The chapter opens with a description of a new restaurant that has just opened in the town. It's called "the house of aroma" and it's filled with customers. The owner of the restaurant doesn't seem to be having too much of a hard time with the business. He's happy with the food and the atmosphere, but he's not happy about the fact that some of his customers are stealing his food. He tells the narrator to focus on the owner's kitchen first. The narrator tells us that someone opened the window of the kitchen and put garlic in the garlic-filled chicken that the owner makes. The chicken is made with a "skill" that's passed down through the generations. This is the first time that the narrator has seen a chicken that was made with garlic. He says that the chicken was "literally mouthwatering" and that he didn't want the owner to steal it. The manager of the new restaurant runs to the owner and tells him to get the customers to pay for their chicken. The man is enraged at first, but then he stops and asks the manager for a question. The new owner says that something happened to the manager, but the manager waved his hand after hearing the narrator's words. The chapter ends with the narrator telling us that the story has haunted the restaurant for a month. The restaurant is booming, and the owner is relieved that his old customers are coming in. The old beggar comes in and complains that the restaurant gives him a "crap congee" . He wants to know if the owner will give him a roast chicken, or else he'll curse the owner. This angers the owner so much that he slams the chicken pot on the floor. The next day the old beggar shows up and complains about the chicken, but jia can't do anything about it. He orders the big snake to come in and look at the chickens. The snake comes out and attacks the beggar. The beggar collapses on the ground. He opens his mouth and tries to strangle himself. He thinks that the beggar is just trying to eat the garlic. But the snake is too big for the beggar to eat it, so he eats the garlic instead.