Chapter 150

Night fell.

The evening breeze suddenly had a hint of coolness.

Shenhe looked up at the stars in the night sky and said softly, "It might rain tomorrow."

Zhu Zi curiously looked up too: "Is it finally going to rain? It hasn't rained for a long time, it's been so hot these days."

Xia Zhi nodded: "After it rains, the weather will start to cool down gradually."

One layer of autumn rain brings one layer of coolness, another year of falling yellow leaves.

The next morning, the sky indeed became overcast, looking like it was about to rain.

Zhu Zi returned early after buying groceries and saw Qiqi at the shop door.

"Qiqi, you're here so early?"

"Yes, I just finished gathering herbs, delivered them to Bubu Pharmacy, and came over."

"Come in quickly! Boss! Qiqi is here!"

Hearing Zhu Zi's voice, Xia Zhi walked out of the kitchen, his hands still dusted with white flour.

"Good morning, Miss Qiqi."

"Good morning, Mr. Xia."

"You don't need to come so early, you can come with Yaoyao in the afternoon."

"It's fine, I don't have anything to do at Bubu Pharmacy in the morning anyway, so I might as well come help."

"Alright then, thank you Miss Qiqi. By the way, how were the egg tarts yesterday?"

"Very delicious!"

Xia Zhi smiled and said naturally, "Miss Qiqi probably hasn't had breakfast yet, right? I'm about to make noodles, why don't you join us?"

"Okay!" Qiqi pursed her lips, her eyes becoming expectant. "I'll help!"

Soon, four bowls of glowing mountain delicacy noodles were ready.

Xia Zhi picked up one bowl, inconspicuously used [Path of the Netherworld Chef] on it, then handed it to Qiqi.

Qiqi carefully accepted it, lowering her head slightly to greedily smell the enticing aroma wafting from the bowl.

Sitting at the table, she used chopsticks to pick up a bundle of noodles and tasted it. The smooth and elastic noodles intertwined with fine meat and mushroom pieces were delicious.

Qiqi's eyes couldn't help but redden slightly.

Zhu Zi looked at her and asked with concern: "Is the soup too hot? Do you want to cool it down a bit before eating? Don't force yourself to eat hot things if you can't."

Qiqi shook her head and smiled prettily: "It's okay, I can eat it. It's very tasty."

Zhu Zi was stunned: "Eh? Very tasty? Although the boss's noodles are indeed delicious, couldn't Qiqi not taste flavors before?"

Qiqi said softly: "I don't know why, but now I can taste flavors again, but only for things Mr. Xia makes."

Zhu Zi fell into thought, then said seriously: "It must be that the boss's culinary skills have broken through again, reaching a new level."

Xia Zhi smiled: "Where did you hear that?"

"That's how they write it in light novels!"

"How many light novels have you read?"

"Many. Before, when Yae Publishing House released new books every month, I would always buy them! But buying them all was too expensive, so we would each buy one and exchange after reading."

"...I think I understand now why you dared to set out to sea alone..."

Zhu Zi lowered her head embarrassedly: "I was just impulsive at that time. Thinking back now, I still feel that what I did then was quite dangerous."

Xia Zhi nodded and admonished: "It's good that you know it was dangerous. Don't do that again next time."

Zhu Zi obediently replied: "Mm."

Qiqi blinked, looking at the two of them, feeling that this scene somehow resembled a parent seriously teaching a disobedient child.

She had never experienced such a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere at Bubu Pharmacy.

After breakfast, Shenhe went to wash dishes, while Qiqi diligently helped Zhu Zi wipe tables.

Xia Zhi made several glasses of rainbow juice and handed a special one to Qiqi.

Qiqi took a sip, and a satisfied, enjoyable expression immediately appeared on her face.

This was even better than incense!

Around 10 AM, it started raining outside.

The shop's business was somewhat affected, mainly the takeout service.

Because on rainy days, it wasn't convenient for customers to hold cups and drink while walking, and rain could easily splash into the cups.

Xia Zhi couldn't help but start thinking about whether to order another batch of cup lids from Chunxiang Kiln.

At lunchtime, because Qiqi was there, Xia Zhi made two extra main dishes.

Qiqi ate with great relish.

The cooked rice wasn't quite enough.

Zhu Zi argued vehemently: "Boss! I told you we should cook more rice! Qiqi, stay for dinner tonight, okay? I'll definitely cook more rice!"

Xia Zhi laughed, feeling this golden egg fried rice enthusiast was probably beyond help. But since Qiqi hadn't tried golden egg fried rice yet, cooking more was fine. They could make some for Qiqi to try tomorrow morning.

After lunch, they brewed a pot of good tea from Qiaoying Village and rested for a while before Xia Zhi prepared to make desserts.

Today he was making mochi-wrapped rice cakes, also known as daifuku.

He made honey red beans using [White Jade Honey], then added half a fresh sunsettia berry.

A luxurious version of otherworldly strawberry daifuku was ready.

Yaoyao loved eating these.

After all, [White Jade Honey] could enhance constitution, so little girls should eat more of it.

In the afternoon, it was still raining outside, and the weather had become very cool.

Xia Zhi looked at the shop door, wondering why Zhongli hadn't come yet.

He hadn't used [Skill Steal] yesterday, saving the cooldown so he could use it anytime.

As the shop was about to close, Zhongli still hadn't come, and Xia Zhi felt a bit disappointed.

He was about to choose between Shenhe and Qiqi to use [Skill Steal] when Hu Tao suddenly arrived.

"Miss Zhu Zi, two glasses of juice please!"

"Okay."

"Is there free tofu pudding today?"

"No tofu pudding, but the boss made strawberry daifuku. Would Director Hu like to try some?"

"What's strawberry daifuku?"

"It's a mochi rice cake with strawberry inside, very delicious!"

"Sure!... Oh? Isn't this Qiqi? Are you also working part-time at Mr. Xia's shop now?"

"Mm."

Qiqi nodded politely to Hu Tao and turned to busy herself.

She still remembered the very frightening things Hu Tao had done to her and didn't want to interact with her much.

Hu Tao stared at Qiqi, watching her smile and greet customers entering the shop, with a very strange expression on her face.

How had Qiqi changed so much in just a few days? If she couldn't clearly sense the excessive yin energy and death energy on Qiqi, judging by outward appearance alone, she would have thought this was a normal person.

"Director Hu, your juice and strawberry daifuku."

"Oh, thank you!"

"That'll be 200 Mora~"

"Okay. By the way, how much has Zhongli put on his tab at the shop again?"

"I'll have to check. Mr. Zhongli hasn't been here these past few days..."

"Ah, he's at the Jade Chamber construction site."

"Eh?"

"For the groundbreaking ceremony. He's most knowledgeable about those old rules and rituals, so Ningguang invited him to guide the process."

"I see!"

Xia Zhi, behind the counter, also had a sudden realization upon hearing this.

I was wondering why Mr. Zhongli hasn't been coming to the shop these days. So he's been busy with that.

But since Director Hu came today, I'll choose her. It's a good chance to see how much "gold content" she has as a gold-level target.

"[Skill Steal] successful, learned skill [Boundary Walker] from target."

"[Boundary Walker]: When entering the realm of the dead, not affected by the negative influences of death energy, and can see, touch, and harm incorporeal undead creatures."

Xia Zhi suddenly thought of the ghost lady who secretly came to his room every night to eat.

With this skill, he could probably give the ghost lady a massage now. Wonder what a soul body feels like to touch?

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