I Awakened to a Farming TALENT

**Chapter 82: What? Become a Private Chef?**

Yun Tingyi took the chopsticks that had been rinsed in hot water, nodded in satisfaction, and got ready to eat.

The spicy-sour pickled r****h slices were cut evenly, the pickling liquid a deep color — yellowish with a hint of red.

He picked up a slice with his chopsticks and gave it a gentle sniff. A tangy, spicy aroma hit his nose. The sourness was naturally fresh — definitely not just ordinary black vinegar.

He tasted it and nodded to himself.

This simple little dish looked ordinary, but the flavor was excellent. The r****h quality was high — no trace of spiciness or bitterness.

The taste was a perfect balance of sour, spicy, salty, and sweet — just right. Chewing it made his mouth water. Very appetizing.

He couldn't help chewing slowly, savoring it.

Xiao Li ate with lightning speed. In a few bites, he'd finished the r****h slices in his own bowl.

"So satisfying! It tastes great even on its own! Boss, how do you like it?"

Yun Tingyi spoke slowly. "It's alright."

Not long after, the braised r****h clay pot and the r****h shred soup arrived one after another.

Yun Tingyi turned his attention to the braised r****h. The r****h had been cut into perfect irregular chunks, evenly coated in the braising sauce. They looked glossy red and translucent, steaming hot. Before he even put it in his mouth, a fragrant, meaty-but-not-meaty aroma mixed with the r****h's natural sweetness tickled his nose.

Xiao Li used the serving chopsticks to portion out food for his boss, all the while praising the dish. "This dish is so beautiful! At first glance, it looks like braised fatty meat — so fragrant!"

Yun Tingyi frowned. *Fatty meat* — disgusting. He felt his appetite, just awakened by the sour r****h, crashing again.

He took a deep breath, tried to forget Xiao Li's weird description, and picked up a piece of braised r****h.

One bite, and his eyes lit up.

This was a completely different texture from the pickled r****h slices — so tender and juicy! It practically melted in his mouth.

Because he found the smell of meat b****y and off-putting, Yun Tingyi hadn't eaten meat in a very long time.

This r****h tasted meaty but without any gamey smell. The r****h's natural sweetness paired with the sweet-salty braising sauce — absolutely incredible!

He'd been right to come for the freshly made dishes.

The takeout vegetables he'd had before tasted good, but the steam trapped in the takeout container always made them soggy. They never tasted this good.

Eating it fresh on the spot — this was amazing!

Getting excited made him feel a little unwell.

He frowned, pressed his hand to his chest, and ate slowly, in small bites, careful not to let his emotions upset his heart.

Xiao Li had no such concerns. He wolfed down all the braised r****h in his bowl in record time.

Then he used the braising sauce to mix with his fragrant rice, shoveling spoonful after spoonful into his mouth.

By the time he'd finished all his rice, he saw that his boss was still frowning, taking small bites of r****h. Even though the r****h chunks weren't big, he still needed several tiny bites to finish one.

Xiao Li was secretly amazed. His boss really was famously picky.

Even such delicious braised r****h — he ate it like it was a chore.

"Boss, have some soup," Xiao Li ladled a bowl of r****h shred soup and handed it over.

Yun Tingyi took a small sip. Refreshing, light, and sweet — just as good.

Qionghua Eatery was in a remote, impoverished area, not a big operation. Yet the chef here was so skilled.

The flavors she made were no worse than the high-priced chefs his father had hired.

What surprised him even more was that all the ingredients here were very common, and there was nothing particularly sophisticated about the cooking methods — just the simplest sautéing, frying, braising, stewing — yet she still effortlessly brought out the best in the vegetables.

He thought for a moment, then said, "This flavor is so good. Too bad I won't be able to eat it after I go back."

Xiao Li nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I'm really going to miss it too."

"Then let's hire the Qionghua Eatery chef to cook at home," Yun Tingyi said casually.

Xiao Li choked on his soup.

"Cough, cough, cough — boss, that's... that's probably impossible!" The chef at Qionghua Eatery *is* the boss. Why would she come back with us to be a private chef?"

"Then offer a high price." Yun Tingyi frowned, then walked toward the kitchen.

*Oh, my god.*

Xiao Li reluctantly stood up and followed. He knew how good Qionghua Eatery's business was. He really didn't think Jiang Tingyun would give up being her own boss to go back as a private chef.

---

Sure enough.

The moment Yun Tingyi explained his intention —

Jiang Tingyun shook her head so hard it looked like it might fall off.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no." She said eight nos in a row, completely aghast. "Mr. Yun, I really can't do this kind of work. I'm not leaving this place. You'll have to find someone else."

Yun Tingyi still wouldn't give up. "How much profit does your place make? I'll pay you triple. And you'd only cook for me."

"Not even then. Make it ten times the pay, and still no."

Tingyun refused without hesitation.

She was busy, sure, but she was her own boss — even if only a small one.

But that wasn't even the main point. The crucial thing was that she'd opened this eatery to support Qionghua Sect. Living here made it convenient to farm and cultivate. Following him back to the city to be a cook — what kind of joke was that?

So she said firmly, "Mr. Yun, I will not be a private chef. This kitchen is not for outsiders. Please leave."

Yun Tingyi pretended not to hear her refusal. He still stood there, not moving.

Tingyun couldn't exactly use violence on him. She was at a loss — when Pei Jingmo walked into the kitchen carrying a mop.

"How did the floor get so dirty? Move, move aside."

With a stern face, he mopped furiously, fast and forceful. Water from the mop splattered everywhere.

Yun Tingyi couldn't dodge in time. Dirty mop water stained his pristine white trouser cuffs.

"So dirty!"

Yun Tingyi's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He could barely breathe. He stumbled back several steps, retreating all the way to the kitchen door.

Xiao Li quickly ran over to support his boss. "Young Master Yun, since Boss Jiang said no, let's go."

Yun Tingyi, without another word to Jiang Tingyun, turned and walked quickly out.

After the two disappeared beyond the courtyard gate, Jiang Tingyun let out a long breath and patted her top disciple on the shoulder, praising him repeatedly. "Well done!"

Wait. Something felt off.

She froze.

"Holy s**t! They didn't pay!"