After making his inquiries, Zou Feng went to several other suppliers one after another.
The way they received kickbacks was more or less the same at the other places.
By the end of it all, Zou Feng was shocked to find that after a single procurement run, he somehow had an extra five taels of silver in his pocket!
'Is it really this easy to make money?'
After all, his monthly wages at the Yang Mansion were a mere fifty copper coins...
And with these five taels of silver, knowing Luo Yong's personality, he definitely wouldn't keep it all for himself. At the very least, he would give Zou Feng a few maces of broken silver.
'No wonder Li Rui wanted to kill me after he realized Luo Yong was going to take me as his apprentice.'
'It looks like saving up a sum of money in a short amount of time won't be that hard after all.'
At this thought, Zou Feng's mood brightened considerably. For the first time since his transmigration, life was finally, truly getting better.
Martial Arts Training, meat to eat, and money to be made!
And all it cost was sacrificing Brother Li.
He soon returned to the Yang Mansion. As he passed through the front courtyard, he happened upon several of the mansion's guards sparring.
This wasn't the first time Zou Feng had seen them sparring.
But in the past, he had only watched for the excitement. Now that he practiced the Five Poison Palm, he could see the underlying techniques.
He had to admit that to be able to serve as guards at the Yang Mansion, free from manual labor, these Hospital Martial Artists were certainly not just for show.
With every move, the wind whistled. Their techniques were sharp and methodical.
Zou Feng felt a slight pang of envy at their techniques and the power they displayed.
At the same time, he mentally calculated his odds of winning a direct confrontation with these Martial Artists.
He came to a conclusion: 'I'd win a one-on-one fight!'
'But I'd probably have to pay a steep price.'
'After all, I only need to land a single palm strike, and the fight is basically over.'
'But after they're hit, the poison still needs time to take effect.'
'In that window of time, their furious death throes could easily injure me, or even trade my life for theirs.'
'So, it's best to avoid a direct confrontation.'
'For a Cultivation Skill like the Five Poison Palm, ambushes and sneak attacks are the way to go.'
'Unless... I learn a Body Technique Martial Arts that would let me engage and disengage at will.'
'I need to save up money, fast!'
Without lingering, Zou Feng headed straight for the kitchen.
When the Hospital Martial Artists sparred, it was fine for other servants to glance over as they passed by.
But if anyone stopped to watch for too long, they'd be accused of trying to secretly learn their Martial Arts.
And a harsh beating would surely follow.
The Yang Mansion's rear kitchen was massive, practically a small, self-contained courtyard divided into three areas.
An area for preparing ingredients, the main cooking kitchen, and the chefs' living quarters.
The Yang Mansion currently employed three chefs: Luo Yong, his wife, and his father-in-law.
That's right. Luo Yong's family had essentially taken over all the kitchen duties for the Yang Mansion.
A major reason why Luo Yong wanted to find a reliable apprentice was that he had no children of his own.
All these years, his wife had never conceived.
But it wasn't his wife's fault; he was the one who was infertile.
On top of that, his father-in-law was getting old and would soon be unable to work, making it crucial to find a new chef to take his place.
That was why Luo Yong was so dedicated to Zou Feng after discovering what a "good kid" he was.
Zou Feng strode into the kitchen, bowed, and said, "Master, the job is done."
Only his own apprentice could enter so directly. If Li Rui had tried to come in here without permission, he would have been kicked out on the spot.
A craftsman's trade, much like Martial Arts, was a secret one was forbidden to steal.
After his bow, Zou Feng deliberately adopted a hesitant expression, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Luo Yong caught his meaning and waved a hand. "It's just your Mistress here. No outsiders. Spit it out."
'Looks like Master doesn't keep a secret stash from his wife...'
Nodding, Zou Feng took out the cloth pouch containing five taels of silver and presented it with both hands. "Master, please inspect this."
Luo Yong took the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and broke into a gratified smile.
Just as Zou Feng had guessed, Luo Yong hadn't told him about the under-the-table dealings of procurement because he had been testing him.
The fact that Zou Feng hadn't hidden a single coin and had turned over the exact amount reaffirmed Luo Yong's earlier judgment of his character.
'What a good kid!'
'Best of all, he's smart enough not to be swindled by those crooked merchants.'
"You've done very well!"
With that, Luo Yong glanced back proudly at his wife, as if to show off his excellent eye for choosing an apprentice.
His Mistress was stout, with a kind and gentle face. The look she gave Zou Feng was also one of deep satisfaction.
After a moment, Luo Yong said with a serious expression, "You'll be a Head Chef here someday, so you're entitled to a share of this money."
"However, we can't keep all of it. We have to give the Steward his cut."
This didn't surprise Zou Feng.
It would have been stranger if this scheme to fleece the Yang Mansion *didn't* involve a member of the Yang Family.
"Practice your knife skills with your Mistress. I'll be right back."
Tucking the money pouch safely away, Luo Yong headed out.
Zou Feng knew Luo Yong was going to split the loot with the Steward.
The outcome of that meeting would determine exactly how much ended up in his own pockets.
Zou Feng knew his place. As just an apprentice chef, his expectations weren't very high.
Receiving a cut of five maces of silver would be an excellent outcome.
Next, at the behest of his Mistress, Mrs. Wang, Zou Feng officially began the first stage of his culinary training: practicing chopping vegetables.
However, after chopping for a while under his Mistress's guidance, no "knife skill proficiency" appeared on his panel.
This left him a bit puzzled.
After all, the *Herbal Catalogue* had appeared on his panel just from him looking at it.
But he soon came up with a likely explanation.
Because he was cultivating the Five Poison Palm and had already become Slightly Accomplished, his hand-eye coordination and control over his strength were far beyond those of an ordinary person.
'So simple tasks like slicing and dicing aren't difficult enough for me to count as a valid skill.'
'Of course, it's also possible the panel simply doesn't have the function to record life skills like this.'
'The *Herbal Catalogue* probably only showed up because it could assist my Cultivation of the Five Poison Palm.'
About the time it took to eat a meal, Luo Yong returned.
But the moment he walked in, Zou Feng knew something was wrong.
Luo Yong's face was flushed red, and he was clutching his stomach. He cursed through gritted teeth, "That son of a bitch Yang Ling... That bastard actually..."
Mrs. Wang rushed forward to steady him, and Zou Feng immediately lent a hand.
"What about Yang Ling? Weren't you just reporting to the Steward?" Mrs. Wang asked, her face full of confusion as she helped Luo Yong sit down.
Luo Yong heaved a long sigh before saying, "There's been a change. The Steward isn't Yang Wei anymore. Yang Ling has taken over."
"The Master decided to change the Steward this morning. We were all so busy that nobody thought to inform us!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Wang's expression darkened. "Of all the people to replace him with, why did it have to be Yang Ling?"
Zou Feng knew little about the Yang Family and didn't even know what Yang Ling looked like.
But just from the expressions on Luo Yong and Mrs. Wang's faces, he knew that Yang Ling becoming the Steward was definitely not a good thing for the kitchen crew.
The next moment, Luo Yong lowered his voice and said hatefully, "That bastard has no respect for the rules. He's taking everything—not leaving a single coin for us!"