Chapter Twenty-Four: Such Utter Disdain

After finishing his meal, Chu Yun left home and wandered around the town. He was no longer going out of his way to treat patients for money; now that he had some silver to his name, there was no need. After all, just the other day, two out of the three people he treated ended up having issues. Even now, Boss Wu from the pharmacy still hadn’t paid him for his services.

But Chu Yun wasn’t roaming aimlessly—he wanted to confirm whether there really was no soy sauce for sale in Chu Family Town. The original owner’s memories didn’t recall any, but considering how dirt-poor he’d been, it was possible he simply couldn’t afford it. It was better to see for himself.

He soon visited every shop in Chu Family Town that sold condiments, and, to his surprise, discovered that none of them stocked soy sauce.

As lunchtime approached, Chu Yun made his way to the Fragrant Inn and ordered their signature dish—braised lamb.

“With this color, it’d be hard to make without soy sauce, wouldn’t it? And there’s definitely the taste of soy sauce in here,” Chu Yun mused, picking up a piece of lamb with his chopsticks and tasting it. As he gazed at the remaining braised lamb on the plate, he grew more certain.

He called over a server. “Could you ask your boss to come out for a moment?”

The server shot him a disdainful look. “What do you want with our boss?” Though everyone in town knew Chu Yun had supposedly received medical teachings from an immortal in his dreams and was now a doctor, looking down on him was ingrained in their bones and not so easily changed.

Chu Yun couldn’t be bothered to argue; he simply took out a coin. “Here’s a tip. Just bring your boss out, will you?”

Money always spoke louder than pride. The server, though contemptuous, broke into a grin. “Of course, Doctor Chu. Please wait a moment.”

Before long, the Fragrant Inn’s owner, Li Duofu, appeared. He was a middle-aged man, dressed in fine clothes, clearly prospering from his establishment’s reputation.

He looked down at Chu Yun with barely concealed scorn. “Well, you good-for-nothing, what do you want with me?”

Chu Yun felt uncomfortable under his gaze, but remained polite. “Boss, about your braised lamb—”

He’d barely begun when Li Duofu cut him off. “What about it? This is our signature dish! In all of Chu Family Town and even the surrounding villages, who doesn’t know how delicious our braised lamb is? It’s famous far and wide!”

Chu Yun opened his mouth to speak again, but Li Duofu continued, “Listen, you’d best not stir up trouble at Fragrant Inn. And let me warn you—last time you treated patients here, I let it slide because I didn’t know. But if it happens again, don’t blame me for being rude…”

He finished with a cold snort.

Chu Yun was taken aback by the hostility, and, not wanting further conflict, just waved his hand. “Sorry to bother you, boss. I only wanted to say your braised lamb is truly delicious.”

Li Duofu snorted again. “Of course, it’s our signature dish. If you’ve nothing else, don’t waste my time.”

Chu Yun forced a faint smile, keeping his dissatisfaction to himself. He’d lost his appetite anyway. Since lunchtime had arrived, he had the braised lamb packed up to bring home and share with Yang Liuer.

Not far from there, he arrived at the Jubilant Restaurant. Compared to Fragrant Inn, Jubilant was much smaller, with dismal business and barely a customer in sight.

“Sir, would you like to dine in?”
“Madam, care for a meal?”
“Young miss, please come in for some food?”

The Jubilant Restaurant’s staff stood outside, eagerly trying to drum up business, accosting almost everyone who passed. But it was rare for anyone to enter; some passersby even hurled insults at the staff.

Jubilant focused mainly on meals and had only a few rooms for lodging, yet almost no one came to eat. Meanwhile, Fragrant Inn, which was mainly an inn, was always bustling—a truly sorry state of affairs.

What struck Chu Yun as odd was that the staff called out to every passerby but him.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Why aren’t you asking me if I want to come in for a meal? Do you look down on me so much? Think I can’t afford to eat here?”

One of the attendants came over at the sound of his voice. “Brother Chu Yun, don’t joke around. You already ate at Fragrant Inn and even packed up your leftovers—why would you come eat at Jubilant?”

Brother Chu Yun?

That address caught Chu Yun off guard. The original owner had such a poor reputation, nearly everyone called him a wastrel—no one had ever called him ‘brother.’

Then, from the original owner’s memories, he identified the attendant as Chen Jun, son of Chen Ping. Despite Chu Yun’s usual troublemaking, Chen Jun treated him well, like a true friend or brother, and never felt jealous of the attention his father paid to Chu Yun.

Chu Yun rubbed his head, apologetic. “Sorry, Chen Jun. I was so focused on Fragrant Inn’s food that I forgot you worked here. Otherwise, I’d have made sure to support Jubilant’s business.”

Chen Jun waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. The food at Fragrant Inn is indeed good, especially their signature braised lamb—it’s famous. If I had the money, I’d want to try it too.”

Hearing this, Chu Yun handed over the braised lamb he’d meant to share with Yang Liuer. “If you want to try it, take it.”

Chen Jun hesitated, shaking his head. “I can’t accept that, Brother Chu Yun.”

Chu Yun insisted, “You and your father have always looked out for me. We’re like family—no need to stand on ceremony. Go ahead and take it.”

Hearing this, the other two attendants at Jubilant couldn’t help chiming in. “Chen Jun, we heard Chu Yun dreamed of an immortal teaching him medicine and now he’s a doctor. Treating the gentry is tough work. Don’t be polite—let’s all try the famous dish together and see how good it really is.”

Chu Yun laughed, “In that case, let’s all share the braised lamb.”

The two attendants were overjoyed. They hurried inside, fetched chopsticks, and began eating.

Seeing this, Chen Jun no longer refused and joined in.

“What are you three doing?!”

Just as the group was enjoying their meal, a furious shout rang out from inside Jubilant Restaurant.