Chapter 52 Preparing for the Grand Opening

Chi Sui slapped her forehead.

She had been too careless. She forgot that, apart from her, no one else could understand what the Myconids were saying, making her previous attempts to teach them a total waste of effort.

"Am I interrupting you?"

The sudden silence in the room made Kian feel a bit awkward as he stood off to the side.

"Not at all, not at all. You came at just the right time." Chi Sui waved her hands dismissively and continued, "You've been running the bookstore for so long, and with all your vast knowledge, you must be great at teaching people, right?"

Kian: ?

What on earth did those two things have to do with each other?

"I don't..."

"I knew you would be. Don't be so modest."

Chi Sui didn't care what Kian's answer was; the result was going to be the same anyway.

Hearing this, Kian understood. He threw up his hands in surrender and asked, "Just tell me what you want."

"Look, the little Myconid sprites have been hanging out with you for days, yet you still can't understand a word they say. Isn't that a huge hassle?"

Kian was left speechless.

"It would be much better if you could understand them."

"How can you look at it that way? Me understanding them is nothing compared to everyone being able to understand them."

Kian sighed and asked, "So you want me to teach them how to speak?"

"Bingo! They don't need to learn much—just a crash course on four simple words: 'Welcome to our store'."

Chi Sui clapped her hands together, her eyes curving into happy crescents.

"Aren't we opening this afternoon? Isn't it a bit too last-minute?"

"You said it yourself, it's this afternoon. We have plenty of time, and it's only four words. I believe in you."

Kian opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again. Resigned to his fate, he picked up a notebook and walked over to the little sprites.

The most troublesome thing about teaching monsters to speak was that they could understand human speech, and whatever humans said was automatically translated in their minds into meanings they could comprehend. However, the sounds that came out of their own mouths remained entirely in their native tongue.

They had no awareness of the difference between the two languages. Just like earlier, because the communication had been so fluid, Chi Sui had completely forgotten that what the Myconids were saying wasn't the same language at all.

Such a troublesome task was best left to the apprentice.

Feeling happy once again, Chi Sui hummed a little tune, only remembering to ask after a long while:
"Is there something you came here for?"

With the language barrier making the teaching process a headache, Kian didn't even raise his head.

"You finally remembered to ask me about that..."

"Weren't the restaurant's recipes already finalized? Logically speaking, whether for promotion or to ensure professional standards, people usually invite the Merchants' Guild to conduct an evaluation the day before opening. I just didn't bring it up yesterday because I saw how busy you were."

Pausing for a moment, Kian continued:

"So this morning, I invited a gourmet from the Merchants' Guild to do an evaluation. Mayor Ella should be arriving with them as well."

"Huh?"

Kian's words caught Chi Sui completely off guard, and she didn't react for a moment.

"This morning? Wouldn't they have arrived already?"

Kian looked down at his watch and shrugged.

"Judging by the time, they should have. Come to think of it, you actually know that gourmet..."

Before Kian could finish his sentence, a loud burst of laughter echoed from the cave entrance.

"Hahaha, long time no see, Farm Manager Chi."

Chi Sui glanced at the ingredients neatly arranged in the kitchen and silently breathed a sigh of relief.

That was a close one—she almost got ambushed by Kian.

The owner of the voice appeared inside the restaurant shortly after.

Indeed, it was an old acquaintance: Byron, the only gourmet from the Gale Town competition.

"Long time no see, Mr. Byron."

Seeing the two people enter, Chi Sui nodded at Ella and responded to Byron.

"I heard that Farm Manager Chi was opening a restaurant, so I rushed right over without stopping. I hope Farm Manager Chi doesn't mind the intrusion."

Chi Sui curved the corners of her mouth, maintaining a perfectly measured smile.

"How could that be? I'm more than welcome to have Mr. Byron come and evaluate my food."

Mayor Ella chimed in with a smile from the side,

"Mr. Byron has been of immense help to our Fufeng Town. With a restaurant opening in town, inviting Mr. Byron to conduct the review couldn't be more appropriate."

This remark surprised Chi Sui slightly, prompting her to turn and look at Kian.

She saw him lean in close to her and whisper:
"The town's inn belongs to Mr. Byron. His chain of inns spans the entire Following Wind Fiefdom."

Chi Sui: !

Another tycoon.

Well, it made sense. Without some serious wealth, you couldn't just eat star-level dishes whenever you wanted, let alone turn eating into an entire culinary school of thought.

"Let's put all that aside for now. What is Farm Manager Chi planning to make today?"

Pulled out of her wandering thoughts, Chi Sui replied:
"Just some home-style dishes. Aside from the soup, which needs to simmer for a bit longer, the rest will be ready very soon."

As she spoke, Chi Sui handed over the menu she had prepared.

Since the Myconid sprites were illiterate, and Chi Sui wasn't sure about the literacy rate among the local residents, she had designed the menu using illustrations accompanied by text descriptions. Fortunately, her drawing skills were top-notch; otherwise, she would have had to hire someone just to make the menu.

"Radish cake—this must be the pastry you made during the last competition. Not bad at all. And the corn and pork rib soup... I had something similar once in Green Island; the flavor was rich and savory. It's a wonderful dish," Byron said as he scanned the menu, continuing:
"Stir-fried seasonal vegetables are easy to understand, but this tomato and scrambled egg dish is a first for me. What kind of crop is a tomato?"

It came as a surprise to Chi Sui that Byron didn't know what a tomato was.

On the dish illustration Chi Sui had drawn, the tomatoes had been rendered into an enticing red sauce, masking their original form.

Picking up a tomato from the nearby counter and gesturing with it, Chi Sui replied, "It's this."

"Isn't this a red berry? Of course, I've heard some people on Green Island call them red persimmons. Can this fruit actually be used for stir-frying?"

"Of course it can. You'll see once the food is ready."

Byron nodded and looked toward the corner of the menu.

"It says here that the dishes will change at any time according to the season and ingredients, and to stay tuned. Surely you know how to make even more than this?"

Chi Sui rubbed her chin, fell silent for a moment, and replied:
"My repertoire in this area is quite comprehensive indeed."

Byron was astonished. "You already know so much at your age? Are these recipes left behind by the previous Farm Manager Chi?"

This... was it really that difficult? They were just simple, everyday dishes, basically belonging to the beginner's tier.

For a moment, Chi Sui didn't know how to respond. Gratefully accepting the excuse Byron had handed her, she simply nodded and said yes.

"Why don't Mr. Byron and Mayor Ella take a seat first? I need to get the food on the stove."

"Look at me, forgetting the main purpose of our visit. Go ahead and get busy."

With the brief pleasantries concluded, Chi Sui focused entirely on the ingredients.

The blade flashed, and the tomatoes on the cutting board were sliced into uniform small cubes.

To ensure the best texture, Chi Sui even peeled them beforehand.

The beaten eggs hit the hot pan.

Instantly, a rich, fragrant aroma of eggs filled the air.

Chi Sui remained silent, simply moving the spatula with practiced rhythm.

Before long, the fragrance grew even richer. Since she still hadn't found any rice, Chi Sui opted for pan-fried scallion flatbreads as the staple food for this meal.

"All done! Have a taste!"

On the mushroom table sat three dishes and a plate of scallion flatbreads, appealing to the eye, nose, and palate alike.