Chapter 5

"Let's go, look, Xiao Mi is already yawning. Let's go upstairs and sleep," Maige held Amy's hand and smiled.

"Xiao Mi isn't sleepy yet. I can help Father tidy up," Amy yawned while shaking her head.

"I'll take care of it later. You can't fall asleep here, Father can't carry you right now..." Maige held Amy's little hand, feeling a bit disheartened.

Such an adorable daughter, but he couldn't give her a princess carry, let alone lift her high. No, he must recover his health as soon as possible. Maige secretly made up his mind.

The staircase was at the other end of the kitchen. Walking past the counter, there was a small door that separated the dining area from the living area. It suited Maige's preference.

When he was unconscious, the little one kept running up and down the stairs. She even went to get someone to look after him. Now, after eating, she claimed not to be sleepy, but her eyes were already closing as she climbed the stairs.

Maige led her into the master bedroom. Next to the large bed, there was a pink children's bed with guardrails. The small bed had a complete set of blankets, pillows, and even a small ladder to climb up.

Amy's eyes lit up when she saw this beautiful room and the small bed. However, she was really tired. She took off her shoes and climbed onto the small bed. Resting her head on the warm and comfortable pillow, she tightly held Maige's finger and happily said, "Father, you're amazing! The bed is so soft and comfortable. Xiao Mi loves it. And there's a lavish feast, it must be delicious..."

"Yes, when you wake up tomorrow morning, you can have a lovingly prepared breakfast by Father. Sleep well, my dear." Maige smiled and said.

"A loving breakfast, it must be delicious..." Amy murmured, closing her eyes and falling asleep in no time.

Maige stood by the bed, looking at the sweetly sleeping Amy. He reached out to brush the hair that fell on her face to the sides and then withdrew his hand, tucking her in the blanket.

"Don't worry, Dad will definitely make sure you have a lavish feast." Maige leaned down and lightly kissed Amy's hair, silently saying it in his heart.

Maige sat down on the edge of the bed and closed his eyes, contemplating how to open the door in his mind. Suddenly, an identical figure appeared in his mind, just like his own body, completely under his control. After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and pushed open the door that had the words "Yangzhou Fried Rice" written on it.

In an instant, a flash of white light blinded his eyes. Maige instinctively closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he realized that his entire consciousness had been absorbed into the body of that identical figure. The door behind him was gone, and he found himself standing in a rectangular kitchen, exactly identical to the one on the first floor, proportionally corresponding.

"Oh, this is great! It saves me the time to adapt and familiarize myself with the kitchen after going out." Maige's eyes lit up. As he lifted his leg, he froze. Surprisingly, his previously weak body, which couldn't exert any strength, could now move normally. He couldn't help but jump a couple of times. Although he still felt a slight weakness, it was much better than his previous disabled state.

"System, what is this?" Maige exclaimed excitedly. Could it be that the system had kindly restored his body?

"The host's current physical state is the state after adding 0.5 to the physical fitness. Please strive to complete the task. A strong body is waiting for you," the system's voice echoed.

"So that's how it is." Maige looked at the synchronized chart of physical fitness that came to his mind. The physical fitness of a normal human being is 2, while Maige's physical fitness after the hand replacement and leg extension was 1, a semi-disabled state.

And now, his state was 1.5. Although he couldn't wield a heavy sword, it was enough to hold a kitchen knife.

Moreover, the upper limit of physical fitness for humans in this world was much higher than on Earth. For example, after reaching a physical fitness of 4, one could engage in hand-to-hand combat with ordinary Orcs, and at 10, one could even knock down a Forest Troll with a single punch. Maige Alex's physical fitness should have been around 8, making him an extremely powerful individual among humans.

"Welcome to the Kitchen God's Trial Field. The system will provide you with an authentic experience of Yangzhou Fried Rice. Only when the Yangzhou Fried Rice prepared by the host meets all the requirements mentioned in the original evaluation of Yangzhou Fried Rice can you leave the trial field? The standard is based on all the requirements the host mentioned in the evaluation." The system's voice resounded once again.

"System, I feel like I misheard something just now. What are the standards you mentioned?" Maige cautiously asked.

"The requirements mentioned by the host in the initial evaluation of Yangzhou Fried Rice," the emotionless system responded.

"I think the standards officially announced earlier for Yangzhou Fried Rice were good. Why don't we just follow those?" Maige attempted to negotiate.

"The standards cannot be changed. Please complete the task as soon as possible," the system firmly refused.

"What about the standards for other dishes in the future?" Maige started to panic.

"They will be based on the evaluations you provided earlier."

"Damn it!"

Maige's heart was collapsing. He initially thought that the system had no malicious intent and could be used as an assistant system. Now it seemed he was too naive. Using the requirements he had mentioned as the standards was absolutely malicious.

Recalling the harsh requirements he had nitpicked before, he couldn't adequately express his current feelings.

This was simply digging his own grave. Even those master chefs of Yangzhou Fried Rice probably couldn't meet the level of requirements he had set.

"It turns out I shouldn't have expected things to be too good. This must be Heaven's way of appeasing those chefs and creating a system specifically to mess with me. But now that I'm here, I can't leave without completing it..." Maige looked at the shiny experience package that appeared in his mind. He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Since there was no choice anymore, he had to face it head-on. He had already promised to make a heartfelt breakfast for Amy. Thinking about how happy Amy would be when she tasted the Yangzhou Fried Rice, Maige was filled with anticipation, and even his gaze became resolute.

Maige tried to use his thoughts to touch the shiny experience package in his mind. The experience of making Yangzhou Fried Rice flowed into his mind, from the selection and processing of ingredients to the process of frying the rice. It seamlessly integrated into his thinking, as if he had known it all along.

"Is it really that simple?" Maige was completely stunned. He had thought the system would give him a hard time, but unexpectedly, it gave him such a big surprise. It felt like he had inherited the legacy of a Yangzhou Fried Rice master. As long as he followed the method in his mind, he could immediately make a bowl of exquisite and delicious top-grade Yangzhou Fried Rice. He went from being a cooking novice to an expert in an instant. It was like cheating.

After organizing the information in his mind, Maige confidently walked to the refrigerator. He opened it, and inside were various ingredients neatly arranged: rice, shiitake mushrooms, ham, winter bamboo shoots, large prawns, green peas, eggs, and scallions. All the necessary ingredients were there.

"First, cook the rice, then prepare the ingredients, and finally fry the rice," Maige's mind was clear about the steps. Looking at the ingredients in the refrigerator, his eyes lit up.

He reached out and grabbed a handful of rice. It felt smooth and delicate, with a pale greenish-white color and plump grains. Under the shining light, it was crystal clear. It was far better in quality than the Thai fragrant rice he usually ate, emitting a fragrant aroma.

Then he looked at the large prawns in the sink. Their semi-transparent bodies had unusual light purple patterns. They swam joyfully, appearing lively and wild.

The winter bamboo shoots still had a bit of black soil on them, and the salt frost on the ham had not been removed. The gray mushrooms were probably some kind of shiitake mushrooms. The eggs were larger than ordinary eggs and had a slightly yellowish color, while the tender green scallions still had some dew on them.

As a foodie who had almost eaten at Michelin-starred restaurants, Maige had a good eye for quality. These ingredients were definitely top-grade. However, he couldn't say for sure if they were of the highest standard. But since they were given to him for practice, he naturally wouldn't hold back and started to wash and cook the rice.

With such a comprehensive experience, Maige initially thought that making Yangzhou Fried Rice would not be difficult. However, when he actually started to handle the ingredients, he realized that everything was not as simple as he had imagined.

Although he knew how to handle each ingredient in his mind, when he actually held them and started to cut, he found that his movements couldn't meet the requirements and standards he had envisioned.

To make the texture of the fried rice more delicate, every ingredient had to be cut into evenly sized pieces, just like grains of rice. This required extremely high knife skills, which posed a severe challenge for Maige. He couldn't even achieve uniform slicing, and could only repeat the process over and over again.

Looking at the slices of bamboo shoots that were thin on one end and thick on the other, Maige sighed and changed to another one, continuing his attempt.