In the kitchen, Mrs. Jiang was talking to Dahu about Miss Zhu’s niece. She thought Dahu wouldn’t agree to meet her because he had vaguely mentioned that he only wanted to focus on building up the Hundred Flavors Inn and wasn’t considering marriage at the moment.
But now, Dahu agreed without hesitation.
Mrs. Jiang looked at Dahu and smiled, saying, "Then go have a look. I’ll talk to Zhu Sangu in a couple of days to see what the girl is like. If she’s good, we’ll settle it, and if not, we won’t. Watching you brothers grow up, I’ll be relieved once you’re all married..."
"Yeah!" Dahu responded absent-mindedly.
It was near dinner time when Lin Sanshui finally came back.
Because there were too many things going on at home, they had added another ox cart to the family before the New Year.
In the courtyard, seeing him leisurely humming a tune and parking the ox cart by the door, Gu Nian, since joining this family, felt infuriated for the first time.
"Dad, where did you go? Why are you only coming back now?"
Seeing the furious Gu Nian, Lin Sanshui was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Where else could Dad go? The restaurant has been quite busy lately, and Dad had nothing to do at home, so I went to take a look!"
As he spoke, he walked into the courtyard.
By chance, he saw Dahu coming out of the house, and his face immediately turned gloomy, "Dahu, why are you at home? The two apprentices at the restaurant haven’t finished their training yet. Can they manage without you there?"
Such a big restaurant couldn’t possibly rely on Dahu alone, so they had already hired two apprentices to help with the workload. Dahu genuinely mentored them, hoping they’d learn to handle tasks, without keeping secrets like other masters might.
Dahu also looked stern, "Dad, you seem unhappy seeing me back?"
"How could that be?" Lin Sanshui quickly reacted, "Dad’s just worried about the restaurant. You’re overthinking, child. This is your home too. Dad would love it if you and Erhu came back every day. Of course, I want you to come back."
"That’s good then." Dahu turned away, but in a place where no one could see, a sarcastic smile crept on his lips.
Mrs. Jiang came out of the kitchen holding chopsticks and deliberately said upon seeing Lin Sanshui, "You came back just in time, right for dinner. If you were any later, you’d be left with the cold wind!"
Lin Sanshui stepped forward to take the food from her hands, speaking with a slightly ingratiating tone, "Let me take it. By the way, are Sanhu and Little Hu back yet?"
"They’ve been back for a while, studying in their room." Mrs. Jiang didn’t stand on ceremony and handed the dishes to him directly.
At the dinner table, in front of the whole family, Mrs. Jiang suddenly asked Lin Sanshui, "By the way, Dahu and Erhu both came back today, saying the restaurant was closed for the day. Since the restaurant wasn’t open, where did you go today?"
The smile on Lin Sanshui’s face froze as he put down his bowl and chopsticks, lowering his head, "I... had some matters to deal with. Let’s eat first, and I’ll explain later."
Mrs. Jiang didn’t press further and smiled to herself, "Just as well, I have something to say too."
"What is it?" Successfully deflecting the topic, the smile on Lin Sanshui’s face became more genuine.
"It’s about Miss Zhu’s niece again. I just talked to Dahu about it, and he had no objections. I’ve already gotten back to Zhu Sangu about it. In a couple of days, let’s find a chance for the child to come over and have a look at each other..."
"No way!" Lin Sanshui’s face instantly darkened, "Didn’t I say there’s no hurry for Dahu’s marriage?"