Beef

The next day, Mo Shan went out. When he returned at dusk, he had a large bundle on his back, filled with wild beef.

"I went to see Old Zhao. He still had plenty left. No one was buying this meat, and he couldn't eat it all himself, so I brought it back."

Liu Ruhua soaked the meat to draw out the blood, then marinated it with pungent, smoky seasonings.

Liu Ruhua had picked these seasonings herself from the mountains and dried them herself. She had learned the drying method from an auntie next door. They were seasonings that all Rogue Cultivator families in Immortal City knew how to make, though Liu Ruhua's were more fragrant.

The wild beef marinated overnight. The next day, it was put into the Stove and cooked over the fire. After boiling for half a day, Liu Ruhua scooped out the meat, poured away the water in the pot, then added fresh water and pungent seasonings. She first brought it to a boil over high heat, then simmered it slowly over low heat. It stewed like that for another night and day.

Only on the evening of the third day did she put out the fire and lift the lid.

Steam surged out, and the fragrance of meat mingled with the spices, filling the entire house.

Liu Ruhua used a small knife to cut off a piece of meat, sliced it into thin pieces, arranged them on a plate, and set it on the table. Then she beckoned to Mo Hua. "Hua'er, come taste it."

Mo Hua picked up his chopsticks and put a piece into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he found it tender and richly flavored, its fragrance lingering between his teeth and cheeks. Even the faint gaminess had been balanced out by the pungent spice, leaving behind a distinctive flavor.

"Mother, this is the best meat I've ever eaten!"

Mo Shan took a bite as well, his eyes lighting up as he praised his wife.

"It's even better than what those Dietary Masters at the restaurants make."

Smiling softly, Liu Ruhua tasted a piece herself. After thinking it over, she was still somewhat dissatisfied.

"The flavor is still a little lacking. The spices should be lighter, the pungency stronger, and the heat should be higher..."

Mo Hua thought it was already delicious. He had lived for more than ten years in this life and had never eaten meat this good. As for whether he had eaten it in his previous life, he could not remember.

The wild beef tasted wonderful, and that gave them confidence in opening an Eatery. Liu Ruhua cut up some of the beef in the pot, packed it into small food boxes, and had Mo Shan and Mo Hua share some with their neighbors and friends.

Mo Shan distributed it among the neighbors and his friends in the Monster Hunting Squad.

Mo Hua carried the food boxes himself. He first delivered one to Elder Feng at Apricot Forest Pavilion, thanking him for treating his mother. Then he brought one to Master Chen. After all, the Stove had been forged by Master Chen; since it had stewed such fine beef, he had to let the man have a taste.

Elder Feng was skilled in preserving health through food and did not eat after the proper hour, but when he saw the beef Mo Hua had brought, he could not resist tasting a few slices. He praised it without end.

Master Chen went without saying. He gave half the beef to Da Zhu and the other disciples, then put away all the rest to slowly enjoy with wine.

Mo Hua delivered several more portions to Da Hu and his brothers' home.

Da Hu and his brothers all bore the surname Meng and were family, but the three were not actually blood brothers.

The Meng Family had originally been prosperous, with three generations living under one roof. The old master had three sons, and each son gave him a grandson. Those three grandsons were Da Hu, Shuang Hu, and Xiao Hu.

But good times did not last. Shuang Hu's father died while hunting demonic beasts. Shuang Hu's mother fell ill from grief and soon followed him.

Xiao Hu's father, meanwhile, had gotten involved with another female cultivator while away on business and never returned. Meng Eldest hired people to inquire after him. Some said he had changed his name and started a new family. Others said he had been bewitched by some disreputable demoness, had his marrow sucked and soul drawn out, and had been refined into a Human Pill.

No matter what, he was not coming back. Xiao Hu's mother felt too ashamed to stay and remarried as well.

The old master of the Meng Family had once hoped his descendants would flourish through several generations and produce a Foundation Establishment cultivator, turning them into a small family of some renown in Immortal City. Yet of his three sons, two vanished in the blink of an eye. Stricken by rage and grief, the old master fell ill and never rose again. Not long afterward, he passed away too.

That left only the eldest son as the Meng Family's pillar. He never complained. He raised his two brothers' children as his own. If there was food, they ate together; if there was none, they went hungry together. When the children made mistakes, they were beaten together and scolded together.

But as the three boys gradually grew up, their appetites grew as well. The family had never been well-off, and now they were even more hard-pressed than others.

When Mo Hua brought over the beef, the Meng Family was having dinner.

Da Hu, Shuang Hu, and Xiao Hu were gnawing on steamed buns and chewing pickled vegetables. The moment they heard that Mo Hua had brought beef, their eyes went round. When Mo Hua opened the food box and the fragrance wafted out, all three began drooling with craving.

Aunt Meng shot the three children a glare. "Before you eat someone else's food, thank them first!"

Shuang Hu was the first to thump his chest. "Mo Hua! Brothers don't stand on ceremony. From now on, whoever bullies you, I'll beat him up for you!"

Da Hu and Xiao Hu chimed in together, "Me too! Me too!"

Aunt Meng picked up her chopsticks and knocked each of the three Hu boys on the head once. "You three never learn anything good. All you know is fighting. If the three of you put together had even half of Mo Hua's good sense, I'd be burning incense in gratitude!"

After saying that, Aunt Meng saw the three boys staring pitifully at the meat and softened a little.

"Eat, eat. From now on, remember to help your Uncle Mo and Aunt Liu with some things. Don't spend all day eating other people's food for free."

The three Hu boys hurriedly nodded. Then each of them picked up a piece of meat and placed it in Uncle Meng and Aunt Meng's bowls before finally digging into what remained.

The instant the beef entered Xiao Hu's mouth, his eyes widened. "This meat is so delicious!"

Da Hu and Shuang Hu had their mouths stuffed with meat and nodded over and over.

Hearing his mother's cooking praised made Mo Hua happy as well.

Uncle Meng and Aunt Meng each tasted a piece and kept nodding. Then they gave the remaining meat to the three boys.

Aunt Meng said to Mo Hua enviously, "Your mother's cooking is truly wonderful!"

Mo Hua praised her in return. "Aunt Meng's cooking is wonderful too!"

Aunt Meng laughed and took Mo Hua's little hand. "I truly don't know how someone could give birth to such a well-behaved, sensible child."

After tasting a piece of beef, Uncle Meng asked curiously, "Is this wild beef? It doesn't taste like it."

"It is wild beef. It was cooked for a very long time."

"No wonder." Uncle Meng nodded, then said to Mo Hua, "I heard your family is opening an Eatery. If there's anything we can help with, just tell your uncle and auntie. We'll definitely lend a hand."

"Thank you, Uncle Meng!"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Mo Hua rose to take his leave. Aunt Meng gave him some freshly steamed buns and wild fruits to take home.

"There's nothing good at home, so take these buns and fruits back to eat."

Mo Hua did not stand on ceremony. He packed the buns into a food box, gnawing on a wild fruit as he walked home.

The beef that had been stewed long and slow on the Stove was praised by everyone who tasted it.

Liu Ruhua further refined the seasonings, adjusted the heat for stewing, and made several bowls of beef noodles for Mo Hua to try. The broth was rich and mellow, the noodles springy, and the beef fresh and fragrant. Mo Hua happily narrowed his eyes.

In addition, Liu Ruhua added some other wines, drinks, and snacks to sell in the eatery.

Wine was naturally indispensable, but Rogue Cultivators were poor, and the grain used for brewing was generally of low quality, so the taste was nothing special. But the fermented rice wines Liu Ruhua blended herself were entirely different.

The rice wines contained flowers, herbs, and fresh fruit. They were low in alcohol, carrying the rich fragrance of different flowers and fruits, sweetly intoxicating with a lingering aftertaste. Mo Hua especially liked them.

Besides beef, the food also included pastries, fruits, pine nuts, beef noodles, and more.

Afterward, with the help of neighbors and friends, all preparations were completed, and the eatery opened on the first day of the month.

Following the street's usual naming custom, the eatery had originally been called Mo Eatery. But at Mo Hua's suggestion and with Mo Shan's agreement, it was ultimately renamed "Liu Eatery."

Liu Ruhua could not prevail against the father and son, so she had no choice but to agree.