Chapter 16: The Foodie Player’s Money-Making Plan!

Have you eaten today? he thought to himself. Come to think of it, Su Qingyue really was just a child. His own daughter was already in her twenties, yet this girl was even younger than her. A sixteen-year-old girl with no family, all alone and so small—how pitiful! And to be bullied on top of that, she was truly deserving of care and protection.

Yes, it was the girl in the promotional video who caught his attention, but his affection was that of a doting parent, rooted entirely in a fatherly heart. What’s wrong with a man being a mother? Damn it, bullying a minor like that—men remain boys at heart forever. Which man wouldn’t feel a surge of righteous anger? How could a grown man stand idly by while a little girl with no family was being tormented?

Today, he felt his heart melting: “Such a small child, still a fledgling!” She was so thin, her waist could be circled with a single hand, and her legs were thinner than his arm, as if a breeze might topple her. So fragile! There’s a kind of thinness where your parents think you’re underweight, but Su Qingyue’s figure was actually quite normal.

Lan Ling’s expression was indifferent. She had always been cold and aloof, uninterested in food cravings. At first, she had eaten a few pieces of rabbit meat simply to fill her hunger meter, then stopped. She looked every bit the recluse, detached from the world. Su Qingyue raised an eyebrow—no wonder she was the most valued all-round player.

Lan Ling’s performance today was impressive. Her understanding of the game, adaptability, and flexible use of various tactics made her undoubtedly one of the strongest players. This proved why she was regarded as a powerful female warrior in Huaxia. Someone chose to selectively ignore the equally excellent Flying Dragon in the Sky.

However, a cold and aloof boss always seemed to be accompanied by a lively, comedic presence to balance things out. Xiao Mo quickly snatched the bowl from Lan Ling’s hands and before anyone could react, shoved a steaming bowl of soup into her grasp.

“Hurry up and drink! We barely snatched the last bowl from those beasts! Don’t say I’m not thoughtful!” Xiao Mo said as she swiftly lifted her own bowl and began enjoying her soup.

Lan Ling looked at the milky broth in her hands, amused and exasperated. Apparently, Xiao Mo’s soup had too “fresh” a fish flavor, and now she was a bit scared of fish soup. Well, it was all done with good intentions from her best friend.

Might as well give it a try.

After a small sip, Lan Ling didn’t lift her head again.

In this ancient world, fish—untainted by pollution—was fresh and tender, pale pink in color, floating in the broth. The rich, savory soup slid smoothly into her mouth, lingering with a profound taste. After swallowing, the throat still held a distinct freshness that wouldn’t fade, causing salivation to increase.

Who could resist such a flavor? Indeed, human nature is truly to crave deliciousness!

Nearby, Flying Dragon in the Sky’s gaze swept over them. The two women immediately became alert, quickly finishing their soup and glaring fiercely.

“Looking to die?”

“What are you doing? Trying to steal food?”

“Ahem, am I that kind of person?”

Xiao Mo showed no reaction, but by how she pulled Lan Ling further aside, it was clear her face was saying: Yes, you are exactly that kind of person!

“Well, we fought side by side before, can’t you be a little more reasonable?” Flying Dragon in the Sky rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Today, Have You Eaten had filled his own stomach and was busy gathering miscellaneous items from other players in the world channel.

Comedic Tiantian happily went over and draped an arm around him. “What’re you doing, brother?”

Have You Eaten glanced at the hand on his shoulder speechlessly. This guy was way too familiar, way too casual!

Tiantian cheerfully declared, “Where there’s milk, there’s mother; where there’s food, there’s father!”

As someone who only knew how to blow up kitchens, he naturally had to latch onto a big shot!

“I’m processing ingredients. There’s still a lot of leftover meat that I’m making into jerky for everyone to snack on during the journey. Just need to cure it and roast off the remaining moisture so it lasts for days.”

“Plus, we can sell it—we have to make money too. Look, everyone in the world channel agreed.”

He wasn’t skilled at fighting and hadn’t been a main force during the day, so he definitely couldn’t keep the profits all to himself.

“I want to make most of the leftover game meat into jerky and other preserved foods for emergency rations, sell a small portion in passing towns, and take 30% of the earnings. The rest will be split evenly. How’s that?”

“Sounds good! No problem. Chef, you do it! Without you, what we make actually makes us lose health!”

Not an exaggeration—he was handling a huge workload, and most of the food was communal supplies. Taking only 30% of the profits was more than fair.

Jerky requires removing a large amount of moisture and sun-drying until it’s fragrant and crisp to preserve the best taste. Have You Eaten and several fire-element players worked up a sweat.

Other players munched happily: “Mmm, this chicken leg is delicious! That’s tasty too!”

Two very different scenes unfolded. Su Qingyue fell into thought: “Oh no, I think the players are going to conquer this continent with food!”

Compared to brute force, this might be even faster.

The system was puzzled: “Huh? Is it really that exaggerated?”

Su Qingyue shook her head. “You probably don’t understand. In this world, cultivators either take fasting pills or don’t eat at all. Common folk are mostly poor and only seek to fill their bellies; their food is extremely scarce and monotonous.”

Even nobles only ate some vegetables and fruit, with coarse, poorly refined salt sprinkled on top.

In short, the food was awful! There was nothing tasty at all!

Curious, Su Qingyue approached. This wasn’t pretense—she truly had never seen anyone make jerky before.

Have You Eaten was busy but frowned slightly at the shadow nearby, waving dismissively: “Don’t bother me. Can’t you see I’m busy? There’s plenty of food over there!”

Go eat, don’t disturb me! Can’t you keep your mouth shut?

“You really like cooking?”

“Why don’t you leave yet!” Have You Eaten snapped, turning to meet the girl’s cool, clear gaze.

“Oh, it’s you!” He recalled her question. “Sort of. I enjoy the process of making delicious dishes, kind of like a painter painting or a musician composing.”

Oh! So it’s a true passion! Su Qingyue smiled, respecting anyone who loved their craft.

Have You Eaten thought for a moment and pulled out a golden, crispy fried chicken leg. “Here, take this and eat it while you play. If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me. Dad—I mean, I’ll cook it for you!”

Almost slipped there! That was close.

“Oh, being fed?” Su Qingyue instinctively took the chicken leg, tempted by a flavor she hadn’t tasted in a long time.

Fried chicken was really delicious! One bite through the golden, crisp skin revealed tender, juicy meat inside, evenly coated with chili and cumin powder. The meat was flavorful and tender.

“Fried chicken leg? I want one too!” Xiao Mo’s eyes lit up. Along with Comedic Tiantian, they sneaked over from both sides, trying to pilfer the chicken leg and grab some jerky.

They were quickly stopped by groups of other players who swarmed them: “What are you thinking? Fried chicken and jerky are what we’re selling!”

So far, the only things that could attract the ancient people were fried chicken and jerky; their other tools just weren’t sufficient.

These two things aren’t just food—they’re money!