Chapter Eighteen: Du Qing Xi

  As the woman entered, the room suddenly fell silent, and even Jo Nam and Bae Byeol, who were self-absorbed and infatuated with themselves, instinctively shut their mouths.

  Chen Yao raised her eyes and saw that the woman had a tall and slender figure, a jade nose and cherry lips, eyebrows and eyes like a painting, skin as white as snow, wearing a black dress, from afar, she looked like a solitary and proudly blooming black peony, exuding a unique icy feeling.

  Her name is Du Qingxi, the owner of Qingxi Wine House. She usually stays at home and rarely appears in the wine house. Her background is quite mysterious and her strength is unknown to anyone. It's said that even General Qin from the General's Mansion has to show respect when he sees her.

  Bai Wei Qing's soft and pleasant voice quietly entered Chen Tai's ears, and he finally understood the identity of the woman in front of him. He couldn't help but feel slightly surprised that someone so young could be in charge of the first wine house in Songyan City, this woman's ability was indeed astonishing.

  Du Qingxi walked in and directly ignored everyone, only casting a glance at Chen Yu without leaving any trace. He then turned his gaze to Old Man Ma and said straightforwardly: "The apprentices you recruit will be provided with 100 yuan stones per day, and the materials used for cooking practice will also be supplied free of charge. However, they must sign a three-year contract with me, guaranteeing that they will only work at Qingxi Wine House for three years. How about it?" His voice was cold and clear, carrying an unmistakable tone.

  Old Ma shook his head and said: "I only teach cooking skills, you have to negotiate with that young man for these things."

  Du Qingxi furrowed her eyebrows and looked at Chen Tang, saying slowly: "The conditions I stated are clear to you, aren't they? Whether or not to sign the agreement is up to you."

  To be honest, such conditions were beyond Chen Yu's expectations. Originally, he thought it would be a blessing to earn dozens of yuan per day, but he didn't expect Du Qingxi to directly offer a daily salary of 100 yuan, which made him stunned and also felt extremely delighted.

  After a moment of contemplation, Chen Tang made up his mind and replied: "I can agree to work exclusively at Qingxi Wine House, but the time cannot be guaranteed. However, one thing is certain, as long as I am in Songyan City for a day, I will not choose to work for any other wine house."

  He did so also in case of any unexpected event, he had too many things on his back and couldn't guarantee whether he could be a spiritual apprentice chef at Qingxi Wine House for three years.

  Du Qingxi was taken aback for a moment, seemingly not expecting Chen Tang to haggle with him. After half a beat, he coldly nodded and said, "I hope you can keep your word."

  She turned and left, her movements neat and efficient, without any hesitation or lingering.

  From the moment Du Qingxi walked into the house to the time she left, it was only a brief moment, but her majestic aura and decisive words were fully displayed, paired with her proud and cold stunning beauty, just like a high-ranking queen inspecting her own territory, making people involuntarily feel a sense of reverence.

  But these had little effect on Chen Yao, he only knew that he had become a spiritual apprentice with a daily salary of over 100 yuan stones, so he was in a very good mood and didn't care about Du Qingxi's attitude being too strong.

  ……

  "Miss, I've investigated clearly, this is the detailed information about Chen Tang." Wu Feng handed over a paper note with a respectful expression.

  Wu Feng's complexion was pale and delicate, with a gentle temperament. From the moment Du Qingxiu was born, Wu Feng had been arranged to be by his side, like a shadow that never left him.

  "Chen Tai, originally the eldest grandson of the Chen family in Songyan City..."

  A piece of paper recorded all things about Chen Tai in detail, from his birth to the present, big or small, all presented on a thin sheet of paper.

  Du Qingxi finished reading, and a rare hint of surprise floated in his cold, star-like eyes: "Family extermination, parents separated, engagement destroyed, grandfather killed... This guy is really unlucky, no wonder he's called the broom star."

  "Miss, you wouldn't be taking pity on him and offering such generous terms, would you? Those ingredients are all filled with spiritual energy, to let him use them for free seems... somewhat inappropriate?"

  Du Qingxi said with a smile, "As long as he can learn one-tenth of the culinary skills from Old Man Ma before going to Nanman to temper himself, what's the harm in wasting some materials?"

  Wu Feng seemed to realize something and exclaimed: "Miss, are you really going to that southern barbarian land?"

  Du Qingxi said calmly, "That's right, I've already obtained a Yuan Dan seal, and reducing my strength to the Xiantian realm is no longer a problem. However, you also know that the Southern Barbarian Slaughter Domain has withered spiritual energy and overwhelming slaughter energy. If I had spent three years there without the company of a Ling chef, it would have been a dead end."

  Wu Feng said in surprise: "How can it be three years? Normally, the Southern Barbarian Border opens for less than three months before closing. Is there something unusual this time?"

  Du Qingxi gave Wu Feng a cold glance before saying after a long while: "These are things that my father entrusted to me, are you certain you want to know?"

  Wu Feng suddenly shuddered as if he had thought of something terrifying, and hastily shook his head: "This subordinate is only worried about the young lady's safety, absolutely no intention of offending."

  Du Qingxi waved his hand and ordered, "You retreat first, remember not to spread the word about Chen Tang practicing culinary skills at Qingxi Wine House. Although the Li family is small, it has the backing of the Nanjiang Su family, so it's better not to have a dispute with them."

  Wu Feng solemnly agreed, his body swayed, transformed into a faint wisp of black smoke, and disappeared.

  ……

  Not long after Du Qingxi left, Bai Weiqing also bid farewell and left. As for Qiao Nan and Pei Shaoyan, Old Master Ma directly waved his iron spoon to drive the two out of the room, leaving only him and Chen Yao.

  Old Master Ma didn't like beating around the bush and had no intention of chatting with Chen Tang, so he immediately started teaching cooking skills.

  Before the transmission of art, a row of wooden puppets held plates like flowing water in front of Chen Tai, each plate containing several uncut ingredients, with spiritual energy spreading and dazzling.

  Chen Tuan roughly calculated that there were over a hundred dishes and thousands of ingredients, and he couldn't help but pause for a moment. What was Old Master Ma going to do?

  "This thousand three hundred and eight kinds of ingredients involve fruits, grains, spiritual grasses, demonic bird blood and flesh... They are the most basic ingredients, also known as lower-level ingredients. As long as you can use these ingredients to cook various different dishes, and their effects can be used by later-stage cultivators, then that's considered entry-level."

  "I'm now demonstrating to you the methods for thirteen dishes, these thirteen methods each have their own emphasis, knife work, spiritual fire, five elements matching and so on are all different, pay attention and learn."

  Old Horse's eyes sparkled as he spoke at length, then came to the kitchen counter, casually grabbed seven or eight ingredients and started teaching in person.

  "This dish is called Spicy Red Braised Crimson Prawn, the Crimson Prawn lives on the banks of spiritual water, grows to one foot in length, has a cold and refreshing property, tender and delicious meat. To cook it, you must use the red yang attribute, spicy sea pepper as an auxiliary ingredient, assisted by fragrant grass, green wild boar oil, emerald salt and other seasonings, cooked with fierce yang fire..."

  While speaking, Old Man Ma's hands didn't stop, first dissecting the materials, then manipulating the spiritual fire. After the fire was hot, he added seasonings and quickly stirred the pot with a ladle, his movements smooth and swift, looking extremely casual and carefree.

  Chen Ting's eyes stared unwaveringly at Old Man Ma, fully focused.

  His five-year career as a professional gamer helped him develop an excellent habit, which is to fully devote himself to whatever he wants to do in a very short period of time.

  For these ten days, Chen Yao had been tirelessly visualizing the image of Fuxi, and his spiritual power was making astonishing progress at an incredible speed, already nearing the edge of a breakthrough.

  As soon as his attention was focused, his mind instantly entered a state of emptiness, and Master Ma's movements slowed down in his eyes. Every move, every step was accurately captured by him and remembered in his heart.

  Splish-splash!

  A thread of pungent and spicy peculiar fragrance wafted through the entire room.

  Not long after, on the white jade plate, a crimson lobster sprawled across it, with threads of glistening and bubbling broth sizzling on its surface, emitting a mouth-watering spicy aroma.

  "Taste the flavor, and if you can't reach this level in the future, don't tell others that you're my apprentice!" Old Master Ma was radiant with an air of pride and arrogance, clearly having immense confidence in his craftsmanship.

  Chen Yao swallowed hard, picked up her chopsticks and gently tapped the shrimp shell, which split open to reveal a neat gap. The snow-white crystal shrimp meat inside was exposed, and the aroma became even more intense and enticing. She lightly picked up a piece of shrimp meat that was emitting a burst of steam, and put it in her mouth.

  As soon as the shrimp meat landed on his tongue, a unique numbing and spicy sensation instantly swept through his entire body. Chen Tang only felt his tongue tremble slightly, as if electrified, and his mouth was filled with a tingling, smooth, and tender feeling. He couldn't help but gently chew, the shrimp meat was delicate and elastic, the flavor was spicy and refreshing, lingering and smooth, extremely delicious.

  "How are you?" Old Man Ma crossed his arms over his chest, looking very confident.

  "Let me have another bite," Chen said vaguely. As he spoke, he waved his chopsticks again, and the shrimp disappeared in an instant, just like a starving ghost devouring its food, swallowing it whole without any of his usual calmness or composure.

  It's no wonder Chen Tang was so out of control, this red lobster is really too delicious, for him who has been eating only plain rice and salted vegetables for over a decade, the red lobster is no different from the rarest delicacy in the world, making people irresistible.

  What's more important is that after eating the Red Lin Shrimp, he clearly felt a rich and thick spiritual energy gushing into his Dantian like a stream, which actually caused his cultivation to surge up suddenly!

  Chen Xiao couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder, no wonder the wealthy and aristocratic families all have their own spiritual chefs. Not only can they savor delicious flavors, but also absorb spiritual energy. Who wouldn't be delighted to enjoy such dishes?

  Ma Lao Tou was very satisfied with Chen Ting's performance. Actions often speak louder than words, and Chen Ting's wolfing down of the food earlier was undoubtedly the highest praise for the culinary skills. However, he still sneered: "You little brat, this is a dish prepared for post-heaven cultivators, can't you have some dignity?"

  Chen Xiao remained silent, but in her heart she was extremely embarrassed, earlier she had indeed been too out of line...

  "For a qualified spiritual chef, delicious dishes are a way to untie the tongue and make the cultivation life rich and colorful, which is the ultimate goal that every spiritual chef has been exploring and climbing for in his whole life. Young man, wanting to become a qualified spiritual chef isn't such a simple thing."

  Old Ma's expression suddenly became solemn and serious, his eyes revealing an endless fervent determination.

  Chen Xiao was lost in thought, and unconsciously, he was filled with anticipation for his future life!