You've already caught the embroidered ball, and you still say it's not my husband?

Lu Xuan picked up a bowl of beef noodles with more meat than noodles and walked to a spot by the window against the wall... to eat it standing up!

The noodle shop, which is only about 20 square meters, was packed with customers and every seat was taken!

"Tsk tsk tsk, my sister's cooking is really good. She's even running a noodle shop quite well." Lu Xuan praised as he ate his noodles and listened to the bustling noise in the shop.

Dongda Street is the busiest and most prosperous area in Qingyang County. Its good location naturally attracts a large number of visitors.

Of course, the success of a business depends more on the quality and price of its products.

Lu Qingqing had worked as a kitchen helper in a restaurant for many years. An elderly master chef, seeing her diligence and not wanting to take his noodle-making skills to his grave, passed them on to her...

At that moment, the customers in the store were amazed after tasting the noodles and praised them highly!

Perhaps the master chef also gave Lu Qingqing some pointers on opening a shop. Yi Wan Xiang Mian Restaurant launched three different price points for noodles to cater to customers with different spending power.

Plain noodles, priced at ten coins.

Fish noodles, priced at twenty coins.

Beef noodles, priced at twenty-five coins. (Bao Bulu is overjoyed!)

...You can add as many side dishes as you want in the shop, and even the noodles are free refills!

In addition, to attract customers and make a splash by opening a new store today, everything is half price!

It's hard for a noodle shop not to be packed!

The diners were engrossed in slurping their noodles, eating with great relish, and their praises rose and fell in waves.

"This vegetarian noodle soup is absolutely amazing! Other places' vegetarian noodles are bland and tasteless, but your soup base looks light, but it's actually simmered until it's rich and flavorful, just as good as meat noodles, and there are even free side dishes... Don't even mention the half-price five coins, even the original price of ten coins would be a great deal!"

"A bowl of beef noodles contains two ounces of cooked beef! The portion is generous, and the beef is stewed until it's so tender it falls off the bone and melts in your mouth... It's truly delicious and a great deal!"

"Everything is expensive on East Street. Boss lady, are you sure you won't lose money selling beef noodles for twenty-five coins? Please don't drive the noodle shop out of business, or I'll have nowhere to eat noodles."

"A bite of noodles with a bite of meat, followed by a sip of rich soup... oh my, that's absolutely authentic!"

In front of the stove.

Lu Qingqing, dressed in a plain cloth dress with her sleeves rolled up, busily prepared noodles for customers while watching the crowded noodle shop and listening to the diners' praises...

The smile on her face never stopped!

"Haha, I told you the noodle shop would be booming! Little Xuanzi didn't believe me!"

Lu Qingqing couldn't help but feel smug.

Yesterday, when she told Lu Xuan that she had bought a shop at a low price to open a noodle shop, Lu Xuan rationally judged that the shop might be a trap...

But look now, where are the pits?

Business is booming!

What a bright future!

"Little Xuanzi is overthinking it!"

"hey-hey."

Lu Qingqing couldn't help but indulge in daydreams, imagining that the noodle shop would be as prosperous as this every day, making a fortune, and then...

She transformed into a super "brother-supporting demon"!

Let Lu Xuan stay home obediently and have more children to continue the family line. As his older sister, she can raise her younger brother and his children to be healthy and chubby...

Hahaha.

As Lu Qingqing was lost in thought, an elderly woman carrying a child entered the shop, smiling as she ordered, "Mrs. Li, a bowl of fish noodles, please."

"Fish soup and fish meat are nutritious, and kids love to eat it too."

The old woman lived in Taoye Lane on East Street. She was a neighbor of Lu Qingqing and Li Du, and they knew each other.

In fact, the county town is not very big. Many customers who come to eat noodles know Lu Qingqing. Those who are more familiar with her will call her "Qingqing" as a nickname, while those who are less familiar will respectfully call her "Madam Li". This is perfectly normal.

"Aunt Du is here to support my business!" Lu Qingqing greeted the old woman warmly, then added apologetically, "I'm sorry, Aunt Du, we don't have fish noodles today..."

Today, the store only sells vegetarian noodles and beef noodles; fish noodles are the only thing missing!

Lu Xuan noticed this situation at the beginning as well.

At first, he didn't think much of it, only that he was too busy with the opening today and his older sister hadn't had time to prepare everything.

However, that is not the case.

"It's strange, the fish market was unusually quiet this morning. There were hardly any fish vendors, and the fish that were available were small, and the prices were several times higher than usual..."

It wasn't that Lu Qingqing was too busy with her business opening; it was that she simply couldn't buy any fish!

Lu Xuan finished his beef noodles while standing by the wall, his clear eyes narrowing slightly.

He keenly sensed something unusual!

Why is there no fish for sale in the otherwise bustling fish market?

Even if it exists, the quantity is scarce, and the price has increased several times over. And I haven't seen any notices from the authorities prohibiting fishing recently…

Lu Xuan pondered for a moment, and suddenly remembered a saying he often heard: "The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!"

Could the soaring price of fish be due to some sudden "storm"?

really!

Some well-informed diners in the restaurant are already talking about it.

"Now, fishermen in Shuize Township are afraid to go fishing anymore. Where are they going to get fish from the city?"

Huangshi Town is next to Anbao Township (Bailianfeng), and next to Anbao Township is Shuize Township, where there is a Blackwater River. The river is deep and rich in freshwater fish.

Two days ago, when Lu Xuan stood atop White Lotus Peak and looked out into the distance, he had already seen this Blackwater River in the distance...

The fish in the county town's fish market mostly come from Shuize Township. Since the fishermen suddenly stopped fishing, they naturally can't buy them in the city anymore.

"Why are fishermen afraid to fish anymore?" Many diners wondered.

"Because... there's a monster in the Blackwater River!"

Water monster!

Everyone was taken aback.

The diner who knew the inside story shuddered, took a big gulp of noodle soup, and continued, "It's said that the water monster is several meters long, like a small mountain. It usually lurks in the dark river, and when a fishing boat passes by, it suddenly leaps up, opens its blood-red maw, and swallows the boat and its occupants whole!"

"In the past two days, twenty or thirty fishermen have already lost their lives to that beast... Ouch, how terrifying!"

"Unless you're suicidal, who would dare go out to fish in the Blackwater River?"

"I advise everyone not to think about eating fish these days, and to eat more land animals instead."

……

There's a water monster in the Blackwater River in Shuize Township that eats people!

This only happened in the last two days!

Yesterday at noon, after Lu Xuan cured Zhao Guang's sister, the yamen received a report. Magistrate Lou urgently dispatched Constable Zhao Guang with more than a dozen bailiffs who were good swimmers to investigate the case in Shuize Township.

Zhao Guang and his group searched the Blackwater River by boat until nightfall, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack; they couldn't even catch a glimpse of the water monster!

This matter is somewhat beyond the scope of the county government's ability to handle... It is estimated that we will have to report it to the prefectural government or seek assistance from the Demon Suppression Division!

"Sis, I'm going out for a walk."

Lu Xuan put down his bowl, revealed a nonchalant, bright smile, and walked out of the noodle shop.

"Oh," Lu Qingqing replied casually.

Shen Jinglian, who was helping the kitchen to prepare soup, paused slightly, and some soup spilled out.

She knew that Lu Xuan was definitely going to Shuize Township to find that man-eating water monster!

She wanted to go too.

but!

Lu Qingqing's new shop was a huge success, but she was the only kitchen helper. If she left, Lu Qingqing simply couldn't manage it all by herself…

After hesitating for a long time, she could only sigh softly, "Sigh, why am I worrying about this?"

"With Lu Xuan's high cultivation and great abilities, shouldn't that water monster be praying it doesn't get caught by Lu Xuan?"

Thinking this way, her worries lessened.

Just stay here and help in the kitchen!

Not long after Lu Xuan left, a group of uninvited guests arrived at the noodle shop. The leader was a scarred man with a malicious smile on his face.

"Oh, Mrs. Li's new store is opening!"

……