After years of working in the restaurant, he had picked up a few kitchen skills.
Old Mo's soup was every bit as good as what you could find outside.
Seeing him restored, Qian Su was also at ease, going to work on the dam every day.
One day, Old Mo suddenly said, "Isn't the chairman calling for making some affordable food to sell to other places? I could alter this soup a bit, maybe it could be sold, letting everyone afford and enjoy it."
His method was simple: dry and grind chicken bones, beans, and mushrooms into powder, then add some salt, and with just hot water, you'd have a bowl of soup. When going out, he would pack it in cloth, ready to eat anytime.
Qian Su tasted it but found it bland.
"I think cutting the mushrooms into small pieces and keeping the beans intact will give it a better texture."
After repeated comparisons and tastings, the two of them devised a formula, including dried tender papyrus, dried seaweed, as well as small pieces of dried mushroom and beans. Add a little bit of salt, and you have a very delicious soup.
If you cook two chicken bones in it, the flavor climbs to another level.
Still, Qian Su wasn't quite satisfied.
He grew up eating leftover food from the restaurant and knew that a dish must have a core ingredient. Even with the same chicken head soup, different restaurants cook up distinctive flavors.
Like at Vanilla Restaurant, their signature herb chicken is special because the herb is actually papyrus and another type of fragrant wild grass.
But whether that wild grass had been soaked in something, why its taste is much richer than that found in the wild, only the owner knew. That too was a secret formula, fundamental to the restaurant's success.
Qian Su felt there needed to be a signature formula to prevent cunning merchants from stealing it.
He and Old Mo split up to act, trying many edible materials, but most had various issues.
Like shellfish, which could add a delicious flavor, but they needed to be alive, were inconvenient to carry, and moreover, they were expensive.
Ultimately, it was Old Mo who found a secret ingredient.
When Qian Su saw it, he could hardly believe it.
"Eat this? You're crazy, it could kill someone."
"You can eat it, just trust your old man."
Old Mo pointed at the fine, dried whiskers wrapped in burlap, "I saw sand rats loved eating these; if they can eat it, so can we. Don't forget what I've taught you."
"With this, the taste will be completely different."
He added the new ingredient to boiling hot soup, covered it, let it simmer for a while, then lifted the lid to reveal a scent tinged with a faint, medicinal bitterness.
Qian Su scooped up a little soup with a wooden spoon, blew on it, then took a sip.
He sharply inhaled, his eyes widening.
The soup had an extraordinarily sweet flavor; as soon as it hit his stomach, it instantly made his body feel warm and energized, and he could feel full and strong within a short time.
Old Mo chuckled, "How is it, not bad, right?"
Qian Su admitted, "It's the best soup I've ever had."
There was just one problem.
The secret ingredient added to the soup was from the explosive mushroom.
To be precise, its mycelium.
Old Mo said that while he was out searching for ingredients, he saw, on the outskirts of Mushroom Forest, sand rats nibbling on gray-brown thread-like clusters that had fallen to the ground.
He discovered those wisps had fallen from a truck transporting mushrooms, and judging by their color and shape, they came from explosive mushrooms. Locals were all educated by Cao Dayuan about various mushrooms to avoid these dangerous types.
For safety's sake, Old Mo first collected some dried mycelium, then placed it on trees at Oasis Side, and indeed, it attracted birds to peck at it. After eating, they showed no problems.
The naturally fallen mycelium from explosive mushrooms is quite special, it has an intrinsic bitter scent, but tastes sweet when eaten.
So he added it to the soup and found an astonishingly perfect match, which also introduced an extraordinary flavor.
This special concoction was not just tasty but could also quickly warm the body and restore energy, which was highly practical for those working hard.
Old Mo invited Cao Dayuan, the person father and son trusted most.
After tasting the secret hot soup, Cao Dayuan was incredulous, "This soup is remarkable, what's its name?"
Old Mo and Qin Shu exchanged a smile.
This was a recipe discovered in Jade City, which Old Mo wanted to present to the Wasteland Development Company to express his gratitude for providing Qin Shu with a well-paid job and curing his own serious illness.
Cao Dayuan shook his head upon hearing this, "That won't do. The chairman has explained to me, whatever you invent is yours, the company will at most manage the product. As for how profits are distributed, I still have to ask the chairman."
"But I think, as long as you keep the formula safe and prevent it from being stolen or imitated, you can try selling it. The company's trade now spans the neighboring cities and can deliver to the southern hub port, Coral Port, through the courier center. As long as it's a good product, there's no worry about sales at Coral Port."
Old Mo said, "Then we'll give it a try."
However, he emphasized repeatedly that the Jade Soup was Qin Shu's invention, and he was just assisting.
Qin Shu knew his father had his best interests at heart.
"I'll go find Qian Su right away, have her courier help send it to Coral Port, and get it evaluated in the Mechanical City there. That's the fastest way."
Cao Dayuan rushed off to do just that.
What father and son didn't expect was that the Jade Soup would garner extremely high praise in Coral Port and become very popular in the Sand Port Region, with customers coming continuously. Numerous merchants offered high prices for the formula, swarming around them every day like flies.
Qin Shu was so troubled that he had to hide at home every day after finishing work.
When Cao Dayuan visited again, he brought someone Qin Shu hadn't expected.
The visitor was a young man with black hair and black eyes, dressed in a simple chained jacket and smiling.
"You've done something great, truly remarkable."
"Chairman, how come you're here..."
Qin Shu was somewhat flustered for a moment. Googlᴇ search n0velfire.net
Zhou Yi teased, "What, you're not welcoming me?"
"Welcome, of course, welcome!"
Qin Shu relaxed slightly.
The chairman nodded, "I'll just get straight to the point. Your Jade Soup has received a high rating in Coral Port, reaching Grade A. They want to collaborate with us to introduce the product in various cities, whether to cooperate or not is not yet determined. Your opinion is crucial."
"...Whatever you say, chairman," Qin Shu was a bit uneasy.
"I think we can cooperate, it's beneficial for everyone. But since it's your formula, I'll go by Holy Mountain's standards: a 5% share of the patent rights for 70 years... meaning, for the next 70 years, 5% of the revenue generated from the company's sale of Jade Soup will go to you. How does that sound?"
Qin Shu quickly nodded.
The other continued, "You can state any conditions you have."
Qin Shu took a deep breath, "Well, I don't know if treatment will cost money in the future...this money, as long as it's enough for my old man's treatment, that's fine. He's old, and although his illness has been cured, he still coughs, and his condition is worsening. He's gone for a follow-up at the hospital now. He should stay another two days for observation before coming back."
Zhou Yi was stunned for a moment, and then smiled, "Don't worry, the company is doing well at present, and Maria Hospital will be open to employees for free for a long time, you don't have to worry about that."
Qin Shu breathed a sigh of relief.
"Actually, my father... is the real inventor of the Jade Soup."
He ultimately told the truth.
Because Qin Shu believed that his father, having done such a thing, should be praised and respected by everyone.
Zhou Yi was slightly surprised after hearing this, "So that's how it is."
He pondered for a while.
"Qin Shu, I've asked Da Vinci, and there's only one way to completely eradicate your father's lung disease."
"We're considering an enhancement transformation surgery for him, using Light Imprint technology to enhance his lungs, a procedure that is now very mature and has a high success rate. We will invite doctors from Recursive City to work with ours, deciding on either enhancement transformation or organ transplant, based on his condition."
"This will solve the problem at its root, freeing your father entirely from his previous lung disease."
Qin Shu was stunned, then overjoyed, "Enhancer... that's great, just great, my old man can be saved! Thank you, thank you so much!"