Seeing that the system didn’t respond, Brian Cooper continued, “You should know I’m very poor and can’t afford to hire a dishwasher. If there are too many customers and I get delayed cooking because I have to wash dishes, it’ll really hurt the restaurant’s reputation. Most importantly, is there any God of Cooking who washes their own dishes?”

Brian Cooper stood by the sink holding a bowl, repeatedly explaining in his mind how washing dishes would affect him as a God of Cooking. About five minutes later, the system finally responded.

The system displayed: “The system has provided an automatic cleaning tool. Please check and receive it.”

“Finally, I don’t have to hire a dishwasher.” Brian Cooper happily started searching the kitchen for the dishwashing tool.

A black box that hadn’t been there that morning appeared next to the rice cooker. It was only the size of a notebook, flat and simply looked like a black box, the kind without even a switch, with a smooth and even surface.

Looking at the black box from side to side, Brian Cooper reached out and touched it, trying to find any difference. At that moment, the black box automatically opened, revealing a white space inside. Brian Cooper tried putting the plate that David Clark had just used inside. The box then closed automatically, and in less than three seconds, the plate appeared on top of the black box, now sparkling clean and shiny as new.

“So convenient, more black technology.”

Brian Cooper put the plate back in its place and went upstairs to rest. Although he hadn’t done any business that day, he had confirmed one thing: the God-level egg fried rice truly lived up to its name—anyone who ate it would never forget it.

Lying in bed, Brian Cooper opened the task list and found that eating it himself didn’t count toward completing the task. The task now showed that 99 servings were still needed.

Chapter 11: Difficult Business

“Ring ring ring—”

A new day began with Brian Cooper’s nine o’clock alarm.

Since the egg fried rice he ate last night didn’t count toward the task, an indignant Brian Cooper decided to eat an extra bowl this morning to comfort his wounded heart.

After two bowls of egg fried rice, Brian Cooper’s mood had recovered, though the number of paid servings shown by the system was a bit frustrating.

“Morning! Looks like I came just in time. Hurry up and make me a bowl of egg fried rice.” Before Brian Cooper could finish sighing, David Clark strode in, sat down, and spoke.

“Alright, just wait, it’ll be ready soon.” Brian Cooper didn’t waste words and went straight back to the kitchen to start cooking.

Speaking of which, the things provided by the system were really useful. Even though the shop was small and had been remodeled into an open kitchen, there wasn’t the slightest smell of oil smoke when frying rice—in fact, there was no trace of cooking fumes at all.

The built-in gas stove’s flames were completely contained; standing next to it, you couldn’t feel any heat. Only the small bubbles in the oil in the pan revealed that this wasn’t a cold flame.

The pans were also very easy to clean, and there were at least ten pans of different sizes and models, so Brian Cooper was extremely satisfied with this kitchen.

As for spatulas and ladles, there were all kinds—truly a chef’s paradise.

“Here’s your egg fried rice, enjoy.” Brian Cooper served the egg fried rice.

“I didn’t savor it yesterday, so today I’m going to eat slowly.” David Clark picked up his spoon and looked at Brian Cooper as he spoke.

“Alright, will you sit here for a while after eating?”

“No way, I still have to go open my shop. I’ll come back at noon and bring some customers for you.” David Clark didn’t wait for Brian Cooper to reply and started eating right away.

This serving of egg fried rice took David Clark a full hour to finish, and as usual, there were no other customers during that time.

Satisfied, David Clark put down his spoon, closed his eyes, and after a while opened them, sighing, “This is pure enjoyment, it’s so delicious. With skills like yours, you’ll never have to worry about food.”

“There’s still room for improvement.”

Brian Cooper said with a smile. This wasn’t modesty—it was the truth. After all, he had the system, and his goal was to become a God of Cooking.

“Alright then, from now on, I’ll eat all my meals here, brother.” Seeing how serious Brian Cooper was, David Clark became even more expectant.

“It’s getting late, I’ll go open my shop first and come back for lunch.” Seeing it was already half past ten, David Clark hurriedly paid and left.

“Take care on the way. See you at noon.”

……

When the clock struck twelve, the street outside began to fill with people again. This time, Brian Cooper hung a blackboard outside the door that read “Egg Fried Rice Available,” finally letting people know this was a food shop.

At that moment, a young man wearing a white T-shirt and jeans poked his head in, looking around.

He glanced around and saw only Brian Cooper standing in the open kitchen. He curled his lip. This guy lived nearby, and after getting hungry from gaming, he was too lazy to order delivery. Rarely did he decide to go out to eat, but every small shop on the street was packed with people on their lunch break, and almost every place had a long wait.

Wandering around, he ended up here. Seeing that the street wasn’t crowded, he got excited, then noticed the sign at Brian Cooper’s door advertising egg fried rice, with flower baskets still at the entrance—it looked like a new place, so he decided to check it out.

But now, seeing only the owner inside, he wondered if the food was any good. With a “might as well try” attitude, he casually asked,

“Boss, do you only have egg fried rice? Anything else?”

Before Brian Cooper could answer, the young man spotted the very obvious price list and immediately exclaimed,

“Whoa, boss, your prices can’t be right—there aren’t even any decimal points!”

“My egg fried rice is different. That’s the price. Want to try a serving?” Brian Cooper replied calmly and confidently, not the least bit annoyed.