Chapter 112: Madam Song

“Let’s go. We’ll talk in the mission hall and sign the contract while we’re at it.” Yun Qimu gave a quick word to her father and Yun Xiaoyu, then opened the gate and stepped outside.

Wu Xingyu moved closer to her—then a little closer—until there was only a finger’s width between his shoulder and hers before he regretfully stopped and walked alongside her.

Sensing something, Yun Qimu turned to glance at him. At this distance, she could clearly see Wu Xingyu’s smooth black hair draped over his shoulders, each strand distinct, carrying a cool, fresh scent. She could also see his flawless, poreless skin on that beautiful face of his. Lower down, the top button of his thick black winter coat was fastened, revealing just a sliver of his fair, alluring throat. His Adam’s apple bobbed, making him seem even more attractive—truly a feast for the eyes.

Yun Qimu swallowed, deciding that with a face like his, she wouldn’t mind him sticking so close to her to “borrow some luck.”

She casually pulled out a plate of pumpkin cakes from her storage space, took one for herself, and then offered the plate to Wu Xingyu. “Pumpkin cakes. Want one?”

A flicker of surprise flashed in Wu Xingyu’s eyes. “You have flour?”

“Mm. Xiaoyu got it from a treasure chest, and this morning I traded with Mr. Mo for a pumpkin. I made a few dozen of these.”

Yun Qimu continued munching as she spoke, “Do you want one? They’re pretty good. If you don’t, I’ll just take them back.”

“I want one.” Wu Xingyu hurriedly pressed her hand down and took a cake from the plate, popping it into his mouth.

The bite was soft and chewy, not sticky at all, and the sweet flavor was simply wonderful, filling him with a sense of satisfaction.

A contented smile appeared on Wu Xingyu’s face as he finished the rest of the cake in one bite, chewing slowly before finally swallowing, reluctant for the taste to end.

Seeing the softened lines of his face, Yun Qimu knew he’d been won over by the pumpkin cakes. Her eyes curved with amusement. “If you like them, have a few more. Treating a business partner to some pumpkin cakes is the least I can do.”

Wu Xingyu’s eyes lit up, but he nodded with feigned restraint. “Thank you.”

Then he immediately reached for more, one after another, until all eight pumpkin cakes on the plate had disappeared into his stomach in the blink of an eye.

He looked a bit embarrassed, but fortunately, they had arrived at the mission hall.

“The cost to open the restaurant is five million spirit coins. I won’t take any cut or commission from that, so I want a fifty-fifty split of the profits,” Yun Qimu said, putting away the empty plate. Her friendly smile vanished, replaced by the shrewd look of a businesswoman as she made her bold demand.

Still savoring the soft sweetness of the pumpkin cakes, Wu Xingyu was taken aback by how quickly she changed her tune.

But since he’d just eaten her food, he uncharacteristically refrained from his usual sharp-tongued negotiating and instead raised a serious question. “Five million isn’t a small sum. You’re not doing much of the work, so a fifty-fifty split isn’t reasonable.”

Yun Qimu replied confidently, “Why not? I’m the village chief. Just the fact that the restaurant is being set up under my authority gives me every right to a share of the profits. Take the clothing shop, for example—I only pay salaries there, and I didn’t give Delice any share of the profits.”

In other words, a fifty-fifty split was already a bargain for him.

Seeing her determined expression, Wu Xingyu fell silent for a few seconds, deciding to set the profit-sharing issue aside for now and discuss the restaurant staffing.

“I think, for now, we only need one chef. What do you think?”

Yun Qimu raised an eyebrow in agreement, dropping the profit-sharing topic. “I agree. We can hold off on hiring more staff for now. Business is bound to be slow at the start, so one chef is enough. My neighbor Tang En is a pretty good cook—you all have him help out with meals every day. We could hire him as the chef.”

But Wu Xingyu frowned, his sharp chin lifting in dissatisfaction. “He only knows how to make a few dishes.”

He can’t even make pumpkin soup—doesn’t even add sugar. Not sweet at all.

Yun Qimu replied, “That’s because there aren’t many ingredients to cook with right now, so it’s not really his fault if he keeps making the same dishes.”

Wu Xingyu was still dissatisfied. “But a real chef can make eighteen dishes from a single ingredient. He only knows two.”

Yun Qimu put on a stern face. “Then where do you expect us to find another chef? You keep saying no to everyone.”

This man is really hard to please. Does he even realize where we are? There aren’t even that many villagers, and he’s dreaming of a chef who can make eighteen dishes from one ingredient. What is he thinking?

Sensing her annoyance, Wu Xingyu pressed his lips together, looking a bit sulky, but finally decided to play his trump card. “But we can’t pay him much. He’s an A-rank water ability user—he can make way more fighting monsters than working in a restaurant.”

That was a solid point, and Yun Qimu couldn’t refute it.

She rubbed her nose awkwardly. It was true—Tang En was quite capable, and unlike Wu Xingyu, he wasn’t unlucky. Just opening a treasure chest every day probably earned him more than the restaurant could pay. So why would he work as their chef?

The logic was flawless.

Which brought up a new problem: Can you even call it a restaurant if you don’t have a chef?

A heavy silence settled between them.

Suddenly, Yun Qimu seemed to realize something. She reached into her storage space and pulled out a card.

It was the very first card she’d drawn—“Nüwa Molds Humans from Clay.”

At this moment, the card was glowing gold. Yun Qimu looked at it and saw that the original image of Nüwa shaping a clay figure had disappeared, replaced by a middle-aged woman in coarse linen clothes. Her sleeves were rolled up, a blue apron tied around her waist, her face kind and smiling, exuding a mature charm. Her features hinted at the beauty of her youth.

She was holding a steaming, fragrant dish of fish stew, the aroma practically wafting out of the card.

As Yun Qimu looked closer, lines of text appeared:

【Madam Song】

Character Level: E

Specialty: Cooking, especially fish stew. Known as the “Master of Sliced Fish.”

Hiring Price: 10 spirit coins per day

The same rate as the mission hall’s AI temp workers—what a bargain!

Yun Qimu’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Here’s the chef you wanted! She’s best at making fish stew—she could probably make a hundred different dishes with just fish.”

Wu Xingyu looked up, curious about the card in her hand. “Is that a card?”

“Yep. It’s called ‘Nüwa Molds Humans from Clay.’ You can hire a random character from it,” Yun Qimu said with a wink and a smile.

A flash of envy appeared in Wu Xingyu’s eyes. “That’s an amazing card. I want one too.”

Yun Qimu replied, “No way. I got this from a treasure chest. If you want one, you’ll have to draw it yourself.”

Unlucky Wu Xingyu: “...”

Ouch, that stings!

Good night, good night~"