"Hey, Shopkeeper, you seem quite enthusiastic about fulfilling people's wishes, don't you? It's like you can form some kind of commission, right?" While Yuyuko ran off to enjoy her food, Yakumo Yukari sat down at the bar counter, propping her chin with her hand as she asked Chen Luo.
"Hmm, that's right." Chen Luo nodded.
Chen Luo had never hidden this matter, and the Yukari might have heard similar terms from Venti.
For Chen Luo, there was no harm in guests knowing he wanted commissions.
Fulfilling wishes and obsessions caused no harm to the commission issuer whatsoever.
In that case, why hide it?
If these guests could intentionally learn to farm commissions to get him to help with certain things, Chen Luo wouldn't be angry; he'd be happy instead.
Just like if Venti could learn to give him ten [Another Cup] commissions a day, Chen Luo would look at him more favorably too.
As for guests issuing commissions unfavorable to Chen Luo...
Please, if people can issue a commission, Chen Luo can also refuse it. It's not like he has to complete a commission just because someone issued it.
Chen Luo isn't stupid; couldn't he tell if someone was trying to set him up?
Besides, when the Talent Panel forms a commission, it also attaches some crucial basic information. This information helps Chen Luo effectively discern whether he should accept the commission or not.
"Then, how about I issue a commission?" Yakumo Yukari looked at Chen Luo and said.
"Of course you can." Chen Luo nodded.
Yakumo Yukari's strength was unquestionable. He just hoped the commission she issued later wouldn't be too deliberately difficult.
"Hand over the recipe for Judgment Time." Yakumo Yukari stared at Chen Luo.
[Ding! You have a new commission!]
[The Leek's Rebellion]: Yakumo Yukari no longer wants her good friend to be treated like a cash cow forever. After all, not eating it for a day feels like dying. So, teach Yakumo Yukari how to make [Judgment Time].
Reward: 600 Primogems + Random Item
"The recipe for Judgment Time? Of course, sure." Chen Luo readily nodded.
Yakumo Yukari frowned slightly, feeling things weren't that simple.
Although it wasn't nice to say this about a friend, Yuyuko was really someone very easy to treat as a cash cow. Couldn't this person distinguish between long-term and short-term benefits? Or did he have to accept the commission once it was issued?
Or perhaps the commission needed to be completed, but how it was completed could vary?
Yakumo Yukari didn't understand, but she was very cautious.
"Do you want to learn now?" Chen Luo asked.
"Guaranteed teaching and guaranteed learning?" Yakumo Yukari asked with a frown.
"Guaranteed teaching, but not guaranteed learning. During the time I teach you how to cook, I will impart all my insights on making Judgment Time to you. But whether you can learn it or not, I can't promise." Chen Luo shook his head.
Chen Luo also knew what Yakumo Yukari was thinking.
Naturally, she had noticed he was fleecing Yuyuko daily and wanted to cut off this method.
After all, looking at Yuyuko's situation, she really liked this dish intensely.
And given Yakumo Yukari's personality, she naturally wouldn't let others hold leverage over her good friend, even leverage in this sense.
And Chen Luo also knew that although Yuyuko herself hadn't expressed any resentment in this regard, Yuyuko wasn't stupid either. So, regarding Chen Luo's cash-cow farming behavior, Yuyuko had expressed a small protest.
The evidence was that Yuyuko's favorability discount remained stuck at 25% off, completely unable to increase.
Chen Luo also knew why, but Chen Luo couldn't help it either. Did you expect Chen Luo to give up a fixed daily reward of 100 Primogems? That's just too hard.
Besides, Chen Luo had no ill intentions towards anyone. Chen Luo just wanted them to eat at his bar. He didn't charge them anything except Primogems, and Primogems didn't count as a cost for them. Based on the above, Chen Luo had a clear conscience.
And perhaps Saigyouji Yuyuko herself also knew this, so she merely stopped increasing her favorability without letting it decrease.
To be honest, a 25% off discount is a truly terrifying discount.
As for that [Judgment Time], Chen Luo would definitely teach it, but whether Yakumo Yukari could learn it...
The difficulty was a tiny bit high.
"Is that so..." Yakumo Yukari heard Chen Luo's subtext.
I will teach, but whether you can learn it is not my fault.
But although Yakumo Yukari heard the subtext, she was helpless.
Because Yakumo Yukari simply didn't understand the theoretical principles behind Chen Luo's actions, nor what benefits Chen Luo gained from completing commissions? Or how precious these benefits were to him?
Yakumo Yukari knew none of these things that were crucial in a transaction.
"So, when do you want to start learning? Now? It's just right that there aren't many guests now." Chen Luo looked at the still relatively empty shop.
Although Chen Luo wasn't very busy even during the peak hours—just going in and out of the bar's small kitchen—delaying Chen Luo's method of customizing cash-cow farming based on each guest's situation was itself the biggest loss.
Do you think a normal tavern operation could earn so many Primogems a day? It's all because Chen Luo induced them one by one.
Simply put, it's promotion.
Every time he finished running the bar, many of Chen Luo's brain cells died.
So Chen Luo only opened the bar for a little over 4 hours a day, from around 8 PM to just past midnight.
Otherwise, Chen Luo really couldn't keep it up.
Battling wits with these customers every day was truly mentally exhausting.
But the customers received better service from Chen Luo, and Chen Luo also obtained Primogems, so it could be considered a win-win situation.
"Yuyuko, stop eating. Come here." Yakumo Yukari called out to Yuyuko.
Yakumo Yukari wanted Yuyuko to come over purely for taste-testing.
Because no matter how Yakumo Yukari ate this Judgment Time, she found it disgusting. Only Yuyuko thought it was delicious.
Yakumo Yukari's culinary skills aren't peerless, but she's an old monster who has lived for thousands of years; she's skilled in everything. The key is her memory is astonishingly good.
Subsequently, Yakumo Yukari and Yuyuko followed Chen Luo into the small kitchen.
This small kitchen isn't actually small; it's just that the entrance is somewhat small.
"But speaking of which, I can teach you, but you'll have to cover the cost of the ingredients yourselves." Chen Luo reminded them.
"Huh? Ingredient cost?" Yuyuko tilted her head in confusion.
"Before tilting your head to ask, could you put down the apple in your hand first? That's an ingredient, thank you." Chen Luo said to Yuyuko.
"What do you want?" Yakumo Yukari asked.
Yakumo Yukari didn't even mention money because she knew Chen Luo wasn't the type to care about wealth. Otherwise, when accepting commissions, he would definitely also request some payment.
So what Chen Luo wanted became the question.
"It doesn't matter. Just give me something you find interesting. Don't worry about the value." Chen Luo waved his hand.
Chen Luo himself had no intention of making money from this.
Chen Luo just didn't want to suffer a loss.
"Here, take this." After hearing Chen Luo's strange request, Yakumo Yukari thought for a moment, then gave Chen Luo a bag of something.
"What is this?" Chen Luo took it, opened it for a look, then fell silent.
"A serving of freshly made, still warm fried tofu." Yakumo Yukari opened her folding fan and said.
"...Alright then. It just so happens there's a fox at home now." Looking at the item Yakumo Yukari gave, Chen Luo fell silent for a moment before accepting it.
But Yakumo Yukari, is this fried tofu perhaps taken from your Yakumo Ran?
Your shikigami is crying.
"Next is the preparation of Judgment Time. First, I need to inform you in advance: Judgment Time doesn't have a fixed food combination. It allows for a variety of rich combinations. Just like how Yuyuko hasn't had the same version twice in all these days she's been eating Judgment Time, right?" While explaining to Yakumo Yukari, Chen Luo also asked Yuyuko.
"Mhm, that's right. Although the food is different every day, it's always equally delicious." Yuyuko nodded.
"But since you're both beginners, we'll start learning from the most basic version. After mastering the basic version, you can add other ingredients to it."
"First, potatoes are washed, cut into pieces, but with the skin completely left on. Next, a squid that hasn't released its ink, its belly full of edible ink. Then..."
Chen Luo meticulously explained to Yakumo Yukari while handling the ingredients.
And the more Yakumo Yukari watched Chen Luo cook, the more horrified she felt.
It wasn't that his cooking method was outrageous; it was mainly that it was completely unimaginable how it could possibly taste good from this process.
In contrast, Yuyuko beside them found it completely unremarkable and started eating the nearby preparation materials.
After 5 minutes of preparation and 5 minutes of simmering, a fresh Judgment Time was ready.
In between, Chen Luo even went out once to attend to a guest.
"Mmm, so delicious. Especially this squid. After cooking, the ink seems to have transformed into a supreme delicacy. With one bite, it instantly bursts forth in the mouth." After tasting the freshly made Judgment Time, Yuyuko gave Chen Luo a thumbs-up.
"Next, Yakumo Yukari, it's your turn." Chen Luo signaled to Yakumo Yukari.
Yakumo Yukari closed her eyes and reenacted Chen Luo's steps several times in her mind before reopening them. Then, she started making Judgment Time, completely following Chen Luo's pace and rhythm.
Yakumo Yukari dared to swear that her every step was extremely close to Chen Luo's, whether it was the heat control, the force used for cutting, or the timing of adding ingredients—they were all identical.
She even matched the exact number of beef balls Yuyuko secretly added during the 5 minutes Chen Luo was out.
10 minutes later, the Judgment Time made by Yakumo Yukari was also smoothly prepared.
Yuyuko, who usually ate Judgment Time with great relish, instinctively took a step back upon seeing the Judgment Time made by Yakumo Yukari, which looked identical to the one Chen Luo had placed beside it.
"Yuyuko, don't be afraid. You saw it too; our cooking methods were completely the same." Looking at the Judgment Time she had made, Yakumo Yukari subtly averted her gaze before comforting Yuyuko.
"That's true... but... I don't really want to eat it." Yuyuko used words as tactful and non-hurtful as possible towards her good friend to excuse herself.
"Be good, come on, just one bite." Yakumo Yukari pushed the bowl and chopsticks in front of Yuyuko and said.
"J-just one bite." Yuyuko held up one finger.
"Just one bite is enough. Try the taste." Yakumo Yukari nodded.
"Mhm." Yuyuko took a deep breath, then picked up something of unknown identity with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.
Yuyuko believed in Yakumo Yukari; she definitely could...
Thud!
Yuyuko's entire face planted directly into the bowl.
"Yuyuko!!!"
* * *
"Can you give me an explanation? Clearly, I followed every step you said, doing everything exactly the same as you did. Why is the result completely opposite?" Yakumo Yukari asked with a cold face.
And when Yakumo Yukari saw Yuyuko cautiously eating the Judgment Time made by Chen Luo himself beside them, she couldn't help but feel somewhat guilty.
Before, when Yuyuko ate Judgment Time, she devoured it heartily. But after eating the Judgment Time made by Yakumo Yukari, every time Yuyuko picks up an unknown item from her bowl, she has a sense of vigilance like ["There are always treacherous ministers trying to harm me"].
She's afraid of accidentally eating Yakumo Yukari's Judgment Time, or even having a single bite mixed in.
"This... perhaps, Yakumo Yukari, you lack a certain love for the culinary arts?" Chen Luo pondered for a moment before saying.
"Love for the culinary arts? What is that?" Yakumo Yukari frowned.
Yakumo Yukari suspected Chen Luo was deceiving her.
"If you don't love it, please don't harm it, thank you. You don't understand it, but don't question its existence either. It's like how ordinary people fundamentally cannot understand how youkai power operates, but you youkai use youkai power as naturally as moving your own arm, as if born with the ability. This kind of thing can't be explained. How about... you try making it again?" Chen Luo inquired.
"No! I'd rather die! I never want to eat Judgment Time made by Yukari in this lifetime! I mean this deadtime!"
Before Yakumo Yukari could even speak, Yuyuko beside her voiced her protest.
"Ah... forget it, I won't learn it." Yakumo Yukari sighed helplessly.
Yakumo Yukari suspected Chen Luo was still hiding something, but he had indeed taught her seriously.
But she truly couldn't learn it.
[Ding! Commission completed]
Hearing this sound, Chen Luo knew the matter was concluded.
*Ah, Yakumo Yukari, Yakumo Yukari, do you really think a 4-star recipe is that easy to learn?*
*What does a 4-star recipe mean?*
It means this single recipe is equivalent in value to a Divine Key.
*If it were really that easy to learn, it wouldn't deserve its 4-star recipe title.*
*After all, this recipe managed to ascend to 4-star status based solely on its peculiar disgustingness.*
Oh, and of course, there's one most important thing: although making Judgment Time doesn't require any special materials, only those with a culinary skill level reaching Master or even Grandmaster can produce it.
And even if the culinary skill level reaches Master or Grandmaster, if they haven't used the recipe before, they need thousands upon thousands of practice attempts to master it.
But... if you make Yuyuko eat thousands of servings of Judgment Time that are only disgusting, Yuyuko might fight you to death.
Simply put, the difficulty of making it is extremely high, and the margin for error is extremely low.