Money, of course, didn’t just appear out of thin air. After all, the legendary treasure bowl wasn’t a real thing.

Lin Fei glanced back at Steward Mao, who was lying stiffly on the ground, lifeless. He was dead, which proved that the treasure bowl didn’t exist, but the person who made the money definitely did.

“Search the whole house; check everything,” Lin Fei said. “Take stock of all the shops and houses under the name of Mao.”

Liu Yuan responded with “Yes” and was about to give his superior the next instructions when he saw his superior look up at the sky and suddenly say, “It’s time for lunch. Let’s go back and eat lunch first!”

With that, he left before Liu Yuan could speak.

Since Chef Wen came to the public kitchen, the superior had always been enthusiastic about eating three meals a day unless absolutely necessary. Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu, who had come over, exchanged a glance, wanting to laugh, but their feet honestly followed their superior’s steps.

Why wouldn’t they be enthusiastic about eating? He wondered what Master Wen made for lunch today.

…

By the time the group returned to the Dali Temple, lunchtime was almost halfway through, and many of the constables who had stayed at the temple had already finished eating.

Smelling the rich, enticing aroma, they entered the kitchen and immediately saw the main dish on the plate: chicken pieces fried to a golden brown, coated with tiny white sesame seeds—it looked quite adorable, but…while adorable, the bright red chilies next to the chicken made one hesitate.

Was there too much chili?

The colleagues, engrossed in their rice, busily shoved the golden-brown fried chicken pieces and peanuts into their mouths, hissing and gasping for breath from the spiciness, yet their chopsticks continued to reach for the chicken pieces amidst the chilies.

Was there too much chili? More than usual, but it didn’t affect their eating!

Seeing this, Liu Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly walked to the counter and asked Wen Mingtang and the others, who were busy behind it, “Master Wen, what’s the dish today…?”

“Làzǐjī, it’s only mildly spicy,” Wen Mingtang said with a smile. “I already reduced the spice level. If you really can’t handle it, just add another two bowls of rice.” As she spoke, she pointed at the wooden rice bucket behind her that had already been emptied and said with a laugh, “Everyone ate quite a lot of rice today!”

The meaning was obvious. But that spiciness…

While Liu Yuan was still hesitating, Bai Zhu had already walked up to him and taken a serving of lunch before him. The rich, spicy aroma of chicken wafted past his nose. This… how could he just leave it there to eat?

Seeing this, Liu Yuan immediately said, “Master Wen, give me a serving of lunch.”

Wen Mingtang smiled at him and placed a large bowl of rice on Liu Yuan’s plate.

Unlike Liu Yuan’s hesitation, Lin Fei didn’t even frown before taking his lunch. He even subconsciously nodded when he saw Làzǐjī, revealing a satisfied expression.

This dish, called Làzǐjī, was exactly to Lin Fei’s liking; the rich, spicy aroma was simply irresistible to him.

Chewing on the uniquely textured, springy, and chewy chicken, Lin Fei watched Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu across from him, who were constantly swallowing Làzǐjī with rice but still reluctant to give up and were still picking at pieces of chicken. Lin Fei leisurely picked up a piece of chicken with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. Looking at the two, he asked, “Would you like to talk about the case?”

Seeing Bai Zhu and Liu Yuan suddenly startled by Lin Fei’s sudden action at the table, Tangyuan, who was watching the commotion behind the counter, couldn’t help but cover her mouth and chuckle. Turning to Wen Mingtang beside her, she said, “Master Wen, I didn’t realize Lin Shaoqing was such a funny person!”

The chefs in the public kitchen weren’t just there for show; everyone knew how much spice Liu Yuan and Bai Zhu could handle. This Làzǐjī was already their limit with rice; if they were to talk… they’d probably choke on it!

So… it was best to follow the etiquette of not speaking while eating.

Lin Fei, already aware of the situation, jokingly stopped when he saw their expressions and continued chewing on a piece of Làzǐjī covered in white sesame seeds.

The group couldn’t resist Làzǐjī, and as they finished lunch and left, someone remembered, “Master Wen, should we serve the pork belly side dish today?” He let out a satisfied burp, acknowledging how delicious Làzǐjī was.

Wen Mingtang looked at the servant who had spoken: it was none other than the one who had asked about the kitchen knife yesterday.

Nodding, Wen Mingtang smiled and said, “It’ll be served in a bit!” She paused, then continued before the servant could speak, “Remember to come early, or… it might be sold out.”

Although they hadn’t yet seen the pork belly side dish, they clearly understood something from Master Wen’s words.

The constable patted his stomach and clicked his tongue, saying, “But I ate two big bowls of rice with this Làzǐjī, so I’m afraid I can’t eat this pork belly.”

Before Wen Mingtang could speak, Liu Yuan, sitting opposite him, spoke up first. He glanced at the constable and said, “Don’t worry, how could I not eat that crispy pork belly? I could force myself to eat it! It’s just that I guess I won’t be able to get any.”

He still craved the taste of last night’s crispy pork belly; he couldn’t bear to leave the spicy chicken in his mouth, and he wanted that crispy pork belly too. However…

Seeing the two students who had come early to “scout” the kitchen, Liu Yuan figured he wouldn’t be able to get that crispy pork belly for a while.

The constable had also seen the students from the Imperial Academy “scouting”. Seeing these students so eager to grab food, he was momentarily speechless, his lips moving as if to ask, “Why do you always come to our Dali Temple to snatch snacks?” Thinking back to his own school days, when he was always greedy and never had enough to eat, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Oh well, he figured he’d be able to snag the crispy pork belly when Chef Wen brought out the new snacks.

Sure enough, as soon as lunchtime ended and the crispy pork belly was taken out of the “oven”, the two students grabbed it all and swaggered away with dozens of oil-paper packages.

Aside from the enticing aroma of the crispy pork belly and the crunchy sound of it being sliced, not a single crumb was left behind.

Fortunately, Ji Caimai had bought extra pork belly for the snacks that day, so there would be plenty more tomorrow. If they had come earlier, they might have had a chance to buy some. As the constables left disappointed, Lin Fei, Liu Yuan, and the others who were sitting at the food counter got up but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, they walked over to Wen Mingtang. Liu Yuan coughed lightly and turned to look at Lin Fei behind him.

Lin Fei met Wen Mingtang’s gaze and said, “If I remember correctly, your day off is in a few days. I’d like to invite you for a day, as Master Yu did.”

As expected of Lin Shaoqing! Liu Yuantong and Bai Zhu looked at Lin Fei, inwardly sighing: they only mentioned this last night, and today he was already coming to see Master Wen. Lin Shaoqing said he also wanted to make that crispy pork belly; they could buy the pork belly themselves and ask Master Wen to make it together.

What if they couldn’t get it? There were other ways to eat that crispy pork belly, weren’t there?

Wen Mingtang was also taken aback, but then nodded. She had nothing to do on her day off in a few days, but…

“Lin Shaoqing, I remember you just added a very skilled chef to your household?” Wen Mingtang couldn’t help but ask, thinking of the chef she had seen at the estate.

(End of Chapter)