The next day, in the early morning.
Before Lin Zhao, Lu Xun, and the others had woken up, someone was already standing outside the courtyard gate, respectfully holding a heavy string of preserved meat and three ducks. On the ground were piles of fruits and pastries. He didn't knock, but waited respectfully outside until Lu Xun, woken by the urge to urinate, opened the door to his room and was slightly startled, "Who is it?"
Yi Shi Cang Liang glanced at Lu Xun, his expression somewhat aghast. In his game interface, Lu Xun's level was a skull. This was terrifying. He knew that when he saw the powerful bosses like Chu Huai Xi, Shao Shi Yu, and Chen Yu from a distance outside North Mountain, he could see their levels. This could only mean that the Lu Xun before him might actually be of a higher realm than Chu Huai Xi!
"Ah, I..."
Yi Shi Cang Liang stood before Lu Xun, fidgeting like a scolded primary school student.
"If there's nothing else, I'm going back to sleep..."
Lu Xun closed the door, muttering to himself, "What a shame. Such a big man, but such a sissy."
Yi Shi Cang Liang stood outside, too angry to speak, and said, "That... I'm looking for Lin Zhao."
"Got it."
Lu Xun walked to the main house and knocked on the door, "Lin Zhao, someone's looking for you. It's a woman."
Immediately after, Lu Xun went back to sleep. The morning light and a warm bed were exceptionally tempting.
...
Lin Zhao came out and saw Yi Shi Cang Liang standing outside with the meat and ducks, and couldn't help but freeze, "You... what are you doing here?"
"Young brother!"
Yi Shi Cang Liang's face was filled with gratitude. "I wronged you yesterday. I really... I really regret it. You were right, there is indeed a dragon pearl in the belly of the fish from Bai Yu Stream. I obtained a dragon pearl late last night. I was too impatient before. I'm sorry... these..."
He held up the ducks and preserved meat, "A small token of my appreciation. And these pastries and fruits nearby, please accept them. Thank you so much."
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao was stunned, "There really is a dragon pearl?"
"Yes."
"I see..."
Lin Zhao was also confused. Something he had casually made up had actually come true. Could it be that he had touched some heavenly secret, achieved great success in martial arts, and been conferred the title of Martial Saint, so that his words now carried weight? No way, he was just a fourth-realm martial artist.
"I'm leaving, young brother!"
Yi Shi Cang Liang gently patted Lin Zhao's shoulder and laughed, "I've seen you practice your punches. Your aura is magnificent. You will surely become a boxing saint in the future. I wish you success in leaving this small town and marrying the most beautiful woman in the world as your wife, hahaha~~~"
With that, Yi Shi Cang Liang left, acting like a roguish old man.
Lin Zhao rubbed his eyes. Perhaps everything else was fake, but the preserved meat and ducks placed before him were real. The three ducks were still quacking. So he moved the items back into the courtyard and called Xiao Shi Tou and Xiao Jiu Er to get up. Xiao Jiu Er was the happiest, as she hadn't eaten sweet fruits and pastries like these for a long time since her family was destroyed. Xiao Shi Tou also had a look of longing in his eyes.
Lin Zhao immediately opened a box for the children to eat and took a bite himself, savoring the lingering taste. But then he was reluctant to eat more, saving it all for Xiao Shi Tou and Xiao Jiu Er.
...
Time passed quickly in the small town. For a while afterward, Lin Zhao didn't receive any missions or recruitment orders from the Tianchi Army, so he stayed in the town peacefully practicing his punches. Soon, it was the beginning of winter, and the town became much colder. Lin Zhao took out his savings and bought a set of winter clothes for himself, Xiao Shi Tou, and Xiao Jiu Er. This was the first time in many years he had worn decent winter clothes. Moreover, with two martial artists at home, the consumption of food and healing medicine was enormous, especially healing medicine. Martial artists easily injured their bodies when practicing punches and required good healing medicine. Lin Zhao and Xiao Shi Tou were quickly depleting their savings, even with the twenty percent income from Bai Wei Xuan, they were still struggling.
One day, Lin Zhao went to the restaurant.
Jia Zhong was deeply troubled. "Third shopkeeper, our business has started to decline... While the sour fish and big plate chicken are delicious, the customers who came for the spicy crayfish are no longer coming. Bai Yu Stream is almost frozen over, and no one is willing to risk freezing to death to catch crayfish. Spicy crayfish was removed from the menu ten days ago, and business has halved instantly."
"Yes, Lin Zhao."
Beside him, a plump woman said, "You need to think of a solution quickly. A few days ago, we bought the building next door. Bai Wei Xuan is now divided into a main building and a branch building. Since the crayfish were removed from the menu, business has gotten worse and worse. During meal times, the occupancy rate of the branch building is less than ten percent. If this continues, we might not even be able to afford the wages for the cooks and waiters."
"I know."
Lin Zhao nodded. "I know the situation, so don't worry. Old Brother Jia, come here. I want to discuss a new dish with you."
"Oh?"
Jia Zhong's expression immediately sharpened. He went upstairs with Lin Zhao and they conferred at a table by the window.
Lin Zhao took out the prepared paper, which depicted a specially designed charcoal basin and a pot that fit perfectly on top of the basin. There were several designs for this pot, some divided into two, some into three, and the most having four compartments. Lin Zhao glanced at Jia Zhong and said, "The dimensions and requirements are all written here. Find the best blacksmith in town to forge this cookware. How many tables are there in the main building?"
"Eighteen tables."
"Then, forge twenty-four sets, with a few extra for spare. Also, the main building needs to be renovated to ensure good ventilation, otherwise, it could easily cause carbon monoxide poisoning."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Jia Zhong didn't know what carbon monoxide was, but he knew that what Lin Zhao said must be reasonable, so he followed every instruction.
Lin Zhao continued, "Also, you need to secure the source for a batch of dishes. First, beef. Second, lamb. You also need to select a few people with particularly good knife skills. When slicing beef, make it as thin as possible. It's best to freeze the beef and lamb into blocks outside. Then, hire a second or third-realm sword cultivator to help us slice the meat."
"My heavens..."
Jia Zhong was stunned, his expression horrified. "Are second and third-realm sword cultivators that easy to hire? If I'm not sure if the new dish will be profitable, I wouldn't dare to hire one without authorization!"
"Are you stupid!"
Lin Zhao laughed. "Find our number one gourmet, Old Sword Immortal Han! A ninth-realm sword cultivator will slice meat for us for free. How satisfying is that?"
Jia Zhong's face lit up with a smile, finding it very reasonable.
Afterward, Lin Zhao also instructed them to prepare some ingredients, such as sliced black fish, meatballs, lettuce, pig brains, frozen shrimp, and bean curd sheets. A few days later, the first set of cookware was delivered.
...
On a cold winter night, the old sword immortal Han Bu Yu arrived late. He looked at a pot of boiling spicy soup with a speechless expression. But after Lin Zhao's invitation, he still drew his sword. As expected of an old sword immortal, his sword light was like a rainbow, and he sliced the meat like slicing demons. He cut slices of beef and lamb very finely. Then, Lin Zhao adjusted the seasonings and personally demonstrated with chopsticks, giving Old Sword Immortal Han a slice of snowflake fatty beef!
After a bite of the fatty beef, the old sword immortal quickly took a sip of wine and was stunned on the spot, muttering, "Three years in this cold winter, this... this is the warmest bite of meat I've had in a long time!"
"Is it delicious, Old Sword Immortal?" Lin Zhao asked with a smile.
"Delicious, a winter delicacy!"
The old sword immortal laughed heartily. "Young friend Lin Zhao, I'll cook the meat myself, I'll do it myself..."
"Alright!"
Lin Zhao smiled from the side, "Old Sword Immortal, there's also freshly sliced black fish here, as well as some lettuce, meatballs, and frozen shrimp. You can eat them after a little boiling. Remember to dip them in sauce for even better flavor!"
"Good, good, good!"
The old sword immortal's face was flushed with joy.
After the meal, Old Sword Immortal Han, his face ruddy, stroked his beard, taking a bite of the stewed food and a sip of wine, he said, "Truly a delicacy! I never imagined there could be such a wonderful hot pot in this world. Young friend Lin Zhao, what is the origin of this hot pot?"
"Oh!"
Lin Zhao smiled. "Generally speaking, I call this kind of hot pot 'Huoguo' [hot pot], because people are cooking food above, and fire is burning below, so it's called Huoguo. Old Sword Immortal Han, our Bai Wei Xuan will soon launch this delicacy called Huoguo, and I need your help to promote it. Your words are worth more than a thousand of ours!"
"No problem!"
The old sword immortal laughed. "The dishes are exquisite, and I, Han Bu Yu, will not spare my praise! However, it's called Huoguo? Doesn't it have a more resounding name?"
"Yes."
Lin Zhao nodded repeatedly and pointed to the head shopkeeper and the second shopkeeper beside him, and said with a smile, "The head shopkeeper is called Jia Zhong, and the second shopkeeper is called Qing Er Sao. So I plan to name this hot pot after their names, taking one character from each. I'll take the character 'Zhong' from the head shopkeeper and the character 'Qing' from the second shopkeeper. Therefore, this hot pot will be called Chongqing Huoguo!"
"Brilliant!"
The old sword immortal burst into laughter. "A good name, pleasant to hear!"
"Yes!"
Lin Zhao nodded and said, "In three days, Bai Wei Xuan will reopen. The main building will serve only hot pot, and the branch building will serve ordinary dishes like sour fish. I hope the Old Sword Immortal will grace us with his presence then! Our hot pot has many flavors, including spicy pot, beef bone soup pot, mushroom soup pot, and tomato soup pot. You can choose any flavor, and we guarantee your satisfaction!"
"Naturally, naturally!"
The old sword immortal was completely won over by Chongqing Huoguo.
...
After the old sword immortal left, Jia Zhong smiled and said, "Young Brother Lin, this is settled then. We reopen in three days? Do we need any other promotion?"
"Of course!"
Lin Zhao grinned. "Old Sword Immortal Han's mouth alone isn't enough for promotion. We need to promote actively. Have people make dozens of flags, with prominent words written on them: Bai Wei Xuan Reopening, Signature Chongqing Huoguo, and Opening Date. Then, hire ten cavalry soldiers from the Tianchi Army with a heavy sum of money. Have them run laps inside and outside the town day and night for these three days, ensuring that the entire Tianchi Town knows that Bai Wei Xuan has launched a new dish."
"Alright!"
Jia Zhong's face was almost contorted with a smile. At this moment, he felt that this kid Lin Zhao was full of ideas. It was a great pity that the Tianchi Army hadn't hired him as a strategist.
Eighth update finished, remember to vote, brothers~~~