Chapter 79: Purchasing Ingredients
Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Purchasing Ingredients
「Two leisurely days passed.」
After the foodies discovered Lu Wu’s tracks in Xiaohe Town, they started rallying their friends on One World Communication to try and corner her.
As for Lu Wu herself, she had taken her two beasts and returned to Hong’an City.
She moved into the small courtyard Cang He Guang had prepared for her, where a dog and a bird were gleefully running wild.
Meanwhile, Lu Wu went to the market in Hong’an City to do some shopping.
The variety of skewers was immense, requiring a mix of both meat and vegetables. It was a huge undertaking.
The cost of goods in the bustling Hong’an City was incomparable to Xiaohe Town. The same vegetables were bound to be a bit more expensive here.
But Lu Wu could now be considered to have some small assets, so she wasn’t worried at all.
The market was crowded with shoppers just like Lu Wu. She blended into the crowd, haggling with everyone else.
"Yes, I’ll take some of the lotus root, lettuce stems, leafy greens, kelp, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green peppers."
"I’ll take these, too."
"And fill me up with corn, chives, and mushrooms."
Lu Wu nearly bought out every type of vegetable at the stall.
Faced with a major customer like Lu Wu, the female owner was very enthusiastic. She packed each item separately for Lu Wu and even prepped some of the harder-to-peel vegetables for her.
The owner of the neighboring stall saw this and felt a bit envious. She smiled and struck up a conversation.
"Young Boss, how about some of these?"
This owner sold various soy products.
Things like tofu, dried tofu, vegetarian chicken, tofu skin, and so on—they all looked very good.
After making sure there were no low-quality goods being passed off as premium, Lu Wu waved her hand grandly.
"I’ll take them all. Give me some of each."
This bold display made the owner’s smile widen.
"Alright, one moment please."
The two owners packed everything up, and Lu Wu put it all into her storage bag.
"Young Boss, come back when you run out! I guarantee all my products are fresh."
Acknowledging the two owners with a nod, Lu Wu turned toward the meat section.
The selection of meat was also extensive.
Chicken, duck, beef, lamb, pork, plus seafood—Lu Wu would be shopping for a while.
Over in the seafood area, all the seafood was still alive and kicking.
Word of a big spender like Lu Wu arriving at the market spread like wildfire in no time.
Many seafood vendors stared eagerly at Lu Wu, hoping she would patronize their stall.
"Young Boss, come on over! Take a look!"
A middle-aged man squatted on the ground, grinning and waving at Lu Wu.
"All my fish, shrimp, and crabs just came in this morning. I only sell quality stuff, the best of the best, guaranteed."
"If you don’t believe me, just ask around. In all my years selling seafood, look how many repeat customers I, Feng Laosan, have."
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold.
The moment Feng Laosan spoke up, and seeing that his wares were indeed high quality, Lu Wu stopped at his stall. This made the other vendors kick themselves with regret.
"I’ll take all these shrimp and octopus. And I’ll have some squid and oysters, too."
"As for the crabs, please help me shell them and take out the meat."
She planned to make them into crab sticks.
Pure crab meat, with no artificial additives or shortcuts.
After buying a huge pile of seafood, Lu Wu, attended to by the eager Feng Laosan, headed toward the poultry, beef, and lamb stalls.
Pork loin and pork belly were essential, and Lu Wu also needed to stock up on lean pork slices.
As Lu Wu was picking and choosing at one particular stall, she looked at the owner with a bit of confusion.
It was a beautiful woman, appearing to be in her thirties or forties, with a lingering charm. Lu Wu couldn’t help but feel that she looked a little familiar.
"Boss Lu, my younger brother, Butcher Lin, asked me to say hello."
"You’re Butcher Lin’s sister?"
Realization dawned on Lu Wu.
She remembered Butcher Lin saying his business had expanded to Hong’an City, but she never expected to run into his family here.
"That’s right. Boss Lu, you can just call me Aunt Lin."
Aunt Lin was all smiles, her eyes like shimmering autumn pools. Many men in the market fixed their gazes on her, full of admiration.
’In ancient times, there was the Tofu Beauty; now, we have the Pork Beauty.’
"Boss Lu, my brother said that whenever you buy from our family, you get a ten percent discount. As for the quality of our meat, you already know all about it."
Aunt Lin was also very curious about Lu Wu.
She had often heard her brother mention this Boss Lu, and later she had even read about her exploits on One World Communication.
Her only regret was that she had never tasted the delicacies made by Boss Lu.
Now, seeing her purchasing so many ingredients, it looked like she was preparing to set up a stall somewhere in Hong’an City.
’My chance is here!’
"Alright."
"Also, pack up these duck feet and chicken feet, duck and chicken gizzards, duck intestines, and chicken wings and mid-wings."
Lu Wu didn’t stand on ceremony.
Butcher Lin’s farm had given her a lot of inspiration. Now, in her Grotto Heaven, the initial phase of vegetable cultivation was complete. She was just waiting for them to take root, sprout, and flourish.
As for meat, her Grotto Heaven was still too small to raise livestock.
After she had selected all the ingredients she needed, there wasn’t much meat left at Aunt Lin’s stall.
Seeing this, Aunt Lin decided to simply pack up the rest for Lu Wu.
"Consider this a little extra. It also lets me close up shop early, so please don’t refuse, Boss Lu."
Aunt Lin had a way with words. Hearing this, Lu Wu accepted.
"By the way, Boss Lu, may I ask where you’re planning to set up your stall this time?"
Aunt Lin asked casually as she handed the ingredients to Lu Wu one by one.
"In front of the Heaven and Earth Casino on Free Street in Hong’an City."
Lu Wu answered offhandedly.
Busy stuffing things into her storage bag, Lu Wu didn’t notice the astonished look in Aunt Lin’s eyes.
Aunt Lin opened her mouth, but then hesitated.
Her husband had told her that place wasn’t very safe. All sorts of shady characters liked to hang out there.
And there was something wrong with that casino, too. People were always seeing blood-soaked bodies being carried out of there. Ordinary people wouldn’t dare go near it.
’But is Boss Lu an ordinary person?’
’Perhaps her great skill makes her bold. It would be unbecoming of me to say too much.’
In the end, Aunt Lin suppressed those thoughts and smiled as she changed the subject with Lu Wu.
"Boss Lu, if you need to purchase more of these in Hong’an City in the future, you can contact me. I’ll deliver them right to your door."
This service, clearly a family trait shared with Butcher Lin, earned a five-star rating from Lu Wu.
After wandering around the market a few more times to stock up on various seasonings and spices, Lu Wu finally returned to the small courtyard.
Although this courtyard was within the City Lord Mansion grounds, it had a separate entrance, so Lu Wu wasn’t worried about running into anyone else from the mansion.
She had been here for a while now, so the City Lord had surely received word of her arrival, yet no one had come to disturb her.
Lu Wu quite liked this sense of distance.
"Chirp?"
Perhaps anticipating that Lu Wu would use the kitchen, the one in this courtyard was very large, with all the tools neatly arranged.
Lu Wu took out all the ingredients. Looking at the pile of things on the floor, she wiped her face.
"This is a bit much," she muttered.
’Processing all these ingredients is going to take a lot of work.’
’Maybe I should consider hiring a few helpers in the future.’
She started by washing the vegetables, chopping what needed to be chopped, and peeling what needed to be peeled. Once done, she set them aside to drain.