AST 2109 - Flouris.h.i.+ng, the Future of the Imperial Cuisine Hall, Tai Clan

It was unknown whether it had to do with the people from Divine Palace who came on the opening day but the Imperial Cuisine Hall managed to increase its reputation fairly quickly. On the second day, it was spread throughout the city that the food prepared by the Imperial Cuisine Hall could beat even the best restaurant in the Northern Emperor City in terms of its taste.

The only problem was its ridiculous price. However, this was because they were mainly targeted at the rich. Putting aside the Imperial Cuisine Hall that charged their food at a ridiculously high price, ordinary people wouldn’t even visit restaurants bigger than usual. To them, 100 gold was enough to cover their expenses of their entire family for ten years. 

However, there were also a lot of people who spent their money recklessly. The moment the smell of the delicious food went into their nose, they would immediately start eating and drinking as much as they like without putting a second thought to it. Unfortunately, there was a limit to how much they could eat. They were only allowed to spend up to 300 golds at a time. That was equivalent to three Crystal Buns.

Qing Shui had never intended to make a person go broke by spending all of their money on this, nor would he want, or could possibly do it. Money wasn’t his true aim. His true intention was to make himself well-known. Besides, things were precious only when they came in small amounts. The rarer something was, the more value it would carry. 

Qing Shui would spend some of his free time resting in the realm every day. The amount of food which he prepared per day was only enough for 100 people. Thus, by selling all of the food that was available for a day, he would be able to earn roughly 30000 gold. This could already be considered to be a large amount. As a matter of fact, they were earning more than the extremely luxurious restaurants in the area.

On the third day, they were already able to sell all 100 packs of food. However, Qing Shui didn’t plan to make any more than that. He felt that it was good enough in letting things stay this way. Moving on, he also attended to a few ordinary patients and helped treat them from their incurable diseases. One of them gave Qing Shui a kind of ore that was pa.s.sed down from his clan, whereas the other one gave him 50% of the money he had. It might not be much, but without doubt, it could already be considered a significant amount for the ordinary man. Nevertheless, he was already satisfied with it. If he had gone to other clinics, he might not be able to afford the fee, even if he paid with all the money he had. 

Qing Shui only treated terminal illnesses here. Furthermore, it was up to him what he wanted to demand from the patients once the treatment was finished. However, he wouldn’t ask for things that were too difficult for the patients to get.

Nuo Lan had a lot of free time while she was here. She was in charge of the Imperial Cuisine Hall. When Qing Shui had time, he would also teach her to make some stuff. With the super ingredients around, he wasn’t worried that she wouldn’t be able to make food as delicious as his. The main things which he focused on were her techniques when cutting the ingredients and how to decorate the food so that they would look appetizing.

Nuo Lan enjoyed cooking and learning medical things. Her only problem was that she didn’t seem compatible with the kitchen. For the time being, all that she did was sell some of the dishes and Crystal Buns. Once they finished selling, she would have nothing left to do. From here, it could be seen that her job was quite relaxing.

It was very rare for Nuo Lan to admire a person. But this time, she must admit that she was really envious of this young man. By now, she had more or less figured out to what extent Qing Shui’s medical skills had reached. After all, she had seen, with her own eyes, him curing some terminal illnesses. So far, she hadn’t seen a single physician or an alchemist who could manage to pull off such a feat. 

Furthermore, he was also an outstanding alchemist. This had already been proven when he gave her the medicines before. As if those weren’t enough, it was beyond her expectations that he would even be a good chef.

“Qing Shui, remember to put on the signboard tomorrow!” Nuo Lan reminded Qing Shui.

Although it had only been a week since the business started, Qing Shui still wanted to wait for a while longer. The main thing that was written on the signboard was the method to acc.u.mulate points. The points acc.u.mulated were represented by tokens exclusive to the Imperial Cuisine Hall. They were divided into different kinds. By then, the customers could purchase the food with the tokens. However, the rule which said that only a maximum of 300 golds could be spent still applied. 

There were many variations of the tokens listed on the board. Depending on the things which the customers exchanged, the number of points they acc.u.mulated would also be different. A point was equivalent to 100 gold, and all of the items stated above contained a minimum of one point. There were also some things that contained hundreds, or even thousands of points. However, those were very rare.

“Alright then, let’s put it on tomorrow. I will pa.s.s the tokens used for acc.u.mulating points to you. It’s impossible to make replicas of these tokens as they have my Spiritual Sense imprinted on them.” Qing Shui said.

“The money is being earned so easily at the moment. Unfortunately, it will become useless once we have too much of it.” Nuo Lan let out a sigh and said.

“How will it be useless? We can spend them on hiring more workers and building a large restaurant near here. The restaurant can then be used to house widows, orphans, or the ill ones so that they can spend the toughest time of their life in there. In addition to that, we can even let the jobless or the people who have n.o.body else to rely on to live the rest of their life in it.” Qing Shui smiled and said.

This was also something which Qing Shui had thought about since a long time ago. He believed that the power of belief would also be very useful. Though it was not that obvious, it could help him boost the level of his Heavenly Dao. It had always been said that humans were born kind. Each time they committed a good deed, they would feel relieved spiritually. They would feel a sense of peace and a kind of satisfaction in their heart. On the contrary, if a person did something bad, they would feel unsettled and anxious. 

Upon hearing Qing Shui’s words, Nuo Lan’s eyes flickered with shock as she looked at Qing Shui and asked, “Are you sure we should spend our money like that?”

“It’s not like we will be able to spend all of them. We aren’t born with it, nor can we take it away when we die. If money is what you are after, I can earn as much as I want. Doing good deeds can help us develop good ethics. In the future, when we are up against certain enemies, it will also help boost our strength.” Qing Shui chuckled.

“I never thought that you would say something like that. I am starting to realize that I am no longer able to see through you.”

“Well, of course, I still have my s.h.i.+rts on. How do you expect to see through me?” Qing Shui asked in a serious tone. 

Nuo Lan blushed as she glared at Qing Shui. This time, Qing Shui could confirm that she had definitely made use of her ultimate charm. For a moment, Qing Shui’s heart raced uncontrollably. His face reddened. He could also feel his breath quickening as he gazed at Nuo Lan. Slowly, a tent was getting erected at his bottom.

However, Qing Shui could feel that his mind was still clear. This was an ability given to him by his Yin-Yang Image. Even though he couldn’t stop the changes taking place across his body, it could help guarantee his Spiritual Sense to maintain a clear state. His eyes were dilated as he looked at Nuo Lan and said, “Big sister, can a virgin like you please stop repeating the same tricks again and again? Since you aren’t trying to kill me, obviously, you are the one who will have the most advantages under this kind of situation.” 

Qing Shui’s words were quite powerful. The moment those words came out of his mouth, Nuo Lan’s face looked even more seducing. She then said fiercely, “I will make sure I spend all of your money!”

And with that, a month had pa.s.sed in the blink of an eye.

Throughout this month, the Imperial Cuisine Hall had increased its reputation even further. During this time, Qing Shui had cured three terminal illnesses. One of the patients was the clan’s head of Tai Clan, a clan located in the Northern Emperor City.

Naturally, Tai Clan was inferior to the Divine Temple as well as Taiyi Immortal Palace. But without comparing it to the other two formidable forces, it could also be considered a top-cla.s.s clan. The incident concerning Tai Clan’s clan’s head had been quite a popular topic in the Northern Emperor City. It happened 10 years ago when the clan’s head was inflicted with a serious injury. Ever since then, he was unable to heal and got a hidden illness as a result. Even though he didn’t have long to live, he could still stay alive for up to 30 to 50 years.

He had seen a lot of physicians and alchemists but all of his efforts were for naught. His cultivation had been reduced to less than one-third of his original strength.

However, Tai Clan had already had its own successor. The clan’s head’s children were very powerful. Back then, when he confirmed his illnesses to be incurable, he had already made plans to pa.s.s down his position to his children. Contrary to his expectation, they refused, insisting that he should continue his reign. Despite there being multiple branches in Tai Clan, no one dared to go against it. 

This time, it was also only after the Imperial Cuisine Hall had increased its reputation that Tai Clan’s clan’s head decided to come. Another factor which had convinced him to make up his mind to accept his treatment here was the food here. After enjoying some of the dishes and drinking a Plum Blossom Wine, he was surprised to feel his life force, which was constantly getting weaker and weaker, suddenly becoming a bit stronger. Thus, eventually, he decided to give the Imperial Cuisine Hall a try.

By the time Qing Shui finished curing him, even Tai Clan Clan’s Head himself found it difficult to believe. Not only had he recovered from his Hidden Illness but he had even managed to regain his strength and became the formidable being who he once was 10 years ago. Since Qing Shui’s true aim was to make himself more reputable, he didn’t demand Tai Clan to owe him any favor. If he were to make a person who was near his death make the entire Tai Clan owed a person a favor, he felt that he would be better off not treating him in the first place.