Chapter 92: A Fully Automated Chef Robot?
Last time, she had only 100 Fauna Tokens; now she held 1,000.
She could finally branch into livestock.
Ling Jing opened the Farm Supermarket and pulled up the purchase catalog for animal enclosures.
[Coop LV.1]: 200 Fauna Tokens (Capacity: 10)
[Hutch LV.1]: 200 Fauna Tokens (Capacity: 15)
[Duck Shed LV.1]: 250 Fauna Tokens (Capacity: 10)
[Pigpen LV.1]: 500 Fauna Tokens (Capacity: 5)
[Cattle Barn LV.1]: 1,000 Fauna Tokens (Capacity: 3)
[Sheepfold LV.1]: …
There was a wide variety of livestock housing; scrolling further down revealed fishponds, shrimp basins, and more.
Ling Jing originally wanted to get one chicken coop and one duck shed, as having both chicken and duck would unlock a massive array of recipes.
However, after browsing the rest of the livestock section, she was forced to shelve that idea.
—Plants only needed free water, but raising animals demanded far more logistical planning.
They had to be fed.
Broiler chicks were 20 Fauna Tokens each, while laying chicks were 30 Fauna Tokens each.
Standard poultry feed cost 30 Fauna Tokens per bag, with one bag sustaining ten birds for a single day.
The chicks bore a label: five days to reach full maturity.
Once again, the growth cycle mirrored cozy farming games.
In other words, she had to invest at least five days’ worth of feed before she could harvest the broilers for meat.
The laying hens, meanwhile, would require a continuous supply of feed going forward.
After a moment of deliberation, she spent 400 Fauna Tokens on two Tier-1 Coops, six broiler chicks, and six laying chicks.
Plus six bags of poultry feed.
Keeping broilers and layers separate, she bought enough feed to cover the full five-day maturation window.
That burned through 880 Fauna Tokens in one go.
The layers would undoubtedly need ongoing rations down the line, and while Ling Jing could theoretically harvest more beast cores by using her new map to forage—or rather, hunt—tonight, she still preferred to hold onto 120 Fauna Tokens as a safety cushion.
Just in case.
Alright, time to place the coops.
Ling Jing positioned them to the left of the cultivated plots.
She left a buffer zone between the two zones.
The agricultural fields expanded to the right of the restaurant’s rear—facing west.
The livestock sector expanded to the east.
Both the fields and coops could be dragged and repositioned on the system interface.
For now, neither sector held very much; once the farm scaled up, she could reorganize anything that felt clunky.
Convenience was king for now.
Next, she deposited the twelve chicks into their new homes.
The livestock interface was smooth and intuitive; with a few swift swipes, the different chicks were allocated straight to their designated pens.
Ling Jing renamed the two coops on the panel for clear distinction:
[Broilers (LV.1)]
[6/10 (6 Chicks: Healthy)]
[Layers (LV.1)]
[6/10 (6 Chicks: Healthy)]
Both coops featured functional buttons beneath their profiles:
[Feed] [Water] [Heal] [Harvest]
Both [Heal] and [Harvest] were currently grayed out.
Ling Jing tapped [Feed] and [Water], putting the freshly bought feed to use.
A tracking status appeared beside each coop: (Your animals are growing normally).
Ling Jing checked on the chicks in the livestock tab, then hopped over to the cultivation tab to confirm her six plots were in prime condition.
Looking up, she saw the fenced-in crop plots to the right, balanced on the left by two pitch-roofed chicken coops.
They stood slightly lower than the first floor of the Chinese Restaurant, with a wider, lower profile. A glass window was inset along the wall facing the restaurant’s back door.
Through the glass, the chicks could be seen clustered around the feeding trough, happily pecking away.
Alright, her poultry venture was officially underway.
Just as Ling Jing closed the interface, a familiar chime rang in her ears.
Ding!
[You have unlocked a Hidden Achievement! Completed ‘Manage a farm and own both crops and livestock’! You have earned the title ‘Novice Farmer’! Continue expanding your homestead~]
[Reward: One pull from the Featured Gacha Pool!]
Oh? A Featured Pool pull this time.
Unlocking a hidden achievement for the second time filled Ling Jing with genuine anticipation for what the curated pool had in store.
She stepped through the back door into the restaurant, making her way to the front entrance.
This was the exact spot where she had drawn Caicai last time.
Standing in the very same place, surely luck would grant her something exceptional once more.
Ling Jing leaned against the cashier counter and tapped the draw button.
Cards of various colors swirled across the display in a vibrant blur.
—The spinning cards gradually slowed, finally grinding to a halt before Ling Jing… revealing a gleaming silver card.
[Congratulations! You have obtained Fully Automated Chef Robot x1, deposited into [Equipment Upgrades]!]
Oh?!
Ling Jing inspected the robot’s profile.
[A chef automaton capable of pan-frying, stir-frying, braising, deep-frying, boiling, simmering, stewing, quick-glazing, and a wide variety of cooking techniques. Whatever you teach it, it can replicate to absolute perfection! Dedicated entirely to serving your restaurant!]
The accompanying image showed an… oval-headed robot.
It looked noticeably different from Caicai.
She summoned the chef robot onto the floor.
“Greetings, esteemed Boss. I am the Fully Automated Chef Robot. It is my pleasure to serve you.”
The oval-headed robot also spoke in a synthesized voice, though its cadence differed from Caicai’s.
Its tone was considerably more level and composed.
Caicai trundled over on its treads, turning its bulky, square head toward its new companion: (⊙v⊙）
The new unit stood slightly taller than Caicai, while its smooth, egg-shaped head was a size smaller than Caicai’s blocky noggin.
Its display screen was correspondingly more compact.
Its overall profile was rounded; rather than a rectangular chassis, its torso resembled two opposing cones fused at the waist, supported at the base by rolling wheels for locomotion.
Its shell was pristine white throughout.
Its arms were sculpted closer to human proportions, as were its hands.
Each hand ended in ten articulated mechanical fingers.
“Allow me to introduce this unit’s functional parameters.”
The white robot lacked Caicai’s kaleidoscope of whimsical emoticons, its oval face displaying a simple pair of round, glowing blue eyes.
“Here is this unit’s visual display and data recording interface.
You may program this unit to cook by inputting digital recipes, or by activating video-guided training, through which this unit will replicate your cooking procedures with absolute fidelity.
The current capacity for recorded and inputted recipes is set to one hundred dishes. You may upgrade this unit to expand its memory banks.
The toggle on the back of this unit’s cranium accesses the administrative panel, allowing you to configure workflows, operational tasks, task priority queues, and more.
This unit is equipped with an integrated self-sterilization system, automatically cleansing itself after handling ingredients with potential microbial loads to guarantee comprehensive food safety.
This model expends its battery reserve after twelve hours of continuous operation. A red illumination on the display indicates thirty minutes of operational time remaining prior to standby hibernation. A sum of 100 points will restore this unit to full charge.
Current battery status: 100%.”
“You may assign a designation to this unit.”
The newcomer’s introductory briefing mirrored Caicai’s initial protocol quite closely.
Yet differences remained.
With a different operational focus came a distinct demeanor.
Ling Jing had assumed every automaton issued by the system would be as bubbly as Caicai.
Turns out, that wasn’t the case.
This one carried a distinctly reserved, businesslike aura.
She pressed the panel on the back of the new robot’s head and entered the name she had in mind.
“Robot designated.”
Ling Jing gave a nod of approval. “Alright. Fufu, follow me into the kitchen.”
Splendid timing—she was just about to prep tomorrow’s mise en place.
Time to see just how much heavy lifting a fully automated chef robot could handle.
