“Did you read the newspaper?” the young man who sold fried dumplings said excitedly to the woman who sold pancakes with cracknel inside at the side.
“Yes, I did. Boss Yuan is quite awesome. I noticed that quite a few newspapers reported about him,” the woman answered while she was making pancakes neatly. Of course, she wore a face mask when she talked.
“Exactly. Boss Yuan did a good job,” even the girl who was buying the pancakes with cracknel at the side nodded her head and chimed in.
“That’s right. That cocky Tengyuan always holds his head high, but Boss Yuan has ways to make him lower his head,” said the young man who sold fried dumplings proudly.
“Of course, that person isn’t so awesome as Boss Yuan. I heard that one of Boss Yuan’s ancestors was a royal chef,” said the woman that sold pancakes with cracknel affirmatively.
“No, no, no. One of my nephews gets along very well with Chef Yuan’s dog. I heard from him that Chef Yuan is a natural chef. He was already holding a knife when he was three,” the girl that waited for her pancakes broke the news mysteriously.
“I also heard so. The ancestor of Chef Yuan was surnamed Pao. Otherwise, how could he make so many customers crowd around and wait here for so long just to eat a meal? Which one of them do you think would know about that Tengyuan?” Another person that sold deep-fried dough sticks and soybean milk beside them chimed in.
“If only I can taste Boss Yuan’s craftsmanship! After all, he is a talented royal chef, whom only the former emperors could have.” The young man that sold fried dumplings looked at the door of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant expectantly.
“Come on, man. You can afford it, but just can’t bear to spend the money. Boss Yuan’s dishes are all excellent, but the problem is that they are much too expensive.” Speaking of that, the woman that sold pancakes laughed.
“That’s just the way it is. But I have promised my son to take him here and taste Boss Yuan’s Egg Fried Rice if he can rank first in his exams,” another middle-aged man that sold scallion cakes at the side said smilingly.
“You really don’t mind spending money on your kid,” the woman that sold pancakes said enviously immediately.
“When I get a girlfriend later, I will take her over here to taste the delicacies,” the young man that sold dumplings also said earnestly.
Therefore, Yuan Zhou became a talented royal chef that started holding knives when he was three and sliced vegetables when he was five.
“Ding Ling Ling, Ding Ling Ling”. There came the sound of the bicycle bell from outside the street. It was the urban management staff on the bike.
At that time, the opening hours of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant also ended. Mu Xiaoyun and Zhou Jia were seeing off the last customer.
“Go, everybody, go now. There’s an inspection today. Don’t stay here. Move your vehicle’s away.” It was indeed Zhou Yu. While riding the bicycle, he told those pedlars to leave.
The timing was good. Zhou Yu basically started to let them leave after business ended. He didn’t drive them away roughly as soon as he arrived.
This could be said to be Zhou Yu’s habit. He didn’t come to this place is it wasn’t unnecessary and if he was required to come, he tried to come after their business was almost over.
“Why is there an inspection again today? Thank you for your help last time,” the young man that sold fried dumplings knitted his brows, but said courteously to Zhou Yu.
“Never mind. Go now.” Zhou Yu shook his head lightly.
“It’s not the weekend. Why are you guys patrolling again?” The woman that sold pancakes grumbled.
“We know Boss Yuan’s restaurant resumed operations again and you guys will definitely come. My superior said he would come very soon. Please hurry up.” Zhou Yu shrugged and stopped the bicycle. He just watched the pedlars that filled the side street.
“Huh, that’s really annoying. You guys come to inspect three times a day. I haven’t even done much business,” a pedlar complained while gathering up his stuff.
However, these pedlars moved quickly and neatly. Obviously, they were quite deft and it wasn’t the first time that they did so.
“All right, everyone. Stop complaining and move quickly,” Zhou Yu shouted at them.
Instead of going up and saying something more, he just stayed there for a while and then rode his bicycle away.
Mu Xiaoyun caught sight of the whole process and revealed a curious look on her face. She just stood there and looked at those pedlars.
Not long after Zhou Yu left, the pedlars also emptied this street swiftly. Suddenly, the street became empty.
“Boss, is that the new urban management staff?” Mu Xiaoyun asked curiously.
“Um. He came to work after you left for school,” said Yuan Zhou simply.
What he meant was that this man started to supervise this area after Mu Xiaoyun left for school.
“He’s so strange. I feel he isn’t very mild and he doesn’t look like a gentle person. But why did he tell the pedlars about the information?” Mu Xiaoyun pointed at the empty street and asked.
“Because there are many inspections,” said Yuan Zhou without thinking.
On hearing this question, Yuan Zhou suddenly thought of the event last time.
The situation was more or less the same.
It was also a sudden major inspection. Zhou Yu rode his bicycle over here quickly and notified these pedlars.
“Go, go quickly. There will be a major inspection today. I just got the information. Clear everything away. Hurry up,” Zhou Yu rode his bicycle around the side street and then said.
“That’s really annoying, inspecting at this time of day.” The middle-aged man that sold scallion cakes turned off the furnace and tidied up his stuff.
“It is lucky that this young man notified us. Otherwise, our stalls will all be confiscated. Hurry up. Let’s go,” the pedlar that sold soybean milk and deep-fried dough sticks said quickly.
“You are right. Thank you,” the man that sold scallion cakes shouted at Zhou Yu.
“Don’t mention it. We are all working to live,” Zhou Yu said that indifferently.
It wasn’t the first time that Zhou Yu said so. On the first day when he came to work, he told these pedlars that they could spread out goods for sale in their stalls during normal times with the condition that they did the cleaning. If there was an inspection, however, they must run quickly so that no one suffered any loss.
He was naturally referring to himself and these pedlars by saying that. In this way, he could finish his work and didn’t need to confiscate the stalls that they lived on.
At that time, Zhou Jia asked Zhou Yu why he didn’t drive them away. After all, it was just his work.
“It’s really unnecessary. Everybody works for a living and there’s no need to drive them here and there, let alone confiscating the stalls. Anyway, I can get nothing from that,” Zhou Yu smoked and said lightly.
Judging from the way he spoke, he would do that if somebody gave him money.
“Then why do you work as an urban management staff?” Zhou Jia asked curiously.
“Just for a living. Tiresome jobs require people to do, anyway. Besides, I would also open a restaurant and count the money every day if I had such good craftsmanship like Boss Yuan’s. Who do you think wants to do this tiring and disgusting work?” Zhou Jia gave a contemptuous look at Zhou Jia angrily.
“Well, you are right.” Zhou Jia was speechless.
Yuan Zhou heard that, but he didn’t say anything.
“All right. Do it quickly.” After he smoked a cigarette, Zhou Yu got on his bicycle and left.
Getting down to business. This time, the inspection team arrived very quickly.
In less than ten minutes after Zhou Yu left, three white law-enforcement vehicles pulled into the side street. A lot of urban management staff showed up in crowds.
Breakfast time had ended. When the loudspeaker sounded, Yuan Zhou was sitting in his restaurant and reading a book.
Coincidentally, the fried-dumpling stall was still there, not far from the door of Yuan Zhou’s restaurant.
“What’s going on? Whose stall is that? Move it away now,” the team leader immediately turned on the loudspeaker and started to shout.
“Ta Ta Ta”. Zhou Yu ran out of the vehicle right away and entered Yuan Zhou’s restaurant directly. He began to speak even before Yuan Zhou said anything.
“Boss Yuan, I have told you that you cannot put the stall outside the door. Move it into your restaurant now,” Zhou Yu pointed at the fried-dumpling stall and said solemnly.
“Okay, okay.” Yuan Zhou was in a daze at first. When he followed Zhou Yu and looked outside, he understood at once and nodded his head without blinking.
“Move it, move it now,” Zhou Yu took Yuan Zhou to the stall. Then he carried one side of the stall and said to Yuan Zhou.
“Got it.” With a look of indifference, Yuan Zhou didn’t say anything superfluous from beginning to end. He took the other side and started to move the stall away.
“Boss Yuan, you also cook fried dumplings now?” An urban management staff asked curiously at the side.
“No. I just wanted to study it randomly,” Yuan Zhou answered without turning his head around.
“Then why didn’t you put it inside?” Other staff knitted their brows and asked.
After all, it was considered to be a roadside stall business. They naturally had to ask about that.
“The restaurant is too small to put it inside,” Yuan Zhou was telling a bare-faced lie.
“Don’t put it outside anymore next time. Roadside stall business is forbidden. But since you are Chef Yuan, we won’t confiscate it this time. But remember, that can’t happen again.”
After the team leader said that, he took his men and left.
As a chef well-known throughout the province, Yuan Zhou was able to cope with things using his face on some certain occasions.
…
