Mu Jianxi turned around and waved at the five of them, signaling them to come over. When they approached, she pointed at the salt and looked at them in shock.
“You’ve all eaten salt like this since childhood? Even your master and the emperor?”
They nodded, as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Mu Jianxi. Her eyes widened as she took a deep breath. In front of her, it was as if a massive business opportunity had appeared—she could almost see endless wealth floating toward her.
“I have something to do. You guys watch the pot for me—make sure it doesn’t burn. I’ll be back soon!”
With that, she grabbed the bag of salt and a small jar and ran off into the distance, laughing loudly as she went.
“Oh my God—this fortune from the heavens has finally come to me! Hahaha… hahaha…”
That extremely infectious laughter made everyone exchange confused glances. They immediately thought she had gone mad. Even the four hidden guards, who had been with her for so long, had never seen her like this before.
Fifteen minutes later, Gu Ruizé was in his room drinking tea when he looked up and saw Mu Jianxi walking toward him.
She sat down beside him and stared at him very seriously.
“Your Highness, shall we make a business deal?”
“What kind of deal?”
Mu Jianxi placed the bag of salt on the table.
“Salt.”
Seeing that she wanted to do business in salt, a hint of disdain appeared in his expression. The ancient kingdom of Qiyuan had abundant salt mines surrounding it, and countless salt merchants made a living from it. The profit was extremely low—it was practically a losing business.
But the next second, he could no longer laugh.
“You people are consuming mineral salt. Don’t you all suffer from kidney issues to some degree? And fatigue, weakness, occasional bone pain?”
She had hit the mark perfectly.
He immediately straightened his expression. “Yes. Do you know medicine?”
Mu Jianxi shook her head. “No. It’s because your salt is mined directly and contains impurities that haven’t been removed. Long-term consumption naturally leads to illness.”
Then she took out her own jar of salt, grabbed his hand, and poured a little into his palm.
“Try it.”
The grains were white, fine, and pure. He dipped a finger into it and tasted it carefully. His eyes widened instantly.
“This is salt… such pure, snow-white refined salt.”
“Mm.”
Only then did Gu Ruizé remember the small jar. He had seen her use it before while cooking and had even wondered why she never seemed to add salt.
Now everything made sense.
He looked at her seriously. “How do you want to cooperate?”
“You provide me with raw mineral salt, and I produce refined salt. We split the profits fifty-fifty.”
“Deal.”
“Straightforward! Then I won’t disturb you anymore—the pot is still cooking. I’m going back to the kitchen.”
Watching her figure disappear, Gu Ruizé knew very well that salt was the foundation of a nation. If she could truly produce such pure refined salt, the profit would be immense. Even the highest authority in the land would likely want to take control of this technology for the sake of national revenue.
Mu Jianxi soon returned to the kitchen. On the way, she had already instructed Bao Bao to place more than ten packs of salt into the storage box, preparing for salt-baked pine nuts.
When she returned, she saw the four hidden guards and Zhao Fuhua sitting in a corner chatting happily.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a mischievous smile appeared on her face. She clearly did not like them being idle.
At that moment, all five of them suddenly felt a chill down their backs, as if something dangerous had locked onto them.
They stiffly turned around together—and saw Mu Jianxi waving at them again, motioning for them to come over. Her smile made them feel uneasy, but they still walked over.
She pulled out more than a dozen large bags of salt from the storage box. The colorful packaging confused them completely.
“This is salt. We’ll use it for roasting pine nuts later.”
She casually cut open the bags with a knife and poured half a pot into a large wok.
“You five, plus the two chefs—each take a stove. Stir-fry together. I’ll guide you.”
But their attention wasn’t on her instructions at all.
All eyes were fixed on the salt.
“This… is salt?!”
“This is really salt?!”
“Can salt be this white and fine?!”
“…”
Mu Jianxi felt her head go numb from all the questions.
Then she noticed Zhao Fuhua’s extremely exaggerated expression—raised eyebrows and a wide-open mouth.
“Pfft!”
She had been trying to hold a straight face, but she completely broke down laughing. It reminded her of a game she used to play, where a little bird character had exactly that same expression when shooting—his current face matched it perfectly. She couldn’t hold it in and laughed so hard she leaned over the table.
After calming herself, she turned away, refusing to look at the old man.
“If you don’t believe it, just pinch a little and taste it.”
Everyone tried it—and immediately widened their eyes.
“It really is salt!”
“Alright, stop wasting time. Start working.”
Seven large woks were set up. They stir-fried the salt with spices until fragrant, then removed half of it. The pine nuts were added to the remaining salt, then the reserved portion was poured back over them, covering them completely. Everything was then left to simmer for two ke.
As the sky darkened, it was time to prepare the remaining dishes. The first dish was fried chicken—it was a system-required task and could not be skipped.
Mu Jianxi took out marinated chicken wings and drumsticks, added eggs and seasoned flour, mixing them thoroughly. She coated the chicken, shook off the excess, and fried it over medium-low heat until set. Then she raised the oil temperature and fried them again until golden and crispy.
The aroma was irresistible. The four hidden guards and Zhao Fuhua were practically drooling, their eyes glued to the pot. When the chicken was finally lifted out, they excitedly cheered.
At dusk, dish after dish filled with rich aromas was served to the table. Every dish was unique, but all shared one thing in common—they smelled incredible. The princess and her husband were dazzled, constantly swallowing their saliva.
The princess looked at her younger brother sincerely. “Little brother, why don’t you marry Miss Mu? Having such a skilled cook as a sister-in-law—I’d absolutely love it.”
“Yes! As the saying goes, when one person succeeds, even their chickens and dogs rise to heaven. If you marry her, we’ll all benefit too,” the consort added.
Sitting at the side, Gu Ruizé cast them a cold glance but said nothing.
At that moment, Mu Jianxi and Zhao Weihua walked in from outside, each carrying dishes, and took their seats.