Chapter 16

"Brother Li, Brother Li."

Wu Xiaoliu saw Li Qi staring straight at him with a blank expression, feeling very uneasy. However, he didn't dare to disturb him and could only tentatively call out softly a couple of times.

But Li Qi seemed to be in a trance, showing no reaction at all.

Could he be possessed? Wu Xiaoliu waved his hand in front of Li Qi's eyes again.

Suddenly, Li Qi was startled, grabbed Wu Xiaoliu's arm, and asked, "You—what did you just say—about this rotten fish—no, how much is the secret recipe for the 'Flower Carving Drunken' worth?"

"One—thousand guan, I—I heard it from my uncle, it's not my business," Wu Xiaoliu stammered, clearly quite frightened by Li Qi's sudden outburst.

"Ha ha!"

Li Qi was slightly stunned, then released his hands and burst into a wild laugh. There's always a way out when you're in a tight spot!

After laughing for a while, he finally stopped, shook his head, and looked at Wu Xiaoliu, who was already scared stiff, with a smile. "How can it not be your business? You're absolutely right. I really f**king love you." He was so excited that he almost wanted to kiss Wu Xiaoliu.

Is this what they call losing one's mind? Wu Xiaoliu's face turned pale with fear. "Brother Li, I'm a man."

"What kind of man are you? You're just a little kid," Li Qi said. Seeing Wu Xiaoliu's pale face, he realized what he was thinking and said sternly, "What are you thinking? I don't have a thing for kids. Get lost."

Wu Xiaoliu let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Brother Li, you really scared me. I thought—haha."

Li Qi rolled his eyes, not bothering to argue, and asked seriously, "By the way, what did you mean when you said that Cai Yuanywai wanted to buy the 'Flower Carving Drunken' recipe for a thousand guan?"

"Oh, that. Hey, Brother Li, why are you asking about this?" Wu Xiaoliu asked curiously.

Li Qi waved his hand, "Don't ask about that now. Just tell me what happened."

"Oh!"

Wu Xiaoliu pursed his lips and explained, "This is something I heard from my uncle before. The 'Flower Carving Drunken' was created by the great-great-grandfather. At that time, it was the pride of our Drunken Immortal Inn, so only the head chef of our inn had the right to learn this dish."

Sweat! Great-great-grandfather? This could take ages to explain.

Li Qi, impatient, said, "Skip the nonsense. I just want to know if you eventually sold the recipe to Cai Yuanywai."

"No. At that time, Cai Yuanywai knew that the master would never sell the 'Flower Carving Drunken' recipe to him, so he set his sights on Chef Zhou. He secretly approached Chef Zhou and offered a thousand guan for the recipe, but not only did Chef Zhou refuse to sell it, he also scolded him harshly."

Wu Xiaoliu shook his head and continued, "However, Cai Yuanywai didn't give up. Later, he found out that Chef Zhou had already passed on the 'Flower Carving Drunken' to his apprentice, so he lured the apprentice to the Jade Pavilion with a much higher salary. Now, the 'Flower Carving Drunken' has become their signature dish."

I didn't realize Chef Zhou was such a man, not swayed by a thousand guan. No wonder Uncle Wu respects him so much.

Li Qi frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked, "So, you mean Cai Yuanywai was really willing to pay a thousand guan for the 'Flower Carving Drunken' recipe?"

"Of course," Wu Xiaoliu huffed. "Cai Yuanywai is notorious for his ruthless business tactics. As long as he wants something, he will do whatever it takes, openly or secretly. He's very despicable."

If you're not a bit ruthless in business, you'll probably have to close down. This kind of poaching and stealing secrets happens often in Li Qi's time too. It's just a business tactic.

However, what Li Qi couldn't understand was that the method for making 'Flower Carving Fish' was so simple. Using alcohol to feed animals to improve their taste was something he knew how to do when he was a child. He never thought that this little trick would be worth a thousand guan here. It was truly unbelievable.

He couldn't help but sigh, "Knowledge is indeed money!" So, how much would knowledge that is 900 years ahead of its time be worth? Li Qi was very eager to find out the answer.

Seeing Li Qi fall silent again, sitting there and laughing foolishly, Wu Xiaoliu gently pushed him and called softly, "Brother Li, are you okay?"

"Oh, oh, I'm fine, I'm fine. What could be wrong with me?" Li Qi was startled, swallowed hard, and felt much better. He picked up his chopsticks again and invited Wu Xiaoliu, chuckling, "Come, come, eat quickly. This fish gets better the more you eat. Not bad, not bad. Xiao Liu, I didn't expect you to have a talent for cooking."

Li Qi was just saying this casually, but Wu Xiaoliu was moved to tears, delighted, "Really? Brother Li, you really think I have a talent for cooking?"

"Of—," the word "course" hadn't even left his mouth when Li Qi suddenly felt that Wu Xiaoliu's words had a hidden meaning and immediately stopped.

Wu Xiaoliu was known for being very stingy. Today, he was so kind as to invite him to a meal, and it was such a valuable 'Flower Carving Drunken.' As the saying goes, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." Li Qi had been too happy and praised Wu Xiaoliu casually. Now, thinking about it, he had to be on high alert and asked cautiously, "Xiao Liu, do you have something you want me to help with?"

"Hehe!" Wu Xiaoliu smiled slyly and said shyly, "You figured it out!"

Damn! As expected, I almost fell for this kid's trick. But what do I have that's worth him going to such lengths? Could it be that he already knows I won a hundred taels of silver from the Jade Pavilion and wants to borrow money from me? Li Qi was very puzzled and probed, "Xiao Liu, you know, Brother Li is in a tough spot right now. If you want to borrow—borrow something, Brother Li can't help you."

"What do you mean 'borrow something'?" Wu Xiaoliu was confused, "Brother Li, what are you talking about? I just want to be your apprentice and learn cooking from you."

"Be an apprentice?"

Now it was Li Qi's turn to be stunned. He scratched his head and asked, "You want to learn cooking from me?"

"Um-hum!"

Wu Xiaoliu nodded vigorously.

"Why?" Li Qi asked in surprise.

Wu Xiaoliu chuckled, "Brother Li, you don't know, I've always loved cooking, but—!"

"Alright, skip the nonsense. Get to the point," Li Qi interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, it's like this. As you know, the Drunken Immortal Inn is about to be sold to someone else. The new owner won't want me, so I want to learn cooking from you. That way, I'll have a skill to fall back on and won't end up starving on the streets," Wu Xiaoliu explained honestly.

Oh, so this kid is planning for the future. Not bad. Anyway, I need help right now, and he's good at running errands. Taking him as an apprentice would be beneficial for me. There's no reason to pass up such a good opportunity.

Although he had made up his mind, Li Qi didn't show it and said calmly, "Actually, you do have a bit of a talent for cooking. Taking you as an apprentice isn't out of the question, but I have to say this upfront: being my apprentice isn't an easy job."

This was no exaggeration. Li Qi was always meticulous in his work. When he worked at his father-in-law's hotel, the assistant chefs who worked under him were always on edge, walking on eggshells. Even the slightest mistake would earn them a scolding. But after work, whenever they went out for a meal or to sing karaoke, Li Qi always paid the bill. So, his colleagues both loved and hated him, calling him "Ghost Killer" behind his back.

Wu Xiaoliu wasn't stupid; he was quite clever. Hearing Li Qi's words, he was delighted and quickly jumped off the bed, knelt down, and respectfully said, "Master, please accept your disciple's bow." Then he kowtowed to Li Qi.

Li Qi felt a bit guilty when he heard "Master." A large part of his decision to take Wu Xiaoliu as an apprentice was out of self-interest. He quickly helped Wu Xiaoliu up and said, "No, I hate being called 'Master.' Just call me Brother Li."

"Brother Li!"

Wu Xiaoliu obediently changed his address. For him, as long as Li Qi was willing to take him as an apprentice, everything else was unimportant. Ever since the Purple Robe Gentleman visited, Wu Xiaoliu had been very admiring of Li Qi's culinary skills and wanted to be his apprentice.

Li Qi nodded and said, "Alright, since you're my apprentice, you have to listen to me. Otherwise, I'll kick you out—expel you from the apprenticeship."

"Of course, I'm known for being hardworking and obedient. Just tell me what to do," Wu Xiaoliu patted his chest and promised.