Master of Kaidan-Chapter 141

In the supermarket on Williams Street in Hillston District of Bakerland, Feng Xue, dressed in an expensive suit, wandered the aisles with a shopping basket. From time to time, she carefully examined an item, then either placed it back where it came from or added it to her basket.

Despite the hustle and bustle, none of the passers-by found her outfit odd; it was as if she wasn’t wearing a men’s suit but rather an ordinary daily outfit.

The ability to blend in and lower one’s presence, although both used to hide oneself, have entirely opposite characteristics. They are more effective in crowded and lively places. On the other hand, in gloomy, narrow spaces, suitable for hiding, people might think, "This guy fits so well with this dark corner, he must be up to no good."

Before going out, Feng Xue converted all her real and fake books into Tower Coins, then purchased various sizes of packing materials. These days, besides spreading the food culture of the Heavenly Dynasty to British housewives, she was collecting various potentially useful items, part of which she would then destroy, refine, and transform into elements difficult to obtain in Infinite City.

As for the source of funds, that naturally came from those generous ATMs!

However, her visit to the supermarket was clearly not just for shopping, or at least not if it were merely about shopping, she wouldn’t still be accumulating goods after two months.

She chose this time to enter the supermarket primarily to select the suitable housewife.

This might sound like an easy job, but it actually requires keen Eye Power.

The first consideration is the economic status of the person.

There are housewives who are full-time due to unemployment and those who are full-time because they are not short of money. The former usually live a more constricted life, while the latter belong to the middle or even capitalist class.

If it were the former, they might not even be in the mood to gossip at all. Moreover, Feng Xue’s intrusion could only worsen the situation for an already non-affluent family.

On the other hand, the latter is entirely different; having money means their social circle mostly consists of wealthy people. Wealthy housewives inherently have more free time.

Furthermore, given their family conditions, they don’t lack ingredients for a meal or two; even if Feng Xue’s presence were revealed, the investigators dealing with these wealthy families’ wives wouldn’t dare be too harsh. Feng Xue’s presence in their lives would bring some topics for discussion without causing any negative impact.

Of course, being too wealthy wouldn’t work either; after all, Feng Xue didn’t want to deal with someone who would drive out just to buy groceries!

Besides economic status, one must also consider the quantity and variety of food ingredients the person buys. When first playing Kaidan, Feng Xue, lacking experience, had to make some very limited British dinners using restricted ingredients, seasonings, and tableware.

His "Chef" label, after all, came from Chen Xiyao personally rather than Infinite City. The variety of recipes contained within was indeed limited to just the basic skills, and Victoria just happened to belong to a culinary wasteland. If he were in Yan Country playing his little trick, he might not only fail to gain recognition from the chefs, but even be ridiculed by the Yan Country housewives for having overly trendy skills.

However, with the fermentation over two months, Feng Xue’s "Chef" label had gradually grown among these housewives and became increasingly active. To this day, even if Feng Xue went to Yan Country, he could unabashedly call himself a "professional chef."

Besides the above two points, one must consider the factor of "distance."

All Kaidan stories first spread from a small area before gradually expanding, and that’s why Feng Xue had chosen this supermarket as his main base for selection. However, even so, he occasionally encountered "landmines". For instance, once he followed a lady who stubbornly traveled by subway from Hillston District all the way to Bridge South District. Although this completed his daily task, the lady didn’t really belong in the Hillston District circle, which probably wouldn’t contribute much to spreading his Kaidan for a long time.

Besides these, he also had to consider factors such as the other party’s age, personality, and taste. Age determined the person’s capacity to accept new things, personality decided whether they would discuss their experiences with others, and as for taste, it needed to be judged through the food ingredients they bought and the kitchenware they used at home, mainly affecting Feng Xue’s subtle seasoning during cooking.

After all, the common novel cliché of foreigners trying Chinese food for the first time and finding it absolutely celestial was just a plot device. Each country has its own dietary habits. Serving delicately crafted Huaiyang cuisine to a Columbian accustomed to eating heavily salted and oiled food was purely casting pearls before swine; adjusting the flavor according to the individual was key. Although making someone who couldn’t handle spicy food fall in love with supremely spicy dishes had its charms, Feng Xue, who was still in the early days of his start-up, wasn’t at the stage where he could indulge in such luxuries.

Flashes of experiences summarized over these two months crossed his mind as he brushed past housewife after housewife. Don’t ask how he knew they were definitely housewives; at this time of day, any young adult female under forty lingering in the supermarket was most likely unemployed.

Through their body odor, attire, the condition of their shoes, and the luster of their skin, Feng Xue quickly selected his target for the day. He followed her subtly, observing her choice of ingredients. Once he confirmed that she had completed her shopping and that she met the basic standards, Feng Xue began formulating tonight’s dinner menu in his mind while he headed to the cashier to pay first.

"Good afternoon, that will be 70 pounds." Hearing the cashier complete the scanning, Feng Xue immediately pulled out seven ten-pound notes and slapped them on the counter, learning from past experiences where he lost track of the cashier while she used the calculator. Feng Xue generally tried to keep the prices round and prepared the exact amount for payment in advance every time he shopped.

Picking up his shopping bag, Feng Xue, relying on his excellent agility, stepped out of the supermarket first. He then quickly packed the shopping bag into a large cloth cover and stuffed it into a Storage Bag before initiating Breath Concealment. He followed the target from a distance, avoiding patrol officers and community security guards, and arrived in front of the row of villas as expected.

"Good, no ’landmines’ encountered!" Looking at the small villa in front of him, Feng Xue’s lips slightly curled up. He approached the window, pulled open his cloak with both hands, and as his body turned into a shadow, he appeared inside the house the next moment.

In his silent steps, at some unknown point, Feng Xue, now wearing a white bone mask, came up behind the young housewife. He precisely tapped a few acupuncture points on her and then spoke in a somewhat pretentious and singsong tone:

"Don’t be nervous, madam, I’ve finished work for today. I just want to borrow your kitchen..."

Although everything was as usual, the lady’s eyes somehow didn’t show fear but rather... zeal?

"Could I have encountered a pervert?"