On my twenty-eighth birthday, I received both a layoff notice and a breakup text.
With my life at rock bottom, I was forced to take over my grandfather's “Classic of Mountains and Seas”-themed restaurant, which was on the verge of going under.
Everyone laughed at me for being crazy. Then, late one night, the ancestral “Map of Mountains and Seas” sucked me into the bizarre world of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
Faced with the rampaging ancient beast Taotie, I panicked and threw the last candied hawthorn skewer I had.
The arrogant beast then curled up at my feet, letting out a contented whimper.
From then on, my shabby restaurant became a secret dining hall connecting countless worlds.
A bowl of donkey rolls turned Taotie into a stern, black-clad guardian, all for a taste of the warmth of “home.”
A cup of bubble tea helped Jingwei, who had spent ages trying to fill the sea, let go of her thousand-year obsession and become my lightning-fast delivery girl.
A dish of finely shredded tofu won over my elegant, discerning nine-tailed fox manager, who happily took care of my accounts.
Using China's intangible cultural heritage snacks, I healed the ancient wounds of divine beasts and made my little shop famous throughout the myriad worlds!
Then the foremost alchemy sect of the cultivation world showed up, denouncing my food as “heretical” and threatening to shut down my shop and end my legacy.
I smiled.
As they watched in terror, I lifted the great pot brimming with the warmth of countless households and said softly:
“Your pills heal the body. My food comforts the heart. Now, welcome to my domain. Taste the power of everyday life.”
