I'm a Druid at a farmhouse.

Chapter 74 Skill Effects

Song You took a potato from the vegetable basket next to him and weighed it in his hand.

The ability to analyze the texture of ingredients operates automatically.

The weight, moisture content, and starch distribution of the potatoes instantly formed a three-dimensional image in his mind. He knew perfectly well where to cut them into shreds and where to cut them into chunks.

He picked up the cleaver he had won at the food festival from the cutting board.

The blade is long and narrow, gleaming with a cold, eerie light. The ebony handle feels warm and smooth to the touch, and its weight is just right.

Nice knife!

Song You held the potato down with his left hand, and with a flick of his right wrist, the slicing knife turned into a streak of silver light.

"Tap tap tap tap tap—"

A series of dense, rain-like sounds echoed through the kitchen.

His movements were incredibly fast, yet unbelievably steady; every cut he made was perfectly consistent in thickness.

In just over ten seconds, a round potato was transformed into a pile of thin, translucent potato shreds, as fine as hair.

He soaked the shredded potatoes in water and started a fire.

"call--"

Blue flames shot out from the stove.

Under the perception of the Heart of the Hearth, this flame is no longer just a simple heat source.

He could clearly feel the flow of heat inside the flame, and he could feel the faint noise caused by the insufficient purity of the fuel.

He poured oil into the pan, and the oil heated up quickly.

Fifty degrees, eighty degrees, one hundred and twenty degrees...

Every minute change in oil temperature was precisely reflected in his mind.

It's now!

Song You poured the drained potato shreds into the pot.

"Sizzle—"

With a loud bang, white steam billowed up.

With a flick of his wrist, the large iron pot tumbled lightly in his hand.

His skill in "flipping the wok" allowed him to reach a whole new level of control over the pot.

However, problems also arose.

He only used a little too much force, and the large iron pot, weighing about ten pounds, almost flew off the stove.

It's too light.

With the continuous improvement of his [Body Building] ability, his strength is now vastly different from what it used to be.

This iron pot, which would be incredibly heavy to an ordinary person, is no different from a plastic toy in his hands.

This severely impacted his performance.

Song You frowned, slowed down his tossing motion in the wok, and switched to using a spatula to stir-fry quickly.

Salt, vinegar, chopped green onions...

His ability to harmonize the five flavors allows him to add ingredients entirely by feel, yet the amount of each ingredient is extremely precise.

In less than a minute, a plate of fragrant and spicy shredded potatoes was ready.

He took a bite.

The sour, spicy, and salty flavors are perfectly balanced, the shredded potatoes are crisp and delicious, and the cooking time is just right.

The taste is fine, even better than what he used to make.

But Song You knew in his heart that the cooking process just now was far from perfect.

The pot and spatula couldn't keep up with his pace.

Looks like it's time to upgrade my gear.

Just then, Su Yunxi's clear voice came from the courtyard.

"Boss, we have a customer!"

Song You put down his chopsticks and walked out of the kitchen.

A slightly worn Wuling Hongguang van stopped at the gate of the courtyard, and two workers wearing white hats got out. They looked like the managers of the construction site in the city.

"Boss, can you still eat here?" one of the dark-skinned men asked with a smile.

"Yes, the menu is on the wall, just order whatever you like." Song You pointed to the wooden sign on the wall.

Su Yunxi had already skillfully taken her notebook and went over to introduce today's special dishes to the two of them.

Song You returned to the kitchen and cooked a meat dish and a vegetable dish for the two of them.

Having learned from his previous experience, he deliberately controlled his strength this time. Although his movements were not as aesthetically pleasing, they were still very efficient.

In less than ten minutes, two steaming hot plates of home-style stir-fry were served.

After seeing the two guests off, the farmhouse returned to its usual quiet.

Song You returned to the house, took out his phone, and opened the Orange online shopping app.

Instead of searching for well-known kitchenware brands, he directly searched for custom-made handcrafted cast iron pots.

A bunch of shops popped up on the screen, claiming to be made using traditional forging methods and embodying the spirit of craftsmanship.

Song You clicked through each one, and finally chose the shop with the fewest negative reviews and the most sales in the comments section.

The shop's customer service avatar is a shirtless, burly man forging iron.

Song You sent a message.

"Hello, are you looking to order a custom-made pot?"

The other end replied instantly: "Hello, it's custom-made. What are your requirements?"

"I need a pot and a spatula." Song You organized his thoughts and started typing.

"The pot must have a round bottom and be 40 centimeters in diameter. It must be made of wrought iron, forged through countless hammer blows, and the pot body must be free of any impurities and air holes. The net weight of the pot must not be less than 30 jin (15 kg)."

The customer service representative on the other end of the screen remained silent.

After a long while, a question mark was sent.

"Thirty jin? Boss, are you sure it's thirty jin, not three jin?"

"Confirmed, thirty jin, no more, no less."

"Honey, are you buying a pot or a weight?" The customer service representative's tone was full of suspicion. "Our thickest pot only weighs about ten pounds; that's for experienced chefs in big restaurants. Most people couldn't even lift it with one hand. You want a thirty-pound one? Are you planning to use it as a teppanyaki grill?"

"It's comfortable to toss the wok," Song You replied simply and directly.

There was another long silence on the other end.

"...Okay, you're the customer, you call the shots. So, where's the spatula?"

"The spatula must also be made of wrought iron, forged in one piece without any welding. The blade should be thin and sharpened. The handle should be thick, solid, and forty centimeters long. The total weight should be no less than ten kilograms."

This time, customer service didn't even bother sending a question mark; they just sent a string of ellipses.

"Boss, forgive my bluntness, but are you buying kitchen utensils or weapons? A ten-pound spatula, are you planning to use it for stir-frying or for crushing garlic? I'm afraid if you use it, the kitchen stove will collapse."

"Don't worry, my stove is sturdy."

"..."

The customer service representative seemed to have given up and asked resignedly, "Any other requests?"

"Yes. The handles of the pot and spatula should both be made of ebony, from a single piece of wood, not spliced ​​together. Please have two words engraved on the pot and spatula."

"What should I carve?"

"The pot is engraved with the Song Dynasty, and the spatula is engraved with the You Dynasty."

At this point, the customer service representative was completely speechless.

He probably has never taken on such an outrageous order in his entire life.

"Boss, your request is too unusual, so the price won't be cheap. Just the cost of materials and labor alone will bring in at least eight thousand yuan for a set."

"No problem, money is not a problem, just make sure the product is good," Song You replied.

"Okay!" The customer service representative's attitude instantly became enthusiastic. "Don't worry, we'll make sure everything is clear and straightforward for you! We'll ship your order within a month!"

With the equipment issue resolved, Song You felt much more at ease.

He put down his phone, stretched, and prepared to go to the back mountain to check on the wild boar cubs.

Just as I reached the gate of the courtyard, a deep and wild engine roar came from afar, breaking the tranquility of the mountain village.

Song You and Su Yunxi, who were watering the vegetable garden in the yard, both looked in the direction of the sound.

A bright yellow sports car with sleek lines and a flashy color came to a stop in the open space in front of the farmhouse in an extremely arrogant manner, drifting its tail.

The car door opened upwards, like outstretched wings.

A young man got out of the driver's seat first.

The man was wearing a pair of brightly colored beach shorts and a faded tank top. His exposed arms and legs were tanned to a light red, and he looked like he had worked out, with some muscle on his arms.

This outfit is common at the beach, but it looks particularly out of place in this inland city.

Several guests fishing by the reservoir were also attracted by the commotion and cast curious glances their way.

Despite his outfit, he wasn't wearing flip-flops, but rather a pair of the latest white sneakers.

Seemingly noticing the crowd's gaze, the young man nonchalantly tossed his head and shouted, "What are you looking at? Don't you know it's illegal to drive in flip-flops?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it was full of energy and carried a nonchalant air about it.

The fishermen reluctantly withdrew their gaze.

Immediately afterwards, the passenger door opened, and a tall, elegantly dressed woman stepped out.

She wore a well-tailored long dress and heavy makeup, exuding the aura of a sophisticated urban woman, which contrasted sharply with the young man in beach shorts next to her.

The young man naturally reached out and put his arm around his female companion's waist before raising his head to look around at the farmhouse inn in front of him.

His seemingly casual eyes swept over the crooked wooden sign at the entrance that read "Come and Enjoy a Farmhouse Experience," then looked at the vibrant vegetable garden in the yard and Su Yunxi watering the plants.

Finally, his gaze fell on Song You, who was standing at the gate of the courtyard.

His gaze didn't linger on the two of them for long; instead, it turned to the surrounding environment.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, as if savoring the taste of the air.

A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, a strange expression on his face that was a mixture of surprise and satisfaction.

"interesting."

He muttered to himself, then put his arm around his female companion and strode toward the courtyard gate.