activa-t Chapter 4: The consequences of eating at the table
Chapter 4: The consequences of eating at the table
The four of them quickly responded in unison, "We understand!"
"Good, I understand." Qi Ranqiu looked at Li Jingran, "Vice President Li, announce the initial plan after the new students join the club."
"Yes, President!" Li Jingran stepped forward, his tone serious. "You have one month to master the Stomach-Expanding Swallowing Technique!"
"A month later, I will begin teaching you the knife skills for chopping bones and mincing meat, and then I will teach you the cooking techniques for exotic beasts."
He then changed the subject: "Whoever eats the most exotic beast meat on Fridays during club activities this month will receive a free bone-chopping and meat-slicing knife technique, and will also have the opportunity to receive one-on-one guidance from the club instructor!"
"Others will have to pay for their own sword techniques."
"Friendly reminder: this knife skill doesn't come cheap."
"And another thing!" Li Jingran's eyes sharpened. "If anyone doesn't achieve even a minor level of mastery within a month, kick them out!"
"There are no losers in our class, and I hope you won't embarrass me either! Do you all understand?"
"Understood!" The four of them answered in unison, not daring to be negligent.
Qi Ranqiu nodded in satisfaction: "Alright, enough chit-chat, let's start cooking!"
In no time, the four of them switched gears, rolled up their sleeves, and plunged into the kitchen.
Washing vegetables, cutting meat, starting a fire, and cooking were all done in one go, keeping everyone busy and bustling about.
The entire cooking club's activity room is designed as a combination of kitchen and dining room.
It has everything: pots and pans, stove and oven. It's probably more professional than a cafeteria kitchen.
Seeing this, Zhou Qing, Yuan Chongshan, and the others rushed over to lend a hand, but as soon as they got close to the stove, Li Jingran kicked them all aside: "Get out of the way! The stove is not a sacred place for you!"
Zhou Qing staggered two steps and retreated to a corner with the other three.
He took the opportunity to pull out his phone, opened the previous live stream of the community, and sure enough, found the bone-chopping and meat-slicing knife technique in the product list.
The moment Zhou Qing saw the price, he gasped.
Flash sale price: 29998 yuan!
A full thirty thousand silver dollars!
His monthly living expenses are only 10,000 yuan, which means he would have to go without food or drink for three months to save up enough money to buy it.
This isn't selling martial arts techniques, it's robbing people!
It should be noted that a normal first-tier martial art only costs a few thousand.
Most martial arts techniques costing tens of thousands of yuan are second-tier.
A first-tier martial artist's physical strength is insufficient to handle second-tier martial arts. Zhou Qing and his fellow high school students, at least until their senior year of high school, will not be able to access second-tier martial arts.
However, some extremely advanced and uniquely effective first-tier martial arts techniques do indeed sell for more money than second-tier martial arts techniques.
The pricing of martial arts manuals varies greatly, influenced by factors such as the compiler's reputation and qualifications, the age of the manual, copyright fees, and its actual effectiveness.
Especially martial arts techniques that have the effect of prolonging life, even first-tier martial arts techniques, are quite expensive.
A knife skill that can chop bones and mince meat can sell for nearly 30,000 yuan, so it must have something unique about it.
Thinking about this, and combining it with the requirements Li Jingran mentioned, Zhou Qing finally figured out why his application to join the company had been approved.
It turns out that the cooking club doesn't just look at the total score, but also values martial arts talent!
The key is that I mastered two basic martial arts techniques within two months of enrolling.
Otherwise, with my garbage score of 649, how could I possibly squeeze out a bunch of top scorers?
……
As time went by, one dish after another was served.
Dry-fried pork belly, char siu shank, minced pork with pickled green beans, twice-cooked pork with potatoes, pork meatball soup...
The table was piled high with food, each main dish served in an iron basin, and the aroma filled the entire activity room.
Zhou Qing clicked his tongue in amazement.
He had noticed this when he was dividing the meat; the live weight of this black-bristled pig was nearly 1,300 jin, and the meat yield was 967 jin.
Including the eight living people in the club, each person has to show off 120 pounds of flesh, which is almost half of his weight!
Zhou Qing originally thought the meat was to be eaten over a week, but unexpectedly it was all turned into dishes.
This is normal, though. Once you've mastered the skill of expanding your stomach and swallowing food, you can easily eat food equal to your own weight.
These four senior members of the gang, let alone reaching the minor level, have probably already mastered this skill to the major level or even perfected it. Each of them has an enormous appetite, and one of them could probably take down an entire Xuanmane Boar.
Indeed, martial arts are truly amazing.
Zhou Qing had just finished a nutritious meal, and her stomach was still small, so she couldn't eat much more.
In order to avoid being ridiculed and humiliated by his seniors, he had been silently activating his stomach-expanding swallowing technique from the very beginning, seizing every opportunity to improve his proficiency.
Yuan Chongshan and the other two new students from the top class also realized the seriousness of the problem. They all put aside their distracting thoughts and began to activate their cultivation techniques.
But Zhou Qing's lips curled into a cold smile: "A mere whale (player who spends a lot of money) without a master to guide him, yet he thinks he can compare with me who's cheating?"
This is like showing off your skills in front of Master Er!
As the technique was practiced, the proficiency of the Stomach-Expanding Swallowing Divine Skill on the panel increased rapidly.
By the time the senior members of the club served the last dish, his proficiency level was already close to 20!
[The Amazing Skill of Stomach Expansion and Swallowing: Beginner's Guide (16/100)]
Although the proficiency increases more slowly as time goes on, at this rate, Zhou Qing can break through to the minor mastery level in a week at most, far exceeding the one-month deadline required by Li Jingran.
Zhou Qing felt his stomach expanding and glanced at the three people beside him who were frowning.
In Zhou Qing's opinion, their proficiency level, when converted into numerical values, probably wouldn't even reach 5.
Compared to my own overpowered self, I'm still a bit green!
"Dinner is served!" Li Jingran gave the order, but did not sit down first.
After Qi Ranqiu took the seat of honor, Li Jingran and the others found their seats and sat down.
The two new students from the top class were quite unceremonious, sitting down in the empty seats without even thinking.
Seeing this, Yuan Chongshan also lifted his buttocks to sit down, but Zhou Qing grabbed him.
"Wait, the senior hasn't taken a seat yet!"
Zhou Qing looked toward a senior student standing by the table.
The senior student crossed her arms in front of her chest, showcasing her impressive figure, and looked at the two new students who had already sat down with a smile, her eyes filled with a hint of mockery.
While cooking, Zhou Qing heard other seniors mention her name.
Cooking Club Executive Officer, Bai Zhumeng.
The next second, Bai Zhumeng suddenly pulled out the belt that was hanging around her waist as decoration.
It was a leather whip that gleamed with a cold light!
"Snapped!"
A crisp, explosive sound pierced the air.
"Tang Ji, Luo Qi, today your senior will teach you what table manners are!"
The two unlucky students from the top class were so frightened that they immediately jumped up from their seats, their faces pale, and they didn't even dare to lift their heads.
"Please give me some pointers, senior!"
At this moment, Qi Ranqiu's cold voice rang out: "Zhu Meng, don't waste time, it'll be a pity if the food gets cold."
"These two who don't understand table manners are not allowed to eat at the table until they have mastered the art of swallowing large amounts of food."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jingran, just as he had predicted, ran to the storage room, grabbed two chipped iron basins, and threw them in front of the two of them with a clatter: "Squat down and eat, don't take up space."
"Yes! Thank you, senior!" The two felt as if they had been granted a pardon and quickly squatted down, not daring to complain at all.
Bai Zhumeng held the leather whip with both hands and flicked it twice, her face full of disappointment that she hadn't had enough fun.
There are so many amazing people in the cooking club. Luckily, I'm quick-witted enough, otherwise I would be squatting on the ground fighting with the dogs for food.
Zhou Qing silently complained in his heart.