Chapter 32: Let’s Call It a Reward for His Troubles
Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Let’s Call It a Reward for His Troubles
"Ahem, Mr. Zhang... care to offer one for a taste?"
Jiang Yunhe’s gaze wasn’t subtle in the least, and from such a close distance, it was hard for Zhang Xiu to ignore.
He took out a pork knuckle and offered it to Jiang Yunhe. He appeared quite generous, but in truth, his heart was aching.
’He really, really didn’t want to share Boss Lu’s food.’
’But if it meant befriending a disciple from the Divine Doctor Valley, it didn’t seem like a bad trade.’
"That won’t be necessary," Jiang Yunhe refused. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat, but rather...
His gaze shifted downward, his expression growing complicated.
"Don’t be so polite."
Zhang Xiu thought Jiang Yunhe was just being stubborn, and was about to tell him that he had plenty to spare, but then he realized the weight of the bag in his hand felt off.
He looked down, and he instantly went Hong Wen.
He felt murderous.
"Who told you two you could steal my pork knuckles!"
The sound of Zhang Xiu’s voice was more wretched than his cries of pain when he was injured.
He had clearly bought ten pork knuckles. Now, apart from the one he had been about to hand to Jiang Yunhe, the bag was empty.
Inside the grease-proof paper bag, only a thin layer of gravy remained.
And right behind him, his two dear little brothers each held a pork knuckle, devouring them with incredible gusto. A few bones already lay discarded at their feet.
"Mmmph mmmph."
His second brother, Zhang Wei, didn’t put down his pork knuckle in the face of his brother’s fury. Instead, he just grinned.
"Bro, this pork knuckle is delicious."
Now that his big brother was fine, Zhang Wei, who could no longer resist the temptation of the pork knuckles, simply had to taste such a delicacy for himself.
As for why he was eating Zhang Xiu’s, it was simply out of habit.
The three brothers had always shared everything good they came across.
The youngest brother, Zhang Jun, thought the same.
Faced with his younger brothers’ entitled attitudes, Zhang Xiu was absolutely livid. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could pounce on them and tear them limb from limb.
"Couldn’t you have bought your own?"
’And he’d wanted to save a few more for later.’
"Boss, give me five more pork knuckles."
While the three brothers were glaring daggers at each other, the Overthinker licked the gravy from his fingertips and mumbled.
He stood before the stall, a desperate look in his eyes.
At this moment, the only thing in his world was the pork knuckle.
A moment ago, he’d only wanted to patronize the stall out of guilt. But now, all he wanted to say was that he was wrong. He had done Boss Lu a great disservice.
If he could, he would buy every last pork knuckle to atone for his mistake.
Alas, there were other hungry wolves circling nearby.
In just a few moments, the crowd of onlookers had all swarmed the stall.
The aroma was so incredible it practically knocked them off their feet.
If it hadn’t been for the Overthinker’s earlier shenanigans, this pot of pork knuckles would have likely been sold out before Jiang Yunhe had even appeared.
"You got it!"
With business suddenly booming, Lu Wu was all smiles.
As she packed the Overthinker’s order, she acted on her petty grudge and gave him a little less gravy.
The Overthinker seemed to notice, shooting her a furtive glare, but Lu Wu remained completely unabashed.
’She was the boss, after all. She had the final say in everything.’
’He shouldn’t have gotten on her bad side.’
"And you, honored Divine Doctor, how many would you like to buy?"
Lu Wu asked cheerfully, addressing Jiang Yunhe, a man who seemed to have his own main-character halo from the moment he appeared.
She was reminded of that Qin Zhan fellow.
’Speaking of which, Dahuang is here too. If Qin Zhan shows up, I might even get to see a fight between man and dog.’
Jiang Yunhe eyed the few remaining pork knuckles in the pot, pondered for a moment, then held up five fingers.
"Five pork knuckles, got it. Would you like extra gravy?"
After Jiang Yunhe nodded, Lu Wu packed them up with practiced speed.
After those two orders, the bottom of the pot was starting to show.
She had only made fifty to begin with, and she’d already shared ten with Uncle Li and the two children back home.
Her regular customer, Zhang Xiu, had also been a great help, buying ten right off the bat.
Factoring in the other scattered sales, there were now fewer than twenty pork knuckles left in the pot.
Lu Wu, who had thought she wouldn’t sell out today, was now filled with renewed vigor.
"Next customer!"
She called out, and in the blink of an eye, Zhang Xiu was at the front of the line.
"Boss Lu, is there a purchase limit this time?"
Zhang Xiu asked in a low voice, shooting Lu Wu a meaningful look behind the backs of the other customers in line.
"There’s no limit for now, but..."
She glanced at the few customers waiting eagerly behind Zhang Xiu. Selling all the rest to him was out of the question.
Understanding dawned, and Zhang Xiu’s face fell with disappointment.
He turned his head to count the people behind him, then gave a sly chuckle.
"Boss Lu, I’ll take eight more pork knuckles."
’He’d eat three, but he had to save the other five. They would definitely come in handy later in the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons.’
Everyone present had a tacit understanding about the knuckle’s ability to neutralize poison. Keeping one on hand could be a lifesaver.
Just like that, the number of pork knuckles in the pot dwindled even further.
Lu Wu glanced up and realized the number of remaining customers now perfectly matched the number of pork knuckles left in the pot.
This was clearly Zhang Xiu’s little scheme.
He had left just enough for everyone else, which was already very considerate of him. Whether the *next* customer was willing to be as considerate was not something he could guarantee.
The remaining few customers quickly caught on to his little ploy.
"Hey, look at that, there’s just enough. Let’s just do one per person."
"Yeah, one each is perfectly fair."
The people at the back of the line swarmed the stall. Chiming in one after another, they seemed to be negotiating with Lu Wu, but in reality, they were shooting daggers with their eyes at the customer at the very front of the line.
’A word to the wise, friend.’
Under the savage, unspoken threats from his "fellow Daoists," the customer could only swallow his pride and yield.
In the end, the remaining pork knuckles were all divvied up.
Even the last dregs of thick gravy at the bottom of the pot were scooped away.
If Lu Wu hadn’t stopped them with all her might, she suspected the crowd would have licked the bottom of her pot clean.
Her goal for the day complete, a thoroughly relaxed Lu Wu glanced down, only to see Dahuang giving her a mournful look.
"WOOF!"
’He, Gou Aotian, was a very smart dog. He saw that those humans had to pay money to get a pork knuckle.’
’He wasn’t a freeloader. So, could she please save a pork knuckle for him next time?’
’He would pay for it.’
Understanding the plea in his eyes, Lu Wu nodded with an amused smile.
’As long as they could pay, she didn’t care what species her customers were. She’d sell to anyone.’
"How can this be?"
"Why can’t I figure it out?"
"Why isn’t there anything special about it?"
A stream of muttering came from behind Lu Wu. It was Jiang Yunhe.
The man, as gentle and refined as jade, was holding a pork knuckle by his fair, slender fingertips. Not minding the grease in the slightest, he stared at it as if faced with some great, unsolvable puzzle.
Jiang Yunhe truly couldn’t figure it out.
As the most outstanding disciple of his generation from the Divine Doctor Valley, he couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what gave the pork knuckle its poison-neutralizing properties.
His palate was incredibly sensitive; he could identify every single spice Lu Wu had used.
’But they’re all just common spices. How could they possibly neutralize poison?’
Faced with this puzzle, Jiang Yunhe muttered to himself, his brow deeply furrowed in concentration.
Just when Lu Wu thought he was about to get bogged down in the minutiae, she saw Jiang Yunhe take a bite of the pork knuckle and start savoring it.
"Oh, forget it. I’ll just ask Master when I get back. He’s so brilliant, he’ll definitely know."
He said it with such matter-of-fact confidence.
Lu Wu noted, ’Another fine disciple who relies on his master for everything.’
Having tossed the problem aside in an instant, Jiang Yunhe immersed himself in the exquisite flavor dancing on his tongue.
The perfectly layered meat of the pork knuckle opened up a whole new world for Jiang Yunhe.
He asked himself, what was the point of his past Ascetic practice?
’Well... I guess it counts as having worked hard,’ he mused.
As a thought occurred to him, Jiang Yunhe took out a One World Communication and began to fiddle with it, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
In an instant, the man who was supposed to be a gentle and refined scholar transformed, becoming as cunning and black-bellied as a fox.
This face-changing performance left Lu Wu utterly astounded.