On the other side, Xia Chuyi had just returned to "Youwei" when she happened to see her master in the restaurant.
It turned out that the Master was tidying up the house. Displeased by Old Sir Guan's meddling, she had the young ones take Old Sir Guan to the "Youwei" shop.
Seeing Master Guan in the shop, Qian Qianqian was particularly excited and wanted Old Sir Guan to taste the shop's braised meat and to give his opinion.
"Master Guan, what do you think of our 'Youwei' offerings?" Qian Qianqian asked excitedly, "This is all Chuyi's craftsmanship!"
"Chuyi's craftsmanship?" Old Sir Guan took another bite of the braised meat, savoring it slowly.
Qian Qianqian nodded vigorously, saying joyfully, "Yes, yes, Chuyi prepared this marinade!"
"Chuyi really has a gift for cooking. Master Guan, if you take her as your apprentice, it would truly be a case of 'a discerning eye spotting a gem'!"
However, hearing this, Old Sir Guan slightly furrowed his brows.
Seeing her master's expression, Xia Chuyi, who had just returned, quickly stepped forward.
"Master, is there something wrong with the taste of this braised meat?" she asked Old Sir Guan.
The recipe had been sourced from the Heavenly Book Recipe and adjusted by herself before she settled on it.
There shouldn't be any problems, right?
It had been selling for so long, and the customers all said it was very good.
Yet, Old Sir Guan's brow furrowed even more deeply and, looking at Xia Chuyi who had just returned, he asked, "Did you come up with this recipe?"
"Mhm." Xia Chuyi could not lie to her master.
Old Sir Guan put his chopsticks down, his face stern as he asked, "Then your culinary skills are quite remarkable, why still seek a master?"
"Cough cough, it's , Master, this is a recipe passed down by my ancestors," Xia Chuyi explained.
Then, she looked at Old Sir Guan sincerely and continued, "Actually, while I am decent at cooking,
"my skills are very unstructured, quite random, good at times, and lacking at others."
"That's why I wanted to apprentice myself, to really learn the authentic court culinary arts."
Xia Chuyi spoke very earnestly.
Old Sir Guan looked at her, then looked again, and after a long pause, he spoke with his hands behind his back, "Alright, I'll teach you."
Seeing she had gotten through this hurdle, Xia Chuyi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"By the way, Master, I've already spoken with Mrs. Gu, and once you and the Master are ready, I'll bring the Master to meet Mrs. Gu," Xia Chuyi quickly changed the subject.
Upon hearing this, Old Sir Guan's attention was indeed diverted, "You've already spoken?"
Xia Chuyi nodded, "Yes, we've agreed."
Old Sir Guan fell silent for a moment, then said, "I'll discuss it with your Master."
"Alright, I'll see you back, Master," Xia Chuyi hurriedly said.
"No need." To her surprise, Old Sir Guan waved his hand, "I know the way. If you insist on sending me, let Xia Pan and Xia Ming take me."
Xia Chuyi: ... Was she being rejected?
"Alright," Xia Chuyi said.
After Old Sir Guan left, she reviewed the recent situation in the shop.
"Not bad, business has been quite good lately." After reviewing, Xia Chuyi nodded in satisfaction and happily told Qian Qianqian.
Qian Qianqian: "Of course, didn't you see who was running the store?"
As the two of them were talking, they suddenly heard someone at the door exclaim, "Is there really a 'Youwei' here?"
Xia Chuyi looked up and saw the surprised person, dressed in very fashionable attire, frowning at the "Youwei" sign.
It was none other than the long-unseen — Xia Lan.