I just want to be a salted fish quietly Chapter 174

“Uncle Zhong, I’ve found Master Liao Jie’s daughter.”

Lin Xian’s words made Uncle Zhong freeze, completely unaware that his chopsticks had fallen to the ground.

It took him a good while to come back to his senses, and he excitedly asked, “You’re not joking, are you?”

Lin Xian said seriously, “I’m not joking. Is her daughter called Liao Yingqi?”

“Yes, yes, yes, her name is Liao Yingqi!” Uncle Zhong swallowed his saliva and nodded repeatedly.

His relationship with Liao Jie was more than just master and disciple.

After all, as the inheritor of the Manchu Han Imperial Feast, the secret recipes involved were not even passed on to his own daughter.

So, while they were master and disciple, it was more like father and son.

Once a teacher, a father for life.

It wasn’t just a saying; a disciple truly had to fulfill the duties of a son. If the master had no son, the disciple had to be responsible for taking care of them in old age and burying them.

The old generation of artisans valued this!

In his heart, Liao Jie’s daughter was equivalent to his own granddaughter.

After Jiruilou lost, he had spent a lot of money over the years, specifically hiring people to find Liao Yingqi, but there had been no results.

Uncle Zhong grabbed Lin Xian’s hand and excitedly asked, “Where is she now?”

“I’ve already had someone bring her to Yangcheng. She’ll arrive by tomorrow at the latest.”

Lin Xian paused, then continued, “Should we inform Master Liao Jie about this first?”

“We should tell him. We can’t let Yingqi see him like this.”

Uncle Zhong said, then quickly walked towards the back warehouse.

The convenience store’s warehouse wasn’t big, only less than 20 square meters, and it was filled with goods.

In a corner of the warehouse, there was a folding bed, and Liao Jie was currently lying on it, sleeping soundly. Beside the bed were rows of empty wine bottles.

“Liao Jie, wake up!”

Uncle Zhong walked over and vigorously shook Liao Jie a few times.

However, he showed no sign of waking up. After smacking his lips, he rolled over and continued to sleep.

Seeing this, Uncle Zhong raised his hand and slapped him.

“Slap!”

The slap was very forceful, and the sound was exceptionally loud.

Liao Jie jolted, suddenly sat up, covered his face, and looked at them with a bewildered expression.

Uncle Zhong, angry at his lack of spirit, said, “Still sleeping? Get up quickly, you good-for-nothing!”

Seeing his bewildered expression, Lin Xian said, “Master Liao Jie, I’ve found your daughter’s whereabouts. She’s currently on her way to Yangcheng.”

Daughter?

In an instant, Liao Jie’s cloudy eyes became incredibly bright.

He sprang off the bed, rushed to Lin Xian, and nervously asked, “Are you serious? You found Yingqi?”

“That’s right!”

Lin Xian smiled and nodded.

His guess was indeed correct; this guy was simply disheartened.

Now that he knew his daughter was found, he immediately returned to normal.

“How is Yingqi doing now? Has anyone bullied her?” Liao Jie was extremely agitated, trembling slightly all over.

Lin Xian said, “She’s not doing badly, but not well either. I think it’s better for you to ask her yourself when she arrives.”

Taking a deep breath, Liao Jie tried to calm his emotions and asked, “You spent so much effort to find me, and even found Yingqi. What exactly do you want to do?”

“Master Liao Jie, I told you before, I just want to taste the real Steamed Yellow Croaker with Soup Filling!” Lin Xian said seriously.

Gazing at Lin Xian for a while, Liao Jie solemnly nodded and said, “Okay, after I see Yingqi, I’ll make you a Steamed Yellow Croaker with Soup Filling!”

Uncle Zhong saw this scene and couldn’t help but wipe the tears from the corners of his eyes.

For these 20 years, Liao Jie had suffered greatly, and so had he.

Because of that competition, Jiruilou lost, the ancestral signboard was gone, his only disciple was ruined, and the Niu school, passed down to him, not only failed to flourish but was about to lose its heritage.

This was the most unacceptable thing for an old artisan.

Now, seeing his disciple regain his spirits and the Niu school’s heritage continue, Uncle Zhong burst into tears of old age.

Nie Qingqing was completely bewildered throughout, having no idea what was happening.

She had originally thought this trip to Yangcheng would be for tourism, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Lin Xian looked Liao Jie up and down and advised, “Master Liao Jie, I suggest you take a shower first, then get a haircut, and finally change your clothes.”

His current attire was simply too sloppy.

He looked no different from someone picking up trash…

“Yes, yes, yes!”

Liao Jie also realized that if he met his daughter in this state, he would likely scare her.

He turned to Uncle Zhong and awkwardly asked, “Master, can you give me some money?”

“You still know I’m your master?”

Uncle Zhong glared at him fiercely, pulled out his wallet, and without looking, stuffed it into his hand, urging, “Go quickly, don’t save money for me, buy some good clothes!”

Taking the wallet, Liao Jie ran out.

Looking at his back, Uncle Zhong sighed, “Young man, thank you so much. I owe you this favor!”

“It’s nothing!”

Lin Xian waved his hand, then asked, “Uncle Zhong, was Jiruilou defeated because of that competition back then?”

“That’s right!” Uncle Zhong nodded.

“Can you tell me in detail? I’m very interested in this.”

The progress of this mission was currently only 18%. Even after eating the Steamed Yellow Croaker with Soup Filling made by Master Liao Jie, it was impossible for it to jump to 100% all at once.

This indicated that there would definitely be follow-up missions.

Lin Xian felt that the next mission was highly likely to be related to Jiruilou, which was why he asked.

“Let’s go, let’s talk outside. I’ll treat you to tea!”

The three walked out of the convenience store. Uncle Zhong turned to pull down the rolling door, then led Lin Xian and Nie Qingqing to the teahouse across the street.

Finding a quiet spot, Uncle Zhong ordered a pot of Oolong tea, and with a reminiscent expression, said, “This matter goes back to the feud between our Niu school and the Zhao school.”

Lin Xian raised an eyebrow and asked, “Feud?”

“I mentioned before that the Manchu Han Imperial Feast was actually a Yangzhou official dish, created by four master chefs. After several upheavals, the other two schools have been lost, leaving only our Niu school and the Zhao school to stick together.”

Uncle Zhong took a sip of tea and continued, “Back then, the inheritor of the Zhao school thought that the two schools should merge. But my father disagreed, and it ended unhappily, with each going their separate ways.”

“What does that have to do with the competition?” Lin Xian asked, puzzled.

“Twenty years ago, an overseas Chinese returned to China and spent a lot of money to have our Jiruilou make a Manchu Han Imperial Feast. When the inheritor of the Zhao school learned about this, they used this opportunity to issue a challenge. And the stakes of the challenge were both sides’ restaurants and signboards.”

Lin Xian raised an eyebrow and asked, “Couldn’t you refuse?”

“Couldn’t refuse!”

Uncle Zhong shook his head and chuckled, “If we refused, it would mean admitting that we were inferior to their Zhao school, and we would lose our spirit. The Niu school could lose, but it couldn’t refuse to compete!”