Chapter 40 Stir-fried Toon with Cured Pork: Seeing the Scene Clearly...
Upon seeing the person in front of him, Chen Gengnian was suddenly taken aback. He had thought it would be Uncle Hu, but he didn't expect it to be his boss meeting them in person. Although he was a little puzzled, he still calmly replied.
Chen Gengnian cupped his hands in greeting and said, "You flatter me, sir."
Lin Qing'an then realized that this person was the owner of Jinyun Hotel. In order not to be impolite, he also cupped his hands in greeting along with Chen Gengnian.
The man waved his hand and said very amiably, "No need for formalities, please come in and have a cup of tea!"
The two followed the owner into the house and sat down at a small tea table.
Lin Qing'an glanced around the house. The furnishings inside were as simple and clear as those outside the courtyard. In addition to the wooden cabinets filled with books, there was a large solid wood desk with writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Sure enough, the old owner was a scholar.
The host personally poured a cup of tea for Chen Gengnian and Lin Qing'an. The tea was fragrant and refreshing. Even though Lin Qing'an didn't know much about tea, he had tasted quite a few with his master and knew that this must be a top-quality tea.
The host raised his teacup and said with a smile, "I heard that you two have just gotten married. It is a real pity that I could not attend the banquet in person. Today, I will use tea instead of wine to wish you a harmonious marriage and a long and happy life together."
"Thank you, boss."
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian thanked them in unison, and the three of them raised their glasses and drank them down in one gulp.
Chen Gengnian thanked them again, "Thank you for the gift from the employer. My husband and I like it very much."
"Haha... I'm glad you like it! I'm glad you like it!"
The host poured tea for the two men and asked them, "Last time I heard Uncle Hu say that your husband had a new recipe for a dish. I suppose that's why you and Hunter Chen have come today?"
“Yes.” Lin Qingan then replied, “I talked to Uncle Hu about how to cook toon leaves last time. Today, Brother Nian and I came to make this dish so that you can try it and see if it can be served as a new dish.”
"Of course, we would be delighted." The owner refilled Lin Qing'an's tea. "If it can really generate profits for the restaurant, we will certainly not let you two down."
Lin Qing'an finished his tea in one gulp, put the cup on the table, and said, "Let's go then. Talking is useless. We'll only know if it's really good enough to serve when we actually make it."
After Lin Qing'an finished speaking, he stood up casually, looking impatient.
Chen Gengnian also stood up and said to the owner, "Please arrange for someone to take us to the kitchen."
"Haha..." The landlord was amused by the two straightforward people and stroked his beard. Then he stood up and said, "Alright, I'll personally escort you there."
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian didn't think too much about it, assuming that it was reasonable for the owner to personally inspect the property.
After going around the backyard, I realized that the Jinyun Hotel occupied a fairly large area. The hotel was a separate building, with the kitchen in the middle, which was also a separate row of three rooms. Behind the kitchen was the backyard where people lived.
The landlord led the two to the kitchen, where Uncle Hu was giving instructions. When he saw the group coming, he hurried over to greet Chen Gengnian and Lin Qingan.
After a brief greeting, the employer asked Uncle Hu, "Is everything arranged?"
"It's all arranged." Uncle Hu took the basket from Chen Gengnian's back and led the people to a room, pointing to the empty stove and saying, "This pot is for you to use."
He then pointed to two men and one woman standing in a row, one of whom was the head chef of Jinyun Restaurant.
"Just tell them what you need."
Lin Qing'an hadn't expected such a grand display, but he didn't refuse. He rolled up his sleeves and began giving orders to the others as if it were his right.
One person went to wash the toon leaves, another started the fire, while the chef chopped the cured meat, and Lin Qing'an cracked the eggs himself.
Chen Gengnian, who had been left standing aside, was about to go forward to ask for work when his employer stopped him.
“Hunter Chen, there doesn’t seem to be anything you need help with right now. Why don’t you sit here and have some tea while we wait?”
Just then, someone brought a table under the tree by the door, with snacks and tea on it.
Just as Chen Gengnian was about to refuse, Lin Qingan turned to him and winked, saying, "Go ahead, go ahead, there really isn't any work you can do here."
As soon as he said this, the host gestured for him to enter. Chen Gengnian could not refuse any longer, so he nodded and turned to walk towards the tea table.
The two sat facing each other, and this time it was Uncle Hu who poured tea for them.
The kitchen windows and doors were wide open, and Chen Gengnian could see Lin Qingan bustling around everywhere.
"Hehe, it seems that Hunter Chen is quite satisfied with this husband."
When the landlord suddenly spoke, Chen Gengnian snapped out of his daze and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Yes, it is the greatest blessing of my life to have married such a husband."
The landlord nodded in agreement, saying, "Indeed, your husband seems virtuous and kind, and also lively and cheerful. He is indeed a unique young man."
Chen Gengnian nodded, unable to deny it.
Chen Gengnian felt a little uncomfortable, but his employer continued to try to find topics to talk about, starting with asking when he would go hunting in the mountains again and then moving on to the current situation of his mother, Chen Yuetao.
Chen Gengnian gave a brief answer, his gaze constantly following Lin Qingan, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
To date, Chen Gengnian has only met his boss once. At that time, Jinyun Hotel was being suppressed by other hotels and was on the verge of bankruptcy.
At that time, he happened to be selling a cartload of wild game. When he saw the owner being surrounded and humiliated by several big men who were about to attack him, Chen Gengnian couldn't stand it and stepped forward to help. After driving the men away, the owner saw the cartload of wild game that Chen Gengnian was selling and had a flash of inspiration, so he bought it from him.
That was the first time he had done business with Jinyun Hotel, so he didn't understand why the owner of the prestigious Jinyun Hotel had time to deal with them, these small fry.
However, for him, the owner of Jinyun Restaurant had helped him, and Uncle Hu was usually very generous, always giving more than he should give when delivering wild game.
Chen Gengnian knew that if the owner hadn't allowed it, Uncle Hu wouldn't have been able to pay out of his own pocket. So he was very grateful to this man and also to Jinyun Hotel. Without Jinyun Hotel, he and his mother wouldn't have been living such a smooth life.
After everyone had finished talking, a brief silence fell over the room, and a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen.
Just as Chen Gengnian was about to get up, his employer asked again, "I heard you adopted a child?"
Chen Gengnian nodded and said without any concealment, "Yes, my husband is kind-hearted and can't bear to see that child suffer. In addition, that child and his younger brother Lin Yanfeng are also close friends, so he adopted him."
The host took a sip of the freshly brewed tea and said, "I heard from Uncle Hu that the child looks very much like you, so he must be an outstanding person as well. It's a pity that he didn't come with you today, otherwise I would definitely check if Uncle Hu's old eyes are failing."
Seeing the owner's amiable appearance, Chen Gengnian readily agreed.
"Hehe, they do look somewhat alike. It must be fate," Chen Gengnian said with a smile. "He and his younger brother are studying at Qingyun Academy, which is why they weren't with us today. We had the opportunity to bring them to show our master."
"Oh?" The landlord was quite surprised and said, "Hunter Chen, you and your husband are actually supporting two children's education? As far as I know, education costs a lot of money. Isn't that a lot of pressure for you?"
Chen Gengnian smiled and didn't offer much explanation, only saying, "If the child wants to study, then let him study. It's okay if we suffer a little."
He himself felt that he was being rather smug when he said this, and if his husband were here, he would definitely laugh at him.
As Uncle Hu poured them their third cup of tea, Chen Gengnian reached out, picked up the cup, stood up, and said to his employer, "I'll take this to Aqing."
After saying that, Chen Gengnian picked up his teacup and walked towards Lin Qingan.
The landlord and Uncle Hu shook their heads in unison, their faces full of helpless smiles.
Lin Qingan prepared two dishes: one was scrambled eggs with toon leaves, and the other was scrambled pork with toon leaves.
"Try it." Lin Qing'an picked up a piece and fed it to Chen Gengnian. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Chen Gengnian didn't stand on ceremony and opened his mouth to bite into the cured meat and toon leaves.
Only then did Lin Qing'an say to the owner and Uncle Hu, "You two should also try it and see if it passes the test."
After the host took a bite, Uncle Hu also picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and put it in his mouth.
The toon leaves weren't as flavorful as the previous cooking method, but the aroma of eggs created a unique flavor that made you want to take a second bite.
The two then tried another bite of stir-fried toon with cured pork. The crispness of the toon and the aroma of the pork blended together surprisingly well.
"How is it?" Lin Qing'an asked with expectant eyes.
The host put down his chopsticks and praised the food repeatedly.
"Excellent! I never imagined that toon leaves could be made into such a delicious dish."
He looked up and asked Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian, "You two, name your price."
Throughout the entire process, Lin Qing'an did not shy away from the recipe, so the chef had already learned how to cook it while Lin Qing'an was making it. Since the other party was sincere, they were naturally not the kind of people to break their promise.
Lin Qing'an didn't rush to ask for a price, but instead asked, "If this dish becomes a hit, could you also entrust us with the supply of toon leaves?"
Without a second thought, the landlord replied, "Of course."
Lin Qing'an was speechless. He looked at Chen Gengnian, about to ask him what price to offer, when Uncle Hu offered his price.
"How about fifty taels for one dish?"
Lin Qing'an was overjoyed and immediately declared, "Deal!"
Two dishes for one hundred taels of silver? That's a huge profit!
Seeing his sly, blinking eyes, Chen Gengnian knew that his husband had made a killing again.
The landlord had been observing Lin Qing'an intently and unintentionally. He noticed that Lin Qing'an was a little cunning yet maintained an innocent demeanor. The landlord nodded in satisfaction.
Lin Qingan and Chen Gengnian were asked to stay for a meal before happily leaving Jinyun Restaurant with one hundred taels of silver.
When Uncle Hu learned that they were looking for a shop, he sent one of his assistants to take them to a reliable brokerage firm.
With Uncle Hu's help, Lin Qing'an and his group were soon taken by the broker to see their first shop.
Meanwhile, Lin Jing and Liu Yiyi had already bought the necessary materials, with Lin Jing carrying a bundle and following behind Liu Yiyi.
Liu Yiyi stopped and turned to look at the person behind her. She said helplessly, "A-Jing, you really don't need to come with me. My father won't know about this trip, so there won't be any danger."
Lin Jing remained silent, giving off an attitude that it was none of your business.
Liu Yiyi had no choice but to stop chasing them away. She sighed helplessly and then continued walking forward.
Liu Yiyi's home is some distance from the town, in a villa in the suburbs.
She followed the familiar path to the wall behind the Liu family's courtyard.
He skillfully pulled aside a bundle of straw along the corner of the wall, revealing an irregular hole.
The hole was very small; Lin Jing recognized it as a dog hole at a glance.
Lin Jingxin was startled. "You're not going to crawl in from here, are you?"
"Okay, wait for me outside. Remember not to wander around. The Liu family keeps a big dog that bites fiercely."
Her voice was very low, and with her back to Lin Jing, no one could see the awkwardness on her face.
Just as Lin Jing was about to stop her, she saw Liu Yiyi slip inside like a fish.
She whispered to Lin Jing from inside, "If I haven't come out by the time half an incense stick has burned, hurry back the way you came and find A Qing and the others."
"I'm waiting for you!"
Lin Jing's reply went unanswered, and she blocked the opening from the inside; Liu Yiyi had already left.
Lin Jing looked at the cave entrance, her heart filled with mixed emotions.
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