"Who would believe something like that? How could a Vision be traded?"
Chef Mao curled his lip at Xiangling's words. "It's just a scare tactic. Even if it were a dormant Vision, no shop would just toss one into a jar."
He had heard the rumors yesterday as well, but never took them seriously.
"If it were fake, there's no way Lady Ningguang and Lady Keqing would be going there to open jars."
Xiangling frowned. "And you just said there are Millelith guarding the entrance. That's never happened before. Obviously that shop isn't some scam. Otherwise, why would the Millelith be defending it?"
"Uh…"
Chef Mao froze.
She had a point. If it were all a lie, why would the Millelith be stationed there?
And if Ningguang and Keqing had both been, that alone proved the jar shop was anything but ordinary.
On the way back, he'd been too busy brooding over his lost Mora to think it through properly.
Now that Xiangling laid it out, everything clicked.
Would the Tianquan and the Yuheng really walk into some shady gambling den just for fun?
And the Millelith had clearly been sent there on official orders to maintain order.
Normally, Millelith were posted at government offices, restricted zones, or sent on patrol. Never at the door of an ordinary shop.
All of this pointed to one fact: that jar shop was unusual. Special. Mysterious.
Chef Mao took a deep breath. He'd let his anger cloud his judgment earlier.
Now that he thought rationally, the shop was clearly no simple place.
"I heard some of the customers yesterday talking about it. Supposedly, that shop doesn't just spit out Visions, but all sorts of strange items too. I didn't ask for details, though."
Xiangling looked at her father seriously. "If both Lady Ningguang and Lady Keqing spent money there, they must have gotten something worthwhile. The customers said Lady Ningguang went yesterday."
"And if she went again today, she must have made another profit. Then she suddenly opened the Liyue Bank… I can't help wondering if that's connected to the jar shop."
Xiangling's thoughts ran far ahead, linking the new bank directly to the mysterious shop.
"You're on good terms with the Tianquan. Why not just ask her directly?"
Chef Mao's eyes lit up. "You can talk to her."
His daughter had a Vision and had cooked for Ningguang many times. Their relationship was decent.
Back when Wanmin Restaurant was nearly crushed by competition from Li and Yue, it was Ningguang who quietly funded them and saved the business.
So Xiangling was actually quite familiar with the Tianquan.
"Lady Ningguang is swamped with work. Even if I went to her, she wouldn't have time to chat."
Xiangling rolled her eyes. "I'll just wait until she comes by for a meal again, then ask."
"By the way, what did you pull from the jar? Take it out. Maybe it's actually something useful."
She suddenly remembered there had been something inside the broken jar.
"Right!"
Prompted by Xiangling, Chef Mao hurriedly took the slip of paper from his pocket.
He hadn't even looked at it until now.
Originally, he hadn't cared at all. He only picked it up so he wouldn't feel completely cheated—if he'd paid, even a useless scrap had to come home with him.
But now, after Xiangling's analysis, this slip might actually contain something important.
He unfolded it.
There were only a few lines of text.
Chef Mao: "…Huh?"
What was this?
From a quick glance, it looked like a list of ingredients and steps—a recipe of some sort.
He read it once and immediately lost interest.
The words "instant noodles" caught his eye, so he could roughly guess it was a method for making a kind of noodle. But compared to his Dragonbeard Noodles, it was miles behind.
His Dragonbeard Noodles were famous across Liyue. Even the rival restaurants Li and Yue didn't have anything like it.
Instant noodles? He dismissed it on sight.
"Looks like a noodle recipe. Forget it. Not worth the trouble. Our Dragonbeard Noodles are famous. No other noodle can compete."
Muttering to himself, he handed the slip to Xiangling and went back to work.
He had zero interest in this so‑called instant noodle recipe and didn't want to waste time on it.
"Hmm…"
Watching her father walk off without a second look, Xiangling studied the paper with growing curiosity.
After a quick read, she understood what it was.
A recipe for something called "instant noodles."
The ingredients were all common, and even the cooking process was clearly written.
Wanmin Restaurant was best known for Dragonbeard Noodles.
Even people from neighboring nations had heard of them and traveled great distances just to try a bowl.
No wonder her dad wasn't interested.
But while he might not care, she did. Finding new foods was her greatest joy.
The name "instant noodles" sounded strange and intriguing, and Xiangling was already wondering whether she should try making them.
After all, this recipe came from that mysterious jar shop.
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