Translator: Lonelytree
Although Uncle Chen's restaurant was remote, he had quite a number of customers. They were his old acquaintances and foodies of Xing Yin County.
People had to make appointments before coming, or they could be turned away. After all, this was a hobby for Uncle Chen, and he didn't really need customers. He had a rule, which was only to receive two tables of guests per meal, so only four tables per day.
On this day, another group of regulars came to Uncle Chen's place.
Uncle Chen grumbled, "You old farts, I already told you I would only serve four tables per day. If you want to come, you have to make an appointment. But you come daily without making an appointment and then refuse to leave until I cook for you. Do I owe you people or something?"
Yuan Hongjun said, "Chen Dafu since you only serve four tables a day, we know you're very free. We came to give you a chance to exercise your arms. You should thank us!"
Uncle Chen scolded with a smile, "As if! I'm already busy with four tables. But you people came to drink tea, chat and play chess. You only add to my workload. Why don't you go back home and cook for yourselves? It's a perfect exercise!"
"We don't have your cooking skills." Qian Aiguo said with a smile.
"I can teach you." Chen Dafu sneered and said, "You people are too free anyway. Cooking is a good exercise."
"But cooking requires talent." Yuan Hongjun said, "And we don't have that talent. My wife told me that even pigs wouldn't eat the things I cook. Speaking of, the dishes we have these days are different from before. They were simple vegetarian dishes, but they had a great aftertaste."
"Yes, they taste amazing. They are sweet and fragrant. They might be the best vegetables I've ever eaten." Qian Aiguo said.
"I agree with you," said Yuan Hongjun.
"Come on, Chen Dafu, we've been eating your cooking for decades, but we have never tasted such delicious vegetarian dishes before. Where did you get your new source of vegetables?" Yuan Hongjun asked curiously.
"That's right, where did you get them?" Qian Aiguo said curiously, "I want to buy from your supplier. I won't steal your business, I promise."
Chen Dafu snorted coldly and said, "As if you can steal my business from me!"
"Ol Chen, you should buy more of these vegetables in the future. Consider the extra as your purchase for me." Yuan Hongjun said shamelessly, "Or you can tell me where you get the vegetables, and I can go buy them myself."
Qian Aiguo also smiled and asked, "Ol Chen, I'm of the same mind as Ol Yuan."
Just as Chen Dafu was about to say something, he saw Xiao Lingyu come over. Chen Dafu immediately smiled happily and said, "Lingyu, you're here."
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, "Uncle Chen!" She looked around and realized there were more customers than usual. Xiao Lingyu had been to Uncle Chen's a few times, but every time, there was only one table of customers. This was the first time she saw the place full. Then again, the restaurant only had two tables.
"Lingyu, so nice to see you!" Auntie Chen walked over happily when she saw Xiao Lingyu.
Xiao Lingyu glanced around Chen Dafu's restaurant and said with a smile, "Auntie Chen, Uncle Chen, you have very good business today."
"These are just some old friends." Auntie Chen said, "Lingyu, you should sit here first." Auntie Chen pointed at a small table that could only seat two. She reserved it for Xiao Lingyu and Jiang Tao, or else it would have been taken earlier.
After Xiao Lingyu sat down, Auntie Chen served the tea. She asked, "Lingyu, where's Tao Zi?"
Xiao Lingyu said, "Brother Jiang said he's busy with a case. He'll be here soon."
Auntie Chen said, "That child only knows how to work. When will he stop working and find a girlfriend? Isn't he afraid of dying alone?" Auntie Chen purposely said this in front of Xiao Lingyu. She was trying to set them up. However, she noticed Xiao Lingyu didn't react the way she preferred.
Xiao Lingyu said with a smile, "That's right. We should advise Brother Jiang not to be too busy with work. He should get a girlfriend. Many girls are willing to be his partner. If he finds someone, I will give them my best wishes." This clarified that she had no interest in Jiang Tao.
Auntie Chen sighed secretly. Xiao Lingyu was such a good girl, but sadly, she was not into Tao Zi.
Auntie Chen smiled and said, "Lingyu, you can sit here for a while and wait for Tao Zi."
"Okay."
...
On the other side, Uncle Chen said, "Don't you want to know where I bought the vegetables from? It's from that girl, Xiao Lingyu."
Uncle Chen pointed at Xiao Lingyu, and he shouted, "Lingyu, these old farts are addicted to your crops. They want to know where you get them. Do you have any extra? Can you spare to sell them some? As for the price, these old farts are all rich. Sell them as expensive as possible."
Qian Aiguo immediately said, "Ol Chen, what are you saying? Our families are rich, but we don't have money trees growing in the backyard."
Then, Qian Aiguo looked at Xiao Lingyu and said, "Young lady, if you really do have these vegetables to sell, you have to sell them to us. You should sell them at the same price you sold Ol Chen."
Yuan Hongjun also said, "Yeah, Ol Chen is too unscrupulous. Young Lady, since you're selling vegetables, it doesn't matter who you sold them to. If you don't have any extra, you can take out some portion from Ol Chen's and give them to us."
Chen Dafu scolded with a smile, "You old farts are too much! Never mind, Lingyu, don't sell them anything. They have so much money, but they don't want to spend it. They are too stingy."
"Chen Dafu, if there's a stinginess competition, you'd definitely win first place." Qian Aiguo said loudly. "You recently got a new stock of wine. But you refuse to let us taste them."
Chen Dafu huffed. "The last time I let you taste the wine, you finished one-third of it instantly! That is not wine tasting!" Chen Dafu added, "Speaking of, the Gu Family Hotel has started to launch this wine. You can go there to buy it. Also, the dishes at the Gu Family Hotel are equally delicious. Why don't you go there? Instead, you come here every day. Don't you know that I don't welcome you old farts anymore?"
Qian Aiguo said, "We've been to the Gu family hotel before. It was my grandson who brought my wife and me there. Initially, we thought he was being supportive of his friend. But after the food was served, we were surprised by the fragrance. Then, the taste was even more memorable. After that, the brat would occasionally bring some vegetables home for us to cook. Wait a minute..." Qian Aiguo finally realized the connection. "Ol Chen, you got your vegetables from this girl, and you said the Gu Family Hotel also had dishes as delicious as yours. Does this mean the Gu Family Hotel and my brat also got their supply from you?"
The last sentence was directed at Xiao Lingyu. It was filled with suspicion.
Xiao Lingyu looked at Qian Aiguo, who looked to be in his seventies. His hair was white, and his face was red. He looked somewhat like Qian Yifan. Xiao Lingyu confirmed that this old man was very likely Qian Yifan's grandfather.
Xiao Lingyu smiled and said, "Grandfather, if the vegetables your grandson brought home taste the same as the ones served by Uncle Chen, then he probably got them from me."
"Oh, is that so?"Qian Aiguo narrowed his eyes and stared at Xiao Lingyu with an experienced light as if he wanted to see something from her face.
Xiao Lingyu smiled at the elders. She was not overbearing or servile.
Chen Dafu immediately guessed what Qian Aiguo was suspecting. The latter suspected Xiao Lingyu was trying to use this opportunity to approach his grandson.
After all, Qian Aiguo's son was Xing Yin County's deputy magistrate. Many people couldn't wait to curry favor with him.
Uncle Chen immediately said unhappily, "I say, Ol Qian, what is your meaning? Are you trying to fault me for introducing Lingyu to the Gu Family kid?"
First, it was Gu Family who found Xiao Lingyu to collaborate, not the other way around.
Second, the Gu Family kid was good friends with Qian Yifan, and the Gu Family kid was in a business relationship with Xiao Lingyu. Wouldn't it be normal for Qian Yifan to grab some vegetables from the Gu Family kid and bring them home?
Third, and it was the thing that angered Uncle Chen the most, who gave you the right to suspect Lingyu?
Qian Aiguo looked at how protective Chen Dafu was of Xiao Lingyu, and he was momentarily stunned. Then, he laughed loudly, "Ol Chen, did I say anything? I was just wondering how the girl knew my little brat. Now that you bring it up, I understand it."
"No, wait, I understand something too." Uncle Chen suddenly said. "Ol Qian, your grandson brings Lingyu's crops back to your home, so why are you still coming to my place? Have you no shame as a freeloader?
"Also, Ol Yuan, since the Qian Kid had brought Lingyu's vegetables home through the Gu Kid, then your brat would have his portion too. Speaking of, Ol Zheng would be included as well. Ol Zheng is not here, so I'll hear you two's explanation first."
The Qian Kid, Yuan Kid, and Zheng Kid were good friends with Gu Ziye. Since Qian Yifan got a portion of the vegetables from Gu Ziye, then the rest of them should have their portion too.
"Erm..." Yuan Hongjun didn't expect the flames to turn to him.
Qian Aiguo and Yuan Hongjun did not expect to stumble upon this 'truth'. The vegetables they had been having at home and at Ol Chen's places came from the same person.
Yuan Hongjun said, "Brother Chen, we're here to accompany you. We don't want you to be lonely!"
Qian Aiguo immediately echoed, "Yes, that's right."
The real reason was otherwise.
For one, even though the ingredients were the same, Chen Dafu could cook them better.
For two, Chen Dafu had a bigger selection. Their brats brought the vegetables home, but the whole family fought over them. There was no respect shown to the elderly. They could barely eat anything during mealtimes. Therefore, they came to Chen Dafu's place to eat their fill. Of course, they couldn't tell Chen Dafu the real reason. With his temper, once he found out the real reason, he might stop cooking for them.
After Uncle Chen served the last dish, he sneered, "Do you think I don't know what you two old farts are thinking? You can't get enough food at home, so you come here to freeload. Hmph, never mind. I have a solution. From tomorrow onward, I'll only buy enough for my small business. You old farts can go back home. Lingyu, I'll only take a few catties from now on. There's no need to give me extra."
Yuan Hongjun and Qian Aiguo immediately stopped him. "Dafu, let's talk it out." Then, they turned around and told Xiao Lingyu, "Girl, since you can supply Ol Chen with your vegetables, can you supply us too? Those brats bring back too little portions every time. We won't have the energy to fight with the younger generations, and we often don't have enough to eat."
Xiao Lingyu, "..."
Everyone, "..."
Chen Dafu,"..." This bunch of old farts sold me out just like that.
Chen Dafu said, "Shoo, shoo. You should be thankful that Lingyu is willing to share her crops with your brats. Don't you know that she doesn't even have enough to supply the Gu Family Hotel? The girl has a limited amount of vegetables per day. How do you want the girl to supply you with the extra? Girl, don't be afraid of them. Uncle Chen has your back."
Yuan Hongjun, "..."
Qian Aiguo, "..."
Did we do anything to scare the girl?
Qian Aiguo immediately retorted, "Ol Chen, you just said you didn't need so much supply in the future. Girl, the portion that Ol Chen doesn't want, you can sell it to us!"
Chen Dafu, "..." Why did I say that earlier?
Chen Dafu snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, I take it back. I want my normal supply again." He raised his head high and proud.
Everyone, "..."
They were being so childish.