It was almost noon, and Ye Ju planned to find a place to eat and try the local cuisine.
She entered a restaurant called Zhenxiu Zhai, its large, fluttering wine character attracting customers.
Ye Ju walked through the hall and up to a private seating area on the second floor. It was a separate, relatively private space by the window facing the street. There were fewer customers then, suggesting that cultivators in this world were less focused on the pleasures of the palate.
A waiter, similar to a shop assistant, approached, his tone lazy.
"What would the honored guest like to eat?"
"Serve me all of your signature dishes, and a pot of clear wine."
"Are you sure? Our restaurant has ten signature dishes. I fear you won't be able to finish them?" the waiter advised hesitantly.
"No problem!" Ye Ju smiled at the waiter and waved her hand.
Two quarters of an hour later, ten dishes were served in succession. As expected, these dishes contained spiritual energy, and their taste was mediocre. No wonder there were no other customers. The cooking method seemed to be stewing, and even Xiaobai, upon tasting them, repeatedly complained.
"Sister, none of these taste as good as yours. If not for the spiritual energy in these foods, they would taste even worse."
Ye Ju hadn't expected this. She thought the signature dishes would have some special characteristics.
"Sister, I don't want to eat these. I prefer the food you make. Xiaobai has become too discerning; normally, I have a great appetite, but now I can't even look at these dishes."
Ye Ju had no choice. The longer they spent together, the more she doted on Xiaobai like a younger sister. Hearing the little one's cooing, she couldn't help but soften.
She called the waiter over and asked to borrow the kitchen. These signature dishes were so unpalatable that even her spiritual pet refused to eat them.
The waiter…
The waiter dared not say much and called the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper, surnamed Zhu, was a middle-aged man with a beard, a stern but smiling face. Ye Ju dared not guess his age; who knew how long cultivators lived. Ye Ju felt a sense of pressure. According to what Chao Xiangzi had taught her, this Shopkeeper Zhu was close to the Core Formation stage.
"Honored guest, what is the meaning of borrowing our kitchen?" Shopkeeper Zhu bowed and asked gently.
"I only wish to borrow your kitchen to cook a few dishes my spiritual pet enjoys. I have no other intentions, and I can pay with spirit stones." Ye Ju said with a smile. As the saying goes, a smiling face is not struck. She was, in essence, disrupting their business, so it was better to be friendly.
Shopkeeper Zhu was silent for a moment, stroked his beard, nodded, and instructed the waiter to take Ye Ju to the kitchen in the guest courtyard. He also had the waiter bring some of the existing ingredients from the kitchen. He then called a young attendant, about sixteen years old, to tend the fire.
Ye Ju hadn't eaten enough either. The kitchen already had spiritual rice cooking, so she decided to stir-fry a few dishes to go with it. It had been a long time since she had rice.
The kitchen had fresh meat resembling pork and beef. She decided to make braised pork and salt and pepper beef. Thinking of the mutated chilies she had just bought, she also made tiger-skin chili chicken cubes.
Seeing the complete set of utensils in the kitchen, she took out her dried bamboo shoots from her spirit ring, soaked them, and then made her favorite spicy stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat. Before, on the island, it was either stewing or grilling; the methods were monotonous, and she was tired of them. Xiaobai was a carnivore. Fearing it wouldn't be enough, she saw fish, sliced it, and then made boiled fish. She also found green leafy vegetables that resembled lettuce. This was simple; she just stir-fried them with garlic. She didn't have time for soup.
When Ye Ju finished, she looked at the young man tending the fire. His tender, youthful face was pale and bloodless, clearly malnourished. So, she kindly left him a portion, saying it was a reward for him. The waiter, drawn by the aroma, was already waiting outside and diligently helped carry the dishes to the private seating area. Xiaobai, circling Ye Ju's side, also seemed impatient upon smelling the aroma.
"Sister~ Sister~, the dishes you made this time smell so good. I'm hungry just smelling them."
The aroma wafting from the guest courtyard kitchen drew the attention of customers in both the second-floor private seating areas and the first-floor hall, who all clamored: What dish smells so good? Hurry and bring it! Several tables of customers called out, asking to order the same dishes and urging the waiter to bring them quickly.
In a certain private room, a luxuriously dressed, distinguished young man couldn't resist the aroma. The scent alone made one's mouth water! He quickly dispatched his subordinate to the kitchen to see what was cooking and to order the same dishes.
Ye Ju ate the long-awaited rice and familiar dishes. The familiar dishes almost made her cry. For several months, it had been seafood, stewed dishes, or barbecued items.
The private seating area Ye Ju chose was also a private and independent space. Although not a private room, it had partitions around it. Xiaobai had transformed into human form, and unless one paid close attention, no one would realize that the spiritual fox was Xiaobai. Eating the food her sister made, she was almost in tears, especially the spicy and irresistible flavor. How could her own culinary skills be so excellent! It was too delicious!
In other words, she was actually discovered. Xiaobai was the transformed spiritual fox she had been holding earlier, and Ye Ju wasn't afraid. If anyone wanted to snatch Xiaobai, they would have to get past her first!
While Ye Ju and Xiaobai were enjoying their meal, Shopkeeper Zhu was overwhelmed by the customers. What was most frightening was that the respected guest in the private room also wanted to order such dishes. This person was not to be trifled with; angering this immortal could result in the restaurant being turned to dust with a mere flick of a finger!
He had no choice but to seek Ye Ju's help.
"Fairy, please do me a favor. Could you make another table of the same dishes? I will waive all your expenses here and would also like to buy the recipes for your cooking at a high price," Shopkeeper Zhu said, a bead of sweat on his forehead, respectfully bowing and pleading with Ye Ju.
Ye Ju was a little puzzled by Shopkeeper Zhu's attitude. Why did he look so panicked?
She secretly extended her spiritual sense and encountered a barrier in a private room. She urged her spiritual power to become as fine as a hair and pass through the barrier. She saw a noble young man wearing a mask, radiating an imposing aura, and faintly felt that his cultivation was very high. She quickly retracted her spiritual sense.
In the private room, Chao Yangzi curved his lips. What a fearless young woman. She even made her spiritual pet transform into human form to dine with her.
She didn't know that spiritual beasts that could transform into human form were extremely rare on the Tianchen Continent. If this information were leaked, various forces would fight over her spiritual pet.
Ye Ju understood. The influential figure probably fancied her cooking. Fine, it was just a few small dishes.
By this time, she had eaten almost enough. After Xiaobai had devoured all the food, they went to the restaurant's main kitchen. She directed the restaurant's chefs to fry, stir-fry, stew, and boil, generously providing her own seasonings.
As for the dried bamboo shoots, she also generously provided them. The shopkeeper was deeply grateful and paid one hundred top-grade spirit stones. Even though Ye Ju was no longer short of money, she felt that the shopkeeper was quite generous. After all, the purchasing power of a top-grade spirit stone in this world was immense. An ordinary person could not save a single top-grade spirit stone in ten years.
Shopkeeper Zhu's eyes widened slightly when Ye Ju took out the dried bamboo shoots, but his expression remained unchanged. Knowing that this item was rare and could not be found by chance, he didn't ask to buy it. Such precious ingredients could naturally not be sold. Therefore, he paid more spirit stones. He was also afraid that Fairy Ye Ju would be displeased.
After the dishes were prepared and sent to the Tianzi private room, Ye Ju, holding her spiritual pet, left the restaurant, feeling delighted about the money earned from the recipes.