Adorable Food Goddess

Half an hour later, Helian Jing escorted Ye Jiayao and Lady Xia You out of the mansion.

When it was time to part, Ye Jiayao bowed and said to Lady Xia You, “Thank you for speaking for me before, Lady Xia You.”

Lady Xia You just turned to Helian Jing and said, “Little Jing, if you have time, you should come to our mansion, Chunfeng came back yesterday.”

Ye Jiayao awkwardly straightened her posture, her lips pulling up in the slightest.  Fine, I’ll just get ignored. Stupid me, thinking that Chunyu’s mum really liked me.

“Really? Wasn’t he going to come back at the end of the year together with his father?” Helian Jing asked, surprised.

“He is not accustomed to that side where there is yellow sand everywhere. It is only your uncle who can stay in those types of places,” Lady Xia You said in a mocking tone, a hint of bitterness in her smile.

“Well, that’s good! I’ll go and find him tomorrow,” Helian Jing replied happily as he escorted Lady Xia You to her carriage.

“Well, I’ll also be leaving now,” Ye Jiayao said, “I’ll come and find you if there are any problems.”

Helian Jing said, “I’ll go to Heavenly Residence for dinner tomorrow. Leave some dishes and cold drinks for me, okay? I’ll invite Xia Chunfeng, Brother Chunyu’s younger brother. He’s one year older than me and we played together all the time when we were younger.”

Ye Jiayao nodded. “Xia Chunfeng? Will he look similar to his older brother?”

Helian Jing ignored her question and said instead, “I’m also going to invite someone else.”

“That’s not a problem. You can invite whoever and as many people as you wish. I’ll reserve the Lotus Attic for you.”

Ye Jiayao waved goodbye and left.

Helian Jing silently watched Big Yaoyao walk away. The person I wanted to invite is you…

Song Qi was waiting for Ye Jiayao at the street corner. “Did you get the deal, Brother Yao?”

Ye Jiayao smiled secretively and responded, “It was all thanks to your Lady.”

She was beginning to understand why Lady Xia You helped her. It was not because she favored her, but most likely because Lady Xia You and Elder Princess Yi De were at odds. Chunyu’s mother sided with Ye Jiayao simply because she wanted to spite Elder Princess Yi De.

“I was kind of worried when I saw my Lady walk out of the Helian Mansion,” Song Qi admitted.

“What were you worried about? That I would be eaten by your Lady?” Ye Jiayao joked.

“It just seems a bit unexpected that you two would meet like this.”

Ye Jiayao lowered her eyes. Yes, it was indeed unexpected.

“Let’s go and have a look around at the bronze shops,” Ye Jiayao said, changing the topic.

“Bronze shops? Are you buying bronze ware, Brother Yao? What for? Bronze cauldron? Bronze pot?” Song Qi was puzzled. Don’t most people use iron made cooking utensils?

“Ice holder,” Ye Jiayao simply said.

However, the ice holder she wanted was not the big and heavy ones which required a lot of complex work. She wanted a simple ice holder to sell the Ice Cream Mooncake in so that it could be stored for at least three to five days. Preservation was the key because if the ice cream melted, the Ice Cream Mooncake would not be worth much.

The place for bronze casting ware and forging iron were on the same street and the name was also easy to remember – Forging Iron Alley. The livelihood of the people here depended on iron forging or other trades that extended from it. Even before walking into the alley, the clanging sounds of forging iron could already be heard.

Ye Jiayao walked up and down the alley and found out that there was only one shop for bronze ware. She could only hope that the master here could make what she wanted.

Ye Jiayao took out her design and discussed with the master for a long time. Overall, the ice holder was separated into two simple layers. One of the layers had ice in between and the inner layer was for food. It had to be lightweight as well as presentable.

The master pondered over it for a while before saying, “I’ll have a try first. You can come back three days later and see the goods. However, if I can’t make it, you won’t be able to find anyone else in Jin Ling.”

“Okay, I’ll leave this to you.” Ye Jiayao paid the deposit.

By the time Ye Jiayao and Song Qi left Forging Iron Alley, it was already dusk.

“Brother Yao, you’re not going back to Heavenly Residence, right? How about we go to Fragrant House for tonight’s dinner?” Song Qi suggested.

Ye Jiayao liked that idea. “Yeah, let’s go. I was also thinking of going to try Chef Niu’s dishes.”

Although the birthday banquet was important, she could not fall behind in the cooking competition. She heard that the rules for the competition were going to be out in mid-July.

Song Qi initially thought that it was going to take a lot of effort to complete the mission that Heir-Son Lord had tasked him with. Who knew that Miss Ye would agree right away?

Ye Jiayao observed the surroundings of Fragrant House and quickly realized why this restaurant was able to earn so much. There were many chambers of commerce, security firms and banks in the area, so there was no need to worry about the source of customers. Not to mention that these people were all quite wealthy. It would also be very convenient to come to Fragrant House to celebrate once they close a deal.

Song Qi immediately purchased the best private room. Ye Jiayao knew that if they sat outside, they wouldn’t get to taste Chef Niu’s cooking, but she still found it a bit wasteful to rent such an expensive room for just the two of them.

After ordering, Ye Jiayao excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Although the ancient bathrooms were simple, there was an advantage. One bathroom holds only one person, disregardless of the gender. It rid of Ye Jiayao’s worries as to whether she’d have to go to the men’s or women’s bathrooms. It was also private so she could rest assured – as long she doesn’t accidentally step in the hole.

The sign on the bathroom door said that it was occupied. Ye Jiayao waited for a long while, but no one came out.

“Is anyone in there?” she called out.

Silence.

“Is there anyone in? If there’s no one there, I’m going to come in,” Ye Jiayao called again.

Someone hurriedly replied, “It’s occupied!”

Then why didn’t you say something earlier?  She wondered how long this person has been squatting there. Diarrhea? Constipation?

Ye Jiayao waited for some more, cursing internally.

A few minutes later, the person weakly asked, “Excuse me, is it possible to borrow a piece of toilet paper?”

Ye Jiayao glared daggers at the ‘occupied’ sign on the door. You were stuck in there because you didn’t bring any toilet paper?  This person really has a problem with speaking up when needed to.

Ye Jiayao felt around for a piece of paper. Just as she was about to pass it in, the person inside the bathroom said, “I can buy it from you. What do you think about ten coppers for a piece of paper?”

Well, looks like we have Mr. Money Bags here.  A pile of toilet paper costs only two copper coins! “How about five taels of silver because there isn’t even enough for me here,” Ye Jiayao jested.

She was surprised when he actually agreed. “Fine, five taels.”

An ingot of silver was thrown to her.

Ye Jiayao was laughing hysterically on the inside. Who knew that she could earn five taels just by going to the bathroom? The guy inside must be some rich prodigal son.

That was alright since Ye Jiayao doesn’t really feel bad about earning money from rich people.

“Okay, I’ll be giving you the only two pieces of toilet paper I have,” Ye Jiayao said and shoved the two pieces of paper inside before returning to the hall with the silver.

The guy inside must be embarrassed and he probably didn’t want people to see him stuck in the bathroom. She also didn’t want to be recognized as the person who rips off others so its best that she waited away from the bathroom.

Not long after, a man wearing pale green silk clothing walked out of the bathroom and headed upstairs, his head bent low.

Only then did Ye Jiayao wandered about to the bathroom.

Once she returned to the private room they rented, she unexpectedly found that Song Qi had turned into Xia Chunyu.

“Why are you here? Where’s Song Qi?”

“Why are you gone for so long? I thought you fell in.”

The two spoke at the same time and stared at each other, both waiting for an answer.

Xia Chunyu was the first one to break the silence. “Didn’t I say yesterday that I would come?”

Ye Jiayao didn’t remember that because she was pretty certain that he did not say anything about coming to eat with her. However, she couldn’t be bothered arguing with him as she knew that nothing good would come out of it anyway.

Xia Chunyu told the waiter to bring the dishes and ordered him out.

“I heard that you are taking care of the old princess’ birthday feast?” he began.

“Yes,” Ye Jiayao calmly answered as she poured a cup of tea for herself.

Xia Chunyu handed his cup over, motioning for her to serve him some. Ye Jiayao reluctantly poured a cup for him.

“I also heard that you met my mum today?”

“Yes,” Ye Jiayao replied once again.

Xia Chunyu felt a bit uneasy with her acting so indifferent towards him. Was it because he kissed her last night? This just piled up to his anxiety about his mum and Yaoyao’s meeting. That ruined all his plans.

“My mum didn’t make it difficult for you?” Xia Chunyu asked in a casual pretense, his deep black eyes locked on her face, looking for any slight changes in her expression.

Ye Jiayao looked up slightly and glanced at him. “In your mum’s eyes, I’m just a chef. I’m not cooking a banquet for your family, so I have nothing to do with her. Why would she even bother making things difficult for me?” Ye Jiayao responded with a hint of self-ridicule.

Xia Chunyu thought about it. She was right. His mother had always disregarded things that had nothing to do with her. Yaoyao was cooking for the Helian family, so his mother couldn’t care less about her.

There was nothing to be worried about. His frown turned into a smile. He said merrily, “Where do you want to eat tomorrow? Qi Lin Pavilion? Or Vegetarian House?”

“Why are you taking me out to eat?” Ye Jiayao looked at him warily.

“The food at home doesn’t taste good. Helian Xuan is also very busy now, so there is no one to eat with me beside you,” Xia Chunyu answered idly.

Ye Jiayao scoffed, “Are you seriously telling me that you can’t find anyone else to eat with you? I’m pretty sure that if you call out on the streets for a dinner companion, people would queue up.”

Xia Chunyu frowned. “Eating is not just about the dishes. The mood as you eat is also important, and that mood is greatly dependent on who you’re eating with. Eating with you is good for my mood. First, we have similar tastes in food. Second, you have the plain face that could help people focus on their meals…”

Ye Jiayao glared at him fiercely.  You stupid donkey! Did you really just say that I look plain?