Wu Yi and Li Changlin were Wei Kai's childhood friends.
The three of them grew up together in the community on the thirteenth underground floor, then attended elementary, middle, and high school together.
Occasionally, they weren't in the same class during that time, but they were always in the same school.
More than a decade of shared growth made their friendship incredibly strong.
As the local dialect would put it, they were close enough to share the same pair of pants.
When Wei Kai first transmigrated, he was initially unaccustomed to the other two's enthusiasm, but after a week of getting to know them, he gradually felt their kindness and sincerity.
From then on, he slowly opened his heart and accepted them.
At the recent graduation ceremony, the three of them also participated in the Job Change Ceremony together.
It was just a pity that Wu Yi and Li Changlin didn't change jobs to become Warriors or Support professions; instead, they both became Lifestyle professions.
The gathering of the three this time was Wu Yi's suggestion.
He had sent a notification on his phone early, telling Wei Kai to wait on this sleepless street after dark.
"Let's go, our usual spot, my treat!"
Wu Yi was shorter, barely reaching Wei Kai's shoulder.
However, his pat was quite forceful.
Seeing this, Wei Kai immediately turned his head to look at Li Changlin beside him, who returned his gaze.
"Did something happen?" Wei Kai immediately asked, understanding without words.
"Hmm, let's talk about it when we get to our usual spot."
Wu Yi nodded but didn't answer directly right away.
A moment later, everyone arrived at a Roasted Meat restaurant named "With Wine and Meat."
This was the trio's usual meeting place.
Calling it their usual spot was a bit of an exaggeration; they had only been there twice in total, and each time was a secret visit.
All three of their families lived underground; they weren't wealthy and didn't have much pocket money to go out for Roasted Meat.
Only when graduation was approaching would their parents give them a bit more allowance so they could relax.
After ordering a few skewers of meat and a bottle of beer, the three finally sat down.
"Now can you tell us?"
Wei Kai looked directly at Wu Yi, as if he could see a heavy burden on his face.
If nothing was wrong, he wouldn't have actively called the other two to come to a place like this to drink.
"I'm going to the Shu Region to learn cooking from my uncle."
Wu Yi took a sip of beer, his brows furrowing in bitterness.
"Why do you have to go to the Shu Region?" Wei Kai was taken aback.
At the recent Job Change Ceremony, Wu Yi's Job Change was to a Chef, a Lifestyle profession.
This profession could be described as a jack-of-all-trades.
Even among the many Lifestyle professions, it was very popular.
After all, no matter the circumstances, people need to eat.
As long as people need to eat, Chefs will be indispensable.
Even if one couldn't afford a recipe book, a Chef could rely on his cooking skills to open a small shop in the community or set up a small stall on the sleepless street.
The income might not be high, but supporting a family would certainly not be a problem.
If he could get a powerful recipe book, he could immediately turn his fortunes around and rise to prominence.
"My uncle said he'd buy me a recipe book if I work for him for three years!"
Wu Yi quickly answered his confusion.
Hearing this answer, Wei Kai immediately frowned.
Wasn't this just "drawing a pie"?
As the saying goes: better to starve than work for a relative.
The consequence of working for relatives is being exploited to death... even a biological uncle probably wouldn't be much better.
"Is there really no recipe book in our Yongning City?"
Li Changlin, who had been listening for a long time, finally couldn't help but speak.
Wu Yi was also his good brother, and he didn't want him to leave Yongning and go to the distant Shu Region to work.
"There really isn't."
Wu Yi shook his head with a bitter smile: "This morning, as soon as my dad found out I changed jobs to a Chef, he ran to all the major trading houses and auction houses to ask, and it turns out there isn't a single recipe book on the market..."
"No way? I don't believe it."
Li Changlin was stunned and, not believing it, pulled out his phone and started checking on the spot.
Wei Kai was also startled for a moment but quickly thought of a possibility.
"Someone probably hoarded them in advance," he reminded them.
This time of year is when high school students change jobs.
Once they complete their Job Change, a large number of new Lifestyle professionals will emerge, and most of these Lifestyle professionals need corresponding skill books.
Among them, Chef's recipe books are the most popular and also the most value-retaining.
Skill books are one-time consumables; hoarding a batch of skill books in advance will definitely make a lot of money.
"My dad said the same thing, so I want to work for a few years first, save some money, and then go to the Shu Region to buy one," Wu Yi nodded.
"Are the recipe books cheaper there?" Wei Kai asked.
"Yes." Wu Yi smiled and said, "The residents of the Shu Region prefer gourmet food; every day, a large number of people go to farm various meats, especially rabbit meat, so more recipe books drop..."
"Uh, that's true."
Wei Kai thought about it; this seemed to make a lot of sense.
"Damn it, it costs 400,000 gold coins!"
Just then, Li Changlin, who was checking recipe books on his phone, suddenly shrieked.
"What?" Wei Kai and Wu Yi quickly looked at him.
"The recipe book!"
Li Changlin pointed at his phone screen: "A Spicy Rabbit Meat recipe book is actually selling for 400,000 gold coins... too dark!"
!!!
Wei Kai and Wu Yi simultaneously widened their eyes, then said in unison.
"That's too damn dark!"
Wei Kai never expected that a recipe book he had sold for 200,000 gold coins at noon could be sold for 400,000 gold coins in the blink of an eye.
It turned out that the official trading house was also this dark...
As he was lamenting, Li Changlin let out another gasp.
"Holy cow, it's sold!"
"Huh?"
Wei Kai and Wu Yi stared at the words "Sold Out" on the screen, both stunned.
A recipe book for 400,000 gold coins was sold in an instant.
That was too fast, wasn't it?
No wonder people were hoarding goods; it turned out recipe books were so sought after.
"You see... a poor person like me can't afford it at all."
Wu Yi's face was full of bitter smiles; a recipe book for 400,000 gold coins, even if he sold himself, he couldn't afford it.
"But even if you work for three years, you won't save 400,000 gold coins," Li Changlin reminded him softly.
"Sigh!"
Hearing this, Wu Yi immediately sighed dejectedly.
Seeing this scene, Wei Kai's heart softened, and he made up his mind.
"A Yi, can you make Roasted Meat?"
"Roasted Meat?" Wu Yi looked up, gazing at him doubtfully: "Roasted Meat isn't a difficult thing..."
For a Chef, making Roasted Meat could be said to be the simplest skill.
If he couldn't even do that, what kind of Chef would he be?
"I have a recipe book here."
Saying that, Wei Kai directly pulled out a "Roasted Meat" recipe book from his backpack and handed it over.
Seeing this purple recipe book, Wu Yi and Li Changlin both widened their eyes.
"You... where did you get this from?"
"Do you believe me if I say it dropped from killing monsters?" Wei Kai asked with a smile.