So, noodles and potatoes. If there was one ingredient that could perfectly unite these two, it would undoubtedly become the favorite food of the Jingzhou People!

That’s why Su Chen chose the three-yellow chicken. Considering what could go with both noodles and potatoes, this ingredient seemed like a really good fit.

When he tried to put the three-yellow chicken into the recipe synthesis slot, the system prompted that the chicken was on cooldown.

’Hmm... Looks like I’ll have to do this myself.’

Fortunately, making fried chicken wasn’t some kind of secret art. Back when he was a streamer, Su Chen had even done a special episode on fried chicken.

As the saying goes, the best chicken in the south is from Yue Province, and the best in the north is from Lu Province.

No chicken makes it out of Lu Province alive!

If you wanted to make fried chicken, you couldn’t avoid Lu Province. However, the fried chicken adapted from Jiang Province’s "big plate chicken" was also very distinctive and would integrate more easily with potatoes.

What Su Chen needed to do now was combine the various regional specialties to create a fried chicken suitable for the people of Jingzhou—in other words, a fried chicken that paired well with noodles!

This time, however, Su Chen wasn’t in a rush to head to the Gourmet Practice Room and start cooking blindly. Instead, he lay quietly in his office, thinking things over.

Potatoes themselves don’t have much flavor; they take on the taste of whatever they’re mixed with. But when it came to cooking them, there were really only a few methods: stir-frying, Blast, stewing, or roasting. Other methods weren’t quite right.

’Man, this is a real tough one!’

For the first time, Su Chen felt stumped.

’If it really comes down to it, I’ll just have to go to the Gourmet Practice Room and try making a few versions. I’ll finalize the method through constant tasting!’

Before he began practicing, Su Chen had Bai Xiaobo and Xiaobin go to the storeroom and bring back two boxes of whole chickens, leaving them in the kitchen to thaw naturally.

Immediately after, he entered the Gourmet Practice Room.

’Let’s do this!!!’

...

The entire morning, aside from hauling whole chickens from the storeroom and taking an order from Jingzhou City, Bai Xiaobo just spaced out.

As noon approached, Liu Shengnan and He Shuting still hadn’t made any progress.

"Xiaobai, didn’t you have someone coming over for lunch? Get a move on!" Liu Shengnan reminded him.

Right now, this was the only way out the company could think of. Even if it didn’t show results the same day, as long as it worked within three to five days, there was still hope!

"Oh. I’ll go then." Bai Xiaobo seemed out of it. He walked to the elevator, then turned back. "Shengnan, this is an order from the city. I’ve prepared the plan. When the boss comes out, remember to have him review it."

"Got it." Liu Shengnan casually took the plan from Bai Xiaobo, placed it on her desk, and went back to looking for a meal partner on her phone.

Before she could find her next person, Su Chen’s voice called out.

"Shengnan, go out and buy some vegetables."

Looking up, Liu Shengnan asked in surprise, "Boss, what were you just doing?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you look so tired? You can barely walk straight." As she spoke, Liu Shengnan subconsciously glanced at Su Chen’s legs.

’In broad daylight, he couldn’t possibly have...’

"Don’t be ridiculous." Su Chen waved a hand wearily. "I need to go to the big market. Are you going by yourself, or should I go with you?"

Liu Shengnan thought for a moment. "Why don’t we both go? I’m afraid I won’t pick the freshest ones."

Just as she finished speaking, Ling Shuyu walked over from her desk. "I’ll go with you. I have a car."

Su Chen was mortified.

’Damn it!’

’The company doesn’t even have a single car. After this month’s rent is paid, the first thing I’m doing is buying a car. I absolutely have to buy a car!’

"Alright. Shengnan, make a note of it. Add a car usage allowance for Shuyu next month."

"Okay."

The two left the company and went down to the underground parking garage. Su Chen was just about to open the car door when he saw through the window that the five-foot-tall Lina had already beaten him to the passenger seat and was buckled in.

"Er, Boss, why don’t you just sit in the back?" Ling Shuyu’s face reddened for no apparent reason.

"Whatever works."

Su Chen got into the car. He was only aware of the car leaving the parking garage, and then nothing. The next thing he knew, Ling Shuyu was calling his name.

"Boss, we’re at the big market. Wake up?"

"Mmm~" Su Chen stretched, blearily opening his eyes. He stared blankly for a few seconds, trying to focus his Spiritual Power.

"Pull an all-nighter?" Ling Shuyu had found that since coming to Delicious, her mood had started to relax, and she felt like teasing her boss from time to time.

Su Chen shook his head. "Let’s go. Let’s take a look inside."

This time, Su Chen had tried to push his limits. To others, it looked like he had gone into his office and come out just a few minutes later.

But from Su Chen’s perspective, he had been working in the Gourmet Practice Room for a full sixteen hours!

Twice as long as before!

It was precisely this long work session that left Su Chen so dazed when he came out. And after countless attempts, he had tentatively decided on a preliminary method for the fried chicken.

Since it was called "stir-fried chicken," the "stir-fry" part was definitely key.

But it couldn’t be *only* stir-fried.

The fried chicken of Lu Province was incredibly diverse. Take Linyi fried chicken, for example; it was most famous for its "dry-frying" method, where the chopped chicken pieces go through a single step of being stir-fried from raw to cooked.

There were also other methods like twice-cooked, "wet-frying," and "earthen-pot" style, but none of these quite met Su Chen’s needs.

Laiwu fried chicken, for instance, required pressure-cooking the ingredients first before stir-frying.

Then there was Zaozhuang’s chili chicken and others. Different regions had different preparation methods. You could say that if you went to Lu Province, you could eat fried chicken every day and never have the same dish twice.

So, in the end, Su Chen decided.

He would combine the strengths of Jiang Province’s big plate chicken and Lu Province’s fried chicken to create this new dish.

That meant he would definitely need a few fresh vegetables.

First were Qing and red peppers. These two vegetables would not only make the fried chicken look appealing but also add to its aroma.

Then there were scallions.

Unlike leeks, scallions don’t keep for long, so it’s best to buy them fresh each time. This time, Su Chen bought a large bundle.

And finally, onions!

That’s right. This was a new ingredient Su Chen discovered after thousands of attempts: onions!

Who puts onions in a proper fried chicken? Su Chen, that’s who!

With Su Chen along, buying the ingredients was a breeze. The two of them browsed the market for about half an hour and bought everything they needed.

As they passed a dart-throwing stall, Ling Shuyu noticed that the owner had put up a giant Lina doll again...

After buying the ingredients, the two hurried back to the company. The round trip gave Su Chen a chance to nap for over half an hour, and his over-expended Spiritual Power recovered slightly.

When they returned, Liu Shengnan handed a notebook to Su Chen. "This is the new order Bai Xiaobo took today. I have a bad feeling about it."

"What’s wrong with it?"

Su Chen glanced at the order.

[Budget: 2 people, ¥100 per person is fine]

[Request: Only want one dish]

[Time: 12:00 PM]

"It’s an order from Jingzhou City, but we haven’t done any promotion over there. It’s a bit strange."

"Hah." Su Chen put the order aside. "Why be unhappy about a customer? Who cares who they are. It’s perfect, I’m making a new dish today. We’ll serve them this!"

"I think Xiaobai is bringing a girl over for lunch," He Shuting said, sounding like a gossipy auntie.

"Mm." Su Chen called everyone into the kitchen.

First, he would make a "staff chicken"!