Chapter 55: Business Thrives
Meng Jingzhou also nodded, “I came up with ‘Thank You for Your Patronage BBQ Shop.’”
Barbarian Bone felt his own ‘Sheep Sheep Sheep BBQ Shop’ name was too ordinary.
The first paper Barbarian Bone opened was Lu Yang’s, so by the rule, the barbecue shop was named “Come Again.”
“Do any of you have a way to conceal your aura?” Lu Yang asked.
While on the street, Lu Yang noticed many people’s breathing methods and their affinity for spiritual energy, which surely meant they were cultivators. However, when he scanned them with his divine consciousness, he couldn’t determine their cultivation levels.
It would be reasonable if one or two people had higher cultivation levels than him, but it was impossible for everyone to be higher.
Yanjiang County was different from Taiping Village; there were many cultivators, but not to the exaggerated extent where everyone was at the Foundation Building stage.
Lu Yang quickly realized that in the world of cultivators, one’s status was determined by their cultivation level. To avoid being bullied while roaming the jianghu, one either needed to have an exceptional cultivation level or the ability to conceal it, making it difficult for others to act rashly.Their unguarded outings were practically announcing to everyone that they were greenhorns.
To blend into the demonic sect, they needed to appear as experienced jianghu veterans.
“I do have one. It’s something we used back home for hunting,” Barbarian Bone said, pulling out a scroll made of sheepskin.
“The prey in the wilderness is very cunning, running away at the slightest disturbance. To hunt successfully, you need to conceal your aura and ambush in advance.”
Barbarian Bone’s tribe in the wilderness was a major clan, and he belonged to the highest bloodline status within it.
Not just Qi Cultivation and Foundation Building members of the tribe went hunting, but also those at the Gold Core stage who could fast without food.
For the tribe, prey was not just for filling their stomachs but also for the effects of rare and precious natural treasures.
“However, when using this secret method, you cannot move; any movement will break the concealment.”
The greater the limitation, the more powerful the effect. In terms of concealment effectiveness alone, the method recorded on the sheepskin scroll ranked in the top three.
“I have a common concealment spell. Only someone with a major cultivation level higher than you can see through your cultivation level,” Meng Jingzhou said, taking out a bamboo scroll from his jade pendant, which still had a faint bamboo fragrance despite its age.
The quality of the bamboo also showed how extraordinary the spell recorded on the bamboo scroll was.
Meng Jingzhou’s jade pendant also contained many spells and divine powers brought from his home, too many for him to learn.
Lu Yang looked at Meng Jingzhou strangely, “Aren’t you a runaway? Where did all these good things come from?”
“My sister secretly gave them to me.”
“Alright then.”
The three began to learn the concealment spells. As talented individuals, such minor spells were easy for them to grasp. It took them just over half a day to learn the basics, with the rest being practice.
Lu Yang bowed in thanks, “When I learn new spells, I’ll definitely teach them to you!”
Despite Barbarian Bone and Meng Jingzhou casually sharing their spells, Lu Yang knew these two concealment spells were incredibly rare, and their trust in him was evident.
Meng Jingzhou laughed heartily, telling Lu Yang not to worry about it, and Barbarian Bone expressed similar sentiments.
…
“Eh, I remember this place being a teahouse. Now it’s turned into a barbecue shop?” Under the night sky, two wandering heroes stumbled upon the former teahouse, now replaced by a barbecue shop with an interesting name.
“Come Again BBQ Shop, what a delicious aroma.”
The wandering heroes sniffed the air; the fragrance of the barbecue was irresistible, making their mouths water.
“How about we eat here?”
“Let’s go.”
Agreeing instantly, they entered the barbecue shop.
Upon entering, they were struck by the lively atmosphere. Customers were toasting and feasting, devouring skewers and gulping down drinks, their laughter loud enough to lift the roof. A sturdy man, undoubtedly the server, hustled in and out with skewers. Was his size meant to deter dine-and-dashers?
“Is a newly opened shop this popular?”
The two were intrigued. A shop that could attract such a crowd must have its reasons, and they were eager to try.
Luckily, there was one last empty table left.
As they settled down, another server named Lu Yang, with a notebook in hand and wearing the standard service industry smile, approached, “Hello, what would you like to order?”
“Two pots of liquor, a plate of boiled peanuts, thirty lamb skewers, thirty beef skewers, two grilled potatoes… all mildly spicy, we can’t handle too much heat.”
As Lu Yang noted their order, he messaged Barbarian Bone telepathically, “Can you adjust your recipe a bit? The barbecue is too delicious, attracting too many people. How are we supposed to keep an eye on Qin Yuanhao?”
Lu Yang hadn’t expected Barbarian Bone’s secret recipe to be so effective. A few customers came on the first evening, several tables the next day, and by the third day, every table was full. Now, on the fourth day, after the two wandering heroes took the last table, there were already people waiting outside.
Lu Yang feared that by the fifth day, people might need to book in advance or share tables, and by the thirtieth day, they could open a chain in the neighboring county. A year later, they could have two hundred chain stores in the northern part of the Central Continent, and three years later, they could be popular across the entire Central Continent. Five years later, they might even go public on the stock exchange… if such a concept existed here.
Was there something wrong with Barbarian Bone’s recipe, like a banned substance in the sauce?
That was a joke. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had tried Barbarian Bone’s cooking, which had no banned substances and was indeed delicious. However, they hadn’t expected it to attract so many customers.
Later, Lu Yang realized that having been accustomed to first-class delicacies at Tianmen Peak, his tastes had become quite refined. If something that satisfied him, who was used to such fine dining, then Barbarian Bone’s barbecue recipe truly had something special.
In any case, they absolutely couldn’t let the shop continue to be this popular.
“It seems pretty busy downstairs, do you need me to help?” Meng Jingzhou’s lazy voice rang out in their ears.
Now, only Meng Jingzhou was upstairs keeping an eye on Qin Yuanhao.
“Stay upstairs and keep watch over Qin Yuanhao, don’t come down and cause trouble!” Lu Yang warned, knowing Meng Jingzhou coming downstairs would be more than just serving as a server.
Based on his understanding of Meng Jingzhou, he could perform a stand-up comedy routine while serving dishes.
Meng Jingzhou yawned loudly, making anyone listening feel sleepy, “But it’s really boring upstairs. It’s been four days, and Qin Yuanhao has no intention of leaving his house, just meditating all day long without any entertainment.”
“I say we might as well pretend to be street performers. I’ll perform a monologue at Qin Yuanhao’s house, you can perform a jar-lifting act, and while distracting him, Barbarian Bone can install a listening talisman or something.”
Lu Yang and Barbarian Bone ignored Meng Jingzhou.
The best way to deal with someone who talks incessantly is to ignore them.
Seeing that no one was paying him any attention, Meng Jingzhou switched topics, “Barbarian Bone, are you really not considering making the skewers taste worse?”
Barbarian Bone had his principles, “Our family has been a barbecue family for eighteen generations; I can’t tarnish the reputation of the barbecue barbarians in my generation!”
(End of the chapter)