"Then, Shopkeeper, that's a promise." Feng Xuxu happily picked a few chili peppers from the seedlings and followed the Shopkeeper to the kitchen, ready to show these ancient folks a trick or two. Kitchens are vital in every restaurant, and when some of the cooks saw the Shopkeeper leading a little milk baby into the kitchen, they all looked puzzled.
"Shopkeeper Uncle, do you have a small kitchen in your esteemed restaurant?" Feng Xuxu looked up and asked the Shopkeeper.
The Shopkeeper's gaze was laden with meaning as he looked at Feng Xuxu, "We do, please follow me."
At the door of the small kitchen, "Shopkeeper Uncle, my elder brother Feng Xi is waiting for me in the hall to eat. Could you please let him know that I'll be there shortly? Tell him not to worry, ok?"
"Sure, you just focus on cooking. I'll send someone to inform him," said the Shopkeeper before turning around and leaving.
Feng Xuxu pushed open the door to the small kitchen and found a wealth of ingredients inside. She left a fire-tending auntie to assist her, while shooing out others who were just there for the spectacle. Feng Xuxu looked at the ingredients while considering what to cook. Chicken, duck, fish, beef, lamb - all fresh. Considering the handful of chilies she had, she decided to make spicy chicken.
Feng Xuxu chopped the chicken thighs into small cubes and placed them into a cleaned bowl, adding the right amount of salt, wine, and soy sauce for marinating. She cut the chilies into segments and sliced the ginger and garlic, preparing a small amount of Sichuan peppercorns. Heating the oil in the wok, she fried the marinated chicken cubes until golden brown and then scooped them out when done.
Leaving a bit of oil in the wok, she sautéed the ginger and garlic. Adding the chili segments and Sichuan peppercorns, she stir-fried until the spicy aroma was released. Then she added the fried chicken cubes, a bit of sugar for taste, and just before taking it out of the wok, she sprinkled green onion segments and white sesame seeds on top. A few stirs and into a dish— a fragrant plate of spicy chicken cubes was ready.
Feng Xuxu brought the dish to the study, and before she could knock, the door opened from the inside; it turned out to be the restaurant Shopkeeper.
The Shopkeeper rubbed his hands together, smiling broadly, "I could smell the aroma through the door and I was eager to try it, haha," he said, taking the dish from Feng Xuxu's hands and respectfully placing it in front of the man in red. He then took out a set of fine dishes, bowls, and chopsticks from the food box.
At this point, the cool attendant behind the man in red took another pair of chopsticks from the food box.
"Wait a minute," Feng Xuxu gestured with her hand, but before she could finish her sentence,
the cool attendant quickly tasted the chili and a piece of chicken thigh. His usually unchanging face now showed cracks, as he desperately tried to stick out his tongue but didn't dare, his face turning red trying to hold it in while turning his head to look at Feng Xuxu.
Feeling awkward, Feng Xuxu touched her nose and said the rest, "The red chilies are very spicy, so be careful when trying it for the first time."
The cool attendant's mouth twitched violently, sweat pouring, eyes bulging, teeth clenched, "Why didn't you say that earlier?"
Shrugging her shoulders and spreading her hands in helplessness, Feng Xuxu looked at the cool attendant with innocent, wide eyes, "I did say it, but you didn't wait for me to finish before you ate. You can't blame me; it's your own fault for being too quick." Feng Xuxu watched as the attendant's face changed colors like a palette, and she couldn't help but snicker, her eyes filling with tears of laughter. She continued laughing while clutching her stomach.
At the side, the Shopkeeper was shaking his shoulders, his small mustache twitching, his mouth tightly closed, the effort to restrain himself evident. But when he heard Feng Xuxu laugh, he couldn't hold back any more and flashed a row of big white teeth.
The man in red swept his eyes over the attendant and opened his moist, thin lips slightly, "Go tidy up, then come back."
"Yes." The cool attendant bowed his fist to the man in red and turned to glare at Feng Xuxu before leaving. Feng Xuxu heard the man's low, cold voice, bone-chilling like a cold wind. She curiously looked at the man in red and was momentarily stunned. Although she had seen many handsome men on modern TV, all of them had undergone plastic surgery; compared to this man, they weren't much to look at. She quickly lowered her head, no longer staring at the man in red, and cursed under her breath about him being a demon.
At that moment, the man in red also looked at Feng Xuxu, his gaze as calm as still water, without any emotion, "If the dish you made doesn't satisfy me, you can disappear without a sound."
Feng Xuxu suddenly looked up sternly, meeting the man's phoenix eyes, "What do you mean by 'not satisfying you'? And what's this about disappearing without a sound? Do you think just because you have some silver, you can do whatever you want? Do you think you..." The restaurant Shopkeeper was hastily giving her signals with his eyes. Feng Xuxu belatedly realized she was in ancient times, not in the legal society of the 21st century. She felt a chill down her spine.
The man in red grew interested, straightened his body against the back of the Taishi Chair, crossed his legs, and his mouth curved slightly upwards. His fingers rhythmically tapped the desk. "Go on."