If you’ve spent any time wandering the sunbaked streets and rocky docks of Jinzhou in Wuthering Waves, you’ve probably stumbled on random side quests that give way better rewards than the generic fetch missions the game marks on your map. I spent 2 hours running around the fishing village last week, refreshing my quest log and talking to every NPC twice, trying to figure out why I couldn’t trigger the next step of a free meal 2 wuthering waves, and I realized most players are making the same tiny, easy-to-fix mistakes I did. This guide will walk you through every step, from triggering the quest correctly to claiming all the secret unmarked rewards, so you don’t waste your time running in circles like I did.
How to Trigger A Free Meal 2 Wuthering Waves Quest Correctly
You don’t get this quest automatically after finishing the first A Free Meal quest, like 80% of players assume. I thought I had a game bug at first, because I turned in the first meal to Auntie Li and didn’t get a follow-up marker for three full in-game days. Turns out you have to meet two small prerequisites first that the game never tells you about. First, you need to have reached Account Level 28 and finished the main story chapter “Breeze Over Jinzhou” to unlock the full night time cycle in the fishing village area. The quest only triggers after dark, so if you haven’t unlocked the day/night toggle yet, you’ll never see the starting NPC.
Second, you have to have given Auntie Li three servings of Spicy Grilled Fish during the first A Free Meal quest, not the plain steamed fish option. If you picked steamed fish because you thought it was healthier for her, you’ll have to go back and redo the first quest by talking to Auntie Li during the day and choosing the “I want to make you another meal” dialogue option. That’s a small detail 90% of new players miss, so don’t feel bad if that’s why you couldn’t trigger the follow-up. Once you meet those two requirements, head to the fishing village dock between 8PM and 2AM in-game time, and you’ll see Auntie Li’s grandson, Xiao Yu, sitting on a crate crying. Talk to him to start the quest.
Step-by-Step Walkthrough to Complete the Quest
Xiao Yu will tell you that his grandma is sick with a cold and can’t cook for the village workers who are fixing the broken storm-damaged pier, so he needs your help to make 5 servings of Fragrant Seafood Porridge and deliver them before sunrise. Don’t panic if you don’t have the recipe already, you can get it right next to the dock from the old fisherman Uncle Chen, he’ll give it to you for free if you ask him about “easy meals for sick people”. You don’t have to trade anything or do a separate favor for him, which is a nice change from most Wuthering Waves quest requirements.
The ingredients are where most players get stuck, because the quest description gives you almost no information on where to find them. I ran all over Jinzhou for an hour looking for ginger before I found the spawn spot, so I’ve listed all required materials and where to get them below to save you time:
Once you have all ingredients, go to Auntie Li’s kitchen, which is the small red house with a straw roof right next to the village square. You can use her stove for free, no need to bring your own portable cooking station. Cook the 5 portions of porridge, then you have 10 in-game minutes to deliver them to the 4 pier workers and to Auntie Li herself. Don’t take too long, if you miss the time limit you’ll have to restart the quest from the beginning, and you’ll lose all the ingredients you used, which is a huge pain. I made that mistake the first time because I stopped to fight a random Luxian boss on the way, so save any combat detours for after you turn in the quest.
All Exclusive Rewards You Get for Finishing the Quest
A lot of players skip this quest because they think it’s just a random small side quest that gives a few hundred coins, but the rewards are actually way better than most main story side missions. First, you get 1200 Wuthering Waves in-game currency, which is enough to buy two rare weapon upgrade materials from the Jinzhou specialty shop, or 30 healing potions for your next boss run. Second, you get a permanent 10% discount at all Jinzhou general stores, that adds up really fast if you buy a lot of cooking ingredients or buff potions like I do. I’ve saved almost 5000 coins already from that discount alone.
Third, you unlock the special Village Chef title, which gives you a 5% cooking success rate boost for all seafood dishes, which is super useful if you like making your own buff food for high level boss fights. The boost applies even when you’re cooking outside of Jinzhou, so it works everywhere on the map. Fourth, you get a secret follow-up interaction with Xiao Yu a week later in-game, where he gives you a free legendary fishing rod that lets you catch rare fish that sell for 500 coins each. That’s easily the best reward, I’ve made over 12,000 coins just using that rod to catch rare fish on weekends when I don’t feel like doing main story missions. The only catch is you have to talk to Xiao Yu during the day to get the rod, it doesn’t pop up as a quest marker, so you have to remember to go back.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During the Quest
I messed up this quest three times before I got it right, so I know exactly what mistakes to warn you about so you don’t repeat my errors. First, don’t try to use pre-cooked porridge you made before starting the quest. The game only counts porridge you make after Xiao Yu gives you the quest, so even if you have 10 portions in your inventory already, you have to make new ones. I learned that the hard way when I tried to turn in pre-made porridge and the game wouldn’t accept it, forcing me to go collect all the ingredients again.
Second, don’t wear your full combat gear when you deliver the last portion of porridge to Auntie Li. That sounds weird, but if you’re wearing your heavy combat armor and carrying your weapon out, she’ll comment that you look like you’re about to fight a war and won’t give you the extra bonus reward of 3 extra rare shrimp spawns near the dock every day. Just switch to your casual outfit before you talk to her, it’s a tiny, unmarked detail that most players never find out about. Third, don’t kill the stray calico cat that hangs around Auntie Li’s kitchen. I know a lot of players kill random animals for crafting materials, but if you kill that cat, Xiao Yu will refuse to talk to you and you’ll never be able to start or finish the quest. There’s no way to fix this besides restarting your whole account, so just leave the cat alone. It’s not worth it for one piece of animal meat.
Wuthering Waves is full of small hidden side quests that give way better rewards than you’d expect, and a free meal 2 wuthering waves is one of the most underrated ones out there. It only takes 20 minutes to finish once you know the steps, and the permanent discounts and legendary fishing rod reward will save you hours of grinding later on. Next time you’re exploring Jinzhou at night, stop by the dock and check if Xiao Yu is there, you won’t regret doing this quest. If you have any other tricks for this quest that I missed, drop them in the comments below, I’d love to hear them.