Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 1717: Chapter 1697:

"No, I already said it’s not what you think..." The old man immediately started defending the thing in his hand, as if it had suffered some huge injustice.

"Lunch. Eat or don’t eat." He Wenyu was still firmly on Luo Qianqian’s side, and she really didn’t like these cold‑blooded animals either!

The old man fell silent for a moment, then curled his lips speechlessly. Seriously, some people just don’t know a good thing when they see it!

This was a Heaven Level task on the Glory Points board! But well, that’s not something the two in front of him needed to know...

It’s just that there was no way he’d let this little thing go, okay? He turned and walked out of the courtyard, and came back not long after. When he returned, he spread his hands, indicating that the thing from before was no longer on him.

Only then did He Wenyu let out a sigh of relief and head back into the kitchen to continue her work.

Luo Qianqian also breathed a sigh of relief, but maybe because the old man had been holding that thing just now, she quickly left the courtyard as well and went back inside the house. She’d rather do Cultivation than stay in the yard; she kept feeling something might randomly pop out from who‑knows‑where...

Meanwhile, Fu Qing stood off to the side, quietly noticing that an extra Bamboo Tube had appeared at the old man’s waist. He shook his head speechlessly.

That thing was indeed rare, yes, but only if it grew big! At this size, whether it could even survive its first mutation was a problem.

"Shh."

Noticing Fu Qing’s gaze, the old man made a "silence" gesture toward him with a hint of warning, his eyes full of threat.

Fu Qing rolled his eyes and turned his head toward the kitchen. He really wasn’t that bored, okay? He had no need to offend the old man just to curry favor with those two little girls, all right? Most importantly, it was just a medicinal herb. And an underdeveloped one at that. What was there to be so cautious about?

Very soon, He Wenyu called out, and the three of them gathered around. The old man also cooperatively found four pieces of Stone and stacked them in front of the stove.

He Wenyu didn’t fuss about details. Her eyes were sparkling; she’d been eating instant noodles way too much lately, and now she was so excited to see different food that she practically wanted to sing, dance, and cheer!

Luo Qianqian was even more like that. If her skills weren’t so limited, she wouldn’t have been eating like this either!

They were practically about to be traumatized from eating the same thing!

Off to the side was a steamer as well. She took a deep breath, and sure enough, it was the smell of steamed buns!

Luo Qianqian’s face lit up with surprise. "There are buns too?"

"Knew your nose wouldn’t miss it." He Wenyu nodded with a smile, her face full of pride. Being able to pull this off with the ingredients on hand meant she was really awesome, okay?

"I’m thinking of setting up a place to steam buns and Baozi later. The only problem is the racks are easy enough to make, but steamers are hard to find... If we keep steaming like this, my pot’s never going to come clean again..." He Wenyu was full of helplessness. The biggest issue was that this pot looked pretty big but could only fit ten buns...

Looks like a lot, right? But then think about a certain someone who can finish an entire pot of instant noodles...

She and Luo Qianqian each took two first, just in case they couldn’t grab any later.

Luo Qianqian held the soft, fluffy bun in her hand, and the word "happiness" was written all over her head...

"If it really doesn’t work, we can just have Second Uncle open Forget Worries Tea House in Freedom Town, then we’ll go order custom ones, won’t we?" Luo Qianqian had zero intention of giving way to the old man. She quickly ladled out a big bowl of boiled fish and set it in front of herself and He Wenyu.

As for those two? Don’t even think about it. They had the pot...

"It’s really not safe here, you know. Think about how we came in... If something happens, you’re going to go Berserk again, aren’t you?" He Wenyu said helplessly.

Luo Qianqian: "..." She wasn’t some game character; where was this Berserk coming from?

But the old man had heard their conversation. It’s just that he was busy eating and had no mood to care about any of that. Without a shred of politeness, he stood up, grabbed his chopsticks, and stuck them straight into the pot.

"Oh yeah, I also added Devil Chili Pepper." He Wenyu poked at one of the peppers and pushed it aside, then looked seriously at Luo Qianqian as she spoke.

Luo Qianqian froze for a moment, then dipped the fish coated in thick red oil back into the soup a couple of times before eating it.

On the other side, the two blissfully unaware guys...

"Ah... sss... ha ha ha..." They kept sticking out their tongues, tears streaming down like a flood. The impatient eagerness they’d had earlier was gone without a trace, but even so, the two of them still chose to keep eating while struggling and letting out all kinds of strange noises...

Luo Qianqian and He Wenyu ate their dishes with buns on the side, their faces full of "we’re just here for the show", with zero intention of giving any warning.

After all, the first thing the two of them had picked up was the buns, right?

Big, fluffy, yeasty white buns, steaming and fragrant, but they’d been gloriously ignored by those two.

Fu Qing eventually took a few extra looks at Luo Qianqian and He Wenyu. There was no reason they were eating the same thing yet only the two of them were suffering like this, right? It really was delicious, so he couldn’t stop, but his snot and tears also just wouldn’t stop, okay?

Then he noticed the buns in their hands. He stared blankly for a second, then silently took one for himself and took a couple of bites. He instantly felt even more like crying. Why did it take him this long, suffering from the spice all this time, to realize this?

His movement also caught the old man’s attention. The old man immediately grabbed a bun as well...

After eating and drinking their fill, Luo Qianqian looked at the two people who had literally washed down all the Devil Chili Pepper with water and was speechless...

So this boiled fish came with the special effect of making even depressed people eat like crazy?

But the old man was off to the side, panting heavily. After a moment, he said, "The academy can provide protection to Merchants in Freedom Town. If we can keep eating this, I’ll handle the paperwork for you. Just send people over. Nothing will happen to them."

Luo Qianqian froze and stared at the old man in disbelief.

"It’s a good thing, sure, but... there’s still a tiny little condition." He Wenyu’s eyes lit up too, but thinking of Luo Qianqian’s haggling earlier, she deliberately said with some difficulty, "You also know how hard it is for us to get these ingredients, right? And we need to do Cultivation too. We can’t be running around all day just for this, can we?"

Luo Qianqian’s eyes brightened—this child could be taught...

Maximizing their own profit.

"So, shouldn’t our people be allowed to come in and deliver ingredients to us? That way we can see our family more often too, right?" He Wenyu said seriously.

Unexpectedly, the old man shook his head and refused with a serious face. "That’s against the rules. Also, non‑academy personnel are not allowed inside. And academy staff can’t leave casually either; everything has to be reported."

He Wenyu froze and looked helplessly at Luo Qianqian.

Luo Qianqian was silent for a moment, then smiled. "Actually, that’s easy. You just send people to buy from us. But nothing in our shop is cheap."

The non‑sale items they needed, they could just take themselves. As for the rest, the academy could pay for it... and they could raise prices. What, transportation costs don’t cost money or something?

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