With wives as numerous as clouds and soldiers as numerous as a million, you say he's a useless

Ye Cheng'an took Zhu Yu directly to the kitchen.

"Bring me some locusts."

Although Zhuyu was very curious about what the young master was going to do, she didn't ask and obediently helped him get dozens of locusts.

Ye Chengan skillfully cleaned the locusts, marinated them with salt and chili powder, and finally heated oil in a wok, coated them with egg liquid and batter, and fried them in the hot oil.

zizi.

As the frying sound rang out, a rich and unique aroma instantly filled the entire kitchen.

Before long, Ye Chengan served a plate of golden and crispy fried locusts.

"Let's go, let Her Highness the Princess taste my cooking!" Ye Cheng'an carried the plate and walked out.

Zhu Yu was completely stunned. No, her young master was going to feed the princess locusts?

Although the deep-frying process produced a very fragrant smell, it couldn't change the fact that they were locusts!

If the princess finds out, the young master will be severely punished!

Zhu Yu tried to stop him, but Ye Cheng'an had already placed the plate of deep-fried locusts, whose original form was no longer recognizable, in front of Zhao Xuefu.

"Princess, this is the Golden Crispy Dragon Wings I was talking about. Would you like to try my cooking?"

What attracted Zhao Xuefu even more than the Golden Dragon Wings was Ye Cheng'an's smile.

In all the time she had known Ye Cheng'an, this was the first time she had ever seen him so respectful, ingratiating, and even fawning towards her.

How strange, isn't this young master from the North always keeping his distance from her? Why is he acting like this this time...?

Is there something wrong with this dish?

Thinking this, Zhao Xuefu gave Ning Shuang a wink.

Ning Shuang stepped forward instantly, picked up a golden and crispy locust coated in egg liquid and batter, and put it in her mouth.

As she chewed, surprise gradually appeared in her eyes, followed by a murmur, "What is this? How can it taste so good? I've never eaten anything like this before?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xuefu was stunned. Ning Shuang was her personal maid, who was responsible for testing poisons for her. Therefore, Ning Shuang had tasted all the delicacies that Zhao Xuefu had eaten.

However, Ye Cheng'an's dishes received such high praise from Ning Shuang...

This made her curious about the taste of the Golden Crispy Dragon Wings.

She picked up a piece of golden dragon wing with her jade chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and took a gentle bite. What followed was a delightful surprise, like frost.

But then her gaze fell on the cross-section of the golden dragon wing that she had bitten open.

"This is... a kind of insect?" Zhao Xuefu murmured, then thought of Ye Cheng'an's actions of having people catch locusts to pay taxes, and even having so many locusts caught in fine nets brought back from Panlong City...

Her face suddenly turned incredibly ugly, and she glared at Ye Cheng'an with eyes full of anger, "Ye Cheng'an, you, you actually dared to feed me locusts..."

"How dare you!"

As expected, the princess discovered that the Golden Dragon Wings were made by locusts.

Zhu Yu secretly felt a chill for Ye Cheng'an.

However, Ye Cheng'an remained calm and said, "Princess, why are you in such a hurry? Is it because these locusts don't taste good?"

"No, that's not it. It's just that I am a princess, how could you let me eat such disgusting insects as locusts..." Zhao Xuefu frowned.

Ye Cheng'an laughed, "Where is it disgusting? I saw the princess eating with great relish just now! She didn't feel disgusted at all!"

"You..." Zhao Xuefu was speechless for a moment.

Ye Cheng'an continued, "To be honest, before I went to Panlong City, I had already made plans to make Golden Crispy Dragon Wings from locusts. Furthermore, I bribed the people of Yong'an City to write a lotus ballad about the princess's love for Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, and had them sing it throughout the entire city."

"The princess of the capital tasted a novelty: Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, their aroma filling the streets. Crispy and golden, each bite is better than the finest delicacies. Wealthy merchants nodded and smiled, and even the common people came to seek them out..."

"Soon, this Golden Crispy Dragon Wings will be renowned under your name, Princess, and locusts will become a rare delicacy, fetching a high price!"

"I can guarantee that this Golden Crispy Dragon Wings will be priceless and unavailable in the future. Even if the Emperor himself... even His Majesty wanted to eat it, he wouldn't be able to! Princess, you should thank me for letting you taste it for free."

"Furthermore, I am a kind-hearted person. Since this Golden Crispy Dragon Wings is made using your name, Princess, I am willing to give you 20% of the profits from selling locusts and making the Golden Crispy Dragon Wings!"

Upon hearing that Ye Cheng'an had been planning this for a long time and intended to make money from it, Zhao Xuefu composed herself slightly. Since the locusts had already been eaten and the facts could not be changed, instead of arguing with Ye Cheng'an, she might as well think about how to maximize her profits.

"Twenty percent is too little. Since you're using my name, you should at least give me forty percent!"

"Princess, you are indeed a clever woman, knowing how to maximize profits. However, I caught the locusts, and I came up with the idea for the Golden Dragon Wings. It is absolutely impossible for you to get 40% of the profits, at most 30%!" Ye Cheng'an said. "If you accept this, I will give you a share of the profits after the locusts are sold."

"On the contrary, if you are unwilling, then I will have no choice but to swallow this immense wealth and honor all by myself!"

"You dare!!!" Upon hearing Ye Cheng'an's demand that she pocket the money, Zhao Xuefu immediately retorted, "Thirty percent! Thirty percent!"

With the imperial court currently facing an empty treasury and a shortage of funds, she certainly wouldn't miss any opportunity to make money.

Moreover, Ye Cheng'an caught quite a few locusts.

In addition, there are other cities involved, so we're sure to make a fortune.

Although she couldn't yet help her father conquer the northern border, earning some money to ease his burdens was a way for her to fulfill her duties as a princess.

"Princess, you are indeed straightforward. It's settled then. I'll head to Juxianglou now to discuss the cooperation with the manager. Princess, please wait for my good news." With that, Ye Cheng'an, along with Zhuyu, instructed the Tiger Roar Camp brothers to load a large number of locusts onto a carriage and head towards Juxianglou in the city.

After he left, Zhao Xuefu picked up another piece of golden dragon wing pastry, put it in her mouth, and said, "This taste...it doesn't taste like locusts at all!"

Juxianglou.

The place was deserted and lifeless.

Both the shopkeeper and the staff looked utterly dejected.

Recently, some scoundrel spread the rumor that "the princess loves to eat Golden Crispy Dragon Wings," and even said, "If you want to know where to find Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, everyone will point to Juxianglou!" This has really caused him and Juxianglou a lot of trouble.

Every guest who came specifically asked for the Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, a dish that was said to be loved by even the princess. But he had never heard of this dish before.

One after another, they couldn't produce anything, so they had their Juxianglou signboard taken down. If this continues, the restaurant will go bankrupt.

The shopkeeper, Zhao Dingchang, grew increasingly furious. He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "You son of a bitch! If I ever find out who spread these rumors and ruined my Juxianglou, I'll strangle that bastard!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Cheng'an walked in with Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu glanced at her young master with concern, fearing that Ye Cheng'an would be angry because of the shopkeeper's insults.

But Ye Cheng'an didn't care at all; he had no father, and Ye Jinglan was not even as good as a bear.

The waiter hurriedly went up to them, "Young master, if you're here to eat, our restaurant welcomes you, but if you're looking for Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, please leave... We at Juxiang Restaurant simply don't have that dish, and we can't offer it."

Ye Cheng'an smiled faintly, "It doesn't matter if you can't produce it, this young master will make you produce it."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dingchang immediately looked at Ye Chengan and, seeing the man's extraordinary demeanor, understood what was going on.

"Could it be that you started all these rumors, young master?"

Ye Cheng'an did not deny it, "That's right, Manager Zhao is indeed exceptionally intelligent. Doing business requires someone as quick-witted as you."

"But how is your method any different from forced buying and selling? It can hardly be considered honorable!" Zhao Dingchang was filled with anger.

Ye Cheng'an laughed, "Does it matter whether it's aboveboard or not? What matters is that the name of Golden Crispy Dragon Wings has already spread far and wide, successfully resounding throughout Yong'an City, and your Juxiang Pavilion's reputation is also quite high. Now, as long as you take out Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, you can make a fortune!"

"Furthermore, I'm not afraid to tell you, boss, that the person behind this is the Ninth Princess from the imperial court. She wants to bestow upon you an immense fortune..."

With the princess's title as a blessing, and after Ye Cheng'an made Golden Crispy Dragon Wings for the shopkeeper to taste, the two were finally able to sit down and have a proper talk.

"May I ask, young master, how much do you intend to sell me the recipe for Golden Crispy Dragon Wings?" After tasting the Golden Crispy Dragon Wings, Zhao Dingchang became much more respectful to Ye Chengan.

Ye Chengan laughed, "I won't sell it. You buy the ingredients for Golden Crispy Dragon Wings from me, and I'll give you the recipe for free!"

Deep-frying doesn't require any special skills. As long as the chef knows the ingredients, he can tell after just one bite. Ye Cheng'an didn't intend to make money from it.

"Such a good thing? I wonder what the ingredients for this Golden Crispy Dragon Wings are..." Zhao Dingchang asked, his face full of questions.

Ye Cheng'an clapped his hands and had Zhang Hanfeng and the other two drag the raw materials up.

Upon seeing the giant nets containing tens of thousands of locusts, Zhao Dingchang felt his scalp tingle and his legs go weak, almost causing him to collapse to the ground. "Young Master, the raw material for your Golden Crispy Dragon Wings is locusts..."

"What? Is the shopkeeper scared? Doesn't dare to accept this enormous fortune?" Ye Cheng'an asked rhetorically.

Zhao Dingchang looked grim and hesitated for a long time before giving a reply.

Ye Cheng'an said, "Shopkeeper, what are you afraid of? Before you saw these locusts, didn't you eat Golden Crispy Dragon Wings with great relish? Besides, what's wrong with locusts? Even the princess can eat them, so why can't you?"

"If I were you, I'd sell the Golden Crispy Dragon Wings first, dragging more people into this mess. Once they've tasted their deliciousness, would they still care what they're made of?"

"Moreover, not only that, they will all become your living advertisements. No one will tell others that the delicacy they paid a high price for was locusts. When friends ask, they will only praise the taste as exceptional and drag their friends into it. After everyone has eaten it, no one will care about the ingredients of Golden Crispy Dragon Wings!"

"It's always been this way: the bold get rich, the timid starve. If you don't dare to do this business, I'll find someone else. I've come to you today only to give you a chance to make a fortune. Whether you can seize it or not is entirely up to you..."

After analyzing the pros and cons, Ye Cheng'an stopped trying to persuade him and got up to leave.

Zhang Hanfeng and his men also ordered their subordinates to lift the large net filled with locusts, preparing to leave.

However, at that moment, Zhao Dingchang's voice suddenly rang out, "Young Master, wait!"

"You're right. Someone's destined to do this deal anyway, so why can't it be me?"

"I'd like to know, young master, how much do you plan to sell these locusts for?"