Chapter 11 - Genius

Lei shook his head after Fatty Lou. Though he didn't know anything about the plan, his brother-in-arms was as sharp as a razor when it came to marketing. His thick skin played a big role in that, no doubt honed by Master Li's biting remarks at anything he had ever done. The old man had the habit of cursing and screaming at people's faces when he wasn't busy with his bakery, and his son got the worst of it.

Alright, let's start.

He pulled the cloth covering the kebab and turned the stick using the meat cleaver Fatty Lou had put over on the counter. Lei's collection of knives was rather lacking in this venture, so he'd asked his brother to bring him one of those big, long knives.

Using the Yellow Maiden's Eyes, he checked the cleaver.

[Common Meat Cleaver: Good Quality]

Its edge, glinting sharp, was a testament to its quality. It didn't come as a surprise, as Fatty Lou hardly bothered visiting that butcher shop as of late, and Lei was grateful for that. He needed all the help he could get.

He turned the spit so that it faced the crowd, allowing people to see the glorious meat chops, all spiced up and tightened round together. Taking a last look around the square, he kindled the firewood and waved a hand toward the kids.

"Form a circle," Lei said with a straight face as he counted the kids one by one. When they gathered behind the stall, he gave them a nod and leaned closer just like that time his Little Leauge coach tried to shove him some confidence even though he was barely more than a scarecrow against those pitches. But this time, he was the coach and the ace, and he had a team of misfits smiling impishly up at his face.

"Our game plan is simple," he started, heads down and eyes perked up at his words. "We have ten tables, and there are ten of you. Talk it out, and pick a table. For the whole night, you'll be responsible for that table and will deliver their orders. You know those waiters at the taverns? Tonight you'll be just like them. Smile and greet the customers with respect."

"Do we get to eat?"

"Can we eat the leftovers?"

"What if they say something bad?"

Lei sighed out a long breath. Most of these kids were around ten years old, thus a part of him felt strange using them as waiters. Surely this couldn't be seen as child labor, right? He was doing this for the kids, after all. Well, he was thinking of grinding the system too, but that didn't change the facts.

"We'll all eat before we start serving the customers, so don't worry about that," Lei said. At the last restaurant he'd worked they ate a family meal each day. It used to at least give him that much-needed break before all the chaos, so he was thinking of doing the same here. "And if they say something bad, you'll come to me and I'll deal with it. Don't ever try to argue with our customers."

That got him a joint nod from the team, with a questionable smirk and a wink in the mix. Desperate times, Lei reminded himself. However, this table and stool stuff wasn't originally included in his plan.

Why did Brother Lou bring all these here? I could've just gone the old-school way of lining the customers up before the stall.

But they did give the stall some semblance of a real restaurant, and it might just be the extra touch he needed to bring up the profit margins. Eleven coppers was the name of the game he'd decided, and he had more than six hundred coppers spinning round the spit right now.

He started working on the bread, cutting them into halves. Then they all got their fix of cabbage, tomatoes, salt and pepper, and finally a touch of mayo.

Just as he was busy turning the spit, a rough voice came from the back, "Liang Lei?"

Lei scowled as he turned toward the voice. The old man was wide on the shoulders, and wide on the belly too, his robe stretched as though it'd break at any moment. He had a clean face, a shining pate instead of full hair, and a cave of a mouth that most old men had around here.

"Old Wu," Lei greeted him with a half-assed smile. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Old Wu jerked a thumb back at the stools and tables, face creasing into a frown. "You can't put those there."

"Oh, why is that?"

"We have rules here," Old Wu said, pointing at the other stalls around the square. "Nobody is allowed to put tables and stools before their places to keep the competition fair."

"Fair?" Lei almost rolled his eyes. "Funny you mention that when everyone knows you got your place from that son of yours for some ten coppers. Or was it five?"

Old Wu crossed his arms on his chest. "If you want to complain, you can always go visit Little Cao in the Governor's Office. He's a good lad, I can tell you that. But this isn't about me. You're blocking a good part of the square with those stools. Don't make me call the guards."

"Look, Old Wu, I know you don't like me," Lei said, reaching with one hand and clasping the man on the shoulder. "And that's alright, cause I don't like you either. But jabbing each other like this isn't going to turn your awful fish into something glorious that'd sell like hotcakes. Have you heard of a thing called seasoning? If not, then let me part with you some advice. One chef to another, what do you say?"

"You've no respect for your elders, you brat!" Old Wu's face twisted up in cold rage as he slapped Lei's arm that was tight around his shoulder. "You come here selling all those strange dishes, and now you want to lecture this old man? There are rules in this place!"

"What rules?" Lei clenched his hands. "Where were those guards when one-third of the city got blasted into pieces? Where were any of you when dozens of children left orphans overnight in some fucking cultivator attack? Rules? You dare speak about rules to my face, you old goat?!"

"You!" Old Wu stepped back, his eyes bulging out as though they were about to pop off of their sockets. The tiny hairs around his mouth trembled with rage, but a look around the other stalls told him he was alone in this episode. So he snorted before fuming his way back to his stall, leaving Lei alone with a budding headache.

I'm becoming more and more like these people.

"He must be one of the Old Monsters of the city," whispered a timid voice.

"Mm!" Little Mei's voice answered. "This city is full of them."

"Old Monsters are everywhere… And why are they all old?" asked one of the kids, a look of dread flashing behind his eyes.

"Because… They become monsters in time." Little Mei was too sure of herself as she stared at the group of children. "When they were young, they were busy with work and had a lot of friends, but when they grow old, they usually become lonely and bored. Did you know? My grandfather was the worst of the Old Monsters. His face was full of thorns, and he would press my cheeks on those thorns even though it hurt."

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"The Oldest Monster!" another kid gasped. "It must be terrifying."

Little Mei shook her head. "Thanks to him, I learned how to deal with them. You smile and do nothing, and they will leave you alone. But I think Lei Lei knows better. He doesn't fear the monsters at all."

"No wonder he's the Heavenly Cook!" said a sheepish voice. "We should stay close to him."

Then they all turned to stare at him with sparkling eyes, and Lei didn't know how to respond to that. He straightened his back and gave them a confident nod of his head, puffing his chest out for good measure. It was the least he could do.

But they have it hard here, these old folk.

To his knowledge there wasn't anything like a retirement package in Jiangzhen, or in the Empire, for that matter. So once these people grew old they had to either rely on their descendants or keep working in odd jobs here and there. That was why most of the stall owners around Eastern Square were old people.

That gave Lei an edge in the competition, but also made his life a touch harder as dealing with old people was a headache. This Old Wu, in particular, was the worst of them all. He kept bragging about his son who worked in the Governor's Office, too proud to acknowledge the fact that it was because of his son he had to work here rather than spending his last years drinking tea on some porch.

I guess they don't pay too much to the postman these days.

Shaking his head, Lei focused on the real task at hand. He turned the kebab and gave himself completely to the sizzling of the meats and the delicious wave of flavors that slowly spread about the square.

There were a bunch of curious eyes gazing toward him, a raised eyebrow here and there, some talk about the meat stick that slowly wore its crispy shell while sucking up the tail fat juice dripping down through the sides. But it took more than curiosity to spend over ten coppers on a street dish, considering the times as they were.

Still, Lei had faith in his gorgeous stick.

Once the outer layer of the kebab cooked beautifully, he began slicing across the sides, letting the cuts rest over on the wooden base which was draped in juice. He then slapped the meat on the loaves, lining the portions neatly to the side for the family meal.

His stomach had nearly consumed itself after all that work.

"Time for the family meal, gather round!" Lei called the children to his side, gave each of them a loaf, and watched as they first took gentle bites before chomping on the bread like ravished little beasts.

When Lei took his first bite, it instantly dissolved into a wave of flavors that trickled down through his throat. Perfectly salted and sauced, the play between mayo and the rich juice of marinated meat was a devilish jab at the ignorant palette of his soul brother, allowing him to experience the taste as though it was completely novel.

And it was true when he thought about it. It was the first time this body got to taste something like this. Back in Liang Clan, most of the food was bland and honestly, boring, which wasn't surprising as food wasn't that high on their priority list. It was mostly about exercise and meditation, with some lessons and education sprinkled in between, and they only ate to maintain this circle of monotony.

It was then no wonder why they'd kicked his soul brother out of the clan. The expectation had been for him to become something, anything that would profit the clan in some shape or form. Joining a sect would be the best scenario, as becoming a real disciple brought about a heap of advantages. These included resources and the protection of the sect which was a crucial thing to these always-competing cultivation clans.

An edge. An advantage. People are tools to be used for the grand benefit of the clan. Hence the motto live for the clan, and die for the clan.

Lei was grateful that he'd found himself free of the shackles of a clan or a sect. That would've made his life miserable and probably pushed him into that bloody path of cultivation, a path that knew no compassion and love, instead fully focused on climbing the steep ranks and getting stronger, sometimes even at the expense of one's humanity.

It must be hard to strive through all those steps and reach the zenith, only to look back and see there's nothing left in the wake of your climb.

He shook his head as he finished the bread. Thinking too much about certain things was an old habit that sometimes wormed its way back into his mind without him noticing. He plastered a wide, beaming smile on his face when children came flocking around him with glinting eyes.

"Big Brother Lei, that was delicious!"

"Heavenly Cook! He's the Heavenly Cook, not Big Brother Lei anymore!"

"Either one is fine," Lei said, smiling down at their faces. Though he had to admit the name Heavenly Cook started growing on him. It had a good ring to it.

It was just as he took his place behind the stall that he heard a commotion from beyond the square. A bustle of noises, excited and heated, echoed throughout the streets that made all heads turn to that side.

"What is happening?" Little Mei asked, then she was on her toes, raising the cat so that it could see about the commotion. "Little She, can you see it?"

The cat purred before wriggling impatiently, which made Little Mei put him back on the ground.

Lei, on the other hand, could see the source of the sounds, but that only made him more curious. There were dozens of people far in that street, and the strange thing was, there wasn't a woman amongst their ranks.

What?

He scowled out into the crowd, crossing his arms on his chest. Then slowly the crowd parted, revealing the real reason for the commotion. A line of beautiful ladies marched through the street, clad in red gowns that fell awfully short of covering most of their powdered skin, with men in tow following each of their motions, afraid to even blink at this sight.

And right between these ladies was a certain fatty who strolled with the confidence of a Young Master, chin raised high and a smug smile playing wide on his lips. When they crossed eyes with him Fatty Lou gave Lei a wink.

So that was your plan.

Lei barked out a laugh. This brother of his was truly a genius in marketing.

…….