Chapter 95: Booming Business

The newcomer was none other than Yuanwai Zhao.

Zhao Anqi said with a smile, "I arrived late today; please do not take offense, young lady!"

Zhao Mubai, standing beside him, presented a congratulatory gift: "Congratulations to Miss Chi on the grand opening of your business."

"Thank you, Yuanwai Zhao and Young Master Zhao. Please take a seat in the private room upstairs." As Chi Nan Yi finished speaking, a servant hurried forward and, with great attentiveness, ushered them upstairs.

As he passed by Chi Nan Yi, Zhao Mubai paused slightly and said with a smile, "Miss Chi is even more beautiful today than when I last saw you."

"Thank you for the compliment, Young Master."

"Miss Chi, among today's congratulatory gifts is a fine lip balm. I hope Miss Chi will like it."

Lip balm?

Why would he give her such a thing?

After saying this, a flush of red flew across Zhao Mubai's face, and he quickened his pace toward the stairs.

Seeing this, Chi Nan Yi could not help but be taken aback.

A perfectly fine young master—how could he be like a young lady, still getting shy?

She did not think too much of it and continued to attend to the customers coming through the door downstairs.

At this moment, Mo Junyan, in the private room upstairs, took in this scene, a trace of gloom flashing in his eyes.

Sensing the change in his master's aura, Yun Shan could not help but break a sweat for Zhao Anqi and Zhao Mubai.

Courting Miss Chi right in front of the master—wasn't that courting death?

By now, quite a crowd had gathered outside the medicinal dining shop, all peering inside with great curiosity, eager to know what food made from medicine would taste like.

If the taste was passable, they would come in for a meal; if it was as hard to swallow as medicine, they would not spend money to suffer.

For every person who came through the door to have medicinal cuisine, she would take their pulse one by one and recommend dishes suited to nourishing their bodies.

At first, everyone assumed that food made from medicinal herbs would probably taste the same as the herbs themselves. Those who came specifically to try the same dishes as the Prince figured that even if it tasted awful, they would still try it once. But they never imagined that this medicinal cuisine would be completely different from what they had pictured.

Smelling that rich aroma, everyone could not help but wonder—was this really medicinal cuisine?

"Rest assured, sir. This medicinal cuisine is our shopkeeper's exclusive secret recipe. Not only does it smell wonderful, but it is also greatly beneficial to the body," Qingyue said with a smile. "Our shopkeeper just took your pulse. You have recently recovered from an illness and are deficient in both vital energy and blood. This Eight-Treasure Soup with stewed pigeon is the most suitable for you."

Lifting the lid, the fresh fragrance of the pigeon soup brightened one's eyes; after a tentative sip, one felt their entire body warm up.

That man held the pigeon soup and drank it all without even lifting his head.

"Good! Good! I truly never expected this pigeon soup to be so delicious. Most importantly, my body feels much more comfortable—I even have energy again."

When he first entered the shop, his complexion was slightly sallow, and every movement he made conveyed a sense of listlessness. After drinking this bowl of soup, not only did his complexion return to normal, even his voice became much more resonant.

The crowd noticed his change and could not help but feel somewhat skeptical.

"This person isn't a plant, is he!"

"I'd say so. How could anything boiled from medicinal herbs taste good?"

"Exactly. A while back, my grandmother was unwell, and the doctor said to stew soup with ginseng whiskers. I took one sip—don't even mention how awful it was."

"But if it really tasted awful, how could he drink it so cleanly? And did you notice that man's complexion just now? When he entered the shop his face was still deathly pale, but now it's become rosy. Could it be that this medicinal cuisine really has some miraculous effect?"

Hearing this, everyone shook their heads: "It's just a bowl of medicinal cuisine. Even medicine doesn't have such a good effect—you're counting on medicinal cuisine?"

Just as the crowd was puzzling over this, Yuanwai Zhao's hearty laughter rang out from the private room upstairs: "I truly never expected that food made from medicinal herbs could taste this good—even better than the chef at my own estate."

Yuanwai Zhao was of military background to begin with, and his voice carried far. Moreover, since he intended to build momentum for Chi Nan Yi, he spoke even louder.

The people still lingering outside heard it clearly, and all at once their hearts stirred. More than half of them stepped into the shop.

After a simple pulse reading, Chi Nan Yi had them choose from the medicinal dishes they could eat based on their physical conditions.

As more and more dishes were brought out, the aroma of medicinal cuisine drifted across half the street.

Her shop was already the largest in this town, but even so, many people were still lined up at the entrance.

They had never seen this kind of one-on-one pulse-taking and ordering model before, and found it very novel. Most importantly, everyone who ate the medicinal cuisine found the taste excellent, and after eating, they could genuinely feel the changes in their bodies—it was even more effective than medicine.

Word spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred, and the medicinal dining shop became a complete sensation.

"Shopkeeper Chi, did you put some miraculous panacea in this medicinal cuisine? Why do I feel my body has become lighter after eating it?"

Using Spirit Spring Water to make medicinal cuisine, the effects were naturally extraordinary.

Chi Nan Yi said with a smile, "What miraculous panacea? Medicine and food share the same origins—it's simply that the remedy matched the ailment."

"In that case, Shopkeeper Chi is also a Divine Doctor!"

"I wouldn't presume to call myself a Divine Doctor—I merely know a little medicine."

Just then, Zhao Anqi and Zhao Mubai came down from the second floor. Zhao Anqi said with a smile, "Miss Chi, this medicinal cuisine is truly extraordinary!"

"Yuanwai Zhao is too kind."

"I never say things I do not mean; Miss Chi need not be so modest." Zhao Anqi cast a covert glance toward the private room where Mo Junyan was seated. To have His Highness Prince Li personally come to show his support—just who was this Miss Chi?

After eating the medicinal cuisine today, not only did he feel refreshed and clear-headed, even the old internal injuries in his body seemed to have eased.

"Miss Chi, I wonder—could the medicinal cuisine be prepared and delivered to the Zhao household?"

"Certainly." His reminder instantly brought to Chi Nan Yi's mind a complete sales model for medicinal cuisine.

"I will develop a set of recipes based on your physical condition and deliver them to your estate daily. Half a month will constitute one cycle, and after two weeks I will trouble you to come back for another pulse reading."

"Good!" Yuanwai Zhao nodded without hesitation. "In that case, our Zhao family's medicinal cuisine shall be entirely in your hands."

"And our family's too." A young master squeezed his way in and said with a smile, "You must be Shopkeeper Chi! I am from the Wu family. My grandmother ate your medicinal cuisine and thought it excellent. Our family would like to order half a month's worth first."

"Good." Chi Nan Yi gave Yun Shan a look beside her. Yun Shan then came over with paper and brush and recorded the names.

Quite a number of well-off families in town came forward to sign up.

For a time, the shop was bustling with activity.

No one noticed a carriage that had been parked outside the shop for quite some time.

"Madam, this subordinate has already had someone verify it—this is indeed a shop opened by the Chi Family."

A woman dressed in plain-colored garments sat upright in the carriage and lifted the curtain to gaze toward the medicinal dining shop.

I didn't expect a woman could actually afford such a large shop.

Madam, shall we go in and take a look?