Enter Chang Xiangsi and help Jingzhai fight

Chapter 270 Cooking

I quickly stood up and helped her up: "Hurry up! We are meeting now, just chatting and catching up with friends, no need to be polite. Let's have lunch together at noon. I'm afraid it's too late to go out today, so I have to treat everyone to a meal here."

So I talked to her in the room for a while, she got up and gathered the rest of the people, and we went to the restaurant to have a good meal.

Seeing that they were all in high spirits, I felt relieved. I said goodbye to them and walked back to the south of the city.

Keep walking along Zuihualou, and at the end of the street you will find the Guangyu Inn that Gui Fangduan mentioned. It is not luxurious enough, but it is clean and quiet.

As we approached the lobby, the waiter came forward to greet us attentively: "Excuse me, sir, are you here for a meal or to stay overnight?"

I raised my hand and gave him some change: "Neither, I'm looking for someone."

He took the silver and asked with a smile, "What kind of person are you looking for?"

I thought about it. Although Gui Fang was very skilled and bold, he would not openly use his real name to live in Xiyan City for a long time. So I asked tentatively, "A young man named Fang? About this tall, thin--"

"And he has a pair of peach blossom eyes? Mr. Fang Ali?" The waiter took over the conversation with a smile.

"Yes, that's him." I nodded.

"Then please wait here for a moment, sir. I will go upstairs to inform you." The waiter walked upstairs swiftly.

Not long after, a person came running down the stairs. I looked up and saw that I was meeting Gui Fangduan's eyes.

"You... why are you here?" He was a little surprised and a little scared.

"I'm here to fulfill my promise. What, you're not welcome? Then I'm leaving?" I turned around and pretended to leave.

"Welcome! Welcome... I just didn't expect it." Gui Fangduan hurriedly stepped forward to stop me, with the corners of his eyes slightly raised and a smile spreading across his face.

"Well... it's a bit sudden, so I'll add a dish. Are you okay later?" I looked at him.

"It's okay. Since... I learned about your whereabouts, I haven't taken on so many jobs, so I have some free time." He looked down at me and said, suddenly sniffing, and asked, "Have you been drinking?"

I turned around inconspicuously and said, "I had a drink with a friend. Now let's go buy some vegetables. Do you know where there is a vegetable market nearby?"

"I know, but..." He murmured.

I suddenly remembered what happened at the Nanchengmen Vegetable Market and understood what he was worried about.

"Then let's not go to the nearby place, but go to someplace farther away and temporarily forget the bad memories from the past." I was the first to walk out of the inn's door.

He followed me and walked slowly side by side.

I have lived in Qingshui Town for a long time, and I haven't seen such prosperity and bustle for a long time. I walked along the way and bought a lot of small things.

He was a little reserved at first, but later, seeing that I was at ease, he relaxed and became his usual cheerful self. He even gave me advice, saying that this one looked good, that color was okay, and that one was too roughly made.

We walked all the way to the east of the city. Compared with the bustling south of the city, this place was more quiet and the passers-by were wearing gorgeous clothes. It seemed like a street where dignitaries lived.

He pointed to a place not far away and said, "There is a small restaurant over there. Guests can bring their own ingredients and cook in their kitchen. The green plum wine there is delicious."

My heart moved, and I replied, "I don't drink green plum wine."

He quickly walked around to me and said, "There are other wines, too! Basil wine, tangerine wine, pear cheese wine..."

I teased him: "Why do you look so familiar?"

He raised his hand and scratched his head, smiling shyly, "There are many noble people living here, and sometimes we always discuss jobs here, so... I come here more often."

I imagined that he was sipping sweet lychee wine, eating exquisite side dishes, and talking with others about who to kill and how to kill them... It seemed a bit awkward.

"Then where do we buy the ingredients?" I decided not to think about it anymore and asked him.

"Over there, there's a small market, but the ingredients are very fresh." He led me around a corner, and in a few steps we arrived at the market.

People in the market seemed to be familiar with him, calling him "Ali" and "Ali" all the time, and even gave him side dishes such as green onions and coriander.

He accepted them all with a smile and chatted with the ladies and uncles who were selling vegetables and meat, and seemed to be regular customers.

Soon his hands were full of food, and he raised his head to me: "Let's go? It's a bit too full."

"I told me to take it, but you wouldn't let me. If there's not enough food later, don't blame me for fooling you," I said.

"How can we eat so much? It's just..." He lowered his eyes and smiled, then continued: "Cook slowly, eat slowly, there is enough to eat."

I followed him to the small restaurant he pointed to. The people in the restaurant seemed to be very familiar with him. They bowed and led him directly to an elegant room at the end of the corridor.

He nodded, put the dish down, took out a silver ingot from his pocket and handed it to the man, saying, "Thank you."

The man returned the salute and said respectfully, "Thank you, Mr. Fang, for your reward." Then he retreated.

I looked around and saw a small courtyard in front of the window of the private room. There were sycamore trees planted in it, and a patch of small-leaf maple trees dotted beside it. There was a shallow pool of water rippling below, and there was a flower bed in the middle of the courtyard, with a bunch of hibiscus flowers in full bloom, swaying in the wind.

"Huh? It's not even the blooming season yet, but the hibiscus flowers here are blooming?!" I asked in surprise.

Gui Fang opened the door of the elegant room, revealing a small kitchen at the back. He smiled and said, "It's not difficult. I can maintain it with my spiritual power."

I sighed. I usually thought that spiritual power was only used for fighting, but I didn't expect that the nobles could play with it.

The kitchenette is fully equipped and new.

He scooped a basin of clean water from a short vat, washed the vegetables conscientiously, and asked me: "How do you cut them?"

I wanted to say I would do it myself, but then I thought about the dishes he had ordered. It would probably take me until dark to cook by myself. And since he was an expert at chopping melons and vegetables, I decided to let him do it.

I told him about it, and he took it to the chopping board and started cutting it carefully.

I also washed my hands and went into the kitchen to get busy.

I had prepared three quick dishes, one pot was stewing pork ribs, the other was boiling mushroom soup, and the beggar's chicken had long been buried in the stove, so I could call it a day. I wiped my hands and walked to the table, calling him, "Eat it while it's hot first, the others are slow and will have to wait a while."

He came over with a smile on his face, sat down, poured me a glass of yellow orange wine, raised his glass and said, "Here's a toast to you first. You've worked hard."

I clinked glasses with him and said, "It's not hard. I have to fulfill my promise to you."

We each had a drink, and he took a few bites of the food and praised, "Delicious!"

I smiled, and the guilt that had been lingering in my heart faded a little.

After chatting about this and that for a while, he pondered for a moment and said, "So...what are you doing here this time?"