Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 28.1

For a moment, the courtyard was very, very quiet.

No one spoke. Even the little calico cat, who had run out of the house happily to greet Mu Jinyu, saw the frozen atmosphere between the two and trotted back inside.

It had no desire to stay near them.

Mu Jinyu braced her arms behind her, preventing her body from falling to the ground. Rong Heng lay half-sprawled over her, her eyes constantly monitoring Mu Jinyu’s emotions.

She wanted to know if Mu Jinyu had become happy.

Mu Jinyu’s eyes lowered, her trembling long lashes hiding the flickering emotions within. Her full, reddened lips were pursed, and her cheeks were still burning in waves of heat.

Rong Heng’s breath was entangled around her.

It wasn’t a rich, sweet floral scent like xinxiang (letter incense), but a cool, refreshing scent—like the cold moonlight hanging high in the sky.

She could feel Rong Heng’s gaze fixed intently on her face.

Why did Rong Heng kiss her?

She knew; it was because Rong Heng wanted her to be happy.

Rong Heng was always, always mindful of her emotions.

She wanted Mu Jinyu to be less tense; she wanted her to show a bit of a smile.

This made her realize clearly that Rong Heng’s emotions were simple and rustic—she did whatever she thought of.

She was the high-hanging moon, yet she would also shed her unique radiance just for her.

Mu Jinyu used her arms to gently support Rong Heng, sitting up straight and making sure Rong Heng was seated properly on the small stool.

The two looked at each other.

Rong Heng didn’t quite understand the emotion in Mu Jinyu’s eyes. She looked as if she were about to cry?

Was she still unhappy?

Rong Heng blinked her eyes, her mind working hard to think of another way to make Mu Jinyu happy.

In front of her, Mu Jinyu boldly placed her palm on the crown of Rong Heng’s head and rubbed her hair.

A small smile played at the corners of her lips as she said softly and sincerely, “Thank you.”

Seeing Mu Jinyu smile even though she clearly looked like she wanted to cry, Rong Heng’s eyes widened slightly. Her naturally upturned eyes softened significantly.

They looked a bit like a kitten’s eyes.

She looked a bit more clever now.

So, Mu Jinyu smiles when I let her pat my head?

Rong Heng blinked. Her clever kitten-like eyes seemed to flicker. She sat up straight and pushed her head upward.

She made Mu Jinyu’s palm press more firmly against the top of her head.

She closed her eyes and swayed, making a gesture of nuzzling into the palm.

Then, she immediately opened her eyes and looked at Mu Jinyu expectantly.

Will she be happy now?

The smile on Mu Jinyu’s lips did not fade, but her gaze was a bit dazed. She found it hard to imagine that Rong Heng would actually take the initiative to nuzzle her palm with her head.

A bit like… a bit like the little calico cat.

Seeing that Mu Jinyu wasn’t as happy as she had imagined, Rong Heng let out a soft “Eh?” in her heart. She closed her eyes again and spun around in a circle while sitting on the stool.

Her head also spun in a circle within Mu Jinyu’s palm.

She was well-behaved, upright, and held an incomparably sincere hope that Mu Jinyu could be happy.

She snapped her eyes open again to look at her.

A cool breeze blew through the night, causing their hair to entwine slightly.

In that moment, Mu Jinyu felt as if ten thousand arrows had pierced her heart.

Why was Rong Heng being so good?

Not only did she spin a circle in her palm, but she also looked at her with such expectation and cuteness, just hoping she would be a bit happier.

Mu Jinyu’s brilliant golden eyes curved, and she unreservedly broke into a wide smile.

She cupped Rong Heng’s face with both hands and rubbed it back and forth a few times.

“I am very happy, thank you.”

With someone like Rong Heng by her side, it would be hard not to be happy!

Her gloomy mood swept away completely. Mu Jinyu suddenly felt that nothing else mattered—nothing was as important as Rong Heng.

She patted Rong Heng’s head and told her to wait while she prepared some delicious food.

Upon hearing the word “food,” it was Rong Heng’s turn to be unable to stop smiling.

Amidst the hazy mist, Mu Jinyu found herself kneeling on a floor paved with gold alongside the little calico cat.

Both of them had their hands/paws pressed together in front of their chests, swaying incessantly, begging the person in front of them to spare them.

That person sat upon a seven-screen throne carved with golden lacquer and dragon motifs.

The throne was dark red and dark gold, composed of seven screen panels, each carved with a dragon in a different posture.

Only the dragon on the center panel was the most majestic and dignified, its gaze sharp and scrutinizing.

The dragon throne was wide and large, with exquisite and complex carvings at every turn. Every angle exuded nobility and majesty; it was a symbol of imperial power and authority.

It highlighted just how noble the person sitting on the throne was.

Mu Jinyu strained to look up at the figure. When she saw those familiar upturned eyes…

She jolted awake, sitting up abruptly in bed!

Her vision was a bit blurred. Mu Jinyu squeezed her eyes shut, panting with extremely uneven breath. It took a good while before she reopened them and could see her surroundings clearly.

She had dreamed of Rong Heng again.

It was the Regent, Rong Heng.

No wonder the little calico cat was kneeling with her…

But she really wanted to tell Rong Heng that she truly wasn’t raising her like a calico cat—Rong Heng was the one imitating the cat herself!

But, that was just an excuse.

Mu Jinyu touched her own neck, feeling as if it no longer belonged to her.

Then she touched the little calico cat’s neck, waking it from its deep sleep. The cat twisted its body and flipped over to show its belly.

“Sleep, sleep. Your neck still belongs to you.”

Mu Jinyu patted the cat’s head and walked out into the courtyard.

Although the dream was terrifying, she had slept extremely well, not waking until noon.

The sun hanging in the sky was already baking the earth hot.

With such good weather, she planned to make some Cumin Lamb.

It was said that the sheep in the border regions of the Great Rong Kingdom were exceptionally plump, each one looking like a cloud floating in the sky.

Precisely because of this, the trend of “meat means lamb” had become popular in these parts.

Mu Jinyu couldn’t resist and bought half a catty of lamb.

She chose the long strip of meat between the spine and the hind leg—the tenderloin, the most tender part of the sheep.

With her knife against the grain of the meat, she sliced the lamb into thin pieces and added salt, pepper, and two or three spoonfuls of jarred wine.

She massaged the lamb evenly and let it marinate.

She heated oil in a wok. When the oil was boiling hot but hadn’t yet started to smoke, she added a small spoonful of oil to the marinated lamb, stirred it quickly, and immediately poured it into the wok.

Next, she used the spatula to quickly stir-fry and separate the lamb slices.

This step required stir-frying the lamb over high heat constantly. Lamb coated in oil would separate more easily rather than sticking together.

Once the lamb was flash-fried and cooked through, she set it aside.

She poured oil into the wok again.

This time, she waited until the oil was boiling and emitting slight white smoke before adding the prepared cumin and zhuyu (cornelian cherry/chili) into the wok. She immediately turned the heat to low and began to stir-fry the ingredients.

The oil soaked into the cumin and zhuyu, drawing out their fragrance and wrapping around it, making the entire courtyard drift with the scent of food.

Smelling this aroma, not only did Rong Heng wake up and quickly come to stand guard by her side, but even those in other courtyards who were still sleeping gradually woke up. Their noses twitched as they inhaled the scent deeply.

It was fragrant, yes, but it made them feel incredibly uncomfortable all over.

Who was being so excessive?

The scent of food was so strong in broad daylight—didn’t they know it was affecting their sleep!!!

Several people pulled their blankets over their heads and lay face down, trying to go back to sleep.

But after lying there for a while, they felt out of sorts because the aroma had already made their stomachs growl incessantly.

Without eating something, they really couldn’t bear it.

They sat in their kitchens, chewing on dry, hard biscuits while smelling the savory meat, looking utterly listless.

Unfortunately, Mu Jinyu, who was stir-frying, knew nothing of this.

She poured the lamb back into the wok and added salt, soy sauce, cilantro, and a pinch of sesame seeds.

After a quick toss to mix everything evenly, a large wok of Cumin Lamb was finished!

Mu Jinyu picked up a large portion of lamb with her chopsticks, blew on it until it was lukewarm, and held it to Rong Heng’s lips.

Rong Heng took a large bite. The thin slices of lamb had an excellent texture. As the massive aroma of cumin rushed in, Rong Heng’s pale face wrinkled at first, but she quickly accepted the taste of the cumin.

That smoky, woody, charcoal-grilled essence gave the stir-fried Cumin Lamb the flavor of meat roasted over a charcoal fire on the grasslands.

One really could feel the blue sky, white clouds, and green meadows; it was a taste one would find hard to forget after a single bite.

Mu Jinyu also took a bite. She thought it was delicious, but it lacked the taste of onions.

The pungency of onions mixed with the spice of cumin would bring a different experience, but unfortunately, there were no onions in the Great Rong Kingdom.

However, this lamb was indeed good—plenty of lean meat mixed with just a bit of fat. During the stir-fry, the sheep fat was rendered out, making the overall texture of the dish more moist.

It was indeed better than the texture of uncastrated pork.

No wonder the people here loved it so much.

How about making a Red-Braised Lamb tomorrow?

Having decided on tomorrow’s dish, Mu Jinyu handed the plate of Cumin Lamb to Rong Heng and told her to carry it to the stone table. She continued making a few rouhe (meat-stuffed) biscuits to eat with the Cumin Lamb.

As for whether the Cumin Lamb would remain intact by the time it reached the stone table in Rong Heng’s hands, that was something she could no longer control.

Watching Rong Heng’s silhouette as she walked while moving her chopsticks, Mu Jinyu chuckled secretly, finding it quite amusing.

After finishing lunch, Mu Jinyu explained to Rong Heng why she had been unhappy yesterday.

They lived together, after all, and Rong Heng had done so much to make her happy; she felt it was necessary to clarify things with her.

She told Rong Heng roughly about someone stealing her tables and stools and not returning them.

Mu Jinyu was no longer angry, but Rong Heng was furious. Her mouth opened and closed several times, wanting to curse something but not knowing how.

Her entire face turned red with suppression. In the end, she could only stand up and rub Mu Jinyu’s head to make herself feel better.

Mu Jinyu: “…”

As she smoothed her messy hair, she suddenly felt that Rong Heng was actually quite clever. Even though she had lost her memory, she was very good at applying lessons from one situation to another.

At night, Mu Jinyu took her things to set up her stall.

She specifically made an extra five catties of fish cakes to prevent a situation like yesterday where she didn’t have enough to sell.

However, today she didn’t have the same good luck of having Shi Songmu help her.

Busy with the affairs of two stalls by herself, she barely had a moment to breathe, let alone rest. She was almost exhausted enough to collapse.

Even so, several customers still complained that her movements were slow and told her she should hire another person.

Mu Jinyu could only smile and say nothing.

As she was about to close the stall, she heard two customers talking about the government catching assassins.

She pricked up her ears to listen closely. She heard that the government officials had gained nothing and had already left Louxu County for more distant counties.

Hearing this news, an idea suddenly popped into Mu Jinyu’s head: Why not let Rong Heng come and help me?

After discovering that Rong Heng was very strong, she had been letting Rong Heng help her make food these past few days.

Although the other party found it boring, she wasn’t unwilling.

Would it be appropriate to let Rong Heng go out and help her?

Selfishly, Mu Jinyu wanted Rong Heng to go out.

She couldn’t keep Rong Heng locked up for a lifetime; that would eventually drive a person mad. If Rong Heng recovered her memory then, wouldn’t she be even more insane?

Now that the officials had left Louxu County, if she let Rong Heng dress up and disguise herself, surely no one would recognize her?

After disguising her, taking Rong Heng out for some fresh air would be good. If she could help, that was great; if not, just taking a stroll would be fine too.

Thinking this, Mu Jinyu became more energized as she packed up her things. She just wanted to get home quickly and tell Rong Heng this good news.

About half an hour later, a warm yellow oil lamp was lit on the stone table. The little calico cat sat to one side, its tail hanging off the table and swaying slowly.

Mu Jinyu sat opposite Rong Heng, holding a teacup in her hands. She asked seriously, “If I take you out for a walk, would you be willing? Do you want to go out?”

She was actually quite afraid that the period of keeping Rong Heng locked at home had caused her some psychological issues or made her afraid of the outside world.

But hearing that she could go out, Rong Heng didn’t show any fear at all. Instead, expectation surged in her eyes. She asked again, “I can go out?”

She had been dissatisfied for a long time.

Why could Mu Jinyu take the little calico cat out but not her?

But later, when Mu Jinyu kept the cat at home too, she thought, Fine, maybe we both have to be locked up.

Now, suddenly hearing that she could go out, she excitedly raised her hand and rubbed Mu Jinyu’s head.

After rubbing it several times, she felt it still wasn’t enough to express her feelings, so she offered her own head to Mu Jinyu, letting her rub it.

They should be happy.

Both of them should be happy!

The oil lamp on the stone table flickered with her movements, and their shadows on the ground seemed to cheer and jump along with them.

“Alright, alright! I’ll take you out tomorrow.” Mu Jinyu perfunctorily rubbed Rong Heng’s head before starting to tidy her hair, which had been rubbed into a mess. “But let’s agree first—you must wear scented powder tomorrow, and you must wear a veil. If I don’t tell you to take it off, you can’t take it off.”

Rong Heng didn’t know what those were, but she nodded heavily in agreement.

Then Mu Jinyu checked her injuries, confirming that they were healing, before feeling relieved. she applied medicine to her again and took her to bed to prepare for sleep.

Because they were going out tomorrow, Rong Heng couldn’t fall asleep lying in bed. She wrapped herself in the blanket and rolled back and forth on the bed, overjoyed.

Mu Jinyu was the type to sleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

At first, she could half-consciously call out Rong Heng’s name or cough a few times to tell her to stop making a fuss.

But later, she fell into a deep sleep and couldn’t care less.

Only Rong Heng was left. Once she got tired of rolling, she picked up the little calico cat and held it in mid-air, starting to show off to the cat that she could go out while it couldn’t.

How could the cat possibly understand what she was saying?

It meowed twice and kept swatting at her with its paws.

The next day, Mu Jinyu naturally woke up earlier. Rong Heng was still lying in bed, sleeping soundly.

After getting up, Mu Jinyu went out to buy a veil and scented powder.

The veil would hide Rong Heng’s features.

The scented powder would cover the two red moles under her eyes.

Those two red moles were the most identifiable features on Rong Heng’s face. If someone who knew the Regent’s appearance saw them, they would recognize her.

They had to be covered.

However, when choosing the powder, Mu Jinyu had a bit of a headache.

All the scented powders contained lead powder. Lead was toxic; long-term use could ruin the skin or lead to poisoning.

She couldn’t give that kind of thing to Rong Heng to use.

She ran through every cosmetic shop in Louxu County, searching for a long time before finally finding a type of pearl powder that did not have lead added.

But pearl powder was expensive. No matter how Mu Jinyu haggled, it cost one tael of silver per box.

She gritted her teeth and bought it anyway!