Chapter 85 A Cunning Plan with Red Bean Buns

As he arrived at the restaurant, a sour, rancid smell hit him. He frowned almost imperceptibly, but his face remained businesslike: "Manager Lin, was someone causing trouble just now?"

Lin Yao recounted the incident in detail, and Qu Zhong had already made up his mind. Although he also tended to believe that someone had deliberately caused trouble, the government relied most on concrete evidence in its investigations. Now that the person had disappeared, he could only inquire around the area based on Lin Yao's description.

However, after hearing Lin Yao mention the pickled bamboo shoots, Qu Zhong found himself quite interested. It was already time to finish his shift, so he simply sat down in the shop and ordered a bowl of snail rice noodles and a plate of stir-fried snails.

The shop's business was ruined by Zhang Ou and his gang today, and there were still quite a few snails left in the kitchen. Lin Yao made Qu Zhong a huge portion of stir-fried snails as a way of thanking him for his trip.

Qu Zhong was initially a little worried about the taste, but after eating one, she couldn't stop slurping up snails one after another. It has to be said, the pickled bamboo shoots had a truly overpowering flavor; although the smell was pungent, the taste was exceptionally delicious. However, the aroma was so strong that she feared she would have to change all her clothes after the meal. "Manager Lin," Qu Zhong said, "have you considered opening another shop specializing in pickled bamboo shoots? Otherwise, other customers will inevitably smell like them when they come in to eat."

"That's exactly what we were planning, and we'll be opening soon," Lin Yao replied. "We've rented the shop from the Sun family's noodle shop. Grandpa Sun is getting old, and his son works as an accountant for a wealthy family. A few days ago, he had a big, healthy grandson, so he's gone back to enjoy his grandson's company. When the new shop opens, the constable must come and show his support; there will be new dishes then!"

Qu Zhong nodded upon hearing this: "I will definitely go. I want to see what new dishes Manager Lin has come up with this time."

After Qu Zhong left, Lin Yao had the shop assistants close the shop.

It was still early, so she took out a charcoal pencil she had made and sketched Zhang Ou, who had led the riot earlier. Wang Zhi watched from the side, marveling at the drawing. He had initially thought Lin Yao was just joking when she said she wanted a portrait drawn but didn't grind any ink, only taking a charcoal pencil. He never expected the drawing to be so lifelike.

Lin Yao drew three portraits and gave them to A-Zhu, A-Fu, and Lin Cheng respectively, asking them to inquire about them separately.

Since she had nothing better to do, Lin Yao bought five catties of red beans and went to the martial arts school. When she arrived, it was just after the children had finished their training and were having free time.

As soon as they entered the martial arts school, Zhang Dashan spotted her and shouted, "Sister Lin!" The other children, hearing the sound, rushed over and surrounded her. Lin Song, her younger brother, was pushed to the back.

Xu Zhiheng stepped forward and took the basket from her hand. "What delicious food is in here?"

"Red beans, we'll use them to make red bean buns." Lin Yao looked at the children and asked with a smile, "Does anyone want to eat some fragrant and sweet red bean buns?"

The children's eyes lit up instantly, and they circled around Lin Yao like a group of little gluttons.

"I want to eat!"

"Sister Lin, can I have two?"

Amidst the chattering, Tang Le looked up, her face covered in sweat, revealing her mouth with a missing tooth: "Sister Lin, are red bean buns soft? My tooth fell out."

Lin Yao squatted down and ruffled his hair: "Yes, it was still steaming hot when it came out of the pot. When you break it open, it's filled with sweet red bean paste, and it's not hard on your teeth at all."

Xu Zhiheng carried the red beans into the martial arts school's small kitchen. Turning around, he saw Lin Yao being entangled by the children and couldn't get away. He smiled and came to her rescue: "What are you all doing surrounding Sister Lin? Hurry up and wash your hands, or you won't be able to eat red bean buns later."

The children scattered with a shout, rushing towards the well like a gust of wind, eagerly washing their hands.

Xu Zhiheng followed Lin Yao into the kitchen. "What can I help you with?"

"Help me start the fire." Lin Yao poured the red beans into a basin to rinse them. "The red beans need to be soaked for half an hour first, then cooked until very soft, and then mashed into a paste before they can be used." As she spoke, she added water to the basin.

Zhang Dashan slipped in at some point, peering through the doorframe: "Sister Lin, can I help you pound red beans? I'm strong!" He clenched his fist as he spoke.

"Of course we can, but we have to wait until the red beans are cooked until they're soft. We need to make the dumpling wrappers first." Lin Yao nodded with a smile. "Dashan, call everyone else in, let's make red bean buns together."

Zhang Dashan jumped for joy and ran outside, shouting, "Come on, come on! Sister Lin wants us to make red bean buns together!"

The children ran into the kitchen like a flock of cheerful little birds, filling the small space to the brim.

Lin Yao placed the risen dough on the work surface. The dough was white and plump, full of tiny honeycomb-like holes. "Come on, let's learn how to knead dough first." She pinched off pieces of dough and distributed them to the children. "Knead it back and forth like this until it's smooth."

The children immediately started to imitate them. Some kneaded the dough into long strips, some pinched it into round lumps, and one little one even stuck the dough directly to his face, making everyone burst into laughter.

"Sister Lin, my dough can breathe!" a child shouted, holding up a piece of dough he had poked a small hole in, from which steam was rising. Lin Yao smiled and pinched the hole shut for him: "That's the yeast doing its work; it'll be soft and fluffy when it steams."

Xu Zhiheng was pounding red bean paste on the side, but his eyes kept sneaking peeks at Lin Yao teaching the children how to knead dough. She was teaching the children how to knead dough, and her face was covered in flour, making her look like a little kitten. He couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Hearing the laughter, Lin Yao assumed he was also amused by the children's innocent antics. But when she looked up, their eyes met.

Xu Zhiheng hurriedly looked away, and Lin Yao didn't think much of it, continuing to knead the dough.

The red bean paste in the stone mortar was still steaming, with brown sugar melted inside. The sweet aroma mixed with the fragrance of the flour filled the entire kitchen.

Tang Le was the most impatient, kneading the dough and complaining, "When can we make red bean paste? My mouth is watering just smelling the red beans!"

"Coming right away." Lin Yao pinched the dough into evenly sized pieces, rolled out round wrappers, and handed them to the children. "Put the red bean paste in the middle, and pinch it like this." She pinched the edge of the wrapper and twisted it gently to create a beautiful spiral top. "Remember to pinch it tightly, otherwise the filling will leak out when steaming."

The children learned very well; some pinched three pleats, some pinched a round ball, and Song Mi even pressed a red bean on top of the bun as decoration.

Xu Zhiheng also picked up a dough sheet, scooped a spoonful of red bean paste into the middle, and clumsily moved his fingers towards the center, resulting in a small tear in the dough, and the red bean paste flowed out through his fingers.

"Did your master leave a little hole in the steamed buns?" Lin Yao handed him a damp cloth to wipe his hands. "Let me do it. You can help put the wrapped buns into the steamer."

Xu Zhiheng watched Lin Yao repair the "failed product" he had made, and then looked at the round red bean buns in Lin Yao's hands. He suddenly felt that this was more time-consuming than practicing a set of boxing moves.

He picked up the misshapen and cracked dates the children had wrapped and carefully placed them in the steamer.

When the first batch of steamed buns was almost ready, a long queue had already formed at the kitchen door.

The moment Lin Yao lifted the lid, steam rose from the red bean buns, and the children all swallowed hard. Several of the younger ones couldn't help but stand on tiptoe, their little hands gripping the edge of the stove, trying to peek inside.

"Don't rush, they're still very hot from the pot." Lin Yao picked up the bamboo chopsticks and carefully placed the red bean buns into the basket lined with cotton cloth. The freshly steamed buns were round and plump, and the crookedly shaped buns made by the children looked even more adorable.

“One for each of you, share it.” Lin Yao pushed the basket towards the children. “Dashan is the older brother, so he should give some to the younger brothers and sisters first.”

Although Zhang Dashan was really craving it, he still obediently distributed it.

Song Mi took the red bean bun, held it in both hands, blew on it again and again, and took a small bite. The sweet red bean paste melted on her tongue, and her eyes curved into crescents: "It's even sweeter than the sugar cakes from the town's candy shop!"

Lin Yao took out the one Xu Zhiheng had made and handed it to him, taking one for herself as well. Xu Zhiheng took the bun that he had kneaded and repaired, the skin still bearing some irregular folds. He took a bite, and the soft dough wrapped around the creamy red bean paste, the sweet aroma spreading in his mouth.

"How is it?" Lin Yao looked at him, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"It's delicious." Xu Zhiheng smiled. "The children will probably be looking forward to your visit every day from now on."

Lin Yao blew on the red bean bun in her hand and said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? I'll come whenever I have time." As she ate, she watched the children sitting in a row across from her eating buns, and her mood lightened considerably.

~

Lin's Restaurant opened early as usual today. At lunchtime, many unsuspecting customers came to eat as usual.

As expected, Zhang Ou and his group arrived, swaggering in like fleas that couldn't be shaken off.

Seeing their smug expressions, Ah Zhu wanted to stop them at the door, but remembering Lin Yao's instructions, he suppressed his anger and welcomed them in as if they were any other guests.

Seeing that Ah Zhu dared not speak out in anger, the men became even more convinced that Lin Yao could not do anything to them, and arrogantly spat at Ah Zhu: "A mere watchdog, he really thinks he's something."

After Zhang Ou sat down, he used the same trick again, ordering a table full of dishes made with pickled bamboo shoots. Afu looked at the menu, hesitant, and Zhang Ou immediately exclaimed, "What? Does Lin Family Restaurant not allow customers to order food anymore?"

Ah Fu gritted his teeth and replied, "Of course not. It's just that you ordered a lot of dishes, and I'm not very bright, so I was afraid I wouldn't remember them all, which is why I was a little slow to react."

In the kitchen, Wang Xiaoyu quickly prepared the dishes Zhang Ou had ordered. After serving the dishes, Zhang Ou took a few bites, and as expected, just like yesterday, suddenly raised her voice, accusing the restaurant's food of being stale.

The customers in the restaurant were engrossed in their meals when the sudden commotion drew their attention, and many stopped eating.

Wu Daqiang and his wife rarely came out today, thinking they would come to the restaurant to support Lin Yao and her brother's business. They never expected to encounter this problem as soon as they arrived. He frowned and looked over: "How come it's not fresh? We eat it without any problems, but yours is the only one that has a problem?"

Zhang Ou glanced at him sideways and spat the pickled bamboo shoots in his mouth onto the ground: "I've lived in this town my whole life, and this shop used to be my Yuelai Zhai! I can guarantee that there's absolutely no problem with the food here! But you, bringing a bunch of people here making a racket, what are you up to!"

Yuelaizhai is a time-honored brand in Qingquan Town, known for its fair prices and superior quality. Many people grew up eating Yuelaizhai's pastries. With Wu Daqiang vouching for them, the shop's customers felt much more at ease.

Lin Yao stood at the counter, waiting for Zhang Ou to confront her. Seeing that Zhang Ou was about to spout nonsense again, she immediately raised her voice and said to the other customers in the shop, "The food in our shop is absolutely fine! However, I'm just making this up, and you gentlemen certainly won't believe me, so please..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door of Lin's Restaurant was suddenly kicked open, and a group of constables rushed in menacingly. The leader shouted, "Who is the manager! Seize her!"

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Author's Note: Xu Zhiheng: The kids are looking forward to it, and so am I! [covers face and peeks]

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