Chapter 1

As night falls and the lights come on, the lamp posts on both sides of the road light up one by one, casting a dim glow along the way.

　　For most people, the day is over.

　　But for a small number of others, the day has just begun.

　　Mu Yu belongs to the later.

　　In August, when the weather gets really hot, it feels hot even at night.

　　Just going out to throw away the garbage will make me sweat profusely.

　　When he came back, he pressed the switch on the wall, and the light tube above the shop door flickered a few times, accompanied by a slight sound of electric current, and then reluctantly lit up.

　　Restaurant

　　It's called a restaurant, which is obvious at a glance.

　　Mu Yu rubbed the words "Accepting weddings and funerals" on the tape on the glass door a few times, watched them start to reflect light, and then strolled to the kitchen.

　　He took over the restaurant from his master.

　　It opens at 5pm every day and closes at 2am, doing evening business.

　　Cannes is a provincial capital with a prosperous business, and there are always some office workers working night shifts.

　　After a tiring day, no one wants to go home to cook, so they come over to eat something and chat with people they know or don't know

　　After filling my stomach and relieving my fatigue, I went home feeling satisfied.

　　The restaurant is located in the old city area in the west of the city. It was fine when the municipal government was there, but since all government agencies moved to the development zone a few years ago, it seemed as if the last bit of vitality was taken away with it

　　The huge urban area suddenly fell silent.

　　As for business, it's neither good nor bad. I have enough to feed myself, but if i want to buy a house.. is still a long way off.

The old Mu found him in a trash can when he was going from street to street preparing banquets for people.

　　The old man's cooking skills were so good that in the past whenever there was a wedding or funeral, people would rush to call him to be the chef.

　　Although it is tiring, I earn a lot.

　　Unfortunately, the trend changed later.

　　The younger generation prefers to hold wedding banquets in luxurious hotels and looks down on this wandering folk craft. The only thing they can make is tofu rice for funerals.

　　Later on, tofu rice was made less and less.

　　So the old man opened a small restaurant.

　　There are always more living people than dead people.

Besides, living people eat three meals a day.

　　He doesn't compete with others. If others occupy the daytime, he will occupy the night, and they don't disturb each other.

　　While washing his hands, Mu Yu had already thought of the recipe:

　　Garlic shrimp and broccoli, stir-fried Chinese cabbage, tomatoes...

　　It's quite hot, so just mix it with some white sugar and put it in the refrigerator to chill. It will be cool, sweet and refreshing later.

　　The province where Cannes is located is close to the sea, so all kinds of seafood are fresh and cheap. At this moment, the shrimps are still alive.

Mu Yu quickly peeled the shells and removed the shrimp threads. The water over there was also boiling, so it was a good time to pour the chopped broccoli into it.

　　Blanching it in boiling water for more than ten seconds will not only make the color look good, but it will also be easier to cook when you stir-fry it later.

　　Just eat broccoli fresh and refreshing, add a few drops of oil and a sprinkle of salt to season it.

　　Cut some lean and fat pork belly into shreds, and quickly stir-fry with shredded ginger and chopped chili peppers.

　　When the edges of the meat turn slightly golden and the air is filled with the unique burnt aroma of animal fats, pour in the chopped Chinese cabbage.

Turn up the heat and shake the ladle. The orange-red flames seem to come alive, with a muffled "bang" sound, as if they wanted to roll directly from the bottom of the stove to the sky.

　　The huge tongue of fire was fleeting, and the kitchen suddenly became bright and then suddenly darkened.

　　It was only a moment of thrill, but it was particularly memorable.

　　The rice is neither dry nor wet, and is steamed to just the right degree. The jade-white, slender rice grains are distinct and shine in the light. As soon as the lid is opened, the warm fragrance hits you in the face.

　　It's a very simple taste that instantly calms people's hearts.

　　Mu Yu ate with great relish, taking bites of food and rice at a time. He couldn't help shaking his feet under the table.

　　At the age of 20, I was already very hungry. The two dishes were not very greasy, so I ate them all in one go and was only about 70% full.

The sugar-coated tomatoes in the refrigerator were ready, and a pool of light red juice had accumulated at the bottom of the bowl.

　　When it was taken out and placed on the table, the collision of cold and hot immediately covered the wall of the sweet white porcelain bowl with a layer of fine mist.

　　These tomatoes are all naturally ripened in the farmers' own fields. They have delicate flesh and strong fruity flavor.

　　This one is ripe. It cracks with a slight force of fingers, revealing the soft and sandy flesh inside.

　　The needle-like "sand" was reflected by the lamp, giving it a hazy and crystal light, which combined with the crystal clear meat was extremely tempting.

　　After being chilled, the sweet and sour fruity flavor rushes straight into the nose.

　　It is especially delicious when eaten raw.

　　But Mu Yu wanted to be greedy and have something sweet.

It is very satisfying to eat the cool and plump flesh in big mouthfuls. Occasionally, you can take a sip of the sugar water at the bottom of the bowl. It is cool and sweet, and tastes even better than honey.

After finishing the meal and clearing away the dishes, the street gradually became lively.

　　Get off work.

　　Someone outside approached while talking, and when the door was pushed open, there was a "ding-ling" sound, and a pleasant mechanical voice said, "Welcome."

　　"Little boss, it's still the same!"

　　Two young white-collar workers came in, with suits slung over their elbows and a large spot of their white shirts wet.

　　Mu Yu glanced at his electronic watch. It was only a little after nine o'clock. "So early today?"

Both of them are salesmen of an insurance company. They earn a lot of money, but it is also tiring. It is considered good if they can finish the battle before 11 o'clock every night.

　　The round-faced man is called Li Muyang. He laughed at himself and said, "No one is buying it, so I might as well be lazy."

　　Zhang Xu went to the refrigerator familiarly and took out two bottles of beer. He handed one to Li Muyang and stuffed the other directly into his mouth, then pried the bottle cap off with his teeth.

　　Muyu felt sorry for his tooth every time he saw it. "It's not cheap to get a tooth implant nowadays."

　　He had a sweet tooth and got cavities, and it cost him more than two thousand just to repair them!

　　I feel so heartbroken!

Zhang Xu chuckled, gulped down half the bottle, and exhaled heavily, "Great!"

　　Mu Yu shook his head, opened the lid of the big stew pot, and scooped out two bowls of stew.

　　This is his classic signature dish, stew.

　　The meat is beef mixed with beef tendons. It is marinated the night before and simmered for ten hours.

　　The fat melted in the soup, the meat tendons were shiny, and you didn't even need to use your teeth to eat it.

　　Just lick it with your tongue and it will melt instantly.

　　Crumbly and fragrant!

　　When eating, pour a spoonful of soup and meat on the rice and mix well. It goes well with rice.

　　Then have some of his pickled cabbage, which is mixed with pickled peppers and naturally fermented. It is sour, spicy and delicious and promotes digestion. It is a perfect match.

　　As soon as the lid of the stew was opened, the rich aroma instantly filled the entire shop.

Li Muyang and Zhang Xu's mouths were full of saliva, they cried out in greed and kept urging:

　　"Hurry, hurry, little boss. People are starving to death."

　　Mu Yu brought the food to the table. The two of them took big bites without caring about the heat.

　　Satisfied!

　　"By the way, did you hear about the big boss who passed away a few days ago?"

　　Li Muyang shared with his colleagues the news he heard while doing business today.

　　Zhang Xu nodded, "I heard that he died of exhaustion. He seems to be quite young, only about forty years old?"

Li Muyang said: "Your net worth is over 100 million, right? Tsk tsk, if it were me, I would have quit long ago and bought a house to live in!"

　　Zhang Xu smiled and said, "You are so beautiful!"

　　After a pause, he continued, "How can you ever have enough money? If you earn 10,000, you want 20,000. If you earn 20,000, you want 100,000..."

　　"That's true," Li Muyang also laughed, "I haven't even bought my own house yet, and I'm already dreaming."

　　At this point, he turned around and asked Muyu, "Little Boss, have you bought a house?"

　　Mu Yu smiled shyly and shook his head.

　　The small restaurant is located in a street-side shop in an old neighborhood called Xinxin Homeland. The shop is on the first floor and residents live on the second floor.

　　The community has been built for some time. There are six floors in each building, no elevators and no public facilities. The sensor lights in several unit buildings have been broken for many years and no one has repaired them.

　　All the young people who can leave have left, and the elderly who can afford it have moved to other communities.

At night, only about 30% of the lights in the dozen or so buildings were on, making the scene look eerie.

　　But Mu Yu was quite satisfied.

　　When the master was still alive, the main thing they did was to prepare banquets for weddings and funerals. They traveled a lot and had a lot of experience, so it was inevitable that they were braver than ordinary people.

　　Not only does it look eerie, it's also truly unscientific and I've encountered it a few times.

　　Of course, the most important thing is that the rent is cheap.

　　Li Muyang asked this because he felt that living in a shop all the time was not a long-term solution.

　　Of course, Mu Yu himself thought so too.

　　But in Cannes, no, I should say the housing prices in the whole country are too high.

It's really weird. Experts clearly say that the average person has several houses and supply exceeds demand. How come he hasn't got one yet?

　　Why are housing prices still rising?

　　Mu Yu would count on his fingers every day before going to bed, trying to figure out where the down payment would come from.

　　Li Muyang and Zhang Xu ate, talked and complained, occasionally bursting into laughter, and the atmosphere was very lively.

　　Over the next two hours, several more tables arrived.

　　Many people are repeat customers. After a few visits, they become familiar with each other. Occasionally, they greet each other and ask about each other's recent situation.

　　It seems like there are relatives and friends everywhere.

　　This kind of feeling and atmosphere cannot be found in those exquisite and luxurious hotels.

　　At half past eleven, the store was empty.

　　But that's not all.

　　Many factories and companies that work in three shifts will change shifts around midnight, so restaurants will have a peak dining time around half past midnight.

　　During the few dozen minutes in between, Mu Yu can be lazy and take a nap.

　　He leaned against the wall to take a nap as usual, and in his drowsy state, his mind was still full of random thoughts:

　　If I were worth over 100 million, how big a house should I buy?

　　I don't know how long I slept, but Mu Yu was suddenly awakened by a cool breeze. When he opened his eyes dazedly, he vaguely heard someone knocking on the door.

　　"Master Mu, is Master Mu here?"

　　Perhaps due to lack of sleep, Mu Yu felt his mind was a little fuzzy. When he opened his mouth to ask questions, his voice was a little hazy, as if it came from far away and not from himself.

　　"Who is it?"

　　Hearing someone's response, the people outside suddenly became happy:

　　"I ate the banquet you and Master Mu prepared a few years ago. I wonder if it's convenient for you to come to my place now..."

　　Table!

　　There is business!

　　Muyu even forgot that he was in business and immediately became happy, "That's convenient!"

　　When he came to his senses later, Mu Yu found himself standing on the side of the road, holding a familiar blue leather bag in his hand, which contained his usual kitchen knife.

　　"Let's go buy some food first. Here's the menu," Zhang Chang was a very open-minded man. He flipped his hand and handed over a thick stack of pink banknotes along with the menu. "Here's the bill."

　　Mu Yu took a breath of cold air.

　　Give so much money!

　　At least 10,000, right?!

　　"Isn't this bad?" Pink is really pretty. Muyu swallowed his saliva obscurely.

"According to the rules, you have to pay the deposit first, and then pay the final payment after the banquet is over and there are no problems."

　　Zhang Chang smiled heartily and slapped the money directly into his palm, "I trust you."

　　This immediately dispelled the last bit of doubt and worry.

　　What a good man! Mu Yu stroked the banknotes and sighed sincerely.

　　Nowadays, electronic payment is prevalent, and many people may not see cash for years. However, the solid touch and satisfaction of holding a banknote in your hand is truly irreplaceable by any amount of electronic numbers.

　　Mu Yu held the money tightly, feeling very happy.

　　A full ten thousand yuan.

　　hey-hey.

　　"We're here." Zhang Chang said suddenly.

　　Mu Yu got out of the car, still holding the stack of money tightly in his hand, and suddenly shuddered.

　　It's so cold.

　　Are summer nights so cold?

　　It was foggy all around, and there were no street lights. There was only a building in the distance, with four large characters written on it:

　　"Mingyuan Community".