I'm a male god in Liyue

"Helping Mr. Xia Zhi mind the shop?" Hu Tao paused, looking up at the sign above her head. "Summer Shop... Is this the reason that wealthy Mr. Xia Zhi bought the house?"

She had met Xia Zhi a few days ago and remembered the young neighbor with black glasses. She had originally planned to visit him after he moved in, but she didn't expect to get a big job and go to Qingcezhuang to work for a few days. She has only just returned now.

Hu Tao looked curiously at the furnishings inside: a table at the back, several tables with books on them, and the whole place felt empty. "What does this shop sell?... Huh?"

The faint scent of incense wafted into her nose, causing her to pause in surprise. Then, her gaze suddenly fell on the incense burner on the table, and a look of astonishment appeared on her face.

"What kind of fragrance is this?"

She was someone who frequently walked the line between life and death, and she immediately sensed the true effect of the fragrance.

Qiqi looked at her and said softly, "This shop sells specialty fruit juices."

She glanced at the incense burner again and continued softly, "That incense, Mr. Xia Zhi said, is calming incense."

"Calming the nerves?"

Hu Tao repeated the sentence in a low voice, her expression strange.

"Shouldn't it be about soothing the soul?"

Chapter Fifty-Four: What is the Art of Playing Hard to Get?

This morning I had hot braised noodles with mountain delicacies, and it tasted just as good as before.

After finishing their noodles, Zhu Zi quickly paid the bill and then reached out to pull Xia Zhi back home.

"Boss, hurry back!"

"Don't rush, you're wearing high heels, don't twist your ankle."

"Boss, how did you know I was wearing high heels?"

"I could tell from the sound. The sound of your footsteps is too crisp when you walk, unlike a few days ago. It's obviously high heels."

"That's right."

"Is this your first time wearing high heels? The sound of you walking seems a little messy."

"Yeah, it's my first time wearing it, so I'm not quite used to it yet."

"Then let's walk slowly, we'll definitely make it in time."

Zhu Zi nodded helplessly, thinking that the boss really wasn't in a hurry at all.

Although the juice in my shop is indeed very delicious and I don’t have to worry about it not selling, I should at least be more serious about it on the first day of opening the shop.

Yesterday, when I went to see Mr. Liu, the fishmonger, he told me he bought the shop for 500 million Mora, and that the price was very cheap. If I had 500 million Mora in Inazuma…

Zhu Zi's thoughts drifted away, and when she came to her senses, she blushed inexplicably.

When Xia Zhi returned to the shop, she saw Qi Qi and Hu Tao each sitting on a stool by the door. Hu Tao was talking to Qi Qi, but Qi Qi ignored her.

None of that matters. What matters is that both of them have a golden progress bar attached to them.

So lovely.

A smile involuntarily appeared on Xia Zhi's face as he walked over and said, "Miss Qiqi, thank you for helping to watch the shop."

Qi Qi stood up and said earnestly, "You're welcome."

Hu Tao also stood up and greeted him with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Xia, we meet again."

Xia Zhi hesitated for a moment, then seemed to remember her appearance and asked uncertainly, "You are... Hall Master Hu?"

"It's only been a few days, and Mr. Xia has already forgotten about his neighbor? It's really heartbreaking."

"I'm sorry, Master Hu, it's not that I forgot, I just didn't recognize it just now."

"listen?"

"I am actually blind."

"Ah...sorry."

Hu Tao looked surprised for a moment, then said seriously.

"Mr. Xia, I was just joking with you, please don't take it to heart."

Xia Zhi shook his head and smiled, "It's nothing. I'm very happy that Master Hu could come and support my shop's opening today. This is Miss Zhu Zi, a waitress in my shop. This is Master Hu, the owner of the Wangsheng Hall next door."

Hu Tao smiled and greeted Zhu Zi. After getting acquainted, she didn't mention that she had actually come because of Qi Qi. Instead, she asked curiously, "I heard from Qi Qi that Mr. Xia owns a specialty beverage shop."

"Ah."

"I saw a poster in the store that says 100 Mora a cup, shall I?"

"Yes."

"This price is so expensive."

"It's worth the price, and it's half price today."

"Even at 50 Mora, it's still so expensive, Mr. Xia. I must be your store's first customer."

"No, it's Qiqi."

"Hey?"

Hu Tao glanced at Qi Qi, who was silently picking up her stool, walking back into the shop, and sitting down at the table with the incense burner.

"As the second guest, I guess I'm considered special, right?"

Xia Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Indeed, then I'll treat Hall Master Hu to a drink."

Hu Tao nodded in satisfaction: "Thank you, Mr. Xia."

After all, business at the Rebirth Hall is tough, and now that they have a guest who spends a lot of money, they can naturally save as much as possible in their daily lives.

They entered the store together, and Xia Zhi went to the table and took out four clean cups from the cabinet.

Walnut was eager to watch how he would prepare a 100-mora cup of juice.

Such an expensive drink must be very complicated and difficult to make, right?

First, fill the cup with water.

Then he took out a bottle and dripped a drop of liquid into the cup.

Then Xia Zhi pushed a glass of colorful juice over and said, "Master Hu, please enjoy. Zhu Zi, this is your glass. Please help me take this glass to Miss Qi Qi."

???

No, it's done already?

Hu Tao lowered her head, staring blankly at the unbelievably beautiful color of the juice in front of her: "This is it?"

"Ah."

"This thing costs 100 Mora?"

"Yes, Master Hu, don't think my preparation process looks simple. In fact, the production process of this bottle of fruit juice concentrate in my hand is very complicated. It's just that you can't see the process behind the scenes."

"……I see."

How complicated can the process of making fruit juice concentrate be? Isn't it just washing the fruit and then juicing it? Although the rainbow-like colors look very beautiful, it must have been made from seven different kinds of fruit, right?

Hu Tao picked up the cup with some suspicion and brought it to her lips.

A strange fruity aroma wafted into her nose, making her eyes light up.

"This aroma seems to contain sunset berries, berries, peaches, apples, lemons... no, it's not just seven... ten... twenty... more than that..."

Hu Tao's expression slowly turned serious, because she could even smell an unusual odor in the juice.

It was the taste of a forbidden fruit that only grew in borderlands, a place where living people could not even set foot, nor could they eat it.

Hu Tao put down her cup, looked at Xia Zhi seriously, and asked, "Mr. Xia, could you tell me how you made this fruit juice puree?"

Xia Zhi shook his head and replied seriously, "Sorry, it's a secret."

Hu Tao gave him a deep look.

Xia Zhi simply picked up his glass of juice, took a small sip, and then asked, "Master Hu, aren't you going to drink?"

Hu Tao turned her head and glanced at Zhu Zi and Qi Qi. They were both drinking juice. Qi Qi was a zombie, but Zhu Zi's expression showed no pain; on the contrary, she looked quite satisfied.

All four glasses of juice were made from the same batch of juice. Since Mr. Xia and Zhu Zi drank them without any problems, it proves that the juice is harmless.

In other words, the raw materials should not contain any forbidden fruits.

But why can I smell the unique scent of that forbidden fruit?

Could the aroma of this juice recreate the taste that diners remember?

Hu Tao was a little confused. She picked up the cup, hesitated for a moment, brought it to her lips, and took a small sip.

The cool juice flowed into her mouth, immediately creating a colorful melody on her tongue, making her feel as if she were in a bountiful orchard.

Walnut closed her eyes, savoring the flavor for a long time before opening them again and exclaiming, "It's a truly dreamlike taste..."

Xia Zhi smiled and asked, "Does Hall Master Hu still think 100 Mora is expensive?"

Hu Tao sighed and said, "This price is an insult to it."