In the past few days, Xu Milu has found several strong men to do the renovation of the back hall. Each man is paid 100 coins a day. In less than half a month, the small courtyard has been transformed.
The front hall remained unchanged, but the back hall and the middle hall were modified. The original main hall and side rooms of the back hall were combined and converted into a restaurant, and a separate kitchen was built. Opening the window, you could see the street, the bustling street, and the spire of Huasheng Temple.
The tables, chairs, and benches in the shop were not new. Xu Milu gave Fang Gui two qian of silver for running errands and asked him to find a complete set of tables, chairs, and benches in a closed-down teahouse.
Although these tables and chairs are not made of any precious wood, they are well-made and made of old wood that has been around for many years. After being cleaned, they have a warm luster.
As for bowls, chopsticks, and ladles, they are even easier to obtain. The newly fired ceramic bowls in the West Market are white and clean. Although the firing process is not as advanced as modern techniques, they are still rustic and interesting.
The wisteria was furious but dared not speak out about its territory being encroached upon. Every day when it saw Xu Milu, it would frantically shake its branches to curry favor. Once, Xu Milu even saw it fertilizing the fruit trees in the yard in the middle of the night.
It's truly not easy for a tree to grow; even the wisteria sighs in despair.
On the day the shop was completed, Yin Wenjiao brought a gift to the door: a basket of fresh fruits, including rare ones such as cucumbers, eggplants, tender bamboo shoots, apricots, and white pears, as well as five kinds of pastries: tea cakes, bean dumplings, Guifei red rice cakes, translucent glutinous rice cakes, and white rice cakes.
When Yin Wenjiao arrived, Xu Milu was taking a nap in the shop. It was a perfect time to sleep on a hot summer afternoon, and even the cicadas outside seemed a bit lazy.
“Good sister, don’t be discouraged. Your restaurant is not far from Huasheng Temple, and you have such good skills. If there are no customers today, just wait until tomorrow.”
Yin Wenjiao comforted her.
Xu Milu wasn't worried at all. Her shop wasn't for ordinary people, so she wasn't afraid of having no customers during the day.
After seeing Yin Wenjiao off, another remarkably familiar figure leaped into the eatery in a few quick leaps. Sun Wukong, transformed into a young novice monk, was looking up at the banners hanging at the eatery's entrance:
"Mountain and Sea Restaurant? That's a really clever name of yours. It has mountains and sea in it, and the flavor is all in the name. I wish you great success in your business!"
The traveler took a small snake out of his sleeve and casually said:
"I just caught a dragon yesterday that was so arrogant and demanded that the people of Fengzhou offer him boys and girls as sacrifices. I pulled out his dragon tendons and made you a hair tie to play with."
His tone was exactly like that of someone coaxing a child.
Xu Milu was slightly embarrassed. She really didn't expect that her senior brother had been so busy these past few days. Not only did he have to keep an eye on the monsters that were plotting against Master Xuanzang, but he also had to go to Chang'an to subdue demons and monsters.
The little dragon held in Sun Wukong's hand could still speak human language, constantly begging for mercy:
"Buddha, Buddha, I, Xiaolong, know my sins! I, Xiaolong, know my sins! If you think about it carefully, my cousin is also a Buddhist, serving as one of the Eight Heavenly Dragons before the Buddha! We might even be family. Please forgive me this time, considering it's my first offense!"
"Don't make baseless accusations. Everyone knows that your dragon clan is promiscuous, producing offspring in droves. Which dragon in the world doesn't have some kind of connection to you? As long as you intend to eat young boys and girls, I should send you to the Dragon Execution Platform. It was only because my master said that Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life that I spared your life."
Sun Wukong swung the bow and arrow back and forth for a long time, making the little dragon's head spin with stars, before turning to Xu Milu and saying:
“He has already asked me to extract the dragon tendons and retrieve the dragon pearl. Now even the wisteria tree can control him. I see that your shop is really deserted. Why not punish him by making him a waiter for you, so that he can do some hard work and be considered to have reformed him.”
"Thank you, Great Sage! I will definitely make a special offering to you another day when I cook new dishes."
Xu Milu's eyes lit up. She was just worried about how to find a capable assistant, and this dragon was delivered right to her doorstep.
Perhaps recognizing him, Sun Wukong made no attempt to hide his identity from Xu Milu, immediately chuckling and scratching his cheek:
“I know you have some supernatural powers! If you have any fresh fruits, I’ll enjoy them too. Just place the fruits on the altar and call my name three times, and I’ll know.”
As he spoke, Sun Wukong threw the demonic dragon in his hand to the ground. The little black snake rolled on the ground, and its snake skin degenerated, transforming into a man seven feet tall.
The man had delicate features, a somewhat androgynous handsomeness, high-set eyebrows, a broad face, and a high nose. Dressed in black, he looked dashing, but the obsequiousness on his face completely ruined his charm.
"No problem, no problem. As long as Xiaolong isn't allowed to go to the Dragon-Slaying Platform, it's fine for me to work as a waiter for another hundred years. My lady, although I've lost my magic, I still have some martial arts skills. Just give me your orders from now on."
His eyes darted around, and he assumed that Xu Milu was just an ordinary woman. But exchanging decades of hard labor for a life seemed like a good deal no matter how you looked at it.
Sun Wukong chuckled, not exposing her lie, and tossed a shimmering bead to Xu Milu:
"This is the dragon pearl of this little dragon. If you find his dragon tendons dirty, you can play with it. If he disrespects you, just crush the dragon pearl. It will take at least half of his life."
Seeing that the demonic dragon was acting unruly, Xu Milu unceremoniously put away the dragon ball and placed it directly into the system slot.
The moment the Dragon Ball disappeared, the Black Dragon looked at Xu Milu with shock and fear. The Dragon Ball was originally a treasure that was one with him. Losing the Dragon Ball meant losing his magic power. Even if someone hid it, he could still sense some of it, but now he could not sense the existence of the Dragon Ball at all!
What a terrifying young lady!
Could it be some deity descended to earth, disguised as a mortal walking among humans?
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