Chapter 10: Shopping, Cooking Skill

There were already over a dozen people lined up in front of the platform.

Everyone was quiet and orderly, unlike the crowded and noisy bus stops of later generations.

"Hey, comrade, get in line!" a middle-aged man in a grey Zhongshan suit called out when he saw Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan hurried to the back of the line.

Within a few minutes, an old-fashioned convertible bus slowly pulled up; the body was painted dark green, looking just like an exhibit in a museum.

"Don't push, one by one!" the conductor shouted; she was a middle-aged woman in a blue uniform with a black ticket box hanging at her waist.

Li Mingyuan followed the flow of people onto the bus and took out two cents to hand to the conductor.

"Where to?" the conductor asked.

"Chaoyangmen Vegetable Market."

"Four cents." The conductor skillfully tore off a ticket and stuffed it into Li Mingyuan's hand.

The bus interior was crude, there were not many passengers, and most were silent. Outside the windows, rows of low, single-story houses flashed by, with an occasional new building in the Soviet style visible.

……

Twenty minutes later, the bus stopped at an intersection.

"Chaoyangmen, we're here!" the conductor shouted.

Li Mingyuan got off the bus and followed the crowd toward the vegetable market.

The vegetable market was much cruder than Li Mingyuan had imagined.

It was just a street with wooden stalls or mats laid out on both sides, holding various vegetables and meats. Most of the vendors looked like farmers, with dark skin and simple clothing.

"Chinese cabbage, fresh Chinese cabbage!"

"Radishes, radishes just pulled from the ground!"

Various shouts rose and fell. Li Mingyuan walked through them, looking at the sparse vegetables on the stalls, his heart filled with emotion. The extent of the scarcity of supplies exceeded his imagination.

"Young man, want to buy some cabbage? Just picked from the field, it's fresh!" A rural woman waved at Li Mingyuan.

Li Mingyuan walked over and took a look; it was indeed fresh. "How much a jin?"

"Ten cents," the woman said.

It was cheaper than Li Mingyuan had imagined, so he nodded. "Give me two jin."

The rural woman's eyes lit up, and she hurriedly picked out a few of the largest cabbages to put into the cloth bag Li Mingyuan had brought.

Li Mingyuan strolled around and bought cabbage, potatoes, radishes, eggplant, and green peppers, and also bought some scallions, ginger, and garlic. There weren't many varieties of vegetables, but the prices were cheap.

Next, he came to the meat section. There were more people here, all picking through the limited amount of meat.

"Master, how much is pork per jin?" Li Mingyuan asked a middle-aged butcher wearing a white undershirt and a blood-stained apron.

"Fifty-two cents a jin." The butcher patted the pork on the chopping board. "This is the best meat today, just slaughtered."

Li Mingyuan thought for a moment. "Give me five jin."

As soon as he said this, the several customers nearby who were hesitating about whether to buy meat looked at him in surprise.

Five jin of meat? That would cost over two yuan! Ordinary families usually bought half a jin or eight taels of meat, chopping it into mince for stir-fries.

The butcher was also stunned for a moment, then grinned. "Alright, I'll pick out the good stuff for you."

Li Mingyuan didn't just buy pork; he also bought a chicken, stuffing it into his cloth bag under the surprised gazes of the crowd.

After buying the groceries, he went to a department store and bought daily necessities like a coal stove, an iron pot, bowls, chopsticks, and spoons.

Now he had too many things for one person to carry, so he had to spend five cents to hire a tricycle to transport the items back to the Siheyuan.

It was already afternoon when he returned to the Siheyuan, and Li Mingyuan followed the tricycle driver, carrying bags large and small as they moved things into the West Courtyard.

People in the courtyard heard the commotion and poked their heads out to look; seeing this, they all widened their eyes in unison.

"My goodness, so many things!" Jia Zhangshi stood at her doorway, clicking her tongue.

As soon as Yan Bugui saw Li Mingyuan had bought so many things, his eyes went straight; he hurried up to meet him. "Comrade Li, buying so many things? Let me help you move them."

"No need, thank you, Teacher Yan." Li Mingyuan smiled faintly.

Yan Bugui persisted, crowding in to help Li Mingyuan carry a bag of vegetables, but his eyes were fixed on the meat wrapped in newspaper, and he licked his lips. "Comrade Li, look, with so much meat, you can't finish it alone, right? How about my family borrows a few jin and pays you back another day?"

"Teacher Yan, you're a great intellectual, surely you can tell the difference between borrowing and gifting?" Li Mingyuan looked at him with a half-smile. "If you borrow the meat, when do you plan to pay me back? Which day is 'another day'?"

Yan Bugui's face flushed, and he sheepishly put down the vegetable bag, having made a fool of himself.

"I think you're just looking for a free meal," Li Mingyuan continued. "Your abacus is quite sharp; you're trying to take advantage of me in the blink of an eye."

Yan Bugui's expression turned even uglier, and he forced a smile. "Comrade Li, what are you saying? I just wanted to help." After saying this, he slunk away, though he was gnashing his teeth inside—this kid had a truly poisonous tongue!

Jia Zhangshi stood not far away, looking at the bag of meat Li Mingyuan was carrying, her eyes nearly popping out. "What exactly does this Li Mingyuan do? Buying so much meat, how high must his salary be?"

"I heard he's an expert," Liu Haizhong said sourly. "His salary must be high."

Shazhu hopped out from his room, curiously staring at Li Mingyuan's things. "New uncle, you bought so many good things to eat!"

He Daqing was teaching Shazhu how to cook at their doorway; seeing his son about to run toward the West Courtyard again, he hurriedly called out, "Shazhu, come back! Don't go bothering Comrade Li."

Shazhu stood still reluctantly, muttering, "I was just looking."

Li Mingyuan noticed He Daqing was chopping vegetables; his movements were skilled and neat, and his knife skills were quite good.

【Detected that the host is observing a chef cooking, discovered skill: Cooking, learn it?】

"Learn!"

A stream of information flooded into Li Mingyuan's mind; various culinary techniques, essentials of knife work, and heat control were instantly mastered by him.

【Insight System successfully activated, host has gained Proficient Level understanding of 'Culinary Arts'.】

【Insight Value increased: 5→7】

The corners of Li Mingyuan's mouth lifted slightly. "Cooking skill acquired; looks like I won't need to eat out in the future."

Seeing Li Mingyuan staring at him, He Daqing lowered his head somewhat nervously, his movements becoming distorted.

Li Mingyuan felt it was strange; why was this He Daqing so afraid of people? He looked shifty, no wonder he would run away later.

After moving everything into the house, Li Mingyuan closed the door and began to tidy up his new home.

He lit the stove, set up the pot, and prepared to make a good meal. The Culinary Arts he had just learned from the system would come in handy.

"I'll make some braised pork later, stir-fry some green pepper and shredded potatoes, and fry up some eggplant too..." Li Mingyuan calculated as he tidied up, "Let's see what kind of expressions this bunch will have when they're hooked by the aroma."

He had just finished cutting the meat when he heard a knock at the courtyard gate.

"Who is it?" Li Mingyuan asked.

"Comrade Li, it's me, Liu Haizhong." A fawning voice came from outside the door, "I heard you bought a lot of good things; do you need any help? I can help you light the fire and cook!"

Li Mingyuan sneered; this Liu Haizhong really had a keen sense of smell, circling around the moment he caught the scent of meat.

"No need, I can do it myself," Li Mingyuan replied without even raising his head.

Liu Haizhong stood outside the door, staring longingly into the courtyard, sniffing the aroma of the meat, and swallowing his saliva, "Comrade Li, you can't eat that much by yourself, can you? How about I help you taste if it's salty enough?"

"Master Liu, you are a master chef; my skills can't compare to yours, let's not make a fool of ourselves." Li Mingyuan put the meat chunks into the pot, and the oil sizzled, "Besides, eating one's own rations is a fine tradition of our country, isn't it?"

Liu Haizhong laughed sheepishly and lingered at the door for a while longer, but seeing that Li Mingyuan was completely unmoved, he had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Li Mingyuan closed the door properly and focused on cooking.

The Culinary Arts bestowed by the system allowed him to quickly prepare several home-cooked dishes that were excellent in color, aroma, and taste.

The braised pork was bright red and rich but not greasy; the green pepper and shredded potatoes were crisp and delicious; the stir-fried eggplant was shiny with oil, soft and tender.

Li Mingyuan looked at his masterpiece with satisfaction and took a deep breath of the aroma, "Not bad, much better than the restaurants outside."

At this moment, rustling sounds came from outside the window, along with low whispers:

"Did you smell that? The scent of meat, it's so fragrant..."

"Eating so much meat alone, what a waste..."

"Living in such a big small courtyard all by himself, how extravagant..."

Smelling that meaty aroma, Jia Zhangshi finally couldn't sit still and stomped toward the small side courtyard.