Timeline Player

"Not bad." Chi Que dusted off his hands and gave a brief evaluation of his new power.

He washed the pot clean and refilled it with water.

It takes time for the water to boil, so Chi Que used this time to start preparing the ingredients. After he finished preparing them, the water boiled, and he poured them, along with the stew that was already in the pot, into the large pot.

Chi Que quickly covered the pot with the lid and then used a damp cloth to seal the gaps around the edge of the lid to prevent the aroma from escaping.

While the stew was cooking, he used a dissolving and filtering method to extract a little refined salt and added it to the pot for seasoning.

An hour later, Chi Que lifted the pot lid.

A rich aroma wafted towards him, and he turned his face away from the heat. Only after the heat dissipated a bit did he look down at the pot.

The soup was a deep amber color with a thin layer of luster on the surface. The blood had completely dissolved into the soup and was no longer visible.

Chi Que understood the situation.

This soup is no longer a blood soup stew; it's just an ordinary soup, except for being "slightly" delicious.

Cover the pot with the lid and let the stew simmer for a while longer.

He walked to the shop entrance, letting the cool evening breeze blow in and the lingering aroma in the kitchen slowly dissipate.

A young man was passing by the shop when he suddenly turned around and stared in surprise at the signboard whose words were no longer legible.

"Huh?" He looked Chi Que up and down, then glanced at the shop. "This shop... has been sold?"

Chi Que leaned against the door frame: "I just took over today."

The young man sighed, his tone regretful: "This eatery used to be the best on this street."

Chi Que's heart skipped a beat: "And then?"

"And then?" The young man gave a wry smile. "Later, he offended the guards, and the customers, afraid of getting into trouble, gradually stopped coming. Now that you've taken over his shop, I'm afraid it will cause you trouble."

He paused, then said in a low voice, "Moreover, I heard that he recently borrowed money from a businessman from out of town to tide him over, but judging from the current situation... it seems he can't be saved. If any of the businessmen come knocking on his door, won't you have to pay off the debt for him?"

Chi Que glanced at him with some surprise.

In this town, most people are too busy taking care of themselves to do anything, so the person who would say these things to a stranger must be a kind-hearted person.

"What's your name?" he asked.

The young man paused, seemingly surprised by the question. He scratched the back of his head and said, "You can just call me Reed."

"Reid." Chi Que memorized the name, paused, and then asked, "Are you free tonight?"

Reed blinked. "...Yes, I do. What's wrong?"

"I made a pot of soup." Chi Que turned his head and gestured towards the shop. "You told me what you were saying earlier, so consider this a thank you gift. Also, please taste it for me; consider it advertising."

Reed hesitated for a moment, then peeked into the shop and caught a faint scent.

"Well... I'll take the things back first and come back later." He hesitated for a moment, then agreed.

Chi nodded, without saying anything more.

He returned to the shop and waited for customers to arrive.

Half an hour passed.

There wasn't a single person there.

"It's really deserted," he murmured to himself.

Holy crap! Are ordinary people in this world so poor that they can't even afford to eat dinner out?!

That's true. After all, as far as he knew, eating out was considered a luxury in the Middle Ages. Even though he lived in a city and had relatively high spending power, a newly opened restaurant would naturally not attract customers.

Just as he was pondering whether he had gone wrong from the start in opening the shop, the door to the cookbook was pushed open.

Chi Que jumped, immediately turning his gaze over: "Welcome! What would you like to eat? Uh...?"

Three people walked in. The one in the lead was a man who looked to be in his forties. He had a bulging leather bag hanging from his waist, and the fabric of his clothes looked fine, not something an ordinary commoner could afford.

Behind him were two attendants dressed as guards, with swords at their waists. They looked travel-worn and were probably itinerant merchants from afar.

Vincent wasn't in a good mood at the moment.

He lent money to the shop owner, but later found out that the owner had offended the local guards. He immediately regretted it and wanted to get the money back, but unexpectedly, the money came from a different person.

Even so, he still wanted to get his money back.

He was about to call for his guards when he suddenly stopped.

A complex and intense fragrance entered his nostrils in that instant. Vincent could only faintly smell this fragrance on a few extremely prestigious occasions, such as aristocratic banquets.

Could this be... spices?!

These precious items that emit such fragrance are all more valuable than gold. They are transported across mountains and rivers, risking lives, from the far east. A single transaction is enough to bankrupt an ordinary nobleman.

This is a symbol of power, wealth, and piety, used only in the most sacred religious ceremonies, or adorning the plates of the most elite nobles or even royal banquets, enough to increase the value of a dish a hundredfold!

Even the Vatican only burns a small amount on the altar on holy days to show piety and dignity.

Who would use such precious spices in cooking?!

And it's a seemingly ordinary restaurant?!

Vincent even held his breath immediately, not daring to inhale even a fraction of the rich fragrance, fearing it would diminish his good fortune.

The two attendants behind him also smelled the incredible fragrance. Having traveled with him all over the country, they naturally had their own experiences.

But more than a merchant's keen sense of money, what they felt first was their appetite. Their stomachs, already rumbling from exhaustion, immediately growled the moment they smelled the aroma.

Chi Que's expression also turned strange.

What a coincidence!

It turned out to be a merchant exchanging blood coins at the city gate.

Of course, the businessman at this moment did not yet possess the imposing presence he would have in the future; instead, he appeared somewhat awkward.

"What would you all like to eat?" Chi Que had recovered from his surprise by now. After all, he was a guest.

Vincent was jolted out of his shock by the question and looked at the shopkeeper with a look of utter absurdity in his eyes.

He's going crazy.

"What...what kind of food...does your shop...smell like this..." Vincent asked in a dry voice. He wasn't really asking; he had simply lost his silver tongue as a businessman for the moment.

Seeing the fascinating expression on the other person's face, Chi Que realized that he might have gone a bit too far.

However, this explosive impact is exactly what he wants.

He maintained a calm expression: "Today's dish is a red broth stew. Would you like one?"

Vincent hesitated. His intuition told him that this was not something he could afford, but with such delicious food in front of him, he worried that if he missed it, he would regret it in the middle of the night and slap himself.

"Please... bring me whatever you like." He gritted his teeth and pulled a gold coin from his pocket.

Then, as if he felt it wasn't enough, he took out another, slightly smaller one and respectfully pushed it in front of Chi Que.