A young boy suddenly appeared at the door, startling the three people inside.
"Are you here for dinner? Please come in, young master," Old Madam Chen greeted first.
Although the newcomer was young, he had an extraordinary air about him and was dressed in fine clothes. He was probably not from an ordinary family. It would be right to call him "Young Master".
She stood up, wiped her hands with her apron, and went to get the teapot to pour water. Lian Yingtong's gaze swept over the three people in turn; an old woman was definitely not the person Xu Meng was looking for.
As for the remaining two...
He Liu sat behind the counter without moving. Su Yun'er had just turned her head back briefly before turning back to continue her work, so Lian Yingtong hadn't seen her face clearly and didn't know how to tell them apart.
You can't just ask, "Who is that gentle woman my brother Xu Meng has his eye on?" That would be too impolite.
Lian Yingtong felt a little embarrassed, but she had no choice but to sit down as Old Mrs. Chen warmly invited her.
"What would you like to eat, young master?" Old Mrs. Chen asked with a smile, pointing to the water sign hanging behind her.
Lian Yingtong looked at the water sign, which listed the cold noodles and braised chicken that she had eaten before. The cold noodles were divided into regular cold noodles, three-color cold noodles, and five-color cold noodles.
Lien Ying-tung couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's the difference between these three types of cold noodles?"
"Regular cold noodles are made with white noodles, while 'three-color' and 'five-color' refer to the number of colors the noodles have," said Grandma Chen.
Grandma Chen pushed the water to Lian Yingtong's side. Lian Yingtong was really thirsty, so he picked it up and drank it all in one gulp. Then he continued to look at the water label, his eyes being drawn to the words "iced drink".
"Water is free; plum juice is five coins; lemon black tea is three coins. If you want ice, it's two coins more."
These are exactly the ones Xu Meng bought and brought back these past two days. Could they also be from this shop?
"Yes, young master, would you like to try some? Our plum juice and lemon black tea are very famous. People on the dock come here to drink them every day."
Just as Grandma Chen was saying this, Su Yun'er happened to bring out a wooden bucket from the kitchen. It contained freshly brewed plum juice, which she was about to take to the door so that customers could line up at the entrance later.
Lian Yingtong then got a clear look at Su Yun'er's appearance.
She wasn't exactly stunningly beautiful, but she was still a pretty woman.
Su Yun'er's gaze met Lian Yingtong's, and she smiled faintly.
With just that one smile, Lian Yingtong instantly felt a little embarrassed. Now Lian Yingtong was certain that this person should be the wife that Xu Meng was looking for!
He quickly averted his gaze and replied to Old Lady Chen, "Grandma, there's no need for that. I've come today for another matter. My young master and I live in the city, and none of the three of us know how to cook. We buy food every day, which feels too extravagant, and sometimes it doesn't suit our tastes. So we'd like to hire a cook. I've heard that the lady at your shop cooks delicious food and often comes up with new and interesting dishes. Therefore, my young master sent me to ask if she would be willing to come to our house and be our cook?"
As Lian Yingtong spoke, he turned directly to Su Yun'er.
Su Yun'er wiped the sweat from her forehead and repeated, "The cook? To your house?"
"Yes, but not all day. I probably only cook two meals a day."
Su Yun'er lowered her head and began to think.
She now teaches the children every day, but after so long of learning, as the children learn more and more characters and grasp the meaning of the textbook more firmly, they are learning new texts faster and faster. Recently, Su Yun'er has also felt that she has more free time.
Furthermore, since both of my children, Xiaoshu and Xiaocao, will need to go to school in the future, tuition fees will be a significant expense. Having an extra part-time job will provide me with another source of income.
Thinking about it this way, I might as well take on the job that the young master mentioned and give it a try.
"Young master, what is the reward?"
"This..." Lian Yingtong hesitated, realizing he hadn't considered this aspect. "What does my wife hope for?"
Huh? Did we bring the question back to you?
Su Yun'er pondered for a moment: "They won't be responsible for purchasing ingredients, and it's thirty coins a day. Can the young master make that decision himself?"
The reason I say I won't be responsible for purchasing ingredients is to avoid disagreements over shopping. So I simply choose not to be in charge of purchasing to avoid any ambiguity in the accounts.
Thirty coins a day, which adds up to less than one tael of silver a month.
Lian Yingtong thought about it and realized it wasn't cheap, but looking at the clean and tidy little food stall with a constant stream of customers, she felt that it was quite a good deal to be able to eat delicious food without having to travel so far and wait in such long lines every day.
As the one who has implicitly taken on the role of housekeeper among the three, Lian Yingtong is able to make her own decisions.
“Alright, the price is fine. From today onwards, I'll be troubling you, my lady.” Lian Yingtong said, taking a small silver ingot from his sleeve and handing it to Su Yun'er. This is today's payment, more than enough. Please accept it, my lady. Future payments will be settled every ten days. Do you have any questions, my lady?”
"Alright, I'll finish up here and then go back with you, young master. Please wait for me a moment."
As she spoke, Su Yun'er went back to the kitchen, made the lemon black tea, poured it into a wooden bucket, and carried it to the shop entrance; then she went back to prepare the toppings for the noodles that needed to be stir-fried.
After checking everything inside and out again, Su Yun'er instructed Old Mrs. Chen, "The toppings for the noodles are ready. Mother, you can wash and chop the other vegetables later, and then we'll just wait for the customers to order. Aunt He, please keep an eye on the iced drink stall at noon today."
"Look at what you're saying, it's all part of your job, go and do your work."
After arranging everything, Su Yun'er followed Lian Yingtong into the city. Lian Yingtong kept a certain distance from Su Yun'er, after all, there was a difference between men and women.
Thinking of Su Yun'er's smile at him in the shop just now, Lian Yingtong thought to herself, "No wonder Xu Meng was so captivated, coming all this way to buy food every day. It turns out he has a beauty by his side. Now that I've brought his beauty back, he'll definitely thank me properly."
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