pertwk Chapter 164 So-called high-end ingredients often only require the most unorthodox cooking methods.
Chapter 164 So-called high-end ingredients often only require the most unorthodox cooking methods.
A wooden sign that reads "Temporarily Closed" hangs on the glass door of Renxin Pharmacy, but the store is not deserted.
Tu Jinshan was huddled in the massage chair in the far corner of the clinic, holding a steaming cup of brown sugar ginger water, and was still shivering.
His Armani suit was wrinkled like pickled vegetables, covered in some unknown underground slime, and the once dazzling gold chain around his neck was now dull and lifeless, making him look like a ransom recently redeemed.
"Dr. Wang... Dr. Wang, I've signed the contract."
Tu Jinshan pushed a document onto the counter with such care that it was as if he were pushing a bomb.
His current state is strange, a mixture of relief at escaping death and extreme emptiness—emptiness in a physical sense, a sage's mode after all his energy and spirit have been drained.
Wang Minyu picked up his pen, but instead of signing immediately, he flipped to the last page to look at the transfer terms.
He acquired the mining rights, land use rights, and even the abandoned staff bathhouse next to the mine.
"Boss Tu is generous." Wang Minyu closed the file and handed it to Su Qing, who was frantically typing on the keyboard, to scan and archive it. "Now that the mine is mine, I'll be frank. Your health was originally the best battery for that 'valve,' but now the battery is leaking."
Upon hearing the words "leaking liquid," Tu Jinshan nearly slid off his chair: "What do we do? Do we have to go down the well again?"
"No need, you'll really turn into slag if you go down the mine again." Wang Minyu pulled a brown paper package from the drawer, inside which were several dark, hard objects. "This is 'Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing Vitality Charcoal.' Grind it into powder when you get back, mix it into your porridge, and drink it for three months. Remember, during this time, you must abstain from alcohol and women, and especially avoid going to dark, gloomy places."
It was actually just ordinary soot from the bottom of a pot mixed with some prepared rehmannia root, but that didn't stop Tu Jinshan from treating it like an elixir from Laozi. His hands trembled as he accepted it, his eyes brimming with tears: "I'll remember this, I'll never go to a shady place again, no matter what. From now on, the lights in my villa will be on 24/7, and I'll even wear sunglasses to bed."
After seeing off the profusely grateful Tu Jinshan, the atmosphere in the shop relaxed slightly.
Guan Shan was sitting on a small stool by the door, sharpening an entrenching tool with a whetstone. Some kind of green liquid remained on the blade, which he couldn't wipe off no matter how hard he tried.
"Boss, are we really taking over that mine?" Guan Shan asked in a gruff voice. "It's full of those man-eating mushrooms down there. What are we going to do with them? Develop biological weapons?"
"shallow."
The curtain to the kitchen was lifted, and Pierre came out carrying a bronze pot that he had somehow acquired.
The old man had changed his outfit today. Instead of wearing a chef's uniform, he was wearing a protective suit from who-knows-when, with a gas mask on his head and a long-handled ladle in his hand, looking just like a wizard doing alchemy.
"For top chefs, there are no inedible ingredients, only chefs who don't know how to handle them properly." Pierre's voice sounded muffled through his gas mask. "Those weren't ordinary mushrooms; they were a gift from nature, black truffles grown in hell."
The copper pot was placed on the induction cooker, and it was bubbling away inside.
The soup had an eerie deep purple color, with a few slices of paper-thin... ghost umbrella floating on top.
"Old Pi, are you crazy?" Su Qing peeked out from behind the computer screen, her brows furrowed. "I just finished the toxicity report for that stuff; it contains enough neurotoxins to kill a blue whale. Are you cooking this stuff to send us all to meet Grandma?"
"Not at all." Wang Minyu had somehow gotten close to the pot, his nose twitched, and he even had a look of rapture on his face. "Can you smell it? There's no fishy smell, only a kind of... stale, like the musty smell of a library book."
Pierre snapped his fingers smugly: "The boss knows his stuff. These fungi grow in environments of extreme fear, and their toxins are actually a manifestation of their 'emotions.' With enough high a temperature and a specific acid-base neutralization, you can cook 'fear' into 'excitement.'"
As he spoke, Pierre took a glass bottle out of his pouch and dripped two drops of clear liquid into the pot.
"Sizzle—"
A sharp screech suddenly came from the pot, like the mournful cry of some small animal before it died.
Immediately afterwards, the purple broth turned into a clear golden yellow, and an extremely powerful and savory aroma exploded out, forcefully penetrating everyone's nostrils.
Guan Shan, who was sharpening his knife, trembled and almost cut off his finger.
Su Qing swallowed hard. Reason told her it was poison, but her salivary glands told her it was a divine delicacy.
Even the old machine that had been in standby mode had its screen ripple violently twice.
Zero's electronic voice announced: "Excessive concentration of dopamine precursors detected in the air. If left unchecked, this soup could cause cats and dogs within a 500-meter radius of Changxiang City to go into heat simultaneously."
"This is what we're selling." Wang Minyu picked up a spoon, carefully scooped up a little soup, didn't drink it, but just touched it to the tip of his tongue.
A tingling, electric-like sensation instantly shot straight to the top of my head.
It's not the cheap umami flavor of MSG, but a kind of stimulation that can instantly activate the cerebral cortex.
Exhaustion, anxiety, and the lingering chill from the well all vanished in that instant.
"This isn't food." Wang Minyu put down his spoon, his eyes shining brightly. "This is a 'legal stimulant.' I've even thought of a name for it: 'The Sage's Soup.' It's specially formulated for those depressed patients who aren't thinking straight, have run out of inspiration, or simply find life boring."
"What about pricing?" Su Qing quickly switched into accounting mode.
"Raw materials are zero-cost, technology costs are priceless, and risk costs are extremely high." Wang Minyu held up one finger. "One bowl costs 18,000 yuan. And it has to be limited to three bowls a day. You have to finish it on the spot, no takeout allowed, and you have to sit in the store for half an hour after you finish it to prevent anyone from getting too excited and running around naked outside."
Guan Shan looked at the pot of soup and scratched his head: "Boss, is this a pharmacy or a shady business?"
"Renxin Pharmacy, of course it's a pharmacy." Wang Minyu patted Guan Shan's rock-hard biceps. "It's just that our medicines aren't covered by medical insurance; they're made with your heart."
Just then, the wind chimes at the door rang.
No guests came in.
Wang Minyu's phone vibrated; it was a message from Zero.
"Boss, the transfer of ownership for that mine is stuck. Someone has registered it with the Land and Resources Bureau, saying there's 'unknown geological activity' beneath the land, and it needs to be sealed off for investigation."
Wang Minyu's lips curled into a cold smile.
Unexplained geological activity? Tu Jinshan mined coal there for three years without any problems, but now that I've just taken over, they want to seal it off?
There is no such thing as unprovoked targeting in this world; there are only unfed dogs or wolves trying to steal food.
"Looks like pests are already trying to get a piece of the pie before our 'farm' even opens for business." Wang Minyu took off his white coat and put on a windbreaker. "Pierre, pour the soup into a thermos and take it with you. Guan Shan, stop sharpening your knife and take your shovel. Su Qing, watch the house."
"Where to?" Guan Shan asked.
"Go see that 'pest' who tried to steal my cheese. And while you're at it, buy him a bowl of soup to nourish his brain."