Lei woke up to the sounds of chirping and laughter down in the porch. There was hardly a muscle in his body that didn’t hurt from the hard use when he tried to pick himself up through the army of pillows surrounding him. The journey over that spiritual beast was a long one, and it did a number on his body, no doubt.
Golden light poured from the double windows facing the backyard, glistening bright over his face. He dragged himself to the wall, laid a hand over the windows and peered down.
It was chaos in the porch. The kids were busy running about, chasing a group of Browntails too quick for them to catch. Little Yao was there watching them, perched over a particularly crooked tree, standing on one of the branches that swayed gentle in the wind.
Whenever a kid came close at catching one of the Browntails she would squeak, like a sergeant demanding complete obedience to her orders, and that Browntail would zip by the kid in a streak of flash.
That’s one way to tire out the kids, alright.
Lei smiled and took a bath and changed his clothes before making his way down to the porch. Fresh air cuddled him tight, and warm wind eased through his robe, kissing the side of his chest. It smelled daisies and fresh soil in the porch, until the kids came bounding toward him and hugged him from the legs.
“All sweaty and slick!” Lei said to them, clicking his tongue. “How long have you been running out here?”
“Been some hours,” came Fatty Lou’s voice. He was chewing on a straw he’d picked out somewhere, lips curled in an easy smile. “There’s something soothing about this place. Like we’re hidden in a precious corner of the world, away from the eyes. All us and nobody else.”
“Except we aren’t,” Zhu Luli said as she stepped out from the big door, motioning to them with a hand. “Our guy is here to take you to that restaurant. Golden Crow’s Den… Uh, let’s hope they left the place standing after Father forced them to give in.”
Lei arched an eyebrow at her. “Why? I’ve thought Ji Clan owed your Father some money?”
“They did,” Zhu Luli said tiredly. “But the notion of debt works different in the capital. They spent years to make Golden Crow’s Den one of the highly regarded restaurants in the capital, and forcing them to sell it… Let’s say they can’t be too happy about it.”
“Debt is a man’s curse,” Fatty Lou muttered. “That’s what my Father told me once, and I took it to the heart.”
“That’s wise of you, Brother Lou,” Lei said, clapping him on the back. “But this debt’s none of our business. We should go see the place, but the kids—“
“Don’t worry. Nobody can do anything to them here. Let them have their fun,” Zhu Luli said, looking at them with a little smile. “Once we’re done with the restaurant then we can talk about the choices. Snake, Stone and Little Mei… There a good number of sects and academies that would be willing to take them right away.”
Lei nodded. That was one of the main reasons why he accepted Zhu Qiang’s offer. To give the kids a good education so that their talents wouldn’t be wasted. It still felt rather strange, though. Being away from that trio… He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that.
“Alright, I’m ready,” he said, giving them a look. “Let’s see the state of the place. We might need to make a few adjustments.”
……
“It is all a matter of perspective. Ji Clan needed the hands of other clans in the capital, so they made sure Golden Crow’s Den served that purpose. They hosted monthly banquets there, and it was no simple thing getting an invite for that. People of lesser standings made a habit of boasting about it, which in turn kept the Ji Clan’s name relevant. You see these things everywhere in the capital. Face is mightly important,” Zhu Yong said as he led them toward the restaurant.
Lei nodded at the words. The man was one of Zhu Luli’s older cousins, hauled from some distant line of the family Lei already forgot. He had a clean face, and was clad in the signature red robes of the Zhu Clan, but was a little wide on the middle. He instantly took a liking when he saw Fatty Lou. Told him they must be kindred spirits.
Being a food enthusiast in this magical xianxia land was surprisingly not all too common.
The competetion… It’s not going to be easy.
The central part of the capital was riddled with long, and windy streets. According to Zhu Yong, the place worked like a over-sized sect, with the central part reserved to the unaffiliated cultivators. Most of the commercial business stricts were also here.
Lei had seen dozens of restaurants and inns along the way. The extravagance made him sigh in awe. They sure liked their sizes and jade here, as the places were adorned with ungodly amounts of it. Gold was used only to highlight the names of these establishements.
They weaved through the throng, with Zhu Yong feeding them with valuable information. The spiritual energy pressed upon his shoulders like a thick blanket. He came dangerously close to suffocating when he felt one or two particularly strong presences in the crowd.
Hidden tigers and dragons. Seemed like Master Qiang had a point.
But the more important was that the business was booming. Three, four story restaurants were packed to brim, people lining before them.
“They’ve tried for a limited time, but the spiritual beasts just take too much space,” Zhu Yong was saying, one hand over Fatty Lou’s shoulder. “There are over twenty million people here, so that’s why they forbid the beasts and even the act of flying over the central part to keep it clean. Being presentable is one of the Emperor’s highly regarded values. He likes the aestethic of it.”
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“I can respect that,” Fatty Lou nodded. “You don’t want a mountain-sized tiger bounding across the street when you’re trying to eat some good noodles. Not only that, a business can suffer because of some Young Master’s monster parade.”
“That…” Zhu Yong paused, giving him a look. “That’s exactly what’s happened. Zhang Clan’s Third Young Master tried to boast his horde of beasts one day, and the Emperor got angry.”
“He’s a fool,” Zhu Luli commented. “Seeking attention and validation. You don’t need those things if you’ve attained true power.”
“Young Miss, you’re becoming more and more like your Father!” Zhu Yong smiled amicably. “I’m afraid most of the scions here lacked that deep understanding you both share. Such a shame. Things could’ve been much more better had they stopped competing against each other.”
Well, that’s like the number one thing about xianxia worlds, no? Face slapping, boasting, you just can’t get enough of that.
Now that he thought about it, being jerked into a corner of the world probably saved him from a lot of that. He didn’t have to deal with stubborn Young Masters or self-absorbed geniuses. He was in a mortal town, with mortal people and their everyday struggles.
Save for the sudden invasion of an outer force, that is.
He chuckled. It seemed there were always two sides to a coin. Here, the capital gave him a sense of safety, with thousands of mighty cultivators walking beside him and the Emperor’s palace peering down at them from beyond the clouds. Those rotten bastards couldn’t ever dare to try anything like that here.
But that, in turn, meant that he needed to work extra hard to establish himself in this place. He’d seen, out of the corner of his eye, giant lobsters being cooked in cauldrons hanging from the ceilings, radiating waves of spiritual energy that splashed across the customers’ faces.
That is your competition.
“And here’s the famed Golden Crow’s Den!” Zhu Yong said, as he raised a hand toward a three-story building that stood by the street. He led them through the crowd and brought them before the high double doors, closed shut with a bamboo scroll stuck onto it. It read, ‘We are in the process of relocating. Further notice will be given to our esteemed guests in the coming weeks.’
Lei peered up at the building. Jade tiles glinted under the morning light, lined with golden streaks that slithered down toward the entrance where they blended into the head of a golden crow. Two head-sized jade gemstones were cocked into it where the crow’s eyes would be. They were darker in color and gleamed with a light that cascaded down to highlight the entrance.
“Such a piece of work,” Fatty Lou said, one hand over his brows to shade his eyes. He let out a whistle. “Are we sure this isn’t a palace? Because it sure looks like one.”
“The aesthetic of it is important,” Zhu Yong nodded knowingly. “The Reform Act of the new Emperor strongly promotes a certain finesse to how people do their business around the capital. Not just that, even the clan compounds around the central part are in the process of renovating. Every building must carry a clear portion of jade and gold.”
“Flaunting his wealth,” Zhu Luli said. “He thinks by painting the capital in his colors, he can bring much-needed peace to the Empire. He’s really a kid, isn’t he?”
Lei gave the street a look. The buildings certainly looked like overpriced brothels lined side by side, gleaming under the sunlight, casting their multi-colored light shows across the paved ground.
“Well, it is easier than dealing with all the sects,” Zhu Yong said with a hint of a smile on his lips. “They pay him well, and thus can keep to themselves. Our mighty Emperor is happy so long as he gets his jades and coins! Come on, I’ll show you the interior. We’ve just started our tour, after all.”
He tapped a finger to the golden ring wrapped around his right index finger, pulled out a large golden key, and inserted it into the keyhole. The doors opened with a clack, and Fatty Lou was the first one to go in.
Lei followed after him. A part of him expected another light show inside, perhaps a set of golden tables and green jade chairs, topped with ornaments of masterful origins, lit by an array of spiritual stones and other expensive, surely ancient things.
What he got, in turn, was one flat area that lacked anything of any worth. The place was deserted. Even the walls had been left bare, carrying the withered marks of things that’d been taken away.
“At least they left the tiles,” Fatty Lou muttered, looking greatly disappointed. “Good thing we don’t have to do that.”
“Good thing indeed,” Lei said, shaking his head.
The entrance hall was wide, and it got wider still when they moved further into the building. A simple look told Lei that he could host about sixty people just on the entrance floor.
“It’s too much,” he couldn’t help but say. “This place is too big. We don’t have enough staff to handle this. We should start slow. Get some tables here on the first floor, seal the rest. Once we have a stream of customers coming, then we can think about moving on.”
“Makes sense,” Fatty Lou said, then winked at Zhu Luli. “Can we expect anything from the Heavenly Scholar, Sister Luli? Perhaps some coin in the deal? He can think of it as an investment for a promising chef. You know Brother Lei’s dishes.”
“Don’t worry. He told me he’s going to help you deal with… this,” she said. “It’ll be enough for a start, but promise me, you won’t ask anything more from him.”
“And why is that?” Fatty Lou asked.
“Because his help won’t come cheap,” Zhu Luli said absently. “The more you get something from him, the more you’ll be expected to do certain things. He’ll make sure you’re on the hook. People call him the Heavenly Scholar, but just a few know his true nature.”
“Patriarch can be tough,” Zhu Yong shifted uncomfortably as the very word ‘Patriarch’ sent a chill down his back. “But it was thanks to him that Zhu Clan rose to such heights. We’re all standing on his shoulders.”
“Shoulders, eh?” Lei muttered. The talk with Zhu Qiang was still fresh in his mind. The man expected Lei to prove himself, and his standards didn’t seem low. So he had to get creative. Do things in his own way.
“He gave me the restaurant, right?” he said, looking back at the high doors of the entrance. “So this place is ours, then?”
“Yes,” Zhu Yong said. “You’ve been given six months.”
“I can do whatever I want?”
“Yes. But I have to remind you that your performance during these six months will decide the next course of this venture. If Patriarch finds you unworthy of this chance, then he’ll get the restaurant back,” Zhu Yong said with a strict voice. “Zhu Clan doesn’t need any other revenue stream, but a place like Golden Crow’s Den could provide things more valuable than mere gold.”
“Understood. Then I’m going to do it my way,” Lei said, tapping a finger to his chin. He turned to Fatty Lou. “Brother Lou, we have a beautiful piece outside the building. Can we get a deal on that?”
“What?” Fatty Lou blanked. “You mean the crow?”
“Yes,” Lei nodded with a smile. “We don’t need Master Qiang’s help anymore. We have enough in our hands to get a good start.”
“You want to sell the Golden Crow?” Zhu Yong’s eyes nearly bulged. “But that piece—”
“Is no longer relevant,” Lei raised a hand at him. “I don’t mean to be rude, but if we’re going to do business here, then we need an edge that belongs to us. Something that will reflect our true roots.”
“That’s not going to be easy with all this jade and gold,” Zhu Luli muttered.
Lei snapped his fingers at her. “That’s why we’re going to sell it all. I’ll make sure this restaurant is about one thing, and one thing only.”
“And that is?” Zhu Yong said.
“Food.” Lei gave him a smile. “What really matters is food, Brother Yong. All this grandeur and majesty… I don’t like it, so I’m going to change it.”
“Fucking genius,” Fatty Lou smacked his thigh. “Make the whole place unique by getting rid of those fancy stuff. That’s marketing right there!”
…….