Chapter 130

As they washed vegetables, kneaded dough, chopped filling, and rolled wrappers...

The two girls' technique seemed somewhat clumsy, making not-so-pretty dumplings, but it didn't matter.

Unlike mooncakes, dumplings don't need baking, so the heat control isn't as crucial. 

The key points are just the filling and wrapper - the former needs to be fresh with proper seasoning, the latter needs uniform thickness and soft texture. 

Get these two points right, and as long as they don't fall apart while cooking, the taste won't differ much.

"Boss, we have filling left!"

"Go get some eggs, I'll make egg wrappers and make egg dumplings for you."

"Oh!"

After another busy spell making egg dumplings, they boiled some dumplings too.

Freshly made dumplings taste the best. Each had a bowl with vinegar and Jueyun Chili sauce, eating contentedly.

After finishing the dumplings, it was already past 4 PM.

Xia Zhi checked his system panel and saw that 24 hours had passed since yesterday's use - [Skill Steal] had finished cooling down and could be used again.

However, the shop was closed today, so Zhongli hadn't come...

Xia Zhi "looked" at Shenhe who was using her Cryo power to freeze dumplings at the table, pondered for a moment, and selected her.

"Use [Skill Steal] on target?"

"Yes."

"[Skill Steal] successful, learned skill [Talisman Master] from target."

"[Skill Steal] has entered cooldown, usable again in 24 hours."

"[Talisman Master]: Automatically master adeptal talisman knowledge, understand principles and methods, become a Talisman Master."

Just like yesterday's [Rex Lapis] skill, Xia Zhi felt his mind suddenly fill with knowledge about adeptal talismans.

He took a moment to digest this knowledge, gaining a deep understanding of adeptal talismans.

So this was what adeptal talismans were - truly mysterious indeed.

Xia Zhi "looked" at Shenhe again thoughtfully.

Who would have thought Shenhe was a Talisman Master...

She was so young, and even if she had trained with an adeptus since childhood, it had only been about ten years, yet she had already reached the master level.

Meanwhile, Chef Mao at Wanmin Restaurant had been cooking for most of his life and still hadn't reached Culinary Master.

On one hand, this showed how incredibly hard Shenhe must have trained, and on the other hand, how terrifyingly talented she was.

Looking at it from another angle, since Shenhe learned her talisman techniques from her master, that female crane must already be a Talisman Master, possibly even a Talisman Grandmaster...

Next time he had a chance to meet the female crane, he could steal her skill too.

Shenhe finished freezing the dumplings and packed the vegetarian ones in a food box, saying: "Boss, we've used up all our food boxes, this is the last one."

"We'll buy more when we go shopping tonight."

"Then I'll go deliver these dumplings to Senior Sister Ganyu first."

"Mm."

Shenhe left with the food box. Xia Zhi and Zhu Zi stayed in the shop with nothing to do, so he took out two of yesterday's sample cups from Ying'er, washed them, and poured rainbow juice into them with reed straws. They each took one, leaning back in their chairs and sipping slowly.

"Zhu Zi, how do you find it?"

"I can drink just by lowering my head! Very convenient! The cup isn't heavy either, it'll be fun drinking while shopping!"

"How much do you think we should charge?"

"The juice itself is already 100 mora, as for the cup... Boss, what's our cost price?"

"Chunxiang Kiln charges 35 mora per cup, mainly because they're local suppliers and gave us a discount for bulk orders."

"I think we could sell for 150 mora. Oh right, we have to pay shipping for the reeds too... seems we won't make much profit..."

"No need to worry too much about that small amount. Let's set takeout at 150 mora per cup. For tourists, the cups can also serve as souvenirs for drinking tea back home."

"Right! I think these cups are beautiful! And good quality too!"

"If you like them, take two for drinking water."

"Thank you, Boss!"

"The weather's been really hot these days. Tomorrow I'll make some mung bean ice dessert."

"Mung bean ice?"

"It's a cooling dessert."

"Desserts! Boss, I feel like I'm going to get fat at this rate!"

"You won't. You work so hard every day, you can't get fat. Even if you did, it's fine - I know an effective weight-loss massage technique, I can help you with that."

"Really?"

"Mm."

"That's great!"

After chatting for a while, Shenhe returned, and Xia Zhi made her a juice with a straw too.

Shenhe had an excellent figure; looking at her posture, it seemed she could easily manage drinking with the cup balanced on her body.

"Is Miss Ganyu still handling official business?"

"Mm, Senior Sister is very busy, but she said she's almost done. She should come visit us tomorrow evening."

"Is that so? Then buy more vegetables tomorrow morning."

"Okay."

--

Bubu Pharmacy, back room.

Baizhu was carefully grinding medicine.

Changsheng climbed in from outside, making her way up the shelves to be level with Baizhu's head, and spoke solemnly: "Baizhu, I have something strange to tell you."

"What is it?"

"Just now I saw Qiqi sitting under a tree daydreaming. I went over to ask her, and she said she was watching little finches."

"Mm... what's strange about that? Qiqi's always like that."

"Not that - after she said that, she actually smiled at me!"

Baizhu's medicine grinding paused.

"Qiqi... just smiled?"

"Yes! I feel like Qiqi... is becoming more and more like a normal person..."

Baizhu fell silent.

He couldn't help but think of the half piece of incense Changsheng brought him two days ago.

That incense had mysterious calming effects. Baizhu couldn't even identify its specific components, feeling it was even more mysterious than his [Eternal Life Incense].

Baizhu lowered his head, murmuring.

"Summer Shop, huh..."

--

Yun-Han Opera Troupe.

Yun Jin sat at a table, holding a script, reading and studying it intently.

An old opera performer from the troupe gently knocked and brought in a cup of hot tea.

"Miss Yun, your tea."

"Thank you."

"Miss Yun is reading a script?"

"Yes, Father just wrote a new opera and sent it over."

"The master's new opera? What kind of opera is it?"

"Father wrote it based on folk tales, pouring his heart into it. It's a legendary story depicting divine beings and celestial maidens, called 'The Divine Maiden Strikes the Temple.'"

"The Divine Maiden Strikes the Temple... just the title alone makes one anticipate..."

"I'm still studying it carefully. It will take some time before we can perform it."

Yun Jin smiled and shook her head, saw the old performer out, came back to sit down, and continued reading the script carefully.

"How... lamentable..."

----

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