Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

Shen Gao was almost in tears. He wasn't blind; there were clearly four-happiness meatballs mixed with rice!

"Are you two crazy? You're so heartless! Can't you even give me a bite?" Shen Gao shouted, tears streaming down his face.

It's one thing if you don't see it, but it's another to see it and not be able to eat it.

Are these two old men here to make things worse for him?

On purpose?

And that phrase, "Let's go," sounds like he's going to die.

"Alright, hurry up and go, stop howling!" The yamen runner's merciless voice rang out.

Shen Gao could only move forward little by little, tears streaming down his face. He looked as miserable as a dog on the roadside.

......

At this moment, Zhiweixuan was still filled with joy and liveliness.

Everyone was eating four-happiness meatballs, their mouths were full of oil.

The rice vendors took the opportunity to make a lot of money.

"As is customary, today is the last day, and Zhiweixuan will probably have to close for another two days."

"Yeah, I wonder what we'll be selling in two days?"

"Although I'm reluctant to part with the Four Happiness Meatballs, I've inexplicably started to look forward to new delicacies."

"..."

The diners ate and discussed the food with great enthusiasm.

The street vendors even asked Shen Qing several times what the shop would sell in two days, so that he could prepare the appropriate staple food.

However, Shen Qing genuinely didn't know.

After today, the random food stall task will be completed, and she can't even imagine what new tasks the system will assign.

However, the thought of five hundred taels of gold made her extremely happy.

His subordinates all became quick and efficient.

The thousand servings of Four Happiness Meatballs sold out quickly. It was only noon, and Shen Qing was tidying up and preparing to close the shop.

Just then, a voice rang out from behind:

"Madam Shen, there's something I want to tell you."

Shen Qing turned around and saw that it was Magistrate Li Duan.

"Your Excellency, please speak freely."

This time, Li Duan did Shen Gao a great favor by complaining about her.

"I've come to see you this time to ask you to represent Ping'an County in the culinary competition in Beijing," Li Duan said.

This culinary competition is held once every ten years and is extremely large in scale. People from all over the world come to compete. If you win, you can not only receive generous rewards, but also have the opportunity to get investment and open a shop in the capital.

Of course, if a contestant from a certain region wins the championship, the local government will also receive a reward.

He felt Shen Qing had potential and wanted to send her to participate in the culinary competition. If she won, their Ping'an County would become famous!

Shen Qing frowned, instinctively wanting to refuse.

"The food competition..."

Before he could finish speaking, the system's voice echoed in his mind.

[Ding—Congratulations, host, you have successfully triggered the hidden mission: Win the Culinary Competition.]

[Reward: Unlock the auxiliary management system]

???

Shen Qing was stunned. She hadn't even received her five hundred taels of gold yet, so how did she suddenly unlock a hidden quest?

And what is that auxiliary management system?

Can I refuse...? Shen Qing wondered to herself.

[Of course you can, but if you refuse, the host will need to pay five hundred taels of gold.]

......

Shen Qing was speechless; it was obvious that they weren't allowing her to refuse.

She didn't originally want to be in the limelight for the food competition, but now... oh well.

"Madam Shen, you don't need to worry. If you don't want to participate..." Li Duan said with a regretful expression.

"I do."

"What? Really? You agreed??" Li Duan felt his heart soar to new heights.

He only intended to give it a try, but he never expected Shen Qing to actually agree!

He said, just in case, if Shen Qing really won first place, then Ping'an County would become famous!

Moreover, he might even have the opportunity to be transferred to the capital to serve as an official.

Li Duan was usually serious, but at this moment, a hint of obvious joy appeared on his face.

No official doesn't want a promotion.

Moreover, he did indeed think highly of Shen Qing.

"Okay, I agree." Shen Qing remained calm. "What kind of food competition is this? When exactly is it?"

"Five days from now, you can go with the other chefs. You don't need to worry about food and accommodation; someone will arrange everything. You just need to focus on the competition."

"What about the competition format?"

"The competition format is not yet clear; it will be announced on the day the food competition begins."

"Okay~" Shen Qing said.

There's no rush. Since it's five days from now, we still have some time.

This is a good opportunity to deal with the Shen family's assets.

Let's not bother with that today.

After returning home, Shen Qing went to his own courtyard and opened the system to prepare for the settlement.

[Ding—Congratulations, host, for completing the Four Happiness Meatballs sales mission]

[Ding—Zhiweixuan's reputation has increased by 20 points, with a current total reputation of 100]

[Ding—Congratulations, host, for achieving fame throughout the county! You have been awarded 500 taels of gold.]

[Reward being distributed... Successfully distributed.]

In an instant, a pile of gold appeared out of thin air on the table, so dazzling that it was impossible to look away.

Even though Shen Qing wasn't particularly fond of money, seeing this pile of gold inexplicably made her much happier.

With these five hundred taels of gold, she could have lived a life of comfort and ease in ancient times.

That's really good.

After rubbing the gold a few times, Shen Qing placed it in a hidden place.

"By the way, I'm going to the capital to participate in a culinary competition. What will happen to Zhiweixuan then?"

She suddenly remembered this.

Zhiweixuan has just achieved fame throughout the county, so it can't just close down and shut down, can it?

Those diners in Ping'an County would probably suffer terribly.

[The host may hire someone to continue operating Zhiweixuan. The food sold must be the same food that the host previously sold at Zhiweixuan. The food will still be randomly changed every week, and the restaurant will operate for five days and rest for two days.]

What dishes were previously sold at Zhiweixuan?

That includes Four Delicacies Soup, Stinky Tofu, Deluxe Instant Noodles, and Four Happiness Meatballs.

But if you hire someone...

"The ingredients and cooking methods..."

[Ingredients available in this dynasty can be purchased by hired procurers; ingredients not available will be provided by the system. As for the cooking methods, the host can personally teach the preparation.]

"Won't ingredients that appear out of thin air arouse suspicion?" Shen Qing asked with some worry.

After all, the ingredients provided by the system are created out of thin air.

The system will automatically modify the recipient's memory to make it more reasonable.

Automatic rationalization?

Okay, that's pretty impressive. Shen Qing immediately stopped worrying.

The choice of a person to manage Zhiweixuan is also very important.

Zhao Wan suddenly appeared in Shen Qing's mind.