Thirty Years of Demon Slaying at the Demon-Slaying Department - Chapter 29

“How much for the chickens?”

“Seven dollars,” the chef replied.

Zhou Yi reached under the counter and took out a few coins. “Here. Use the change to make more. Remember to buy different flavoring and spices to pair with the fried chicken. Try everything, from garlic to pepper.”

“Don’t worry! I’ve spent five years learning this craft at Dashun Restaurant. I’m sure I can make something amazing.”

The chef took the money and went back into the kitchen. He came out a few seconds later with a plate of fried chicken and a flask of rice wine.

Zhou Yi was looking forward to enjoying the wine and fried chicken while reading. It was definitely a relaxing way to spend the time.

The aroma of fried chicken filled the entire restaurant of the inn immediately as Zhou Yi bit into the crispy batter and the tender, moist meat.

Everyone in the inn was aroused by the smell of the fried chicken, and they turned their attention on Zhou Yi.

“What’s that amazing smell?”

“What are you eating?”

“It looks fried. Is it on the menu?”

“Hey, Chef! Go on and make some for us!”

“I want one as well!”

The customers began to chant, and the chef turned to look at Zhou Yi with a troubled expression.

From what the chef knew, the recipe was a five-hundred-year-old tradition that was passed down in Zhou Yi’s family. It was a recipe that was only taught to the sons and not the daughters.

There was no way he could betray Zhou Yi’s trust for sharing the recipe with him.

After going through a couple more bites of fried chicken, Zhou Yi waved his arm and said, “Make some for them.”

The fried chicken was amazing, and it filled Zhou Yi’s heart even though it wasn’t as tasty as the Pear Blossom Wine next to it.

It was only then that he finally understood that Zhang Cheng didn’t appreciate tea, but he was tasting the loneliness and memories that came with the tea.

It didn’t take long for the chef to finish frying the second batch. The aroma spread so far that it even reached the street outside. The chef finally came out of the kitchen with a huge plate of fried chicken wings and drumsticks.

The chef picked out a few different drumsticks that he had cooked with different flavors for Zhou Yi to taste first.

The temporary owner raised a brow when he found out the second batch tasted much better than the first. “Not bad. It looks like you learned a lot at Dashun Restaurant as a food prepper.”

“Haha… I-I tried my best to copy them.” The chef laughed awkwardly. He always boasted that he had learned cooking at Dashun Restaurant when in fact, he was just a food prepper that only had one job—cutting ingredients. However, since all the customers who came to the inn to dine were regular citizens, no one could really tell the difference.

“You better not tell anyone the secret to making good fried chicken,” Zhou Yi said with a smile.

Since the patent system wasn’t available in Great Qian, other restaurants could easily mimic the recipe without any consequences.

“Don’t you worry! I’m even sleeping with my eyes half-closed now! Even my wife won’t be able to learn anything from me!” The chef nodded.

“You’re single. You don’t have a wife,” Zhou Yi scoffed.

The chef pouted immediately. Back at that time, not having a wife in one’s thirties was considered an embarrassment.

“Hey, the chicken smells amazing. How much is it?”

“Do you have a wife?”

“20 cents apiece! Take it or leave it!”

…

In the end, Zhou Yi still underestimated how people could go to great lengths to copy his method of making fried chicken.

In three days, tons of food critics visited Tongfu Inn and filled their stomachs with fried chicken.

There were also some who wanted to steal the recipe without even paying for the food. They would try to find a way into the kitchen and see how it was made.

The chef did not forget Zhou Yi’s suggestion and would drench the chicken in flour beforehand so that no one could see what went into it.

However, that wasn’t enough to stop the chefs in the capital. After seeing how the dish was made, they quickly understood its basic principles and came up with new recipes and flavors. Some of these new products tasted even better than the ones at Tongfu Inn.

However, the chef wasn’t planning on having a competition with them. All he had to do was make sure his flavors were unique enough to attract more customers.

In just a single month, the capital was filled with the aroma of fried chicken, which reminded Zhou Yi of the disgusting smell of gutter oil in his past life. Even Zhang Cheng had swapped out his usual peanut snacks for fried chicken.

There were even rumors that even the emperor had praised the newly invented dish.

The dish was an instant hit in the capital.

…

It was a starless moonlit night.

A ray of light landed on King Huai’s Mansion and moved past the empty hallway.

None of the Charm Arrays, Demon Revealing Mirrors, or even the Immortal Masters in the mansion had noticed the intruder.

The light followed the aroma that it had sensed and arrived in the kitchen of the mansion.

The imperial chef was focused on frying a batch of chicken. Unlike those that were made in the city, the fried chickens made for the royalties had expensive herbs mixed into it.

Not only did it smell and taste amazing, but also it could help to strengthen and heal one’s body. The fried chicken had become a staple in all of Emperor Jing Tai’s meals.

After hearing that his nephew had fallen sick, Emperor Jing Tai immediately ordered his imperial chef to head to King Huai’s Mansion to make some fried chicken.

“Is this what the humans usually eat? It smells better than a thousand-year red berry!” the light exclaimed as it landed on the beam of the ceiling and morphed into a seven-year-old little girl. The little girl looked like any normal human with a cute little mouth and a pair of pretty eyes. The only difference was the goat-like horns on her head.

When the chef turned his attention away, the little girl swiped a piece of chicken wing from the plate.

“Oh my! This tastes amazing!” This particular piece of fried chicken was the result of numerous experiments. It resulted as the final conclusion that chicken wings were the best part of a chicken to fry. It was the part that had all the components, from the fat to the bones.

When the imperial chef turned back, he immediately realized that one of the pieces had gone missing.

“Huh? I thought I made eight pieces? Why is one missing?”

The imperial chef thought that he was simply exhausted. Never did the idea that there was an intruder crossed his mind.

Since the mansion was located right next to the castle, there were guards posted around the perimeter all day and all night. An intruder would never be able to enter. In fact, it was easier to break into a prison than into this mansion.

In the past, many people had attempted to infiltrate the castle in a bid to make a name for themselves. They were always stopped by the guard. This trend continued for a short while until Emperor Guang Ming hung the head of an intruding martial arts master outside the castle gates.

“Odd numbers are bad luck. I should make more,” the imperial chef mumbled, knowing how superstitious the royal family was.

As the chef was frying another batch of wings, the little girl was licking her finger after finishing the food she stole.

“That was tasty! I need to have more!”

With a wave of her hand, all of the chicken wings flew up toward the ceiling and disappeared into the magical bracelet she was wearing.

The imperial chef simply watched the food that he had spent hours making disappear in front of him. No matter how dumb he was, he could tell something was off and was about to shout for the guards when he felt a sharp pain from the back of his head.

He let out a groan and fainted.

“Too bad I can’t kidnap this person back and force him to make more food for me.” The little girl pouted. Then she turned into a ray of light once again.

She roamed through the mansion until she landed in a garden where she could feel the mark she had left. Since it was already late at night, the maids were all trying to keep themselves awake.

However, the maids all passed out after smelling a faint sweetness in the air.

“Hey! Wake up!”

Princess Huai felt someone shaking her and slowly opened her eyes, only to see a little girl sitting on her belly and munching on a piece of chicken.

The little girl was dressed in an emerald green robe with jade and silver bracelets on her wrists and ankles.

“Who are you?” the princess shouted as she tried to get up but realized that she could not move her body apart from her mouth.

“Name’s Hu Jiuying of Greenhills. I’m here to avenge Hu Yue on me mama’s order.”

The princess immediately understood that the little girl was there to take her life. She quickly activated the magical item inside her body to alert the immortal masters in the mansion. No matter how strong the demon fox was, it would be impossible for the little girl to face a couple of immortal masters at once.

However, no matter how hard the princess tried, she could not activate the magical item.

Hu Jiuying licked her lips and took out another piece of chicken. It was as if the main reason she infiltrated the mansion was to get her hands on the fried chickens.

“You dug one of Hu Yue’s eyes out. Let’s start with your eyes then…”