Chapter 738 - 223: [Flying Boat]
And now this meal, the taste of this piece of meat brought back the memory of eating real bluefin tuna for Chen Yan—and it surpassed many by far!
Such deliciousness, Chen Yan originally didn’t have much appetite, but one bite opened up his stomach, and he quickly finished all the dishes.
After the meal, Zhang the Third thoughtfully brought over a pot of tea, with a fresh fragrance, not knowing what variety from the Domain Realm, but Chen Yan felt it was similar in quality to what he took from Lin Qingquan’s house.
While Chen Yan drank the tea, Zhang the Third stood by with his hands folded, attending to him.
Chen Yan sighed, "The cook under your charge is quite skillful. This meal was more delicious than what I had at the tavern by the docks earlier today."
Zhang the Third carefully replied, "Master, your wisdom is clear. The taverns in the dock area don’t sell dishes for their taste; they sell the location. The houses are built by the riverbank to win with the river view, and the food they make is quite ordinary.
The two cooks under my charge learned their skills from a young age, specifically to serve the cultivator lords, so in culinary skills, they are much better than those taverns.
They also carefully prepare the ingredients. Just that fish dish alone took great care to remove the tendons and membranes to achieve a good texture.
Such meticulous work can only be done in our small kitchen. If it were the busy taverns outside, selling many dishes to numerous guests a day, the back kitchen could not manage such detailed work."
Chen Yan nodded, glanced at Zhang the Third, "You are telling me this because you have something to report, right? No need to beat around the bush, just say it directly."
Zhang the Third chuckled and quickly said in a low voice, "Master above, this servant wouldn’t dare to beat around the bush. I just wanted to report on the future accounts to the master.
The wages for the servants in our courtyard have already been given by you this month, master. Besides, the public account under my name has forty coins remaining.
I went out today to buy some tea leaves and fruits for entertaining guests, which cost ten coins, and the remaining twenty coins were spent on buying some ingredients.
Calculating, these ingredients are enough to eat for three to five days..."
Chen Yan sighed, "Eating at home is indeed much cheaper."
In that tavern, one meal could cost dozens of coins.
And now, ingredients bought with twenty coins at home can last three to five days.
But this is not surprising.
In the real world, in those upscale restaurants, a meal costing a few thousand can equate to an ordinary person’s monthly salary. It’s not surprising.
In an ordinary family, if you buy ingredients and cook meals yourself, eating well would only cost a hundred or eighty bucks—even that would be considered eating well and expensively.
"Are the vegetable prices in West Platform City this low? With so many people in our courtyard, feeding them for three to five days, it’s already..."
Before Chen Yan could finish, Zhang the Third’s face suddenly changed, and he knelt on the ground trembling, "Master, your wisdom is clear. This servant dares not to embezzle! None of us in the courtyard would dare to eat the cultivator lord’s food!"
Chen Yan was taken aback and saw Zhang the Third trembling as he explained, "The servants in the courtyard, including myself, all eat ordinary rice and vegetables bought from the outer city. Only your food materials, master, are purchased from the inner city shops.
The six of us in the courtyard could eat for ten days without even using a single Jade Coin—the ordinary rice and vegetables from the outer city are very cheap."
Chen Yan was stunned, suddenly realized, and understood he had misunderstood.
"Get up, it was me who didn’t understand, you don’t need to be so afraid." Chen Yan waved his hand.
Only then did Zhang the Third get up and whispered, "I just wanted to ask you, master, the money you gave for public accounts today, I spent ten coins on tea leaves and fruits, and twenty coins on ingredients. Ten coins remain. I’m afraid it won’t be enough for next time to buy ingredients. What do you think..."
Chen Yan thought for a moment and said, "I’m going to travel far today, not sure how many days it will take to return. There’s no need to buy more ingredients. Just use the remaining ten coins to add what is needed at home, no need to spend too much."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Yan also didn’t want to be oppressive, so he frankly said, "I don’t know how long I will be gone this time, or even if I can return.\n"
Anyway, you’ve served me for a few days, considering it a fate. If I don’t come back, you’ll be paid a month’s wages without any deductions. If I don’t return by the end of the month, go to the district market and find Steward Zhao You, tell him I’ve vacated the house, let him arrange for you to serve elsewhere."
Upon hearing this, Zhang the Third was stunned, not knowing what to think.
Only serving for a few days, yet this master gave a full month’s wage—this certainly counts as extremely generous.
Such a reasonable and easy-to-serve cultivator master is indeed rare.
If possible, Zhang the Third would have liked to continue working under this master.
But the master said he was going to travel in a few days and wasn’t sure if he’d return—and even told him to prepare to find another place to serve.
For a moment, Zhang the Third was bewildered.
In the Domain Realm, the classes are distinct; the gap between cultivators and ordinary people is immense. While cultivator lords might not abuse or kill ordinary servants, such easy-to-talk masters are indeed rare.
Such a good employer is truly hard to find, really reluctant to leave.
In the following days, Chen Yan instructed Zhang the Third that he would be practicing in seclusion, so no need to make meals daily—the practice of transporting Primordial Qi can’t be interrupted, using Fasting Pills would suffice.
Zhang the Third dared not disturb the major affair of the cultivator master’s practice and instructed the servants in the courtyard to be cautious and try not to make any noise—actually, the cave dwelling has an Array barrier, outside sounds, unless it’s a catastrophic event, wouldn’t reach the inside of the cave.