Chapter 13: Exceedingly Strange Rules!
Chapter 13: Exceedingly Strange Rules!
Translator: AstralGhost Editor: Kurisu
The blazing sun hung high in the sky, radiating scorching heat upon the earth. Waves of hot air could be seen rising off the ground, forming a hazy screen which lingered in the air.
A gentle breeze blew across the compound, causing the curtains in the room to sway lightly.
“Forget it… I guess different people have different aspirations. Since it’s like this, I won’t insist,” Wang Jian fell silent for a moment before replying. His voice was tinged with regret.
“Don’t worry, I will definitely help you in promoting the restaurant! It’s getting late and I have other matters to attend to… ” Wang Jian motioned for Liu Ziyun to follow him, as he bade farewell to Bei Feng.
“What an interesting young man. He’s obviously quite young, but he speaks as though he’d already experienced the various vicissitudes of life,“ Wang Jian suddenly murmured absent-mindedly as he walked on the dry mud path, accompanied by Liu Ziyun.
“Indeed, he’s not bad for a young man,” Liu Ziyun replied. After some consideration, he decided to add, “his cooking was really quite not bad, though!”
A black line formed as Wang Jian creased his brow; he seemed to be deep in thought. Eventually, both men disappeared around the corner.
Meanwhile, Bei Feng had already moved onto the arduous task of cleaning the “crime scene”. Numerous utensils, dishes, pots, pans, woks and whatnot required washing. Both the kitchen and the dining room needed to be thoroughly scrubbed as well.
‘Hmm… since I have some free time now, why don’t I practice the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique’s movements for a bit? They still felt a little forced last time… ’ Bei Feng thought to himself.
At the moment, it was impossible to practice the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique in its full form as it was meant to be practiced in the morning. However, practicing just the movements themselves shouldn’t be a problem.
Bei Feng stood beneath the shade of the Banyan Tree and began executing different moves in a systematic manner.
The first two sets of movements weren’t too hard. The only one that truly troubled him was the third set. Its difficulty increased exponentially multiple times over when compared to the previous two sets!
The crux of the problem was that the third set required him to imitate a cat. He had to somehow vibrate his entire body using his vocal cords. In other words, he had to purr in an extremely high falsetto…
However, the difference between human and feline vocal cords was simply too big! To cause all the muscles, bones, vital energy and blood to vibrate using only his vocal cords was nigh impossible!
Yet, according to the manual, it could actually be achieved when done in concert with the breathing method described by the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique. However, he couldn’t practice the breathing method right now! Otherwise, he might end up bursting into flames if he were to accidentally absorb the tyrannical Yang Qi present during the noon!
Hence, Bei Feng could only practice the form, but was unable to practice the truly essential part of the technique.
After finishing each set of movements, Bei Feng would sit down to meditate upon the Minor Illumination Breathing Technique in his mind, trying to carve the experiences he’d gleaned into his very bones. [1]
Just like that, time went by very quickly. The ground around Bei Feng soon became soaked with his perspiration.
Each time he compared his cultivation experience to that of his predecessors, Bei Feng would acquire new insights. He could feel himself improving bit by bit.
An afternoon of practice had brought Bei Feng some positive results. At the very least, he could now complete all the movement sets in one go. In terms of movements, the only thing left to work on was his proficiency in executing them.
The problem was that Bei Feng could only imitate the movements as though it was an exercise routine. He knew the form, but did not understand the meaning behind it.
The experiences and insights of others could only be used as a reference. They could not really be applied directly to himself!
After all, each individual’s body was unique. What worked for others might not necessarily be suitable for him.
Not to mention, the harmony and flexibility of Bei Feng’s body was below average. Unfortunately for him, the movements contained in the movement sets all demanded the human body to stretch beyond its normal ability. Therefore, in order to increase his proficiency in executing the movements, Bei Feng needed to understand how to reconcile the demanding movements and his weak body, developing his own understanding of the technique.
“Gu, Guu…“
Bei Feng’s stomach suddenly growled with hunger, signalling the end of his practice. The exercises actually required a lot of mental and physical effort. Thus, Bei Feng’s mental and physical strength were both drained very quickly and he felt hungry even though it was way before dinner time.
There was no other choice. Bei Feng could only fill his stomach first before doing anything else.
No matter the task, going beyond one’s limit was as bad as failing to even approach it. It was just like with a cup of water which was already filled to the brim: if one insists on pouring even more water into the cup, it would only end up spilling over.
The sweat sticking to his clothes felt really uncomfortable. Thus, Bei Feng took a quick bath as he left his food simmering in the wok.
After an afternoon of working out, Bei Feng’s appetite was properly roused and he wolfed down bowl after bowl of white rice.
“Hopefully, I’ll get lucky today and catch something nice…“
Bei Feng patted his bloated belly contentedly as he wiped his mouth. Taking the Purple Bamboo Fishing Rod, he made his way to the Ancient Well.
As every fishing enthusiast knew, the greatest enjoyment for an angler was the process of fishing itself. The longer the wait, the more satisfying it was for the fisherman when a fish finally took the bait.
Many youngsters were naturally unable to endure that long, tedious wait. Thus, generally, the true fishing enthusiasts could only be found among middle-aged or senior folks.
However, despite being rather young, Bei Feng had the aura of a reticent old man as he cast the line into the well and proceeded to sit down calmly on a stool he had previously prepared. There was not even a hint of emotion to be seen in his expression as he sat there patiently and silently.
Unfortunately, patience does not always result in rewards. Bei Feng was ultimately unable to gain anything from this fishing attempt.
‘Hmm… it looks like the ratio of success and failure has been evened up with this round,’ Bei Feng sighed with emotion, but did not become discouraged.
He had a very simple line of reasoning. Usually, if one was unable to catch anything at their current location, they would find another spot and try again.
But if one knew for certain that there were countless prized fishes right beneath the water surface where one was fishing, they would naturally continue trying their luck at that fishing spot. Eventually, they would certainly catch one of those prized fishes.
Since his chance for the day had already been used up, Bei Feng got up and returned to his room.
Meanwhile, Wang Jian had already returned to the company and contacted the head of the marketing department, instructing him to consult Bei Feng regarding the restaurant’s promotion.
“Hello? Who is this?”
Bei Feng was lying on his back lazily as he watched the news. Suddenly, his mobile phone lit up, an unfamiliar number displayed on its screen.
“Hello, I’m a member of the marketing team from Qingshan Corporation. Ah, our Boss Wang was having lunch at your place just now…“ A deep and resounding voice was transmitted from the phone.
“Oh, is there something I can help you with?” Bei Feng replied in a bland voice.
“It’s like this… Boss Wang instructed us to help you with advertising. I need to understand the situation in detail in order to better accomplish the task,“ the owner of the deep voice explained.
“Ah, I see. Then, I’ll just state a few rules pertaining to my humble restaurant first…“ Bei Feng was quite pleasantly surprised. Wang Jian’s actions were truly quick!
Following that, the other party took out a notepad and began scribbling while Bei Feng listed out all the rules.
“Mm, that should be all…“ Bei Feng paused for a moment. This set of rules should be fine for now.
“Alright, thank you for your time. I’ve noted down everything.”
Lin Ye ended the call. Looking at the long list of rules in his notepad, he truly didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry.
If he wasn’t commissioned to do this personally by Boss Wang, he’d be certain it was just an elaborate prank!
Bei Feng’s rules were simply too harsh!
Number one: Consumption of alcohol is not allowed. Guests may not bring their own alcohol into the establishment. Failure to comply will result in being blacklisted.
Number two: The restaurant allows reservations, but time and date will be decided by the owner.
Number three: Guests are not allowed to specify their orders. The owner will decide what dishes are served.
Number four: Credit card payments are not accepted. Only cash and transfer via WeChat are accepted.
Number five: Business hours are not fixed, and the prices are dependent on the ingredients. Both will be determined by the owner.
Besides that, guests must possess a Weibo account. [2]
“What is going on here?!” Lin Ye spoke out loud in frustration. However, he could only pick up his phone and report back to Wang Jian.
“Ah! This kid’s really fooling around… maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to his request,” Wang Jian’s forehead was covered by multiple black lines. He could feel a nagging headache as it began to bore its way through the side of his skull. Who does business like this?! [3]
Shaking his head, Wang Jian called a few people into his office and gave them a few instructions. Soon afterward, the giant known as Qingshan Corporation was stirred into action!
Within a single night, every single promotional platform owned by Qingshan Corporation was displaying information related to Bei Feng’s private restaurant.
“Woah! What kind of existence is this private restaurant? Even Qingshan Corporation are advertising for them?!”
Qingshan Corporation was the largest entity within Qingcheng. Thus, unsurprisingly, countless people were paying attention to its every move.
They had millions of followers on each of their social media platforms and forums. The moment this thread had been released, it immediately reached countless people. The first thing everyone thought of when they saw the advertisement was: what sort of relationship did this private restaurant have with Wang Jian?
After all, a big promotional campaign like this could not have been made without Wang Jian’s approval!
However, the second thought that crossed everyone’s minds was: the owner of this private restaurant has quite a character!
[1] ED/N: What is meant here is likely the experience and information related to his predecessors he absorbed in chapter 10.
[2] ED/N: This part is unclear. Either weibo.com or a microblog. It’ll probably become clear in the following (although more distant, perhaps) chapters.
[3] ED/N: A counterpart of facepalm in anime. Sometimes appears in Chinese web novels.