Avoid detours, start by running a nursing home.

Chapter 36 New Skills

4 PM...

"Let's go, take your time playing, and remember to level up quickly!"

Grandpa Jiang said something to Zhang Yang beside him, then casually clicked the mouse, turned off the power, and stood up and walked leisurely towards the door.

The old man now has an hour of gaming time each morning and afternoon.

Although the time was short, the old man didn't dare to be reckless again after learning his lesson last time, so he obediently turned off the phone and left when the time was up.

"I should be leaving soon too."

Zhang Yang replied, then raised his hand and slammed the laptop shut with a click.

The laptop he received as a reward for completing the mission finally arrived this afternoon. He spent the afternoon playing games with the old man, which also served as a chance to test the machine.

The TCL K560, black with silver trim, is said to be able to run World of Warcraft.

However, the price was quite steep. The box came with an invoice that listed the price at 8399, which was more expensive than the Nokia phone he had seen yesterday.

"Heh, you little brat, you said you'd take me to catch a phoenix?"

The old man gave him a disdainful look: "You only work sporadically. If I wait for you to teach me, it'll be too late."

"Hehe, I'm busy with things at the nursing home, isn't that also to better take care of you elderly people?"

Zhang Yang, with his notebook tucked under his arm, shamelessly replied.

"Hehe, if you really want to take care of us old bones, you might as well find a few more helpers for that girl Li and give her a raise."

"That's for sure, Grandpa. Don't worry, I'll never forget her, no matter who else I forget."

He spent the whole morning helping Li Xiaoyun and he realized that she was now the most important person in the nursing home.

No old man could dislike this little girl.

Moreover, their work ethic is truly impeccable.

But a pay rise...

He'd be heartbroken if prices went up, but his conscience wouldn't allow it to stay down; it's such a difficult choice...

"Alright, you know it yourself."

The old man nodded in satisfaction, then turned and went for a stroll on the lawn outside.

Hmm, this child is teachable.

After Zhang Yang went upstairs to put his computer away, he found a health certificate among the documents that came with the system and then ran back downstairs...

With so many rewards for completing the favorability quest, he's now full of motivation.

However, the two people with the highest favorability, Grandma Chen and Chef Xu, are now stuck.

One is that the index has stopped rising at 59 points, so I guess I need to learn from others. The other is that I need to cook a good dish, otherwise I won't be able to complete the first task.

After comparing the two elderly people, Zhang Yang naturally chose Chef Xu in the end.

After all, one is kind and approachable, while the other is eccentric and difficult; there's no suspense about who to choose.

"Grandma Xu, is there anything I can help with in the kitchen?"

Zhang Yang pushed open the kitchen door and peeked inside to ask a question.

In the kitchen, Grandma Xu was busy with three young people who looked to be around twenty years old.

Wash, cut, stir-fry, stew, boil...

Preparing a meal for more than twenty people is not easy.

In particular, several of the elderly people have chronic diseases and need to have their own customized diets and meals prepared separately.

So the people in the kitchen all looked incredibly busy.

Fortunately, with Chef Xu directing, everyone worked efficiently and in an orderly manner, despite the busy schedule.

"Is Dean Zhang here?"

Hearing the voice, Grandma Xu turned around and looked up, a smile appearing on her face: "It's alright, we can manage. Besides, you need a health certificate to work in the kitchen..."

"Yes, I do." Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang quickly took out his health certificate from his pocket.

"Oh, Dean Zhang, you've prepared quite thoroughly?"

The old lady took the health certificate, examined it carefully, and smiled, "Do you have a chef's certificate?"

"No, not really..." Zhang Yang said, surprised. "But I can still cook and eat for myself normally."

"Is that so?"

The old lady pondered for a moment upon hearing this. Zhang Yang was, after all, the dean, and besides, he had left a fairly good impression on her, so she couldn't bear to refuse him directly.

But even she, a chef for so many years, couldn't bring herself to leave someone who knew nothing in the kitchen.

After thinking for a moment, she finally said, "The vegetables are almost all washed today, so why don't you help me chop and prepare them..."

As she spoke, the old lady turned her head and said, "Little Tiger, come here for a moment."

As soon as he finished speaking, a young man who was slicing cucumbers responded, raised his hand, slammed the cleaver on the cutting board, and ran over happily.

"Master, did you call me?"

"This is the director of our nursing home; he's here to help out today."

The old lady pointed at Zhang Yang: "Xiao Hu, you teach him knife skills later, and remember to be careful."

"Okay, no problem."

The young man named Xiao Hu chuckled and patted his chest, agreeing, "Then, Dean, come with me..."

"Okay, thank you."

Zhang Yang was overjoyed upon hearing this, quickly thanked them, and followed them into the kitchen.

The old lady watched from behind and shook her head.

Being a chef isn't that easy.

It takes three years to get into the industry. Which chef doesn't start from sharpening knives and washing vegetables, and then go on to preparing ingredients? You can't get to the stove without spending two or three years honing your skills.

You'll know once you try it.

Leaving aside why the old lady didn't think highly of Zhang Yang, let's talk about how Xiao Hu led his men to the food preparation area...

"Dean, you're a beginner, so let me explain the basics of our knife skills to you first."

Xiao Hu looked at Zhang Yang with a silly grin and said something, then swiftly pulled a cleaver from the cutting board and picked up a cucumber, placing it in front of him.

"If we were to go into detail about our chefs' knife skills, there could be more than twenty different techniques. However, when cooking, we mainly use a few methods like slicing, chopping, and peeling..."

As he spoke, he raised the knife and gripped the handle: "Take cutting, for example. First, the way you hold the knife is important; your thumb should be pressing against the blade..."

"Then use your other hand to hold the food in a cat's paw shape, while also pressing against the back of the knife to prevent cutting your hand."

As Xiao Hu explained earnestly, he flicked his wrist and the knife moved with him: "When you're cutting, you must pay attention; it's your wrist that moves, not your arm..."

"Cut methods include straight cut, push cut, pull cut, saw cut, chopping cut..."

As he spoke, his hands moved non-stop, demonstrating various basic knife techniques to Zhang Yang.

The Chinese kitchen knife in her hand flew up and down like a butterfly flitting among flowers, and in no time, a pile of neat cucumber slices appeared on the cutting board.

The thickness of each piece is exactly the same.

"How was it, Dean? Did you see it clearly? Should I slow down and try again?"

Xiao Hu put down the kitchen knife, grinned sheepishly, looked up at Zhang Yang, and asked.

Among the few of Grandma Xu's grand-disciples who came today, his knife skills may not be the best, but his mind is definitely the quickest.

When the advisor called him over earlier, he saw the old man give him a meaningful look and understood what Chef Xu meant.

This is meant to intimidate and discourage people, but it can't be done in a way that makes them look bad.

That's so easy!

So he showed off his skills right from the start.

After he finished cutting the cucumber, he looked up and saw Zhang Yang staring blankly at him, and a wide grin immediately spread across his face.

Isn't that all there?

Zhang Yang was indeed dumbfounded.

However, he wasn't watching how others chopped vegetables.

Instead, he looked at the few lines of text that had popped up in front of him.

"New skill detected, available for learning..."

"The chef's knife skills..."

"Learning..."

Acquired skill: Chef's knife skills (beginner)

"Skill upgrade function unlocked after first learning a skill through instruction from another person..."

Someone taught me for a while, and then I watched someone else cut vegetables, and that's how I learned a chef's knife skills?

Zhang Yang stood there dumbfounded.

Is it that simple?