The next day, Xiaoli went to Yang's Restaurant again, and the kitchen was already bustling with activity.
"Xiaodong, come help me take the vegetables out..."
"OK."
"Xiaodong, bring me an egg. My hands are occupied and I can't leave."
"Here it comes."
It seems the female lead has already integrated well with these people and is doing quite well.
No one knows how Ling Yun arranged it, but Ran Dong moved into a small storeroom behind the restaurant. He was afraid she would be scared, so he stayed with her in an outer cubicle.
Xiao Li gathered everyone together to prepare for a meeting.
"We're still busy here, why are you having a meeting at this hour?"
Ran Dong spoke softly, revealing that she simply couldn't stand Yang Xiaoli, a woman who never left the house and relied on Brother Ling for everything, yet dared to act childishly towards him.
Ma Jin winked at her, signaling her to stop talking. Ran Dong then opened her round eyes wide and pouted, making Ma Jin laugh at her adorable appearance.
Xiao Li looked at the row of waiters and spoke.
“You are all my senior brothers, all my father’s apprentices, you all learned the recipes of the Yang family, and you are all members of the Yang family.”
She paused, then continued.
“My father has passed away. I’m a girl, and I shouldn’t be showing my face in public, but the Yang Family Restaurant can’t afford to decline in my hands, so…”
Everyone became anxious and looked at Ling Yun in unison.
Ling Yun was also a little angry. She thought that when she came to speak, she might want to comfort everyone, since Yang Family Restaurant was currently being supported by everyone.
What does she mean by this? I'm running the restaurant well, and now she wants to seize control?
“I’ve decided to work at the restaurant and take my father’s place as the head chef of the Yang family.”
"Tch~"
Xiao Li looked around. "Who is it?"
Ran Dong covered her mouth tightly; she didn't want to make a sound at all.
"Junior sister, stop fooling around. How can a girl like you be the head chef?"
"Yes, yes, you should go home and do some embroidery."
"Once your wedding dress is embroidered, you can marry your senior brother in a year."
Ling Yun felt a little uncomfortable after hearing this. He looked at Ran Dong, who was also biting her lower lip tightly, looking sad and upset.
"Ah Li, you should go home now. We're here to take care of things. We'll run the restaurant well."
Xiao Li smiled and said, "The Yang family's restaurant naturally needs to be run by members of the Yang family. What kind of Yang family restaurant would it be without members of the Yang family?"
Ling Yun felt a surge of anger when he thought of his master's dying promise to marry into the Yang family. Was his master reminding him that he was a member of the Yang family?
"Ah Li, stop making a fuss."
Ling Yun's tone also turned sour; his patience was finite.
Xiao Li stopped looking at him, took out the indenture, and waved it.
"You have all worked at Yang Family Restaurant for many years. This is a contract of servitude that your father signed when he was still alive. The contract states that you have learned the Yang family's skills and must work for the Yang family for twenty years."
"What? Twenty years haven't even passed yet, and you're already disobeying your employer?"
The men exchanged glances, all feeling a bit angry. When their old boss was around, he'd never used the indenture as leverage. Now, their junior sister was using it to pressure them—it was infuriating.
"Since our junior sister is coming to work, we are naturally happy to welcome her."
Ling Yun couldn't sit still any longer. He hadn't expected Xiao Li to be so disrespectful to him. Although everyone knew he was the Yang family's son-in-law, no one dared to look down on him.
Now that Xiaoli has made this clear, she has completely disregarded him.
"Hmph! Come if you want, but don't blame us for not warning you if you lose your reputation later."
Xiao Li scoffed, "How come I lose my reputation just because I come to a restaurant? Isn't Miss Ran Dong afraid of losing her reputation?"
Everyone fell silent. There were women in the restaurant, but they were either widows or shrewish women, and certainly not unmarried young ladies.
Everyone looked at Ling Yun again. From now on, they would be a family. Ling Yun was really unlucky to have such a wife.
Xiao Li cleared her throat. "Since I've decided to take over the restaurant again, I won't marry Ling Yun anymore. He'll just be an apprentice at the restaurant from now on."
Please stop linking us together. I hereby announce the annulment of the engagement!
Ling Yun looked up abruptly. How could this be? He had finally managed to get the position of head steward of the restaurant, and now it was gone just like that?
Ran Dong, however, wore an expression of overjoyed delight. Was her idol back in the making?
And then there's Yang Xiaoli, she also has the air of a leading lady, she's so cool.
She looked at Xiaoli with adoration, her eyes sparkling, which was very cute.
Xiao Li is also a skilled cook, and quite adept at it. She was just lazy before. Besides, with so many delicious foods in the space, who would bother to cook for themselves?
"Now that I'm in charge of the chef's duties, I'll show you all what I've got. Please taste it and see how it is."
A moment later, Xiaoli had prepared three dishes, all simple home-style fare: Mapo Tofu, stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and shredded potatoes.
These three dishes, though ordinary, require exceptional knife skills, precise control of heat, and mastery of seasonings.
Ran Dong ate a bite of each dish. Although her cooking skills were not good, the delicacies she had eaten were incomparable to those of people in this dynasty.
"Wow...this is so delicious."
She gave Xiaoli a thumbs up.
Xiao Li looked at the female lead and thought she was inexplicably a bit silly.
"This is really good, your skills are comparable to your master's."
"Delicious! Junior Sister is really good at cooking."
"I never expected my junior sister's skills to surpass her master's. I have no objection to her becoming the head chef."
Ling Yun felt surprised and saddened. His master had ultimately held back a skill and hadn't actually taught him this technique.
He remained silent, listening to everyone's praise of Xiaoli, and became even more silent.
"Since everyone has no objections, I will officially take office."
Now I'll reassign the tasks in our kitchen and outline some rules.
Xiao Li read out the written rules, and no one had any objections, except that they looked at Ling Yun with a more inquisitive gaze.
Have the senior brother and junior sister completely broken up?
Ling Yun handed over the keys. He remained calm and said nothing. He simply took the things he had packed from the Yang family and led Ran Dong to rent a small courtyard.
Ran Dong happily followed along. Xiao Li said she didn't want her to stay in the kitchen, so she had to leave. However, now that she had a place to stay, she didn't want to work in the kitchen as much anymore.
After all, it's dirty and messy there, and the smell of cooking oil is strong, which is not good for the skin.
Ling Yun, however, was not so happy. He had known since childhood that the Yang Family Restaurant would one day belong to him.
But now Xiaoli doesn't need him anymore. From now on, the Yang family and the Yang family restaurant will have nothing to do with him.
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