Mu Er Pang shouted, then saw his mother standing still with twitching corners of her mouth. He rushed to her side and pulled her into the yard.

“Why didn’t you run away when it smelled so bad, Mom?” Mu Er Pang said earnestly. “Let’s hide outside first.”

Shen Cui couldn’t help but sigh and said, “Pang, is it possible that our cesspool is fine, and this smell is coming from the snacks I made for you?”

“This smell… is from food?”

Even though Mu Er Pang was greedy, when he heard this, a look of panic and fear appeared on his chubby face!

“Yeah, this is called stinky tofu. It smells bad but tastes good. The stinkier, the better.”

Seeing him scared and wanting to vomit, with a variety of expressions on his face, Shen Cui felt more and more guilty as she gave him her handkerchief to cover his nose and mouth.

As she took it off, Shen Cui was also overwhelmed by the smell.

Although she, as a modern person who had seen and accepted stinky tofu and snail noodles, the smell in front of her was too strong!

If she had to describe it, it would probably be a tenfold stronger smell of stinky tofu and snail noodles.

And you should know that the taste of food is the strongest when it’s just out of the pot, and it will slowly dissipate later.

But this stinky tofu produced by the system, the smell was unusually enduring. She wasn’t even in the kitchen, but she could still smell it!

Shen Cui pulled Mu Er Pang a little further away, and in a few steps, she understood.

This was another pit dug by the system!

The system made her think this side quest was a sure win. Although it cost her shopping points, she could improve her cooking skills while also allowing Mu Er Pang to enjoy the benefits.

I didn’t expect the real trap to come later. It even graded the food. For food rated as trash, it deliberately added debuffs, making people completely lose their appetite.

This is just throwing away shopping points!

Shen Cui was quite annoyed.

The system timely spoke up: “Host, don’t think like that. Look, the mall also sells stinky tofu, and the effect of the one you make is the same—after the study partner eats it, they can get a small random boost. The price for one is 50 points. When you make it, the cost is only 30 points. Although what you made was rated as a failure and sacrificed some of the color, fragrance, and taste attributes, you actually earned a real 20-point difference.”

It has to be said that this doggone system really understood Shen Cui, the host. She is currently not well-off, and Mu Er Pang, with a low starting point, faces a long and arduous path of study. So, it’s natural for her to save shopping points when she can.

Moreover, the system’s voice was really “against the rules.” Shen Cui, who was still full of complaints, couldn’t help but calm down by his soothing voice, unwittingly extinguishing most of her anger.

“You call this ‘sacrificing some of the color, fragrance, and taste attributes’?”

“Cough, well, the host can strive to upgrade. When your cooking skills reach elementary level, you won’t get such a low rating anymore.”

Shen Cui quickly calculated that even if she could use the same oil for another nine portions of stinky tofu, the tofu and seasoning sauce would still cost another 180 points.

Otherwise, should she try making other recommended recipes?

But the steps for other recipes were more complicated, requiring more ingredients and higher hidden costs.

Moreover, the system stipulated that this was only for Mu Er Pang to eat.

Top of Form

It would only be useful if she could increase her attributes by eating it herself. She would have to endure eating it even if it made her nauseous. Thirty shopping points! She couldn’t waste them for nothing.

At this moment, Shen Cui was really at a loss. It wasn’t easy to fleece the system for a bit of wool!

Mu Er Pang on the side saw his mother frowning, looking like she wanted to say something but couldn’t. After hesitating for a while, he went to the kitchen himself.

Shen Cui was in a dilemma. When she came back to her senses, she heard the system prompt sound.

[System prompt: Study partner’s EQ +1.]

Yes, this was also a new ability of the upgraded system. She no longer needed to observe Mu Er Pang’s attributes with her eyes, but could let the system prompt her actively.

But why did Mu Er Pang’s attributes increase for no reason?

Shen Cui turned around and didn’t find him. She searched the house and finally found Mu Er Pang leaning on the stove in the kitchen.

And the plate she used to hold the stinky tofu was empty!

Mu Er Pang’s complexion at this time could be described as varied. He looked like he wanted to vomit but couldn’t. He looked very weak. When he saw her come in, he tried to force a smile. “Mother is so capable, always able to come up with food I’ve never heard of. This one… is actually quite delicious.”

“It’s so stinky, how can you still eat it? Aren’t you afraid of getting a stomachache?”

“Mother made it, I know you wouldn’t make something bad for me to eat.”

Shen Cui felt guilty all at once. She hurriedly poured water for him to rinse his mouth and asked if he felt nauseous. If he did, she would make him vomit.

Mu Er Pang gulped down a few mouthfuls of water. Strangely, as soon as the water went down, the taste of the food in his mouth quickly faded, and what came back up from his stomach was not the stinky smell, but the normal fragrance of fried tofu.

He carefully described to Shen Cui the miraculous change, excitedly saying, “Mother was right, this thing really smells bad but tastes good!”

This was an unexpected reaction. Shen Cui asked the system in her mind for an explanation.

“Host, please wait a moment while I look up some information.”

After a few moments, the system quickly provided an explanation.

The strong smell of the stinky tofu earlier was due to the debuff applied by the system’s rating. After the study partner, Mu Er Pang, ate it, the debuff effect would be removed. So now Mu Er Pang could only recall the original taste of the stinky tofu.

Of course, since that plate of stinky tofu was rated as a failure by the system, the taste wouldn’t be particularly good.

But Mu Er Pang was indeed easy to please. He had enjoyed all the failed dishes Shen Cui had made before.

So now, when he recalled them, he truly thought they were delicious!

“Earlier, you mentioned looking up something? Could it be that no one has ever tasted the food that the system previously rated as a failure?”