Chapter 902 Likes to take advantage of others?
"Ah Liang, bring some firewood over."
"Ah Liang, the water in the vat is gone, scoop some out! Stop chopping firewood, hurry up, oh no, the pot's going to burn..."
"Ah Liang, the fairy is waiting outside. Take these two dishes over first..."
At noon, the dining hall was bustling with activity.
As the cook, Ouyang Rong moved about, his figure darting back and forth. Under the direction of several elderly women who were in charge of cooking, he appeared expressionless but moved nimbly.
In fact, Ouyang Rong had already prepared the firewood, water, and other necessities for cooking in advance; all that was needed was to take them according to the established procedures.
The older women who were cooking were rather dull-witted; when the water in the water tank next to them ran out, they didn't even glance at the other water bucket not far away.
The same goes for firewood. When the wood in front of the stove at your feet is used up, you don't even look around to see if there's a neat row of firewood standing right next to you.
As for taking the food outside to the fairies, the older women were actually a bit flustered and delayed the food from being ready. After it was ready, they hurriedly called him...
Ouyang Rong saw right through all this "futile busywork," but made no attempt to defend himself.
Whatever the older women, including the head cook, said, Ouyang Rong obeyed without question, looking completely blank.
The main point is to avoid arguments.
Be foolish and impatient with them.
Ouyang Rong thought this was a good idea.
He doesn't come to the kitchen to show off his intelligence.
Trying to correct the overall environment of the dining hall might actually highlight one's own abnormality.
It's a rare kind of blissful ignorance, I suppose.
However, he simply couldn't tolerate the groping and inappropriate behavior of some older women.
It's not like you can be completely confused.
For example, at this very moment, Ouyang Rong had just arrived at the stove of the head cook, Aunt Sun, and silently reached out to take the plate of dishes.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Aunt Sun ran her fingertips across the streamlined muscles on his forearm as he squeezed the plate.
Ouyang Rong immediately took a step back, dodging her fingers.
His eyes silently followed.
This old lady, surnamed Sun, was carrying a vegetable spatula and wearing a coarse cloth skirt. She had the plump figure of a mature woman, but in the eyes of men who preferred the slender figure of young women, she could be described as "robust and fleshy".
Because it was lunchtime, the surrounding area was still bustling with activity, and it seemed that no one was paying attention to this place.
As Ouyang Rong stared at Granny Sun, Granny Sun's small eyes were also glancing at him.
At this moment, the atmosphere between the two was silent.
Because of that seemingly casual groping incident, there was an awkwardness in the air that only the two parties involved could understand.
This awkward silence felt both short and long.
It took Ouyang Rong three full breaths to confirm that the old woman was indeed taking advantage of him.
He wasn't overthinking it; he dodged in time, almost letting her succeed.
No, don't touch my fake body until it's gone!
Ouyang Rong looked at Granny Sun expressionlessly.
To outsiders, he still appears to be the same dull and slow-witted person he always was.
But at this moment, he was utterly speechless, his feelings summed up in seven words:
Seriously? Even a rough guy wipes himself?
Ouyang Rong was really confused. He hadn't shown his true form; he was still hiding his handsome face and just looked like an ordinary, rough man.
Is he trying to take advantage of this? Is it because his charm as the most handsome man in Xunyang can't be hidden, and no matter how he tries to disguise it, he'll still attract attention?
No, no, that's not true.
However, Ouyang Rong was quick-witted and roughly understood his current situation.
Perhaps the older women were indeed too thirsty. I don't know about the other dining halls, but in the Qingliang Valley dining hall, all the other cooks were old men, and he was the only young and strong man. He was new and didn't seem to have any backing, so he was easy to bully.
Moreover, because he was busy in the kitchen and very close to the stove, Ouyang Rong changed out of his monk's robes and into a short shirt, revealing his bronze shoulders and arms, with sweat clinging to his muscular physique...
He looks exactly like the burly, testosterone-fueled guys lifting weights in the gym in my past life.
Moreover, after getting to know the people in the kitchen a little better these past two days, some of the shrewish women started telling him dirty jokes.
Logically speaking, it should be the man making dirty jokes to the woman.
Ironically, here Ouyang Rong, a grown man, became the one being teased. In addition, he seemed rather dull, and would silently walk away when joked about. In the eyes of the older women, it might have looked like he was blushing with embarrassment... The main thing is that the fake body's skin is quite dark, just like Sha Er Gou's. Whether it's red or not is entirely up to your imagination.
Perhaps it's because there's more yin than yang here, and the older women aren't the traditional Yue women who demand purity and detachment from worldly desires; they can crack sunflower seeds in the kitchen, tell bawdy jokes, and even pinch the young cook's muscles without anyone caring...
Even if you complain to the thatched cottage or even to the Queen, it will be of no use.
In short, Ouyang Rong was utterly speechless at this moment.
He and Aunt Sun stared at each other for a while.
It could be a breath, or it could be an hour.
The latter suddenly put the spatula back into the pot, scraped the crumbs at the bottom, and said in a normal voice:
"What are you standing there for? Take it out."
As long as you're not embarrassed, it's others who are embarrassed, right?
"Um."
Seeing that Aunt Sun acted as if nothing had happened, Ouyang Rong silently took the plate, went out, and gave it to the Wu-style Yue woman who came to collect her food.
The latter were unaware that the taciturn young man serving them food had been subjected to workplace sexual harassment. They thanked him, turned around, and left.
The women of Wu and Yue were very polite and courteous to the cooks.
Tolerate.
Watching their retreating figures, Ouyang Rong silently uttered a single word in his heart.
Grandma Sun is the head chef of Qingliang Valley's catering service.
Below the head cook, there is also the assistant cook, similar to a regular chef.
Below Paoding is Paoyi, who is considered a cook's assistant.
Ouyang Rong's position as a cook was on par with, or slightly lower than, that of a servant.
The main responsibility is to prepare ingredients and materials, and do some rough work, but not to work at the stove.
The cooks were to go to the stove to help the head cook and the other cooks.
Currently, the head cooks at the stove are several elderly women, including Aunt Sun.
As the head cook, Aunt Sun wielded considerable power in the kitchen.
However, Ouyang Rong never expected that she would try to take advantage of him.
Based on the two days of interaction, Aunt Sun seemed rather serious and earnest.
In his spare time, he would tell dirty jokes to several other women, not her.
On the contrary, when he was being teased by Aunt Zhu and the others for their lewd jokes, Aunt Sun came over several times, sternly driving them away, seemingly trying to stop them. But now…
Aunt Sun, you're here too, right?
Do you like to eat alone?
Sure enough, the more serious and strict a single middle-aged woman seems, the more repressed and secretly passionate she appears.
Ouyang Rong was speechless and returned to the dining hall with a stern face.
He lowered his head slightly and didn't look at the somewhat pretentious Granny Sun's back after entering the room.
"Ah Liang, please help me take down the bowls and chopsticks..."
From another corner of the kitchen came the voice of a young woman calling out; it was the apron-clad young woman who had led him in the first time.
He has a slender, bamboo-like body, a freckled face, and a somewhat shrill voice, but his tone of voice is usually very calm and quiet.
The older women all called her Xiao Cui. She was a cook in the dining hall, slightly higher in rank than Ouyang Rong, and was responsible for helping out in the kitchen.
"They're here."
Ouyang Rong went over and continued working, but he subtly moved away from the stove that was "out of oil".
Everything in the dining hall remained the same, and after another half hour of noise, the stove fire gradually went out...
Ouyang Rong is an energetic person.
Despite the bustling atmosphere in the dining hall, he didn't feel particularly busy.
However, the other women in the kitchen, both older and younger, seemed to have accomplished something significant after lunch.
Because lunchtime is the largest meal of the day, most people in this era ate two meals a day, only the royal family ate four meals a day, and feudal lords ate three meals a day...
Even for the poor, being able to eat two meals a day was considered doing quite well; for most, breakfast and lunch were the main meals, while dinner was optional.
According to Ouyang Rong's observation, dinner was also prepared at the Qingliang Valley Dining Hall, but it consisted mainly of steamed buns, dry food, and fruits, which were distributed before the dining hall closed in the evening.
These kinds of dry rations can be eaten hot or cold, which should be convenient for Yue women to eat when they get hungry while cultivating at night... Breakfast is similar, mostly consisting of porridge and noodles.
Therefore, for the Yue women who cultivate in seclusion within the Sword Marsh, the most important thing of the day is lunch, and they must eat their fill.
Therefore, when Ouyang Rong arrived this morning, he noticed that the stove appeared to have been used during the night, as if someone had prepared special meals for an unknown group, which made him pay extra attention...
In the afternoon, after the young, inexperienced women from Xinyue had finished washing the dishes, everyone in the kitchen suddenly had some free time.
Some of the cooks left temporarily, including Granny Sun, who was in charge of the dining hall; no one knows where she went.
Only a few people remained in front of the stove, some taking a nap, others chatting and eating melon seeds.
Ouyang Rong did not slack off and continued to work, preparing the ingredients and wood needed for dinner.
Today is another day when I don't need to make soup.
The sixth lady seemed to have forgotten about him, perhaps because she was busy.
There was no need to make chicken soup, so Ouyang Rong was of no use and had no excuse to cook.
This was his first day here. After Xiao Cui introduced him to Aunt Sun, Aunt Sun said that when the ladies wanted to drink chicken soup, he would be in charge. Otherwise, he could only do some odd jobs as a cook.
They probably knew that Ouyang Rong was skilled in cooking, but they didn't pay much attention to it.
First, Qinglianggu Dining Hall, which mainly serves communal meals, doesn't require much sophisticated culinary skill. Second, if a newcomer like him were to take over the kitchen, wouldn't the elderly women and other staff lose their jobs? One person, one job.
Ouyang Rong was busy by himself for a while when he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the three old women who were chatting and eating melon seeds by the stove seemed to be glancing at him from time to time.
Occasionally, the sounds of women covering their mouths and laughing could be heard.
Ouyang Rong didn't look up, but subtly tugged at the sweat-soaked cuffs of his short shirt, already deciding to wear monk's robes tomorrow.
It's hot, so be it; clearing your name is the most important thing.
Ouyang Rong turned his head and glanced at the bamboo pole figure who was also busy not far away.
Not only was he always busy, but the apron-wearing girl named Cui'er seemed to be just as diligent as him.
During her free time, instead of eating melon seeds with the other women, she would walk around the stove, tidying up the pots, pans, and salt jars.
Ouyang Rong observed for a while and realized that this young cook seemed to have obsessive-compulsive disorder. She couldn't stand seeing her workspace messy. She even had to correct the spacing between two stacks of bowls in the cupboard, adjusting them to be even before slowly nodding and moving on to the next spot she didn't like...
Ouyang Rong, who also suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder, found it very comfortable to watch.
After finishing another detail, Xiao Cui suddenly turned her head and looked at Ouyang Rong by the woodpile.
The pile of firewood beside Ouyang Rong had just been completed, with each piece of firewood being roughly the same length and stacked neatly.
The taciturn young man was about to nod in agreement.
The apron-wearing girl suddenly walked over and came to him.
Before Ouyang Rong could speak, she reached out and pointed to the right sleeve of his shirt.
Ouyang Rong was taken aback. He looked down and immediately noticed that the right sleeve was still rolled up on his arm, which he had done while working.
He had just pulled down the left sleeve.
It looks uneven from left to right.
"..."
Ouyang Rong immediately raised his hand and lowered his right sleeve, which he had rolled up.
Xiao Cui watched intently.
"Hahaha."
Just then, an irrepressible laugh came from the stove not far away.
The woman dropped the melon seeds and burst into loud, hearty laughter:
"You two might as well just live together. You're always so busy, and you're both such fussy people. Even your farts have to be doubled, hahaha..."
Xiao Cui walked away without saying a word, as if she didn't want to pay attention to the woman eating melon seeds.
She went to the window in the northeast corner of the dining hall, sat sideways on the edge of the rice bin, took out a small booklet from her bosom, and began to read it by herself.
The woman tossed the melon seeds in her hand to her companion, took a towel from the shelf, walked over, and tossed it into Ouyang Rong's arms.
"Wipe it off, you're all sweaty and smelly. Who are you trying to impress?"
This woman was burly and rough, yet she acted like a delicate young girl, giving Ouyang Rong a coquettish glare.
"My surname is Zhu, I don't have a proper name, my family always calls me Lai Di, but I don't know how to write those two characters, just call me whatever you like... Now that you're in the dining hall, we'll see each other all the time, we're all family, so I won't stand on ceremony with you... Stop moving, you're doing so much work, won't the other cooks have less work? We're all treated the same."
Aunt Zhu, true to her reputation for being a chatterbox, rattled off a whole bunch of words in no time.
Ouyang Rong did not speak immediately.
Aunt Zhu noticed that his gaze seemed to be directed at the young woman in an apron reading by the window:
"Her surname is Wu, Wu Cui. She came earlier than you and is the same as you."
Same?
Ouyang Rong frowned and turned around.
Before he could ask, Aunt Zhu picked up a melon seed from her companion's hand and tossed it to Xiao Cui:
"Hey, still looking? Stop looking, it's a waste of time. You'd be better off looking at recipes and learning to cook... You can't force this. You've already passed three rounds of tests and haven't passed. Forget about becoming a fairy in Peach Hall, you can't even get close to Bamboo Hall. You're clearly not cut out for this. What are you still reading for?"
The melon seeds fell onto her skirt, and Xiao Cui remained silent, her eyes fixed on the book.
Aunt Zhu shook her head, her tone not malicious, but full of incomprehension:
"You, with such a stubborn nature and such a hardworking person, why do you have to waste your youth on something that's not meant for you, stubbornly sticking to it... Isn't that just asking for trouble? You're almost the same age as Brother Liang, if you wait another term, there'll be even less chance of you being selected..."
(End of this chapter)
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