The shopkeeper was now in a dilemma: accepting Su Luo's silver notes was one thing, but refusing them was another.

After hearing Su Luo's words, Ah Xu probably understood what had happened. Su Luo wanted to sell vegetables, but the shopkeeper had made things difficult for her.

It seems Fu Man Lou needs a new manager.

Finally, the shopkeeper gave Su Luo eighty taels in change. Su Luo, along with Yan Chuan and Yi Huan, turned and left. She hadn't managed to sell the dishes, but at least she knew that the culinary skills of this high-class restaurant weren't all that great.

"Wait a moment!"

Ah Xu followed and called out to Su Luo, "Madam, if you have any fresh recipes, our Fu Man Lou is willing to negotiate a business deal with you at a high price. You wouldn't turn down money, would you?"

Ah Xu's words made Su Luo stop in her tracks. She was very annoyed by the shopkeeper here, but she didn't need to mess with the money. What she needed most right now was money.

"I have the recipe, but I have one condition: I have to cook this dish myself. You can decide whether it tastes good or not, and then we can talk about the business. How about that?"

"Can!"

Ah Xu should first calm Su Luo down. This time, Su Luo came to him first. If he can use this opportunity to get in touch with Su Luo, he might be able to find out what kind of person she really is.

"The kitchen is this way, please..."

Su Luo looked at Yan Chuan and Yi Huan, and said to A Xu, "I believe you, but please find someone to help me look after the child. I will definitely make dishes that will satisfy you."

"good!"

Ah Xu asked the waiter to take Yan Chuan and Yi Huan to a private room on the second floor to wait.

Su Luo went to the kitchen. Fu Man Lou was indeed a grand restaurant, with all kinds of ingredients available. It was a pity that it didn't have a good recipe.

After looking around, Su Luo finally chose a carp. She had just taken the koi fish into her arms, but said it didn't taste good. This time, she would make a steamed fish to convince everyone here that she was truly good.

Catching the fish, gutting it, removing the gills, and scaling it—all the movements were done in one smooth motion.

Ah Xu sighed, "No wonder she's a woman who's killed people; she can kill a fish without even blinking an eye."

Ah Xu then called over a guard and said, "Go to the third floor and inform the young master that the person he was investigating is currently cooking in the kitchen. Also, have someone bring a little of each type of pastry from our shop to the second floor for the two children. The young master will need it."

"yes!"

The guard turned and went to give the orders.

Su Luo first washed the fish with salt, then gently patted out the fishing line. She then prepared a seasoning with ginger, garlic, and Sichuan peppercorns. Originally, she wanted to take out cooking wine from her space, but since there were so many people here, she used rice wine instead.

Put these inside the fish's belly and steam it.

Seeing a lot of chicken feet in the kitchen, Su Luo asked the kitchen staff, "Does nobody want these?"

A man dressed as a chef said, "These are all scraps; we don't use these in our restaurant."

These are all good things; it would be a shame not to eat them.

Su Luo picked up the chicken feet, washed them, and put them in a pot to stew over high heat.

The kitchen staff all shook their heads at Su Luo, saying that there was no meat in the dish and no one would eat it even if it was cooked.

It seems this woman is just another whimsical country bumpkin who claims to have a new recipe.

Su Luo planned to make boneless chicken feet, but that wasn't what she wanted to do today. What she really wanted to do was later.

Su Luo took three pig trotters, blanched them in a pot of water, added some vinegar to make the meat more tender, and then took out a spice packet she had prepared from her sleeve and threw it in. She had ground the spice packet into powder, so no outsider could tell what it was made of.

On the second floor, Yan Chuan and Yi Huan were surrounded by all kinds of pastries, colorful and vibrant, a veritable feast for them.

In all their lives, they had only ever eaten mung bean cakes that Su Luo bought; they had never even seen these before.

Nangong Qing sat opposite the two of them and whispered coaxingly, "So, do you want to eat these?"

Although they really wanted to eat it, neither of them touched it; they just silently swallowed their saliva.

Nangong Qing smiled smugly. Could he not handle two half-grown children? "If you want to eat, that's fine, but you have to answer my questions. If you answer correctly, you can eat one kind. How about that? You're not at a loss, are you?"

Yan Chuan, holding Yi Huan's hand, rolled his eyes at Nangong Qing. The manager of this restaurant was no good, and the people inside weren't much better.

"We do not eat food offered with contempt."

Nangong Qing looked bewildered. Could a five-year-old child say such a thing?

"The little one has even gone to school?"

Yan Chuan: "No comment!"

this……

Nangong Qing was somewhat helpless. This child was as cunning as a little devil. She decided to ask the little girl; little girls were the easiest to coax.

"Little sister, would you like to eat these? Uncle will give them all to you."

Yi Huan and Yan Chuan leaned together, glanced at her brother, and said to Nangong Qing, "I want to eat, but I can't."

Seeing that there was a chance, Nangong Qing quickly said, "Why can't we eat it? We can eat it."

Yi Huan shook her head and refused: "My mother said that people are born good, but you have come with ill intentions."

Nangong Qing was completely humiliated; he had never encountered such a difficult child.

"Uncle is a good man. Uncle just wants to ask you if you know how your mother went mad and how she recovered."

Yi Huan was displeased upon hearing this and shouted, "My mother isn't crazy, she's just sick."

Yan Chuan tugged at her, and she stopped talking.

Seeing this, Nangong Qing couldn't get any information from the two children. Their mother was full of mysteries, and the two boys were also very shrewd. They were truly mother and children.

With someone tending the fire in the kitchen, Su Luo only needed to prepare the side dishes.

After steaming the fish, she added some vinegar and shredded green onions, then poured hot oil over it, and the steamed fish was ready—flavorful and without any fishy smell.

Cooking in three pots at the same time, Su Luo deboned the chicken feet and added seasonings: vinegar, scallions, ginger, and garlic. Unfortunately, there were no chili peppers here, only a kind of powdery substance that was slightly spicy and could be used as a substitute for chili peppers, but it was far less fragrant than chili peppers.

Without chili peppers, it can barely be made into a sour and spicy flavor.

The braised pig's trotters are ready, golden in color, and the aroma fills the air as soon as the pot is opened.

Everyone in the kitchen immediately gathered around. They hadn't paid any attention to Su Luo before, and had no idea how she made such fragrant pig's trotters.

Su Luo knew she had succeeded just by piercing it with chopsticks and seeing how soft and tender it was.

Ah Xu followed the aroma and came in. Seeing everyone gathered around Su Luo, he immediately squeezed in to take a look.

Seeing this pig's trotter, Ah Xu couldn't help but swallow hard. It looked and smelled delicious; he just wondered what it would taste like.

Seeing so many people craning their necks to look at her, Su Luo put a pig's trotter into a bowl and said, "Please try this."

"good!"

No one cared anymore and started eating with their chopsticks. Ah Xu also took a bite, and his mouth was immediately filled with fragrance. His lips and teeth felt like they had entered a new world. It was rich but not greasy, an experience his taste buds had never had before. It was sooooo delicious.