Chapter 39: In a Party of Two, There Must Be a Fool

Chapter 39: Chapter 39: In a Party of Two, There Must Be a Fool

In all of Nantong City, it was said that as long as the master gave the word, there was nothing that couldn’t be done, nothing that couldn’t be obtained.

Niu Dou reined in his impatience, waiting for the delicacy that promised to be a magnificent feast.

To that end, he rose from the cool, comfortable pool, got dressed, and made a point of waiting in the rarely used dining room.

He waited for a long time.

He thought he was about to eat a delicious meal, but instead, the rabbit-eared Maid returned with a message: "That delicacy was purchased from outside. It’s all gone now."

Niu Dou: "???"

It’s! All! Gone!

Niu Dou’s eyes flew open, his large, bell-like eyes blazing with fury.

’If I’d never tasted it, that would be one thing. But to whet my appetite only to tell me it’s gone... are they messing with me?’

Niu Dou roared in a thunderous rage, "Who bought it? Drag them in here!"

It happened quickly. Two tall Beastmen dragged Bai Dan and Bai Qi in by the scruffs of their necks and threw them onto the dining room floor.

Hot air snorted from Niu Dou’s nostrils. "You two. If you don’t want to die, you’ll tell me exactly where those two dishes came from."

The two male beasts sat at the dining table, their faces grim and a terrifying aura radiating from them.

Bai Qi was so terrified she lay paralyzed on the floor. Bai Dan was also frightened, her heart pounding as if it would burst, yet her small, dark eyes shone with a glimmer of excitement.

Afraid, yet excited.

Before Niu Dou could question her, Bai Dan prostrated herself on the floor and said in a trembling voice, "Master, the food I offered you came from a sub-female at Thirteen Seats in the South District."

Niu Dou leaned forward in his chair, looking down at the sub-female speaking on the floor.

Bai Dan said, "When I discovered such delicious food, I immediately thought of you, Master. Unfortunately, I have so few coins, and her things are very expensive. A small jar of pickled cabbage sells for six hundred coins, the most basic pan-fried pork is 399 coins, and the pickled cabbage stew is 499 coins."

She cautiously raised her head, tears streaming down her face, and begged for mercy in a choked voice:

"Even though she makes four hundred servings a day, I could only afford two dishes. Please, Master, spare me..."

A greedy glint flashed in Yang Junran’s rectangular pupils. He cut in, "Was that price you just quoted for a single serving?"

"Yes, yes." Bai Dan shrank back, as if afraid the master before her wouldn’t believe her and spare her.

She mustered her courage and added, "By selling this food, that sub-female was able to buy a two-story house right after she arrived."

Niu Dou smacked his lips, savoring the memory. The aroma of the food was enough to make a beast drool. He snorted coldly. "If you didn’t have enough money, why didn’t you get an advance from the Steward? It’s not like I’d short you the coins for the purchase..."

"Captain, haven’t you even thought about it?" Yang Junran turned to Niu Dou, his voice filled with excitement.

"Thought about what?" Niu Dou shot back, annoyed at being interrupted.

"Damn... this is huge." Yang Junran hadn’t tasted the food, so he couldn’t appreciate the sheer quality of its flavor, but he could clearly see its ’value’.

"Four hundred servings, each selling for several hundred coins... doesn’t that mean she’s making over two hundred thousand a day?" As Yang Junran did the math, his breathing quickened.

Niu Dou grunted, "So?"

Yang Junran’s eyes narrowed into a smile. "Food this good must be hard to get every day. The one making it isn’t your sub-female slave. You’d have to send someone with money to buy it from outside, and even then, there’s no guarantee you’d get any."

At this, he looked down at the sub-female on the floor. "Hey, you. Tell me, is this food easy to buy?"

"No, it’s not easy to buy. There’s a long line at that sub-female’s stall every day, and there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to buy anything." After saying her piece, Bai Dan resumed her prostrate position on the floor, looking every bit the loyal, honest, and timid sub-female slave.

’Feng Si, oh, Feng Si. You may be a sub-female with the good fortune to make a fortune, but I’m afraid you won’t live long enough to spend it.’

With her head pressed to the floor, Bai Dan’s face, hidden between her arms, twisted into a venomous smile.

Niu Dou paused. "Then... I’ll just buy the sub-female and have her cook for me."

"While I think that’s a good idea, she... might not be willing," Yang Junran said, licking his lips. "Just take the recipe. Then, we can eat as much as we want, whenever we want. We could even sell what we can’t finish."

’In less than ten days, I’d make more coins than I’ve earned from all my military achievements over the years!’

Niu Dou froze.

’He’s right. It’s better to have something this delicious under my own control.’

If he suddenly craved that pickled cabbage stew one day, even with all the coins in the world, he’d still have to send someone to the South District to buy it. And once he left Nantong City, he wouldn’t be able to get it at all.

The phantom aroma made his mouth water, and what little reason he had left was consumed by his gluttony.

Niu Dou gave a brutish order, "Take the City Guard Team and bring me that sub-female’s cooking recipe. Now."

Bai Dan and Bai Qi remained kneeling, their heads bowed to the floor.

They listened as footsteps began to leave the room.

Tears streamed down Bai Dan’s face.

This time, they were tears of ecstatic joy. She had brought a great disaster down upon Feng Si’s stall. ’Good luck staying alive, Feng Si.’

...

Feng Si’s communicator, long silent, began to flash with a red light on her wrist.

An unfamiliar number appeared on the holographic screen.

Having developed the modern-day habit of avoiding scams by never answering calls from unknown numbers, Feng Si’s first instinct was to reject it.

But as her fingertip touched the metal bracelet on her wrist, she caught herself and accepted the call instead.

A familiar figure appeared on the small holographic screen before her.

"Stall owner, your pickled cabbage is about to make you famous!" said Bai Yi, her eyes shining with excitement on the screen. She had gotten Feng Si’s contact information thanks to her partner’s position as a captain in the City Guard Team.

Feng Si recognized her as the big customer from the other day. ’All the food at my stall is good, isn’t it? Why single out the pickled cabbage?’ A little puzzled, she asked, "What do you mean?"

Bai Yi was giddy, her face flushed. "Of the six jars of pickled cabbage I bought from you last time, I gave one to Niu Lao’s female relative, and she said it was delicious!"

Feng Si just gave a soft "oh."

Bai Yi was practically buzzing with energy. "A *female* praised you! You should be proud of that!"

Feng Si replied, "Okay, okay."

Bai Yi: "..."

’You don’t seem the least bit excited!’

She held up a stack of coins to the screen. With the congratulations out of the way, it was time to get down to business. "The female specifically requested food from your stall. If I place a large order, would you be able to deliver it to us now?"

Feng Si hesitated. "How much do you need?"

Bai Yi answered cheerfully, "One hundred jars of pickled cabbage, one thousand bundles of Green Potato, twenty servings of roast meat, and twenty servings of pickled cabbage stew."

’That really is a huge order.’

’But I have to prep food this afternoon. I don’t have time for a delivery.’

"I’m sorry, I don’t have time right now. Would you mind coming to pick it up yourselves?" Feng Si suggested.

Bai Yi was dumbfounded.

’No way... Did someone just refuse a request made by a female?’