ARLQLCC chapter 8

 

Although Chu Zhaoye did not want Su Ji to tire himself out running a cafeteria, after all, the wealth he possessed was so great that even if he gave Su Ji only one-tenth of it, Su Ji could probably lie flat for a lifetime and still never spend it all.

But seeing how happy he was, Chu Zhaoye still let out an enthusiastic meow and raised one paw to high-five Su Ji.

That afternoon, Su Ji took care of everything in the back courtyard that needed tending.

The newly purchased spirit beast cubs had already been placed into the spirit beast pen.

Meanwhile, the seeds that had only recently been sown in the spiritual fields were growing at a rather frightening speed. Just a few days ago they had still been in the seedling stage, but now they had entered the growth period and were shooting up rapidly.

Su Ji looked at the thriving spiritual plants before him, then looked down at his own palm and shook his head helplessly.

He did not know whether it was because heaven had seen how long he had been wronged in his previous life, but not only had it given him a chance to start over, it had also bestowed such a generous gift upon him.

At the current growth rate of the spiritual plants, it probably would not be long before the cafeteria menu could feature ingredients grown by Su Ji himself.

The pear blossom tree Su Ji had been thinking about was also planted in the empty space outside the window. By next spring, it would grow and bloom with beautiful white flowers.

Once it bore fruit, he could pick the pears and stew rock sugar snow pear soup for Ma Tuan.

Life on Linggu Mountain was gradually getting on track. Although only three or four days had passed since he left the Chenxin Sect, Su Ji felt that his current life was warmer and more human than before.

Aside from his daily cultivation, it was busy yet cozy.

Su Ji was very satisfied with his current situation. Tomorrow, he planned to arrange a different meal lineup for each day of the week.

Since he was cooking alone, he probably would not be able to prepare too many dishes each day. But since the customer flow likely would not be large at the beginning, he could start with fewer dishes and test the waters.

The next day, Su Ji got up as early as usual. After much gesturing and prompting from Chu Zhaoye, breakfast was once again fish fillet congee.

After breakfast, Su Ji brought Chu Zhaoye back to the bedroom. Then he took out a small notebook from his storage artifact, pulled out a pen, and began making notes.

For cafeteria business, the dishes needed to pair well with rice, and the preparation steps had to be as simple as possible. Otherwise, when mealtime came, he might panic and fail to finish everything in time.

Su Ji calculated the limit of his speed and tentatively decided on a fixed menu each day of three meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, one cold dish, one soup, and free herbal tea. If business was good later on, he could consider hiring a few assistants and gradually increasing the number of dishes.

Su Ji set the business hours to lunchtime only. There would be no dinner service.

If he operated continuously, there was no way he could manage it all by himself. During this trial period, it was better to be cautious.

As he thought, he scribbled and sketched on the paper, while Chu Zhaoye lay nearby and watched quietly. The more he watched, the more tedious it became. He wanted to stuff some money into Su Ji’s purse, but he was afraid Su Ji would refuse it.

Time passed bit by bit. After Su Ji revised the plan countless times, a complete menu was finally born.

The menu prepared for the first day was: Twice-Cooked Pork, Spicy Chicken, Sour Soup Fish Fillets; Tomato Scrambled Eggs, Stir-Fried Shredded Potatoes with Vinegar, Hand-Torn Cabbage; Winter Melon and Pork Rib Soup, and Sour Plum Drink.

Su Ji had selfishly added fish to every day’s menu, because Ma Tuan was a little cat who loved fish. Whenever there was fish, he always ate more happily.

After finalizing the menu, Su Ji dug out a wooden board from some unknown corner of his storage artifact. With a flourish of his brush, he wrote the dishes and prices for all seven days and posted it in the most conspicuous spot in the cafeteria.

Sometimes Chu Zhaoye suspected that the contents of Su Ji’s storage artifact were even more abundant than his own storage space. It seemed there was nothing that could not be found inside.

Once the menu was finished, Su Ji took out the spiritual communication device he had exchanged with Shopkeeper Chen. After informing him of the different ingredients needed each day, he let out a long breath of relief.

With that, all the preparations were finally complete. All that remained was to wait for the fresh vegetables to be transported through the array, prep the ingredients a day in advance, and then wait for the grand opening the next day.

Standing in the middle of the cafeteria and looking at the fully arranged interior, Su Ji felt very satisfied. He held Chu Zhaoye to his chest and walked to the serving counter, where there was a spot that had once been used by the cashier.

Su Ji set the kitten on top of it and asked, “Ma Tuan, our little cafeteria is about to open! Tomorrow, I’ll be responsible for serving the food. Can you help me collect the money?”

Chu Zhaoye paced around the area for a moment, then let out a confident meow.

Seeing this, Su Ji knew he had agreed. Comforted, he lifted Ma Tuan’s two front paws and praised him, “Thank you, Ma Tuan. Tomorrow I’ll give you a magical artifact that makes sounds. You just look at the prices on the menu and press the corresponding button, and it will announce the price.”

As he spoke, he produced a disc-shaped magical artifact covered with many numbers. Chu Zhaoye glanced at it and patted his chest at Su Ji.

It was only collecting money. Absolutely no problem!

Su Ji placed a smaller version of the menu beside him so he could compare the prices.

Su Ji was a tiny bit worried about letting a kitten collect money, but Ma Tuan was no ordinary cat. After spending so many days together, it was clear that he possessed intelligence and was extremely clever. Since it was only the first day of business, the customer flow probably would not be large, so they could test it out for one day first.

Lingle Pavilion moved quickly. Following Su Ji’s requested quantities, they delivered the ingredients little by little that very afternoon.

The lead clerk also brought a large spirit tool, saying it was a gift from Shopkeeper Chen. If pre-prepared ingredients were placed inside, time within the spirit tool would remain relatively still. Even if they were taken out several days later, they would be just as fresh as when they were put in.

This was extremely useful to Su Ji at this stage. He thanked the clerk and Shopkeeper Chen and placed the spirit tool in the kitchen.

Following the menu, he began prepping the ingredients one by one. The amount of food for the first day was cut directly in half compared to his original plan. If business was poor tomorrow, having too much left over would be too wasteful.

The meats were sliced into even pieces and marinated in advance.

The tomatoes were cut into small chunks, the cabbage was torn apart, and the two ingredients were placed together.

The potatoes were shredded and soaked in water, the winter melon was cut into chunks, and the pork ribs were chopped into small sections. The various side ingredients were set aside.

After the ingredients were prepared, Su Ji placed them into the spirit tool to keep them fresh. As for the sour plum drink, which would be offered free of charge, it could be prepared in advance and served directly with ice cubes the next day.

Lingle Pavilion had prepared the ingredients very thoroughly. They had even thought of the ice cubes and sent them together inside the spirit tool.

Su Ji washed and soaked smoked plums, hawthorn, dried tangerine peel, dried mulberries, licorice, and roselle one by one, then transferred them to a large pot with water to simmer and added rock sugar.

Su Ji made a large batch of sour plum drink all at once, using the biggest pot in the cafeteria. Originally, he had intended to cook only the necessary amount, but the spirit tool from Lingle Pavilion had arrived at the perfect time. By making it all at once, he could preserve it for a long time and save effort.

It was not only for the sect disciples after the cafeteria opened. Su Ji himself also loved drinking a bowl of sour plum drink while resting.

After about half an hour, the sour plum drink was done. The liquid in the pot had turned a beautiful deep reddish-brown. As the lid was lifted, the kitchen filled with the fresh sweet-and-sour aroma of sour plum drink.

Su Ji strained out the residue and ladled out two small bowls, adding a few ice cubes to each. One bowl was placed in front of Chu Zhaoye, and the other he sipped slowly himself.

The sour plum drink had been brewed just right. After adding the ice cubes, it was wonderfully refreshing. The tartness of the smoked plums and dried tangerine peel was balanced by the rock sugar, making it sweet without being cloying and extremely thirst-quenching.

It had been a long time since Su Ji had drunk sour plum drink. After the first sip, he let out a satisfied sigh.

“It’s been so long since I made this. Luckily, my skills haven’t gotten rusty. Do you like it, Ma Tuan?”

After taking one sip, Chu Zhaoye could not stop. He slurped it down quickly. Hearing the question, he lifted his head from the bowl, nodded very cooperatively, and then lowered his head to continue drinking.

Seeing that he liked it, Su Ji was very happy. He placed the remaining sour plum drink into the spirit tool. The next moment, he received a message from Shopkeeper Chen—

> Good afternoon, Young Master Su. I forgot to tell you yesterday that after the array repairs were completed, we added a few small spells to make your teleportation array stand out more prominently among the sects’ arrays.

> This is to ensure that your teleportation array absolutely stands out during meal times.

> I hope this will help attract some business for you. Wishing your cafeteria a smooth and successful opening.

Su Ji once again marveled at how thoughtful Shopkeeper Chen was and thought that next time he absolutely had to treat Shopkeeper Chen and the array master to another big meal!

He only hoped that this “standing out” would not be too strange, lest it fail to attract customers and scare everyone away instead.

.

Near noon, Yunxian Sect Academy.

It was almost time for morning classes to end, and there was some restlessness in the class hall. In the last row sat two disciples with their heads lowered, whispering to each other.

One of them wore a blue tassel at his waist, which swayed left and right in rhythm with his speech.

He whispered to the deskmate beside him, “As soon as class ends, let’s rush out. The cafeteria has braised chicken legs today. That’s the only thing that tastes decent, so we absolutely can’t let them grab them all!”

His deskmate nodded and said with certainty, “Every time there are braised chicken legs, we never get any. This time, we’re closest to the door, so we’ll definitely get one!”

The boy with the blue tassel patted his shoulder and was about to speak again when a fast-moving object flew over and struck him on the head with a bang.

“Ow!” he cried, jumping to his feet. Just as he was about to ask who had thrown it, he saw that the Discipline Elder, who had been lecturing from the podium, had stopped speaking at some point, and every disciple in the class was staring at him.

He immediately shut his mouth and closed his eyes, thinking miserably that his luck was terrible. Of all times, he had to be caught talking during the Discipline Elder’s class. After class, he would definitely be kept behind and scolded.

Seeing his ashen face, the Discipline Elder barked in disappointment, “Yun Xicheng! How many times have I told you not to talk during my class!

“Don’t think that just because your father is the Sect Master, I won’t punish you. Look at your coursework lately. It’s a complete mess! Yun Che, you stand up too!”

Hearing his own name, Yun Xicheng’s deskmate jolted and stood up trembling, not daring to look at the Discipline Elder.

Seeing the two of them like this, the Discipline Elder picked up his ruler and slapped it heavily against the desk in front of him. His gaze swept across the entire class hall, and every disciple who met his eyes lowered their heads, afraid of being implicated.

“Yun Xicheng and Yun Che, stay after class. I’ll say this one more time. If I catch anyone whispering and not paying attention next time, go to the Discipline Hall and receive punishment yourselves! Do you understand?!”

No one dared to provoke him. The entire class hall thundered in unison, “Understood!”

Soon it was time for class to end. Aside from Yun Xicheng and Yun Che, who had been caught red-handed, all the other disciples scattered like a flock of birds, leaving the three of them staring at one another.

Once everyone had left, the Discipline Elder came down from the podium with his ruler in hand. Yun Xicheng and Yun Che exchanged a glance, then hurriedly pleaded.

“Elder! Please don’t be angry. We know we were wrong. Too much anger harms the body. Don’t damage your health over us. It’s not worth it!”

The Discipline Elder snorted heavily and smacked the ruler against the desk with loud slaps.

“So now you know you were wrong? I watched you for quite a while just now. What were you talking about so intently that you weren’t even listening to the lesson?”

Yun Xicheng put on a pitiful expression. “Elder, today is the seven-day cycle for braised chicken legs in the cafeteria. We just wanted to run faster after class so we could grab one to eat.”

Yun Che nodded repeatedly.

The Discipline Elder snorted coldly. “Pathetic. Is a single chicken leg really worth this much effort?”

Yun Xicheng screamed inwardly, You’re an elder, so your meals are arranged for you. Of course you don’t need to fight for food. If I’m one step late, all that’ll be left is soup!

Seeing his wandering gaze, clearly still thinking about the braised chicken legs, the Discipline Elder sighed and waved his hand.

“Get out, get out. Don’t let it happen again.”

Yun Xicheng and Yun Che’s eyes lit up. They thanked him while dashing out like the wind.

But no matter how fast they ran, what awaited them was still an empty platter where the chicken legs had once been.

Yun Xicheng slammed a fist against his thigh in anguish. “Gone again! How can these people eat so much?!”

Yun Che also frowned. “What do we do? The remaining dishes all taste awful. How about we just eat pastries?”

Yun Xicheng did not really want pastries. He had been gnawing on them for several days in a row. If he kept eating them, he was going to turn into a pastry himself.

Just as they stood there hesitating, they heard passing disciples discussing something at the teleportation array outside.

Yun Xicheng had always loved joining in the excitement. Since the dish he wanted was already gone, he dragged Yun Che out of the cafeteria and toward the place where the discussion was loudest.

“When was this teleportation array opened? Why are there words on it?”

“I remember this teleportation array hasn’t been used for a very long time. I think it was only reopened today.”

“Then it should be cooperating with some sect.”

While the other disciples speculated, Yun Xicheng had already pushed his way to the front with Yun Che. Looking at the dazzling teleportation array, he read the glowing words on the pillar of light one by one.

“Linggu Mountain Cafeteria is now open! Fresh ingredients, delicious dishes. All disciples are welcome to come and try.”

Yun Che said curiously, “Linggu Mountain Cafeteria? I’ve never heard of it. Is it one of those old cafeterias that shut down and has reopened?”

Yun Xicheng shook his head. “I’m not sure either. It must have been from a long time ago. I wonder how the food tastes. Do you want to go try it?”

Yun Che looked shocked. “Are you serious? All cafeterias are consistently terrible. I’ve never even heard of this one. What if it tastes even worse?”

Yun Xicheng did not care at all. He stepped into the teleportation array.

“So what? We were planning to eat pastries today anyway. Let’s try it. If it tastes bad, we’ll just leave. We won’t lose anything.”

Someone had stepped onto the teleportation array, and it began to activate as the light flashed. Seeing that Yun Xicheng had made up his mind, Yun Che hurriedly stepped in as well just before he was transported away.

“Wait for me!”

The two entered so suddenly that, with a flash of light, their figures disappeared from the Yunxian Sect.

The surrounding disciples looked at one another and continued discussing it for a while. Some dispersed, while others who did not want to eat the cafeteria food wandered around nearby, intending to wait for them to return and report back on how the food tasted. If it was good, they would teleport over and solve their lunch problem as well.

Inside the little cafeteria on Linggu Mountain, Su Ji had already arranged the day’s dishes and was sitting at the serving counter chatting with Chu Zhaoye.

“It’s the first day of opening. I wonder if anyone will come to eat. If today’s dishes don’t sell, the two of us will just have to eat them over several meals.”

Chu Zhaoye comfortingly raised a paw and patted Su Ji’s hand.

It’s okay! If no one comes, it just means they have no taste!

Su Ji was about to say something else when he saw the teleportation array at the entrance light up.

The next moment, two figures appeared inside the cafeteria.

As soon as the light faded, Yun Xicheng eagerly looked around the cafeteria in front of him.

The dining area was completely empty. Only a tall, elegant young man stood behind the serving counter, with a small black kitten standing beside his hand.

Yun Xicheng’s smile stiffened. Lowering his head, he whispered to Yun Che, “This cafeteria looks so shabby. Can the food it makes really taste good?”

Yun Che twitched his mouth. “Weren’t you the one who said trying it wouldn’t cost us anything?”

Yun Xicheng pouted. “It’s just that this is the first time I’ve seen such a… such a simple cafeteria!”

Yun Che said, “But look at our sect’s cafeteria. The decorations are so luxurious, and the food still tastes awful. Clearly, whether food tastes good has nothing to do with the décor.”

Thinking of the taste of his own sect’s food, Yun Xicheng could not help nodding.

After finishing their exchange, the two walked together up to Su Ji.

Yun Xicheng asked, “Hello, hello. We’re here to eat. May I ask where your cook is?”

Su Ji smiled. “That would be me.”

Yun Xicheng looked at the young man’s fair and handsome face and was shocked. He turned to Yun Che and complained out of habit, “All the cooks I’ve seen are pretty old. He’s this good-looking—can his cooking really be tasty?!”

Su Ji: “.”

Yun Che: “…” Are you missing part of your brain?

 

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