CFSMS -Chapter 79 Procuring Ingredients

Two days of leisure passed quickly.

After diners discovered traces of Lu Wu in Xiahe Town, they began using Yijie Tong to call friends and acquaintances, planning to surround and intercept her.

As for Lu Wu herself, she had brought two beasts with her back to Hong’an City.

She stayed in a small courtyard prepared for her by Canghe Guang, while a dog and a bird ran wild inside the yard.

Lu Wu, meanwhile, went to Hong’an City’s market to shop for supplies.

Skewers required a wide variety of ingredients—meat and vegetables both had to be well balanced, making it quite a large task.

The prosperous Hong’an City was on a completely different level from Xiahe Town in terms of consumption. The same vegetables here were naturally a bit more expensive.

But Lu Wu was now considered somewhat wealthy, so she was not worried at all.

The market was crowded with people coming to shop. Lu Wu blended into the crowd and bargained alongside everyone else.

“Yes, this lotus root, lettuce, greens, kelp, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green peppers—give me some of all of them.”

“These too.”

“Corn, chives, mushrooms—pack them all up.”

At the vegetable stall, Lu Wu practically bought out almost every type of vegetable.

Facing such a big customer, the shop owner was very enthusiastic. She carefully packed each item separately, and for those that were hard to peel, she even processed them in advance.

Seeing this, a nearby stall owner grew a little envious and struck up a conversation with a smile.

“Little boss, want some of these too?”

This stall specialized in bean products.

Tofu, dried tofu, fried bean curd sticks, tofu skin—all of them looked quite good.

After confirming there was nothing low-quality mixed in, Lu Wu waved her hand generously.

“Take them all. Give me some of everything.”

Her extravagant attitude made the shop owner’s smile widen even more.

“Alright! Please wait a moment.”

After both stall owners finished packing, Lu Wu stored everything into her storage bag.

“Little boss, come again when you’ve used it all. I guarantee everything is fresh,” they called after her.

Lu Wu nodded in response and walked toward the meat section.

There was an even greater variety of meat—chicken, duck, beef, lamb, pork, plus seafood. It would take her quite a while to shop through everything.

At the aquatic section, the seafood was still lively and jumping around.

In the same market, a big customer like Lu Wu quickly became the center of attention. In no time, the news spread everywhere.

Many seafood vendors stared eagerly, hoping she would come to their stall.

“Little boss, come on over and take a look!”

A middle-aged man squatted on the ground, smiling as he waved at her.

“My fish, shrimp, and crabs were all delivered fresh this morning. I only sell quality goods.”

“If you don’t believe me, just ask around—Old Feng San here has plenty of repeat customers!”

As the saying goes, the brave enjoy life first.

With his confident tone and decent-looking goods, Lu Wu stopped in front of his stall. This made the other vendors regret their hesitation.

“I’ll take all the shrimp and octopus. Squid and oysters too.”

“For the crabs, help me pick out the meat.”

She planned to make crab meat sticks.

Pure crab meat, with no “modern additives whatsoever.”

After buying a large amount, Lu Wu moved on under Old Feng San’s enthusiastic service toward the poultry and livestock section.

Pork tenderloin and pork belly were must-haves, and lean meat slices were also necessary.

While selecting items, Lu Wu glanced at the stall owner with some confusion.

It was a beautiful female boss, about thirty or forty years old, still charming and graceful. Somehow, she felt vaguely familiar.

“Boss Lu, my younger brother, the butcher Lin, asked me to send you his greetings.”

“You’re the butcher Lin’s sister?”

Lu Wu suddenly understood.

She remembered that Butcher Lin had mentioned his business had expanded to Hong’an City. She hadn’t expected to run into them here.

“Yes, Boss Lu, just call me Sister Lin.”

Sister Lin smiled warmly. Her eyes were like flowing autumn water, drawing the attention of many men in the market.

In ancient times there was the “tofu beauty,” and here there was the “pork beauty.”

“Boss Lu, my brother said that you get a 10% discount at our shop. As for our meat quality, you already know it well.”

Sister Lin was also very curious about Lu Wu.

She had often heard her brother mention this Boss Lu, and had even seen her deeds on Yijie Tong.

Her only regret was that she had never tasted Boss Lu’s cooking.

Now that she saw Lu Wu buying so many ingredients, it seemed she was preparing to set up a stall somewhere in Hong’an City.

Opportunity had come!

“Alright.”

“Also, pack these duck claws, chicken claws, duck gizzards, chicken gizzards, duck intestines, chicken wings, and mid-wings as well.”

Lu Wu didn’t stand on ceremony.

Butcher Lin’s livestock farm had given her quite a lot of inspiration.

In her current inner world, vegetable cultivation was just beginning, and she was waiting for them to take root and grow strong.

As for meat, her inner world was still too small and not suitable for breeding yet.

After selecting everything she needed, very little meat remained on Sister Lin’s stall.

Seeing this, Sister Lin simply packed up the rest for her.

“Consider this a free bonus. I can close the stall early. Please don’t refuse, Boss Lu.”

She spoke very smoothly, and Lu Wu accepted it.

“Oh right, Boss Lu, may I ask where you plan to set up your stall this time?”

While handing over the ingredients, Sister Lin asked casually.

“Outside Tian Di Casino on Zizai Street in Hong’an City.”

Lu Wu answered absentmindedly.

Busy storing everything into her bag, she did not notice Sister Lin’s surprised expression.

Sister Lin opened her mouth, hesitated, then stopped.

Her husband had told her that the place wasn’t very peaceful—people from all walks of life gathered there.

And the casino itself had problems; corpses were often seen being carried out, bloodied, enough to make ordinary people avoid it.

But… was Boss Lu an ordinary person?

Maybe she was bold because she had real skill. If Sister Lin spoke too much, it might not be appropriate.

In the end, she swallowed her thoughts and continued chatting about other things with a smile.

“Boss Lu, if you need more supplies in the future while in Hong’an City, you can contact me. I’ll deliver them directly.”

This level of service, identical to Butcher Lin’s, earned Lu Wu a five-star review in her mind.

After wandering around the market a few more rounds to restock seasonings and spices, Lu Wu finally returned to the small courtyard.

Although the courtyard was located within the city lord’s residence, it had a separate entrance, so she did not worry about running into other people from the manor.

She had been here for quite some time, and the city lord must have already heard of her arrival, yet no one came to disturb her.

This sense of distance—Lu Wu quite liked it.

“Chirp?”

Perhaps sensing that Lu Wu was about to use the kitchen, the courtyard kitchen was large, with everything neatly arranged.

Lu Wu took out all the ingredients and looked at the pile on the ground, rubbing her face.

“A bit much.”

She muttered.

Just processing all these ingredients would take quite some time.

In the future, she might need to hire a few helpers.

For now, she began washing the vegetables, chopping what needed to be chopped, peeling what needed to be peeled, and setting everything aside to drain.