IHOEAYSTTTIW Chapter 57

Chapter 57: Growing Bigger and Stronger, Blooming Everywhere

After lunch, Cheng Que called the handyman to the back kitchen.

He was just about to introduce him to Lin Yan when he noticed that the handyman looked a little different than usual, but the more he looked, the more familiar he seemed.

“Are you the newly hired handyman, Mu Luo? No…” Cheng Que narrowed his eyes as he looked at the person in front of him, his fingers quickly searching his memory. He quickly remembered where he had seen this face before, and his attitude instantly cooled down a bit. “I remember Manager Luo has a younger brother? Little Manager Luo, what a rare guest!”

Mu Luo nervously wrung his hands, his head buried low, mumbling denials, “I don’t know any…”

“Manager Luo, you must be lost. This is the smoky back kitchen.” The sound of footsteps grew closer, and the waiter’s voice gradually became clearer. “Manager Gu, Manager Luo from Yi Pin Lou is here, please come out and greet him quickly.”

Cheng Que was shocked and was just about to let Lin Yan slip out the back door when Manager Luo burst in. He scanned the room and quickly identified his target. The person in front of him was not dressed very cleverly – wasn’t this the Lin surname Ge’er, now the Consort of Prince An?

Manager Luo’s gaze lingered on Lin Yan’s forehead for a moment, and he quickly adjusted his expression. His smile deepened, and he bowed even lower than before. “Your Highness, Consort, you really are here. I was rude before, my eyes failed to recognize Mount Tai…”

“Manager Luo, Yi Pin Lou and Xiang Wei Men are right across from each other, it’s normal for you to dislike us, but sending someone to steal our secrets is not right.” Lin Yan picked up the tea and took a sip, gesturing towards the door with his hand. “Old Gu, see the guest out!”

Gu Zhan, who had rushed over, grabbed Manager Luo by the collar, his voice laced with threat, “Please, Manager.”

Manager Luo shook off Gu Zhan’s hand and knelt in front of Lin Yan with a “plop,” bowing repeatedly to the group. “Manager Gu, Manager Cheng, please be kind and let me finish what I have to say before I leave.”

Gu Zhan turned to Lin Yan with a questioning look.

Looking at the person on the ground still kowtowing, Lin Yan felt a prickling sensation all over. He suppressed the urge to jump up from the stool, had Gu Zhan lift the man up, and sighed, “Speak, then.”

Manager Luo bowed repeatedly, his flattering smile undiminished as he raised his head. “Your Highness, Consort, seeing how well Xiang Wei’s business is doing, why not take over Yi Pin Lou as well…”

Mu Luo, who had been trembling since Manager Luo entered, took a step forward and opened his mouth timidly. “Bro, Brother, is there something wrong with the store? I have some silver, you can use it first…”

“Shut up, you have no right to speak here.” Manager Luo shouted at Mu Luo, then turned back to Lin Yan, reverting to his flattering demeanor as quickly as a Sichuan opera face change. “As long as Your Highness agrees to take over Yi Pin Lou, I will certainly…”

Lin Yan ignored Manager Luo and instead looked at Mu Luo. “I heard from Cheng Cheng that your knife skills are good?”

Mu Luo lowered his head even further, the voice of the 1.8-meter tall man barely audible. “I used to learn some basics from my master, but something happened at home, and I didn’t continue learning.”

“Something happened at home, huh?” Lin Yan turned to look at Manager Luo.

“My parents passed away, I had no choice.” Manager Luo wiped his sweat, glancing guiltily at the handyman, and seeing that the boy still looked like a coward, he continued to make up the story. “The two elders loved this youngest son the most, and specifically instructed him before their death to observe mourning for three years.”

In all dynasties, filial piety was valued, and the rules of mourning were more complicated than the last. But no matter how complicated, it was the business of those aristocratic families. Ordinary commoners, especially merchants who did not plan to take the imperial examination route, always considered the mourning period over once the funeral was over. There was never a rule of observing mourning for three years, let alone the eldest son eating and drinking well outside, listening to songs and music, while the youngest son wore sackcloth and filial piety to serve before the spirit.

“Manager Luo’s filial piety is truly commendable.” Lin Yan was too lazy to expose Manager Luo’s clumsy lies. He walked around the kitchen and quickly identified his target.

Lin Yan casually scooped out a piece of tofu from a jar in the corner and placed it on the cutting board, then scooped a bowl of water and placed it next to it. Finally, under the puzzled gazes of everyone, he drew the thinnest slicing knife from the knife rack.

The knife cut into the tofu like a swimming fish, each cut precise and delicate, the force as even as if measured by an instrument.

“That’s it.” Lin Yan used the knife to shovel up the tofu and put it in the water.

The tofu strands, as thin as hair, quickly dispersed, of uniform length, each strand distinct, forming a small fluffy ball floating in the water.

Manager Luo was the first to react, clapping and cheering, acting as if Lin Yan had saved the galaxy.

Lin Yan was too lazy to even look at him. He walked past Manager Luo and handed the bowl to Mu Luo. “You try?”

Mu Luo timidly took the bowl. He looked at the tofu in the bowl, took a step towards the cutting board, but was glared back by Manager Luo.

Manager Luo blocked his younger brother behind him, smiling apologetically. “How could he know those things? Your Highness, he can’t even cut a radish properly, let’s just…”

“Try.” Lin Yan acted as if Manager Luo didn’t exist and directly handed the kitchen knife to Mu Luo.

Mu Luo held the knife, glanced at Manager Luo, and finally mustered up the courage to stand in front of the cutting board. He imitated Lin Yan’s movements just now, cutting the tofu bit by bit, very slowly, but very earnestly.

The ideal is full, the reality is bone.

The tofu in the water did not develop into an embroidery ball as imagined, but scattered in a mess and finally sank to the bottom of the bowl. Although it was a failure, Lin Yan saw a few thin strands of tofu floating up when the tofu sank.

This is a good seedling, just needs…

The long-ignored Manager Luo finally found a reason to erupt. He slammed the table and shouted at the trembling person, “What is this mess? Stop embarrassing yourself here and get out…”

The sharp voice gave people a headache. Lin Yan’s hand unconsciously went to his temple, studying how to teach this petty old man a lesson.

It was autumn now, and the lemons Lin Yan had planted were ripe. The plump fruits swayed up and down in the wind, and the shadows on the window also rose and fell with them.

Lin Yan’s eyes lit up, and he instantly had an idea. “Old Gu, the weather is good today, give each customer in the store a serving of hand-pounded lemon tea.”

Hand-pounded lemon tea was simple to make but extremely laborious. One serving per table in the store, and the handyman making the tea would immediately have Popeye arms.

Gu Zhan didn’t know why Lin Yan had this whim, but he didn’t want to play along with Lin Yan. “But the store is a bit short-handed…”

Lin Yan’s disappointment was visible. He nodded and didn’t force it. “Is that so? Then…”

Manager Luo wouldn’t miss such a good opportunity to curry favor. He pushed Mu Luo forward. “Let this stupid… my brother can go, he has plenty of strength.”

Lin Yan secretly rolled his eyes, raised his hand, and pulled Mu Luo behind him. “That won’t do, I want to personally train his knife skills. I was just thinking about it on a whim, since there’s no one, then forget it.”

“How can we forget it?” Manager Luo glared fiercely at Mu Luo and volunteered to take on the task. “I don’t have anything to do anyway, I’ll just stretch my muscles.”

The old fox had finally jumped into the trap.

The corners of Lin Yan’s mouth unconsciously rose, but he declined on the surface. “That’s too much trouble for Manager Luo.”

“No trouble, no trouble.” Manager Luo waved his hands repeatedly, smiling even more flatteringly, and followed Gu Zhan out. He walked extremely slowly, one step broken into two steps, as if waiting for Lin Yan to speak, to reward him with something, but until he reached the door, Lin Yan showed no reaction.

Manager Luo’s eyes rolled around, and he chose to take the initiative to ask for some sweets for himself.

For those of them who run restaurants, the most important thing is the dishes. Xiang Wei’s dishes have always been unique, and others can’t learn them even if they want to. Now there’s an opportunity…

Manager Luo turned around and bowed, looking very embarrassed. “Your Highness, please forgive me, it’s not that I want to spy on Xiang Wei’s secrets, it’s just that I really don’t know how to make this hand-pounded lemon tea…”

Gu Zhan had long been impatient and rudely clamped Manager Luo out. “They will teach you.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” Manager Luo, who was driven out, still stretched his neck and howled inside, “Your Highness, you’re busy first, please consider the matter of joining us.”

Cheng Que was shocked by Gu Zhan’s attitude.

He looked at the noisy outside, and then at Lin Yan. After hesitating for a moment, he finally bowed slightly to Lin Yan and quickly chased out.

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