Chapter 39: Strange Request
Rong Lao wanted to stay on the mountain to grow his American ginseng, so Yu Wan reserved a piece of land for him to use as a medicinal herb field.
The old man was so pleased that he offered to help her look after her fields.
But the old man was always running around, and Yu Wan was a little worried.
She usually lives in the county town and can't come over to check on things often, so we need someone to do the daily maintenance.
A middle-aged couple stepped forward to volunteer. The woman's name was Zhao Juan and the husband's name was Luo Lixing. They explained their family situation.
They lived in the town, with elderly parents and young children to support. Their situation was similar to Yu Wan's; they had just saved up some money and were preparing to start a business when they encountered conscription. Fortunately, they had just enough money and were not conscripted.
Since then, they have run out of capital and can't find stable jobs, so they have been doing odd jobs to make ends meet.
After talking with them, Yu Wan felt that they were honest and simple people, so she hired them on the spot, agreed on the wages, and asked them to come up the mountain once every three days.
If it hasn't rained for several days, water the plants and weed them. Let them handle the rest themselves. She'll give them instructions when she has time to come over.
When the group descended the mountain, they attracted a large crowd. Upon learning that they were helping Yu Wan with chores and would also get a free meal, they all regretted not having heard about it sooner.
Hearing that someone had become Yu Wan's long-term servant, she was extremely envious.
Since Yu Family Restaurant opened, its delicious food has been praised throughout the county, and Yu Wan, as the proprietress, is always admired for her character.
She was very generous to her subordinates. As long as they worked hard, she never deducted their wages without reason. She also gave them welfare benefits every now and then, such as vegetables, meat, rice, flour and cooking oil. Everyone got their share.
When we returned to the restaurant, it was still early.
The diners greeted her, saying they hadn't seen her in a long time, and inquired about when the branch in the county would open, saying they would go and support her.
Yu Wan felt a sense of familiarity. In her previous life, she was the owner of a popular barbecue restaurant. Many people knew her and would chat with her whenever they came to the restaurant.
She quickly washed up, changed her clothes, and was about to go to the kitchen when she was stopped.
"Can you take a rest?" He Jing looked at her with a serious expression.
From their first meeting, he watched the girl grow step by step to where she is today.
He could understand that the girl wanted to give her family a better life, but people aren't made of iron, how could she keep working so hard?
"I'm alright, not too tired," Yu Wan said with a smile. "You've been running around all day, going up and down the mountain. You really deserve a rest. You don't need to help anymore, go and rest."
She hadn't been to the restaurant for many days, so she took the opportunity to teach the kitchen staff a few new dishes.
He Jing still blocked her way, saying, "It was because we were too poor before, but life is much better now. If you keep working like this, how can your health keep up?"
Yu Wan smiled and said, "It's tiring, but not bitter. Watching my goals slowly become a reality is a very happy feeling."
The boy was taken aback, and even felt a little envious.
"The goal has become a reality..."
Yu Wan nodded, "That's right! What about you? What are your life goals? It's definitely not to be my manager, is it?"
“I…” He Jing said with a somber expression, “My life goals are probably not so easy to achieve.”
What has been unavoidable throughout history may be an unsolvable problem.
Yu Wan sighed thoughtfully, "Alas... we don't know when this war will break out again, and no one can predict how long they will live. I just heard the diners say that there is still no news of General He, and they say that he is probably in grave danger."
The boy pursed his lips and remained silent.
Yu Wan didn't know what he was so worried about all day long, so she could only offer some words of comfort:
"Try to think more positively, don't get stuck on this."
He Jing watched her figure disappear from sight, and murmured, "Was she comforting me?"
"Otherwise what?" Xue Xiujun suddenly interjected, "Why don't you tell her your true identity?"
He Jing glared at him. "You want to kill her?"
Xue Xiujun shrugged. "Never mind what I said."
After a busy day, Yu Wan didn't let Xue Xiujun eat at dinner. She waited until everyone had finished before calling him out alone.
Xue Xiujun was terrified and considered many possibilities in his mind.
For example, should we kick him out? Should we interrogate him?
Why is the landlady cutting back on his dinner tonight? Even though he secretly ate some, I still don't understand what she's up to.
It's impossible that they would know his identity, right?
When he saw Yu Wan had laid out a bunch of food on the table, he was even more confused. Could there be poison in it?
Today is not a special holiday, just an ordinary day, so why make such a fuss?
What exactly is the proprietress trying to do?
Could this be the last supper?
"Boss lady, I've been working diligently every day since I came to this restaurant. I've really tried my best. If I make a mistake, please punish me as you see fit."
Yu Wan was both amused and exasperated. "What are you talking about? When did I ever want to kick you out?"
Xue Xiujun, puzzled, pointed to the sumptuous feast on the table and asked, "Then what is this...?"
"Sit down and let me explain slowly," Yu Wan said, pointing to the seat opposite her.
Xue Xiujun dared not sit, yet dared not refuse to sit, so he could only bite the bullet and sit down.
Yu Wan smiled and said, "Axiu, I think you are very good-looking."
Xue Xiujun was even more frightened, jumping up in fright. "Boss lady, you're not going to confess your feelings to me, are you?"
His line of sight was right in front of the stairs, and he saw He Jing coming down with a dark face.
This guy must have heard it. If the landlady really confesses her feelings to him...
"You're not only good-looking, but you also have a great personality..." Yu Wan launched a barrage of sweet words, first praising his good looks, then saying that he was eloquent, approachable, and popular. In short, he was full of good qualities.
She didn't understand why the other person's face was getting paler and paler.
"Are you alright? Are you starving? Why don't you eat something first? I have something more important to tell you later."
Xue Xiujun felt that his intuition was right; the landlady was probably about to confess her feelings, which was terrible.
Yu Wan felt a chill down her spine, and when she turned around, she found He Suzhi standing behind her.
"When did you come downstairs? Let's leave for a moment. Ash and I have something very important to do, and I'm afraid he'll feel embarrassed if there are other people around."
Xue Xiujun felt He Jing's murderous gaze and hurriedly tried to escape.
"Boss lady, why don't I go to sleep first? We have to go back to the county tomorrow, and if I sleep too late, I'm afraid I'll have trouble getting up."
Yu Wan shouted, "Xue Xiujun, if you dare to leave, you'll be back to being a beggar starting tomorrow!"
Xue Xiujun looked at He Jing with a troubled and helpless expression.
"It's really not my fault, I didn't want it to happen either."
Yu Wan looked puzzled: "What does our business have to do with him? Sit down and listen carefully to what I have to say."
He Jing gripped Xue Xiujun's shoulders tightly, forcing out the words through gritted teeth: "Didn't you hear? She told you to sit down."
He then forcibly pulled Xue Xiujun back to his original seat, and the two sat side by side.
He Jing stared at the girl opposite him with a forced smile. "I have insomnia, so I'm just joining in the fun. Don't worry, this guy is thick-skinned and won't be embarrassed."
Xue Xiujun winced in pain, rubbing his shoulder that had just been pinched, and cursed his own bad luck for running into this mess!
Seeing that they didn't care, Yu Wan decided not to dwell on it and handed the chopsticks to Xue Xiujun.
"Take a few bites and let me see."
Xue Xiujun looked puzzled. What kind of strange request was this?
Does his table manners affect whether the boss's wife confesses her feelings to him?
But does eating together regularly mean we've already met before?
He carefully took the chopsticks, picked up a fried peanut, slowly put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.
Yu Wan was not satisfied and shook her head, saying, "No, think back to the first day you came to the restaurant. You were so hungry that you fainted. How did you eat that bowl of noodles when you woke up? Just eat it like that."
The girl kept her attention on Xue Xiujun's face, which made He Jing feel a nameless anger.
"What are you doing?" he couldn't help but ask.
Yu Wan waved her hand, "Don't interrupt, I'm talking about serious business."
He Jing's eyes darkened as he glared at Xue Xiujun, gritting his teeth.
"Boss lady," Xue Xiujun said, holding his chopsticks, trembling with fear, "why don't you tell me what I did wrong?"
This is so cruel!
He was really craving all that delicious food.
But this meal was too strange; he dared not eat it!
Yu Wan pointed to the job posting that had been displayed at the entrance for many days, "Axiu, I think you meet all the requirements listed there."
He Jing frowned. When he first saw her write it, it felt like a job posting for a son-in-law.
Yu Wan looked at Xue Xiujun with a smile, which made the latter feel uneasy and wish he could run away.
"You really like to eat, don't you? You sneak into the kitchen countless times a day to steal food, don't think I don't know."
Xue Xiujun was stunned. "How did you know? I'm always very careful. But don't worry, I didn't steal any of the guests' food; I just picked up the leftover scraps..."
How can this person have such good eyesight? She can see through everything!
Yu Wan finally explained her actions, "Actually, I wanted you to be able to eat openly and honestly in front of the restaurant from now on. But I also have requirements: you need to eat with gusto, in a way that makes people's mouths water just by looking at you. That's why I didn't let you eat tonight. The purpose of setting out this table of dishes is to let you eat and show me whether you meet my requirements and whether you can do it."
She got her inspiration from modern food vloggers, except that Xue Xiujun performed live in front of restaurants, attracting customers to come and watch, and then they would end up eating in the restaurant.
The reason I didn't say anything at the beginning was mainly to see how well Xue Xiujun performed under pressure.
If she disagrees, she will temporarily shelve the plan and relaunch it when a suitable opportunity arises.
A person with a good figure, good looks, a talkative personality, and a love for food is someone you can only dream of.
"Yes, yes, yes! I can do it!" Xue Xiujun felt like he had been struck by lightning. "Isn't this job made for me? But boss lady, how many hours do I need to stand at the door to eat each day? Can I leave for a while if something happens in between?"
This is definitely a wonderful job!
Yu Wan smiled and said, "You don't need to eat all the time. Just continue doing the same things as before when you're busy in the morning. When you're not busy, you can sit at the door and eat. You can ask for anything you want to eat, and I'll make it for you myself. By the way, when we go back to the county town tomorrow, I'll buy you some more fabric and a few more clothes so you can wear different styles every day. As for wages, I'll pay you according to the job posting."
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