The door closed, muffling the clamor from outside.
Soon, Tang Jin and Chu Lingyue returned to the main hall together. All the dishes had been served.
Tang Laidi caught a whiff of the tantalizing aromas filling the hall. She rubbed her belly, holding back her hunger for a moment longer before dashing to the Liu brothers’ table in the final sprint. “Big Brother Liu, Second Brother Liu, thanks for looking out for me all this time. Let me toast you.”
Nearby, Old Madam Tang gripped her cane tighter. What a shameless girl—lunch might have been a bit late today, but even she was feeling peckish. The child hadn’t thought to invite her along; instead, she dove right in. Kids these days had no respect for their elders.
“No need to stand on ceremony, Laidi,” Big Brother Liu replied, draining his cup in one go. The wine was nothing special, but the food was outstanding.
He had snuck a peek at the menu earlier. Garlic Vermicelli Lobster Tails weren’t limited in quantity, but each plate cost a full five taels of silver. He and his brother had planned to hold back a little—they were here for a free meal, after all.
But with the restaurant’s owner Tang Laidi keeping them company, why hold back? It was time to eat their fill.
“Tang Jin, two more plates of lobster tails,” Tang Laidi called out cheerfully after a few drinks, casually dropping ten taels without a second thought.
Tang Jin’s mouth twitched. Her dear sister was utterly shameless, daring to order like that.
Still, with outsiders present, she had to save face for Tang Laidi. No matter how much it pained her, she fetched the dishes obediently.
In the end, the Liu brothers had done them a favor, and they might need their help again someday. Treating them properly was only right.
At the neighboring table, Lord Miao saw the new orders coming in and called out, “Waiter, a plate of lobster tails over here too.”
He had always been a lover of fine food, and he had enjoyed plenty of lobster tails as a drinking snack over the years. But ones this delicious? They were a first, so good he wanted to suck the flavor off his fingers.
Miao Liu poured him a cup of wine and said dutifully, “Father, you should try the meat sauce mashed potatoes too. They’re especially good.”
Soft and creamy, savory and rich, with endless aftertaste.
Lord Miao smiled. “Eat more if you like it, Liu’er.” He took a sip of wine with a satisfied smack of his lips.
At the next table over, Scholar Chu surveyed the meager remnants on his plate. He quietly snatched up the last salt-and-pepper shrimp ball and turned to his daughter. “Are you full, Shaoyang?”
As he spoke, his chopsticks reached for the final two pieces of fermented black bean steamed pork ribs. So flavorful, so tender and succulent—the taste was simply divine.
He had been away from Ping’an County these past few days, and no doubt his daughter had been a regular at the little restaurant, perhaps even daily. Eating like this every day? Well, he wouldn’t stand on ceremony. She was grown now; treating her old father was only filial, wasn’t it?
Chu Shaoyang caught the gleam in his eye and chuckled inwardly. “Does Father want to try the garlic vermicelli lobster tails too?”
Scholar Chu raised an eyebrow. “Shall we get a plate?”
His daughter understood him best.
Chu Shaoyang called out to Chu Lingyue, “Big Sis.”
She didn’t need to explain. Chu Lingyue nodded right away. “I’ll have A-Jin bring you one.”
The guests at the other four tables glanced their way enviously, pounding their chests in regret.
One old gourmet couldn’t help sighing to Lord Miao, “You have quick feet, Brother Miao. If not for Tower Beyond Towers’s porridge giveaway, I…”
He could have at least tried some of the other dishes.
After tasting lobster tails like these, who knew how delicious the rest might be? But he had arrived too late—now he could only watch others enjoy them.
Lord Miao shot him a look and said gravely, “Tower Beyond Towers gives out porridge every Laba Festival. It’s a fine tradition. It’s just that Shopkeeper Lu here in Ping’an County doesn’t know how to run things properly.”
He had visited the prefecture city many times and even the Imperial Capital twice. He knew the drill: every Laba Festival, they started serving porridge at dawn and went until noon.
By then, plenty of farmers from the countryside would line up, some poor families dragging their whole households into town early just for a bowl of good porridge.
But Tower Beyond Towers in Ping’an County did things differently, waiting until evening to serve. By then, the city gates were closed, there were hardly any farmers left—just well-off townsfolk coming for the spectacle. It twisted the whole charitable act.
The gourmet raised a distant toast to Lord Miao. “Couldn’t agree more. The Tower Beyond Towers owners are benevolent souls, but they’re far away. Petty crooks always find ways to meddle. It’s infuriating.”
Everyone knew exactly who the “petty crooks” meant—after all, that scene in the courthouse was still fresh in their minds.
Scholar Chu listened for a bit before raising his cup too. “Just wait. That old fox will get his comeuppance soon enough.”
Shopkeeper Lu dared to pay lip service to the rules only because Pingman Prefecture was so remote in the Southern Border—no one from the common folk had reported him, so no one higher up cared.
That might have worked before, but now it involved Chu Lingyue, and Tower Beyond Towers’s current heads were those two women. Scholar Chu was certain Shopkeeper Lu’s good days were numbered.
The gourmet drained his cup again and, in his frustration, shouted, “Waiter! More wine, more dishes!”
“One more plate of lobster tails!”
“And me too…”
The atmosphere heated up in an instant.
Tang Jin returned with two plates of lobster tails, her mind going blank. Was today her lucky day? The orders rang in her ears like silver taels piling up: five taels here, five there, ingots raining down on her.
Old Madam Tang couldn’t take it anymore. She plopped down beside Tang Laidi and hollered at Tang Jin, “Two more plates of lobster tails, girl. The old lady here will have two cups too.”
Watching everyone else eat was sheer agony. She decided to go ahead and make this her dinner.
Tang Jin’s mouth twitched again. Good grief, another big spender who dared to order freely.
She exchanged a glance with Chu Lingyue and headed to the kitchen.
“Wife, what was your name before?”
“I forgot.”
【Ding, rewarded one plate of Garlic Vermicelli Lobster Tails】
“…”
Chu Lingyue’s face, once warm with smiles, had turned utterly blank, her voice cooling noticeably.
Tang Jin considerately poured two cups of tea to soothe her throat. “You’ve worked hard, wife.”
Chu Lingyue managed a faint smile. “This meal means a mountain of dishes to wash tomorrow.” And they’d have to head to the market early again to sell.
At the mention, Tang Jin glanced at the void shelf. Tomorrow they could stock up on porridge at the vegetable market again.
But the shelf had only five layers, and no matter the portion size, each could hold just seven dishes.
After a moment’s thought, she said, “Everyone’s been so generous today, and they’re nearly finished anyway. Why not treat them to a bowl of porridge?”
There were still sixteen bowls of porridge on the shelf, taking up too much space. They wouldn’t fit tomorrow’s stock.
Chu Lingyue nodded faintly. “That works.”
Back in the main hall, Tang Jin carried a tray of lobster tails, while Chu Lingyue’s held four bowls of porridge.
“Grandma, Laidi, and you two brothers—have some porridge to settle your stomachs.”
Tang Laidi’s face was flushed from drink, her tongue thick as she slurred, “Big Brother Liu, Second Brother Liu, try this century egg lean meat congee. One word: perfection!”
The other tables perked up. Lord Miao eyed Tang Jin as she bent to serve the lobster tails. “Miss Tang, how much for that porridge?”
He wanted to know what made it so great.
Why wasn’t it on the menu? Were they not selling it?
Tang Jin smiled. “It’s complimentary, not for sale. But…”
Lord Miao’s hopes sank for a heartbeat, then lifted at the “but.” “But what?”
Tang Jin straightened and addressed the room clearly. “But to thank you all for speaking up for us before and packing the house today—our first full house—we’re giving everyone a bowl of century egg lean meat congee. One per person.”
“Generous! Your place does things right.”
“Magnificent. I’ll be back tomorrow…”
The crowd lit up with delight. After tasting the porridge, they were thoroughly satisfied—delicious. They’d come back often.
With only seven tables total, filling them up wasn’t easy. Maybe they’d hit another giveaway day.
The toasts and chatter flowed amid clattering dishes until night fully fell. Only then did the satisfied guests settle their bills and leave.
Old Madam Tang steadied herself with Tang Laidi’s help and raised her empty cup. “Good child, Grandma toasts you.”
Tang Laidi clutched an empty wine jug in one hand, supporting the old lady with the other. “You’re my own grandma now. Your toast honors me. I’ll return it—I’ll drink with you back in the room…”
The old and the young staggered off to their quarters, drunk and babbling nonsense the whole way.
Tang Jin let out a long breath. “Wife, let me help you clean up.”
Chu Lingyue didn’t refuse. After running back and forth with so many dishes, there were seven tables to clear and a pile of plates to wash. She was exhausted too.
Once everything was tidied, the two pulled up stools and sat at the kitchen worktable.
“Wife, are you hungry?” Tang Jin asked.
Chu Lingyue took a sip of tea and shook her head. “Not really.”
Lunch had been late, and all the hustle had left her parched—she’d drunk plenty of tea. Plus, it wasn’t wise to eat much for dinner anyway.
Seeing no reaction from the System, Tang Jin pulled out the silver and set it on the table, counting as she went. “I’m not hungry either—just waterlogged. Help me tally the sales.”
Chu Lingyue fetched the ledger and noted it down: thirty taels from six dishes, seventy from fourteen plates of lobster tails, six from the wine markup. Total: one hundred and six taels.
Tang Jin rubbed her brow. “Only fourteen plates of lobster tails? And just six jugs of wine?”
Chu Lingyue closed the book. “Grandma and Laidi’s table had seven jugs and ten plates of lobster tails. I didn’t count those.”
Tang Jin chuckled with a sigh. “Next time, we can’t let those two act so recklessly.”
Goodness, no wonder they were constables—one table had nearly matched the other six combined.
Chu Lingyue nodded, then broached the main point. “A-Jin, can we speak plainly?”
About those dishes conjured from lies—and whether they could negotiate some of them.
What did she mean? Tang Jin raised a brow, thinking it over before replying, “I know you’re curious, wife, but this is delicate. We can’t afford slip-ups.”
She was still figuring out the System’s triggers and loopholes.
If they were too candid, it might be fine if the rewards kept coming. But if Lingyue learned about the System and they blatantly coordinated, what if it deemed them invalid? No more rewards?
For now, with each knowing without saying, the rewards flowed and their teamwork was seamless. Better not to risk it.
“I see,” Chu Lingyue said. She sipped her tea unhurriedly. “Is there anything you’d like to know about me, then?”
Since plain talk was off-limits, she’d have to probe gently.
Tang Jin, seeing her cooperation, thought of the unlimited-supply lobster tails and fell back on the reliable ploy. “Wife, what was your name before?”
“I forgot.”
【Ding, rewarded one plate of Garlic Vermicelli Lobster Tails】
Chu Lingyue answered swiftly. Tang Jin kept at it until they had ten plates stocked on the shelf, then switched topics. “Wife, if we save up enough silver and go our separate ways someday, would you tell anyone about this?”
This was truly what she should be most worried about!
Chu Lingyue lowered her gaze, lost in thought, and said nothing for the moment.
