30. A legend of a monster appears overnight.
◎Lou Su's illness has reached its terminal stage◎
Liu Jiang took the Deer-living Grass and paused for a moment before saying hesitantly, "Deer-living Grass is delicate and should be carefully protected by a Cold Heaven Bag. It will definitely wither and die if placed in an ordinary storage bag. But how did you take care of this one, Miss? It is still alive and well."
Hearing what Senior Brother Liu said, the others also became quite curious and gathered around to take a look. They were even more surprised to see that the Deer-Living Grass was shimmering with spiritual light and had firm leaves.
Yan Yunzhao touched the bridge of his nose, his brain racing to come up with an excuse: "I just got my hands on this item too, after much difficulty obtaining it from a master. Is it really... as powerful as you all say?"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and shook their heads: He was just an ordinary person with extraordinary luck; they had thought they could learn some real skills from him.
Liu Jiang considerately took over the conversation: "Deer-living grass is extremely rare, with only a handful of plants in the world. Miss Yan is truly a person of great fortune. I will do my best to treat your illness, young master, so please don't worry."
Yan Yunzhao nodded, tucked the blanket around the unconscious Lou Su, and then lifted the curtain to leave. With Ye Qin and Liu Jiang here, she felt completely at ease. There was nothing else she could do right now, so she might as well go back to Cui Liang's shop and make some chicken soup for Lou Su.
As the sun set and it was time to prepare dinner, the small shop seemed quieter than usual.
Yan Yunzhao was puzzled. When he entered the room, he saw Rongrong dozing by the window, while Jingming and the others were sitting idly at the table, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans, looking extremely relaxed.
"Boss, you're back!"
Jingming leaned forward and shook her arm excitedly. Seeing Yan Yunzhao's puzzled expression, he turned his head to look around the small shop and scratched his head sheepishly: "It seems we messed things up a bit."
Yan Yunzhao calmly patted her shoulder: "It's not your fault. It's probably related to the rumors that circulated on the street recently. I expected this to happen, but I didn't expect it to have an effect so quickly."
"Has business been terrible at the shop while I was away?"
Shuyu nodded: "Starting the day before yesterday, the number of customers at Cuiliang and the Dragon King Temple shop gradually decreased. When asked if the food was delicious, the customers all praised it, but no one came."
“I suspect someone did this on purpose. In the next few days, you should take good care of the Dragon King Temple and the small shop on Cuiliang Mountain. If any villagers ask about the situation, just make up a story and say that everything is normal.”
After giving his instructions, Yan Yunzhao noticed the three people were there and couldn't help but ask, "Who's looking after the Dragon King Temple shop now?"
Shuyu said, "The other day, we posted a notice that recruited two capable kitchen helpers, Miss Fang and Miss Chen. They learned very quickly. Jingming and Qingxi and I baked the hamburger buns and tortillas and handed them over to them. They did the rest of the work, and it was exactly the same as what we did. But recently there have been fewer customers, so we don't need too many kitchen helpers. We asked them to watch the shop."
Yan Yunzhao understood and advised, "It's still best to have someone from your own circle keeping an eye on things."
With the sudden turn of events today, she had no mind to care about anything else. She simply explained Lou Su's situation to Jingming and the others briefly before returning to her room.
Inside the wooden box, the Azure Dragon Jade Pendant lay quietly as usual.
Yan Yunzhao's mind was in turmoil as he raised his hand and released the seal.
Since it's poison, it couldn't have been caused by the divine artifact. Who exactly is Lou Su, to be able to possess such a divine artifact so easily?
She already had a vague answer in her heart, but she dared not think in that direction. If that was the case, then why hide it from her?
...
She found the rumor that the five people in the shop were demons rather strange. There's no smoke without fire; it would be far-fetched to say the villagers were just making wild guesses. It was more likely that some Taoist priest had discovered some clues.
Or perhaps it was simply retaliation from a rival whose business had been stolen. Cui Liang's shop was in the middle of nowhere, and Longwang Temple's shop was also remote. She had no idea about the idea of stealing business, so she started by looking at the two new kitchen helpers.
After descending the mountain, the Dragon King Temple shop was deserted, with two rather pretty girls playing games with the children inside.
"Miss Chen, Miss Fang?"
Hearing the question, the two turned around and looked Yan Yunzhao up and down for a moment before tentatively asking, "Are you... Master Yan, the owner of Cuiliang?"
Yan Yunzhao nodded with a smile: "My younger sister told me that the two young ladies are clever and quick learners. Have you encountered any trouble while guarding the shop at the Dragon King Temple?"
The two looked kind, but since Yan Yunzhao hadn't chosen them himself and knew nothing about their character or background, he was still somewhat wary.
One of the girls smiled and said, "Master Yan, my name is Chen Yue. It's not exactly troublesome, but it's certainly a bit tricky. Our little shop sold a total of two thousand hamburgers and pizzas in Lixi Town in a short period of time, but someone else has taken them all."
The other was Miss Fang, who looked worried and added, "That's right. We sell pizzas for thirty coins, wild mushrooms are scarce, and marinating beef takes time, so we're only selling them at cost price. But Liu's pizzas sell for twenty coins, using common mushrooms to imitate almost perfectly, and they've actually stolen our business. What do you think we should do?"
In the restaurant business, there's always room for imitation and borrowing. Since she hasn't joined any of the seventeen guilds of restaurants, asking for help from within the guild is hopeless, and privately discussing it with the owner is unlikely to yield any results. If she doesn't establish a good reputation for the restaurant, not only will she be unable to pay the two young ladies' salaries, but how will she support the children at the small shop—the three grass demons, the seriously ill Lou Su, and the Dragon King Temple?
Thinking of this, Yan Yunzhao's temples throbbed.
All things considered, the money she had spent on buying ingredients and paying wages in the past few days should be enough to last her for a while, so she went to the town to find the shop that made the hamburger pizza.
After asking around, Yan Yunzhao found the bustling sesame seed cake shop on the corner of the alley. A sign for sesame seed cakes was displayed at the shop's entrance, but the aroma wafting out was unlike that of ordinary sesame seed cakes.
She lifted the curtain and entered the room, pretending to be a customer. She chose a clean table to sit at, and the waiter cheerfully ran over and asked, "Sir, what would you like to drink?"
"A bowl of soy milk. Does this little shop have any popular signs?"
"Well, you must try our sesame seed cakes; they've been selling extremely well lately."
The store was noisy, but Yan Yunzhao simply nodded calmly and then began to examine the furnishings.
The shop is simply decorated and not very big, but every table is full of people, mostly villagers passing by, with carrying poles piled up on the ground.
And look at their table, isn't that pizza and hamburgers?
Red sauce with green vegetables and braised beef, crispy crust with sweet potato puree... It's not just a copy of seven or eight parts, it's a complete imitation.
Before long, the waiter brought out steaming hot "sesame seed cakes" to the table. They were fragrant and delicious, and indeed made one's mouth water.
Yan Yunzhao casually inquired, "Young master, did your shop used to sell sesame seed cakes?"
"Of course! My family's sesame seed cakes are the best-selling in all of East Twelfth Lane! Now that the master has learned a new recipe, you should try them while they're hot."
The waiter was very enthusiastic, and Yan Yunzhao smiled, but first took a sip of soy milk to moisten his throat.
Yan Yunzhao was very picky about food. Take this bowl of soy milk, for example. The grinding and steaming processes were all followed, but it was bitter and dry, with greasy bean curd. If a little red date and dried walnut were added during grinding, and it was filtered several times, the taste would probably be much better.
The pizza crust was crispy with a perfect golden-yellow color, while the inside was soft and chewy, seemingly infused with pumpkin juice and bursting with flavor.
As expected of someone who makes sesame cakes, her control over the heat is indeed better than Yan Yunzhao's, something she herself admits is inferior to. However, the mushroom and beef brisket dish wasn't flavorful enough; it was overcooked and too watery, certainly not as good as Yan Yunzhao's method of cooking mountain mushrooms, where the water alone could be used as a delicious soup.
After some evaluation, it was clear that the business's success was largely due to its price. While Yan Yunzhao's takeout option was convenient, it was priced fifteen coins higher.
Business competition is inherently unfair, and in ancient times there were no intellectual property laws or food patents. Yan Yunzhao advised herself to think positively and find another way to revive her small shop's business. Besides, she had even copied the recipe for the hamburgers and pizzas.
However, she felt there was something fishy going on. Why would the business of Cuiliangshan's small shop decline if only a small snack was confiscated?
As Yan Yunzhao pondered, she strolled through the streets and alleys, watching the hurried footsteps of people, until she unknowingly walked outside the saltworks. Remembering that Zhou Feng was shrewd and could easily gather information, she picked up her skirt and stepped inside.
Zhou Feng, who was busy behind the counter, immediately recognized her and greeted her, "Boss Yan, are you here again to buy salt for your young master Lou?"
Yan Yunzhao smiled and shook his head, casually saying, "Just taking a stroll since I have nothing else to do." He then pretended to pick out salt and asked Zhou Feng a question:
"Business has been slow at our shop lately. The young lady in the shop says that the salt isn't as good as it used to be; the flavor isn't right anymore. What do you think, Mr. Zhou?"
Yan Yunzhao subtly observed his expression, and sure enough, Zhou Feng's expression subtly changed for a moment.
"Our salt is exactly the same as before, made using the same method. Boss Yan is clever, but don't take everything the girl in the shop says to heart."
Hearing that there was another meaning behind these words, Yan Yunzhao pressed further, saying, "Indeed, some rumors come from among our own people, and black becomes white. Doesn't that make people feel sad?"
As she spoke, she made a melancholy expression and let out a long sigh.
Zhou Feng seemed to sigh with regret, saying, "It's hardest to guard against someone with ulterior motives. Boss Yan, you are young and skillful. You must have aroused jealousy, which is why such nonsense has been spread."
After this conversation, Yan Yunzhao understood what was going on. Sure enough, the rumors he had heard before were causing people to panic.
"Yes, Mr. Lou and I are completely innocent. How did we become the eloped couple that others are talking about?"
Yan Yunzhao continued to play dumb, leaving Zhou Feng completely bewildered.
"Such rumors are hard to believe, and I naturally trust Boss Yan's character. However, I have heard an even more outrageous one: everyone says that you and Third Sister are mountain monsters in disguise! This is simply horrifying."
After saying the second half of his sentence with embarrassment, Zhou Feng looked up and glanced at Yan Yunzhao, seemingly a little embarrassed.
"Such a ridiculous rumor? It's truly alarming."
Yan Yunzhao became increasingly exaggerated, as if he were heartbroken, and said, "No wonder my shop's business has been so poor lately. I understand the reason now. Thank you, Young Master Zhou."
When she first heard these rumors some time ago, she suspected that someone was doing it on purpose. But how did that person know she was a demon? She had a feeling that this matter was probably not as simple as it seemed on the surface.
However, she still has no clue who is behind this.
After leaving the saltworks, Yan Yunzhao bought some fresh vegetables in the alley and went to the Dragon King Temple. He unexpectedly saw a familiar figure. Wasn't that Miss Fang?
Yan Yunzhao was delighted. Carrying a full basket of vegetables was quite inconvenient for her, and she needed help at this moment, so she hurried over. But she saw Miss Fang enter Guiyue Tower in a flash.
She paused, her steps faltering. Guiyue Tower was expensive, and Fang's clothes and mannerisms did not suggest a wealthy person. It seemed a bit far-fetched to say they were going there for a meal. Thus, she had a vague guess in her mind.
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