Are you suggesting I take care of my cousin?

To those present, have any of you ever had experience taking care of children?

For instance, when a relative couldn’t conveniently look after their child due to some matter, they would entrust the child to you, who appeared relatively reliable, to temporarily watch over and raise them for a period, all under the guise of trust and kinship. In reality, it was simply a way to trouble an honest person who was unwilling to spend money on childcare, wasting several days of your rest, only to receive a small amount of local specialty products as compensation in the end.

—I was once such an unfortunate soul, though the coconut shortbread my cousin’s father bought back then was quite delicious.

[Sizzle—] The sound of frying.

Frying slices of bread sprinkled with a little salt, then coating them with melted cheese until solidified. For Xiaoxin, a delicious survival energy bar was thus completed, capable of being stored for a relatively long time, with enough calories and salt to prevent him from losing strength.

The refrigerator held potatoes, radishes, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, peanut butter, and mock chicken. Though there was no meat, these were still good ingredients, even if most of them weren’t for him.

Oranges were always the best fruit to buy, being affordable, with soft, juicy pulp, and an abundance of vitamins. Moreover, their peels could be used for brewing tea, cooking porridge, and even cleaning and deodorizing, truly making them a treasure from head to toe.

For long-term sustenance, Xiaoxin even grew a small pot of orange trees at home, naming it ‘Little Orange.’ Without sufficient fertilizer and nutritional supplements, it naturally couldn’t grow well, yet it stubbornly survived, striving to provide its owner with one or two fruits each year.

Speaking of which, his dwelling hasn’t been properly introduced yet.

Xiaoxin’s home was a Japanese-style single apartment. To the right of the small corridor was the stovetop, followed by the bathroom and shower room. Finally, there was the 20-square-meter main bedroom, which came with a usable small table, a bed, a television, and a wardrobe that occupied most of the space.

But logically, how could one rent an apartment alone in Sea City with a mere monthly salary of 3000? Even an old house in the suburbs, allowing for a one-hour commute to the city center for work, surely wouldn’t be cheap.

Yet Xiaoxin only paid 1500 a month in rent. This incredibly astonishing price—did Xiaoxin possess some world-shattering negotiation skills that conquered the landlady? Or did he sell his soul and body to persuade her?

Neither. It was because this house was an inauspicious dwelling. This was a small survival trick: if you want to live in a relatively good place at a cheap price in a big city, look for these ‘inauspicious dwellings.’ The rent is often more than half cheaper than conventional places, saving a significant amount of money.

“Live on. For my sake, okay? Live on.”

Living here, perhaps the only downside was that whenever the landlady saw him, she would always utter these strange words with a forced, unsettling smile.

After all, most people living here were either struggling lower-class individuals in Sea City or unattended elderly people. The pressures of social competition, coupled with the poorly ventilated, gloomy environment, often led to mental breakdowns, which was a common occurrence.

Just the day before yesterday, a neighbor whose mental stability rating exceeded 150 was taken away. As such incidents accumulated, they naturally forced the rent in that area to drop further, which was precisely what the landlady hoped to avoid.

Having finished the survival energy bars, Xiaoxin’s next task was to prepare meals for his neighbors. The ingredients in the refrigerator were also for them. Since the neighbors quite liked Xiaoxin’s cooking, they would pay him to make them a meal, saving them the time of preparing food themselves, going out, or spending too much on takeout.

More importantly, the prices were affordable. A stir-fried tomato with egg dish outside cost around 7 (currency), while Xiaoxin’s meal was only 5 (currency) and came with rice. He didn’t earn much, but the taste was guaranteed. These neighbors simply had to stick a note with their desired meal on the small table next to Xiaoxin’s door each day, and Xiaoxin would prepare and deliver it to them at the specified time, collecting payment.

“Elderly lady, here’s your braised mock chicken.”

“Oh, oh, thank you. You even delivered it to me, I’m so sorry,” the elderly lady, whose legs were not good, repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

“It’s nothing, just a small effort.”

“You seem quite busy lately, looking so haggard.”

“Haha, I’m alright. I just recovered from a high fever, so I need some time to recuperate.”

“Ah, I’m truly sorry, child… if only I could help you in some way.”

Watching the elderly lady hobble, Xiaoxin felt a pang of sympathy. Not every elder received a substantial pension, nor did every working adult earn enough to support themselves or even a family of three, let alone have the time or money to care for these elders.

“No need, I can take good care of myself. In any case, please try the dish. I added a bit of salt and fennel according to your requested recipe; I hope it’s not too strong-tasting.”

“Good.” Smelling the aroma, the old woman smiled, picked up her chopsticks with slightly trembling hands, and put a piece of mock chicken into her mouth.

She closed her eyes, chewed, then gave a thumbs-up, her face radiating delight and intoxication.

“Delicious, this is the feeling. How nostalgic… it’s like my mother’s cooking; I feel decades younger, instantly transported back to my childhood.”

“Whew, that’s wonderful then. Oh, and this is freshly cooked porridge. Last time, everyone wanted hard rice, so it might have been difficult to swallow. I specifically made a portion for you first.”

“Hey, thank you so much! A good person like you will surely be rewarded with good fortune.”

“Haha, perhaps.” Though he responded with a smile, Xiaoxin didn’t quite trust himself to have good luck.

“You certainly will. Many processes might be painful, but they always lead to a good ending… please hold onto hope.”

“Mhm, I’ll keep that in mind.”

After receiving payment and bidding farewell to the elderly lady, he naturally moved on to delivering meals to others. Not every neighbor was as polite as the old woman; many with unstable mental stability ratings were more reclusive, sticking notes on their doors asking for meals to be left outside. After two knocks, a crumpled banknote would be pushed out, along with a curt demand for him to leave quickly.

Fortunately, the work was completed smoothly. Calculating his earnings, after deducting gas, oil, and ingredient costs for so many meals, he had made about 30 (currency).

He felt it was less profitable than selling pancakes, but he didn’t have a garage, couldn’t rent a stall or cart, and lacked the necessary permits. Moreover, he had to work his regular job, usually needing to leave for the station before 8 AM.

Normally, he would prepare meals for his neighbors late at night after returning home, then deliver them one by one through the delivery slot in their doors. Today was purely a weekend, allowing him to visit in person.

The cheese bread slices he made were somewhat cool by now, but still retained some fragrance. As they were merely stomach-fillers, he didn’t have high hopes for them.

[Beep beep]

It was an email message. Opening his flip phone, it was contact from his family.

—”Hey, Xiaoxin, are you getting used to life in Sea City?”

—”Mm, I guess so.” Though it wasn’t good at all.

—”Well, it’s like this: your cousin’s daughter got into ‘St. Fleur Maria Private Girls’ Academy’ in your Sea City. She’s a high school girl, you know.”

“Oh, congratulations.” He had no particular interest, guessing they wanted him to look after her if needed.

But the next words instantly floored Xiaoxin.

—”Yes, she’s a girl going to another city alone, and your cousin’s father is worried, so he hopes you can prepare her daily breakfast, lunch bento, and dinner. Oh, and you’ll have to wash her clothes too. Since it’s a customized school uniform made of high-quality fabric, remember not to use the washing machine as it will damage the material, so everything must be hand-washed.”

“Eh… eh?!”

—”Don’t worry, she specifically moved near your residence for you, to that Huasheng Community, an 80-story, exquisitely renovated place with a monthly rent of 9800.”

It clicked. Xiaoxin opened his window. Across the road, he could see rows of tall, exquisite residential high-rises. Compared to his own dilapidated, vintage, 11th-floor, no-elevator, 20-square-meter small cubicle, his cousin was living in a magnificent luxury apartment, with even a single room likely spanning seventy or eighty square meters.

‘Damn it! I strongly demand the elimination of such wealth disparity!’

—”By the way, she’s a young girl, and it’s not easy for her to come from out of town to a prestigious academy as a student. Don’t hinder her studies. Make her breakfast and lunch bento before 7 AM every day, and deliver her clean, dry clothes to her door. Knock three times softly, don’t disturb her, understand?”

“No, I…”

—”Since you often don’t get back until 10 PM, put her dinner in the refrigerator beforehand. We’ve already found someone to give her a spare key to your house, so she can pick it up anytime after school.”

‘No, she’s convenient, but what about my privacy!’

‘And what kind of unfair treatment is this! I can’t enter her house, but she has my key!’

—”And.”

‘And?! Am I not even human anymore!’

His anger flared, and even the cheese bread slice was crushed in his hand.

—”Every evening, remember to go to her apartment door to collect her changed clothes and her menu for what she wants to eat tomorrow.”

‘Good heavens, she gets to be comfortable, and I’ve become a nanny, haven’t I?’

‘Even a good-natured person, even family! How could one be bullied like this?’

This unfairness made Xiaoxin unbearable, almost making him burst into curses.

“My dearest father, is there any possibility that I actually can’t cook and simply can’t satisfy a teenage girl?”

‘Anyway, no matter what, getting rid of one burden is a start.’

—”Haha, Xiaoxin, you’re quite a joker. We still vividly remember the six tables of dishes you made during the New Year back then. That’s one of the few things I can brag about to my friends.”

It all came back to him. When Xiaoxin was 17, he was obsessed with a game called ‘Four Realms Rhapsody.’ It was the only game on his most prized ‘Little Ji’ (a second-hand tablet computer that was already quite outdated at the time). To keep up with the stats, own fashion items, and have common topics with his classmates, he directly spent nearly a year and a half’s worth of his accumulated New Year’s money.

Of course, while New Year’s money was for him, his parents had the right to monitor it at any time. During a big pre-New Year’s sale, when they wanted to use Xiaoxin’s New Year’s money to buy something, they discovered a significant amount was missing.

Because of this missing money, his mother’s long-awaited shopping trip for a new bag she had been yearning for fell through. As soon as they got home, she demanded an explanation from Xiaoxin, threatening him with trouble if he didn’t provide one.

‘I used it to learn how to cook.’ It was an absurd claim; anyone who thought about it for a moment wouldn’t believe it.

Facing his angry parents, Xiaoxin was prepared to be beaten. To avoid harming innocent parties, he even hid ‘Little Ji’ (the tablet computer) in a safe.

—”Fine! If you can really cook, then a week from now, when the relatives come over! We won’t go anywhere; we’ll set up tables right here and invite everyone! You’ll be the head chef!”

There was no escape. How could a poor boy become a master chef in just a week? His family’s words were spoken in anger, but in their fury, they actually called and invited relatives to dinner that very evening.

If he had merely admitted to lying to his parents, at most he would have been reprimanded or had his tablet smashed in anger. But in this situation, it wouldn’t just be a family scandal; he might never be able to hold his head high again.

‘Hey, aren’t you a magical girl mascot? Can you transform into one of those culinary-savvy mice, sneak into my hat, grab my hair, and control me to cook?’

‘You’re dreaming, but if you want to learn, it’s not impossible. To assist magical girls who wish to create delicious food, the culinary knowledge stored in the minds of our kind of spirits is equivalent to the combined expertise of over 5000 Michelin chefs worldwide! If you need it, I can teach you a crash course right now.’

‘Then let’s do it.’

And so, with the help of the magical girl mascot who was still with him at the time, he would secretly transform and slip out of the house, learning under deserted bridge arches.

First, he absorbed theoretical knowledge, then, using magical power, he conjured virtual ingredients and cooking utensils to practice, starting from basic knife skills, to nutritional pairings between foods, the mutual influence of flavors, and then mastering techniques like stir-frying, quick-frying, sautéing, deep-frying, braising, boiling, and stewing.

He didn’t just go out alone to study during the day; at night, after his parents fell asleep, he would also secretly slip out to practice.

Finally, a week later, his culinary skills had blossomed. He rented a spacious banquet hall in his hometown, inviting friends and relatives from afar. Even the restaurant’s chefs became observing customers. With six full tables of guests, he was utterly exhausted, his eyes dark with fatigue.

Restaurant Manager: “A 17-year-old boy has to cook for six tables of people for New Year’s, ensuring both speed and quality. And judging by their attire, demeanor, and accents, the guests come from all corners, so their tastes will undoubtedly differ. A New Year’s feast must also cater to their preferences. This level of difficulty is challenging even for top chefs. Rather than calling it youthful exuberance, it’s more like utter folly.”

Head Chef: “Ha, I thought it was some formidable figure! Turns out it’s just a kid! Looking at his listless state, he’ll probably be crying and begging us for help in a bit!”

Xiaoxin’s Father: “Ahahaha, Xiaoxin, Xiaoxin! Look! So many relatives trust you and are willing to come during New Year’s to taste the skills you learned with your New Year’s money! You can’t disappoint them! Ahahaha!”

‘It’s bad enough when others mock me, but why is my own father so gleeful! You’re the one who invited them; if it fails, your reputation will be even more ruined than mine!’

There was nothing he could do. Although he couldn’t quite remember the details of that time, he ultimately, to protect his tablet from being smashed in anger and to use his New Year’s money, single-handedly astonished the entire hall with a feast almost akin to the Manchu Han Imperial Feast. Everyone was compelled to admire him, and even some discerning food critics gave him a high score of 9.5.

‘What? You think it’s too outrageous? And I didn’t explain the process in detail? Hmm… it’s fine, it’ll be clarified in a few episodes later anyway.’

But recalling that incident, that lie, which he had thought concluded perfectly that day, was now being exploited once more, dragging him into a new quagmire.

‘I must find a way to decline! It has to be a more tactful and reasonable method.’

As he pondered, Xiaoxin urged his brain to imagine and weave a sufficiently convincing reason to extricate himself from this trouble.

“Twelve thousand. What do you think?” Before Xiaoxin could formulate his thoughts, a sudden voice made his heart skip a beat.