"Da, Niu, and Tao Su, you'll be responsible for the cooking. Twenty dishes per table, ten meat and ten vegetarian. Choose our Qi Huan Restaurant's top nineteen best-selling dishes, and add the upcoming 'Ants Climbing Trees' as the twentieth. I'll teach you how to prepare that dish later."
"Mr. Xu, after they make a list of ingredients needed, you give them the money from my personal account.
Also, remember to post a notice outside the restaurant tomorrow, telling everyone that anyone who comes with sincere blessings will be served the banquet at the new residence two li east of the White Birch Forest south of town."
During a pause to catch her breath, Qing Cai perceptively brought over a warm cup of tea and handed it to her.
Qi Huan happened to have a dry mouth and throat, so she smiled, took the cup, lifted the lid, and drank several big gulps.
"Cai Cai, you and the others can help wash the vegetables. I'll give you some extra pay for that."
"Okay, Sister, we've got it covered!"
Qing Cai and the others nodded solemnly.
They would make sure to wash all the vegetables until spotlessly clean!
After patting Qing Cai's twin braids, Qi Huan went on to instruct the others, assigning Nuan Dong to cut the vegetables and the shop errand boys to serve the dishes.
Finally, she emphasized, "If anyone asks about the 'Ants Climbing Trees' dish, tell them it's our restaurant's new offering that will be available soon, and invite them to come try it."
Recalling the scene of Yan Wu crouching in the courtyard catching ants, Qi Huan quickly changed her mind, "Actually, let's just call that new dish 'Shredded Pork with Vermicelli'."
Otherwise, people might misunderstand and think Qi Huan Restaurant uses real ants in their cooking, which wouldn't be good.
After settling the restaurant matters, Qi Huan hurried back home to help Li Shuchen and the others move.
When she arrived at the old residence, she found the three thatched-roof houses completely empty.
Even Heizi's dog bowl in the courtyard was gone.
She must have returned late, as Li Shuchen and the others had already finished moving.
Qi Huan rode her horse to the new residence.
Two mule carts were still parked at the gate when she arrived. As she dismounted, Yan Jiu and the others from the merchant convoy who had come to help were just leaving through the main entrance, heading her way.
"Miss Qi, everything's been moved. Please go on inside," said Yan Jiu.
"Thank you all for your hard work. Stay and have lunch before leaving?"
"Oh no, no need for that," Yan Jiu quickly waved his hands.
The Prince had already given him a hundred taels of silver and told him to take his men and Yan Qinghe to the restaurant for lunch.
Using his clever mind, since even Yan Qinghe had been sent away to eat, how could they possibly stay?
He reckoned the only ones allowed to eat there would be Miss Qi and the Prince himself, maybe with Heizi.
With that, he politely declined Qi Huan's kind offer, got on the mule cart with his men and Yan Qinghe, and they departed with the swaying carts.
After being turned down, Qi Huan guessed the reason.
With a jealous person at home, what could she do?
She could only cook for him alone.
Actually, she knew Li Shuchen was just being thoughtful. If she hadn't insisted on cooking to earn points, he probably wouldn't have let her into the kitchen at all.
Refocusing, Qi Huan strode into the new residence.
The best part about old houses was their natural materials with no formaldehyde, so they could be occupied right after construction.
Crossing the threshold, the first thing catching her eye wasn't the three gray-brick houses facing the entrance, nor the large tree transplanted in the central courtyard, but rather the man in white seated at the stone table beneath the tree.
Qi Huan jogged over, smiling, "Shuchen!"
Hearing her footsteps, Li Shuchen had already lifted his eyes. In his sight, Qi Huan was running towards him with a beaming smile, the sunlight radiant behind her.
He suddenly smiled back, rose to meet her, and took her hand.
"Shuchen, we're living in our new home now!"
"Mm."
Having answered habitually, Li Shuchen realized it might not sound enthusiastic enough, so he added, "That's right."
Qi Huan raised their joined hands and swung them playfully, her eyes sparkling, "Let's go check it out."
Inside the main hall, a red sandalwood table stood in front of a plank wall, with an octagonal table and two armchairs in front of it. Small square tables flanked both sides, topped with ceramic vases holding white birch branches.
Two more table-and-chair sets were placed on the east and west sides, with blue-and-white porcelain tea sets on the tea tables.
To the right was Qi Huan's room.
Inside, a brick bed platform lined the north wall, neatly layered with bedding and pillows.
A red sandalwood wardrobe stood against the west wall, while an east-facing dressing table held a bronze mirror, with two boxes of jewelry on its surface.
"Shuchen, did you give me all this jewelry?"
"Mm."
Li Shuchen nodded slightly.
He had personally designed the styles and commissioned experienced master craftsmen to make them specially for her.
"Each piece contains poisoned needles. In case of enemies, don't hesitate to use them."
Previously seeing her exceptional aim with throwing weapons, Li Shuchen had begun purposely making her more concealed jewelry for self-defense.
Learning that these ornaments doubled as weapons brought an unstoppable grin to Qi Huan's face.
Up until now, she didn't have many life-saving items in her space. But Li Shuchen's gifts perfectly filled that gap.
She knew that following Li Shuchen meant she couldn't stay secluded in Mochuan forever. The path ahead would be fraught with bloodshed and peril.
If she didn't grow stronger, she'd only become a burden. So she'd been striving to upgrade her system, trying to unlock its advanced functions.
At this, sensing her mention of itself, the system chimed in, "Host, keep working hard. The higher my level, the greater permissions and protection mechanisms I'll have."
"What level are you at now?"
"The max is twelve levels, and it takes a hundred thousand points to reach each new level. As an older system, my starting point was Level Two. With the occasional points you've given me, I'm now at Level Three!"
"So what's different about you at Level Three compared to before?"
"After being looked down upon by the Host, I learned how to do basic addition and subtraction with decimals.....I've also gained one new protection function - preventing the Host from feeling pain when close to death."
"......Thank you so much for that."
The road ahead was long and arduous. Perhaps it was better to change paths for now.
Qi Huan shifted her gaze to the jewelry boxes.
She picked up one piece at a time, and Li Shuchen explained the mechanisms of each one. Soon she understood them all.
After a moment's thought, she simply stored all the jewelry into her space to use individually in case of danger, turning any enemies into sieves with her attacks.
After witnessing her materialize objects from thin air, and then make them disappear, Li Shuchen was no longer fazed.
However, he had another question.
"Why does the celestial maiden need to eat?"
"Why wouldn't a celestial maiden need to eat?" Qi Huan retorted, then added with a smile, "Food tastes so good, let's go eat."
When they arrived at the kitchen, she saw a mess of bowls, plates, and cooking utensils scattered on the countertop.
Li Shuchen's gaze narrowed as he blocked the counter, "I only cleaned your room."
"I see, then let's have instant noodles!"
Qi Huan walked around him, selecting two bowls and pairs of chopsticks from the pile of dishes.
She scooped some water from the barrel and cleaned them.
After scrubbing the pot, she added more water and asked Li Shuchen to start a fire to boil it.
With the counter occupied, it was inconvenient to cut vegetables, so she retrieved two packs of instant noodles and two eggs from her spatial pocket, and cooked two simple bowls of noodles.
There was a small dining area in the kitchen, but the weather was nice, so Qi Huan chose to eat outside in the courtyard.
Summers in Moxian weren't hot, with a warm but not scorching sun. The green trees provided shade, and a cool breeze wafted by occasionally.
They placed the noodle bowls on the stone table under a tree, and Qi Huan and Li Shuchen sat across from each other, quietly eating their lunch.
At that moment, the well-fed Yan Qinghe and the others returned, and when they saw the noodles in Li Shuchen's bowl, their expressions became complicated.
"I ate succulent pork behind His Highness's back."
"I had braised pork."
"I had both succulent pork and braised pork."
Li Shuchen put down his chopsticks and looked at the few people whispering in the courtyard, his face stern. "Since you ate so well, you must have plenty of energy. Then the task of cleaning the rooms falls to you."
