Meanwhile, in Wuqu Alley.

Business at the restaurant was exceptionally brisk today.

Although people usually have poor appetites in the summer, the new table’s effects somewhat offset the loss of appetite caused by the heat. Before long, business had picked up, hadn’t it?

The ingredients prepared for the day were used up early, and the restaurant closed its doors shortly after the hour of You. That night, Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin sat at the table counting money.

Now that they were in charge of the money, they had to balance the books every day.

Ji Rongxia loved counting money the most. After finishing with a clatter of coins, he said, “There’s a total of two guan and nine hundred eighty-seven wen here.” 

So much money!!!

After counting everything, Ji Rongxia strung the wen together with cotton thread, set the silver aside, and finally placed all the money into the wooden money box.

Gu Tangjin quickly settled the accounts: “After deducting the silver spent on chickens, ducks, fish, meat, and vegetables, the restaurant earned a total of one guan and three hundred seventy-eight wen today, while our stall earned one hundred fifty-five wen. We account for firewood, oil, and seasonings once a month; that usually costs about five guan. Based on that, our restaurant makes thirty-six guan a month, and the breakfast stall makes a little over three guan after deducting the cost of vegetables and meat.”

Ji Rongxia did the math himself and couldn’t help but exclaim, “If we calculate it that way, even after deducting our household expenses each month—and even if we’re being generous—we should still have over thirty guan left over, right?!”

Gu Tangjin affirmed, “That’s right. If the restaurant’s business were as good as it was today every day, we certainly could.”

“Then if we save up for a few years,  we’ll definitely have enough silver for you to take the imperial exams and for me to open a new shop later on!” Ji Rongxia smiled, his eyes crinkling.

Gu Tangjin couldn’t help but feel happy, too. He was, after all, just an ordinary man who’d spent a few extra years studying. Getting up early and staying up late every day, working hard to earn the silver he deserved—of course, he was happy.

The two sat facing each other, sharing their joy for quite a while.

Ji Rongxia gave a cryptic hint: “Ahem, ahem, there’s one more thing—a big celebration!”

Gu Tangjin raised an eyebrow slightly: “Please enlighten me, Fulang. What other happy news could there be?” 

“Today we can draw the lottery!” Ji Rongxia rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

Gu Tangjin asked curiously, “What’s going on?”

“Didn’t you just finish half of your seasoning work? How can we draw prizes now?”

Ji Rongxia shook his head. “It’s not about the seasoning—it’s something else.”

“Didn’t I make those fresh shrimp patties today? The young chef told me that shrimp can easily cause allergies,” Ji Rongxia explained simply. “It’s a condition that makes you itch and have trouble breathing. He asked if I wanted to add an anti-allergy medication to the patties, and I agreed.”

“Then I triggered a random quest asking me to identify which foods are likely to cause allergies. The reward is these allergenic foods—I can pick ten types, ten pounds of each.”

“There were hundreds of foods, so I had to guess. I didn’t expect to get so many right—and just like that, the quest was complete!”

Gu Tangjin listened intently. When he finished speaking, he said, “I’ve actually read a medical text that mentioned a man who suddenly died after eating a type of dried sea fish. Everyone assumed he choked to death, but he ate very slowly—it shouldn’t have been that easy to choke. The coroner’s autopsy revealed swelling in his throat, indicating an invasion by an external pathogen. It must have been caused by the allergy you mentioned.”

“That makes sense. So a severe allergic reaction can actually kill someone,” Ji Rongxia exclaimed in shock.

Ji Rongxia muttered, “I never imagined eating could be so dangerous. I still have so much to learn.” Gu Tangjin ruffled Ji Rongxia’s hair and smiled. “Time for the raffle.”

“Oh, right—the prize draw,” Ji Rongxia blurted out. “Little Master, I want to draw a prize.”

The Cooking God System replied, “Yes, Host.”

Suddenly, the light screen appeared before Ji Rongxia’s eyes again. As usual, the screen was filled with densely packed text. Only the color of the text had changed.

Originally, all these words were black.

Now, the names of the foods he selected have turned white and red, while some of the unselected names have turned green.

“The food names the host selected correctly are white, the wrong ones have turned red, and the green ones are the answers the host didn’t select.” 

“How could wheat cause an allergic reaction?!” Ji Rongxia’s first reaction was: Why did the wheat turn green?!

If even wheat can cause allergies, doesn’t that mean absolutely everything could trigger an allergic reaction?!

“And peanuts? Oh my god, peanuts! And eggs and soybeans?”

Ji Rongxia grew more and more confused the more he looked.

It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t pick the right ones—he’d never seen anyone allergic to these foods before.

Gu Tangjin was also taken aback by Ji Rongxia’s words—he hadn’t realized these foods could cause allergies.

The Cooking God System quickly interjected, “Everyone’s constitution is different. Don’t worry, Host. Generally speaking, very few people are allergic to these things.” Ji Rongxia thought about it and realized the system was right. He relaxed a little and asked, “How do I enter the lottery?”

The light screen in front of Ji Rongxia immediately transformed into over a hundred small squares. These squares rapidly shifted positions before finally coming to a stop.

Ji Rongxia was dazzled by the sight.

“Host, just tap to draw,” the Cooking God System said.

Ji Rongxia rubbed his head, which was feeling a bit dizzy.

“Just click anywhere?”

“Yes, Host, just click anywhere.”

Ji Rongxia simply chose whichever one caught his eye. He tapped ten little squares in quick succession.

The Cooking God System asked, “Have you made your selection, Host? Are you sure you don’t want to change it?”

Ji Rongxia shrugged and said, “I’m sticking with it. I have no idea what’s inside them anyway.” The ten small squares gradually enlarged, then transformed into ten vibrant, colorful images.

The Cooking God System announced, “Congratulations, Host! You have obtained: strawberries, kelp, oysters, tiger clams, soybeans, peanuts, peaches, chestnuts, dragon fruit, and wheat!” 

Ji Rongxia was so excited, he tugged at Gu Tangjin’s sleeve. “I got oysters—I can make oyster sauce! And soybeans, peanuts, peaches, and chestnuts!”

“But most importantly, I also got wheat!” Ji Rongxia said, looking at his hands. “My luck is amazing.”

Ji Rongxia looked back at the text on the screen and read slowly, “There are four I’m not quite familiar with: kelp, that character after ‘grass’—I don’t know it—tiger-striped clams, and dragon fruit.”

Cooking God System: “Strawberry. That character is pronounced ‘méi.’ Host, do you remember making strawberry-flavored ice cream?”

“Oh, strawberries—a delicious fruit that’s both sweet and tart,” Ji Rongxia said, scratching his cheek. “Right, that character is pronounced ‘mei.’ How could I have forgotten so quickly?”

Speaking of ice cream, it seemed he hadn’t told Tangjin about those high-tech kitchen gadgets yet.

“Tangjin, I haven’t told you yet—the kitchenware in my new restaurant changed again yesterday.” Ji Rongxia spoke off the cuff, quickly and briefly describing the kitchenware he’d seen the day before.

He couldn’t describe them in too much detail; after all, he couldn’t figure out what they were himself. Gu Tangjin didn’t say anything right away after hearing this.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Rongxia asked curiously when he remained silent.

Gu Tangjin smiled. “I’m curious about what powers these things have to move. According to you, those machines aren’t very big, but I suppose this isn’t something I can just figure out on my own. Never mind that—let’s talk about your reward.”

Ji Rongxia: “Sure.”

Gu Tangjin ran through them in his head. “Hmm, five of them we’ve seen before, and five we haven’t.”

“Not only can we make oyster sauce now, but we can also grow wheat.” Gu Tangjin gave Ji Rongxia a shoulder rub. “Xia-ger, you really worked hard today.” 

“That’s right!” Ji Rongxia beamed with satisfaction. Thank goodness his guess was spot-on; otherwise, all these goodies would’ve been gone.

Ji Rongxia whispered quietly, “Little Master, my luck was so good this time—you didn’t give me a hand, did you?” 

Cooking God System: “……”

If he keeps giving the Host special treatment, he’ll stop believing in his own luck.

Cooking God System: “Actually, no. Host, these 300 foods are all common ingredients. It’s perfectly normal that you picked ones you recognized. Even if you hadn’t drawn wheat, you would’ve likely drawn rye, oats, or other grains.”

“Oh, so it was just pure luck after all—I happened to pick something I recognized.” Ji Rongxia was even happier; anyone would be delighted to know they were that lucky.

“The prize has been issued. Would you like to claim it now, Host?” the Cooking God System asked.

“I’ll take a little bit of each to check them out.” Ji Rongxia made a gesture indicating “just a little.”

Cooking God System: “Delivering immediately!”

Ten different foods instantly appeared on Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia’s desks.

“Tangjin, take a guess at what these are.” Ji Rongxia had already looked at the pictures and knew exactly what they were. He propped his chin in his hand and looked at Gu Tangjin with eager eyes.

Gu Tangjin never wanted to spoil the fun, so he played along with Ji Rongxia.

“This is a strawberry.” Gu Tangjin pointed to the small red fruit covered in specks. “It has a fresh, fragrant scent, and it looks sweet and tart.”

“This is a tiger-striped clam; it has patterns on it.” Gu Tangjin pointed to the patterns on the shell.

“Since this is a tiger-striped clam, then this oddly shaped one must be an oyster. And that long, stripy thing is kelp.” 

“The last one is a dragon fruit. Those flaky bits on it look a bit like the dragon scales described in books.”

“All correct!” Ji Rongxia nodded repeatedly. “You guessed them all right!”

“Let’s give them a try. This one probably needs to be peeled, right? Let’s eat this one first.” Ji Rongxia hesitated for a moment before peeling open the dragon fruit.

Hehehe, you don’t even have to wash this—you can eat it right away!

“The flesh inside is white, and there are ‘sesame seeds’ too.” Ji Rongxia had never seen this kind of fruit before. He carefully peeled back the skin and took a bite of the white flesh.

The flesh was soft and sweet.

“It’s so good and sweet! You try some.” Ji Rongxia peeled back the skin a little more and handed it to Gu Tangjin. 

Gu Tangjin took a bite.

He didn’t taste any sweetness, but rather a faint, strange salty flavor. Gu Tangjin furrowed his brow slightly.

Gu Tangjin asked in confusion, “Do you really think this tastes good?”

Could it be that his taste buds were off? This didn’t taste good at all.

“It’s sweet! Very sweet. It’s delicious.” Ji Rongxia took another bite. “Don’t you like it? Try another bite.”

Gu Tangjin obediently took another bite, but it still didn’t taste good.

“Is it sweet? It doesn’t taste very sweet to me—it tastes kind of weird,” Gu Tangjin said, then suddenly realized something.

Ji Rongxia’s eyes widened as well, and the Cooking God System quickly calculated the reason behind this situation. Gu Tangjin: “I’m having an allergic reaction!”

Ji Rongxia: “You’re having an allergic reaction!”

Cooking God System: “The Host’s partner is having an allergic reaction!” 

Cooking God System: “……”

Oh my god, is this turning into a live demonstration?!