29: Section 29

The front faces the street, and the backyard is a large open space.

It's also not far from the river.

The Generals Residence had already bought this tea house for a total of two hundred and forty taels.

The rest would be given to him as starting capital.

However, when Butler Guo took out the land deed and two hundred taels of silver notes, Su Mo's brain froze.

It was obvious.

Ostensibly, the Generals Residence paid two hundred and forty taels to buy the building, and Madam Huang contributed two hundred taels to help him open a restaurant.

In other words,

The one thousand taels Madam Huang gave him were not included.

Now, he possessed one thousand two hundred taels of starting capital.

Su Mo couldn't figure out Madam Huang's intentions for a moment; was she truly optimistic about his cooking skills, or did she have ulterior motives?

But the only thing he could do now was to manage this restaurant well.

...

After handing over all the work, Su Mo returned to his room.

He didn't have many belongings.

His personal items consisted only of a set of bedding, which was a perk given to him after becoming the food manager.

To put it vividly,

Tomorrow, he could pack up and leave directly; he wouldn't even need a second person to help him move.

Lying on the bed, he summoned “love affair life”.

Su Mo was somewhat expectant.

He wondered what kind of beginning it would be after specifying a real-life “love affair” character.

...

At the same time,

In Second Miss Guo Lin's room, she had already undressed and gotten into her bed.

However, unlike during the day, her eyes were a bit red and swollen, with traces of tears.

Thinking of how her mother had reprimanded her during the day, Guo Lin couldn't help but feel a surge of grievance.

Isn't he just a servant?

She actually got so angry at her for a servant.

She heard that her mother was even going to invest in letting this Su Mo open a restaurant outside, which made Guo Lin feel even more uncomfortable.

She would go see tomorrow.

Where this Su Mo's restaurant was located.

If all else failed, she would find a few constables from the County Government to smash it all!

She had to vent this anger!

Who told you to bully me!

Harboring deep resentment towards Su Mo, Guo Lin fell into a deep sleep.

...

【Do you want to start the simulation?】

“Start!”

【This simulation specifies the “love affair” character as Second Miss Guo Lin of Zhenyuan General Manor】

【Birthplace cannot be randomized.】

【Your birthplace in this simulation is Linjiang City.】

【“Love affair” character confirmed.】

【Your bound “love affair” character for this time is “Guo Lin”.】

【Confirming identity.】

【Your identity is the food manager of Zhenyuan General Manor.】

Seeing that everything was confirmed, Su Mo couldn't help but recall the previous simulation with Madam Huang.

That simulation,

Also started with his real-life identity.

Could it be?

“Love affair” characters close to him would all start with their real-life identities?

If that were the case,

Wouldn't the immersion be even stronger?

Su Mo couldn't help but hope that he would be rewarded with a few more specified opportunities.

...

【Randomizing talent.】

As a blue light flashed,

The randomized talent appeared before Su Mo.

【Your randomized talent for this time is “God of Cookery Talent”.】

【God of Cookery Talent: You possess extremely strong culinary talent, capable of discerning the origin and optimal consumption stage of any ingredient. No matter how profound the cooking technique, heat control, or knife skills, you can master them instantly.】

【The dishes and desserts you create seem to possess magic; after tasting them, diners will experience the most wonderful memories and be immersed in the happiness brought by the food.】

【Food and wine are inseparable; you can brew unprecedented fine wines by uniquely combining various ingredients.】

...

Seeing the “God of Cookery Talent” talent again, Su Mo was both surprised and delighted.

He was surprised because he had also received this “God of Cookery Talent” talent when simulating with Madam Huang before.

He was delighted because if his evaluation this time was extremely high, there was a great chance he could obtain this “God of Cookery Talent” talent!

If he could obtain the God of Cookery Talent talent,

He wouldn't have to worry about the restaurant not making money!

Recalling the previous simulation in Shang Dynasty, Su Mo felt that to achieve a high evaluation, he had to break his fate and achieve accomplishments that were originally impossible.

However, this relied heavily on luck.

After all, in the last simulation, he had almost no power to choose; everything was pushed by fate.

He transformed from a slave into the Shang King, thereby changing his Heaven-Defying destiny.

If he had bad luck in this simulation, then this “God of Cookery Talent” talent might just pass him by.

He could only hope,

Lady Luck would favor him one more time.

With anticipation, Su Mo focused his gaze on the screen before him.

And the simulation,

Began at this moment.

...

【You are a household servant in the Zhenyuan General Manor of the Great Song Dynasty, and due to your God of Cookery Talent talent, you became a food manager.

【However, you believe that you should not merely be a household servant. Second Miss Guo Lin is your dream lover, the object of your dreams day and night is this Second Miss Guo Lin.】

【But you clearly know that the status gap between you two is too great, so you can only silently hide this love in your heart.】

Looking at himself in the simulation screen, Su Mo immediately realized that, just like with Madam Huang's simulation, his personality had changed quite a bit due to the God of Cookery Talent talent.

He became arrogant and conceited, yet he felt inferior due to his low status.

It seemed,

This simulation would be very interesting.

The book was blocked and has been undergoing revisions for a long time before being released. There are two more chapters tonight. Thank you all for your support.

Chapter 35: Bandits! No Ransom, Just Your Life!

【Because your behavior was too obvious, Guo Lin vaguely sensed your thoughts, but being self-important, she was unwilling to interact with you.】

【In her eyes, you were merely a servant who cooked well.】

【When spring arrived, Guo Lin invited several Young Masters and Young Misses from prominent Families in Linjiang City for an outing and specifically brought you, the household servant who cooked well.】

【Other Young Masters and Young Misses had also heard of your reputation, and you had prepared a lot of food.】

【The most delicious among them was the roasted venison.】

【A group of Young Masters and Young Misses, along with their household servants, ate heartily in the fields where everything was returning to life.】

【And you could only carefully attend to them from the side.】

【Watching Guo Lin chat and laugh with several Young Masters, you inexplicably felt uncomfortable.】

【You were feeling jealousy you had no right to feel.】

【Just as everyone was enjoying the food, a series of horse hooves sounded. You looked closely and saw many rough-looking men riding towards you.】

【Upon seeing this scene, panic flashed through your heart. These people clearly meant no good.】

【The others also panicked at this moment.】

【They all screamed and fled for their lives.】

【Some experienced household servants shouted.】

“It's bandits! Bandits from nearby have come down the mountain to capture people!”

“It seems they captured many merchants last month, but these bandits didn't ask for ransom; all the captured merchants disappeared.”

【Upon hearing the words of the other household servants, you keenly realized that the bandits' purpose for coming down the mountain this time was not simple.】

【The outcome after being captured might be very tragic.】

【Then you seized the opportunity, grasped Second Miss Guo Lin's hand, and pulled her to run far away.】

【Guo Lin glanced at you with a hint of surprise in her eyes, not expecting that you hadn't abandoned her but instead took her with you to escape.】

【But these bandits seemed to have planned everything in advance; a group of riders also appeared in the direction you two were fleeing, tightly encircling everyone.】

【Trapped by the bandits, you had no way to escape the encirclement.】

【You, Guo Lin, and the others were all captured by the bandits.】

【But these bandits didn't do anything else; instead, they tied your hands together with a rope and led you towards their mountain stronghold.】

【During this time, someone tried to escape and was directly pierced through the back by an arrow. It was the first time you witnessed a killing.】

【You felt a little panicked.】

【You had only seen such killing scenes in your dreams; when it truly happened before you, you simply couldn't adapt.】

【Guo Lin, next to you, also had a pale face, unable to accept that a person who was alive just moments ago had died right before her eyes.】

【You walked for a long time, about forty li, before being escorted back to the mountain stronghold.】

【Those Young Masters and Young Misses, who were usually pampered, all complained bitterly.】

【However, upon arriving at this mountain stronghold, you, with your God of Cookery Talent talent, smelled an extremely disgusting odor.】

【You recognized it as the smell of human flesh, bones, and organs mixed and boiled together. These smells combined, almost making your sense of smell fail.】