Life After Being Claimed by the Disabled Dragon Lady - Chapter 38

Finally, Beverly, bruised and swollen, was forcibly shoved into the carriage by Lorland. This was the first time Long Ling had ever seen Lorland hit someone.

The woman who usually embodied elegance and nobility was utterly ruthless when disciplining her younger sister. Her black dragon horns were stained with a brutal aura, and the whip formed by magic lashed the dragon, leaving her bloody and raw.

The last look Beverly caught of Lorland’s expression filled her with terror. Her broken dragon scales rattled down, and her body trembled incessantly.

“Sister, please stop! I was wrong! I won’t dare to do it again!”

Lorland had a perfect score in her magic studies. As the crown prince, she always knew how to deal with an insubordinate Alpha.

She would not allow anyone, not even her own sister, to taint the power in her hands.

Lorland only stopped when fear and obedience were deeply etched into Beverly’s heart.

This matter was considered their family business. Since she was disciplining her sister, even if His Majesty knew, he would at most say to her face that she had gone too far.

“Will, I’m hosting a ball next month. Will you and Long Ling come?”

Lorland, with a spring-like smile, extended an invitation to Violet and Long Ling after shoving Beverly into the carriage.

Violet naturally had no interest, and of course, she was uneasy about Long Ling, an Alpha, going alone. Within her territory, she was consistently an absolute dictator.

Violet’s red lips parted slightly, and she coldly refused, “No.”

Lorland smiled and asked Long Ling, “What about you, Long Ling? Did you ever attend a ball when you were with the Arnold family? You could dance with Will in the ballroom then, and you could both stay overnight at my manor.”

Long Ling was very tempted, but Violet had not consented to her going out. She couldn’t go out yet.

“Maybe another time. My tavern is busy with the grand opening recently, and the Duchess also has a lot of things to take care of.”

Lorland cast a flirtatious glance: “It’s a pity I have to leave now and won’t be able to watch your competition. If you win, you can send me a letter. I’ll come celebrate with you next time I have free time. Remember to save some good food for me.”

Long Ling agreed, waving her hand at her, “I’ll treat you warmly the next time you come. Goodbye.”

Lorland smiled and waved back, “Bye-bye.”

Long Ling and Violet watched Lorland walk away together. Suddenly, Long Ling remembered that she was about to participate in the competition and hadn’t yet found a new name for the tavern.

Long Ling looked at Violet and asked, “Duchess, the original sign for the tavern was damaged. I plan to make a new one. What name would you suggest?”

Violet slightly raised an eyebrow: “It’s your own tavern, you decide.”

Long Ling softly oh’ed, but this was a tavern rebuilt with the help of the Evil Dragon Miss. It would be more meaningful if they were both involved.

She still tried to persuade her: “This is the first tavern I’m running. If you could help me choose a name, I think the business will be more prosperous in the future.”

Violet said faintly, “It’s just a small tavern. You can name it after yourself.”

“If it’s named after me, everyone will know it’s a dragon’s tavern,” Long Ling moved a little closer to Violet and softly pleaded, “Can I use both of our names to name it?”

Violet shook her head and refused: “No. You can name it after the nearby mountains, rivers, or streets. I have things to do, go keep yourself busy.”

Violet turned her wheelchair and left, with Elena hastily following behind her.

Long Ling pressed her fingers together. The Evil Dragon Miss was really ruthless and cold about such trivial matters. If the Evil Dragon Miss was unwilling to participate, the tavern could only be called the Repa Tavern or the Misty Tavern.

Long Ling struggled to choose between the two and finally told Renee the name “Misty Tavern,” asking her to make a new sign.

As a Dragon, it was inconvenient for her to travel, as her true identity could easily be recognized. So, Long Ling had to go to a magic tailor shop first to buy a set of specialized cloaks for herself, and also to order uniforms for Mina, who would be participating in the competition, and for the future tavern staff.

Long Ling gripped the brand-new gold coins in her hand. This money was all obtained from the Evil Dragon Miss. The tiny gold coins reflected a bright light in the sun, and she was a little reluctant to spend them.

One gold coin was equal to one hundred silver coins. A high-level magic cloak required ten gold coins. Once worn, it was incredibly light, could mask a dragon’s aura, and could even use magic to grant a period of invisibility.

According to the tailor shop owner, a thief once wore such a magic cloak to steal gold coins from the Duchess Violet’s manor vault. Unfortunately, the thief, after filling a large bag with treasure, woke the sleeping giant dragon just as he was leaving and was burned to ashes by the dragon.

Long Ling couldn’t help but think of the Evil Dragon Miss curled up on a mountain of gold coins, looking arrogant, cold, and disdainful of the world. Killing a thief was indeed reasonable.

But the Evil Dragon Miss usually slept in her bed. The gold coins were in a secret room beneath the bedroom. And since the Evil Dragon Miss had magic, how could a thief easily slip past her right under her nose? Maybe the shop owner was just trying to promote his cloak.

Long Ling really needed the cloak. After spending the money to buy it, she ordered six sets of employee uniforms. The back of the top would be embroidered with the four characters “Misty Tavern.” The employee uniforms were relatively cheap, only costing two gold coins in total.

She planned to emulate the style of the Salmon Feast Competition and make some flyers. If they could win the competition, distributing the flyers, which would have the tavern’s daily opening hours written on them, would surely bring in customers.

Long Ling took out all the pickled vegetables she had made a few days ago. After removing the excess salt, she chopped them into fine pieces. She also bought a piece of pork fat from the butcher, cut the snow-white fat into finger-wide thick slices, rendered the fragrant lard in a pot, and then put it into small jars.

The cracklings weren’t wasted. They were all chopped into small cubes and set aside to be used later for making pork crackling buns. This lard was mainly used for stir-frying the pickled vegetables. Animal fat made the dish more fragrant. To make the texture richer, Long Ling also added some chopped chili peppers.

She stir-fried all the pickled vegetables together in the pot. After stir-frying, she fried some fish bones with lard to make a broth, then added the rich chicken soup made from ten or so chickens and the soup stewed from beef shanks. Once these broths were concentrated, they could be frozen with magic into solid seasoning packs and portioned out.

Each time, only one block would be needed. Add some hot water, boil it, then just add side dishes and fish slices, and a practically perfect dish of pickled fish with chili would be complete.

High-quality broth was the soul of a dish. Mina only needed to follow the recipe Long Ling wrote in an orderly manner at the competition site, add the side dishes that would enhance the flavor, and finally add the thinly sliced fish. A perfect pickled fish with chili would then be ready.

During this time, Long Ling’s main task was to supervise Mina’s knife skills, as the fish was also a key part of the dish. Long Ling was taking advantage of a loophole in the competition rules. She had carefully read the competition notes; no one stipulated that the chef couldn’t bring their own seasoning pack. This was similar to bringing your own dipping sauce, and it was the key to her confidence in winning.

Everything was prepared. On the day the Salmon Feast Competition began, Mina put on the Misty Tavern uniform and a chef’s hat, looking very professional. The other maids also changed into the same attire, holding a stack of finished flyers.

The venue was surrounded by residents from the nearby town. One hundred of these residents would have a voting right, randomly distributed by the Mayor of Repa Town.

For absolute fairness, this time, in addition to the long-standing gourmands invited to judge, a council member from the Grice Harbor was specially invited.

The middle-aged, plump mayor sat in the red chair, tightened his tie, and looked at the clock: “The competition is about to start. Has the council member’s carriage arrived yet?”

The secretary looked at the crowded scene below: “Perhaps there was a traffic jam on the road. You know that every year we hold this event, it’s attended not only by the residents of Repa Town but also by people from the surrounding towns.”

The mayor bundled himself up in his thick coat: “If he hasn’t arrived by twelve o’clock, we’ll start the competition first. This damn weather is cold, and I can’t wait to eat the secret recipe giant roasted fish.”

The mayor was not the only one with great anticipation for the roasted fish. Residents of the small town who had attended the Salmon Feast Competition in the past spontaneously gathered around Jones, who specialized in making the secret recipe giant roasted fish.

Jones was strongly built, with a handlebar mustache, and could move the oversized oven by himself. The oven was placed steadily in the arena, and in a moment, a small cart full of firewood was thrown into it.

The weather was cold, and the furnace fire was blazing, warming the surroundings. In terms of sheer presence, Jones attracted more attention than the other chefs.

When he took out a giant red salmon, over a meter long, and slaughtered it on the spot on the table, the surrounding audience erupted in thunderous applause.

The cheering squad held up signs and chanted around Jones: “Jones! First place! Jones! First place!”

The atmosphere instantly ignited, and even the surrounding spectators began to cheer for Jones.

Seeing Jones’s strength, the other chefs couldn’t help but feel like retreating. After all, he had continuously been the champion and had so many people supporting him. They might just be there for show.

Mina saw that others had so many supporters, clenched her fists, and said a little anxiously to Long Ling offstage, “Miss Long Ling, shouldn’t we also prepare a giant fish like Jones? We don’t have many people watching us right now.”

Long Ling said softly, “Don’t worry. You just need to slice the fish as I had you practice before. The competition has just begun. Don’t let their momentum discourage your spirit.”

Nora also made a heart gesture to Mina: “Go, Mina! You are the best!”

Mina slowly calmed her restless heart when she saw Long Ling’s determined gaze.

Miss Long Ling’s cooking skills were the best she had ever seen. If she couldn’t do it, it was because she was too unskilled, but Miss Long Ling was different. Miss Long Ling was an invincible giant dragon.

After repeatedly hypnotizing herself a few times, Mina’s heart gradually settled. She took out the fresh salmon she had prepared and placed it on the table. She was completely focused and serious, just like when she usually sliced fish in the manor.

The first slice was perfect, neater and thinner than any she had ever cut. Then came the second slice, the third slice…

She imagined the smooth and neat movements of Miss Long Ling, as if she herself had entered a state of being a living God of the knife, where person and knife were one.

“Miss Long Ling, why did Mina suddenly look vacant? Could she be about to faint?” Nora, who was cheering, suddenly asked worriedly.

“Uh, it’s highly possible. Her hand is still moving with the knife. She should be able to finish the competition, right?” Long Ling couldn’t help but wipe a bead of sweat.