Free Web NovelChapter 107: Chapter 107: The Young Master Can Cook Too
The group arrived at Yunhe Garden, and Xu Yunzhou, quite unceremoniously, sent everyone off to prep the ingredients.
Although Li Yuexing and the others had told her she didn’t need to help with the prep work, Yun Zijin felt too awkward to do nothing, so she followed them into the back kitchen.
Out of the 21 people in the group, including Yun Zijin and Mei Lin, there were only four women. Two of them were designers from the Sheng and Li Groups.
Xu Yunzhou sauntered over to Li Yuexing’s side and asked in a low voice, "Which one is the Zijing you were just talking about?"
He was a few years older than Li Yuexing and the others, and of a slightly higher generation, but that didn’t stop him from having a gossip’s heart.
"Take a guess?"
There was no way Li Yuexing would spill the beans that easily.
"Not talking? Well then, I guess the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall you ordered is probably off the menu."
Xu Yunzhou wasn’t one to be trifled with; he immediately found a way to get leverage over Li Yuexing.
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was his signature dish. Anyone who got to eat it was considered lucky.
If he hadn’t happened to have prepared a few portions yesterday, there definitely wouldn’t have been any when they suddenly called to say they were coming for dinner today.
"It’d be no fun if I just told you directly. You have to observe carefully."
Li Yuexing still didn’t give a clear answer, but his tone was less punch-worthy than before.
Yun Zijin walked a lap around the kitchen but, to her surprise, couldn’t find a single thing to do.
Lu Yunque passed in front of Yun Zijin, carrying a basket of string beans. Seeing the unprepared beans, Yun Zijin’s eyes lit up.
"Mr. Lu, are you going to string the beans?"
Lu Yunque stopped, turned his head to look at Yun Zijin, and nodded.
"Mhm, want to join?"
"Sure!"
Finally finding something to do, a smile spread across Yun Zijin’s face.
The kitchen was too crowded, so Lu Yunque carried the basket out to the courtyard of Yunhe Garden.
Luckily, Yunhe Garden hadn’t opened for business yet when they called, so besides their group and the restaurant’s staff, there was no one else there.
As for Chef Xu, he didn’t want to cook for too many people, so he had rejected everyone who called after Lu Yunque.
The two of them sat on chairs in the courtyard, placing the basket of beans on the low table between them.
Watching Lu Yunque expertly string the beans, Yun Zijin was a bit surprised. "I thought a man of your high standing wouldn’t get his hands dirty. I didn’t expect you to be so skilled."
"I studied abroad for a year. You know what foreign food is like, but I happen to have a Hua Country stomach, so I had to learn to fend for myself."
Living alone for a year, I learned to do all the things I couldn’t do before.
"So you know how to cook, too?"
Hearing Lu Yunque say that, Yun Zijin was even more surprised. freeweɓnovel.cøm
’I can’t believe someone like Lu Yunque, who seems to live on a different plane, actually has practical life skills.’
"I can make some simple dishes. I never learned formally."
You couldn’t expect his self-taught cooking skills to be that amazing.
"That’s still really impressive. I thought you..."
"Thought that someone with my background wouldn’t lift a finger and couldn’t tell one crop from another?"
Yun Zijin trailed off, but Lu Yunque finished the sentence for her.
Yun Zijin gave a dry laugh; she hadn’t thought he was *that* out of touch.
"It seems I’ve been misjudged by stereotypes. Next time I have a chance, I’ll cook a meal for you to clear my name."
With that, Lu Yunque finished stringing the last bean and put it in the basket. "All done. You can relax out here for a bit. I’ll just take these in to wash them."
With so many people, the prep work was divided among them, so no one had much to do individually.
Yun Zijin wasn’t one to be coy, so she nodded and agreed.
Not long after Lu Yunque went into the kitchen with the basket, Mei Lin came out. Seeing Yun Zijin, she changed direction and walked toward her.
"Miss."
"Mhm. How are the preparations coming along in there? Any estimate on when we’ll be able to eat?"
Yun Zijin was already starting to feel hungry.
"The prep work is almost done. It should take about forty minutes to cook everything. If you’re hungry, I can cut up some fruit for you to tide you over?"
Mei Lin herself was a Mechanical Race member, so it didn’t matter to her whether she ate or not, but Yun Zijin was different.
"Miss Yun, I cut up some fruit. Would you like some?"
Just as Mei Lin mentioned cutting up fruit for Yun Zijin, Lu Yunque came out carrying a plate of it.
He was carrying a large platter with sliced cantaloupe, mango, and some white-fleshed dragon fruit, along with washed grapes and red grapes, which he placed on the table next to Yun Zijin.
"It’ll still be a little while before the food is ready. Have some fruit to tide you over."
As he spoke, he handed Yun Zijin a fork.
"Thank you. Mei Lin just offered to cut some fruit for me, too. You two were thinking the same thing."
Yun Zijin took the fork and speared a piece of cantaloupe to eat.
"Is that so? Then it seems we had the same idea."
The corners of Lu Yunque’s mouth lifted slightly. His smiling eyes watched Yun Zijin, giving the impression that they were full of deep affection.
For a moment, Yun Zijin was captivated by his gaze, but she quickly came to her senses and avoided looking into his eyes again.
Lu Yunque noticed her averting her gaze and, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, found an excuse to head back into the kitchen.
Left alone outside, Yun Zijin looked at the meticulously cut and arranged fruit platter on the table, took a deep breath, and calmed herself down.
Before long, the two female designers from the Sheng and Li Groups came out of the back kitchen. Seeing Yun Zijin sitting outside alone, they walked over as well.
"Miss Yun, why are you sitting here all by yourself?"
"Aren’t you going to help inside, Miss Yun? Everyone in the kitchen is so busy."
Yun Zijin: ...
’During the project bidding earlier, how did I not notice these two were so two-faced?’
"Oh, Lu Yunque and I were just stringing beans out here. You probably didn’t see."
’It’s not like I was slacking. I walked a whole lap around the kitchen, and this was the only task I could find. And now that it’s done, it’s not a crime for me to sit here for a bit, is it?’
"How dare the people chased out by Chef Xu have the nerve to accuse others of not working?"
Lu Yunque had come out of the kitchen at some point, and his words made the two female designers flush red with shame.
"Mr.... Mr. Lu..."
Clearly, neither of them had expected Lu Yunque to come out of the kitchen at that exact moment.
"If you can’t do your work properly, then just stay put and don’t cause trouble!"
Lu Yunque was never one to go easy on women. He had heard every word of their passive-aggressive digs at Yun Zijin.
It was their unanimous decision that Yun Zijin didn’t need to help with the prep work. Even if she really did nothing, no one would have said a word.
’Besides, it’s not their place to comment on a decision we’ve made.’
The two women hung their heads and said nothing, afraid that Lu Yunque would kick them out if he was the least bit displeased.
Yun Zijin’s lips twitched, but she paid them no mind.
Lu Yunque didn’t look at them either, turning his attention to Yun Zijin instead.
"Miss Yun, I heard you say my name just now, and it made me realize that we’ve known each other for this long but still call each other ’Mr.’ and ’Miss.’
It feels a bit distant. You can just call me by my name, like you did a moment ago."
