Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Chapter 28: It’s Really Great to Have Everyone!

When things were nearly settled, Ms. Wang mentioned something to Chen Ran.

Chen Ran was surprised.

She first asked the system, “Working for the crew at the scenic area, that should count as working too, right?”

The system replied with one word: [Counts].

She quickly thanked Ms. Wang, “Thank you for always helping me find places to work!”

Moreover, every location Ms. Wang found was great. This time at the police station, Chen Ran also learned a lot.

“It should be me thanking you for letting me taste so many delicious foods,” Ms. Wang usually didn’t say much, since she was very busy. “When you have time, you can try watching that variety show.”

A few days ago, the police station even installed a TV in the restaurant. During lunch, they turned it on, and it happened to be replaying the last episode of Peach Blossom Spring.

“That’s good. My daughter loves watching it too. I heard it’s quite appetizing.”

There are three regulars on Peach Blossom Spring: the storytelling chef Lü Yi, the eloquent host Bai Jing, and the singer Gu Yifeng.

The whole show’s atmosphere matches the Peach Blossom Spring story well, regularly changing outdoor locations, cooking and chatting amid flowing streams and mountains, making viewers feel the pace of life slowing down.

Lü Yi holds a high position in the industry. He was once a best actor, having acted in many classics and often attending various film festivals.

Bai Jing is also the station’s main host, with a style like a gentle spring breeze.

This combination often invites big film stars and popular celebrities. For example, this episode featured a nationally beloved comedian; no one present hadn’t seen her skits.

However, this episode seemed a bit odd.

While eating, Chen Ran curiously watched Lü Yi loudly asking why the green beans were so old.

Liu Shihan burst out laughing: “I saw the edited version! The green beans weren’t cooked properly. In the end, both of them got food poisoning, hahaha.”

Wang Changhai’s expression was hard to describe: “Isn’t this guy always claiming to be a great chef held back by acting? He can’t even cook green beans properly and still calls himself a chef?”

As a Northeasterner, Wang Changhai knew that undercooked green beans are poisonous—basic common sense. He really couldn’t imagine someone constantly building a gold medal chef image but not knowing green beans need to be cooked thoroughly.

“Maybe it’s because he doesn’t eat them often?” Liu Shihan still liked the show; she quickly grabbed the last bowl of soup while imagining, “I wonder if Chef Lü’s cooking is better or Chen Ran’s?”

“That’s definitely Chen Ran,” Wang Changhai’s obsession with green beans ran deep. “Try Chen Ran’s dry-fried green beans—this flavor, huh? How could her cooking be worse than someone who can’t even cook green beans properly?”

Tomorrow they would leave the police station. For the last few days, Chen Ran cooked every lunch and dinner with care.

Tonight’s dinner was sour radish old duck soup, dry-fried green beans, meat-stuffed cabbage rolls, and a spicy dressed spinach salad.

The last dry-fried green bean was snatched by Song Yifan, who lifted it with his chopsticks: “But I think many stars praise Lü Yi’s cooking skills. Stars must have eaten all sorts of delicious food, right?”

Wang Changhai snatched the green bean away with his chopsticks: “Then go eat the undercooked ones! You don’t get to eat the cooked ones!”

Chen Ran didn’t join in the discussion comparing cooking skills.

She held the sour radish old duck soup, sipping slowly, squinting as she opened the system panel.

Today she made a dry-fried dish, and during the flipping process, Chen Ran’s wok-turning skill finally upgraded to B.Hearing the system’s beep alert, she hadn’t had time to open the system panel yet.

Now, besides an inherited seasoning skill at A level, all her basic skills were at B. When cooking, she could clearly feel the difference from before.

Although only her wok-turning skill improved, cooking felt especially smooth and cohesive.

This was only all skills at B—what about when all skills reached A? If her culinary ancestor had a full set of 3S skills, how powerful would that ability be?

As she eagerly opened the system panel, she couldn’t help but daydream about the style of the Chen family culinary master back then.

But just as she opened the panel, she noticed sharply that the main quest had been updated!

[Main Quest: Congratulations, host, your cooking skills have finally entered the beginner level. Next is the formal journey of learning to cook.]

[Quest Objective: Please strive to raise all cooking skills to level A.]

[Quest Reward: One random Divine Chef recipe.]

Divine Chef recipe? The recipe of that old Chen family ancestor?

Lost in thought, Chen Ran glanced again at the flavor-effect quest for the Guobaorou (sweet and sour pork).

[Quest Requirement: Receive four sincere compliments from the heart.]

Her Guobaorou had already received many compliments before—why was the quest progress still zero?

Chen Ran even doubted herself. Could it be that her Guobaorou tasted terrible?

She couldn’t taste the flavor herself; when cooking she could only try the texture. Most of the time, she judged by others’ praise.

Chen Ran asked the system, “Is there a manual? What exactly does ‘sincere from the heart’ mean? Were the compliments before... lies?”

But thinking about how everyone practically licked their plates, it didn’t seem fake.

She wasn’t some big shot, so why pretend?

The system popped up a line of explanation:

[Sincerity needs contrast to stand out.]

“But if you do it like this, how do I even know if my dishes taste good?”

There was one thing she didn’t say: she had no sense of taste.

As a cook without taste buds, who could only rely on system skills for seasoning temporarily, Chen Ran had to depend on others’ reactions to confirm if her dishes were really good.

“I can’t taste the food, so I can only judge by the diners’ reactions.”

Chen Ran asked again, but the system was silent, silently popping up a window.

[Main Quest: Culinary Learning Journey]

[Congratulations, host, your cooking skills have finally entered the beginner level. Next is the formal journey of learning to cook.]

[Quest Reward: Identification skill]

[Skill Description: Allows you to have an objective understanding of a dish’s effect.]

Good!Chen Ran realized that ever since Chen Tingwei wanted to take her as a disciple last time, the system had become more and more reliable!

This shows that monopolizing the market is not desirable; healthy competition is what enables sustainable development.

She couldn’t wait to try out the skill.

There were still two special-effect lion’s head meatballs left in the fridge, which she wanted to save for Xiao Li, who had taken sick leave.

She tried using the system’s identification skill, and a line of small text immediately appeared above the lion’s head.

[One serving of S-level braised lion’s head that can bring back childhood happiness.]

Great! It could even identify special effects!

Chen Ran looked around her room for other dishes to identify, but the meals on the table had already been eaten clean by the police officers at the station, so she could only use the skill again on the leftover rice in the fridge.

[A barely qualified C-level leftover rice.]

After cooking rice for so many years, and with the B-level heat control bonus, it was only barely qualified?

Was the system’s judging standard a bit too high?

However, this skill made Chen Ran feel relieved for the first time.

For her, ever since losing her sense of taste, cooking had changed from a joyful enjoyment to a somewhat painful ordeal.

Yes, an ordeal.

When she still had taste, she couldn’t imagine how difficult it was to get the seasoning amounts just right, even when casually sprinkling.

Especially in Chinese cooking, there were lots of instructions like “a little,” “appropriate amount,” and “slightly.”

Although she didn’t need to taste every dish she made, losing her sense of taste was like walking in the dark — with light, she felt she didn’t need to watch her steps, but without it, every step was stumbling.

Back in kindergarten, even with the system’s A-level seasoning skill, she always found an excuse to let Yuan Guozhong taste first and watch his expression.

Only if Yuan Guozhong’s tasting was fine would she dare to continue confidently.

Now with the system’s identification skill, she finally didn’t have to worry about this anymore!

After finishing dinner and tidying the kitchen, it was time for Chen Ran to finish work.

Suddenly, she felt a bit regretful — today was probably her last time using this kitchen, right? Tomorrow, Ms. Wang was coming to pick her up to go to Yanglianshan.

Should she say goodbye to everyone?

However, the police officers at the station didn’t seem to be off work yet. Chen Ran glanced and saw that even Xiao Li, who was on leave, had been called back.

“Brother Li, what’s going on? Is it something serious? Can I help?”

“Nothing serious, but Ranran, wait a bit longer and sit over there for a while.”

Chen Ran was a bit puzzled—why did he want her to sit there?

But Xiao Li was always reliable. The detector he made was still in her bag.

She sat at the table, watching people walk around the station, occasionally making phone calls. Half an hour past normal off-duty time, a car stopped at the door, and Liu Shihan happily came over to pull Chen Ran away.

“Let’s go! To the director’s office!”“What’s going on?”

“Ah, you’ll know once you go up!”

Director Gao’s office wasn’t luxurious; besides the regular desk, there was only a long sofa.

When Chen Ran entered, she was surprised to see everyone already standing inside!

Director Gao sat behind the desk, Wang Changhai stood beside him, holding his shoulder.

Also there were Liu Shihan and Xiao Li…

The door was knocked, and Song Yifan walked in smiling, leading a woman dressed in black.

“Let me introduce everyone — this is Lawyer Long I mentioned earlier, a former classmate of my mother.”

Having stayed at the police station for a while, Chen Ran had gotten familiar with everyone and talked about many things.

She had heard from Song Yifan that his mother worked at the court and was a judge at a certain court.

She vaguely sensed… something was about to happen.

Song Yifan then reached out to Chen Ran: “Auntie Long, this is Ranran I told you about. We hope you can help take a look at this case…”

Chen Ran felt a bit at a loss.

She didn’t expect that even though she hadn’t said a word, everyone at the station had taken the whole matter to heart.

“What’s this kid standing there for? Call her over!” Wang Changhai grew a bit anxious, strode over, patted Chen Ran on the shoulder, then turned to smile apologetically at Lawyer Long. “Sorry, Lawyer Long, this kid’s just a bit stunned.”

“Yeah, such a young kid, kicked out by her own family. Her biological father is no good… you don’t know, the other woman’s kid is even three years older than her!”

“I heard from Yifan,” Lawyer Long smiled with a calming strength, reached out to pat Chen Ran’s shoulder, and led her to sit on the sofa. “Is your mother around? You can’t sue on this matter yourself; your mother has to file the lawsuit.”

“She’s not here, but I’ll call her over today… should be here by tomorrow!”

During these past days, every time she thought about the Chen family’s matters, Chen Ran felt endless worry.

Fortunately, there was still the system, she could still cook, and there were the people who bonded with her through the dishes she made.

The system beeped.

Right, there was still the system.

She sat on the sofa, listening as Lawyer Long carefully asked her, “How was that loan signed back then? Do you know?”

Chen Ran actually knew about this and recounted everything from start to finish.

Lawyer Long frowned; the loan contract had indeed been signed by the couple together, which made things a bit troublesome.

Xiao Li chuckled, throwing a stack of documents onto the desk.

“Hey, Lawyer Long, take a look at these transfer records?”

He hadn’t taken leave for nothing these days!

The guys next door had a fraud case, and someone surnamed Chen was involved. Xiao Li had been tirelessly investigating day and night. He found Chen Ran’s father in one suspect’s transaction records and openly checked his financial dealings.

“There’s more!”Chen Shihan took out her phone and showed it to Lawyer Long: “This is the surveillance footage I got—this is Chen Ran’s father buying a bag for the mistress at the mall… This should work, right? The angle is good, very clear!”

“Also this—this is Chen Ran’s father attending a parent meeting for his son. The neighbors all confirmed; they even thought the two were a couple…”

“This should prove bigamy, right?”

Chen Ran felt her vision blur… She raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose.

All seven people from the police station were here.

“Why are you crying?” Director Gao took out a tissue and handed it to Chen Ran. “Even though you’re a temp, you’re still a temp for our police station! If anyone bullies our people, how is that acceptable?”

Wang Changhai brought over a glass of water and handed it to Chen Ran: “Our Ranran hasn’t had it easy—just graduated and ran into this kind of thing, yet she knows how to comfort her mother and goes out to work herself. Don’t worry, even though you’ve only been at Qiaotou Road Police Station for a month, you’ll always be one of us. If anything happens again, just come back to Director Gao.”

“Yeah, don’t worry!”

Brother Hao also spoke up: “Those suppliers who refused to raise prices for the kindergarten before—I already had the Price Bureau visit them a few days ago. Don’t worry, no one will dare raise prices for the kindergarten anymore.”

Director Gao summarized earnestly: “Ranran, you have to believe this is a society governed by law.”

That Chen family really had big business. Not only running restaurants and banquet halls, but they also monopolized nearly half of the domestic seasoning and semi-finished products market.

He’d heard they even made some foreign standards, claiming they wanted to reform the rating system for domestic restaurants.

The businesses afraid to offend the Chen family and dare not hire Chen Ran—he couldn’t openly warn them, but for these direct illegal matters, they had to be caught without fail!

A temp is still staff of the police station!

Song Yifan no longer looked as down as when he first came to the police station; he was now tanned, his voice louder, and his posture straighter.

“Ranran, don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on you and sooner or later find their weak spots…”

He had only said half the sentence when Wang Changhai quickly covered his mouth.

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Lawyer Long smiled: “My ears just itched a bit and I scratched—didn’t hear anything.”

She looked at the thick pile of documents on the tea table and thought about Song Yifan’s mother’s position.

Although she had handled many cases involving malicious asset transfers and fabricated debts, this was the first time she had so many police officers helping prepare the fight.

If they lost this, she might as well quit this line of work!

Song Yifan continued to add: “Ranran, don’t worry. Auntie Long here is known for this all over Shanghai!”

He gave a thumbs-up.

“Really can do it?”

If it was a cooking contest, Chen Ran wouldn’t feel the least bit insecure.

Her entire childhood and school days had been spent in the kitchen; she probably held a wok handle and kitchen knife longer than a pen.

“No need to worry.”

Lawyer Long had traveled a long way and was starting to feel a bit hungry.

Seeing the young girl’s anxious expression, she asked, “Have your parents not finalized their divorce yet?”Chen Ran nodded: “The cooling-off period hasn’t ended yet.”

“All right, then don’t worry,” Lawyer Long exaggeratedly rubbed her stomach, “I heard from Yifan that your cooking skills are very good. Make me something to eat, anything will do?”

There were still two lion’s head meatballs in the fridge!

Besides, since the lawyer dared to ask her to cook, she must be confident, right?

Just right—the fridge still had some leftover rice that had just been tested. Leftover rice from the night before is perfect for fried rice!

Watching Chen Ran bouncing downstairs with her high ponytail swinging, Wang Changhai asked Lawyer Long again, “It really will work, right? This kid’s situation is too difficult…”

Losing the sense of taste for an ordinary person is already devastating. Not to mention all the family troubles.

“No problem. I’ve handled many similar cases before, and this time there’s so much evidence too.”

The group went downstairs to the kitchen, and Chen Ran, quick and efficient, had already started frying the rice!

She was making the most ordinary egg fried rice, but even with egg fried rice, it depends on who makes it.

At her already B-level flipping skill, each grain of rice coated in egg liquid flipped accurately along the same elegant trajectory in the air before falling back into the pan.

The aroma of eggs mixed with scallions filled the air. Stir-fried over high heat, the grains danced at the bottom of the pan.

Upstairs, everyone had been so focused talking that they lost track of time. Outside the window, night lights had already come on.

On such a night, the lawyer who had just come after a long journey felt that a bowl of egg fried rice could probably comfort her heart more than any delicacy.

The egg fried rice was done!

Chen Ran glanced at the rice, and the appraisal result from the system appeared:

【A plate of egg fried rice with excellent color, aroma, and taste — Grade A】

Chen Ran secretly asked the system in her heart: “With B-level skills, can you really make Grade A egg fried rice?”

Is Grade A egg fried rice really worthy of being called excellent in color, aroma, and taste?

Perhaps because Chen Ran’s eyes were still a bit red, and she was still slightly sniffling from crying not long ago, the system unusually added a few more words.

【Skill level is not the only criterion. The chef’s proficiency and focus can also affect the food’s grading standard.】

【Love for food and respect for diners are the most precious qualities a chef should have.】

Respect for diners, huh.

Chen Ran recalled hearing Chen Yun say many times:

“The common people have no taste of their own. If marketing is done well, they think anything tastes good.”

“If your cooking is good, just cook for high-end private clients. Only by winning the stomachs of those officials and nobles can you control the market and make more money.”

“What’s the use of that famous chef title? So what if it’s Chinese cooking? Does Michelin get famous for that? Does Michelin make money?”

It’s not like that!

A plate of egg fried rice should just be a plate of egg fried rice!

It can have pepper, chopped scallions, the chef’s focus, happiness, even sadness—but it must not and should not have those greed-driven things mixed in.The leftover lion’s head meatballs in the fridge had already been heated in the microwave. Chen Ran carefully placed a large plate of egg fried rice on the table.

Lawyer Long scooped a big spoonful.

Just downstairs, she had seen the little girl’s expression while cooking.

Focused, even a bit reverent.

Putting a big spoonful of egg fried rice into her mouth, Lawyer Long was surprised to find that although the fried rice looked oily, it actually wasn’t greasy at all.

The grains, coated with tender egg, had just the right texture, bursting with fragrance as she chewed, quickly soothing her hunger.

She then tried a piece of the lion’s head meatball.

Even after being microwaved, the taste of this S-grade lion’s head was perfectly preserved without any damage.

Such a splendid texture, such delicate flavor...

Song Yifan proudly looked at Lawyer Long: “How is it? Not bad, right? Better than that Drunken Immortal restaurant in the city?”

The lion’s head was indeed very good, but Lawyer Long felt she seemed to prefer the flavor of the egg fried rice more.

The flavor of this plate of egg fried rice carried an inexplicable sense of care.

It was like the taste her mother used to make for her when she was a child, back when her mother was still alive.

Her mother was also a lawyer.

Lawyer Long wiped her eyes lightly, quickly lifting her head as if nothing had happened: “Chen Ran, don’t worry. I will definitely win this case.”

Chen Ran nodded firmly.

She watched Lawyer Long eat the egg fried rice heartily, then elegantly wiped her mouth and smiled at her: “Don’t worry from now on. Do what you have to do. The adults will handle things. When the case is won, you can make an egg fried rice for auntie.”

Chen Ran was surprised: “Not lion’s head?”

Lawyer Long tilted her head slightly, as if returning to her girlhood days beside her mother.

“No, just this egg fried rice. I like egg fried rice better.”

Chen Ran’s heart seemed suddenly filled with a large warmth.

She recalled what the system had just said.

Respect for diners and love for food are the chef’s most precious qualities.

The people from the police station gathered around.

“Ran Ran, you’re going to the film crew tomorrow, take care of yourself.”

“If anything happens, send a message!”

“Don’t forget to use the detector we gave you!”

Liu Shihan handed her a photo: “Remember to get my autograph! Oh, and try Lu Yi’s cooking when the time comes, see how good it really is!”