Chapter 24: Sense of Happiness
Frank’s words carried an obvious air of superiority, as if he had seen through everything.
After discussing with her husband last night, Holly had decided to attend the class, but she still didn’t have complete trust in Ye Mu. Hearing Frank’s condescending remarks now made her feel a bit annoyed.
Thus, Holly didn’t want to engage in further conversation with Frank and calmly replied, “I’m just going to listen,” before walking away.
Even so, Frank still thought her excitement was foolish.
He didn’t believe that Ye Mu genuinely had good intentions and was convinced that everyone attending the class would inevitably face some kind of loss, even if he couldn’t figure out what that loss would be.
He looked at Holly’s back and sneered coldly, muttering disdainfully, “Just don’t regret it when something goes wrong.”
—
Twenty minutes later, Holly arrived at the Nightfall Restaurant right on time. She was the earliest to arrive, and Ye Mu, having nothing to do, greeted her warmly, and the two casually chatted.
As the hidden lord of the territory, Ye Mu intended to subtly inquire about any dissatisfaction Holly might have with the territory during their conversation. However, Holly’s focus was entirely on the taxes, which she praised enthusiastically, even commending the still-imperfect new territory.
Filled with aspirations for the future, she couldn’t point out any flaws, so Ye Mu had to drop the subject.
In the next ten minutes, three more people arrived, leaving Ye Mu with a total of only four participants, one short of the five she had written on the recruitment flyer.
But this situation was within her expectations.
In fact, she had mentally prepared for the possibility of no one showing up.
This wasn’t due to a lack of confidence in herself but rather because the social environment here was simply too harsh. The myriad of exorbitant taxes had dragged everyone into a quagmire, leading to a vicious cycle where each person had to rack their brains to earn more money just to survive.
As a result, the number of people gradually lowering their moral standards was likely not small. Even those who could temporarily hold onto their principles were bound to grow increasingly resentful due to the pressures of making a living.
Over time, trust between people would be worn away.
When suddenly someone stepped forward to offer kindness, it would feel out of place, and questioning their motives would be entirely reasonable.
But that was okay, she believed that time would reveal a person’s true heart.
As time went on, everything would improve.
At ten o’clock sharp, the kitchen of the Nightfall Restaurant began the class as scheduled.
The content of the lesson was very simple: teaching everyone how to use the sauce she had prepared last night to make meat dishes.
In the first step of the lesson, Ye Mu responsibly taught everyone how to eliminate the fishy smell from the meat products.
Using cooking wine to remove fishy odors is the simplest method in this regard. However, cooking wine here is a type of potion, and “potions are various seasonings” is one of her most important discoveries in this world, as well as the capital she relies on for survival. She had to guard against the possibility that by sharing this method, others might draw inferences and gradually discover the existence and uses of other seasonings, ultimately leaving her without a livelihood.
Her magic level was low, and she couldn’t go out to hunt monsters, “not having food” truly meant “not having food.”
Thus, Ye Mu had to settle for a secondary option and taught everyone to use scallions, ginger, and garlic to eliminate the fishy smell.
In simple terms, it involved chopping ginger and garlic, kneading them into the sliced meat, and letting it sit for about twenty minutes to effectively reduce the fishiness.
If handling meat chunks, one would fill a pot with cold water, throw in the scallions, ginger, and meat chunks, and then boil it on high heat, which is commonly referred to as “blanching.”
In her view, these were the most basic cooking operations. In the world she originally lived in, many elementary school students likely had this common knowledge.
However, here, after she finished explaining these steps, the four students all appeared enlightened, exclaiming, “So that’s how it is!”
“No wonder the meat you make here isn’t fishy, ours all has a fishy taste!”
“The chef’s reputation is well-deserved!”
Ye Mu found this amusing and exasperating. She knew their praise was sincere, but due to the significant differences in their understanding, she still felt their words were exaggerated, leaving her to smile awkwardly before continuing.
Hot pan, heating oil.
Once the oil was hot, Ye Mu added the meat slices to the pan, stirring while explaining, “I like to fry the meat until it’s slightly charred, with a bit of a golden color on top, which makes it taste better. But if you prefer a more tender texture, it’s fine to just cook it through.”
In just a few sentences, the fragrance filled the air, and after removing the fishy smell, the aroma of the meat became noticeably intense. Although no seasonings had been added yet, it was enough to make several people feel hungry.
Ye Mu focused intently on the heat, watching for the right moment to grab the bottle of sauce from last night.
“This sauce is my secret recipe, it’s great for stir-frying and grilling meat, and you can brush it on directly when roasting.” She explained as her spatula kept moving, quickly mixing the sauce with the meat slices in the pan. Each piece of meat was dyed a light brown color, looking far more enticing than the plain white fried meat sold on the market.
After casually stirring for about a minute or two, Ye Mu plated the dish and placed it on the island counter nearby. “Everyone, give it a try.”
The students were already drooling with anticipation, and upon hearing her words, they hurriedly grabbed utensils and rushed to sample the dish.
Since none of them had previously dined at the Nightfall Restaurant in Dragon Town, each person felt they were experiencing an unforgettable culinary delight the moment the meat entered their mouths.
The combination of flavors—aroma, spiciness, sweetness, and saltiness—burst on their taste buds like the most powerful magic in the world, nearly plunging them into a dreamlike state.
It was delicious! It was so delicious!
Not only was it better than what other vendors sold outside, but even compared to the three types of fried pork belly sold at the Nightfall Restaurant just a couple of days ago, the flavor was richer!
The students were enraptured, unable to help themselves from devouring one piece after another. By the time they polished off the entire platter of meat, they looked at the remaining sauce in the dish, using every ounce of self-control to avoid picking up the plate to lick it clean.
While they were lost in their meal, Ye Mu quietly went upstairs and returned with four bottles of sauce.
She patiently waited for them to finish eating and told them, “Thank you for trusting me. This sauce is a gift for everyone, you can take it home to use for yourselves or sell it at your stalls. If you run out, you can come back to buy more.”
…It really is a sales tactic.
—Naturally, some couldn’t help but mock her silently in their hearts.
However, since the bottle in front of them was free, even if they held some skepticism, they didn’t dare say anything. At most, they could only silently remind themselves not to fall into a consumer trap.
Just use this one bottle, absolutely no more purchases!
Holly couldn’t help but ask, “How much would it cost if we wanted to buy more?”
Ye Mu replied, “One bottle is 500 copper coins.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard them collectively gasp in surprise.
Indeed, 500 copper coins didn’t seem cheap. With that price, one could buy dozens of portions of the most ordinary food in the market.
But this was the result she arrived at after repeatedly calculating the costs. The potion alone cost 492 copper coins.
…With a cost of 492, adding 8 copper coins to make it a round number seemed reasonable enough for a bit of labor cost!
Ye Mu felt completely justified, but facing their obvious reaction of thinking it was expensive, she didn’t explain anything further, nor did she care if they were mentally criticizing her at that moment.
She had enough confidence in the sauce she created, believing they would soon discover its benefits and would definitely come back to repurchase it.
The brief class lasted less than 40 minutes, and at 10:40, Ye Mu sent everyone off.
Isaac had been wandering around the territory doing nothing when he happened to see a few students leaving together near the market. He came in to ask Ye Mu, “How did it go?”
Ye Mu invited him inside to sit and recounted her teaching experience in detail. From her tone, Isaac could tell she was in a good mood.
However, by the end, he couldn’t help but laugh, “It was supposed to be a free class, why did you end up losing 2,000 copper coins on the costs?”
He was referring to those four bottles of sauce.
Ye Mu relaxed and replied, “I originally wanted to sell it directly and let them decide whether to buy, but thinking from their perspective, I completely understand their concerns right now. So, giving away one bottle first isn’t a big deal.”
“Besides, they’ve all had a tough time in the past. For them, 500 copper coins is quite a lot, but for me, it’s not that much. Let them use this free bottle to make their first bucket of gold, I’m not in a hurry for money.”
Though her words had a hint of flaunting wealth, it was indeed the truth.
Compared to those who worked hard to earn money step by step, she effectively had a unique food advantage. Even though the old restaurant had only been open for a little over a month, she had already made quite a bit, and after deducting a hefty tax, she still had over a hundred thousand copper coins in savings.
Therefore, if spending a little money could help gain their trust and even indirectly change some aspects of the social environment, allowing people to relax a bit due to this small, positive occurrence, it would be entirely worth it for her.
—
In the city of Zeka, 100 kilometers north of Dragon Town, the first snow has fallen.
The city has become very cold, and many who could previously tough it out without spending money on coal have finally given in. As a result, coal has become scarce, and overnight, its price has quadrupled.
But Duke Damon, as the lord, doesn’t have to worry about these things.
In his castle, every fireplace is filled with high-quality fruitwood as if it were free, providing warmth and a pleasant aroma.
In some rooms, the fire burns so brightly that if one were to put on a couple of extra layers and stay inside for ten minutes, they might break out in a sweat.
At this moment, Duke Damon is in his living room, sitting at the dining table not far from the fireplace, enjoying his lunch.
His lunch consists of a whole butter-roasted chicken.
This is a very luxurious noble dish, requiring a whole chicken to be cleaned of its innards, then coated inside and out with butter and roasted slowly over low heat.
Before being served, the chicken is plated, placed shiny-side up in the center of the dish, surrounded by various pieces of fruit and vegetables. Some of the vegetable pieces are even boiled or sautéed, which adds to the presentation.
Recently, due to the cold weather, the chef added chili to the roast chicken, although the unseasoned spice only provides a pure kick, it is quite effective for keeping warm.
【Butter-Roasted Chicken with Vegetable Pieces and Fruit Salad (Spicy)】
—Consuming this dish will continuously restore health, mana, and stamina,
—It can restore up to 1,000 health, 5,000 mana, and 1,000 stamina (total recovery depends on the amount consumed),
—After consumption, immunity to the “cold” effect lasts up to 3 hours (actual duration depends on the amount consumed).
Duke Damon first tears off a chicken leg, chewing contentedly while listening to his subordinates report on recent events.
The first thing he hears is that over eighty people froze to death in the city last night.
Duke Damon doesn’t care about this, such things happen every year in every territory, so it’s nothing unusual.
The second piece of news is that a noble friend from his territory got drunk yesterday and killed an apothecary shop owner.
He cares even less about this.
It’s perfectly normal for a noble to kill a commoner!
The third piece of news is that a new territory has appeared in the Qiana Mountains.
This catches Duke Damon’s attention.
In the current kingdom, he should be considered a major lord, with a territory size that ranks in the top 20 at least. Starting from the city of Zeka, where he resides, his territory stretches 50 kilometers to the north and 100 kilometers to the south, with Dragon Town and Falling Sunset Town near the Dragon Mountains marking the southern border of his territory.
So if a new territory appears in the Qiana Mountains, it will directly border his own.
If the person who owns this area is his enemy, that would not be good at all.
Duke Damon then asked, “Whose territory is it?”
His subordinate replied, “Not quite sure. It seems the lord is deliberately hiding their identity. However…”
The subordinate paused at this point.
Duke Damon looked up, frowning, “What’s wrong?”
The subordinate said, “I suspect this is related to the rumors about Dragon Town from some time ago.”
“Rumors?” Duke Damon completely forgot about any rumors and asked, “What rumors?”
The subordinate explained, “It’s about that… illegitimate daughter.”
“Oh, you mean that ‘Culinary God.’” Duke Damon vaguely recalled, “What does this have to do with her?”
The subordinate replied, “A few days ago, I heard rumors saying that she left Dragon Town for some reason, and then this new territory appeared. Don’t you think that’s a bit too coincidental?”
Duke Damon chewed on a piece of chicken breast that was roasted too dry, “You mean she’s the lord of this territory?”
“Not necessarily.” The subordinate pondered. “I just think there should be some connection to her.”
“That means it’s either not hers, or it’s from her family, or possibly from one of her noble friends. In any case, it’s to give her a new place to land, splurging a fortune.” Duke Damon seemed to be speculating, but his tone was very certain, as if this was a definite conclusion.
After saying that, he returned to his nonchalant demeanor, shrugging his knife and fork in his hands, “Whatever the case, it doesn’t matter.”
“Should we send a congratulatory gift?” the subordinate asked.
“No, of course not.” Duke Damon was confident. “The young lady is deliberately keeping her identity hidden while out having fun. Why should we disturb her? Let her enjoy herself, we’ll pretend we don’t know.”
“Understood, Your Grace.” The subordinate nodded, checked the scroll in his hands once more, and after confirming he had said everything he needed to, bowed and left, no longer interrupting Duke Damon’s meal.
—
In an alley in Dragon Town.
As night fell, more customers gradually arrived, many wearing frowns, sitting together and creating a gloomy atmosphere in the bar.
This alley is where the Nightfall Restaurant originally was. The Nightfall Restaurant was located somewhat centrally, while this bar is closer to the end of the alley. Between the two, there are only residential houses with no other shops.
This is why so many melancholic guests have gathered here.
They are all old customers of the Nightfall Restaurant. Now that it has suddenly moved away, everyone is struggling to adapt.
Some harbor unrealistic hopes that one day the Nightfall Restaurant will quietly reopen, just as it had suddenly closed without a word.
Therefore, many people stroll through this alley during their free time in the evening, and upon seeing that the restaurant is still empty, they feel disheartened and naturally enter the bar.
Currently, most of these people are silently drinking, with little conversation among them.
To put it frankly, their attachment to the Nightfall Restaurant seems quite strange.
The restaurant was only open for just over a month from its opening to it’s closing.
In such a short time, its delicious food was indeed impressive, but it shouldn’t be enough to make people feel so sad about its departure.
At first, many of them couldn’t articulate why they felt so low.
Later, upon delving into the reasons, they gradually discovered that the existence of the Nightfall Restaurant was far more important than they had imagined.
That enigmatic Miss Ye sold them noble food at affordable prices—food they had never dared to dream of. Not only was it delicious, but it also had excellent properties that often significantly boosted their earnings when they went out hunting monsters.
Thus, it became a light in their bleak lives.
The increased earnings from hunting gave them hope, making them believe that life might gradually improve. The suspected noble lady running a shop here felt almost charitable, leading them to envision that perhaps not all nobles were so bad, imagining that their currently terrible lives might suddenly turn around one day.
All of this brought them a rare sense of happiness.
But now, that light has disappeared, vanishing without a trace with the sudden closure of the Nightfall Restaurant.
People felt a sense of loss, and some bitterly remarked, “This is how it should be.”
Regardless of whether Miss Ye was intentionally doing charity or merely experiencing life among commoners, it was evident that her stay wouldn’t last long, it was only natural for her to leave after a while.
They should also calmly accept this renewed gloom that enveloped them, just as they had always lived in darkness.
Time passed slowly, and the adventurers who had fallen back into despair silently gulped down their drinks.
Suddenly, the copper bell hanging on the doorframe rang, and someone else walked in—a young man with brown hair. From his gear, he appeared to be a fire mage.
After entering, he paused by the door, scanning the room, then walked towards the wall where a table was occupied by a woman of similar age.
He pulled out a chair opposite her and said with a smile, “Dear, I have good news. Can you guess what it is?”
The woman, feeling annoyed, was not in the mood to play along, “Just say it. I’m busy.”
The man felt awkward and lightly cleared his throat, “Let’s move! Let’s relocate to the newly built Qiana Town!”
The sudden suggestion puzzled the woman, and she glanced at him, “Why?”
The man said, “Because the chef is there. Yes, the one you’re thinking of, Miss Ye from the Nightfall Restaurant!”
Though his voice was not loud, in the quiet bar, his words struck everyone like a thunderclap.
Just as the man was about to explain the details to his girlfriend, he noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Turning to look, he saw a dozen adventurers approaching him simultaneously.
Startled, he thought they were about to start a fight, but after a moment’s reflection, he realized he hadn’t offended anyone and anxiously asked, “What do you want?!”
The adventurers didn’t have time to explain. The one at the front grabbed his shoulder and asked, “Where did you say the chef is?”
“Qiana Town…” the man swallowed nervously, his voice trembling.
“Qiana Town? Never heard of it. Is it near the Qiana Mountains?” the person asked again.
“Yeah, that’s it,” the man replied.
Immediately, someone else eagerly inquired, “Is the chef still running her restaurant? Where does she live? Is it a big estate or a grand castle?”
“Estate or castle? No… it’s just a newly built small town. She moved to that new town and is still running her restaurant, still called Nightfall Restaurant,” the man noticed that these people had no ill intentions and calmed down, patiently explaining, “I happened to run into an adventure team while hunting today, and they mentioned it. They seem to know the chef quite well, so this information should be reliable.”
The adventure team he mentioned was actually the Xibel Team. All six members of the Xibel Team had moved to Qiana Town and were quite familiar with Ye Mu, often bringing a serving of her signature dishes for lunch when they went out monster hunting.
While having lunch today, the man, reminiscing about the chef while chewing on a fishy meat slice, noticed a nearby group enjoying what seemed to be dishes made by her. He couldn’t help but ask them about it, and they generously shared the news of the chef’s relocation, even promoting the ridiculously low taxes of Qiana Town.
However, when Xibel casually answered, he clearly hadn’t anticipated the ¹chain reaction this would spark.
Just half an hour later, adventurers in the bar, having received the first hand news, started packing their bags, listing their properties for sale, and leaving the territory overnight to embark on their moving journey.
With taxes high everywhere, the mere presence of a chef made a place appealing, finding out that the taxes there were so low was like discovering paradise!
So what was there to hesitate about?
They didn’t even want to wait for dawn! They claimed that the monsters at night were tough, but they could just stick together and get through it!
As they departed, the news spread like waves, reaching out to another layer of people.
More and more heard the news that “the chef is in Qiana Town” and “the taxes in Qiana Town are incredibly low,” prompting them to start arranging moves or at least consider it. Some were more cautious and decided to rent a place in Qiana Town for a few days to see if the rumors were true.
Then the chain reaction continued to spread.
The pressure was now on Qiana Town!
…Suddenly, there weren’t enough houses in the town!
In fact, the Isaac trio hadn’t been idle in recent days, they had been busy expanding residential buildings. In the past three days, the sales and new additions had been nearly balanced, with very steady growth.
Now, in just one night, there was suddenly a housing shortage!
—
¹”chain reaction” refers to a series of events that are triggered by an initial event, where each event causes the next one to happen, creating a continuous sequence. It’s like a domino effect, where one action leads to multiple subsequent actions or consequences.