As soon as Ye Tian saw Yan Xi, she knew he was the kind of child who had been spoiled. Doted on at home by his family, he was likely popular with his friends, and perhaps even had a lot of girls pursuing him, which contributed to his unruly demeanor.

Master Yun was unmarried and childless, and he loved his nephew very much, treating him like his own son. Ye Tian was actually much older than Yan Xi, so in her heart she also treated him like a junior.

Since she agreed to cook, she decided to make two delicious and simple dishes. The beef was especially fresh today, so she decided to make some stir-fried beef.

Ye Tian cut a piece of beef leg into even slices, following the grain. First, add some scallion and ginger water to the beef, moistening it for a more tender and smooth stir-fry. Then, add light soy sauce, cooking wine, oyster sauce, sugar, and a little bit of cornstarch, mixing well. Finally, add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, mix again, and marinate for about 5 minutes.

Sometimes cooking requires attention to every step of the process, and the same goes for mixing dumpling fillings. You can't just throw all the ingredients and seasonings together at once, otherwise the food you make will always taste perfunctory.

Sometimes, cooking is like life: you have to take it one step at a time. Nothing can be accomplished overnight, and haste makes waste. Trying to cut corners and muddle through will only lead to a messy life.

While the beef was marinating, Ye Tian prepared minced ginger, garlic, coriander, chili peppers and pickled peppers. The pickled peppers were a bag she found in the refrigerator. The effect might not be as good as if she had marinated them herself, but this was the only way she could do.

After the oil boils, she adds the marinated beef and stir-fry over high heat until it changes color. Don't stir-fry for too long, or the meat will become tough. Then, heat oil in another pan, add minced ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add pickled peppers and chili peppers, stir-fry until fragrant, then add the beef. Finally, add the cilantro stems and stir-fry with the beef. Then, add a little salt and light soy sauce, stir-fry for a few more times, and serve.

Ye Tian specifically asked Yan Xi if he liked cilantro, and he said he loved it, so she made this dish. She also made a simpler version of smashed cucumber, using the cilantro leaves left over from stir-frying beef.

In a short while, the two dishes and a large bowl of rice were ready. The rice was leftover from lunch; she simply heated it up in the microwave instead of making fried rice. The greasy stir-fried pork and crispy cucumber seemed to go better with the white rice. As for the fried rice, it was fine on its own.

"So fast?" Yan Xi felt that the game had not been played for very long. It was only about 15 minutes in total, and Ye Tian brought out two dishes. Just looking at the colors, they were very tempting.

"They are all simple and quick dishes. How about trying them?" Ye Tian said confidently.

Yan Xi was not modest either. He put down his phone, picked up the chopsticks and picked up a piece of beef.

"Mmm...it smells so good!" The dish was still a little hot when it came out of the pot. He took several deep breaths of cool air before swallowing half of the dish. Then he took a mouthful of rice because it was too spicy.

"It's so satisfying, the combination of coriander and beef is just amazing!" Then he picked up a piece of cucumber, "This cucumber is cool and crisp, so appetizing!" Yan Xi took a bite of beef, a bite of rice, and another bite of cucumber, enjoying the meal very much.

"I soaked some cucumbers in ice water. Eating them cool in the summer is more comfortable." While cooking, Ye Tian felt the slightly wilted cucumbers at room temperature and decided they weren't cool enough, so she came up with this idea on the spur of the moment. In ancient times, when there were no refrigerators, many things had to be kept cool, so she sometimes resorted to the old-fashioned method.

When Master Yun arrived at the private room, he was amused to see Yan Xi looking like he hadn't eaten before. "Oh, you look like you've eaten! How's it going? Is Master Xiao Ye's cooking delicious?"

"Delicious!" Yan Xi stuffed his mouth full, shoveling the last bit of beef and cilantro into his bowl of rice. There was a little chili and oil left on his plate. He finished his bowl in a few bites, then picked up the last piece of cucumber from another plate and devoured it in a few crunches. Although he was already full, he still felt a little unsatisfied.

He looked at the plate and finally picked out two small pieces of cilantro. He picked them up carefully and slowly put them into his mouth to finish them.

"Puchi! You are such a good boy who cherishes food!" Master Yun laughed at him.

Ye Tian was very pleased with Yan Xi's support, but she still said modestly, "It's not that my cooking is so delicious, it's mainly because it's hot in the summer and sometimes people lose their appetite. It just so happens that these two dishes go well with rice. And Yan Xi was hungry, so he ate them all in one go."

"Master's wife, don't be so modest. It's really delicious. The beef is tender and smooth, spicy enough, the smashed cucumber is crispy, and the seasoning is especially good. I didn't expect that you can make Hunan cuisine so delicious. It's a hundred times better than the Hunan restaurants outside!" Yan Xi was in a very good mood after eating. His smile was as bright as the bubbling ice cola in his hand, which was a perfect match for this summer.

"By the way, uncle-master, I have something important to tell you. Please help me think about it." Yan Xi told Master Yun about the simple restaurant renovation plan that he had discussed with Ye Tian before.

Master Yun listened very carefully. In fact, he had thought about these things, but they were only temporary solutions and not the root cause, so he did not implement them.

He was silent for a while, and just as he was about to twirl something with his hands, he realized he didn't have the bracelet. So he stood up, said "I'll think about it!", and walked out of the room.

Yan Xi looked at Ye Tian with a confused look on his face.

Ye Tian probably guessed what Master Yun was thinking, but she didn't know how to explain it to Yan Xi, so she simply took the empty bowls and plates and sent them to the kitchen.

"Why, why did they all leave, leaving me here alone..." Yan Xi was even more confused.

Master Yun walked into his lounge, took out a huanghuali bracelet from the drawer, and leaned back on the sofa to play with the beads.

After a full half hour, Yan Yuanxing came to find Yun Yi. Seeing him leaning against the sofa and playing with his bracelet, he asked curiously, "Hey, you took out the bracelet again? You're becoming more and more like an old man in the capital!"

"You are already in your forties, so you can just be an uncle! Your son just told me that he wants to do some simple cleanup of Jingweilou, change the wallpaper, carpet, tablecloth, tableware and so on. What do you think?" Yun Yi continued to play with the bracelet in a casual manner.

Yan Yuanxing asked, "Is that kid starting to think of something again?"

"I guess he asked Xiaoye. Xiaoye is calm and smart. He knows that it is impossible for us to completely renovate the house for the time being, so he came up with this idea." Master Yun replied.

Yan Yuanxing looked around, then sat down on a nearby chair and said, "Yeah, it's really old. It's been 10 years since the last renovation! A little repair wouldn't be bad. It wouldn't cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it would take two or three days to fix! How about... just give it a little tinkering first?"

Yun Yi simply said: "You are the boss, of course it is your decision."

"Don't you also have shares and voting rights?" Yan Yuanxing said again.

"Then let's repair it. Let's start quickly while there are not many people around at the beginning of the week." Yun Yi stopped and walked to the drawer and threw the rosewood bracelet into the drawer.

"Okay, then I'll arrange it now!" Yan Yuanxing suddenly became energetic and hurried out.

Yun Yi looked out the window. Across the street was another century-old brand, a copper furnace hot pot restaurant. Facing each other on the same road, the other restaurant was now much more famous than his own. Why?