28, No Appetite
After heading to the kitchen, Xie Zhinuan even stewed some porridge, and then instructed the chefs on how to prepare the dishes.
Compared to the exhausting sweat she shed yesterday, today she felt much more relaxed.
As the carriage entered Zhao’an County, Li Hengyi inside the carriage smelled the familiar scent of Leng Zhuxiang.
“Yuanbao!”
“Yes, sir?”
“Stop the carriage!”
Yuanbao hurriedly brought the carriage to a halt, and Li Hengyi got out, slowly walking around.
The fragrance became stronger and clearer as he approached, peaking right outside Yuanji’s doors.
It must have taken some sharp business acumen for Yuan Cheng to open a restaurant in Zhao’an County.
Seeing Li Hengyi come in, he immediately stepped forward, “Honored guest, please, this way to the private room upstairs!”
“…”
Without a word, Li Hengyi ascended the stairs.
Yuanbao quickly followed, surveying the bustling restaurant, filled to the brim with people, which surprised him.
Such a small restaurant, and yet so lively!
The upstairs private rooms were either occupied or vacant.
Few were open; most doors were closed.
“Honored guest, there are two rooms left, one facing the street, where you can open the window to see the street outside, and the other one…” Yuan Cheng had not finished speaking.
Li Hengyi gestured for Yuanbao to choose the room next to the kitchen.
Yuanbao promptly opened the door.
Stepping inside, Li Hengyi immediately turned and closed the window, greeted by a view of a small courtyard, beyond which lay the kitchen.
The scent of Leng Zhuxiang wafted from the direction of the kitchen.
Mingled with the smells of various stir-fries and braised meats, the aroma became nauseating, prompting Li Hengyi to frown and shut the window.
“Yuanbao!”
“Yes, sir?”
“…”
Li Hengyi looked as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately just shook his head slightly.
Even now, Yuanbao still couldn’t figure out what his master was thinking.
The dishes were served one by one, but Li Hengyi had no appetite and merely gave them a brief glance before sipping lightly from his wine cup.
Yuanbao watched with genuine concern.
“Sir, these dishes look quite good, why don’t you try a bite?”
At these words, Li Hengyi looked at Yuanbao, set down his wine cup, and picked up his chopsticks.
But looking at the dishes before him, he felt at a loss where to start.
There wasn’t a single one that he could bring himself to eat.
“…”
After hesitating for a moment, Yuanbao said, “Sir, please wait. I will go and ask if there are any other dishes available!”
Li Hengyi remained silent.
His silence served as tacit consent.
Yuanbao immediately went downstairs and walked up to the counter, where he placed an ingot of silver in front of Yuan Cheng, “Shopkeeper, do you have another chef in this restaurant? Have him prepare a specialty dish. If it’s good, he will be handsomely rewarded!”
“…”
Yuanbao’s generosity was clear, a whole ten taels of silver.
Yuan Cheng was taken aback.
It took him a while to snap out of it, “Please wait a moment, I’ll go and ask right away!”
“Make it quick!” Yuanbao said sternly, turning to go back upstairs.
Yuan Cheng immediately headed to the kitchen, where Xie Zhinuan was in a corner instructing the head chef on how to fry and stir properly, oblivious to Yuan Cheng’s arrival.
However, Yuan Cheng had noticed her and came over, “Zhinuan!”
“Uncle?” Xie Zhinuan called out softly.
“Zhinuan, could you come and cook a dish!” Yuan Cheng whispered to her, gesturing for her to step outside to talk.
Xie Zhinuan finished giving a few key points to the head chef before leaving the kitchen.
“Uncle?”
“We have a customer upstairs who is unsatisfied with the dishes we sent up. He gave us ten taels of silver to have another chef prepare something. I…”
Xie Zhinuan fell silent.
“Uncle, the customer is unsatisfied? To what extent? Is it with the taste, or with the dishes themselves? Go and ask what the customer would like to eat. I’ll think about what to prepare!”
Chapter 30