Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Revenge
The grindstone in Jiang Zuo’s courtyard, long unused, began to turn once more, emitting a heavy, grating sound.
As rice and water were added, a slurry resembling soy milk slowly trickled out from the grindstone.
Jiang Zuo quickly carried a small pan of the rice slurry back to the kitchen.
Lacking a proper square steamer basket, Jiang Zuo improvised, simply boiling water in a wok.
He brushed a steaming plate with lard and poured in a thin layer of the rice slurry.
After the water came to a boil, he placed the plate of slurry directly into the wok. He covered it with a lid, and after steaming for a few minutes, the rice noodle roll was ready.
This was Jiang Zuo’s first time making rice noodle rolls, but his current culinary skill and dexterity were anything but ordinary.
After making just a few, Jiang Zuo had already mastered the heat, the amount of slurry for each plate, and the optimal steaming time.
The noodle sheet he scraped off the plate was uniform and translucent. When rolled up, it was soft yet slightly springy.
’Mmm, the only thing missing from the rice noodle rolls I’ve been craving is the sauce to pour on top.’
It was called a sauce, but it was really just soy sauce and sesame oil mixed with a little warm water.
The soy sauce needed to be light. The oil was lard infused with scallions and other spices, to which he added the warm water.
Once it was mixed evenly, he poured it over a small plate of the rice noodle rolls. A familiar, yet slightly different, aroma washed over him.
Jiang Zuo couldn’t resist picking up a piece and taking a bite.
’Heh!’
’Totally worth the time I spent hammering out that steaming plate.’
’The taste is so familiar, and it seems especially smooth and delicious!’
And this was just the plain version. He could also add eggs, minced meat, leafy greens, and more.
That would taste even better.
Jiang Zuo was just about to prepare some minced meat for a meat-filled rice noodle roll—his old favorite.
But suddenly, he felt a gaze fixed on him.
For ventilation, the kitchen was situated at the edge of the rear courtyard, with a large window opening out to it.
Jiang Zuo looked through the window, tracing the gaze back to its source.
He was startled by what he saw.
Perched on the rear courtyard fence was a cute little girl who had appeared at some point without him noticing.
The little girl’s eyes were glued to the rice noodle rolls in Jiang Zuo’s bowl, and she was practically drooling.
It couldn’t be helped; the rice noodle rolls just looked that delicious.
Jiang Zuo recognized the little girl.
After Great Black’s auction that morning, he’d vaguely seen an old woman leading a little girl to the new house next door.
If he hadn’t recognized her, and if it had been a little later after dark, Jiang Zuo might have thought he was seeing a ghost.
"Want some?"
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Zuo asked Subai.
"Yes!"
Subai nodded eagerly, then deftly vaulted over the fence and landed lightly on the ground in the courtyard.
Jiang Zuo watched her, at a loss for words.
To keep prying eyes out of his courtyard, he had built a fence that was two meters high!
’Two meters high!’
A normal adult would struggle to get over that.
"Just a moment. I’m about to make an even tastier version."
Saying nothing more, Jiang Zuo went to the wellhead, retrieved some cured pork, and began preparing the minced meat.
"Okay!"
Subai sat down under the eaves in the courtyard, her eyes curiously scanning the surroundings.
But since Jiang Zuo lived alone, the house was furnished very simply with little more than farming and kitchen tools. There was nothing particularly special to see.
"You just moved in next door today, didn’t you, little one? What’s your name? Shouldn’t you go tell your family where you are so they don’t worry? It’ll take me a little while to make these rice noodle rolls, so you have plenty of time to go home and come back."
Jiang Zuo said as he walked back with a cut of pork, looking at the curious Subai.
"My name is... Su Qiaoqiao. Granny Mei knows I’m here, so you don’t have to worry. Is this called a rice noodle roll? What a strange name."
Subai had no intention of leaving; she was too curious about how the rice noodle rolls were made.
Jiang Zuo didn’t mind. He had no plans to make money off them anyway.
They had to be made to order, and trying to make money from them would be laborious and time-consuming.
Besides, there was no real technical difficulty in making them, and the ingredients were extremely common. Even if Jiang Zuo kept the process a secret, an experienced chef could figure out the basics after eating them a few times.
The Demon Race mostly ate their food raw, or at most, grilled it over an open fire.
Subai was a stranger to everything in the kitchen.
She had come to Red Fox Town specifically to learn human customs, so after sitting for a moment, she couldn’t stop herself from pointing at one thing after another like a curious child, asking what each was.
Jiang Zuo simply assumed she was a young lady from a wealthy family who had never set foot in a kitchen. He patiently answered every one of her questions.
Besides, forget about this era. Even before he’d transmigrated, plenty of young people—men and women alike—couldn’t have explained most of the things in a kitchen before starting their own families.
Amid their questions and answers, the rice noodle rolls with leafy greens and minced meat were ready.
The moment Jiang Zuo poured the sauce over them, Subai dug in eagerly.
The smooth, springy noodle roll melted in her mouth, accompanied by the savory minced meat and the fragrant sauce.
It slid down her throat and into her stomach almost effortlessly.
Subai’s eyes immediately lit up. This tasted completely different from the big meat buns.
But it was just as delicious.
Subai ate several plates in a row until her little belly began to bulge. Only then did she stop to wipe the oil from the corners of her mouth.
’Human food is all this delicious? It seems becoming human really was a good choice.’
"Jiang Zuo, I’m heading back! Next time, I’ll bring some things for you to cook!"
She remembered Granny Mei had told her that in the human world, you had to pay for food.
She didn’t have any money on her, so after a moment’s thought, Subai declared her intentions.
’Next time, I’ll have Granny get some beast meat from the forest and bring it to Jiang Zuo. That can be my payment for the meal!’
’Jiang Zuo won’t be at a loss, and I’ll get to eat more delicious food.’
Subai mentally patted herself on the back for her cleverness.
Watching Jiang Zuo bustle about, the thought of learning to cook crossed her mind.
But she gave up after only a moment’s consideration.
’It looks so complicated. So many steps, so many ingredients, and I’d have to remember all the different amounts.’
’Just thinking about it, I know I could never do it.’
"Alright."
It was just a matter of occasionally making a little extra food for a small girl, hardly any trouble at all.
Besides, this Su Qiaoqiao wasn’t from Red Fox Town and her family was clearly well-off. Perhaps he could look forward to her bringing some rare ingredients over.
...
’I need to find a young black dog in the next couple of days.’
As the sky darkened, Jiang Zuo thought to himself while looking at his somewhat lonely wooden house.
He always felt this way around this time of year.
This year, however, was a little different.
The notifications for Beast Taming Reputation that periodically appeared in his vision lifted his spirits considerably.
Ever since the morning auction, text prompts for his Beast Taming Reputation had been popping up in his vision.
After he spent 100 points on strength last night, his Beast Taming Reputation had surged from 548 to 762!
It had risen by over two hundred in a single afternoon, far more than he had anticipated.
Jiang Zuo had originally thought he’d be lucky to squeeze out another hundred points of Beast Taming Reputation.
Who would have thought Great Black would sell for such a jaw-dropping, sky-high price, causing the amount of Beast Taming Reputation he earned to skyrocket.
It was still increasing, and would likely continue to rise significantly tomorrow.
He had truly made a fortune from auctioning Great Black.
In addition to a huge sum of silver taels, he had also reaped a massive harvest of Beast Taming Reputation.
...
「Da Fu Restaurant.」
Despite its somewhat common-sounding name, Da Fu Restaurant was one of the largest establishments in Red Fox Town.
It was not a cheap place; a simple meal for an ordinary person could cost a month’s wages.
But you got what you paid for. Not only was the service at Da Fu Restaurant excellent and the food and wine top-notch, but its private rooms also offered complete privacy.
The rooms were spaced far apart, so one needn’t worry about being overheard, even if conducting indiscreet business in broad daylight.
As the lanterns were being lit, inside a private room on the third floor of Da Fu Restaurant, six men, all in their prime and of varying burly builds, sat around a table.
They were eating the restaurant’s delicacies, but none of the six looked pleased.
"Five thousand taels! Heh heh... you got Laoqi thrown in the slammer. I’ll make sure you have the money but not the life to spend it!"
Their leader, Ding Yi, threw his head back and downed a cup of liquor, hissing with a cold sneer.
The seven brothers were hired thugs who had come to Red Fox Town to stir up panic at their employer’s behest.
They only had to create chaos; they didn’t even need to harm anyone.
Once the panic reached a certain level, they could withdraw.
After things died down, they could come back and do it all over again.
The pay was substantial, the job wasn’t dangerous, and it was a long-term gig.
It was hard to find an easier or more profitable contract.
The seven brothers took the contract very seriously and had devised a perfect plan upon their arrival.
First, Laoqi would create panic with a string of burglaries over several days.
Once the panic had built up and the residents of Red Fox Town were on edge, the seven brothers would strike together, committing a rapid series of thefts before pulling off one last big heist to push the fear to its peak.
By then, they would have not only fulfilled their employer’s request but also pocketed a hefty sum before skipping town without a trace.
Among the seven brothers, two were at the Muscle Training realm and four were at the Skin Refining realm. Even the weakest, Laoqi, had one foot across the threshold to Skin Refining.
Laoqi was also a master of the Skill of the Nimble Hand, making it a trivial matter for him to burglarize ordinary homes in the middle of the night.
The County Magistrate’s Office only had one Bone Refining Martial Artist, Chief Lu. The other constables were Skin Refining at best.
As long as they avoided Chief Lu, they didn’t have much to fear in Red Fox Town. Completing their contract wouldn’t be difficult.
But who would have thought their campaign would end before it even began?
On just the second day, Laoqi had screwed up and gotten himself caught.
If Laoqi hadn’t always been so cautious, never returning to their hideout immediately after a job, the rest of them would have been rounded up as well.
And the reason for his spectacular failure? Some guy who owned a damn good dog.
Because he caught Laoqi, that guy’s dog—a mutt that wasn’t even worth much to begin with—ended up selling at auction for a fortune!
Is there any justice in this world?
This was the last straw. They had to get their revenge!
However, killing Jiang Zuo for revenge was a secondary objective.
The most important thing was to get Laoqi out of jail as soon as possible.
Otherwise, things looked grim for Laoqi this time; the County Magistrate planned to make an example of him.
But with Chief Lu around, they didn’t dare attempt a direct jailbreak. They had to find another way.
Jiang Zuo was currently the most famous person in Red Fox Town, and he was the key figure responsible for Laoqi’s capture.
If they killed him, Chief Lu would certainly lead his men to the scene to investigate the murder once the news broke.
Without the Bone Refining expert Chief Lu in the way, Ding Yi and his five remaining men were confident they could storm the jail and rescue Laoqi.
Kill Jiang Zuo to get revenge, lure Chief Lu away, and rescue Laoqi. Then, on their way out, they could still wreak havoc in Red Fox Town, create the panic, and complete their contract.
A plan that killed several birds with one stone!
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