Chapter 23

*Slurp.*

*Slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp.*

The sound of the noodles being sucked into Big Brother’s mouth, as if a high-performance vacuum cleaner was sucking everything in the vicinity, was a scream.

“Huuu...”

“Kyaahaaa...”

The exclamations of delight as he gulped down the hot broth, savoring its refreshing and invigorating taste.

“Squish...”

“Squish squish squish...”

The sound of the liquid being sucked through a narrow hole, leaving not a single drop behind, was the final scream of the broth being completely drained.

With that, the ultimate exclamation burst from Big Brother’s mouth.

“Huuu... It’s good!”

Three bowls of satisfaction!

The third bowl that Big Brother had emptied was placed firmly on the table.

Three bowls of spicy seafood noodles, which had been devoured without any resistance.

After finishing the bowls, Big Brother put down his chopsticks and wiped his forehead, causing the sweat beads on his forehead and nose to fall into the now empty bowls.

Turning his head, Big Brother rubbed his belly with a very satisfied look on his face, his eyes half-closed, and looked at me.

Even with his eyes half-closed, I could perfectly read his expression and feelings at this moment.

“Brother, was the food to your satisfaction?”

In response to my question, Big Brother answered with an excited voice.

“Satisfaction? It was more than that! It felt like walking along the beach in my hometown. You, it wasn’t just that you cooked well; the broth of the fresh seafood and the spicy flavor of the Sichuan pepper were perfectly balanced. I haven’t eaten so heartily in a long time.”

Praise upon praise.

Big Brother seemed to be completely satisfied with the spicy seafood noodles, which I introduced as Guangdong Seafood Chao Ma Mian.

The name I used, Guangdong Seafood Chao Ma Mian, had a reason behind it.

Just as I introduced Jajangmyeon as Zajiangmian, there was no corresponding Chinese dish to refer to Jjamppong, so I had to create a new term.

The dishes that give a similar feeling to Jjamppong are Tangyusamyeon and Chao Ma Mian.

When explaining Jjamppong, it is often said to have evolved from Tangyusamyeon or Chao Ma Mian and been Koreanized. In my previous life, Tangyusamyeon and Chao Ma Mian were only slightly popular in their local areas and not widely known. In fact, Chao Ma Mian in China was often referred to as Korean-style Chao Ma Mian due to the popularity of Jjamppong.

In Chinese restaurants, there are dishes called Guangdong rice and Guangdong noodles, which are a type of mixed rice and noodles with a thick, starchy broth made with seafood. I combined these two concepts to create the name.

With the name including Big Brother’s hometown, Guangdong, it evoked a strong emotional response, and the rich flavor of the broth made with crab, dried shrimp, and freshwater clams reminded him of his hometown.

I thought the preparation and the name were perfect.

Just as I was basking in the praise and feeling a bit dazed, a thunderclap of a statement came from Big Brother.

“You’ve worked hard today, so take not ten but twenty days off!”

“No, but how can I take twenty days...”

“Nonsense! After treating me to such delicious food, how could I let you go without a proper rest? My reputation is at stake!”

Big Brother said with a grin, looking as if he had outsmarted me this time.

‘Damn, you!’

In the end, I was helplessly held by Big Brother and only managed to escape after eleven days.

Of course, I had to make Jjamppong every day during that time.

It seemed that after tasting and enjoying Jjamppong for the first time, Big Brother started coming to see me early every day, pretending to have finished work early, and would say, “Ahem... I’m thinking of my hometown and my family in Kaifeng... When I think of my hometown, what can I eat...” and whine for more Jjamppong.

Cooking is a pleasure for me, so I could make it anytime, but by the eleventh day, I realized this could go on indefinitely, so I decided to escape.

My escape plan was to play the guanxi card.

“Big Brother, I think I need to go back.”

“No, Brother, why do you say such disappointing things?”

“I was waiting for someone from the Zhuge family to come for a meal, and I was dragged here, I mean, I met you.”

Of course, I wasn’t lying to escape.

It was a pure, 100% truth.

“What?! Why didn’t you say that earlier!”

Shocked like a wild boar caught in a fire, Big Brother sent people to clean the inn from morning and asked the servants to check if anyone had arrived.

He also bought a lot of things from the market and gave them to me as gifts.

“Can I just sit back and let you host a meal? Take these gifts.”

Thus, with the inn filled with various gifts, I arrived to find it spotless, despite being empty for over ten days.

The carpenter had visited again, and the tables and chairs were all in place. The servants had cleaned it so thoroughly that it looked like a new inn.

Looking at the clean inn, I felt a new sense of emotion.

After a few stormy events, the inn was back to its pre-opening state, and I was reminded of the first day I opened it.

Thinking about that first day made me shudder.

It wasn’t just good memories; it was more like a series of close calls.

The first day, the inn was clean, but there were no customers, and in the evening, a thug ransacked the place.

‘Damn.’

Reflecting on it, my first paid operation was riddled with bugs.

Monsters attacked in groups, an SSS-level event erupted, and even the guards attacked the main player.

My first inn business was like a buggy, broken game.

There was only one solution.

A server reset.

Or rather, a game reset.

I decided to treat the previous paid operation as a beta test before the main business started.

With the issues revealed during the beta test now patched,

I had joined the food guild and the transportation guild, and Big Brother had paid the taxes, so the administrative procedures were complete.

There would be no problems with the administration or taxes this year, and I had bought a lot of ingredients from the market, so the preparations were perfect.

This time, with everything perfectly prepared, my paid operation would run smoothly unless some absurd event occurred.

To end the beta test and start the paid operation, I took out my writing materials.

With a very devout heart, I ground the ink.

To signify a new start in business, I was going to write "New Opening" in red ink and stick it on the door frame.

I carefully wrote each character of "New Opening."

Just in case, I also wrote a talisman and stuck it up.

‘十’

‘Please make my business a huge success!’

It’s said that the more you believe in such things, the more effective they are.

***

The next day, the beta test ended, and the paid operation officially began.

Despite writing "New Opening" and being determined to start afresh,

my inn was, as usual, quiet.

By lunchtime, I was dozing off with my face on the table, drooling.

Suddenly, a voice reached my ear.

“Sir?”

“Cough!”

Startled by someone whispering in my ear, I grabbed my chest and sat up to see Mr. Tian, the head of the food guild, who I had met through Big Brother, rubbing his hands and smiling.

The sudden appearance of the middle-aged man made my pores twitch and my body shiver.

“You didn’t even make a sound.”

“I waited for half an hour, but you didn’t show any signs of waking up...”

‘I was that deeply asleep?’

I apologized to the head of the food guild.

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night. Anyway, what brings you here?”

“Oh, no need to apologize. I only waited a short while. Ah, I came because the magistrate mentioned that you might be away for a long time and that you’re running the inn alone, so he asked me to recommend a waiter. When I arrived, it seemed like you weren’t doing business because there was no waiter, so I’m glad I came.”

I was briefly moved by Big Brother’s thoughtful care, but then I felt suspicious about the head of the food guild’s certainty that I wasn’t doing business.

Even if I was sleeping and there were no customers, it was strange that the head of the food guild, who seemed cautious around me because of Big Brother, would so freely say that I wasn’t doing business because there were no customers.

So, I asked why it seemed like I wasn’t doing business.

“The door is open, but do you think I’m not doing business because there are no customers?”

The head of the food guild had a “really?” look on his face.

He started to explain, as if he hadn’t realized that.

“Oh! The magistrate is new to this area, so he must have a special reason for being so attentive. Let me explain.”

“Ah! Please sit down. My mind is a bit scattered. Would you like some tea?”

“No, no. Mr. Bian from the transportation guild is also coming, so let’s wait together.”

I was about to offer tea to the guest, but when the head of the transportation guild said he would come, I sat down and listened to him.

“I thought you weren’t doing business because of the lanterns, Sir.”

“Lanterns?”

Lanterns are the lights hung at the entrance of inns.

‘They should be hanging fine, right?’

Thinking they might have been blown away by the wind, I stood up to check the door.

“Are the lanterns hanging fine? Do I need to light them during the day?”

The head of the food guild laughed and answered.

“Of course, the lanterns are hanging fine. But Sir, if you’re selling food and drinks, you need to hang a gardenia lantern. That way, people will know it’s a place that sells food.”

‘What?’

“So, that’s why there were no customers?”

He nodded with a smile.

‘Oh my goodness.’

The gardenia-shaped lanterns hanging in every restaurant and tavern had such a meaning.

I had hung round lanterns to differentiate, but according to the head of the food guild, it was no wonder no one came, and it was a miracle that people like Zhuge Guanxi and the Six Great Heroes and the madman who destroyed the inn even found it.

Only then did I realize the exact reason why my inn’s beta test had failed.

With general user access blocked and only the server running, only events had occurred. Zhuge Guanxi, the Six Great Heroes, and the madman were event NPCs who had come to the inn.

Feeling absurd, I slumped back into my chair.

Self-inflicted (自業自得).

‘What does this body know? What kind of person was this guy?’

Feeling dizzy from the uselessness of this body with no helpful memories, I grabbed my temples when the head of the transportation guild, Mr. Bian, and a few others entered the inn.

Seeing my face, the head of the transportation guild greeted me with an excited voice.

“Sir Qingyun, how are you? I’ve brought a few good waiters for you to look at.”

He lined up the men who had followed him.

Leaning on the table and pressing my temples, I looked up at the lined-up men.

My first impression was...

‘Wait, you brought waiters, but why are they all bald?’

It seemed there was a reason to only pick waiters with big heads.

All the men the head of the transportation guild had brought were bald.

Seeing them, my temples hurt even more.