Could I really make a fortune by selling Blood Nourishing Medicinal Cuisine?
Jiang Shu's gaze at Luo Yongcheng grew colder and colder. In the end, he said nothing more and simply turned to Zhou Yang, saying softly:
"Let's go."
Perhaps Zhou Yang could tell Jiang Shu was in a bad mood.
Usually quite the chatterbox, Zhou Yang unusually kept quiet. He led the way in silence, taking Jiang Shu straight to the Zhou Family Restaurant.
"Good day, young master."
Seeing Zhou Yang arrive, the restaurant's attendant hurried over to greet him.
Zhou Yang nodded, beckoned the attendant over, and murmured a few words to him. Then he led Jiang Shu into a private room.
After the time it took to burn two sticks of incense, an attendant finally brought out a tray and set dish after dish on the table.
"Brother Jiang, let me introduce this one. It's Red Fur Sheep. Red Fur Sheep are especially combative, and their meat is delicious. They have to be cooked over high heat for at least half an hour."
"Too gamey."
Zhou Yang introduced each dish, and Jiang Shu tasted each one, offering his verdict as he went.
"Too astringent."
"Too bitter."
"Too bland."
Whether on Earth in his previous life or on Mystic Star in this life, countless delicacies had emerged.
He might not have been a true gourmet, but when it came to judging the dishes at the Zhou Family Restaurant, Jiang Shu could hit the nail on the head every time.
In martial arts, this world might have been far ahead of Mystic Star.
But when it came to food, it seemed to fall far behind.
At the very least, that was true of Pingling County.
Salt, monosodium glutamate, and spices would surely find a huge market here.
Mulling over his plans to make money, Jiang Shu set his chopsticks aside.
"Brother Jiang... surely they're not that bad?"
Zhou Yang had helped himself to a few pieces of meat, and no matter how he ate them, he thought the chef had done an excellent job today.
He looked at Jiang Shu, a bitter expression refusing to leave his face. If he hadn't known Jiang Shu's character, and if he hadn't been the one to invite him to the restaurant, he would have thought Jiang Shu had come just to mock him.
The dishes at his Zhou Family Restaurant were bad?
Then there were barely any decent restaurants left in all of Pingling County!
"Let's leave it for today. The day I become an official disciple, I'll come to your restaurant and cook a few dishes for you. If you think they taste good, we can sit down and discuss doing business."
"If you think they're no better than the dishes on this table, then just pretend I never said anything today."
Jiang Shu smiled and didn't explain further.
For someone who had never tasted good food, no matter how others described it, their words would be pale and lifeless.
Only after tasting it, feeling their taste buds dance, could they know what true deliciousness was.
Salt, monosodium glutamate, and spices—he could introduce them one step at a time.
This business should work.
"Heh, Brother Jiang, let me know beforehand when you're coming, so I can have the kitchen prepare the ingredients early." In truth, Zhou Yang didn't really believe Jiang Shu could cook.
Cooking was a real skill.
In Zhou Yang's eyes, a chef who could cook well was even more impressive than a martial artist with Qi and Blood Sensing.
Brother Jiang might have a gift for martial arts.
But cooking... without seven or eight years of hard practice, what could he possibly manage?
But there was nothing for it. Brother Jiang had such great talent for martial arts.
He was bound to become an official disciple.
He'd better curry favor with him.
When the time came, even if the food turned out poorly, he'd eat every last bite!
"Enough talk. Let me toast you first, Brother Jiang. May you soon achieve Full Body Vital Energy Circulation and become an official disciple!"
Zhou Yang poured a small cup of wine, raised it, and faced Jiang Shu.
"I'll pass on the wine."
Jiang Shu raised his cup and clinked his empty one against Zhou Yang's. "And may the Zhou Family Restaurant prosper in the days ahead."
Five days later.
A fine drizzle shrouded the entire county seat of Pingling County.
Inside the Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School.
A dozen or so apprentices still stood in their stances, breathing like tigers.
Once they had reached Qi and Blood Transportation, even a little rain evaporated from their bodies at once under their surging vital energy.
Martial artists wouldn't catch a chill just from getting rained on.
Jiang Shu came out of Coiling Snake Alley and walked through the rain all the way to the Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School.
This time, he didn't stand in his usual spot to practice his stance and breathing.
Instead, he walked straight to the maid outside Elder Qiu's room and said, "Sorry for the trouble, miss. Could you please go in and announce that Apprentice Jiang Shu has mastered the three methods of training, nourishing, and striking today, and achieved Full Body Vital Energy Circulation? I'd like to request an audience with Elder Qiu."
Recognizing Jiang Shu as the apprentice Elder Qiu had been praising for the past two months, the maid said nothing more. She knocked on the door, then pushed it open just a crack and slipped inside sideways.
After a while,
Elder Qiu's voice finally came from inside, muffled and thick with phlegm:
"Come in."
The door creaked open.
The maid stood to one side, her body slightly bowed.
Jiang Shu stepped inside and instinctively swept his gaze around.
Unlike what he had imagined, Elder Qiu's room was extremely bare. Though it was nearly thirty square meters, there was only a bed and a table, leaving it looking vast and empty.
A painting of a tiger descending the mountain hung on the wall.
He had no idea who had painted it.
"Greetings, Elder Qiu."
Jiang Shu bowed respectfully to Elder Qiu, who sat on the bed, and spoke in a low voice.
He tried to steady his heartbeat. He had imagined this moment countless times, yet standing here, his heart still surged like waves crashing against the shore.
After all, if he became an official disciple,
that would mean he could keep taking the Hungry Tiger Secret Medicine to improve himself and truly learn the Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School's techniques.
He just didn't know how far the school's martial arts could take him.
Bone Tempering?
Or Organ Refinement?
How did they compare to the Guiding Technique at the academy in the future?
"You've mastered training, nourishing, and striking. You want to become an official disciple?"
Elder Qiu paused, looked at Jiang Shu, and continued:
"Think it through. An official disciple of a martial arts school is not like an apprentice. As an apprentice, you can study martial arts at my Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School today and go to the White Crane Martial Arts School or the Antelope Martial Arts School tomorrow. As long as you pay, the instructors at those schools will take you on."
"But an official disciple is different. I must register you with the County Office, then announce that I'm taking you under my wing in front of every martial arts instructor in the county seat. From that moment on, you'll be an official disciple of the Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School. When you go out, you must uphold the reputation of my school. Anyone who disgraces it—you kill."
"I'll ask you one last time. Are you willing to join the Hungry Tiger Martial Arts School and become an official disciple under me, Qiu Hai?"
"I am."
Jiang Shu answered concisely, without the slightest hesitation.
In Pingling County, he had no other path.
If he wanted to learn martial arts, his only options were a martial arts school, a wealthy household, or the County Office.
The martial arts school was the path best suited to him.
It was also the only path he could take.
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