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Yun Zhao closed his eyes and carefully savoured the taste as if afraid that he will never taste something as good as this again. He then raised his hand to take another piece of grilled squid but just as he stretched his hand, he was surprised to find that more than half of the grilled squid was gone. Including its tentacles —— what the?
He turned to look at Shen Junxi and found him munching on the tentacles with a satisfactory nod as he munched on the chewy delicacy which he finished on his own without even bothering to share it with Yun Zhao, who was sitting next to him as a guest.
" You should hurry up and eat," seeing him stunned, Grandma Shen cast a dissatisfied look at her son who was eating as if he never ate this grilled squid before, had he forgotten that before deciding which dish to serve, Su Wan made two to three extra dishes last night and it was all gobbled by Shen Junxi?
What a hungry monster, if not for the fact that Su Wan needed to take rest such that she will not push her body too much, her son might have asked her grand niece to cook the entire barrel of the squids.
Only then did Yun Zhao snap out of his daze, he hurriedly reached to grab a few pieces and then shoved them inside his mouth forgetting that he needed to act dignified as he was an official as well. But in the face of something so delicious, all his manners were sent to back foot as he fought with Shen Junxi to eat more.
" Master Shen, I am sure that you eat such things every day…" Yun Zhao said to Shen Junxi who pushed his chopsticks aside.
" I do but don't you see those tall and burly men? They are such food gobblers what do you!" Shen Junxi retorted pulling the Lin brothers down who turned to look at him with a glare. Who was the real food gobbler here?
Every time Su Wan cooked something good it would be inhaled by Shen Junxi, he was speaking nonsense saying that he did not get enough to eat with them around when it was the other way around.
Yun Zhao did not know whether or not Shen Junxi was speaking the truth but when he saw the speed with which the man was eating one piece after another, he did not believe that even a single word that came out of this man's mouth was truth. How can he not have enough to eat? He was practically gobbling the entire squid without even blinking!
With a challenger by his side, Yun Zhao's speed increased and he rushed to eat what remained of the grilled squid.
Su Wan heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Yun Zhao liked the grilled squid, though she was confident in her skills.
But everyone had a different taste that suited them, in case Yun Zhao did not like the smoky taste of the grilled squid then she was afraid that all her hard work will go down the drain but now that she had seen Yun Zhao eating the grilled squid without any trouble, she could finally ease a little.
If Yun Zhao liked eating this dish then she could more or less think of a way to settle the menu of her new restaurant and bar.
"Was it good, Master Yun?" Su Wan asked once Yun Zhao was done eating, she patiently handed him a handkerchief to wipe the stains of the sauce which was now sticking to his clothes before returning to her seat.
Yun Zhao flushed red in embarrassment when he saw the mess he made and only now did he understand why Shen Junxi hurried to tuck the handkerchief into his collar, he knew that he was going to make a mess.
" It was good, no it was right to say that it was delicious," Yun Zhao was not at all shy with his praise as he looked at the porcelain plate, now that he knew that the thing called squid could be prepared so well, he finally felt the small seedling of hope pop in his heart. Maybe there was still a chance for him to turn the situation of this town around.
" Then I believe you will agree with my plan," said Su Wan as she pushed a paper on which she had asked Lin Rui to write her development plans.
" The first thing that we need to take care of is the income and the financial condition of the people of this town, if they don't have money in their pocket to survive the winters and the summers, then there is no point in going ahead with the rest of the plans."
When Yun Zhao heard that Su Wan wanted to start with the commoners, his heart shook a little. In the past many magistrates came and left but neither of them cared about the commoners. They only knew how to keep their house warm with enough food on their table and nothing else.
" Do you have any plans for them, madam?" Yun Zhao asked to which Su Wan nodded in reply.
" I do have a plan," she took out a large piece of paper on which a four stories building was drawn and then explained patiently, " I am thinking of building a hotel. One that will include a restaurant, bar and rooms for tourists to stay, since their plan of the building is grand, I am afraid that we will need a lot of people who will be hired as workers.
From cooks, butchers to servers and maids, I will hire anyone willing to work without any discrimination in gender. If a house doesn't have a man then a woman will be allowed to apply for the job."
Yun Zhao did not say anything as he looked at the grand hotel plan of Su Wan, instead, he turned to look at Su Wan and asked, " Madam your plan is great but who will visit this run-down place? There is nothing. How will we get any tourists?"
"That's right, there is nothing here for anyone to visit but that is only for now," Su Wan conceded as she took out another plan and then placed it in front of Yun Zhao. " But that doesn't mean that there will be nothing in the future."