The scantily clad, beautiful woman listened to Liu Menglong complain but said nothing.
After voicing a few complaints about his organization, Liu Menglong stomped off toward the bedroom.
"If I had known this job was going to be so hard, I never would have taken it. What a pain."
...
The sun blazed overhead. Li Ying strolled leisurely in the shade of the roadside trees, a smile on his face as he muttered to himself.
"Liu Menglong, a member of the Heilin Society. A Second Order Middle Stage cultivator, currently lying low in this city and running an underground casino.
Recently, due to a special operation from the relevant authorities, business at the underground casino has been dismal, his income has been all but cut off, and his men can barely make ends meet..."
Li Ying knew Liu Menglong’s true identity and recent predicament with perfect clarity. The Canglan Society’s intelligence department was indeed formidable.
’Next, I just need to watch Liu Menglong, the Second Order Middle Stage cultivator, go after that man named Lin Li. Then I’ll find out if he really has a Second Order High Rank cultivation.
Heilin Society, don’t blame me for using one of your members as a pawn. If you have to blame someone, blame yourselves for being too brazen and offending us several times in the past.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have chosen one of your members to be a pawn in my plan.’
As his meticulously crafted plan began to unfold as expected, Li Ying found himself in a very good mood.
’Once the results are in,’ he thought, ’I’ll just report back to my superiors, and this mission will be finished.’
’After that, I’ll leave this place and go to another city for a good long rest.’
...
「Spirit Realm, Dongwu City.」
A new architectural style from the Imperial Capital had prompted many wealthy trendsetters to start large-scale construction in a residential area in the city’s east.
On one construction plot after another, crews were building detached villas in a variety of styles.
On the third-floor balcony of a newly built and furnished detached villa, a woman of plain appearance was gazing into the distance.
’So there are this many construction crews building houses nearby! In a few months, a lot of people should be moving in. It won’t be so deserted at night then,’ Qin Muqing thought, looking at the bustling construction sites in the distance.
"CHIRP CHIRP..."
A few ordinary birds flew over the balcony, leaving a trail of clear, melodious chirps.
"WHOOSH..."
A sudden gust of wind blew, scattering the hair across Qin Muqing’s forehead. She raised a hand to smooth her disheveled hair, her thoughts turning to the kind man who had taken her in.
’Mr. Lin left yesterday and still hasn’t come back. I wonder if he’ll return today?’
’Ugh... Before he comes back, I have to figure out a way to improve my cooking! Otherwise, when he eats a meal at home, and I serve up a pile of inedible food, my secret will be out, won’t it?’
In the time since Lin Li left yesterday until noon today, Qin Muqing, all alone in the villa, had cooked three meals for herself.
Having never cooked before, Qin Muqing’s skills were just what one would expect. None of the three meals tasted good; she had to force herself to choke down her own disastrous creations.
She had boasted to Lin Li that her cooking was excellent, that she was a whiz in the kitchen. If he found out and decided to kick her out, what would she do?
’I ran away from home, and my luck has been terrible. I’ve suffered so much along the way. I’ve finally found a safe place to stay, so I have to cherish it. I absolutely cannot let him kick me out of his house.’
Gripping the balcony railing with both hands, her gaze fixed on the construction sites in the distance, Qin Muqing racked her brain, trying to figure out how to improve her cooking.
"Huh...? What’s that?"
As Qin Muqing was desperately trying to figure out how to improve her cooking so she wouldn’t be kicked out, she suddenly saw the busy workers at the distant construction site stop their work.
Then, they all hurried toward a small pushcart under a large tree outside the construction site.
’I’ve seen that little pushcart on the street before. I think it’s selling box lunches...’
Qin Muqing watched the pushcart under the distant tree. The middle-aged woman selling lunches took the meals she had made from her cart and sold them to the construction workers.
Watching the bustling scene, an idea suddenly sparked in Qin Muqing’s mind. She had a way to improve her cooking skills.
...
"Ma’am, I’ll take a box lunch," a construction worker said to the woman selling them, pulling money from his pocket and handing it to her.
"You got it." The woman selling the lunches was in her forties, her skin dark and rough. It was clear at a glance that she was a hardworking person who had endured years of wind and sun.
After selling the last box lunch, the woman tidied up her pushcart and prepared to go home.
As she pushed her cart past the gate of the finished and occupied detached villa, a plain-looking woman who had been waiting expectantly by the entrance walked over and stopped her.
"???"
The lunch lady looked at the woman who had stopped her with a puzzled expression. Thankfully, it was another woman who had stopped her.
If it had been a man, she might have suspected a robbery and started screaming for help on the spot.
"Miss, is there something you need?" the lunch lady asked.
"Hello, uh..." Qin Muqing greeted the lunch lady, but just as she was about to say what was on her mind, the words caught in her throat.
After all, she had grown up in the lap of luxury, and this was the first time she had ever had to ask for something like this. For a moment, she was too embarrassed to speak.
The lunch lady was a good judge of character. Seeing Qin Muqing stutter and look embarrassed, she understood and said with a chuckle.
"Miss, do you need my help with something? Don’t be embarrassed, just tell me. If I can help, I will."
"Well... I saw that the box lunches you sell are really popular with those construction workers, and I was hoping you could teach me how to cook... Of course, I won’t let you teach me for free. I’ll pay you."
Under the lunch lady’s gentle gaze, Qin Muqing finally managed to say the words that had made her so embarrassed.
The lunch lady never expected that this was what the woman who stopped her wanted to ask. She was quite surprised.
She saw that the woman had just come out of the luxurious villa, and she couldn’t quite understand.
’Someone living in a luxurious villa like this, looking for cooking lessons... shouldn’t she hire a professional chef? Why would she ask me, someone who just sells box lunches to construction workers? It’s so strange.’
"Ma’am, is it possible?" Qin Muqing asked when the lunch lady didn’t say anything.
’If she isn’t willing, I’ll just have to find someone else. In any case, I have to find someone willing to teach me to cook by the end of today.’
"I can do that. You mentioned you would pay, so how much are we talking about?" Although the lunch lady was a kind-hearted person, since the other party had offered to pay for her lessons, she had no reason to refuse the money.
"One hundred Copper Coins per lesson. Is that enough?" Qin Muqing offered what she thought was a reasonable wage.
The lunch lady was stunned that Qin Muqing offered such a high wage. After all, she only made a profit of three or four Copper Coins on each box lunch she sold.
When she came out with her pushcart to sell lunches to the construction workers, she would only make about seventy to eighty Copper Coins per trip.
"Alright, miss, you can rest assured. As long as it’s a dish I know how to cook, I’ll teach you everything..."
A happy smile spread across Qin Muqing’s face when she heard the lunch lady agree.
"When do we start?" the lunch lady asked.
"Let’s start right now. Follow me..." To avoid blowing her cover, Qin Muqing had to race against time to learn how to cook a few decent-tasting dishes.
And so, the lunch lady pushed her cart and followed Qin Muqing into the villa.
...