Chapter 242

Li Shuang stood on the corner tower and watched their backs, his heart heavy. Stay or leave? For anyone, it was a gamble involving life and death, but he had already decided to stay.

To his surprise, Li Zhi actually chose to stay and guard, instead of fleeing Dunyu during the chaos.

Master Li was currently on bail pending trial. If he left Dunyucheng, the 150,000 taels of bail money would be confiscated, and not a penny would return to the Li family.

But the Li family didn't care about this money, and he believed Li Zhi didn't care either.

Li Shuang had always determined that this uncle was mediocre and impulsive, but this time his concentration was surprisingly good.

He was very unhappy in his heart. If Li Zhi fled, the Li family would be without a master again, and it would be very easy for him to take the position.

Now, he had to wait for another month or so.

The situation in Dunyucheng changed several times a day, and he really couldn't wait.

It was dark, and Ding Zuodong also arrived at He Su Tower.

Shan Youjun accompanied him. Dunyucheng was full of chaos today, and Ding Zuodong was full of valuable contracts, fearing that they would be robbed.

Not many restaurants in the city were open for business today, but He Su Tower was an exception.

From the cook to the waiter, Ding Zuodong promised heavy rewards. Of course, the most important thing was that this restaurant now belonged to Young Master He, and since the proprietor, who was a weather vane, was so calm, the servants could barely settle their hearts.

However, this old brand had only two tables of guests tonight, who were both regular customers and alcoholics; they would come unless the sky fell.

As soon as Ding Zuodong came in, he sniffed; an indescribable strange fragrance permeated the air.

As a heavy lover of deep-fried peanuts, he could distinguish that there must be a heavy aroma of wide oil inside, but what were the other smells that could actually drill into people's lungs so domineeringly? He called the waiter over and asked, "Where is the big proprietor? Also, what is the kitchen cooking that is so fragrant!"

The waiter answered these two questions in just one sentence:

"The Proprietor has been in the back kitchen for two hours, saying that he won't see anyone except you."

Ding Zuodong and Shan Youjun were both very surprised. At this critical juncture, the Proprietor was actually soaking in the kitchen for an entire afternoon?

His heart was really big; it was almost turning upside down outside! The two hurried to the back kitchen, unexpectedly seeing Mao Tao outside the door. Ding Zuodong recognized this as He Lingchuan's lackey, but didn't expect this person to get a chair and sit at the door, actually guarding the door.

Fortunately, Mao Tao also recognized Ding Zuodong and shouted inside at the top of his voice, "Boss, Steward Ding is here!"

He Lingchuan's voice came from the kitchen. "Steward Ding, please come in."

Mao Tao then stood up to let them pass.

Their curiosity had already been fully aroused, and when they walked in, there was no one else in the kitchen except He Lingchuan.

"Proprietor, what are you doing?"

One basin after another was placed on the table, and at first count there were twenty or thirty; fortunately, this was a large restaurant, and the number of tableware was surprisingly large. The basins were filled with red...

Ding Zuodong pointed to the basin. "Wait a minute, is this oil?"

He was very sure that the strange fragrance drifted from the basin. But the liquid in the basin was bright red with crimson gold, always giving people a murderous feeling.

He Lingchuan walked over. "Yes. How were your results today?"

He could smell that he was covered in oil, especially his hair was very sticky.

Speaking of the battle results, the wrinkles on Ding Zuodong's face stretched out. "Taken! Proprietor, we successfully took the 'Oil Tiger'!" After saying that, he took out a stack of contracts from his bosom and handed them over. "I also took the opportunity to get two shops and thirty acres of irrigated fields today; it was really too cheap to let go."

Shan Youjun poked his head from the side. "The old brand that specializes in sesame oil, 'Oil Tiger'?"

"Is there a second one, unless it's a fake!" Ding Zuodong was rarely high-spirited. "Originally, 'Oil Tiger' was ready to sell to the Shu family, but it was intercepted by me, and the bid was ten taels higher than the Shu family! Hehe, no matter what, it was ten taels higher. You didn't see that brat from the Shu family; his face turned the color of a pig's liver."

Back then, he was driven out by the Shu family with a trumped-up charge, and his heart was full of stuffy anger until now, which was finally vented a little bit.

"He competed with you?" He Lingchuan held a large spoon and fished things out of the boiling pot.

"Only competed once. I stabbed him with two sentences, and he flicked his sleeves and fled."

The last time the Shu family's eldest steward saw Ding Zuodong, he still looked at people with his nostrils and threw a string of coins to dismiss him; this time it was a coincidence, it was still this steward, but he was so angry that he couldn't even talk back and had to leave in a huff.

The feeling of bullying others by relying on power couldn't be said to be refreshing, but it could only be considered pleasant.

Ding Zuodong felt once again that he had embraced the right thigh.

"Congratulations, Proprietor, this entire industry of 'Oil Tiger', including more than ten qing of fields, five oil pressing workshops, and seven oil goods stores, all belong to you!"

One of the big fist products of Dunyu and its surroundings was oil.

Peanut oil, rapeseed oil, and sesame oil could all be sold far outside the province, and even offered to the capital as tribute.

"Oil Tiger" was a thirty-year-old local brand in Dunyu, and even had its own raw material fields, with controllable quality, and was deeply loved by people.

It had also always been one of the key points that Ding Zuodong suggested He Lingchuan to include in his pocket, but before today, the other party couldn't let go, was half-hearted, and even the Shu family couldn't hold it firmly.

"If it weren't for the special situation today, I might not have been able to take it."

"You've worked hard." He Lingchuan poured the things in the pot into a bowl, and then poured the bright red oil from the basin into it. "Come, try it."

The two were stunned and took the bamboo chopsticks handed over by the Proprietor, hesitating for a moment. "Ah, this?"

This Young Master He didn't look like someone who could cook; could it be a hidden skill? Shan Youjun was more straightforward, stretched his chopsticks and picked up a piece of meat soup.

Then he picked up a pair of bean sprouts.

He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed, and his cheeks slowly stopped, and his eyes became rounder and rounder.

He Lingchuan didn't see what he wanted to express. "How is it?"

Shan Youjun didn't have time to answer before he sneezed twice.

Thanks to him remembering to turn his head first.

"Choking! Cough cough cough..." Shan Youjun couldn't even speak a coherent sentence, and his face turned red.

He Lingchuan was prepared, took a cup of water, shaved two lumps of ice and snow from the tree branches outside and added them in, and handed it to him. "Drink it and you'll be fine."

Shan Youjun took it and gulped it down in one breath, letting out a long "Ah."

Ah, relieved.

His performance was too exaggerated, so He Lingchuan found a pair of chopsticks and tasted a bite himself.

Hmm, not the best taste in memory, but it was okay. After all, he was just a foodie, not a chef.

"Old Ding, you try it."

Seeing Shan Youjun's performance, Ding Zuodong was uneasy, but since the Proprietor requested it, he had to raise his chopsticks.

He didn't know what he ate, but the taste exploded in his mouth.

Numbing, spicy, fragrant, taking turns to attack, and finally exploding into a word "fresh."

Eh? Eh? He Lingchuan asked him with a smile. "How is it?"

"I, I can't say it." Ding Zuodong felt for the first time that he was clumsy. "What did I eat?"

"Pig blood."

"Let me try again." Ding Zuodong stretched his chopsticks and picked up another piece of meat soup.

Shan Youjun watched from the side and couldn't help saying, "Don't you think it's spicy?"

"Spicy is tasty." The red oil flowed from the corner of Ding Zuodong's mouth, and he was still unaware. "You are not a local, you don't understand!"

People in the south of Xiazhou liked to eat spicy food, which He Lingchuan already knew; this place even produced small chili peppers.

Shan Youjun saw him eating happily and couldn't help but stretch his chopsticks again.

Although he was hissed and hissed by the spiciness, this taste was just strange; the spicier it was, the more he couldn't stand it, and the more he wanted to eat it.

The two of them picked one chopstick after another, and the bowl soon saw the bottom, leaving only the red oil. Even the last bean sprout was gone, and Ding Zuodong still fished a few times, still unsatisfied.

Shan Youjun, whose throat was smoking, ran outside to chew snow.

He Lingchuan threw two pieces of paper over. "Wipe your mouth."

"Lost my composure, lost my composure!" Ding Zuodong wiped his mouth, and the paper was full of red oil. "Made a fool of myself in front of the Proprietor, but this bowl of ingredients is indeed delicious."

He scooped a spoonful of clear water from the water vat to drink, and then went to find a piece of paper.

So spicy, his nose was clear.

He Lingchuan pointed to the red oil and asked, "Do you think the people of Dunyu will like this?"

"Yes!" Ding Zuodong gave a thumbs up. "Definitely, certainly."

People in Dunyu loved spicy food, but they had never integrated oil, spicy, salty, and numbing together. Ding Zuodong felt that they would definitely tremble from the depths of their souls.

"Then I'll leave this to you; let the chef of He Su Tower study the dishes as soon as possible, and I'll write the ingredients for you."

From the moment Ding Zuodong acquired an old-brand large restaurant, He Lingchuan began to ponder the "Hundred Fragrance Collection" obtained in the Panlong Dream. The spices in it indeed had a configuration method exclusive to the "spicy" series. Besides, he had eaten so much spicy hot pot, skewers, and red oil pots in his previous life, that the taste had long been branded in his memory, and he couldn't help but want to eat it once touched.

So he took spices from the pharmacy this afternoon and started fiddling with them here.

It was barely considered a success.

As the Proprietor, he had finished his work to this point and couldn't put in more energy. The rest would depend on Ding Zuodong and He Su Tower.

Ding Zuodong was overjoyed. "We have a medicine firm, and we also have an oil mill, so making this is not a problem. The formula should be made by special personnel to keep it secret, and add another signboard to He Su Tower!"

He Lingchuan laughed. "No matter how secret it is, it will spread. Even if others don't know, they will try to make it."

Red oil itself had no difficulty. Its existence itself pointed the way for others.

Ding Zuodong also understood this truth. "Keep it for a moment longer if you can."

He Lingchuan scooped water to wash his hands, and heard Ding Zuodong say again, "The Zhan family has left. I heard that they sold their remaining grain and fields to the provincial government, including the reclaimed land they originally ate."

"Before we arrived in Dunyu, the Zhan family was selling their family assets, and half of the people had already moved away. Now they have even less reason to stay." He Lingchuan was not surprised. "Many people followed the Zhan family, right?"

When such a large family migrates, other small nobles and commoners who intend to leave will follow, partly to follow the crowd and partly for safety.

(End of chapter)