From a country cook to a master chef

Standing there, trying his best to remember, Lin Jue still couldn't recall which route he had taken to get here.

Fortunately, he didn't forget what he was supposed to do, but this undoubtedly filled him with questions about the fog in front of him.

The white mist posed no danger. If one were not as perceptive as him, one would probably not have noticed the strange phenomenon that being in it for too long could cause one to instantly forget certain things.

After buying some dry rations and acquiring a carriage, Lin Jue quickly drove towards the pork stall of Zheng Pangzi, the butcher in Jing'an Ward.

"Brother Zheng, cut me two pounds of pork leg meat."

"Oh, our Manager Lin actually came to buy meat in person. You've come at the perfect time. This is a freshly slaughtered black pig. Later, I'll have your sister-in-law pack some pig's blood for you to take home and eat."

"Okay, thank you, Brother Zheng."

Watching Zheng Tu cutting meat, and glancing at the pork stall, Lin Jue scratched his head and asked in confusion, "By the way, Brother Zheng, last time I saw you had a lot of cured meat hanging in your stall, how come it's all sold out so quickly?"

Butcher Zheng brought out some oiled paper wrapped around the meat and said with a smile, "The shop was leaking snow a few days ago, so your sister-in-law took them all inside to hang up. If you want some, I'll have Gou Dan'er go and get you two pieces."

Upon hearing this, Lin Jue hesitated for a moment before pointing to the four pig's trotters on the stall: "Brother Zheng, I'll take all four pig's trotters, plus all the cured meat in your house."

"You want them all?"

Butcher Zheng stopped what he was doing, looked at Lin Jue in disbelief, and frowned, saying, "Your tavern isn't far from here, why did you buy so much meat at once? Not many people eat out, it would be a waste to let it go bad. If you want it, I'll arrange for Gou Dan'er to deliver it to you every day."

Lin Jue laughed and whispered to Zheng the butcher that he was leaving Yucheng.

It's not a big secret, there's no need to hide it.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Tu was taken aback. Although he looked puzzled, he didn't say anything more and immediately packed the meat for Lin Jue to carry onto the carriage.

"The total is five taels, eight mace, and six fen. Given our relationship, you can give me six taels of silver."

"Um...that works too."

Lin Jue was slightly taken aback, then smiled and handed over six taels of silver. After a brief farewell, he drove his carriage to the home of "Mad Dog" Chen Baoguo.

He heard from the hunter Liu Laohei that Chen Baoguo had dug up a five-poison astragalus plant in Huangni Pond and was going to take it to a pharmacy to exchange for money. He also happened to owe a favor to the Fu family woman, so he could pay it off on the way.

After exchanging pleasantries with Chen Baoguo, Chen Baoguo, convinced of Lin Jue's superiority, sold the medicine to him at a low price.

Arriving at Yaoshifang by carriage, Lin Jue personally handed the Five Poison Astragalus to the woman surnamed Fu, then walked through the misty streets back to Xiayuanfang.

As he passed by Qinghe Tavern, he saw from afar that the Gao family seemed to have taken over the tavern and were moving things inside.

It looks like it's very lively.

"Has Manager Chen already taken care of things at the tavern?"

Lin Jue's heart stirred, and he immediately turned the car around and headed towards Dongning Street.

At the entrance of Chen's Grain and Oil Store, just as the manager, Chen Qingyang, was about to leave, Lin Jue arrived at the perfect time.

Upon meeting, the two exchanged greetings and then got straight to the point.

"Manager Lin, I have accomplished my mission. This is the money I received from selling your shop, a full four hundred and fifty taels. Please keep it safe."

"Thank you very much, Manager Chen!"

Lin Jue was overjoyed and offered Chen Qingyang a ten percent reward, but Chen Qingyang refused to accept it under any circumstances and gave his explanation.

"If Manager Lin is willing, he only needs to take good care of Miss Yuan Rou for me."

Immediately afterwards, Chen Qingyang took out two more invitations from his pocket. "The Gao family is hosting a banquet at the tavern and has invited you and me to attend. Since you are here, why don't you come with me now? The current head of the Gao family is quite interested in you."

Having more friends means having more options. Go and get to know them; it won't affect your decision to leave Yucheng.

Lin Jue smiled awkwardly, said that he had other important matters to attend to, asked Chen Qingyang to thank the head of the Gao family for his kindness, and then quickly drove away from Dongning Street.

After returning to Jiming Lane, Yuan Rou packed their luggage and the two drove to Donghua Gate, intending to leave Yucheng immediately.

The entire journey was shrouded in thick white fog. Yuan Rou had never seen such dense fog before, and she curiously peeked out of the carriage to look around.

"Brother Lin, I've heard people say that immortals can fly through the clouds. Is that feeling like what we're experiencing now?"

Yuan Rou stretched out her arms to embrace the white mist, her face full of curiosity.

Lin Jue took a deep breath, keeping his eyes fixed on the front.

Driving is most dangerous in foggy weather.

If we run into a pedestrian, we'll have to postpone our plans to leave the city.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Jue explained the strangeness of the white mist, which frightened Yuan Rou so much that her face turned pale, her eyes widened, and she quickly looked away and drew the curtains.

Soon, after passing two forks in the road and personally verifying the strangeness Lin Jue had described, Yuan Rou's expression froze instantly, and her heart was filled with shock and disbelief.

"Brother Lin, what exactly is this white mist?"

"I don't know, but we need to leave Yucheng as soon as possible."

Near Donghua Gate, two teams of soldiers stood guard at the entrance, conducting routine checks.

To avoid further trouble, Lin Jue secretly slipped some money for drinks to the team leader under the cover of his sleeve, thus managing to leave the city smoothly.

Having benefited from the situation, the captain secretly instructed Lin Jue to make sure he reached the vicinity of Shizipo before nightfall.

There is a post station there that will come in handy at night.

The officer's words left Lin Jue puzzled, and he sped up to drive away from Yucheng, not understanding why.

The two traveled further and further away from Yucheng until they entered a forest and could no longer see any trace of Yucheng.

The forest was still shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see the mountain road. Fortunately, the tire tracks left by the car in front guided the way.

Those who left Yucheng today included not only Lin Jue and his companion, but also many wealthy people from the city.

"Grows Fast" lay limply in the carriage, seemingly unable to bear the jolting of the carriage, its head sticking out of the curtain as it vomited incessantly.

Vomit was spilling onto the driver's seat. Lin Jue, looking disgusted, made room for him and stood up to drive.

At this moment, Yuan Rou looked at Lin Jue, who had straightened up and was driving the carriage. She clutched her chest with some heartache, then lifted the curtain, knelt down on the carriage platform, and used a handkerchief to wipe the vomit on the throne.

Realizing it had done something wrong, "Grows Fast" slowly pulled its head back and gradually got used to the bumps in the vehicle.

"By the way, Yuan Rou, I haven't asked you before, where do you live? How did you get to Yucheng and meet Granny Wang?"

Bored while traveling, Lin Jue suddenly asked about Yuan Rou's background. In those days, a well-educated and polite woman was not from an ordinary family.

Upon hearing Lin Jue's question, Yuan Rou couldn't help but lower her head, her fingertips repeatedly rubbing her cuffs.

Lin Jue, who hadn't heard her voice for a while, realized that she might have something difficult to say, so he didn't press her for details. He told her to sit down and then hurried off on horseback towards the Shizipo Post Station that the captain had mentioned.

Once we emerged from the woods, the fog gradually dissipated.

Just as Lin Jue breathed a sigh of relief, a deafening tiger roar came from ahead.

The tiger's roar was like thunder, startling the horse so much that it stopped abruptly, its front hooves raised high and pawing nervously in the air. After emitting several terrified neighs, its pupils contracted rapidly, and its body seemed to have all its strength drained away. It collapsed to the ground, causing the carriage to overturn in the snow.

Its body trembled uncontrollably, and its whole body convulsed incessantly. Before long, its wide-open eyes gradually lost their luster.

Inside the carriage, Yuan Rou fainted from fright and landed on top of "Grow Fast". Thanks to the cushion of flesh, she was not injured.

The roar of a tiger rang in his ears from time to time. 'Grows Fast' stared wide-eyed, his breathing became slightly heavier, and he stared intently in the direction from which the sound came.

Lin Jue was somewhat astonished; in the eyes of "Growing Fast," he couldn't see any fear flowing out.

After carrying Yuan Rou into the woods and hiding her, he took out his tiger-head knife and, with "Grow Fast" in tow, slowly made his way towards the place where the tiger's roar had come from.

Soon, the man and the wolf came across two overturned carriages and several corpses lying in the snow.

He also knew one of them, Manager Xu of the Jing'anfang Rice and Noodle Shop.