Chapter 5: Purchasing the Machine

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After hearing Xiao i’s words, Qiao Xin took a deep breath. She realized she had been too anxious. Even if a hundred people ate her ten dishes every day, it would take half a year to accumulate enough favor points to exchange for tools. There were so many people in the star system; her uncle had her study nutrition, and her mother helped her set up a shop—was she really worried about not earning enough favor points? Since she didn’t have many favor points now, she had to buy the most practical items.

Besides, the people aboard the starship hadn’t finished eating yet, so the final amount of favor points she would earn was uncertain. Qiao Xin saw an ingredient preparation machine and a seasoning machine in the system’s store. They looked like the intelligent ingredient machines she had seen in the kitchen and cost ten favor points each. She exchanged for one, only to find it was no different from that intelligent machine! There was no seasoning machine available, but she was too lazy to buy one now. After all, she couldn’t take them out and use them off the starship.

Once everyone on the starship finished eating, she gained 560 favor points! In an instant, she felt hopeful about the future! “Host, only the ingredient and seasoning machines produced by the system count as your own creations. Sharpening the axe won’t delay chopping wood; you can’t skimp on the machines!” Xiao i reminded her, seeing that she hadn’t continued buying the necessary machines. Qiao Xin thought: this system was forcing her to spend! She had originally planned to save favor points on the ingredient machine…

“Host, system-made machines ensure no one can steal your recipes. But those intelligent machines can’t guarantee that; fire and theft prevention depend on the system!” Xiao i boasted again. “Are you saying I need a workshop?” Qiao Xin thought the system was taking things a bit far. “You’re underestimating yourself. With your skills, you should have a processing factory,” Xiao i said confidently. Qiao Xin wanted to ask where it got that confidence but decided not to argue.

The system’s ingredient machine could produce one hundred servings of preset ingredients per hour, while the seasoning machine’s preparation time varied depending on the seasoning recipe. One dish required one portion of ingredients and one portion of seasoning, all of which Qiao Xin needed to set up in advance. For ten dishes, twenty machines had to operate simultaneously. Each machine had a capacity of one hundred cubic units. Seasonings didn’t require supervision, but ingredients did. If any ingredient ran out, it had to be replenished promptly, or the machine would pause. She could buy robots to handle this, so it wasn’t a big problem.

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However, by this calculation, she truly needed a processing factory… The machines could prepare ten thousand servings of pre-made dishes per day, but could she sell that many? These two machines only produced semi-finished products. If someone didn’t want to cook themselves and preferred ordering ready-made meals, she’d need an intelligent cooking machine—one that steamed, boiled, fried, and roasted, all in one, convenient and fast. It also cost ten favor points each, so she could buy one for now. All told, she’d have to spend 210 favor points! Qiao Xin thought, indeed, those who undertake great tasks must first pay the price!

The next day, her eldest uncle found the relevant materials for her. He sent them directly to her lightbrain. When she opened them, she was stunned. The materials ranged from beginner to advanced levels, including numerous exam questions, which brought back the nightmare of endless drills as if she were back in school. “Xiao i, as the system, it should be easy for you to remember all this, right?” “Don’t worry, Host. This is a piece of cake. Xiao i may be useless, but its storage capacity is powerful. You answer the questions, and you’ll pass for sure!” Qiao Xin tested the questions and found Xiao i did provide correct answers, but she didn’t give up practicing herself. Knowledge learned was her own; relying on others wasn’t good.

The vegetables, plants, and animals in the star system were very different from what she knew; she needed to familiarize herself. In case Xiao i went offline, she could still rely on herself. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket—that was ancestral wisdom! After three days of study, she hadn’t forgotten to earn favor points daily. Since she only needed to cook three meals once a day, no one complained. With over two thousand favor points, she finally landed on the capital star.

Because it was a military docking station, only military starships were present. After disembarking, a shuttle took them to the Xiao family. But no one came to greet them. Qiao Xin wasn’t familiar with either of the two relatives; she didn’t expect to feel just as unfamiliar in the star system.

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Xiao Linshuang and Xiao Linfeng were not surprised that no one came to welcome them. “Cousin, don’t mind it; no one’s home,” Xiao Ruyi reassured Qiao Xin, fearing she’d overthink. “If I weren’t on vacation, I wouldn’t be home either.” “I’m off duty tomorrow. I’ll buy some ingredients and have you make pre-made dishes. I’ll take them with me then!” “Alright,” Qiao Xin breathed a sigh of relief. The space link preserved freshness, so she wasn’t worried about spoilage.

Reviewing some knowledge was useful; otherwise, she’d get exposed! “Let me show you to your rooms first. It might not be as spacious as where you stayed in the Qiao family,” Xiao Linfeng said as he led them into a five-story building. Xiao Linshuang and her husband lived on the third floor; Xiao Ruyi took Qiao Xin to the fifth. Each room had its own bathroom. Qiao Xin had never seen her room at the Qiao family, but this suite was much larger than the one she had in another world.

“You don’t have a balcony in this room. If you want one, you can take mine,” Xiao Ruyi said, showing her the room across the hall. “This is fine,” Qiao Xin said, noticing a more advanced washer-dryer combo that could wash and dry clothes while she showered. She didn’t need a balcony at all! “I’ll buy the ingredients now. What seasonings do you need?” Xiao Ruyi placed an order for a month’s supply of meat and looked expectantly at Qiao Xin. “Steaming, boiling, stewing, roasting—all require different seasonings. Pick what you want,” Qiao Xin said, not minding the trouble since it all earned favor points!

“Let’s have ten days of each. I won’t be back until next month!” Xiao Ruyi’s mouth watered, making Qiao Xin smile. “Okay, I’ll send you the seasoning list; just buy them directly.” After some fiddling, Qiao Xin matched the meat with the appropriate side ingredients for different preparations and waited for delivery.

“Host, the machines you bought also need to be delivered home~” Xiao i reminded softly. Qiao Xin didn’t react immediately. After a while, she said, “They won’t all be delivered at once, right?” “Yes~” Xiao i sounded a bit gleeful but comforted her, “Don’t worry, delivery uses the space link, so it won’t take up space.” “Then there won’t be any purchase records, right? How do I explain this?” Qiao Xin thought of another problem. “Relax, transactions go through the intelligent ingredient machine system. System-made, guaranteed!” Xiao i boasted proudly.

“Sweetheart, can your pre-made dishes use an ingredient machine? Uncle will buy one for you!” Xiao Linfeng said shyly when he saw Qiao Xin and Xiao Ruyi heading downstairs. Qiao Xin had just been thinking about how to get the machines through customs, and now her eldest uncle had found her. “I bought them. Once set up, Uncle will purchase ingredients according to the menu. Ingredients and seasonings will be separated—one portion per dish. Even if making big batch meals, the ratios remain the same.” “What? You’ve already bought them?” Xiao Linfeng was a bit stunned. He had only mentioned the nutritionist exam, but she had already planned everything else?