Yunling found this very interesting. Due to the family's circumstances, they did not have the utensils for making tea. Even though Zhang knew the art of making tea, she never had the opportunity to do so. Therefore, they mostly drank hot water boiled in the stove.

This hot water was a rare treat for her, having lived through the apocalypse, so she wasn't picky. A cup of it on a cold day would keep her warm all day.

"Is this water undrinkable?"

"Yes, but Manager Zhou was too close to you just now, and a lot of his saliva flew up on you, so you can't drink it now."

Yunling laughed and said, "Since the young master said that Manager Zhou's saliva falls into it quite a bit, if it is used to rinse bowls and chopsticks, wouldn't the bowls and chopsticks also get spittle on them?"

Lu Yinghuai quickly switched his bowl and chopsticks with Yunling's, helped Yunling rinse her bowl and chopsticks, then rinsed the water into his bowl and chopsticks, and finally poured the water out before he was done.

Yunling watched him intently as he completed the task, and all her thoughts could be summed up in just two words: "meticulous."

Manager Zhou returned quickly, bringing with him a dish of stir-fried broad beans with pickled cabbage, a pan-fried small yellow croaker, a braised chicken, a mushroom and seafood soup, and finally a plate of peach blossom cake.

He sat down next to Yunling with a grin and ladled a bowl of mushroom and seafood soup for her.

"Young lady, come, how does this mushroom and seafood soup taste?"

Putting everything else aside, just looking at the appearance alone was enough to capture Yunling's heart. There were mushrooms, tofu, and fried eggs, and the soup was milky white. One sip and it was fresh and fragrant. The spiciness of the pepper dispelled the cold in the body. Drinking a bowl of it was incredibly comforting.

"This tastes great, no wonder Manager Zhou's business has been so successful."

"Not at all. It's all thanks to the good mushrooms that you grew, young lady. Even the best cooking skills need good ingredients. Only when the two are combined can they bring out the best results."

Yunling knew this was just a compliment, so she wasn't in a hurry. She picked up the braised chicken, which was quite good. She wished she could grab a bowl of white rice, pour the chicken broth over it, and eat to her heart's content.

"Young lady, come here, peach blossom cake. Try this cake and see if it tastes similar to the ones you've had before. If there's anything missing, remember to tell me."

“That’s not right,” Lu Yinghuai said, taking the peach blossom cake out of Yunling’s bowl and setting it aside. “You have to eat the main course first, and then the cake. Don’t do it in a random order, or it will be bad for your health.”

Then, he picked up a piece of fried yellow croaker and placed it in Yunling's bowl, saying softly:

"Let's eat the yellow croaker first, so it won't become fishy if left for too long."

Yunling had been planning to try this pan-fried yellow croaker as the next dish, so when Lu Yinghuai put it in her bowl, she naturally wouldn't refuse and nodded with a smile.

Seeing the two of them going back and forth like they'd just hit a sour candy, Manager Zhou didn't want to disturb them any longer. So he quietly waited to the side, like a bright light bulb, drinking his mushroom and seafood soup and radiating warmth.

The meal ended with Gangzi telling a joke. Yunling took a sip of hot tea to rinse her mouth before speaking:

"This oden is very similar to the owner's hot pot, except that customers don't need to cook it themselves, and they can choose whether or not to have soup depending on their own situation."

Manager Zhou scratched his temple and replied:

"You mean you cook the ingredients and then let the guests choose, right?"

That's what I mean.

"So what's this 'small copper pot' you're talking about? It's a small copper pot used to hold ingredients, and you can decide whether to put a charcoal brazier underneath depending on the temperature, right?"

Yunling gave Manager Zhou a thumbs up in agreement:

"The shopkeeper is indeed a natural at business; he understands things immediately. That makes sense."

Manager Zhou was pleased with Yun Ling's praise, but he didn't forget the key point, so he continued to ask questions:

"Then I asked you, young lady, what ingredients should be put into oden to cook properly?"

"The best part of this oden is the broth. It's made by combining the ingredients to create a savory, sweet and savory soup base. There are also vegetables and meat in it. The shopkeeper can think about which meats and vegetables to add."

Manager Zhou stroked his chin, his eyes darting around twice.

"It must contain shiitake mushrooms for flavor, tofu, fresh shrimp, lettuce, bamboo shoots, chicken, and duck. Hey, isn't this just like a hot pot?"

Yunling smiled and said, "Perhaps we can use white radish, whole eggs, tofu products, meatballs, fish products, and shiitake mushrooms. For the soup base, we can use chicken bone broth or bonito broth. As for the order in which the ingredients are cooked, I think the shopkeeper should have more experience than I do."

Shopkeeper Zhou asked in confusion, "Bonito broth? Bonito? No, no, no, this fish is poisonous and cannot be used to make broth, lest something goes wrong and we lose both ways. It's better to use chicken bones to make broth."

Yunling didn't force the issue. If she remembered correctly, the bonito was famous in that small island country for being dried and made into bonito flakes. If she were planning to work in the food industry, she might give it a try, but she didn't have that idea for the time being, so she let it go.

Upon receiving the simple recipe, Manager Zhou was so excited that he couldn't stay still. He immediately headed to the kitchen, determined to make the oden with the help of the cooks upstairs as quickly as possible.

"Lingniang is so generous."

"Young master, that's not true. It's just that we're relying on Shengfu Restaurant for publicity. If their business is good, it will also benefit us. In the end, it's all for our own benefit."

Lu Yinghuai's lips curved slightly upward, and the tenderness in his eyes deepened.

"I was the one who invited Lingniang to dinner today, but I didn't expect to be indebted to you. Consider this a meal I owe you, and I'll invite you again when I have the chance."

Yunling was stunned by these words. She had finally managed to finish this meal, so how could there be another one? This time, Manager Zhou mediated, but what about next time? She might have to face this person the whole time. What topics should she come up with to kill time?

This is absolutely unacceptable, absolutely unacceptable.

"No need, I...I...Auntie is still waiting for me, so I'll go first. Next time, no, no, if fate allows, no, no, I'm off."

Yunling didn't know why the words "I ran away" suddenly came out of her mouth. It was undoubtedly embarrassing and suffocating. She couldn't hold back any longer and fled in panic.

Lu Yinghuai found her stammering manner endearing, but he couldn't catch her lest he frighten her. So he could only watch her leave, hoping for their next meeting.