After transmigrating, I cultivated immortality by smelling the scent.

Chapter 15 Reencounter with Liu Santong

Ye Xiaobai arrived at Xiaoyao Restaurant at the agreed time.

A few days before the appointment, Ye Xiaobai inquired about the Xiaoyao Restaurant. Manager Li's name was Li Minghan, and he had a daughter named Li Xinyan, who was also an outer disciple of the White Tiger Sect. He also had a relative who worked as a chef. They had previously hired some people, but they had all been dismissed.

I don't know if it's because it's evening or something else, but there are fewer customers in the restaurant than before; it's almost empty. Upon closer inspection, there's only one table of customers eating.

Manager Li flipped through the bills at the counter, sighing from time to time. Perhaps it was also time for Xiaoyao Restaurant to make changes.

As soon as Ye Xiaobai entered, he heard Li Minghan stand up and greet him warmly: "Junior Nephew Ye, you've finally arrived!"

"Good evening, Manager Li. Have the sect elders arrived yet?"

"The message is already on its way; Xinyan and Elder Liu will be here soon!"

"Then let's go to the kitchen and prepare."

"This way." Li Minghan led Ye Xiaobai to the kitchen in the back.

The kitchen was quite spacious, with only one chef handling the ingredients. Since there weren't many customers, the work was quite relaxed.

This chef, whom Manager Li mentioned before, is a distant cousin named Sun Tiexin. He's even less talented than Manager Li, still only at the second level of Qi Refining at his forties or fifties, while Manager Li has at least reached the sixth level of Qi Refining.

They had all cultivated for several years, but found that they had no affinity for immortality, so they partnered up to open the Xiaoyao Restaurant.

"Old Sun, this is the chef I told you about before who makes Qiankun Fried Rice," Li Minghan enthusiastically introduced Ye Xiaobai to Sun Tiexin.

"A chef? These days, young people who can make fried rice dare to call themselves chefs!" Sun Tiexin didn't even look up and continued to sit and prepare the ingredients.

"Old Sun!" Li Minghan said awkwardly, nudging Sun Tiexin's shoulder.

"Senior Sun is right. This junior's skills are still shallow, and I am indeed not worthy of being called a master chef." Ye Xiaobai also knew that his skills were limited, so he naturally could not boast about himself and could only keep a low profile.

"Old Sun, you haven't tried Ye Xiaobai's Qiankun Fried Rice. If you had, your opinion wouldn't be like this." Li Minghan praised Ye Xiaobai's cooking skills to Sun Tiexin again.

"Hey, Manager Li, you don't seem to have ever eaten Qiankun Fried Rice at my place, have you?" Ye Xiaobai was also curious as to why Li Minghan approved of him so much.

"What? You haven't even tried it, yet you dare to partner with a young person like that?" Sun Tieshi was startled.

“I didn’t go, but I ate there,” Li Minghan said with a slight smile.

“When Xinyan invited Junior Nephew Ye last time, she brought a portion of fried rice with her. She doesn’t like fried rice, so she gave it to me and let me try it as well,” Li Minghan replied casually.

"After eating Qiankun Fried Rice, I have to admit that Junior Nephew Ye is capable. In addition, given the reputation of Qiankun Fried Rice in the market, I naturally want to cooperate with Junior Nephew Ye."

Ye Xiaobai was also curious about why Manager Li trusted his cooking skills, and now he understood.

"Alright, Elder Liu will be here soon. Let Junior Nephew Ye familiarize himself with the environment first. I'll also make a Qiankun Fried Rice for Old Sun to try."

"If you can't even get past me, then you'll be in for apologizing to Elder Liu later!" Sun Tiexin said sarcastically.

"No problem!" Ye Xiaobai replied confidently.

The kitchen environment here was similar to what Ye Xiaobai usually used, and the necessary ingredients were already prepared. He quickly adapted to the charcoal fire. Li Minghan and Sun Tiexin were just nearby.

After pouring himself a cup of tea and barely taking a few sips, Ye Xiaobai had already finished making the Qiankun Fried Rice.

"Done!" Ye Xiaobai placed the finished Qiankun Fried Rice in front of Sun Tiexin.

The two were naturally astonished by Ye Xiaobai's speed in frying rice, and almost dropped their teacups.

"Old Sun, you give it a try," Li Minghan said with a smile, then put the empty teacup back on the table.

"Let's give it a try!" Sun Tiexin put down his teacup and began to taste the Qiankun Fried Rice. As soon as he took the first bite, he immediately felt a surge of spiritual energy flowing into his body. Of course, this was relative to Sun Tiexin's second level of Qi Refining. Without hesitation, Sun Tiexin wolfed down the Qiankun Fried Rice and even let out a satisfied burp after finishing it.

Whether he choked or was actually too full, Ye Xiaobai wanted to laugh but managed to hold it in.

"Old Sun, how is it going?" Li Minghan asked anxiously.

"It's alright. I have a spiritual energy in my body that needs to be refined. Please wait a moment!" Before Li Minghan could reply, Sun Tiexin began to meditate in an empty spot to the side.

Half an hour later, Sun Tiexin successfully broke through to the third level of Qi Refining. This breakthrough, after so many years, brought tears of joy to his eyes. After composing himself, Sun Tiexin excitedly shared his joy with Li Minghan.

"I've broken through! I've broken through!" Sun Tiexin shouted.

"Congratulations, congratulations, Lao Sun!" Li Minghan was also happy for Sun Tiexin.

Sun Tiexin quickly calmed down, looked at Ye Xiaobai, and said excitedly, "Chef Ye's Qiankun Fried Rice is indeed full of surprises. I admire it!"

"Senior Sun, you flatter me! After all, you are only at the peak of the second level of Qi Refining, just waiting for an opportunity to break through." Ye Xiaobai said with a smile.

They all exchanged smiles and said nothing more.

"I wonder what Elder Liu's opinion is," Li Minghan said, gazing at the kitchen doorway.

Just then, Ye Xiaobai smelled the familiar scent of apricot blossoms and a hint of wine, and said with a smile, "They're here!"

"Who?" Li Minghan asked curiously.

"Senior Sister Li and Elder Liu have arrived!" Ye Xiaobai said calmly.

"Junior Nephew Ye, how did you know?"

"I'm just slightly sensitive to smells," Ye Xiaobai said, not wanting to explain further.

In the blink of an eye, Senior Sister Li led an old man directly into the kitchen.

Ye Xiaobai looked up and saw that Elder Liu was actually Liu Santong, who had led him into the sect. After a slight surprise, he quickly regained his composure and hurriedly joined everyone in greeting Elder Liu.

Good evening, Elder Liu.

Li Minghan immediately introduced Li Xiaobai to Liu Santong, explaining that Li Xiaobai was the one who made Qiankun Fried Rice.

Elder Liu glanced at Ye Xiaobai and immediately recognized him.

"This Ye Xiaobai was someone I brought into the sect back then. I never expected him to have such extraordinary culinary talent." Liu Santong was also a little surprised.

“So Elder Liu knows Ye Xiaobai, that makes things easier,” Li Minghan said.

"Thinking back to that day, it left a deep impression on me. I had planned to solve the 'Gagaozi' incident with Fellow Daoist Lin Qingshan of the Qingyun Sect. On Fengdecheng Road, I met Ye Xiaobai and kindly invited him to join our White Tiger Sect."

"This kid tried to run away time and time again, as if he was afraid I was part of the 'Gagaozi' gang," Elder Liu said with a chuckle.

Everyone laughed heartily throughout the day, never expecting Chef Ye to have such an amusing side. Li Xinyan, in particular, covered her mouth and laughed, not forgetting to mock Ye Xiaobai, saying, "I never imagined Chef Ye would be such a coward!" before bursting into laughter again.

Ye Xiaobai was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground. After all, he had just arrived at this place of cultivation and was naturally very careful, but he never expected to become the subject of others' jokes. Ye Xiaobai immediately suppressed his embarrassment and said to Liu Santong, "Elder Liu, let's not talk about the past. I was indeed ignorant before."

"Ha ha ha ha"

……

After a burst of laughter and chatter, it was time to get down to business.