Morning light filtered through the window, gently falling on the bare bed.
The door was quietly pushed open by the young girl, then quietly closed again.
Following was a barely audible series of footsteps heading downstairs.
Although the shop wasn't open today, Zhu Zi still woke up early, even earlier than yesterday.
There was no helping it—it was too embarrassing.
Red-faced, she carried her pajamas and bedsheets, sneaking to the back of the shop to wash them clean, then hanging them on bamboo poles like a thief.
The morning breeze blew, making the drying clothes flutter lightly.
Zhu Zi wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, looking at the pristine white sheets, and slowly let out a sigh of relief.
After finishing her morning routine and cleaning the shop, she finally heard the sound of a door opening upstairs.
The boss was awake!
Zhu Zi's ears twitched slightly, her expression unconsciously becoming tense. Then she suddenly took a deep breath, trying hard to calm herself down.
Footsteps slowly descended from upstairs.
Zhu Zi kept her head down, seriously wiping tables with a cloth.
"Zhu Zi, up so early?"
"Boss! Good morning!"
"We're not working today, you could have slept in a bit."
"It's fine! I'm used to getting up early!"
"I see, well then, let's go get breakfast together."
"Okay!"
Xia Zhi went to wash up at the back of the shop.
Zhu Zi patted her chest, feeling her heart beating rather fast.
Her face felt so hot—it must be very red right now, right? Thankfully the boss couldn't see it.
There was no helping it. Every time she saw the boss's face, she couldn't help but think of that dream she had last night. It was too embarrassing.
Soon after, Xia Zhi finished washing up and left with Zhu Zi.
When they opened the shop door, they saw some customers standing outside.
They had come to queue, but after arriving and seeing the red paper posted outside the shop, they learned the shop was closed today. Still, they were unwilling to leave.
Seeing Xia Zhi and Zhu Zi walk out from the shop, they couldn't help but approach.
"Boss Xia, are you really not open today?"
"Yes, thank you everyone for supporting our summer shop. Please come visit us again the day after tomorrow."
"Ah! Boss Xia! I'll die without Rainbow Ade!"
"Boss Xia! My friend has a terminal illness, and before dying, they just want to drink one Rainbow Ade!"
"Well... Wangsheng Funeral Parlor is right next door, and I heard they're having a promotion recently. You two might want to look into that."
...
After finally persuading these enthusiastic customers to leave, Xia Zhi and Zhu Zi quickly departed to avoid being caught by more arriving customers.
"Zhu Zi, what would you like to eat today?"
"Anything is fine with me."
"Then how about we check out Wanmin Restaurant? Xiangling should be trying out new dishes today."
"Okay."
When they arrived at Wanmin Restaurant, it was already open, with Chef Mao sitting out front sorting vegetables.
"Mr. Xia! Miss Zhu Zi! Good morning to you both."
"Good morning, Chef Mao. Where's Xiangling?"
Chef Mao's face showed a mixture of helplessness and pride as he smiled: "She's in the kitchen. She spent all of last night talking about new dishes for the competition, and got up early this morning."
Xia Zhi nodded and smiled, "I'll go take a look."
As they approached the kitchen, they immediately smelled the aroma of food.
Several steaming dishes sat on the stove, while Xiangling stood to the side with chopsticks in hand, her brow slightly furrowed as if deep in thought.
Hearing footsteps, she turned around, her face lighting up with joy.
"Mr. Xia! You're here!"
"That smell... is it Matsutake and Bass?"
"As expected of Mr. Xia, you can tell just from the smell!"
"A combination of mountain delicacies and seafood—I see, so this is your interpretation of the 'Food and Mountains' theme."
"What does Mr. Xia think?"
"The concept is good, but mushrooms are characterized by their umami flavor, and fish meat is also umami-forward. When two ingredients dominated by umami are combined, their flavors can clash."
"Yes! I noticed this problem too and was worried about it."
"Don't rush, let me taste it first."
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Xia!"
Xiangling quickly served two portions, one for Xia Zhi and one for Zhu Zi.
Xia Zhi tasted it, thought for a moment, then offered some advice: "You could try adding some mint leaves. It would help remove the fishiness from the bass while adding flavor, and then..."
Xiangling carefully noted it down and made a new batch of mushroom-stewed fish according to his suggestions. Remarkably, under the mediation of several subtle spices, the two types of umami flavors merged into one.
"Mr. Xia is amazing!"
"It's nothing special."
"I have some other ideas! For mountain delicacies, besides mushrooms, there's also Jueyun Chilis, but Jueyun Chilis have such a strong flavor that they easily overpower the fish's natural sweetness and umami. Unless we make boiled fish, but that approach lacks originality."
"Miss Xiangling means you want to preserve both the spicy fragrance of Jueyun Chilis and the umami of the fish?"
"Yes! But I feel it's so difficult to achieve. Jueyun Chilis are too aggressive in flavor, unless we use something to separate them."
"Separate them... Why doesn't Miss Xiangling try making bass dumplings with Jueyun Chili as a dipping sauce?"
"That sounds like a great approach!"
An hour later, Xia Zhi and Zhu Zi left Wanmin Restaurant.
There was no helping it—they were both too full to eat anymore.
Back at the shop, they sat down to rest for a while.
Yanfei arrived as promised.
Xia Zhi went upstairs to get his organized manuscripts, then left with Yanfei.
"Zhu Zi, I have to go out for something. I probably won't be back for lunch, so don't wait for me. If you want to go out and play, just make sure to lock up."
"Okay, boss."
Zhu Zi watched their retreating figures, spacing out for a moment, then locked up the shop and took the letter she had written last night to the harbor area's dock.
This was Liyue's most important location, where countless merchant ships came and went, creating endless splashes each day.
The familiar sound of waves echoed in her ears, making Zhu Zi feel as if she had returned to the past.
Back then, she would spend entire days at the docks in Inazuma, listening to sailors tell all sorts of strange stories, yearning for the outside world.
Those self-proclaimed bravest sailors would never have known that this quiet little girl who listened to their boasting would one day act on impulse, tie together a small wooden raft, and sail alone across the sea to Liyue.
Zhu Zi breathed in the moist harbor air and approached a merchant ship bearing a familiar crest from Inazuma.
This was a ship from Komore House, a famous Inazuman courier company that helped people living abroad send letters or items back home.
It was said this courier company employed some special workers who could deliver packages incredibly fast.
Zhu Zi handed over her letter to someone on the ship, left her home address and 500 Mora for the shipping fee.
Afterward, having nothing else to do, she wandered alone around the harbor area.
Despite being surrounded by delicious food stalls and having enough Mora in her pocket to eat whatever she wanted—the life she had dreamed of when she was unemployed—she somehow couldn't muster any interest now.
Why?
Zhu Zi leaned alone against the railing, staring blankly at the distant horizon.
Why did I have that kind of dream last night?
----
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