Ruan Dafeng pleaded with the chef to let him serve the dishes, but the chef was stubborn and wouldn't let him. Their conversation drew stares from the others. Afraid of arousing suspicion, and seeing that the chef wouldn't hand over the dishes, Ruan Dafeng took out some silver from his pocket and slipped it into Chef Zhang's hand when no one was looking.
He turned to the others and said, "Go back to your own work! There's nothing to see here."
Chef Zhang was stunned by the money handed to him. He looked at Ruan Dafeng in confusion and asked, "What do you mean? What do you want to do?"
With a fawning smile, Ruan Dafeng said, "Chef Zhang, please let me go! I'll only serve this one table of dishes, it won't damage the reputation of our restaurant, don't worry! If the boss finds out, I'll take the blame."
Chef Zhang was tempted by the money and really didn't want to return it. However, he wasn't stupid; he knew that Ruan Dafeng's actions were suspicious. So he asked again, "Tell me the truth, kid. There's definitely something wrong with what you're doing. If you don't tell me, I definitely won't let you go."
Seeing how stubborn he was, Ruan Dafeng had no choice but to come up with a lie to deceive him. He rubbed his hands together and said, "Chef Zhang, to be honest, I just saw this table of guests at the door. The woman who came in is so beautiful, like a fairy descended from heaven. I want to take another look."
Hearing Ruan Dafeng's words, Chef Zhang looked like he understood perfectly. He patted Ruan Dafeng on the shoulder and said, "You're still young after all!"
Chef Zhang chuckled as he accepted the money, handed a plate of stir-fried tripe to Ruan Dafeng, and said, "Go ahead! But while you're at it, don't cause any trouble, or we'll both be in deep trouble."
Ruan Dafeng took the dishes, nodded, and said, "I understand, I understand, I won't cause you any trouble." Then he carried the dishes out of the kitchen.
Chef Zhang watched Ruan Dafeng's departing figure, chuckled a few more times, and then lowered his head to continue cooking.
Ruan Dafeng went upstairs. He knew that whatever he did might make Hongshi recognize him, but he had no other choice but to take a gamble.
However, he felt that since he was dressed as a laborer, and he had only met Hongshi once before in Geshan Village, and someone like Hongshi wouldn't care about a poor man like him, nothing serious should happen to him.
He carried the dishes to the door of Hongshi's room. The guards stopped him, searched him, and only allowed him in after confirming that he was not carrying any weapons that could harm Hongshi.
After Ruan Dafeng went inside, he found that neither Hongshi nor Ruan Meiying were looking at him. He lowered his head and walked over, saying, "The stir-fried tripe is ready. Please enjoy your meal, gentlemen."
Ruan Meiying heard Ruan Dafeng's voice, looked at him, and a look of surprise appeared in her eyes. She swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth. She couldn't believe that Ruan Dafeng was so bold. If Hongshi recognized him, then all their previous efforts would be in vain.
Ruan Meiying glanced at Hongshi and found that he didn't care about Ruan Dafeng at all. Even if he did care about Hongshi, he didn't remember Ruan Dafeng at all. Ruan Meiying breathed a sigh of relief. She winked at Ruan Dafeng, signaling him to leave quickly.
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