Experience

Because Gu Yuxiao had previously announced the opening time, an especially large number of people came to Xiushui Village today.

Naturally, Ma Changlong wouldn't miss such an occasion.

Nowadays, he was the kind of guy who would immediately rush over at the slightest hint of anything related to the Lingxian Sect.

He was terrified of missing the day the Lingxian Sect recruited disciples.

However, he hadn't shown up during the recent recruitment for shop assistants.

His goal remained incredibly clear: he only wanted to be a disciple of the Lingxian Sect, not a shop assistant serving customers.

Moreover, the immortal had explicitly told him to wait until the sect officially recruited disciples before coming back.

If he became a shop assistant now, would he have to skip work or resign when the sect finally started recruiting?

What if that left a bad impression on the immortal sect? The loss would outweigh the gain.

Therefore, he preferred to wait.

But even if he wasn't going to be a shop assistant, he was more than happy to join the fun and show his support.

As the auspicious hour arrived, the doors of the two shops opened.

Ma Changlong followed the crowd inside.

Just as he stepped through the door, he noticed that the people behind him were stopped by a sharply dressed shop assistant.

Then, he heard the assistant say in a very gentle tone:

"I am sorry, valued guests, but the shop has reached its maximum capacity. Please wait for other guests to leave before entering."

Hearing such a polite tone from a young woman—and considering this was a shop owned by an immortal sect—the guests naturally didn't dare to get angry and obediently waited to the side.

The first shop Ma Changlong entered was the Lingxian Restaurant.

He wanted to know if the dishes served here were the same as those sold every ten days at the Lingxian Eatery.

He had prepared several hundred taels of silver today. Even if all the dishes were of the same quality as those at the Lingxian Eatery, he could afford to order several—enough to eat his fill and pack the rest to take home.

Guided by a shop assistant, he arrived at a seat and sat down.

The layout of this restaurant was very different from ordinary ones.

Although it had two floors, there were no private rooms.

Despite the lack of private rooms, partitions over a meter high were set up between the tables, making each dining space relatively independent.

The tables also varied in size, ranging from small tables for two to standard tables for four, and large tables for six.

According to the shop assistant, there were even larger tables upstairs.

However, since only walk-in customers came today, those weren't needed.

But to get in earlier, some people agreed to share tables with other guests after being briefed by the assistant outside. As a result, the large tables upstairs were also fully occupied.

The guests who managed to enter kept asking if the restaurant would sell the dishes from the Lingxian Eatery.

However, the shop assistants didn't answer immediately.

Instead, after a short while, a supervisor—promoted by Gu Yuxiao from among the assistants—stepped forward and announced to the crowd:

"Although our Lingxian Restaurant will not sell the dishes from the Lingxian Eatery, do you all know who makes the food there?"

Some guests smiled and shook their heads, saying they didn't know, while others said, "Who else but the immortals on the immortal mountain?"

The supervisor continued:

"Let me tell you, those dishes are personally prepared by Immortal Jiang, the eldest disciple of our Lingxian Sect's leader! Every time he cooks, it consumes a great deal of his magical power. Combined with his superb culinary skills, that is how such delicious food is created."

"While we don't have Immortal Jiang's cooking here, every day we will sell three dishes prepared by Immortal Jiang's disciple! Only three dishes a day, limited to one portion per person. You cannot order more, and it's first come, first served!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent for a second.

The next moment, the crowd erupted. A figure dashed over to him like lightning, held up a pouch of silver, and shouted:

"I'll take one!"

Who else could this be but Ma Changlong?

The supervisor obviously recognized him. Smiling, he gently pushed away the coin pouch in Ma Changlong's hand and said:

"Alright! One portion for Master Ma! Master Ma, we only collect the money after the meal. There is no rush, no rush at all."

Hearing this, Ma Changlong straightened his clothes and sat back down in his seat.

Seeing this, the other guests immediately swarmed forward.

Fortunately, the supervisor was quick-witted and had already ducked behind the counter; otherwise, he would have been squashed into a pancake.

After ordering the dish made by Immortal Jiang's disciple, Ma Changlong took the menu handed to him by the shop assistant and ordered a few more dishes to try the flavors.

Before long, the food was served at Ma Changlong's table.

He was slightly surprised; he hadn't expected the serving speed here to be so fast.

He then picked up his chopsticks and began tasting the dishes in front of him.

Truth be told, apart from the dish made by Immortal Jiang's disciple, the others tasted quite ordinary, similar to those in a regular restaurant, though with a bit more rustic charm.

As for the dish made by Immortal Jiang's disciple, its taste was naturally far inferior to Immortal Jiang's own cooking.

However, upon tasting it, Ma Changlong could sense a feeling similar to Immortal Jiang's dishes—a feeling he secretly dubbed immortal essence.

He was deeply fascinated by this sensation.

It seemed that on the days when he couldn't eat at the Lingxian Eatery, coming here to taste the cooking of Immortal Jiang's disciple wouldn't be a bad alternative.

Once Ma Changlong had eaten and drunk his fill, he was about to pay the bill and leave when the shop assistant gestured for him to look at a bamboo basket near the door.

The more he looked at the bamboo basket, the more familiar it seemed. Then it dawned on him: wasn't this the same small bamboo basket that collected money on its own in the Lingxian Eatery?

So, he walked over familiarly. After the shop assistant quoted him a price of seven taels and six mace, he directly tossed eight taels of silver inside and left.

According to the shop assistant's breakdown, the dish made by Immortal Jiang's disciple cost five taels of silver, while the three dishes made by the restaurant's chef cost a total of two taels and six mace.

After leaving the Lingxian Restaurant, Ma Changlong strolled over to the Lingxian Inn.

At this time, Gu Yuxiao was at the inn, watching the shop assistants introduce the guest rooms to the visitors.

Ma Changlong followed along for a tour. Seized by a moment of novelty, he paid for a room, planning to stay here for the night to experience it.

It wasn't as if he hadn't stayed overnight in Xiushui Village before.

Although he now owned a residence on the outskirts of Xiushui Village, did that matter? Not at all.

Who could resist staying in an inn opened by an immortal sect?

Seeing both shops doing a booming business, Gu Yuxiao was overjoyed.

However, she also knew that the situation on the first day wasn't a reliable indicator; she still had to wait and see the stabilized customer flow in the future.

But Lin Xiao had told her that even if the business wasn't good, it didn't matter.

After all, with the Lingxian Eatery, they were already making a net profit of almost three hundred taels a month.

They weren't relying on these two shops to make money anyway.

The main purpose was to boost the economy of Xiushui Village.

And to provide visiting travelers with a stable place to rest.