Chapter 49 – Those After My Sister Must Pass Me First!
Translated by Prosperousfood.com
Rehosted by Gumihou at kitchennovel.com
Edited by Gumihou
In the span of one afternoon, Ye Chui and Lin Wei managed to pick out the best possible furnitures for the restaurant within his budget. This lady was very focused on her task, and showed off her good eye and bargaining skills. In the spirit of an experienced female shopper, she insisted that all tables and chairs must match.
Although Ye Chui finds shopping with Lin Wei a bit tiring, he had to admit that Lin Wei had good taste. The furniture mart agreed to deliver the furniture to them – since they had bought so many things and their restaurant so near, the furniture people managed to deliver 8 sets of tables with the accompanying chairs.
They even managed to get the delivery people to arrange the furniture nicely for them. The final touch were two simple but elegant pots of plants at the entrance, Lin Wei picked them out at a nearby flower shop just for the diner.
Ye Chui nodded his head. For a restaurant, the interior décor is very important. Although he was not opening a high-end restaurant, these tables and chairs were quite tasteful, and make his restaurant seemed more comfortable and relaxing.
After running about all day, Lin Wei was very tired. She leaned her elbows on the brand new table and grumbled in a rather spoiled manner. “Ah, I am so tired, so tired! My tummy’s growling, ah. Ye Chui, Ye Chui, you better make something good for me! I want the Elder Han feast!”
“All right, please wait a while.” Ye Chui smiled as he put on his apron and walked into the kitchen. He had already prepared all ingredients earlier.
It is almost evening, Wang Shiyu and An Jing should be back soon. It would be great if everyone could enjoy the dinner together.
Ye Chui was very fussy when it came to his ingredients, and demanded the best. For example, to ensure the optimal taste for the Shaoxing Drunken chicken, Ye Chui had specially taken care of that particular chicken for a few days. Each day, he would feed it a little wine to ensure the chicken meat would be permeated with the flavour of wine. When he finally killed the chicken, the meat would be infused with the aroma of wine. This was the secret of his Shaoxing Drunken Chicken.
For the Stewed Chicken with Mushrooms, Ye Chui insisted on using the finest quality mushrooms that he procured by using his connection with the vegetable stall owners in the wet market.
For each step, he would insist on the highest standard ingredients.
When it comes to cooking at home, however, he was much more relaxed and did not demand the same perfection. Of course, the food that he cooked were all very tasty. Unless you are a food critic with a very sensitive tongue like Elder Han, it was very hard for most people to discern the quality of the food that he cooked.
In a short while, all kinds of mouth-watering aroma came flowing from the kitchen. Lin Wei’s mouth watered. She tried several times to sneak into the kitchen and pinch some food but was chased out by Ye Chui. She had no choice but to sit at the dining table and grumbled as she stared at the kitchen.
She was not without entertainment, however, she amused to find that quite a few passerby had followed the scent of food into the restaurant, only to be sent away by the news that the restaurant was not open for business yet. They all went away disappointed, and promised to come back on the day of the grand opening. This was the first time that Lin Wei did service staff work, and she found it quite fun.
When sounds of footstep came, she thought that more random people had been lured in by the smell, and was surprised to see An Jing and Wang Shiyu.
An Jing and Wang Shiyu had just finished their lessons and was now home for dinner. They were surprised to see Lin Wei, but Wang Shiyu was quick-witted as usual and immediately skipped up and to hug Lin Wei, “Elder sister, it had been some time it’s been so long since I’ve seen you! I missed you so much!”
Lin Wei stroked Wang Shiyu’s head. She was very pleased to hear these words, and smiled, “I missed you too!” Then she looked at An Jing and greeted her, “An Jing, how are you?”
“I am fine, elder sis, how are you?” An Jing smiled as she greeted back.
Just then, a very arrogant voice suddenly rang out, “An Jing, this is your family restaurant? Isn’t it too tiny?”
The one speaking was a young man of about 15 or 16 years old. He followed An Jing and Wang Shiyu into the restaurant uninvited, clearly determined to look down on this place.
Lin Wei was very upset at this young man’s remarks! How dare he sneered at the size of this restaurant? She was the one who picked out the furniture and décor!
An Jing also frowned. This restaurant was the result of her brother’s blood and sweat. She was unhappy with the way this man talk.
When Ye Chui heard voices, he exited the kitchen with a spatula in hand. At the sight of the strange young man, he questioned, “Who are you?”
“Brother, this is my classmate, Zhao Hongyu,” An Jing quickly informed Ye Chui.
“Classmate?” Ye Chui was surprised. For some strange reason, his brotherly protective instincts flared up: Had his sister brought this man home because she liked him? Curse you, if you want to chase my sister you must first pass my approval. A man who wished to date my sister must be of good character, manners, upbringing, family etc…
All these thoughts zipped through Ye Chui’s mind in a split second, but he managed to maintain his calm as he said, “Classmate Zhao, what is your business here?”
“Oh, it’s like this. Tomorrow weekend, our class will be visiting the Ma Lan Hills. Since this is a class activity and everyone should participate. But An Jing says that she could not come because she has to help you out. As the class representative, I am here here to find out the details.” Zhao puffed up his chest with this long recitation. “Of course, I know that your family is in a challenging position, therefore I shall take care of An Jing’s fees, so there’s no need for you to worry about it.”
Ye Chui felt very annoyed. He did not like this young man’s attitude. On the other hand, he felt a little more relaxed when he realized that this idiot was a tag-a-long, he smiled. “A spring outing? Since it’s a class activity then our An Jing should definitely go, we’ll naturally pay for the expenses too.”
“Brother, it is rare for me to have some time off, I want to help you with the business.” An Jing quickly protested..
“The restaurant is more or less ready. There’s only the chef license left.” Ye Chui knew that An Jing did not want to waste money, but he didn’t want her to be left out of a class activity. He had money now. The only issue now was…
He glanced at Zhao Hongyu and grew even more suspicious, this Zhao Hongyu was looking at his sisters with predatory eyes, was he planning to make a move on his precious sister in this spring outing?
His brotherly instincts flared up, as he thought quickly for a solution. Suddenly his eyes brightened, “Hey, since it’s the weekend, can others join the trip?”
“You want to come tool?” Zhao Hongyu was surprised and thought for a bit and agreed, “Sure, we have two large buses, and there is enough space. It’s $100 per person for the trip.”
“Great, “ Ye Chui took out 4 hundred dollar bills and passed it to Zhao Hongyu. “Four of us will be going.”
“Yi?” Lin Wei counted the number of people and realized that she had been included in the group. She said reproachfully, “I never said anything about going with you.”
“It’s the Ma Lan Hills, ah. There are lots of little brooks and streamlets there, and in those brooks are fishes, prawns and crabs. And you know what? My grilling skills are top notch.” Ye Chui smiled as he enticed Lin Wei’s stomach.
Immediately, Lin Wei did an about turn and agreed, “All right…. But I am not going because of you…. I just want to have fun.”
“All right, All right, I understand,” Ye Chui nodded, with a smile.
An Jing felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck, this brother of hers sure have unique flirting skills…
Zhao Hongyu accepted the money without a comment, his eyes rove around the newly renovated interior and sniffed the air in an obvious manner. With some surprise he said, “What’s this? It smells really great, ah.”
He looked up at Ye Chui and said haughtily, “Was it you who cooked? Not bad, would you like me to introduce you to a good position? There’s no future in running a small diner like this, after all. Do you even know who my father is? My father owns 32 canteens in Xizhou, you know. For An Jing’s sake I can recommend you to my father, you can learn the canteen business, the salary is not bad either.”
The way this kid talk, the air of ‘Second generation rich young master’ permeates every word, which left Ye Chui speechless. Surely there should be a limit to your arrogance over your daddy’s money, ba? He managed to keep his tone neutral, “No need, I prefer running my own diner.”
“Then forget it.” Zhao Hongyu lifted his face and sniffed obviously again. “Still, what are you making? I’ve never smelled any fragrance like this before.”
“That’s the Stewed Chicken and Mushroom. It’s made with Tibetan chicken and oyster mushrooms which brings out the flavour of chicken best. The fragrance is especially captivating.” Ye Chui explained briefly. Then he tipped his head as though he had just thought of something and asked, “We are about to have dinner soon, have you eaten yet?”
Zhao Hongyu heard this, he immediately replied, “Not yet!”
“Then you better go and get your dinner somewhere, ah! Why are you still standing here?” Ye Chui pretended to be surprised.
Zhao Hongyu：“……”
^_^
Translated by Prosperous Food dot Com
Rehosted by Gumihou from kitchennovel dot com.
Edited by Gumihou
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