"So you're Shopkeeper Chen. I'm Li Bai, and this is my brother, Zhou Bao. A pleasure to meet you."
Li Ye cupped his hands in greeting.
Zhou Bao followed suit and greeted the shopkeeper.
"So you're Brother Li and Brother Zhou. Is this your first time at Hongbin Tower? I wonder if the food here suits your tastes."
The shopkeeper asked.
He asked because he'd noticed that the food on their table hadn't been touched.
Zhou Bao was so useless that tears were about to spill from the corners of his mouth. He was just about to say something when Li Ye stopped him.
Li Ye slowly picked up his chopsticks and said calmly, "We'll have to taste it before we can say whether it suits us."
As he spoke, he picked up a slice of beef in soy sauce and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.
The head shopkeeper of Hongbin Tower had appeared before two people who looked like beggars, and the diners inside the restaurant all cast curious glances their way.
"How is it?"
The shopkeeper asked, his confidence plain on his face.
This beef in soy sauce was one of Hongbin Tower's specialties. Within an eighty-li radius, he claimed second place, and no one dared claim first.
Pfft!
Suddenly, Li Ye spat all over the shopkeeper. He spat out every last bit of beef he'd put in his mouth.
"You..."
The shopkeeper flew into a rage.
"Shopkeeper, why is your beef in soy sauce so gamey? How can anyone eat this?"
Li Ye challenged him.
Zhou Bao was eating too. The beef seemed like the most delicious food in the Human World to him; he couldn't help beaming with delight, savoring every bite. But when he saw Li Ye spit it out, he did the same.
Though he had no idea why.
"Exactly. How can anyone eat this?"
Zhou Bao said.
The shopkeeper was stunned.
Gamey?
No one made beef in soy sauce better than Hongbin Tower.
If even this was gamey, then the other restaurants' versions could only be called rotten.
"Heh, could these two be freeloaders?"
"Kid, looking at you two, have you ever even eaten beef in soy sauce in your lives?"
"Looks like the shopkeeper's misjudged them this time."
Mocking voices rang through Hongbin Tower.
The diners who didn't speak folded their arms and watched the show.
The shopkeeper's face flushed red, then pale. He pointed a trembling finger at Li Ye and Zhou Bao. "You're saying my beef in soy sauce is gamey? Have you even eaten better beef in soy sauce than this?"
"If you don't give me an explanation today, don't blame Chen for turning nasty."
As the shopkeeper's voice fell, a group of burly men stormed out of the back room. They didn't come closer, but their murderous expressions were frightening enough.
Zhou Bao glanced behind him, nearly scared out of his wits by the display.
This is bad. We can't even escape through a window now.
Brother Li Bai's too impulsive.
"Of course I have! If I hadn't eaten better, why would I say this beef is impossible to swallow?"
Li Ye answered, utterly composed.
The shopkeeper's face twisted into a snarl. "You're talking nonsense with your eyes open. Beef has a strong flavor to begin with, and Hongbin Tower handles it better than anyone."
"Within an eighty-li radius of Licheng City, Chen claims second place, and no one dares claim first. And you're saying you've eaten better beef in soy sauce than mine?"
Li Ye waved a hand.
"I don't care how you prepare it. Tell me, did you wash it before boiling?"
"Of course I rinsed the blood off the surface. You don't need to remind me."
"Then did you soak it in clean water overnight?"
"W-what?"
"Beef tastes gamey because of the blood. If you don't soak the blood out, how can you expect it not to taste gamey? Let me ask you again: when you cooked the meat, did you add leaves from the Bay Laurel Tree?"
"..."
"Did you add Cinnamon Bark?"
"I did..."
Leaves from the Bay Laurel Tree, Cinnamon Bark—could those things really be used as seasonings?
The shopkeeper stammered under Li Ye's questions, left speechless.
The leaves of the Bay Laurel Tree—that is, bay leaves in his previous life—and Cinnamon Bark had been common seasonings in every household in his previous life.
But people in this world didn't seem to have put them to use yet.
Though the shopkeeper had done his best, the result still left much to be desired for Li Ye, a man from the twenty-first century.
The other diners exchanged glances.
Leaves from the Bay Laurel Tree? Cinnamon Bark?
Were those just weeds and trees outside the city?
Was this kid making a fool of the shopkeeper?
The shopkeeper felt the same way. His face gradually contorted. "I'll grant that soaking the blood in clean water is a sound method, but..."
Li Ye thought, This is bad. That old fellow doesn't accept my recipe. He's going to use force.
I miscalculated, he thought. I'm not afraid of them, but I don't want to make a scene either.
Just then, an elegantly made-up noblewoman in red came down from upstairs.
"Well, if you don't believe me, you can ask this madam."
Before the noblewoman could react, Li Ye went over to her and recited his recipe.
"This young gentleman is right. Leaves from the Bay Laurel Tree, cinnamon bark, Wild Star Anise, and the like are indeed essential seasonings for cooking."
"My household uses them all the time. Shopkeeper Chen, you're the one who's been narrow-minded. You nearly wronged an innocent man."
The noblewoman lifted her snow-white, pointed chin and spoke to the shopkeeper.
As soon as she spoke, a wave of commotion swept through the crowd.
The woman was no ordinary person. She was the wife of Licheng City's General.
Who would dare doubt her word?
But how did this kid know the General's household used those seasonings in their cooking?
Confusion filled the diners' hearts.
Words Manifest Reality: Women believe what you say.
"Chen was ignorant and nearly wronged the two heroes. Please forgive me."
With the General's wife confirming it, the shopkeeper had no choice but to believe them.
So he immediately backed down and apologized to Li Ye and Zhou Bao.
Li Ye frowned, then pointed at the thugs before him with a faintly mocking smile. "Heh, I kindly shared my exclusive recipe, and you wanted to beat us with clubs."
"Is this how Hongbin Tower treats its guests?"
The shopkeeper's expression stiffened. He waved the thugs away, thought for a moment, then said, "Chen was in the wrong. Let me offer you this meal as an apology. What do you say?"
Th-this means we don't have to pay?
Zhou Bao sat there, dumbfounded, his mind struggling to keep up.
At that moment, he was so impressed by Li Ye he could practically bow down to him.
Li Ye didn't answer the shopkeeper. Instead, he said to the noblewoman before him, "Thank you, madam. Please go back. Let's pretend we never met today."
As he spoke, an imperceptible golden light shimmered in his mouth.
The General's wife naturally did exactly as he said. "You're right, young master. We never met today. I'll take my leave."
And so, accompanied by several maids, the General's wife left Hongbin Tower.
Li Ye returned to his seat, picked up his chopsticks, and poked at the untouched roast chicken in front of him. "Shopkeeper, would you like your restaurant to have another signature dish?"
Shopkeeper Chen Hong's eyes lit up. "...What dish?"
Li Ye replied, "Have you ever heard of Eight Treasure Chicken?"
Eight Treasure Chicken?
For a moment, the shopkeeper almost remembered his past life—but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall anything about Eight Treasure Chicken.
"Someone, bring me a hundred taels of silver!"
"No, two hundred."
"Five hundred..."
The shopkeeper called to his attendant. He noticed Li Ye was busy eating and didn't put down his chopsticks until the shopkeeper said five hundred taels.
Five hundred taels of silver was too much and too heavy to carry around, so the attendant brought banknotes instead.
The shopkeeper obsequiously offered them to Li Ye.
In this era, five hundred taels was an astronomical sum for people at the bottom of society.
After Li Ye's earlier advice, the shopkeeper felt that if he could get the Eight Treasure Chicken recipe, Hongbin Tower might become Licheng City's top restaurant.
A mere five hundred taels of silver was only worth a few tables of food. Compared with the Eight Treasure Chicken recipe, it was nothing.
"Brother Chen, that's generous of you. Set it down."
"Bring me writing implements."
Li Ye said.
Before you continue