Hey guys, sorry for dropping out for the past two weeks. Life got in the way. No worries, here are the chapters I owe you.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Before Ji Rongxia could even begin seasoning the second dish, he was kicked out.

It turned out the two-hour time limit had expired!

Ji Rongxia opened his eyes, still half-asleep.

Gu Tangjin, lying beside him, was breathing steadily; he must have fallen asleep.

With such a huge discovery today, Ji Rongxia felt a bit stifled that he couldn’t share it with Tangjin, but he didn’t want to wake Gu Tangjin, so he could only roll over to stretch his slightly stiff body.

“Two hours have passed. Are you tired?” A slightly hoarse voice reached Ji Rongxia’s ears, and he snapped his eyes open.

“You weren’t asleep? Or did I wake you up?” Ji Rongxia quickly rolled back over.

“I was asleep, but your tossing and turning woke me up.” Gu Tangjin opened his eyes. Unlike his usual sharp and composed demeanor, he looked a bit dazed at that moment. He glanced around, observing the angle of the moonlight streaming into the room, and estimated how long Ji Rongxia had been gone. He said, “You’ve been gone for two hours. You must be tired, right?”

“I’m fine. I didn’t do any heavy lifting today.” Ignoring the heat, Ji Rongxia quietly moved closer to Gu Tangjin. “I was just doing some seasoning work today. Oh, and I came up with a new nickname for the little rascal. From now on, I’ll call him ‘Little Master.’”

“Does that make our father the ‘Grand Master’?” Gu Tangjin asked with a smile.

“Mm-hmm!” Ji Rongxia nodded like a chick pecking at grain; he knew Tangjin would get his drift.

He picked and chose what to tell Gu Tangjin about what he’d done that evening.

Gu Tangjin reached out, wrapping an arm around Ji Rongxia, and gently patted his back.

“I just kept at it, kept at it, and then I hit level 95 and got an extra reward. Once I’m done, I’ll have twenty-one recipes. Last time I made scrambled eggs, the system even gave me a ‘Super Scrambled Eggs’ recipe—I haven’t even learned that one yet.” Ji Rongxia was very satisfied.

Once he’d mastered everything his father and the system had taught him, he’d have no trouble running the restaurant.

“It’s too late today. Tomorrow we’ll have fish-flavored shredded pork—it’s really delicious. Once our chili peppers are ready, we can try making spicy fish. Though our peppers are millet chili—I wonder if they’ll work…”

As he spoke, Ji Rongxia closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Gu Tangjin smiled and closed his eyes to sleep as well.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The next day, Wei Liangce and Mi Kangping got up early.

Since Liu Dalang had raved so much about the Gu Family Eatery’s breakfast yesterday, the two were curious and had come over early.

When they arrived, oh my.

There were already three or four people outside the Gu Family Eatery.

Mi Kangping: “Someone beat us here.”

Wei Liangce laughed and said, “Come on, let’s get in line.”

“Are you serving crumbly pancakes today? I didn’t come here for nothing—give me two.” Lin Dongshan, who was at the front of the line, saw the crumbly flatbreads and quickly spoke up.

“Sure thing, eight wen. Here you go.” Gu Tangjin quickly wrapped up two pieces of cake for him.

These cakes were sold as halves of a single crumbly cake; half cost eight wen. Since they were a hassle to make, they weren’t baked every day, but whenever Ji Rongxia made them, they always sold out easily.

Today, Ji Rongxia was still in high spirits thanks to last night’s harvest. In his excitement, he’d baked three batches of pancakes and even dug out some millet. After washing it thoroughly, he’d cooked a small pot of millet porridge, which was still warming on the stove. A bowl of millet porridge for breakfast is good for one’s health.

After buying the flatbreads, Lin Dongshan headed to the noodle shop next door, planning to get a bowl of vegetarian noodles to go with them. As he walked, he passed Wei Liangce and Mi Kangping, who had just arrived.

As he got closer, the aroma of the pancake grew even stronger!

Wei Liangce and Mi Kangping suddenly felt hungry.

It was their turn in no time.

Wei Liangce asked, “How much are the pancakes and Pan-fried buns? These are Pan-fried buns, right?”

He looked questioningly at the small, oil-fried buns.

“Right, Pan-fried buns. The pancakes are 8 wen each, and the Pan-fried buns are 3 wen for one or 5 wen for two. Both the pancakes and the Pan-fried buns are made with pork,” Ji Rongxia explained quickly.

Gu Tangjin recognized them as the two who had come to the shop yesterday to buy a bunch of things; he smiled at them.

“Give me six pancakes and ten pan-fried buns,” said Wei Liangce. He’d never tried these before and was curious; as a merchant, he wasn’t short on money and wasn’t stingy when it came to food and drink.

Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin quickly wrapped up the pancakes and pan-fried buns for him.

Wei Liangce noticed there was no place to eat at the stall, and he didn’t want to squat down to eat, so he decided to follow Lin Dongshan’s example from earlier and eat at the noodle shop next door.

Mi Kangping didn’t have as big an appetite as Wei Liangce; he only ordered two buns and six Pan-fried buns.

The two paid and were about to leave when they saw Diao Qiuyun coming over with a small basket.

Diao Qiuyun had come to buy breakfast. She felt she’d taken advantage of Xia-ger and Xiucai Gu yesterday, trading a bag of worthless stones for such fine sugar. Her mother had made her some sugar water with it—sweet and tangy, it was truly delicious!

So today, she decided to use the silver she’d saved to buy a few pan-fried buns—and support Xiucai Gu and Xia-ger’s business at the same time.

After all, her parents and she all loved pan-fried buns.

“Second Sister Diao? What a coincidence! Are you out buying breakfast by yourself?” Wei Liangce greeted Diao Qiuyun cheerfully.

Seeing that they were the two men delivering a message for her brother, Diao Qiuyun bowed her head slightly and replied with a smile, “Brother Wei, Brother Mi.”

“Here, take these to eat.” Wei Liangce handed three buns to Diao Qiuyun.

Diao Qiuyun tried to refuse, but Wei Liangce had already led Mi Kangping into the Guan family’s noodle shop.

She couldn’t very well chase after them. Diao Qiuyun sighed inwardly. She had clearly come out to help manage the business for Scholar Gu and Xia-ger, yet she’d ended up with three free buns—and three buns cost a full twelve wen!

“Xiao Yun, who are those two?” Liu Dalang asked deliberately loudly as soon as he stepped outside and saw the scene.

Although those two hadn’t interacted much with Xiao Yun, he was worried people might gossip, so Liu Dalang asked loudly on purpose.

“Brother Wei and Brother Mi are from the merchant caravan; they delivered a letter to my brother’s family yesterday.” Diao Qiuyun understood Liu Dalang’s meaning the moment she heard it. She smiled happily and said, “My brother is coming back soon.”

With that, everyone’s attention turned to Diao Dalang’s imminent return.

“Diao Dalang is coming back?! I heard he went to the Northern Frontier this time. I wonder what that place is like.”

“Who knows? Maybe Diao Dalang will bring back some novelties from the Northern Frontier this time. Even if we can’t buy them, it’d be nice just to take a look.”

“That’s true. Second Sister, when is your brother coming back?”

Diao Qiuyun, who had moved to the back of the line, whispered, “The letter said it’ll be another month or two.”

Liu Dalang exclaimed with delight, “That’s wonderful news! I haven’t seen him in ages. When he gets back, I’ll treat him to a feast.”

Diao Qiuyun merely smiled.

Wei Liangce and Mi Kangping didn’t just sit idly at the noodle shop; they ordered two bowls of minced meat noodles.

Wei Liangce took a big bite of the crumbly flatbread first.

The minced meat was salty, spicy, and fragrant; the crust of the pancake was slightly hard and chewy, while the inside was soft.

One bite brought great satisfaction.

“There’s so little meat in this, but it’s actually quite satisfying—it’s just as good as a meat bun.” Wei Liangce had eaten plenty of flatbreads; when traveling, he usually had to make do with dry rations.

Flatbreads, cornbread, and steamed buns were the most common.

Otherwise, he’d carry some millet and dried meat with him. Out in the wild, he’d build a makeshift stove with stones to boil water; once the water came to a boil, he’d add the millet, which cooked quickly, and soak the dried meat briefly to eat with the porridge.

Eating this for too long certainly wasn’t very tasty; the point of eating dry rations was simply to fill up and have the strength to keep moving.

If you could eat such delicious dry rations on the road, you’d have extra energy for walking.

“It is tasty, but these pan-fried buns are even better. Try one—the savory filling oozes out with just a bite. So fragrant.” Compared to the crumbly pancakes, Mi Kangping preferred the pan-fried buns. He hadn’t expected the breakfast at a small eatery in such a minor county to be this delicious. Mi Kangping regretted not buying more, and thinking he might not get to eat them again, he couldn’t help but eat more slowly and savor every bite.

While munching on his pancake, Wei Liangce’s mind began to wander.

If these pancakes were baked a bit drier and the meat filling made a bit saltier, they’d keep longer—they’d actually make great dry rations.

They’d be good whether they eat them themselves or sell them to other merchant caravans.

“Old Wei, your eyes are darting all over the place. What’s on your mind while we’re eating?” Mi Kangping asked curiously, looking up from his pan-fried buns to see his boss deep in thought.

Wei Liangce glanced around. Seeing that everyone was focused on their own food and there were no outsiders at their table, he leaned in close to Mi Kangping and said, “I’m thinking of placing an order with Gu’s Eatery for some buns to eat on the road. And if they’re willing to sell the recipe, I’d like to buy it.”

Mi Kangping frowned and took a bite of his pastry. “You want your parents and younger brother to sell these pastries to other merchant caravans?”

Wei Liangce traveled the roads as a merchant, while the Wei family ran their own businesses back home. As soon as Mi Kangping heard this, he figured out most of it.

“Heh, you’ve figured it out. I think these will definitely sell better than other pastries, though they don’t keep as long. We don’t have to sell them all to merchant caravans—my family runs an eatery too, and having more fresh food on hand wouldn’t hurt,” Wei Liangce said with a smile.

“Then let’s go ask about it later.” Mi Kangping thought there was potential in this; after all, they didn’t live here, so doing business wouldn’t interfere with their lives.

Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin packed up their stall after selling out today’s breakfast.

Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan were already awake. Ji Rongxia brought out the millet porridge he’d cooked early that morning from the kitchen, along with a plate of fish-flavored shredded pork rated at only 63% completion.

This was the worst batch of fish-flavored shredded pork she’d ever made. He didn’t dare bring out his best one—he couldn’t replicate that flavor right now, and serving it would be hard to explain.

The millet porridge had simmered all morning; it was thick, fragrant, and sticky, a golden yellow that looked delicious just to look at.

“We’re eating so well today? Millet porridge and meat, too,” Yao Tianlan said with a smile after rinsing her teeth with green salt and cold water.

“This shredded pork is a dish Tang Jin saw in a book; I tried making it. The millet porridge was just a shot in the dark.” Ji Rongxia deftly pushed the recipe book toward Gu Tangjin.

Gu Tangjin smiled, effectively accepting the explanation.

The two covered for each other seamlessly; Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan didn’t think much of it—after all, these two kids had been tinkering with food for ages.

With the cool breeze of a summer morning blowing, a bite of fish-flavored shredded pork followed by a spoonful of warm millet porridge—the aroma of the rice blending with the savory meat, then bursting in the mouth—it was a heavenly delight.

Ji Rongxia enjoyed it so much he secretly wiggled his toes.

Gu Tangjin nodded in approval as he ate; the shredded pork truly had a fish-like fragrance—it was both unique and delicious.

But they hadn’t even taken a few bites of this delightful breakfast when a knock sounded at the door.

Gu Chuncai motioned for Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin to stop what they were doing. He stood up to answer the door.

As soon as he opened the door and saw two tall, burly strangers, Gu Chuncai, wary, didn’t let them in but asked, “What brings you here?”

“Old man, we had your crumbly pancakes today and thought we’d discuss a business deal with you,” Wei Liangce said with a bow.

“Oh, let them in. These are the customers who ordered a lot of vegetables yesterday,” Yao Tianlan said to Gu Chuncai after glancing outside and recognizing their faces.

Gu Tangjin stood up and walked over, saying, “Father, these two are friends of Diao Dalang.”

Upon hearing they knew Diao Dalang, Gu Chuncai shifted aside to let them in.

Gu Tangjin led the two men, one step deep, one step shallow, to the table in the courtyard.

Ji Rongxia had already cleared away the dishes and brought out a fresh pot of tea.

He pursed his lips, thinking to himself that they hadn’t even finished breakfast yet.

“We apologize for the disturbance,” Mi Kangping said as he sat down.

Wei Liangce spoke directly to Gu Chuncai: “We’re heading out on a business trip. Could we place an order with you for a hundred ‘crumbly’ pancakes? We’d like to pick them up at the Hour of the Rooster today. Please make the meat filling a bit saltier and bake them slightly drier—that way, they’ll keep longer. For a hundred of them how about we pay one tael of silver?”

Ji Rongxia did the math: they sold each cake for eight wen, so a hundred cakes would be eight hundred wen. If they were paid one tael of silver, they’d make a profit of two hundred wen.

“You’ll have to ask Xia-ger about that,” Gu Chuncai said gruffly. “These are Xia-ger’s cakes.”

Wei Liangce was taken aback, then immediately turned to look at Ji Rongxia.

Ji Rongxia suddenly felt a bit nervous.

Under the table, Gu Tangjin gently took Ji Rongxia’s hand. Ji Rongxia’s nerves instantly calmed. He took a deep breath, straightened his chest slightly, and said, “I can’t bake a hundred—that’s too many. I can only make fifty. Just give me five hundred wen.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to earn the two hundred wen; it was simply that he couldn’t possibly bake that many on such short notice.

“Alright, fifty it is. Five hundred wen,” Wei Liangce said readily.

Ji Rongxia quietly let out a sigh of relief.

This deal went surprisingly smoothly.

Ji Rongxia said, “Then come pick them up at the Hour of the Rooster. I’ll make them a bit saltier and bake them a bit drier. Once they’ve cooled, I’ll wrap them in lotus leaves.”

Just as Ji Rongxia thought the deal was done, he heard Wei Liangce say again, “I’d also like to buy the recipe for these cakes. Thirty-five taels of silver. I promise not to sell these cakes anywhere near Qingchi County. What do you think?”

But what Ji Rongxia heard in his ears was—I can buy land now! I have enough money to buy land!!!

Suppressing his excitement, he first quietly asked the system, “Little Master, can I sell this recipe?”

The Cooking God System explained in detail: “Yes. You cannot sell the original recipe, but the formula you’re currently using to make the crumbly pancakes is a version you’ve modified yourself—it doesn’t originate entirely from the System. The modified recipe belongs to you, Host, so you don’t need to ask the System for permission.”

Right, I did modify the recipe—and quite a bit, too.

“Forty taels, and I’ll sell it—I can even bake it for you to watch.” Ji Rongxia decided to haggle a little.

He and Tangjin had already saved up twelve taels, three liang, and forty-one wen. If they added forty taels and five hundred wen to that, they would have fifty-two taels, eight liang, and forty-one wen.

Although he didn’t know how much the land would cost, with that much silver, they should be able to buy it.

Wei Liangce thought this young Fulang was truly honest—he’d only raised the price by five taels and was even letting them watch the baking process. Having seen so many merchants out there who were full of tricks, Wei Liangce now felt at ease doing business with this young Fulang. Forty taels was a fair price; he’d offered a low starting bid precisely to get them to raise it.

“Forty taels, then,” Wei Liangce agreed readily.

Ji Rongxia: “……”

Did he agree that quickly?

He clearly made a profit, yet he somehow felt like he’d lost out.