我在现代做厨子[美食]

Ch.33 Grass Carp in Pickled Vegetable Stew

Chapter 33: Grass Carp in Pickled Vegetable Stew

Zhao XueMei was absolutely determined to see Old Man Yang, and refused to leave without doing so. The family of three sat at a table in front of the restaurant and waited. Yang Xiao stared blankly into space with a face painted in desperation, Zhao XueMei broke down into quiet sobs every once in a while, and Yang JianGuo's ceaseless smoking filled the air with murky smoke.

With these three firmly situated beside the restaurant, any customers who came looking for a meal were scared away before they even reached the front door. Lin ShuYi decided he wanted nothing to do with this, so he simply flipped the 'Open' sign over to 'Closed,' and walked inside with Shen Fu. Out of sight and out of mind.

Lin ShuYi wasn't an altruistic enough person to extend his sympathies to absolutely anyone in need, so he wasn't curious about what happened to Yang Xiao's family at all. Every single slight this family had ever exerted against Old Man Yang was clear in his memories. He knew what Yang Xiao's personality and morals, or lack thereof, were like, and he had long since learned the lesson of being bitten by the dog he fed. Thus now, in this world, as long as something didn't involve him or the people he cared about, he had but one principle: not his problem.

So Lin ShuYi wasn't curious at all. He was, however, a little bit worried that this matter would get Old Man Yang involved.

They waited as Yang JianGuo's pile of cigarette butts grew ever more similar to a miniature model of a mountain, before Old Man Yang finally returned.

Old Man Yang stepped off the bus holding a bucket, laughing and chatting with Xiao Wan's grandma, happily carefree, but that all came to an abrupt halt the moment he looked up. His eyes paused at the 'Closed' sign in front of the XiQin Restaurant for a moment, before glancing over to spot the three people sitting outside.

"Why are you here?" Old Man Yang put the bucket in his hands on the ground as he spoke. A few fish were swimming around inside.

Xiao Wan's grandma followed behind Old Man Yang, and the smile on her face vanished as well the moment she spotted Yang JianGuo and his family. She was never one to put a filter on her thoughts, so as she looked at Yang JianGuo, she quipped, "Oh, how rare. Let me guess, the three of you are here visiting out of the kindness of familial duty?"

When Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu heard voices outside, they came looking. Seeing Old Man Yang and Xiao Wan's grandma, they greeted them, and walked to their side.

Xiao Wan's grandma didn't notice the strangeness of Yang JianGuo's and his family's appearances, and certainly had no idea what just happened to them. All she knew was that she didn't like Zhao XueMei's domineering personality or Yang JianGuo's useless one, so upon this rare occurrence meeting them in person, she was determined to give them a piece of her mind. However, with Lin ShuYi and the other youngsters here, she inexplicably found it difficult to say the words in her throat, so instead she turned the cold shoulder on them and refused to acknowledge their presence.

"Xiao Yi, come and help carry these fish in. They're real fresh, so we're planning on cooking them in a pickled vegetable stew for lunch."

Lin ShuYi went to pick up the fish, but Shen Fu casually took the bucket from his hand, throwing him a grin. "Let me."

"Be careful, those fish are lively. One jumped out of the bucket on the way back."

The family of three were left neglected on the sidelines as this exchange went on. Zhao XueMei grit her teeth, coals burning in her eyes.

Old Man Yang watched as Lin ShuYi and Shen Fu walked back inside, carrying the bucket. Only after they disappeared behind the door did he turn back to face Yang JianGuo. "Alright, say it. What do you want this time?"