Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

After swiftly finishing the Four Happiness glutinous rice, Xiao Qin the apprentice came to his loyal kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with washed radishes, box after box with hardly any room to stand. Cao Guixiang didn't even enter the kitchen but stood at the door watching.

"Once the radishes in the kitchen are fully sliced, you can move on to the yams in the storage room," Cao Guixiang said.

Qin Huai understood, today was a day to slice vegetables and brush up on knife skills.

Last night he was slicing in his dreams, and upon waking, came directly to the kitchen to slice seamlessly—it worked wonders.

Without a moment of hesitation, Qin Huai picked up the kitchen knife and quickly sliced radish shreds.

The speed was similar to that of slicing radishes last night; quick, precise, and firm, without any hesitation. The movements were crisp and clean, with his knife making regular, rhythmic sounds as it struck the cutting board.

The only difference was that Qin Huai was consciously slicing radishes this time—not like last night when it felt as though his soul had reached a higher plane, slicing radishes merely with his body while his soul was practicing in the ethereal realm above.

Cao Guixiang dragged a small chair over and quietly watched at the kitchen door, whereas Zhang Chu, very experienced, was comfortably curled up on the sofa playing on his phone.

Of course, the phone was on silent mode.

The entire house was very quiet, only the sound of slicing vegetables was heard, with sunlight streaming through the windows onto the floor and furniture, also illuminating Cao Guixiang's hair, her face half-lit.

In the kitchen, Qin Huai stood facing the window; sunlight bathed him, making the strands of radish on the cutting board appear exceptionally clear.

"Xiao Qin, stop cutting radish shreds; try slicing radish slices as thinly as possible." Cao Guixiang spoke.

"Alright." Qin Huai nodded and switched methods.

Qin Huai knew how to slice radish slices; inherently, it wasn't difficult—just a difference between slicing shreds and slices. Qin Huai had only been slicing shreds, not slices, purely due to lack of skill, producing slices that weren't thin enough—not to mention thin as a cicada's wing, he'd need to shine a flashlight through to see light.

Actually, comparatively, it was simpler with less exacting standards; achieving uniform thickness was considered passable, more suitable for practice.

Qin Huai began slicing radish slices.

The first slice.

A bit thick.

Much thinner than previous radish slices, but Qin Huai knew he could slice thinner and more evenly.

Without any hesitation, Qin Huai smoothly transitioned to the second slice.

Slightly thinner than the previous one, yet not his best work.

The third slice.

His knife edge skewed a bit during the slice—an error.

The fourth slice.

This slice was well done, thinner and more uniform than before, yet could still be better.

The fifth slice, the sixth slice…

Qin Huai kept slicing one after another quickly, not worrying about errors, continuing until he found his rhythm.

Finally, as one radish was nearly finished, Qin Huai sliced a piece he considered very beautiful, within his current status.

Qin Huai put down his knife, picked up the radish slice, and studied it closely for a few seconds. He glanced back at Cao Guixiang, who simply watched him without speaking, smiling gently. He didn't turn away but held up the slice against the sunlight streaming in from the window.

Sunlight enveloped the radish slice, partially transparent, but not fully.

Semi-transparent.

It wouldn't count as a crystal-clear radish slice, but certainly the most beautiful slice Qin Huai had cut since he started practicing knife skills.

At least, with this slice held up, Qin Huai wouldn't close his eyes in despair, lamenting how his knife skills were disgraceful, wondering how he managed to cut such things.

Cao Guixiang smiled contentedly: "Now, don't you feel cutting transparent radish slices isn't so far-fetched?"

Qin Huai bashfully nodded.

"With your current level, practicing for another 10 days or so, you'll be able to cut those thin slices as transparent as a cicada's wing."

Qin Huai: …

Such familiar words, feels like he's heard them somewhere.

No, feels like he's said them somewhere.

Qin Huai widened his eyes in terror, looking at Cao Guixiang in disbelief, his expression filled with words—but if this is true, it'd be better to die; can today's radish slicing just include slicing me as well?

"I wouldn't…" Qin Huai dared not face this scary truth.

Cao Guixiang pressed her lips, gave Qin Huai a meaningful glance, her mouth twitched into a funny expression, finally couldn't resist and burst into laughter: "Both your Grandpa Zhang and I are really curious about what you dreamt this morning."

"How could you talk so loudly in your sleep, we heard even through the bedroom door."

Qin Huai: …

=͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)

Tired, bring on destruction, someone please slice me into radish slices.

He thought he heard the echo of his shout upon waking, turns out there really was sound lingering in his ears.

"Alright, won't disturb you anymore, keep slicing radishes. Remember to slice, and hurry up, otherwise dinner won't be ready on time tonight." Cao Guixiang laughed.

Qin Huai promptly resumed slicing radishes.

This was crucial, couldn't afford to be careless. If he sliced slowly and delayed Cao Guixiang from cooking, thus postponing dinner, Qin Huai would truly become a sinner.

200 pounds of radishes, not too much, not too little. At Qin Huai's previous speed, slicing 200 pounds of radishes might take nearly an entire afternoon.

But after leveling up from Basic to Intermediate Knife Skills, Qin Huai's slicing speed increased considerably, and Cao Guixiang refrained from chatting with Qin Huai to distract him, allowing for higher efficiency.