Chapter 22: Jealousy

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The guests had all arrived, but whether they could be kept or not depended on the abilities of the two Spirit Chefs.

And this was an area where Li Zhirui could not be of help.

"You are indeed clever, my boy, to think of such a method," Li Shilian said, his face beaming with joy and his eyes filled with admiration for Li Zhirui.

After a few modest remarks, Li Zhirui voiced his concerns, "Most of today's customers are drawn by the promotion, whether we can retain them will depend on the quality of the Spirit Food. Do you have confidence in this?"

"Of course!" Li Shilian said with certainty, "With the family's full support in their cultivation, these two Spirit Chefs are much better than ordinary Spirit Chefs."

Hearing this, Li Zhirui also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the quality was not an issue, then Cloudtop Pavilion would be considered stable and would not have to close down embarrassingly like the last tavern.

Before long, dishes of Spirit Food were served on the tables, and the small shop was suddenly enveloped in various fragrances that were also carried out by the breeze.

"This scent is truly delightful!" exclaimed a passing cultivator involuntarily.

"I just passed by and heard that this tavern has changed hands. Sure enough, you wouldn't dare take over without substantial skills, right?"

"Didn't they say there are promotions for a new store opening? I'll go in and taste it myself."

Quite a few cultivators stood outside discussing, and some wanted to come in and personally taste the fragrant Spirit Food.

"This…" Just as a few were stepping up to the entrance, they saw that there were no empty seats inside, and asked, "Are there no vacant tables in the shop?"

"There are private rooms on the second floor, but the private room…" Li Zhirui paused for a moment, suddenly changed his tone, and said, "Today being the grand opening of the new store, the private rooms will be free of charge!"

"Really?"

After receiving Li Zhirui's affirmative reply, the cultivator said eagerly, "Then we'll take a private room."

In no time at all, the eight private rooms were also filled with cultivators.

Meanwhile, as Li Zhirui was busy attracting customers, cultivators who couldn't wait were already tasting the Spirit Food they had ordered.

"This Five Treasures Thick Soup is truly delicious! It melts in your mouth, the flavor is rich and the aftertaste lingers. Moreover, the Mana refined from it is also exceptionally pure and substantial."

"Absolutely! The White Water Shrimp I ordered may be a bit pricey, but the Mana gained from its refinement is more than what I would get from three days of cultivation!"

"The Spirit Chefs of Cloudtop Pavilion are really impressive. Even the most common ginseng chicken stew is made tastier than at other taverns."

Spirit Food, apart from satisfying the taste buds, its more important aspect is to increase one's Mana while enjoying the meal, and this is the very foundation of Spirit Food.

Clearly, in this regard, the two Spirit Chefs of the Li family were doing quite well, leaving the cultivators highly satisfied.

In fact, in addition to the abilities of the two Spirit Chefs, the high quality of the Spirit Beasts bred by the Li family also played a role.

It is known that among the nine types of Spirit Beasts bred by the Li family, besides the Cloud Fish, White Water Shrimp, and Flower-scaled Fish, the other six had been cultivated for hundreds of years. Their meat quality and Spiritual Energy had reached a very high level, incomparable to the Spirit Beasts purchased by other taverns.

Most of the cultivators who entered Cloudtop Pavilion were Loose Cultivators, and each would order just one or two dishes of Spirit Food, plus a complimentary bowl of Spirit Rice, and they would be finished in no time.

As soon as they left, more cultivators came in, especially since Li Zhirui's Amplifying Stone had not stopped broadcasting the promotion. And when he saw an empty table, he would add a line to the broadcast, ensuring that no table would remain empty for long.

As time trickled by, when it was noon, a clan member who had been bustling in the kitchen rushed out in a hurry and said, "Zhirui, there is not much of the ingredients left in the shop. Uncle Shilian has gone to gather more supplies; please control the number of customers a little."

"I understand," said Li Zhirui. He hadn't anticipated a shortage of ingredients, but this was a good sign, indicating that the business of Cloudtop Pavilion had exceeded everyone's expectations.

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On the first day of business, Cloudtop Pavilion was bustling with guests coming and going, such that by the time they closed for the night, everyone, including the helpful Li Zhirui, was exhausted.

"Zhirui is certainly clever, coming up with such a good idea," the round-faced shopkeeper of Cloudtop Pavilion, Li Shihua, said with a smile brimming with joy.

Because Cloudtop Pavilion was so busy, Li Zhirui didn't go back with Li Shilian and the others. Now that it was late, and he was too tired to move, he decided to rest in the marketplace for the night and return the next day.

"Uncle Shihua, many cultivators came today for the discounts; tomorrow's business might not be as good, so when you prepare the ingredients, please don't do it on the same scale as today," Li Zhirui mentioned, hurriedly reminding everyone worriedly, not wanting them to be blinded by the success of the day.

"Hmm, I'm aware of that." Li Shihua, chosen to be the shopkeeper of Cloudtop Pavilion, naturally had his capabilities.

After comforting the Spirit Chefs and helpers a bit more, he said, "Everyone worked hard today, rest up early, we need to rise early tomorrow."

The night passed without further conversation.

The next day, as the sky began to brighten, several helpers got up to process the Spirit Beasts and various ingredients.

Uncertain about how today's business would be, they didn't prepare too many ingredients under Li Shihua's orders.

To everyone's surprise, however, today's business was almost as good as the day before!

Li Zhirui, curious, asked one of the customers, only to learn that the guests from yesterday had recommended Cloudtop Pavilion's Spirit Food to their friends and family after leaving.

They had praised the Spirit Food as exceptionally delicious, especially emphasizing that the Spiritual Energy contained within it was more abundant than that of other inns, which kept Cloudtop Pavilion's business booming.

Of course, it wouldn't take long for business to return to normal since, despite the allure of Spirit Food, its price was not cheap. Not to mention Loose Cultivators, even Li Zhirui couldn't afford to eat it every day.

However, the reputation of Cloudtop Pavilion had now been established, and for any cultivator wishing to taste Spirit Food, it was their first choice!

In just one short month, Cloudtop Pavilion became the most successful inn in Yunqing Marketplace.

As business at Cloudtop Pavilion grew better and better, it was inevitable that other inns in the marketplace experienced a downturn.

This was especially true for Welcoming Immortals Inn, which had been the top inn before Cloudtop Pavilion appeared. Once flooded with guests, it now struggled to attract patrons.

"I say, Brother Liu, why are you still coming to Welcoming Immortals Inn? The Spirit Food here is not only subpar in taste and lacking in Spiritual Energy, but it's also more expensive," someone commented.

One day, eight cultivators walked into Welcoming Immortals Inn. Before the shopkeeper could even crack a smile, he heard these words and his face immediately darkened.

"Tsk," said another, "Brother Liu just came out of seclusion; how would he know about Cloudtop Pavilion?"

"True," the others agreed, praising Cloudtop Pavilion right in front of the shopkeeper. Although they didn't belittle Welcoming Immortals Inn any further, it was clear they were all keen on going to Cloudtop Pavilion.

The hosting Brother Liu, not understanding the situation, asked, "This Cloudtop Pavilion you're talking about, it's another inn, right? Are they really as good as you say?"

"Of course! Just ask any cultivator, and they'll know about Cloudtop Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, Brother Liu became interested in Cloudtop Pavilion and said, "Well then, let's go to Cloudtop Pavilion today!"

With that, he paid no attention to the shopkeeper's gloomy expression and led his companions out the door.