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Nanny Li felt utterly hopeless. "The man I went on a blind date with last night turned out to be Uncle Third, who was run over by a car three days ago. Oh, the irony! We're relatives, after all. This incestuous nightmare is killing me. Please, Lord of the Land, protect me from such terrifying dreams."

"Red Plum?" Shanpo rushed forward and pulled the woman up, surprised. "Why are you praying to the Lord of the Land?"

Nanny Li, still in a daze, was helped to her feet. Upon seeing Shanpo, she grabbed her trembling hands. "Mountain Flower, I'm so scared...so scared."

"Don't worry, tell me slowly," Shanpo said, guiding Nanny Li to sit on a stone step beside the grass. "What's going on?"

Nanny Li groaned in distress. "I've been dreaming about going on blind dates every night."

"Hmm?" Shanpo's expression turned serious. "You're single, that's good news, right?"

"Good news my foot! I curse it all – they're all old geezers. What kind of blind date is this with people who've already met the King of Hell? They want to marry me, but I don't want to wed them." Nanny Li had lost weight from the torment. "I can't even sleep at night anymore."

Both being seniors, Shanpo didn't have many friends left in the world. Seeing Nanny Li's distressed face, she felt her heart ache too and offered a suggestion.

"If you have nightmares every night, maybe you're possessed. You should consult a master."

Nanny Li sighed. "See a master? Arong hates anything superstitious. If he finds out, he'll surely blame me for not believing in science. Besides, I secretly visited the Yellow Emperor Temple too, but it didn't help. I don't know what to do."

"Arong won't blame you; after all, you're his mother," Shanpo considered, taking Li Shi's hand and rising. "How about this – I know a young woman who has a knack for the metaphysical. Let her take a look at your situation."

Li Shi was skeptical. "Will that really work?"

"It's better than you worrying here and praying to the Earth God," Shanpo said, her energetic nature driving her to pull Li Shi along towards Temple Street.

"Wait a moment," Li Shi turned back. "I need to lock the door upstairs first."

Chu Yuening arrived at Temple Street, where weekend crowds of tourists swelled the foot traffic. The entire street was packed with people, jostling against each other.

It took some effort to park the car.

Straining, Chu Yuening dragged out the small wooden table from under the food cart, unfolded it, and then paused to catch her breath. She then reached into a small drawer in the glass cabinet to retrieve a triangular scarf. First, she tied up her naturally curly long hair, and then used the scarf to secure her side-swept bangs out of her face.

Taking out a small palm-sized mirror from her pocket, she examined herself from both sides, making sure no hairs had fallen forward before she was satisfied.

"You're here so early?" Lin Jiahua arrived with his own cart, pulling out freshly made egg tarts to place on the counter. Looking at the growing crowd on Temple Street, a smile lurked behind his glasses. "So concerned about your appearance?"

Chu Yuening touched her nose, looking upward with slightly puffed cheeks. "What can I do? In the food industry, hygiene is crucial. If a customer finds a hair in their dessert, they might just tear down my stall."

"You're exaggerating a bit." Lin Jiahua carried an oven out of the van and placed it on the stall's countertop before crouching to plug it in. "But with such a crowd today, I hope we both make good profits."

"Let's hope so," Chu Yuening replied. Just then, they heard a loud crash from across the street. They stopped talking and looked over to see A'Qiang, the car noodle vendor, scowling as he slammed a pile of plastic bowls onto the ground while berating his helper. His anger seemed to be reaching boiling point, and his eyes kept darting towards their dessert stall.

Lin Jiahua sensed trouble brewing.

A'Qiang used to be part of a criminal gang, though he had since reformed. However, his aura still exuded danger. Judging by his furious expression, it seemed that he was unhappy about Ye Tianliang's death.

"Ye Tianliang saved his life. Now that he's gone, we should be cautious – he might cause trouble."

"Don't worry, I'm not afraid of him." Chu Yuening turned away and opened the ice cream chest. "By the way, I've developed a new dessert. Want to give it a try?"

She scooped cooked snowbird's nest into a bowl, followed by crisp, light pink peach jelly and sago pearls. Finally, she poured in chilled coconut milk.

Turning back to Lin Jiahua, she said, "Help me taste it."

Lin Jiahua didn't hesitate and took a large sip, his eyes brightening. "This is great! Snowbird's nest with peach jelly? No one else in Hong Kong serves this."

Unlike other dessert stalls whose sweetness could be cloying, this one had just the right touch of subtle sweetness. The transparent snowbird's nest after being cooked, floating amidst the pale red peach jelly in the creamy white coconut milk, formed a visually refreshing combination. In the sweltering summer heat, it added an extra refreshing note.

"This could be the signature dish. How much do you plan to sell it for?"

"Snow fungus isn't cheap. We'd have to charge at least 10 yuan per serving."

Chu Yuening did the math. Subtracting the nearly three yuan in costs, the net profit would be seven yuan per bowl. Selling ten bowls would bring in 70 yuan.

She had calculated the original owner's daily sales of dessert soup. The minimum was 30 bowls, mostly priced at seven or eight yuan each, resulting in almost 300 yuan in earnings per day. Minus the costs, that would amount to a monthly income of around 5,000 to 6,000 yuan.

Keep in mind that a typical white-collar worker in Hong Kong at this time only earned around 3,000 yuan a month.

Just as she finished her calculations, Che Zaiqiang crossed the road, his gaze fixed and fierce as if he were about to tear Chu Yuening apart. His voice was raspy, as if he had been on a drinking binge all night.

"Dessert girl, I want you out of Mong Kok Street right now!"

Chapter 9

Che Zaiqiang stood in front of the dessert stall, his broad, muscular frame blocking the signboard entirely. Potential customers who caught sight of his menacing glare were immediately intimidated and fled.

Lin Jiahua placed the bowl back down and stepped forward to reason with him. "One shouldn't be so domineering. We're all neighbors here, don't hinder others from making a living."

"Bullying?" Che Zaiqiang kicked the signboard advertising feng shui fortune-telling away and then nudged Lin Jiahua with a sneer. "Forget it, better for Mong Kok's reputation not to have another fraudster lurking around! Four-Eyes, I advise you to mind your own business."

Chu Yuening observed the fallen sign and caught Lin Jiahua, who was on the verge of falling, with a cold expression in her eyes.

"People who do evil will eventually face retribution. Ye Tianliang got what he deserved. Besides, I've already paid for a month's stall rental in Mong Kok. There's no way I'm moving."

Mentioning Ye Tianliang only served to fuel Che Zaiqiang's anger further. He had been aided by Ye Tianliang during his most difficult times, and even if Ye Tianliang had committed the heinous act of killing his wife, he had already faced justice.