ARLQLCC chapter 24

Starting with Xie Qinghuai, the disciples in the dining hall seemed to wake from a dream. In an instant, curses rang out one after another throughout the entire dining area.

“The beef is impossible to chew!”

“I’m going to throw up. The Sword Trial Tournament lasts half a month—are they really going to feed us this the whole time?”

“I was wondering why they added so many vegetables to the soup. Turns out it wasn’t to make it taste better, but to make it more disgusting!”

All the disciples had spent a considerable amount of spirit stones on their meals, but who would have thought that after spending the money, they would get this in return. It was actually even more outrageous than the food in their own sect dining halls.

Someone stood up and grabbed a nearby disciple of Yunxian Sect to ask, “Senior Brother, may I ask where your sect’s teleportation array is?”

That disciple replied, “It’s right next to the dining hall.”

The man thanked him and was about to leave when the Yunxian Sect disciple pulled him back. “Hey, where are you going? During the Sword Trial Tournament, all teleportation arrays are closed. Even if you go, you won’t be able to use it!”

As soon as those words came out, the hopeful expression on the man’s face shattered. “The teleportation array can’t be used?! Then what am I supposed to eat for lunch?!”

A cultivator from another sect sitting beside him heard this and asked in confusion, “What do you mean? What does the teleportation array have to do with eating?”

The man looked ashen and sat back down as he explained haltingly, “I heard from a friend in Yunxian Sect that there is also a teleportation array here that leads to Linggu Mountain. I thought that since Yunxian Sect is the second largest sect in the world, their dining hall should at least be decent. But after trying it just now, I couldn’t swallow a single bite. So I planned to go to Linggu Mountain to eat, but now that the teleportation array is closed, I don’t have time to fly there on my sword. That means I can only go hungry.”

Once his words spread, the other regular customers of Linggu Mountain, who had been eager to try, all let out mournful cries and completely gave up on the idea of going elsewhere to eat.

Su Ji rested one hand on the table and gently stroked the kitten’s back with the other, deep in thought.

It seemed that setting up a stall was imperative. Otherwise, with Chef Lin’s attitude of only wanting to make money and not wanting to cook properly, this group of disciples would starve to death before the Sword Trial Tournament even began.

Yun Xicheng had also overheard some of the conversation and suggested, “Why don’t we start preparing as soon as we get back? Their matches in the afternoon will consume a lot of stamina. You can set up your stall right at the entrance to the courtyard. They’ll definitely pass by you on their way to the dining hall. Won’t you make a fortune?”

The two exchanged a glance, their thoughts perfectly aligned.

This approach did carry some suspicion of stealing business, but Chef Lin had sabotaged the teleportation array first. Su Ji had never been one to show courtesy to such an unkind and unrighteous person.

If the other party truly put effort into cooking, he would not fear having his business taken away.

After making up his mind, Su Ji asked, “Do any of you have matches this afternoon?”

Everyone shook their heads. “None of us are competing today. Chef Su, just tell us whatever you need this afternoon. Just cover our dinner!”

Their response was as cooperative as ever.

“Since you all say so, let’s go.” Su Ji stood up with his tray in hand.

As the group left the dining hall, they passed dining disciples all along the way who had taken only a few bites before being unable to continue and hurriedly left. Most of them went hungry, moving in groups toward the pastry shop that Yun Xicheng and the others often mentioned.

Although the pastries there could only be described as average, compared to the dining hall food, they suddenly seemed kind and approachable.

It was all thanks to the comparison.

.

At this point, aside from Yunxian Sect disciples, almost no one remained in the dining hall.

As disciples of Yunxian Sect, although they knew their own dining hall was not very good, they had forced themselves to eat there for a long time. Most of them had developed a slight resistance to that strange flavor. But although more of them remained, their expressions were difficult to describe.

Several female disciples walked behind Su Ji and the others, chatting among themselves.

“I wonder if my taste buds have been spoiled by the food at Linggu Mountain. Eating our sect’s food again today, it actually feels even worse than before.”

“I thought I was the only one who felt that way. Today’s dishes are much more luxurious than usual, but for some reason, although the food before didn’t taste good before, the spiritual energy was still fairly abundant. After eating, my dantian felt full. But after eating today’s food… it seems like there’s even less spiritual energy than before.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s true. Could it be that there are too many visitors and the expenses are too high, so the head chef can’t afford ingredients anymore? Hahaha!”

“It’s not his money anyway. I think the head chef’s cooking skills have declined again and he stir-fried all the spiritual energy out of the ingredients!”

The girls laughed and joked as they turned into the neighboring courtyard.

Yun Xicheng was chatting idly with Yun Che and had little interest in what others were discussing, so he walked in front.

But Su Ji turned to look at the backs of the departing female disciples and frowned slightly.

Earlier, when he was eating, most of his attention had been drawn to the taste of the dishes, and he had paid no attention at all to the amount of spiritual energy. Only after hearing their discussion did he realize that the spiritual energy converted from the spirit plants he had eaten was almost negligible.

The amount of spiritual energy within spirit plants was fixed the moment they were harvested. It would never change because of someone’s cooking skill.

Chef Lin charged more than twice as much as other dining halls for a single meal. How could he possibly have no money to buy ingredients? Not to mention that Yunxian Sect was filthy rich. If they could renovate an entire dining hall so magnificently, then the budget allocated for ingredients must certainly be substantial.

Cultivators consumed spirit plants for two reasons: first, to satisfy their appetite, and second, to absorb the pure spiritual energy gathered during the plants’ growth, which could be directly converted after being eaten.

Although the effect was greatly reduced for cultivators above the Nascent Soul realm, it was beneficial to everyone below that realm. Especially for disciples who were still beginners on the path of cultivation, consuming spirit plants could accelerate their cultivation speed.

This was also why, despite Chef Lin’s careless cooking, the disciples still forced themselves to eat there.

Disciples in the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment realms were numerous and formed the foundation of every major sect. The sect and its disciples supported each other, placing great importance on cultivating through spirit plants. Even small sects used at least mid-grade spirit plants. For a giant sect like Yunxian Sect, the spirit plants they used should certainly be top-grade.

But if they were top-grade spirit plants, how could they yield so little spiritual energy?

There was only one possibility: he was pocketing the huge budget allocated by the sect and buying extremely low-grade spirit plants instead.

It seemed this Chef Lin not only had sticky fingers, but also a black heart.

Still, this was only speculation for now. Chef Lin had the Second Elder backing him. Even if Su Ji raised questions, it would likely be useless.

But with this leverage in hand, if the other party came to provoke him again, Su Ji would not show mercy.

…

After returning to the courtyard, Su Ji planned to cook lunch for them again. They had all eaten only a little earlier and only by forcing themselves to do so. Not to mention the kitten in his arms, who had eaten only one piece of peach blossom pastry.

Ma Tuan was still growing and could not go hungry.

Besides the various flavors of dough drop soup, Su Ji also planned to stir-fry some sǎozi in the evening and make sǎozi noodles for the many disciples attending the Sword Trial Tournament.

This dish only required boiling noodles and mixing them with the sǎozi before serving. It was convenient while also being very filling, making it perfectly suited for an event like the Sword Trial Tournament, where physical exertion was high.

Having helped several times before, the group had developed excellent tacit understanding with Su Ji. Tending the fire, chopping vegetables, and arranging bowls and plates, each person performed their role efficiently.

Su Ji took out a slab of pork with both fat and lean meat from his storage artifact and diced it finely. Once the oil in the wok was hot, he first added scallions, ginger, garlic, and other aromatics to stir-fry.

He always carried his treasured sauces with him. Thinking that they would be staying for another half month, he simply took all of them out of his storage artifact.

He added a spoonful of doubanjiang¹Doubanjiang (豆瓣酱), also known as douban, toban-djan, broad bean chili sauce, or fermented chili bean paste, is a spicy and savory Chinese condiment made from fermented broad beans (fava beans), chili peppers, soybeans, salt, and flour. and a large spoonful of sweet bean sauce to the wok. As the two mixed together, their fragrance shot straight to the ceiling.

Their stomachs, which had just been tormented by Chef Lin’s cooking, began to stir again. The whole group was so greedy they could barely stand it, and their hands moved even faster.

Once the sauces were fragrant, he added a small spoonful of sugar to enhance the flavor. The diced pork, waiting at the side tumbled into the sauce. As Su Ji stir-fried over high heat, the sauce gradually coated every piece of meat.

By the time red oil emerged in the wok, the richly fragrant sǎozi was ready. It was perfect whether spooned over noodles or rice.

In another pot, the plain noodles Yan Shao had cooked in water were also done. While the broth was still boiling, Su Ji blanched a handful of greens.

There were six bowls of noodles in total. Each bowl was topped with two pieces of bright green vegetables, then a spoonful of the fragrant sǎozi sauce. With just a light toss, the aroma was enough to make people swoon.

Su Ji carried two attractive bowls of noodles and went with them to the stone table in the courtyard. Chu Zhaoye followed behind him. After Su Ji set down the bowls, he gave a light jump and crouched on Su Ji’s lap.

The sǎozi glistened with oil, and the enticing red oil seeped into the snowy white noodles. The aroma drilled straight into everyone’s noses.

One bite of noodles was enough to suppress the nausea they had felt in the dining hall earlier. Everyone ate until their mouths watered, and the sound of slurping never ceased.

Yun Xicheng repeatedly gave Su Ji a thumbs-up.

“The dough drop soup is delicious, and the sǎozi noodles are delicious too. Your stall tonight is definitely going to make a huge fortune!”

Su Ji chuckled. “Then you’ll all have plenty to keep you busy.”

He slurped a mouthful of noodles, then used one finger to tap the back of the kitten’s head, which was buried in its food.

“Ma Tuan, will you help me collect money tonight too?”

Chu Zhaoye turned around and raised one front paw to give him a high-five.

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  Doubanjiang (豆瓣酱), also known as douban, toban-djan, broad bean chili sauce, or fermented chili bean paste, is a spicy and savory Chinese condiment made from fermented broad beans (fava beans), chili peppers, soybeans, salt, and flour.