Running a Food Stall to Support My Deceptive Omega - Chapter 37.1

Realizing that many people in the hall were looking at her, Mu Jinyu’s first thought was: would anyone notice Rong Heng because of this?

She stood up, quietly shielding Rong Heng behind her, before returning a polite greeting to the owner of Yu Mansion named Yuyu, saying courteously:

“Boss Yu, you overstate it. I was just speaking casually, it shouldn’t be taken seriously.”

To speak ill of someone’s dishes in their own restaurant, pointing out what was missing right in front of the owner—this was practically an open provocation. It was fortunate that the owner of Yu Mansion didn’t hold a grudge or have a violent temper that would lead to them being kicked out.

Yuyu, the owner of Yu Mansion, covered her lips with a water-blue handkerchief and coughed a few times before saying, “Boss Mu has quite the wondrous imagination, and the suggestions offered were extremely pertinent.”

“I would like to invite Boss Mu and Boss Mu’s friends to dine together upstairs, if I may?”

“Allow me to host Boss Mu properly.”

Hearing this, Mu Jinyu turned to look at the other three, seeking their opinions.

Shi Songmu looked at Yuyu, then at Mu Jinyu, blinking incessantly at her while nodding her head slightly. Her expression clearly said she wanted to be “properly hosted.”

Yu Mansion was the number one restaurant in Louxu County; its food was not cheap. The few snacks they had ordered today already totaled over a hundred wen. If the owner of Yu Mansion hosted them, they would surely get to eat many more delicious dishes!

The thought of being able to write many more food reviews made Shi Songmu’s heart race with excitement; she couldn’t wait to follow Yuyu upstairs. She hadn’t even been to the upper floors yet!

Seeing how much Shi Songmu wanted to go, Mu Jinyu agreed to Yuyu’s invitation.

The group followed Yuyu upstairs. Shi Songmu thought they were being taken to the second floor, but to her surprise, Yuyu didn’t stop there and went straight to the third floor. This thrilled her to no end; her eyes scanned back and forth, memorizing the appearance of the third floor so she could write about it later.

Mu Jinyu was much the same as Shi Songmu, her head turning left and right. Every few steps along the corridor, there were pots of beautiful flower arrangements.

These arrangements were different from the flamboyant, wealthy-looking ones Mu Jinyu had seen before. These preserved the natural state of the plants; the forms were stretched yet dignified. There weren’t many flowers, but the placement of each one was extremely deliberate. There was no rigid pattern, only perfectly placed “white space,” adding an air of artistic conception and poetry to the entire third floor. It brought out the ancient charm to its peak.

However, after reaching the third floor, Yuyu did not lead them to the right. Instead, she brought them to the left, into her own frequently used “Qing Huan Hall.”

In Qing Huan Hall, there was an octagonal table she specifically used for entertaining guests, as well as several small side tables. She invited the four of them to sit at the octagonal table and nodded to the maid following her, who then signaled the small kitchen to start serving the dishes.

Among the dishes brought out were Yu Mansion’s signature pastries, as well as major courses usually only available for lunch or dinner. Red, orange, yellow, and green filled the table. The aroma lingered throughout the hall, and the look of surprise on Shi Songmu’s face never faded.

Rong Heng was also very excited, shaking Mu Jinyu’s hand a few times; she hadn’t seen many of these foods before. They smelled delicious.

The last dish to be served was the Golden Jade Soup with added tofu. Mu Jinyu glanced at Yuyu sitting beside her, admiring how fast the restaurant’s kitchen worked. Less than a quarter of an hour ago, she had suggested that adding tofu would be appropriate, and fifteen minutes later, it was on the table.

Yuyu also looked at Mu Jinyu and said in a somewhat weak voice, “I hope Boss Mu will taste it and see how this dish turned out?”

Mu Jinyu picked up a soup spoon, took a sip, and savored it carefully.

The chrysanthemum petals that had previously been awkwardly mixed with the shrimp meat were gone, replaced by tender tofu infused with an elegant chrysanthemum fragrance. Both textures were fine and smooth, equal to each other; after being mashed into a paste, they blended together ingeniously.

Furthermore, the color of the entire Golden Jade Soup had changed from an oversaturated golden yellow to a jade white, topped with a single Golden Silk Royal Chrysanthemum. The gold and white complemented each other—noble and reclusive “jade” beneath the brilliant “gold.” It truly lived up to the name Golden Jade Soup.

Mu Jinyu could taste that a small amount of shredded ginger had been added to the soup to remove the fishy smell of the shrimp. She suggested: “Sprinkling a little pepper powder over this soup would give it even more flavor.”

Hearing this, Yuyu immediately ordered someone to do so.

During the wait, Yuyu carefully observed Mu Jinyu sitting beside her. She had originally thought the other woman was just a clever stall owner who could make novel snacks, but she hadn’t expected her to have such high attainments and ideas regarding food.

She then had her maid bring the “Knocked Fish Noodles,” which the chefs had researched, to Mu Jinyu. She recited the ingredients for the noodles and the time spent on each step. The detail was even greater than Mu Jinyu’s own knowledge, clearly showing that they had studied the dish to its limit.

Seeing her own commonly sold Knocked Fish Noodles appearing on the Yu Mansion dining table—with even the ingredients correctly identified—Mu Jinyu did not look angry. She was simply puzzled: what was the other party trying to do?

Yuyu finished her recital and asked, “Tell me, if these Knocked Fish Noodles were to appear in Yu Mansion, what would you do?”

Mu Jinyu: ?

These words were a bit blunt; she felt a sense of provocation. She met Yuyu’s unchanging gaze and pointed to several dishes on the table.

She said, “The food in Yu Mansion, from delicacies collected from all over the world to a simple plate of pickled radishes, all display their own charm. Knocked Fish Noodles are just a common food; I’m afraid they aren’t fit for the Yu Mansion table.”

Was she saying the noodles couldn’t compare to pickled radishes? Of course not. But Yu Mansion’s pickled radishes were named “Everlasting Spring.” They were made much more beautifully than anywhere else.

Mu Jinyu could tell just by the smell: those long, even white radishes were placed in a jar with cornelian cherries, added with salt and sugar, and sealed for seven days. When taken out, every piece of pickled radish was translucent, like warm jade. Then, these jade-like radishes were neatly arranged on a small plate and sprinkled with a few bright red cornelian cherries. The red and white reflected each other, like the first spring flower blooming after the snow melts.

Such a dish, even if it was the most ordinary pickled radish, was extremely elegant when placed on the table.

When she made Knocked Fish Noodles, she didn’t lean toward elegance. She preferred a casual, uncarved, and meaningless way of making a steaming hot dish. She wanted diners to know at a glance that the food was “home-style.”

Noodles made with that mindset were not suited for the poetic and picturesque tables of Yu Mansion. Instead, they belonged in the most ordinary restaurants, where diners could call out casually, and the noodles—capable of warming and satisfying the stomach—would be brought to the table. Everyone slurping together without overthinking—that was the most wonderful part.

Yuyu completely didn’t expect Mu Jinyu to say that the noodles weren’t fit for Yu Mansion. She thought that after being provoked like this, the other woman would surely slam the table and scold her in anger. This reaction, so far beyond her expectations, left Yuyu stunned for a moment, her eyes widening as she struggled to find the right expression.

After a long while, she relaxed her tense face, her expression softening into an approachable smile. “Boss Mu is truly unique.”

She changed her wording. “I like Knocked Fish Noodles very much. They aren’t entirely ‘ordinary’ as Boss Mu says. After thousands of strikes, mixing fish meat with sweet potato starch—this is not just a refinement of the noodles, but a refinement of the cook. Few people can do what Boss Mu does, striking fish meat every day with a heart as calm as still water. To be honest, I feel the chefs at Yu Mansion can’t match the noodles you make.”

Her tongue was very sharp; besides being able to taste the ingredients in a dish, she could also taste the cook’s state of mind. Mu Jinyu was the kind of person who never grew irritable even when performing the same actions day after day. This was something those chefs couldn’t achieve.

Not understanding what Yuyu was ultimately after, Mu Jinyu could only say, “Thank you for the compliment?”

Yuyu smiled again. “Aren’t you selling raw noodles now, Boss Mu? Could you spare eight or ten catties for Yu Mansion every day? I will surely turn them into an elegant dish. Of course, the payment will not be lacking.”

If Yuyu wanted raw noodles, she could certainly sell them, but… eight or ten catties?! She could only make ten catties a day herself; where would she find the time to make fifty percent more?

Mu Jinyu chose her words carefully, trying to refuse indirectly: “It is an honor that Boss Yu thinks so highly of my noodles. However, my energy alone is limited, and it’s very difficult to make more.”

Yuyu: “Eighty wen per catty.”

Mu Jinyu looked troubled: “…I really can’t make that many.”

Yuyu: “One hundred wen per catty.”

Mu Jinyu frowned in hesitation: “…Other diners need to eat noodles too.”

Yuyu: “One hundred and twenty wen.”

Mu Jinyu: “Deal!”

She agreed immediately. One hundred and twenty wen per catty was more than fifty percent higher than her own selling price. For her, this was a massive profit; there was no reason to refuse.

But she still reminded her: “My own selling price for Knocked Fish Noodles won’t rise. If you sell them too expensively, I’m afraid no one will want to eat them.”