best thing ever. And his predecessor’s cooking skills were nothing to brag about—about the same as his current level—so it probably left a psychological shadow on the little girl.

“One hundred and eight delicacies from the mountains and seas?” Emily counted on her fingers, her little head trying hard to imagine a table full of things even tastier than sweet crispy cake, and being able to eat for three days straight. Her eyes grew brighter and brighter, and a happy smile appeared on her face. She jumped down from her chair, looked at Alex, and cheered, “Yay! Little Emily wants to eat the Manchu Han Imperial Feast! Father, make the Manchu Han Imperial Feast for Little Emily! Little Emily wants to eat it right now!”

“Uh…” Alex looked at Emily’s expectant gaze and suddenly felt a bit awkward. Right now, he couldn’t even make a simple Yangzhou fried rice. But he did have a God of Cooking training system, so making a Manchu Han Imperial Feast in the future would definitely be no problem. Still, seeing the little girl’s eager expression, he realized he might have bragged a bit too soon.

“Of course Father wants to make it for Emily too, but our restaurant hasn’t opened yet, and there are no ingredients in the kitchen, so I can’t make so many delicious things right now.” Alex reached out and patted Emily’s head, apologetically.

“Is that so…” Emily looked a little disappointed, but quickly lifted her head, grabbed Alex’s big hand with her small one, gently patted the back of his hand, and comforted him, “It’s okay, Father. Little Emily thinks the food before was already really tasty. When Little Emily grows up, I’ll be able to earn money, and then I’ll buy lots and lots of delicious food for Father, and let Father make the Manchu Han Imperial Feast.”

Looking at the serious expression on Emily’s little face, Alex suddenly felt his nose sting. He sniffed, shook his head with a smile, and said, “Father now is different from before. Supporting the family is my job, and I’ll definitely keep my promise about the Manchu Han Imperial Feast. This is our agreement, and it’s my promise to you.” With that, he held out his pinky finger to Emily.

Emily looked up at Alex, blinked her eyes. Today, Father really did seem different—taller, and even kinder. Looking at his pinky finger, she hooked hers around it, smiling happily, “Mm, Little Emily believes Father can definitely do it.”

Chapter 5: The Standard for Cooking

“Let’s go. I saw Little Emily yawning just now. Let’s go upstairs and sleep.” Alex took Emily’s hand and said with a smile.

“Little Emily isn’t sleepy yet. I can help Father tidy up.” Emily said, yawning and shaking her head.

“I’ll clean up in a bit. You can’t fall asleep here, you know. Father can’t carry you right now…” Alex took Emily’s little hand, feeling a bit inexplicably down.

Such a cute daughter, yet he couldn’t give her a princess carry, let alone lift her high. No, he had to recover his body as soon as possible, Alex resolved silently.

The stairs were at the other end of the kitchen. Walking in from the counter, there was a small door separating the restaurant from the living area, which suited Alex’s taste very well.

The little one had been running up and down the stairs while he was unconscious, and even went to get someone to check on him. Now, after eating, she claimed she wasn’t sleepy, but as she climbed the stairs, her eyes were already about to close.

Alex took her into the master bedroom. Next to the big bed was a pink children’s bed with guardrails. The little bed had a small blanket and pillow, all perfectly arranged, and there was a little ladder to climb up.