Chapter 14 The Ice-Cold Beauty

After Ning Yongqiang had tasted it, Lu Bingding, Luo Wannian, and the others each took a bite as well. Everyone praised it effusively, voices rising in admiration. Xu Mo thought to himself: this is just a simple omelet, and you’re all so amazed—if I were to whip up my signature stir-fried chicken with black fungus and mushrooms, wouldn’t you be frightened out of your wits?

Lu Bingding, delighted by how delicious the stir-fried dish from the iron wok was, grew eager to try his own hand. “Master Xu, may I give it a try?” he asked.

Xu Mo had always intended to teach Lu Bingding how to cook, so he gladly stepped aside. Lu Bingding, a seasoned chef, immediately demonstrated his natural talent. He had observed the omelet and fried eggs just now, and now he handled the heat with remarkable precision—his version turned out even tastier than Xu Mo’s.

Xu Mo was pleased; teaching a clever student was always gratifying. If it had been someone slow to learn, having to repeat himself eight or ten times would surely have driven him to fury.

Xu Mo then taught Lu Bingding several other egg dishes: stir-fried eggs with chives, eggs with cucumber, eggs with scallion, and so on. Lu Bingding learned quickly—usually, Xu Mo only needed to demonstrate once, and Lu Bingding could replicate it on his own, the taste even surpassing the original.

After a while, Xu Mo grew a little tired of teaching. “That’s enough for today,” he said. “We’ll leave the rest for tomorrow.”

Lu Bingding felt a pang of disappointment; he thought these few dishes weren’t nearly enough and was eager to learn more. But since Xu Mo had spoken, he dared not protest, only nodded obediently while mulling over what other ways eggs could be prepared, planning to experiment shortly.

A while later, Xu Mo and Ning Yongqiang left the kitchen. Seeing that the sun was already high, Xu Mo said, “Young Master Ning, it’s almost noon. We should start attracting customers!”

“Don’t worry, Master Xu, everything is ready!” Ning Yongqiang replied, excitement shining in his eyes, clearly itching to begin.

——

Shortly past midday, at the southern gate of Xunzhou City.

A group of servants escorted a carriage slowly into the city. Inside sat a young woman of ethereal beauty, cold and elegant as an ice goddess. Her eyes were limpid as a lake, her skin fair and luminous, her bearing refined and serene, always composed no matter the circumstance.

She lifted the corner of the carriage curtain and called softly, “Ling’er.”

Immediately, a young maid of about fifteen or sixteen hurried over. “I am here, Young Miss. What is your command?”

“Don’t go home yet. Head for the House of Delicacies,” the lady replied coolly.

“Yes, Young Miss,” Ling’er answered promptly and went to inform the coachman.

Soon, the carriage came to a halt near the House of Delicacies. As soon as it stopped, Ling’er’s voice came from outside, “Young Miss, there are so many people at the House of Delicacies that the road is blocked. We can’t get through.”

The icy beauty was surprised and immediately stepped out of the carriage, standing atop it to look toward the restaurant. The entrance was crowded with people; she had no idea what was happening, but shouts of excitement and sighs of disappointment frequently erupted from the throng.

She was deeply curious. Wasn’t the House of Delicacies usually deserted? Why was it suddenly drawing such a crowd today?

Determined to get to the bottom of things, she alighted and, accompanied by Ling’er and the servants, made her way toward the restaurant.

As she neared the back of the crowd, she heard someone call out loudly, “Congratulations to guest number twenty-nine! You’ve hit the highest discount: thirty percent off! Please take your seventy-percent-off wooden plaque and proceed inside to dine!”

The same voice then called again, “Next! Guest number thirty, step forward for your throw!”

Her curiosity mounting, the icy beauty moved to the edge of the crowd, rising on tiptoe to peer ahead.

At the front stood a round wooden board, clearly a target. Lines radiated from the center, dividing the board into various wedge-shaped sections of different sizes. Each section bore a label: “Ten Percent Off,” “Twenty Percent Off,” “Thirty Percent Off,” “Forty Percent Off,” and so on, down to “Fifty Percent Off” and the narrowest, “Seventy Percent Off.” The “Ten Percent Off” sector was the largest; “Seventy Percent Off” the smallest.

“What are they doing?” she muttered quietly.

Just then, a middle-aged man stepped up before the target. A staff member from the House of Delicacies was hosting the event.

“Sir, please stand behind the line,” the attendant instructed.

The man looked down, then reluctantly stepped behind the line marked on the ground.

The attendant handed him three darts and announced, “Sir, let me repeat the rules: you have three chances. The highest discount you hit will apply. If you miss all three, you’ll still enjoy a ten-percent-off discount!”

The man, impatient, waved the attendant aside. “Enough chatter, I know the rules. Don’t waste my time!”

The attendant nodded hastily and hurried to the side of the spinning target. With a strong pull, he set the round board spinning rapidly.

The middle-aged man composed himself and took aim. The crowd fell silent, all eyes fixed on the spinning target.

He threw his first dart.

Thud!

It struck the target, but since the board was still spinning, it was unclear which discount he’d hit.

He quickly threw the remaining two darts, both striking the board as well.

“Quick, stop it!” the man cried out impatiently.

The attendant immediately halted the spinning board.

A gasp rippled through the crowd. “Fifty percent off! He actually hit fifty percent off!”

Everyone looked closely: the three darts had landed in the “Ten Percent Off,” “Thirty Percent Off,” and “Fifty Percent Off” sections.

“Ha! Fifty percent off! I hit fifty percent off!” the man shouted, raising his arms in triumph.

The crowd erupted in congratulatory cheers, the scene lively and boisterous.

The attendant loudly announced, “Congratulations, guest number thirty! You’ve won the fifty-percent-off discount! Please take your fifty-percent-off plaque and proceed to dine!”

He handed over a wooden plaque marked “Fifty Percent Off.” The man, elated and proud, took it, called for his friends, and strode into the House of Delicacies, his steps full of swagger.

The attendant promptly removed the darts from the target and called, “Guest number thirty-one, step up for your turn!”

By now, the icy beauty understood everything.

She turned from the crowd, a smile playing at her lips. “Ling’er, it seems my brother does have a head for business, coming up with such a clever way to draw customers.”

Ling’er nodded eagerly. “Indeed, Young Miss. The young master is truly brilliant!”

This icy beauty was none other than Lady Ning Yaxin, eldest daughter of the Ning family and elder sister to Ning Yongqiang.

The master of the Ning family, Ning Wu, was currently in frail health, bedridden for many years. Because of this, all household affairs had fallen to Ning Yaxin.

At first, Ning Yaxin had felt great pressure, but in time, she bore up under the strain and managed to keep the family business afloat.

She now turned to the servants with a frosty command: “Wait for me outside. Ling’er will accompany me in.”

“Yes, Young Miss,” the servants replied in unison.

“Ling’er, come with me.”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

With that, Ning Yaxin led Ling’er into the House of Delicacies.