Jake was unaware that some people had misunderstood the relationship between him and Selena. After seeing Selena off, he returned to his residence to prepare ingredients for the barbecue in the evening. In the game world, he had already secured land but didn't have enough money to buy seeds, so he couldn't plant anything yet. Jake had already seen that the grocery store sold various vegetable and fruit seeds, but due to a dishonest shopkeeper, the prices were naturally not cheap.
Currently, Jake only had one gold coin in his savings, which was clearly not enough to buy a large quantity of seeds. So for now, he had to kill more monsters, collect their corpses, and sell them to obtain money for buying seeds. Last night, he had been mining in the cave and hadn't been able to complete Glen's quest before teleporting out. However, during the mining process, he had killed many Golden Rats. Although most of them didn't leave behind corpses, the sheer number he killed eventually resulted in four or five bodies remaining. Jake used his carving skill to disassemble the corpses and obtained teeth, claws, fur, and meat. He planned to sell them and exchange them for money when he returned to the village.
Jake felt regretful that despite killing so many Golden Rats, not a single piece of equipment had dropped. The drop rate was truly frustratingly low. In the evening, before it was completely dark, Jake carried his belongings and headed to his stall. With the start of the university's opening, the flow of people in the area gradually increased. There were also more people selling things around, but Jake wasn't too concerned about them. What concerned him was that two more barbecue stalls had appeared, which meant two more competitors.
"The competition is getting tougher. It will be difficult to do business," Jake sighed. There were already many barbecue stalls here, and there were even a few barbecue shops. Even if the barbecue business was good during the summer, it couldn't withstand so many people doing the same business. Among these many barbecue vendors, Jake had the most rudimentary equipment, coupled with his mediocre skills, which put him at a disadvantage in the competition.
"But maybe today will be different!" Jake thought. He had learned advanced cooking techniques from Nina in the game world, which included barbecue.
In fact, during the afternoon when he made skewers, Jake had already noticed that he was more skilled and the skewers he made looked more beautiful compared to before. With anticipation, he arranged his things and waited for the first customer to arrive.
"Boss, give me two skewers of enoki mushrooms and one skewer of pork belly!" After waiting for about ten minutes, the first customer arrived. Although it wasn't a big order, as long as there was business, Jake was happy.
"Sure." Jake took two skewers of enoki mushrooms and one skewer of pork belly, placed them on the grill, and started barbecuing. He constantly flipped them and sprinkled seasonings. Before long, a burst of fragrance emanated from the food.
"Wow, it smells so good. Boss, your skills have improved," said the customer standing in front of the grill, with a look of intoxication and confusion on their face. Undoubtedly, the aroma was coming from the food right in front of them. However, this customer wasn't coming to Jake's stall for the first time, so they were well aware of Jake's skills. It was just that today's barbecue seemed noticeably more fragrant than usual, indicating that Jake's skills had indeed improved significantly.
"I've been doing barbecue for about a month now, so I've gained some experience," Jake said with a smile. He himself could smell the aroma of the food and was clearly satisfied with his skills.
"Advanced cooking techniques are no empty boast," Jake thought to himself. Soon, the three skewers were ready, and Jake handed them over to the customer who had been attracted by the fragrance for a while. After receiving the skewers, the customer didn't mind the heat and quickly started eating.
"Be careful, don't burn yourself," Jake reminded.
"Yeah, yeah." The customer nodded while eating without stopping, their mouth still full: "It's so delicious! Boss, your skills have improved a lot. The taste is so much better than before. This is not enough at all. Give me two more portions of the same!"
Clearly, this customer had been completely won over by Jake's skills. They hadn't even finished the food in their mouth before ordering two more portions.
"Alright, please wait." Jake was naturally happy as well and quickly continued barbecuing.
"What's that fragrance?"
"It seems to be coming from the nearby barbecue stall."
"It's definitely the smell of barbecue. Wow, it smells so good. I just had a meal, but I can't help drooling."
"How about we go and have some?"
"No, thanks. I've been to that barbecue stall before. The owner is a novice, and their skills are mediocre."
"Just mediocre? The smell is so enticing. I can't resist it."
"Maybe it just smells good, but the taste is really nothing special. I've tried it before."
"If you're not going, I will. I must taste it; otherwise, my stomach will protest."
Passersby who were attracted by the aroma of Jake's food couldn't help but come over. However, some of those who had previously eaten there were skeptical.
"Boss, give me ten skewers of small meat, two skewers of mushrooms, and two skewers of chives."
"Give me a hotdog and two chicken wings."
"Boss, give me two portions of grilled squid, one portion of eggplant, and two portions of lamb skewers."...
More and more pedestrians were drawn to the fragrance and couldn't resist ordering a few portions.
"Alright, alright." Jake had a big smile on his face. A crowd had gathered in front of his barbecue stall, and everyone was ordering something. Since he started doing barbecue, his business had never been this good. Naturally, his mood was excellent. His advanced cooking skills allowed Jake to barbecue the food to perfection. Even when grilling various ingredients at the same time, he ensured that each one had the exact same taste without any difference. His grill was already filled with food, but he still flipped and seasoned everything skillfully and orderly, without any chaos.
Moreover, Jake noticed that his memory seemed to have improved. Although many customers came at the same time, each ordering something different, he was able to remember every order clearly without missing a single one. He didn't even need to ask the customers twice. This memory ability alone was astonishing.
"It might be related to the intelligence attribute in the character's stats," Jake speculated in his mind.