Chapter 10

In the courtyard, the head chefs of Furongzhai and Cuiguanlou surrounded the half plate of roasted meat left by Mo Hongxian, each taking a chopstick and stuffing meat into their mouths, indeed, just stuffing. The speed was as if they were afraid the other would eat more than they did, and the few pieces of meat were almost instantly devoured by the two of them.

Behind them, their respective bosses’ foreheads turned green, and their eyes blazed with fury.

"Damn it, I asked you to taste it, not to satisfy your cravings... What’s most infuriating is that you didn’t even leave us any! Top-grade ingredients, they are highly nourishing!"

The two bosses cursed inwardly and then asked, "How is it? What do you think of the taste?"

"Ugh~" The two chefs nodded vigorously, unable to speak with their mouths full of meat, only able to make sounds from their noses.

Seeing their cheeks bulge like monkeys storing food, the two bosses were so angry they wanted to stomp on their faces. Mo Hongxian was still there, and the two restaurants’ reputations were thoroughly tarnished today.

However, although the chefs’ behavior was somewhat embarrassing, it made them even more eager for the secret recipe. If the best chefs in Hongyuan City could lose their composure like this, the taste of the meat was already evident.

Mo Hongxian smiled and said, "The meat has already cooled down. If it was just out of the oven, it would taste even better! My gang of brothers ate over twenty pounds and still wanted more!"

"Over twenty pounds!" The two bosses’ hands trembled, lamenting inwardly, "What a waste! That’s top-grade ingredients, over two thousand yellow crystal coins for twenty pounds, using it as food, you’d be afraid of nosebleeds from over-nourishment... I guess only you, Mo Hongxian, could do something like this!"

After calming down a bit, the two bosses said in unison, "Mo Captain, just tell us, how much for the secret recipe..."

"The secret recipe isn’t for sale!" Mo Hongxian interrupted them before they could finish, "I want to collaborate with you..."

At first, the two restaurants were dissatisfied with Mo Hongxian’s proposal. Dividing the profits over the long term was not as good as a one-time investment.

But seeing Mo Hongxian’s attitude of finding someone else if they didn’t agree, the two restaurants had no choice but to compromise.

Just as they had agreed on the profit-sharing ratio, Jiang Xingchen pushed the door open and came out. The effects of his drunkenness had been completely eliminated by his breathing technique, and because of the activation of his Yuan Spring, he looked refreshed and spirited, his entire demeanor elevated.

Seeing Jiang Xingchen come out, Mo Hongxian was slightly surprised but then her eyes lit up, "This kid is not simple at all. Not only did he sober up so quickly, but he looks even more energetic than before!"

The two bosses were equally surprised. The fact that Mo Hongxian allowed Jiang Xingchen to enter and exit the Purple荆棘佣兵团驻地随意进出房间，显然没有把他当作平民看待，否则即使他献上秘方，也不够这个资格。

随后，莫红纤招呼江星辰，带着两大饭庄的人去了厨房。

当看到江星辰的操作后，他们才知道，原来秘方不是一个，而是两个。去腥味儿和除膻气用的是不同的方法。这一下，两家之前的郁闷瞬间消失，两个秘方，分成也值了！

两名大厨则在心里不时发出感叹和惊呼：“居然用酒，这么简单我怎么就没想到！八角和桂皮不是药物吗，加入后竟然这么香……花椒和姜片熬水……烤肉还能这么做，居然用石头……”

不知不觉，天色已经完全黑了下来，江星辰，莫红纤，还有两大饭庄也都谈妥，各自签订了相应的合约。到了现在，江星辰才确定，这个世界真的还没有纸，签合约用的都是白绢。

对于莫红纤只与两大饭庄合作，江星辰没有说什么，即便莫红纤问他意见，他也摇头不语。既然交由紫荆佣兵团负责，他就不能越俎代庖，指手画脚。

灯火初上，两大饭庄的人心满意足地离开之后，江星辰也告辞离去。

来的时候只带着一小坛炖排骨，回去的时候身上已经多了三百枚黄晶币，还有十斤剑脊猪肉和一斤顶级食材的脊背肉，可谓满载而归。莫大团长虽然暴力了点儿，但却是相当豪爽的，若非江星辰瘦弱的身材穿不上佣兵团那帮子大汉的衣服，怕是会换一身穿着回去。

而最让江星辰满意的，却是激活了元泉，只要经过鉴定，他就可以重新拥有贵族身份了，以后再也不用担心集市上的混混，也不用担心还像昨天那样到处被人驱赶，再也不用在社会最底层战战兢兢的讨生活……

紫荆佣兵团院门口，莫红纤和婉柔并肩站立，目送江星辰的身影消失在街口。

“婉柔！你对这个江陵有何评价？”莫红纤低声问道。

“不好形容！”婉柔摇了摇头，说道：“一般贵族沦落为平民，不是自暴自弃，比以前还要高调狂妄，就是迅速转换心态，重新定位自己的身份！但他却没有，彬彬有礼却不显阿谀，言谈举止中都带着淡淡的自信，与你们相处没有一点儿生分的感觉，距离也把握的恰到好处，极为自然……怎么说呢，好像他天生就有一种让人亲近的气质似的！”

“温润如玉！”莫红纤突然说出这四个字。

“嗯！”婉柔有些诧异地看了莫红纤一眼，仿佛不相信她能总结得如此精辟。

“看什么！不要以为我只懂得打打杀杀！”莫红纤得意地笑了起来，伸手捏了捏婉柔的脸蛋儿。

一把打掉莫红纤的手，嗔怪地瞪了她一眼，婉柔接着道：“就算他表现不凡，你也无需如此重视吧！秘方收益五五分成，还让他与你们佣兵团一同吃饭饮酒……你这是把他当朋友吗？”

莫红纤笑了笑，伸手搂住婉柔的肩膀，说道：“这与他表现无关！就凭他能够让你调理好身体这一点，就值得我对他刮目相看！”

婉柔目光一凝，瞬间感动，紧紧抓住了莫红纤的手。

莫红纤轻轻拍了拍她肩膀，说道：“他这个秘方出现的太及时了，你能够吃下肉，就能改善身体的虚弱状况，否则根本参加不了舞乐大赛！剑脊猪背大补，一会儿好好休息，应该有作用的，回头我再给你找到妖兽！”

“谢谢你了，红纤！”婉柔眼中含着水光，语气真挚。

“跟我说什么谢！咱们是从小一起长大的姐妹，我当然要全力帮你实现梦想……”

顿了一下，莫红纤继续道：“另外，这个江陵远不止看上去这么简单！穿着麻衣就敢直闯佣兵驻地，价值连城的秘方敢直接卖给我！他不会不知道，只要我出钱，不管价格多低，也不会损失紫荆佣兵团的名声……这样的胆量和气魄，怎么看也不像个小贵族应该有的！”

婉柔如画的秀眉微蹙：“是啊！要不是他最后逞能，灌了一壶酒下去，我都怀疑他是不是个少年，会不会另有身份了！”

莫红纤点点头：“我现在奇怪的是，他明明有秘方有手艺，怎么会沦落到现在这种地步……明天得好好调查一下，只凭刚才打探的简单消息，还看不出什么！”

婉柔说道：“嗯！要是没有问题，交个朋友也不错！英雄相交微末，这江陵将来很可能会有一番作为！”

莫红纤摸了摸下巴，遗憾道：“可惜，就是武力太低了，否则……”

“武力低怎么了，当年兽人联盟的罗恒武力号称天下第一，还不是照样被玄元天宗一群凝气境界的人围攻致死！再说，现在帝国已经不是靠武力就能发展的阶段了……”

婉柔倒豆子一般反驳，莫红纤一脸苦涩，赶忙举手告饶：“好了好了，知道你不喜欢打打杀杀，我以后不提武力的事儿行了吧……”

婉柔撅了撅嘴，轻轻拍了莫红纤一下，说道：“我也该回去了！”

“走！我送你，顺便跟伯父说一声，明天接你过来住，好给你补身体，这秘方我可舍不得教给你家里的厨师！”

“谁稀罕……”

两人说说笑笑，返回院落，不大会儿工夫，一辆马车从另一边的侧门驶了出去……

夜晚的鸿源城，远没有白天热闹，虽然街上的行人和马车依然不少，但除了饭庄和某些特殊场合，所有店铺都已经关门。特别是平民区，更是一片黑暗，没有哪家愿意点着灯浪费灯油。

江星辰一路都没有关注周围环境，他除了走路，大部分注意力都放在了脑中那个新出现的感敏阵上。

奇异的呼吸方法持续了许久，之前吃肉喝酒的能量已经耗尽了，但那个感敏阵却只有微不可查的一点动静，身体更是没有任何反应。

“太初阵的作用是激活元泉，这个感敏阵又是做什么用的……而且，肉的能量对感敏阵作用也太小了，难道要用别的什么方法才能让它发展吗……”

一路带着疑问和期待，江星辰进入了平民区，借着月色光芒认路，回到了家门口。

江星辰站在院门外，看了看手中的剑脊猪肉，露出了笑容：“小丫头看到肉，还不知道多高兴呢……等明天去买了面，给小丫头烙大饼卷肉吃！”

心里想着，江星辰已经推开院门走了进去。

“魅儿！我回来了！”江星辰喊了一声，直接进入了厨房，把肉放到了灶台上面。

“咦？”走出厨房，江星辰有些诧异，小丫头应该出来接自己才对，怎么今天没有动静。

“没在家？不对啊，院门没上锁……”江星辰顿时紧张起来，快步走到卧房，一把推开了房门。

虽然没有油灯，但江星辰还是借着月光看到一个小小的身影坐在凳子上，上半身趴在桌面。

来到近前，听到均匀的呼吸声，江星辰高悬的心才放了下来，松了口气：“原来是睡着了……这丫头，困了也不去床上睡，也不怕着凉……”

又轻手轻脚退出房门，江星辰在厨房点燃一根柴火，回到屋中点亮了油灯，然后转身想要把魅儿抱到床上去睡。

然而，当他走到近前的时候，脸上的表情却猛地沉了下来。