Chunks of meat sizzled on the iron rack above the charcoal fire.

The rich aroma spread far and wide and could be smelled from a distance.

Qi Kai placed the skewers he had just grilled into a tray and told Lin You and the others to hurry and eat.

Lin You picked up a skewer and glanced at it. Red oil was bubbling on the meat.

Cumin and chili powder clung tightly to the surface of the meat, making one’s appetite flare.

She swallowed hard and took a bite of the meat.

In an instant, she felt the fat explode in her mouth, full of flavor, with a sudden sense of happiness welling up.

Qi Kai stood in front of the grill and, tempted by the aroma, also picked up a skewer.

Just one bite, and he couldn’t help but say to Lin You, “If you hadn’t told me, I’d have thought this was made by that barbecue stall owner.”

Lin You smiled at him.

Night had fallen, and the weather had turned a bit cold.

Lin You had originally draped a coat over her shoulders, but sitting in front of the warm grill made her feel a bit hot. So she returned to the shop and took off her coat.

She sat on a small stool, eating skewers and looking up at the sky.

Now the sky was no longer covered in inky darkness but had a few faintly glowing stars.

Lin You found it hard to believe that just a few days ago, due to a lack of ingredients, she had nearly closed the shop.

She hadn’t expected that not only would the shop reopen, but there would be so many companions coming to help.

Just as she was thinking this, Tong Lan suddenly brought out a stool, sat down in front of her, and said, “It’s a bit stuffy inside. I came out to get some fresh air.”

The situation naturally evoked a sense of emotion.

The two of them sat side by side for a while. Suddenly, Tong Lan propped up her chin and said:

“We have ingredients now, and the other problems will gradually be resolved too. Ancheng will definitely get better and better.”

Lin You nodded.

Life did feel more hopeful now.

Just as they were talking, it seemed someone had arrived.

The person’s footsteps were light. They stopped in front of the grill and sniffed, saying:

“You guys are living quite comfortably, huh? Sitting here eating skewers. I haven’t had a bite of meat in two days.”

Lin You heard the voice and looked over.

The person who had come was actually Fu Qingze.

He hadn’t taken off his work clothes and was still wearing a white lab coat, hands in his pockets, looking very proper.

Fu Qingze glanced at Qi Kai and asked, “Mind if I have a skewer?”

Qi Kai exclaimed, “Wow, a rare guest! You don’t often show up at the Fifth Division.”

Fu Qingze smiled and said, “You all don’t have much need for my cooperation, so naturally I don’t go. But from now on, I guess we’ll be seeing each other more.”

He picked up two skewers of grilled beef tongue and started chatting with Qi Kai.

Only then did Qi Kai find out that Fu Qingze lived nearby. When he got off work and parked his car, he suddenly felt like stopping by to check out the breakfast shop.

Now that the breakfast shop was under a lot of attention, he wanted to see if there was anything he could help with.

After chatting for a while, Fu Qingze specifically went to Lin You and handed her the latest test report. “This is the newest report. I’ve discovered some new issues.”

Lin You scanned it from top to bottom.

The report was filled with many technical terms that were difficult to understand.

So she looked up and asked, “So, the safety isn’t a problem, but the healing factor has changed?”

Fu Qingze nodded and said, “The content level of the healing factor varies every day. It doesn’t increase day by day. Sometimes it suddenly decreases.”

“At first, I thought maybe this was random, but later I found that wasn’t the case. Every batch of ingredients is a bit different. Some batches have slightly higher levels, some lower. But they’re all coming from the same freezer. What difference between them could cause the healing factor to vary?”

“This afternoon, I ran over ten controlled experiments, testing how temperature, humidity, and other variables affect the healing factor. But the results showed that those factors weren’t the cause. I suspect that the change in the factor might be related to you.”

Lin You widened her eyes in shock and said, “It’s related to me? I can influence the healing factor?”

Fu Qingze said, “It’s not impossible. Since you can control ingredients, maybe you can also influence the change in some of their components.”

After a pause, he continued asking, “Think about it. What was the difference between the two batches of ingredients you gave me yesterday?”

As Lin You tried to recall, she noticed on the report that the broccoli had higher healing factor levels than the others.

She suddenly remembered that one day she had taken the few heads of broccoli meant for testing back at home and had them do jump training.

But wasn’t that just too ridiculous?

Lin You furrowed her brow and said, “Could it be related to me training the vegetables?”

That sentence almost made Qi Kai poke the skewer into his mouth by accident. “Training? You can train vegetables?”

Lin You nodded and said, “Yes, I can. It’s just that they react a bit too slowly right now. If I want them to jump out of the freezer on command, I still have to wait quite a while.”

Qi Kai found it hard to believe, but he was still curious and said, “Interesting… how about you grab a vegetable and give it a try?”

Lin You turned and went to the breakfast shop’s kitchen, took a broccoli from the freezer, washed it clean, broke it into small florets, and placed them on a plate.

When she came out, Qi Kai saw her muttering a few words at the plate.

Her voice was low, so he could not tell what she was saying.

Qi Kai waited patiently for a few minutes, but there was no movement.

He was just about to say that maybe the broccoli had lost its jumping ability because it had been cut.

But before he could finish, a few small pieces of broccoli in the plate suddenly shot up with a “whoosh” and landed directly on the grill.

Qi Kai’s pupils dilated in shock.

Especially when he heard the sizzling sound of broccoli grilling on the rack, he could not help but exclaim,

“I didn’t expect… this thing can barbecue itself?”

Fu Qingze nodded and said, “Yes.”

Seeing the broccoli land accurately, Lin You could not help but feel excited.

She told Fu Qingze, “That day, I trained for a long time without much effect. But today, it actually found the right direction. That’s rare. Let me try again.”

After speaking, she lowered her head and softly muttered again to the plate full of broccoli.

A few minutes later, the broccoli jumped out of the plate one after another.

However, this time was different.

They had returned to their previous state of disorientation.

The whole plate of broccoli began to leap in all directions—front, back, left, and right.

Some followed Lin You’s command and headed toward the grill.

But they still failed to land accurately and instead all hit Qi Kai.

Qi Kai stood there dumbfounded after being pelted by the rain of broccoli. He was stunned for a while before he said, “Does this broccoli have a grudge against me or something?”

Lin You quickly said, “Sorry, they are disobedient again. The one that jumped on the grill earlier… must have been a coincidence.”

Lin You put down the now-empty plate and walked over to pick up the little pieces of broccoli.

Fu Qingze and Qi Kai also came over to help. After they collected them, Lin You took a small plastic bag, put all the broccoli in it, and handed it to Fu Qingze.

“If there really is a change in the healing factor, this batch should be able to show it,” Lin You said.

Fu Qingze took the bag and replied, “Alright, once I get the results tomorrow, I will let you know right away.”

Just as he finished speaking, a low and hoarse unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out.

“Young man, are these skewers for sale?”

Qi Kai turned around and saw a hunched old man standing at the side of the grill.

He stared at the skewers on the grill, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Qi Kai asked Lin You, “Selling or not, Boss Lin?”

Lin You shook her head and said, “Uncle, these skewers aren’t for sale. But if you want to eat, we can give you some for free.”

The old man hesitated a bit and said, “No need. I can pay.”

Lin You explained, “The opening hours are already over. These are for the staff’s dinner. But we did cut a bit too much meat and won’t be able to finish grilling them all. Uncle, please take some. You’ll be doing us a favor.”

The old man nodded gratefully.

Lin You stood up, placed the freshly grilled skewers from the grill into a new tray, and carried it into the breakfast shop.

She set the tray on the table, pulled out a stool, and let the old man sit down.

After the old man sat, he saw Qu Fei and Gu Hong eating meat and could not help but want to start a conversation. So he asked,

“Young man, where does your shop get its ingredients? All the vegetable stores on the street are closed. It took me a lot of effort to find your place. I’ve been hungry all day…”

Qu Fei paused for a moment, explained briefly, then asked curiously, “Uncle, didn’t you stock up on vegetables earlier?”

The old man shook his head and said, “My wife passed away last year. My daughter went to work out of town. I live alone now. Time is hard to pass, so I often sign up for senior tours and join some activities. Just a few days ago, I went hiking in the suburbs. Who would have thought that two days after hiking, I came back and found that there were no vegetables in the supermarkets.”

After hearing this, Qu Fei frowned.

He worried that there might be many people in Ancheng facing the same situation.

Especially elderly people who do not receive information in time, they could all be affected.

He gave the old man a phone number and explained, “Our shop is now supplying vegetables. If you need anything, you can come here to buy it. If you have other problems, call this number. It’s the special line for Ancheng’s food supply department. If you have trouble moving around, someone will help deliver the food you need.”