Chef God of the Wuxia and Fantasy World

Ping Yizhi was in Luoyang, and although Blackwood Cliff was not far from Luoyang, even at top speed, it would take two or three days to travel there and back. Fearing that something might happen to Yang Lianting, Dongfang Bubai also sent someone to "invite" a nearby doctor to treat Yang Lianting.

Given the Sun Moon Cult's modus operandi, they forcibly brought back the seven doctors who were seeing patients in the city.

"Whoever cures Brother Lian's illness will be richly rewarded!" Dongfang Bubai's eyes were filled with murderous intent. "But if they can't cure him, they can go to the King of Hell for a elixir of life!"

The seven doctors were so frightened that they turned pale and nearly lost control of their bladders.

After reluctantly examining Yang Lianting, they discovered that it wasn't a serious illness and could be treated.

"How is it? What illness does Brother Lian have?" Dongfang Bubai asked.

"Master, there is no need to panic. This gentleman has simply fallen ill due to excessive indulgence and sudden grief. I will prescribe some medicine, and after a few months of treatment, he should recover completely."

Remembering the doctor's words about "sudden grief and indignation," Dongfang Bubai thought of Ling Chi: It's all his fault. In just one month, he embezzled a year's worth of my sect's profits, causing Brother Lian to fall ill from grief and indignation. If I ever see him again, I will definitely not forgive him.

Recalling Ling Chi's bright and sunny smile, Dongfang Bubai blushed: Fine, I'll just punish him lightly.

……

"Achoo!" Ling Chi rubbed his nose. "Who's talking about me now?"

Shuang'er chuckled softly, "Brother has made so much money from the Sun Moon Sect, it must be Dongfang Bubai who's been talking about you!"

"Haha, you can't blame me for this. It's their fault for insisting on buying my stuff." Ling Chi felt smug as he thought about the silver he had 'plundered' from the Sun Moon Cult over the past month.

Fighting and killing are no good. Even if you kill Dongfang Bubai, there's always Xifang Bubai. Learn from me, and you'll not only weaken the Sun Moon Cult's finances but also make a fortune. The future peace in the martial world is all thanks to me.

Shuang'er giggled and said, "Brother, when we go to the capital, should we buy a house?"

“Let’s buy it.” Ling Chi laughed. “The capital city is a hub for merchants from all over the country. You can buy almost anything here. We’ll settle down in the capital city for the next few years.”

"Aren't you going back to the Huashan Sect?" Shuang'er pressed.

"I won't go back unless something comes up," Ling Chi said. "We'll talk about it when something comes up..."

"Hmm." Shuang'er gazed into the distance: "Brother, we can see a town."

……

Several days later, in the capital city.

On his second day in Beijing, Ling Chi spent a large sum of money to buy a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) in the west of the city. The house covered an area of ​​more than 800 square meters and had just been renovated, so it was ready for immediate move-in.

The original owner was a wealthy merchant who urgently needed money due to a family emergency in his hometown, so he sold the house at a reduced price. Even with the price reduction, it still cost Ling Chi more than three thousand taels of silver.

Compared to modern purchasing power, that's roughly equivalent to over ten million RMB.

Buying a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) in Beijing for over ten million yuan doesn't seem expensive. But one thing must be made clear: in this era, an ordinary person only needed one and a half taels of silver a year. One hundred taels of silver could buy more than ten acres of fertile land.

Ling Chi spent over three thousand taels of silver, enough for him to buy several hundred acres of fertile land and become a leisurely landlord.

Ultimately, it's because houses in Beijing are too expensive, especially in peacetime; this has been true both in ancient and modern times.

With a beautiful home, naturally there must be pretty and lovely maids to serve you.

Although the Ming Dynasty explicitly prohibited the buying and selling of people, this prohibition was just a formality, much like the abolition of the caste system in India. In reality, what wealthy family didn't buy maids and servants?

There are even different social classes, good and bad, in Dream of the Red Chamber!

Those women whose homes were ransacked, especially those who were reasonably attractive, mostly became maids in wealthy households. Some of the more unfortunate ones ended up in brothels, and their fates were predictable.

When Ling Chi bought the house, he also paid a referral fee to have an agent select more than twenty girls aged fourteen to eighteen who were pretty and from respectable families. After Ling Chi and Shuang'er made their selections, they finally chose eight girls. The total cost was more than 120 taels of silver, which almost made Ling Chi cry from the cheap price.

In this wicked feudal society, a human life was worth only a few to tens of taels of silver. The cheapest of these eight maids was eight taels of silver, which belonged to two fourteen-year-old girls, while the most expensive was twenty-five taels of silver, which belonged to two eighteen-year-old embroiderers.

In ancient times, one had to have a skill to sell for a good price.

The two embroiderers were expensive not because they were old, but because they were skilled in needlework. Having sewing and mending skills at home could save them money.

The cheapest little girls aren't because they're young, but because they can't do anything. If you buy one, she can only do chores like serving tea and water, and you have to spend time and effort to train her.

In ancient times, with low productivity, survival skills were always the top priority. Compared to that, age and appearance were secondary.

Now that he had decided to stay in the capital, Ling Chi would not allow himself and Shuang'er to suffer. Shuang'er had endured so much hardship with him; it was time for her to enjoy the treatment of a young lady from a wealthy family.

Ling Chi didn't buy any servants because he planned to properly train these eight maids. He not only wanted them to be well-fed and healthy, but also to teach them the Huashan martial arts and sword techniques. In the future, they would be excellent at serving others and guarding the house.

These eight girls were very nervous as they first became servants, but after returning home with Ling Chi, Ling Chi did not impose rules on them like those in wealthy families. Instead, he said some very simple and heartwarming words to them.

"I don't know what you've been through before, but now that you've joined the Ling family, you're now part of the Ling family. The Ling family doesn't have many rules; just behave yourself. I can guarantee you'll have enough to eat and wear, and you'll receive a certain amount of money every month. I can even let you go home to reunite with your families for a few days during festivals."

These words greatly surprised the eight women, who were then filled with immense gratitude.

But Ling Chi still said a few harsh words: "But if you have ulterior motives and do things that are detrimental to my Ling family, I will not forgive you! Not only you, but I will also take my anger out on your family members and make sure they have a miserable life!"

"We dare not! We dare not!" The eight women knelt down and declared, "Once we enter the Ling family, we are born into the Ling family and will die as ghosts of the Ling family. We dare not betray them."

"That's good." Ling Chi nodded in satisfaction, and then handed them over to Shuang'er for training.

Shuang'er had worked as a maid, so she knew how to train them.

Ling Chi felt at ease leaving them in Shuang'er's care.

……

After buying the house and maids, Ling Chi didn't stop spending money.

He wandered around the capital for four or five days and then bought a restaurant in the city center. The restaurant was very large, with three floors and a floor area of ​​over a thousand square meters.

Like the mansion, the owner of this restaurant also had a family emergency and urgently needed money, so he sold the restaurant at a low price.

Even at a low price, Lingchi still spent over ten thousand taels of silver to acquire the property. Fortunately, most of the excellent staff were retained, and with just a little renovation, it can open its doors to customers.

With this grand restaurant, Ling Chi was finally able to bring out some of his ideas.

For example, implement a VIP system.

The building has three floors, catering to three different groups. Prices are divided into three levels: mass market, middle-class, and wealthy.

The ordinary and well-off can be served by the original chefs, while Ling Chi plans to personally entertain the wealthy and powerful.

He's not in a hurry to level up anymore. He's finally accumulated some wealth and self-defense capabilities in this world, and he's even bought property in the capital. How can he not enjoy it for a few years?

Upgrading is something that can be left to chance; his current cooking skills are more than enough anyway.

While looking for someone to renovate the restaurant, Ling Chi wandered around various markets in the capital to see what ingredients he could buy.

To his surprise, potatoes, corn, and chili peppers were already being sold in the capital. Although the quantity was limited and the prices were a bit high, he was certain that these ingredients would become mainstream in the market in a few years, allowing him to showcase his culinary skills more fully.

A wonderful life was beckoning to him, and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

Chapter Forty-Two: The Young Master's Happy Life

Beijing.

What makes this winter different from previous years? It's that a restaurant called Chef God's Pavilion has replaced the Eight Great Hutongs as the gathering place for Beijing's high-ranking officials and nobles.

The name "Chef God's Restaurant" sounds arrogant at first, and when the signboard was first hung up, it attracted a lot of ridicule from onlookers. However, since the restaurant opened, everyone who has tasted the food and drinks on the third floor has become a loyal customer. Even though the food and drinks on the third floor are ridiculously expensive, countless dignitaries still flock to it.

"The God of Food in Heaven, the God of Cookery on Earth." This is the praise given to the God of Cookery by the powerful and wealthy in the capital.

There are actually reasons behind this that are not widely known.

Half a month after the opening of Chef God Restaurant, the emperor himself came here incognito to enjoy a sumptuous feast.

After returning to the palace, the emperor personally inscribed the words "God of Cookery," stamped them, framed them, and presented them to the owner of the God of Cookery restaurant.

The owner of the restaurant, known as the "God of Cookery," generously had the two characters printed on a plaque, which he then hung above the main entrance of the restaurant.

Ordinary people might not recognize the emperor's characters, but how could high-ranking officials not recognize them?

Seeing that even the Emperor had dined here and left a message, the civil and military officials naturally followed suit, and would often visit the Chef God's Pavilion.

One reason was to try and understand the emperor's intentions, and the other was that the food and wine here were indeed delicious, even the imperial chefs in the palace could not match their skills.

In this way, Chef God Restaurant gradually became an essential venue for private gatherings of high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital.

Inviting guests to a restaurant other than Chef God Restaurant is seen as a sign that you don't value them. This has become a consensus among Beijing's upper-class circles.

However, while the first and second floors of Chef God Restaurant are open to guests as usual, the third floor only serves ten tables a day.

To dine on the third floor, in addition to obtaining a VIP card, you also need to make a reservation in advance. Now, two months after Chef God Restaurant opened, the reservation numbers for the third floor are already booked for more than half a month.

That's human nature; the more unattainable something is, the more precious it seems. This business tactic, which was highly effective in later generations, would be like a nuclear explosion in this era, leveling the entire capital and attracting countless powerful and wealthy individuals.

……

Just before curfew, after a busy day, Ling Chi returned home, reeking of cooking oil.

"Young Master is back!" Chunxiang and Xiaxiang greeted him. "Would you like to take a bath and change your clothes?"

Chunxiang and Xiaxiang were two of the eight maids.

Although servants in wealthy families had their own given names, once they became servants, their masters would change them to names that were easy to pronounce and remember.

Ling Chi was too lazy to think, so he named the eight girls the four fragrances of spring, summer, autumn and winter, and the four maids of plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.

To make them more distinctive, Ling Chi specially ordered eight sets of dresses from the best tailor shop in the capital, each set embroidered with patterns of the four seasons and the four gentlemen of plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum.

These embroidered clothes were very expensive, and Ling Chi ordered four sets of each, spending a total of more than four hundred taels of silver.

Ling Chi learned something new; she realized that 'luxury' clothing existed in ancient times.

Exchanging dozens of acres of fertile land for thirty-two sets of clothes—only the wealthy dare to do that. Ordinary people couldn't afford it even if they worked themselves to death.

"Alright." Looking at the maid who was becoming more and more fair and lovely under his care, Ling Chi felt a great sense of accomplishment.

The service of being bathed, dressed, and warmed in bed by the maids made him repeatedly marvel at the beauty of feudal society. With money and power, one could truly do whatever one wanted.

"Where's Shuang'er?" Ling Chi asked as he stood in front of the bathtub taking off his clothes.

"Miss is cooking." Chunxiang tested the water temperature, blushing as she said, "The water temperature is just right, young master, please come in!"

Ling Chi crawled naked into the bathtub. In the dead of winter, being able to soak in a hot bath was an absolute bliss.

"Just kidding, you actually took it seriously." Ling Chi shook his head with a smile. Even though his body's reaction was real and strong, he had no intention of taking any action.

Although he had enjoyed the decadent life of a landlord for two months, all he had done was have maids serve him bathing, changing clothes, and warming his bed. He never actually went through that final step.

It's still his own psychological problem. The first time should always be reserved for the one you deeply love. If Zhu Fei had said "yes" here, he would have pounced on her long ago.

Although Xia Xiang and the other maids were pretty and cute, they were still just maids. It wasn't that he looked down on maids, but from the moment their master-servant relationship was established, it was destined that he could never give his virginity to them.

A common problem among young, fastidious men is that they look down on anyone who isn't the goddess they desire.

Although their ultimate fate was to become the goddess's lapdogs, they ended up with nothing.