"I've already taught you the methods of 'looking' and 'smelling.' Next, we'll talk about 'asking,' 'touching,' and 'hefting'..."
"The so-called 'asking' means asking your seniors, asking the stall owners, asking anyone who knows. Ask them about the types of fruits and vegetables, their quality, and what dishes they're suitable for."
It was a surprisingly simple method, but for a complete novice, it was the most practical. As long as one was willing to open their mouth, many problems could be easily solved.
"'Touching' is about feeling the texture of the fruits and vegetables. Apples and potatoes have relatively firm surfaces, while tomatoes and peaches are slightly soft and elastic. Every fruit and vegetable has a different feel to it, which you can perceive if you pay close attention."
"Finally, 'hefting' is about estimating weight. Those that feel heavier when you pick them up usually have more water content and fuller, firmer flesh.
However, this requires considerable experience. You only need to master the first three methods of identification to handle the vast majority of fruits and vegetables on the market."
Liu Anqing pointed at the fruits and vegetables in the garden, patiently teaching the three of them the methods of selection.
Because this was the Nakiri family's internal garden, it was primarily used for their own consumption. The variety of things grown inside was diverse, with a little bit of every type of fruit and vegetable.
The tomatoes were plump, the pumpkins were stout, the cucumbers hung on their trellises, a vibrant green all over, and the sweet peppers dangled from the branches like colorful lanterns.
The corn stalks on the outermost layer stood tall like guards, their kernels wrapped in layers of husk. The golden, plump kernels were neatly arranged and looked very juicy.
Autumn.
It was the peak season for fruits and vegetables to ripen.
One adult and three children moved through the garden, their curious gazes scanning the different plants.
Liu Anqing stopped in front of an eggplant plant. He gently pressed a finger against an eggplant, feeling its perfect, slight springiness, then said to the three, "The skill of 'touching' lies in the fingertips. Too hard means it's unripe; too soft means it's overripe. The judgment depends entirely on the picker's experience."
He casually plucked the eggplant and placed it in the basket he was carrying before walking over to the nearby cucumber trellis.
The emerald green cucumber's skin was covered in fine prickles. He picked one up, hefted it in his palm, and then handed it to Alice, who was closest to him. "Here, feel this. This one is full of water; it's definitely crisp."
Alice took it with some curiosity and, as instructed, weighed it in her hand a few times. She compared it to a slightly smaller one she was holding, her brows arching slightly as she spoke with some hesitation, "Hmm... this one does feel more substantial, but fresh cucumbers have so many little spines. They're a bit prickly..."
"It's normal for cucumbers to have small spines. You just have to wash them before eating. What you just did is the so-called 'hefting.' An experienced picker knows the quality as soon as they touch it."
Liu Anqing said with a smile, his gaze sweeping over to Okabe nearby. He too was holding two cucumbers of roughly the same size, comparing their weight with a furrowed brow.
"But as I said before, master 'looking' and 'smelling' first. The rest can come slowly. Even experienced chefs struggle to gain an advantage with the 'hefting' method. That kind of feeling is too abstract."
The 'hefting' technique is placed last among the Five Methods of Identification mainly because of its difficulty. It's very, very hard for humans to master sensing minute changes in an object's weight.
Using an electronic scale would probably be simpler.
Of course, there is another way: possessing the talent of 'Super Touch'.
The ability of Super Touch to treat heavy as light is like a high-precision electronic scale. One only needs to pick something up to accurately determine its weight.
For a chef, this is an incredibly exaggerated talent. If the power of Super Taste lies in post-evaluation, then the strength of Super Touch is in on-the-spot performance.
"Each of you, pick out the fruits and vegetables you think are good and put them in this basket here. You're limited to ten types each. If you're unsure about any, you can come and ask me."
Watching the three energetic children, Liu Anqing decided to let them practice. After giving some simple instructions, he walked to the edge of the garden, found a shady spot under a tree to sit down, and fanned himself with his straw hat, looking very content.
"Then let's have a competition! The vegetables I pick will definitely be the best!"
Watching Liu Anqing leave and thinking about the task he had assigned, Alice Nakiri's competitive spirit was ignited, a passionate expression appearing on her face.
"A competition it is! I'll definitely be number one!"
How could Erina Nakiri stand for such a provocation? She placed her hands on her hips and declared confidently.
Accustomed to being praised by the world, she had unparalleled confidence in herself. Even though it was her first time encountering the Five Methods of Identification, she still felt she could master them quickly.
"The God's Tongue doesn't give you a bonus for picking ingredients. It still depends on how seriously you've been studying."
"What makes you think I wasn't being serious?"
"When Grandpa Qing was picking fruits and vegetables just now, you weren't even paying attention to him."
"And what about you? You spent all your attention watching me, so you weren't paying attention either."
"I'm going to win anyway!"
"Big talkers wet the bed at night."
"What do you think, Okabe? Which of us is better?"
"Yeah, who do you support?"
Seeing that they couldn't settle their argument, Alice Nakiri and Erina Nakiri could only turn their attention to Okabe, cornering him from both sides.
"I support myself."
Okabe gently put down the tomato in his hand, letting it hang naturally from the branch. He looked at the two girls with a calm gaze, a hint of helplessness in his expression.
These two are really something else.
The moment there's a conflict, they drag him in to be the middleman.
They're only three years old, but they're more boisterous than seven or eight-year-olds.
Speaking of which, given their growth rate, at three years old they have the development of four or five-year-olds. Is it a matter of their bloodline? The Nakiri clan is truly mysterious.
Having grown up in an orphanage in his previous life, Okabe had helped care for younger children when he got older. Many three-year-olds didn't have strong verbal logic; even their arguments were very childish, enough to make one laugh.
But Erina Nakiri and Alice Nakiri were different. Although they were still childish in his eyes, they already possessed basic logical abilities, equivalent to five or six-year-old children.
And they were on the smarter end of that spectrum.
"So, another competitor, is it?"
Hearing Okabe's words, Alice Nakiri wasn't surprised.
"How shameless! Just you wait, I'll show you with facts how inferior you are! I'm going this way, don't you dare follow me."
Erina Nakiri let out a haughty huff and then headed towards the left side of the vegetable garden.
"Then I'll go to the right."
Alice Nakiri said as she headed to the right. Her steps were light, and her face shone with excitement; she was clearly looking forward to this competition.
"But in the end, they're still just kids."
Watching the two fired-up sisters, Okabe shook his head and made a wry comment, then continued to wander around the area where the tomatoes were planted.
Compared to other fruits and vegetables, he clearly knew more about tomatoes, so he planned to use them as a breakthrough point to try and awaken the skill Liu Anqing was teaching.
Through extensive practice, he had discovered that unlocking skills wasn't difficult. For example, when he unlocked the vegetable cutting skill, he simply had to cut an ingredient into a cookable size.
However, increasing the proficiency level afterwards was difficult.
The 'Beginner' stage was easy.
'Novice' wasn't too difficult either; using a potato as an example, he just needed to slice it.
'Adept' required going from slicing to julienning.
The difficulty for 'Skilled' increased again. It wasn't enough to just julienne the potato; each strip also had to be of uniform thickness, and there were requirements for cutting speed as well.
He was currently stuck at this stage.
But through extensive practice, he could clearly feel his knife skills improving.
This proficiency system wasn't like some cheat systems that directly implant experience into your brain; it truly required him to train bit by bit.
The quantified data just made it more motivating.
However, the moment a skill leveled up, it really did feel like having a major breakthrough, like suddenly achieving enlightenment while comprehending a cultivation technique.
Of course, that required sufficient accumulation first.
Time passed as he searched for tomatoes.
Through extensive practice, he gradually got the hang of it, but he never picked a single tomato.
Okabe walked through the vegetable garden, memorizing the locations where good tomatoes grew. He then made comparisons in his mind and picked the three he believed were the best.
To choose one out of the three, he actually already had the most suitable answer in mind, but he needed to confirm it with Liu Anqing first.
"Grandpa Qing, I've picked three tomatoes. Which one do you think is the best quality?"
"The quality of these three tomatoes is all very good, but if I had to choose, the one on the left is a bit better. It's a rather standard tomato."
Holding the three freshly picked tomatoes, Okabe came before Liu Anqing to ask which one was better. When Liu Anqing saw the quality of the tomatoes he had chosen, he looked surprised, clearly not expecting him to have learned so well.
Although the question was about which one was the best, the quality of every single tomato was excellent.
"I think so too. The color, aroma, skin firmness, and even the weight ratio of the three tomatoes are all about the same. The only difference is their size.
The middle one is slightly large, and the right one is a bit small. Only the one on the left is just the right size, exactly like the picture of a tomato specially selected for a textbook photograph!"
Hearing Liu Anqing's affirmative words, the corners of Okabe's mouth lifted slightly.
That was precisely his answer.
The system prompt sounded at the same time.
[Host has been detected studying the mysteries of the Five Methods of Identification under the guidance of Liu Anqing. Skill unlocked: Five Methods of Fruit and Vegetable Identification (Blue)]
[Five Methods of Fruit and Vegetable Identification (Blue)]: Allows for the discernment of the quality of fruit and vegetable ingredients through the five methods of looking, smelling, asking, touching, and hefting.
[Proficiency]: Beginner (1/100)
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