Chapter 28: Merry Christmas
On December 24th, Christmas Eve arrived as expected.
In her original world, Ye Mu didn’t celebrate Christmas much, or rather, in her country, Christmas felt more like a shopping festival. Both online and offline, businesses would take advantage of the holiday to run discounts and promotions, capitalizing on the idea that Christmas was a time for giving gifts.
However, in this world, Christmas seemed to hold great importance, with an atmosphere comparable to what Ye Mu remembered of the Spring Festival.
Thus, about seven or eight days prior, Ye Mu had already noticed signs of the holiday spirit. Many people began preparing food for the festive dinner in advance, and sales of visually appealing foods in the market were rising, regardless of their taste.
It’s worth noting that her territory was still in its initial construction phase, not only were she and Isaac quite busy, but most residents had just moved in and were slowly handling and adjusting to various trivial matters.
Under these circumstances, everyone was still taking the time to prepare for the holiday, making it hard for Ye Mu to overlook the importance of the celebration.
So, she had a giant poster printed that was two people tall, and on the morning of Christmas Eve, she hung it from the rooftop of the restaurant.
With this, the sense of ceremony was fully realized!
The poster read:
“Welcome Christmas! Nightfall Restaurant invites you to celebrate!”
“From 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM on December 24th and 25th, dining at Nightfall Restaurant will entitle you to a complimentary serving of roasted turkey!”
“For every 300 copper coins spent, enjoy a 40 copper coin discount! For a single table spending 2000 copper coins or more, enjoy an additional 10% off!”
—She admitted that the last sentence had a whiff of inheriting the dregs of internet culture, a sort of “learning the bad rather than the good” tactic.
But really, you can’t argue that this isn’t worth it!
As soon as the poster was put up, the entire Qiana Town erupted in excitement. The townsfolk were wide-eyed, with some even rushing to bow to Ye Mu, exclaiming, “Oh my God! The chef is offering noble food, which was already affordable! And now it’s on discount!”
“And there’s an additional discount!!!”
“This must be an angel descending to Earth!”
“And they’re even giving away turkey! Wuwuwu, I haven’t had the money to buy turkey for several Christmases. Thank you, Chef!!!”
In the kitchen of Nightfall Restaurant, Ye Mu, who was preparing the turkey, wore a cold and somewhat disdainful expression.
…How should she put it? She felt there was ample reason for turkey not to become popular in her homeland, which widely adhered to the belief that “food is paramount.”
This dish really wasn’t that tasty, the lack of fat caused most of the meat to be dry and difficult to swallow. Even the chicken legs and wings, which tasted great on ordinary chickens, weren’t much better when it came to turkeys.
This meat quality, combined with the turkey’s large size, made it difficult for the meat to absorb flavors unless it was cut into small pieces and cooked for a long time.
Yet, during Christmas, the most popular method of preparation was ironically to roast the whole turkey for the sake of atmosphere and presentation!
Ye Mu deeply felt that this dish was indeed anti-human, it could only become popular in a world lacking good food.
In a country renowned for its cuisine, making turkey popular would be a disrespect to other ingredients!
But what could she do? She had ended up in this food-scarce world.
So, she gritted her teeth and prepared the roasted turkey needed for that evening. To make this mountain pig, which was notoriously unappetizing, taste a bit better, she not only used a generous amount of butter but also repeatedly coated it with sauce inside and out during the roasting process to enrich its flavor as much as possible.
Additionally, she prepared a dipping sauce to accompany the turkey, allowing customers to dip according to their personal tastes.
When the roasted turkey came out of the oven, it coincided with the gap between breakfast and dinner. Ivy and Jeff, along with the staff, divided the turkey into eight portions as Ye Mu had instructed, each served with a small portion of sauce.
—
At 6:00 in the evening, adventurers returning from monster hunting began to arrive back at Qiana Town, and business in the market gradually picked up.
Carly, who had walked out of the slums of Dragon Town, had already been here for three days. In those three days, she seemed to have quickly adapted to her new life, yet looking at the market before her, she still felt a bit dazed.
If one were to compare the vibrancy, the market here was far less bustling than that of Dragon Town. The market in Dragon Town was probably ten times larger, offering a dazzling array of goods, where everything from clothing to food and housing could be found.
On Christmas Eve, the market in Dragon Town would also be filled with cheer, with everyone exchanging festive greetings. Many poor people would bite the bullet and take a bit of their meager savings to buy more food for celebrating the holiday.
People like Carly, living in the slums, often had no savings, but during the holiday, they would still take a stroll through the market. On one hand, it was a way to experience the festive atmosphere, and on the other hand, some wealthy adventurers or minor nobles often made donations during the holidays, so a simple walk might yield some basic food or a few copper coins.
Even so, Carly still felt that the Christmas Eve market in Dragon Town couldn’t compare to that of Qiana Town.
In Dragon Town, although everyone wore smiles celebrating the holiday, there remained an inescapable weariness in their expressions. This weariness stemmed from constantly worrying about their livelihoods, always having to think about whether there would be bread for tomorrow. In this state of worry, the so-called festive celebration became more of a brief escape, where people forced themselves to block out that pain for a night or two, fully aware that once those nights were over, they would again have to face reality.
Last year, the situation worsened when the lord suddenly introduced a “Christmas tax.” The fatigue became even more pronounced, with many people getting imprisoned for failing to pay the required tax, eliminating any chance for even a brief escape.
…Carly and Laura, as poor people in the slums, had also been imprisoned at that time and were only released this Easter. She felt scared just thinking about that experience.
But in Qiana Town, those sorrows didn’t exist. Many people had been anxious a few days prior, fearing that the lord might suddenly impose such a tax, but it was clear they were worrying for nothing.
Now, with the arrival of Christmas Eve, the festive atmosphere peaked, and the smiles on the faces of these residents, who no longer had to worry about making ends meet, were genuine. Their emotions were fully invested in the celebration, and hearty laughter would occasionally ring out in the market.
Carly found herself uncontrollably admiring everything, as if afraid that this delightful scene was just an ephemeral illusion that would disappear if she didn’t take it in immediately.
She watched for a full fifteen minutes until her cousin Laura arrived on cue and tapped her shoulder: “Hey, what are you daydreaming about?” Laura asked with a smile.
Carly came back to her senses and smiled as well, taking Laura’s hand as they entered the market together.
In fact, on the day she first arrived, Carly hadn’t planned to seek out Laura, feeling embarrassed to trouble her.
This was a habit she had developed in the slums, everyone there was very poor, and when faced with difficulties, asking others for help would either result in rejection or, if someone reluctantly agreed, both parties would end up bearing greater pressure.
Carly was not someone who liked to drag others into her misery, she never wanted to do that. Therefore, after arriving in Qiana Town, she didn’t contact Laura at all.
However, the newly established town was indeed quite small. The next morning, when she wanted to go to the market to buy some food, she unexpectedly ran into Laura.
Upon hearing that she had moved there too, Laura was overjoyed and immediately warmly invited her to join her in running a stall.
Laura was much more cheerful than before and sincerely said to her, “Why are you being polite with me? We’ve been through so much hardship together, now that life is better, we should help each other out!”
She then added, “Besides, I now have the chef’s secret recipes, and my business is getting busier. If you don’t help me, I’ll have to hire someone!”
“Why not earn money together? Good water shouldn’t flow into others’ fields!”
After hearing this, Carly hesitated for a while but ultimately accepted her invitation.
For the next three days, the two sisters ran a stall together. Laura was genuinely open, she was a student in Ye Mu’s second class and knew how to make braised dishes, so she generously shared all the methods Ye Mu taught her with Carly. Carly, feeling like she was taking advantage of Laura, tried to take on most of the labor, which led to the two sisters competing for work.
Previously, their main offerings were braised potato chunks and braised tofu. Both were purely vegetarian dishes. While they couldn’t sell for a high price, they were cheap to make. For Laura, these dishes had the added advantage of being easy to cook, especially the potato chunks, which remained tasty even when overcooked and turned into mashed potatoes. Potatoes stewed in the chef’s secret braising sauce mixed with rice were simply delicious!
However, today, taking advantage of the festive atmosphere of Christmas Eve, they boldly invested a bit more into their offerings and trialed about thirty portions of a new dish: braised chicken cubes.
【Braised Chicken Cubes】
—Consuming this dish continuously restores health points, mana points, and stamina points,
—Can restore up to 2000 health points, 300 mana points, and 100 stamina points (the total restoration amount is affected by the quantity consumed),
—Defense increases by 10% after consumption, lasting for 0.5 hours.
Price: 100 copper coins per serving.
From the numbers, this was essentially a dish for restoring health points, and the mana and stamina restoration, along with the defense boost, were negligible. Compared to the truly high-end dishes that often appeared at the Nightfall Restaurant, which offered three benefits plus additional buffs, this dish seemed rather ordinary.
However, 100 copper coins per serving was still quite a bargain!
As soon as the sisters hung up their menu board, seven or eight customers rushed over: “I want a serving of braised chicken cubes!”
“I want a serving of braised chicken cubes too… Braised potato chunks are only 60 copper coins? Then I’ll have one of those too!”
Carly cheerfully handed over the dishes while saying, “Okay, okay, everyone don’t rush, Merry Christmas!”
But everyone was still eager to pay, fearing that if they were a moment too late, they wouldn’t get any.
At the same time, the sky above Dragon Town was filled with gloom.
Last Christmas Eve, the lord had imposed a “Christmas tax,” charging 1,000 copper coins per person.
This year, the amount had increased to 1,200 copper coins.
The tax was directly deducted from bank accounts, and if there were insufficient funds, individuals had to pay at the tax office with copper coins. If they failed to pay… everyone knew they would end up in jail, just like last year.
As a result, on what should have been a warm Christmas Eve, the market was quieter than usual. Many people lacked the mood to shop, while even more were forced to use their holiday budgets for gifts and food to cover the increased tax.
In their place, long lines formed in front of the tax office. The faces of those waiting in line were devoid of smiles or any other emotion, they simply waited numbly.
—
On the north side of Qiana Town, in the Qiana Mountains.
The Xibel team returned a bit later than expected after defeating a minor boss. As they walked back, everyone grew more anxious, urging each other, “Hurry up! We might miss out on the free turkey!”
Eventually, they started to run. Although everyone was at a decent level, by the time they reached the entrance of the Nightfall Restaurant, they were already quite exhausted.
“Oh my God, such a long line…” Nara nearly broke down looking at the exaggerated queue.
While it was normal to wait in line at the Nightfall Restaurant, today’s line wrapped around the building and then some, it was just too ridiculous!
Leah took a deep breath, “I think we should just go inside… and drop off the turkey with the chef?”
Ye Mu had been using the turkeys they had commissioned for her, she had three yesterday and another three today, prepared for tomorrow.
Xibel twitched his lips, “Forget it… there are too many people. The kitchen is probably overflowing right now. When I dropped off ingredients yesterday, I saw that the kitchen was packed with supplies, and there wasn’t even any space for us to eat.”
“Well, what then…” Leah swallowed hard as she gazed at the long queue, “Should we just wait in line?”
Before Xibel could respond, he caught sight of Jeff, who was maintaining order at the entrance. Jeff immediately waved at them.
Xibel said, “Jeff is over there, let’s go see what he says.”
As they approached, Jeff spoke a couple of sentences with other staff members inside. When they got closer, Jeff had just received a backpack from a colleague and handed it to Xibel, explaining, “Miss Ye said you’d definitely come today, but there’s no room to eat inside, so she prepared a Christmas set meal for you!”
“Oh wow, thank you, Chef!” Xibel said, beaming with joy. “How much is it?”
Jeff waved his hand, “Miss Ye said she’s treating.”
“Ah… that makes me feel a bit embarrassed,” Xibel mumbled as he took off his backpack and pulled out a beautifully wrapped gift box. “This is a Christmas gift we prepared for the chef, please pass it on! Thank you!”
“Sure, I’ll definitely give it to her,” Jeff smiled. “Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas!” the team members replied in unison. After that, they noticed Jeff was quite busy and didn’t want to disturb him further, so they headed back to eat together.
Once back in the small villa, as soon as they took the food out of the backpack, they realized that this was not the same fare being sold at the restaurant tonight, it was Chef Ye’s private dishes!
There were a total of seven dishes. Besides the essential 【Roast Turkey】, there was the 【Braised Pork with Potatoes】, which had delighted them every time they tasted it before, as well as the restaurant’s most popular dishes: 【Fragrant Farmhouse Bowl】, 【Home-Style Stir-Fried Pork】, and 【Tomato Scrambled Eggs】.
The remaining three dishes were green pepper scrambled eggs, spicy tofu, and braised double mushrooms.
The panel for the braised double mushrooms had a note added by Ye Mu, stating that this was a trial dish and needed feedback.
She had also made a vegetable soup with tomatoes as the main ingredient, which smelled sweet and sour just by being near it.
“This is way too lavish!!!” Everyone at the table was pleasantly surprised.
Nara, who valued ritual, immediately focused on the turkey: “I want a piece of roasted turkey first!”
“Hahaha.” Xibel chuckled as he handed her the roasted turkey. As Nara picked up her knife and fork, she noticed that the turkey was served with sauce.
“Why is there sauce with the roasted turkey?” They had never eaten anything like this before and found it very fresh. Other team members quickly picked up their utensils as well, dipping the turkey meat into the sauce.
Ye Mu had prepared two types of sauces: one was made primarily from soy sauce, sugar, and salt, giving it a sweet and savory flavor. The other was made with chili, sugar, and salt, with only a hint of soy sauce, resulting in a sweet and spicy taste.
Nara was the first to put a piece of sauce-dipped turkey in her mouth, and the next second she exclaimed, “Oh my God, is this turkey meat?!?!”
This turkey was completely different from what they had eaten before!
Not only was it filled with a fragrant buttery flavor, but the previously dry texture had also improved significantly. After dipping it in the sauce, the taste became incredibly rich, making her unable to believe this was turkey!
—
At the Nightfall Restaurant, after the customers had enjoyed their meal, many subtly realized that they seemed to have changed…
In the past, Christmas turkey was considered an absolute delicacy in their eyes. At that time, everyone was poor, although they would buy meat to restore their health, it was always cheap, fishy slices. Being able to enjoy turkey on Christmas was a significant improvement in flavor.
However, now, on one hand, they were not as poor anymore. Although most of them had only recently moved to Qiana Town, they had quickly saved up some money, on the other hand, the ease of life allowed them to afford better food regularly, making their tastes unconsciously more discerning. The once common boiled meat slices were no longer appealing to them, and the Christmas turkey seemed to have lost its former deliciousness.
Now they felt that this dish was both dry and tasteless, although they could tell that the chef had tried to improve it, it still fell far short compared to the other dishes.
…They had once considered this kind of food a treasure!
Everyone silently criticized themselves.
By nine o’clock, when the turkey giveaway event ended, there weren’t many customers left in the restaurant. At nine-thirty, Ye Mu sent off the last table of guests, and the staff tidied up briefly before closing for the night.
Everyone went home, and Ye Mu had prepared three portions of dishes for each staff member as a Christmas bonus. The employees were very happy and left cheering.
After they left, Ye Mu checked the accounts and the quantity of dishes sold, as she did every time.
After the incident with Billy, she began to pay attention to these details and raised her expectations for the staff.
Before, she always thought that as long as they did their jobs properly, there was no need for them to be proactive about extra tasks, and she, as the boss, didn’t need to be too picky.
But now, while she still believed “everyone is just working for money,” her approach had shifted to “I will definitely pay on my end, I hope everyone works actively.”
Thus, employees who were not proactive were not considered first.
She also spent more time observing the character and personalities of the employees. Although it was difficult to summarize character simply, small actions often reflected a person’s integrity.
With more things to worry about, she often felt mentally exhausted, but it was better than leaving potential issues unresolved.
By the time Ye Mu finished her tasks, it was already 10:30 PM. She returned to the residential area with her backpack. The area was very quiet, although most people were still awake, they were at home celebrating the holiday and not wandering around outside.
As she approached the yard entrance, she spotted three idle figures. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the Isaac trio.
“Isaac?” she called out. Isaac, who had been bored for half the day, turned and smiled, “Good evening, Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Ye Mu said as she walked over and opened the yard gate. “Is there something you need?”
“Um.” Isaac nodded but didn’t answer immediately. Once they had both walked into the living room, he took a gift box out of his backpack and said, “I prepared a gift for you… It wasn’t specifically for Christmas, I just finished it today.”
Jenna and Chase followed behind and entered the living room, exchanging amused glances at Isaac’s oddly nervous tone.
“Ah, thank you!” Ye Mu was a bit surprised and felt a bit awkward for not having prepared Christmas gifts for them.
Then she understood what Isaac meant by his explanation.
It wasn’t specifically for Christmas, he had just thought of it on a whim, so it made sense that she hadn’t prepared a corresponding gift.
The four of them then sat down at the table, and Jenna leaned in, urging, “Come on, open it and take a look!”
“Okay!” Ye Mu replied with a smile, carefully untying the smooth ribbon on the gift box, then sequentially tearing off the wrapping paper and opening the box inside, only to discover… there was nothing inside?!
“Uh…” Ye Mu looked at Isaac in confusion, while Jenna next to her added, “Hahaha, it’s actually a piece of clothing! Feel it!”
Clothing?!
Ye Mu was deeply puzzled.
There was clearly nothing inside, but Jenna said it was clothing.
Was it like “The Emperor’s New Clothes”?!
Although she silently doubted it, she still reached out to feel it, and to her surprise, she indeed touched soft and delicate fabric.
“What kind of magical clothing is this?!” Ye Mu exclaimed, pulling out the garment and trying to examine it closely.
However, even until she felt the cool and slightly itchy sensation of the fabric against her face, she still couldn’t see the existence of the clothing.
Ye Mu was stunned: “This is…”
Jenna wore an expression that said, “You’re not mistaken,” and nodded, “That’s right, it’s a Light Mage Cloak.”
“…Light Mage Cloak?” Ye Mu asked hesitantly, looking bewildered. “It sounds… impressive?”
“…” This time it was Jenna who was bewildered.
Her expression shifted from “You’re not mistaken” to “You’ve never heard of it?” Then she cleared her throat and introduced it seriously: “It’s more than just impressive. With it, you’ll be like…”
Like having Isaac hanging around her!
—Jenna felt that this analogy was too absurd, so the words that came out were: “It’s like having a great mage with you when you go out!”