Perhaps it was because Bai Ye's face was filled with an obvious smile, the other three noticed it.
"Bro, what's making you so happy?" Bai An'an asked as she leaned in.
"Well, something good is happening." Bai Ye looked at his parents and said, "Dad, Mom, you two go buy what you need. I'm going to get some ingredients for the marinated meat. If you're done shopping, just head back to the car."
Bai Ye handed the car keys to his father.
The other three naturally had no objections. Bai Ye's father only asked if there was enough money.
Bai Ye still had over a thousand yuan on him, so buying the seasoning was no problem.
However, the recipe for the fifteen-season spice mix wasn't so easy to gather. He wasn't sure how to complete it.
After thinking for a moment, he decided to start by browsing the seasonings.
Since Bai Ye wasn't sure where to start, he began by picking up the seasonings he knew. Fortunately, this street was full of spice shops, so the variety was quite extensive.
He gathered peppercorns, star anise, longan, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, galangal, licorice, white atractylodes, sand ginger, camellia, white pepper, grass cardamom, fennel, bay leaves, dried tangerine peel…
In one go, Bai Ye collected more than twenty types. The sound of system prompts kept ringing in his ears, and Bai Ye couldn't stop grinning.
He hadn't expected the task to be so easy.
But there were still seven types missing. Bai Ye pondered over what else to add. Just then, someone spoke from the side, "Hey, young man, with all these seasonings, are you making marinated meat?"
"Yes."
"Are you planning to sell it for money with all these seasonings?"
"Yes."
"I see you're still missing a few things." The old man sat on a nearby tree stump and said.
Bai Ye was startled.
What's going on? Now, completing system tasks also involves NPCs? Can I get some guidance from them?
"Old man, what do you think I'm missing?"
"This thing, have you seen it?" The old man pulled out a small bag from his stall filled with white powder. "Put this in the meat when you stew it, and the flavor will be amazing!"
Bai Ye was about to take it, but suddenly, the system triggered an alarm.
[Warning! Warning! Toxic substances are forbidden from being added to the recipe!]
Bai Ye quickly pulled his hand back.
"What exactly is this?"
"This thing's called saltpeter. Put it in meat..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, Bai Ye straightened up.
He knew exactly what it was.
Saltpeter, when used in marinating or stewing meat, is a food additive. However, it has a very specific amount that's safe to use. If the quantity exceeds the limit, it can cause poisoning. Even small doses used repeatedly can lead to cancer.
Bai Ye worked in this industry, so he knew about such cases. A couple of years ago, an elderly couple added saltpeter to their marinated pig's feet. The color of the meat turned beautiful, and the aroma was so strong that it sold out like crazy.
Later, someone noticed something was wrong and reported them. The elderly couple quickly destroyed all the saltpeter they had. But when the quality inspection department came, they still found that the couple had illegally used saltpeter.
Even though this substance is still used by some people today, since the system deemed it toxic, Bai Ye couldn't add it to his recipe no matter what.
Bai Ye turned and walked away. He still needed seven more ingredients, and he couldn't think of anything else. He had already included all the common seasonings he knew.
While he was pondering, he bumped into someone. Bai Ye looked up to see it was his father.
"Kid, why are you walking with your head down?" Bai Ye's father asked, noticing Bai Ye had only a few items in his hands and handed him what he had bought. "Take these to the car, I'll go get your mom."
"Okay." Bai Ye took the car keys and grabbed the items from his father.
As soon as he had them in his hands, the system prompt rang again.
[...Discovered recipe ingredient: Ginger, Green onions, Garlic.] (29/33)
Bai Ye was surprised and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"What's so funny?" His father blinked in confusion. "Hurry up and go!"
"Okay!" Bai Ye said with a face full of joy as he walked toward the car, still smiling.
He was stunned. He had completely forgotten about the three most essential ingredients—ginger, green onions, and garlic.
After putting the items in the car, Bai Ye noticed that some things had already been placed in the car. They were likely items his parents had bought earlier.
He locked the car again and decided not to keep circling the spice street. After all, there were other places that sold seasonings.
He walked around the market again, looking not only for spices but also for his family. Eventually, he found hawthorn.
Bai Ye checked the list—he was now only missing two more ingredients.
What could they be?
"Bai Ye, is there anything else we haven't bought?" Bai Ye's father asked, carrying four chickens.
They raised a few chickens at home, but those were for eggs. They couldn't bring themselves to slaughter the egg-laying ones for marinating.
"No, there's nothing else." Bai Ye had turned around several times but hadn't found anything. He knew he wouldn't find anything else at this market.
"Then let's go back!" Jiang Lan said. Their family had been shopping for two hours, and they had everything they needed.
"An'an, let's go! We're heading home!" Bai Ye shouted to his sister, who was still browsing.
At that moment, a donkey cart with three donkeys passed by them. It was loaded with a bunch of tree branches, apparently hauled from somewhere to be used for firewood.
"Bro, be careful!" Bai An'an grabbed Bai Ye, but he was still scratched by the tree branches.
Bai Ye's jacket, which he had worn for years, was torn open by the branches, and the white stuffing from inside spilled out.
"Ow!"
"Your jacket's torn!"
"Stop the cart!"
The donkey cart driver didn't stop when he heard the complaint. Instead, he sped up and quickly ran off.
Bai Ye's jacket was ripped open, and one of the tree branches was caught on his jacket.
[...Discovered recipe ingredient: Wood fragrance.] (32/33)
Bai Ye looked down at the branch caught on his jacket. It was from a shrub, and the roots were still attached with dried soil.
"Look at this jacket, what are we going to do?" Jiang Lan said, covering the tear with her hand in distress. "We'll fix it when we get home."
Bai An'an angrily stared at the fleeing donkey cart, ready to yank the branch off Bai Ye's jacket.
"Hey, hey, hey, An'an, don't touch it."
"What, are you planning to keep that branch on your jacket?"
"Of course I am! Your brother's jacket is torn, so we have to bring this thing back to make the cart driver apologize!" Bai Ye laughed.
Even though his jacket was ruined, Bai Ye wasn't upset at all. He was just one ingredient away from completing the task.
Once he finished it, he would not only get a cash reward but also a perfect recipe.
This wasn't some hit-and-run incident; it was a fortunate blessing!
Seeing Bai Ye laugh it off, the people around them also breathed a sigh of relief.
"This young man is alright, his heart is big."
"Yeah, what can you do? If you think clearly, you won't be angry."
"This young man has a lot of tolerance."