I just came to collect a debt, but you're trying to take my life?
"I...I have something important to say, could you please step back a little?" She was holding her breath, her face turning red.
Seeing how amused she was, Yuwen Sheng laughed. He straightened up and stared at her intently: "This face... after looking at it for a while, it becomes quite pleasing to the eye. So, Qu Chi, what do you want to say to me?"
It turned out that he was deliberately teasing her.
Forget the small talk, just get to the point.
"About that money you promised me before... the one you said you'd give me a raise at the Foundry. Even though I'm not working at Guixu Ridge anymore, I was in charge of the construction, and only the finishing touches are left. When would be a convenient time to settle the accounts with me? I'm a bit short on cash..."
She lowered her head, her voice barely audible.
"This matter..." Yuwen Sheng seemed to remember something.
Zheng Quchi immediately raised his head, his eyes filled with expectation: "Yes, do you remember now?"
"Yes, I remember now." Yuwen Sheng replied politely, showing no sign of displeasure whatsoever.
Zheng Quchi stretched out his little hand and opened it.
Okay, here you go, I'll take it.
Yuwen Sheng laughed again, almost unable to contain himself: "So how many do you want?"
This time, it was Zheng Quchi's turn to ask. It was the first time he had ever heard of a contractor asking workers to name their own price: "How much? Uh, you decide."
They hadn't agreed on a specific price beforehand, and she didn't know the current market price either, so she could only let him take advantage of her.
“How can that be? If I give you too little, you’ll definitely complain. But if I give you too much, won’t that disrupt the market price?” Yuwen Sheng said with a smile.
"Let me think about it." She counted on her fingers.
Iron ore isn't cheap, and there's a lot of coal to go... plus she'll need to hire a skilled blacksmith...
"How about a silver ingot?" she demanded, making an outrageous offer.
"One ingot of silver?"
He repeated her words, then asked a question, which immediately made Zheng Quchi think that he thought she wanted too much, so he quickly changed his mind.
"If there are too many, then..."
Yuwen Sheng smiled and said, "No problem, but I haven't had much of an appetite lately. Could you stay and cook me a meal?"
Before Zheng Quchi could even feel happy, he heard that there was a condition attached to the salary payment.
Cooking? Why would he suddenly have this need?
She scratched her head.
That's not a difficult thing.
Besides, they were so generous, paying her such a high salary, so it was worth it for her to be a cook for once.
What would you like to eat?
"Anything is fine."
How is this any different from someone who says "whatever"?
"Then I'll go borrow the kitchen..."
“I have a private kitchen. I’ll have someone take you there. You can tell him what you want, and someone will prepare it for you.”
...She already has a private kitchen, so what can't she cook for her? Does he expect her to be able to prepare a whole Manchu Han Imperial Feast?
What a weirdo.
——
In about half an hour, Zheng Quchi prepared a plate of cold wild vegetable and pig tongue salad, egg and scallion pancakes, and steamed a pot of wheat buns with white porridge.
The porridge was ready-made; someone else had cooked it, and she had done some processing.
The dough for the buns was kneaded by someone else, and she prepared the rest of the food, which is why she was able to finish making these dishes so quickly.
When she brought in the tray, Yuwen Sheng was flipping through books on the table, with a bowl of dark red soup emitting the aroma of Chinese medicine next to him.
Could this medicine be the medicinal diet prepared by Aunt Ling?
What on earth did they put in there? It looks like a complete disaster.
"All done?" He looked up.
Zheng Quchi's eyes remained fixed on the bowl of medicinal food, and he said casually, "Yes, eat it while it's hot."
"What are you doing?"
"Didn't you like my scallion pancakes before? This time I'll make them even thinner, so you can roll them up with cold dishes later. If you want something lighter, then have some chestnut porridge and a whole wheat bun."
"Maibao?"
"I steamed it and then pan-fried it with the edges on. Try it, it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I also brushed it with honey."
The two no longer had the awkwardness and unfamiliarity of before; they chatted about everyday life and answered each other fluently.
To be honest, Zheng Quchi's cooking skills are really just average; she's only good at a few things. But she's eaten a lot of different things and has a lot of ideas. Her strength lies in her creative cooking, and it's quite delicious to eat there occasionally.
"good."
Yuwen Sheng had no objection. He picked up the small bread and tasted it. Indeed, the crust was quite crispy, and the inside was soft and chewy. The combination of wheat aroma and honey made its fragrance double.
"There's also porridge, have a taste."
Everything seemed to have returned to the Sang residence. Whenever Liu Fengmian had a poor appetite and refused to eat the food cooked by Brother Sang, she would cook something for him whenever she had time. Although sometimes the cooking was not very good, he would still eat some.
When she got tired of standing while cooking, she saw him eating, so she squatted down by the table and introduced him to dishes that would increase his appetite, while urging him to eat more.
Yuwen Sheng glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that her expression had finally relaxed a lot, and a natural smile appeared on her lips. He then looked away and asked, "Why is the porridge and vegetables you cooked different from everyone else's?"
Seeing that he could taste it, Zheng Quchi grinned with a great sense of accomplishment: "Is it delicious? Of course, it's because I added the secret recipe."
Yuwen Sheng took a bite of the egg and scallion pancake: "Very good, I like it."
When Zheng Quchi saw him praising her so earnestly, her smug expression immediately subsided a little.
"Actually, it's nothing special. I just guessed that your taste is more southern, and you don't like spicy food but prefer sweet food, so I added a little sweetness to each dish."
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