Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Today, everything was as usual at the pub above Yuan Zhou’s restaurant. There were not many customers around, with only six of them in total including Shen Min.
On one table was a novelist who was always alone. On another table was Chen Wei and his friend, Shen Xi. The last table was Jiang Changxi and Yin Ya.
Jiang Changxi would occasionally treat someone to a drink. Today, Yin Ya was the one she was treating. The two career women shared many topics of conversation, with Yin Ya being slightly less talkative than Jiang Changxi.
Wu Hai was not here tonight. When the aroma waffled upstairs, the novelist who was seated the nearest to the courtyard was the first to smell it.
“Did anyone smell something?” asked the novelist doubtfully while holding a bottle of liquor with one hand.
“What smell? Are you going to treat me to a drink?” Chen Wei asked.
“Idiot. He’s asking if you smelled anything special,” Shen Xi said while looking at Chen Wei with contempt.
“No, I don’t. Sigh, there’s too little liquor,” said Chen Wei as he languidly shook his head after he took a tiny sip off his glass.
“I think I can smell it too, it smells so good,” Yin Ya twitched her nose and said in doubt.
“True, there is a smell, and it’s the smell of meat,” Jiang Changxi said.
“It’s probably some liquor snack? It does smell like something that goes well with liquor,” Shen Xi said.
Chen Wei inhaled forcefully and finally noticed that there was indeed a certain smell in the air. This was a very appetizing smell.
“Yeah, it smells so good. By the way, since you have quit drinking, how do you know that this dish goes well with liquor?” Chen Wei first agreed with Yin Ya before asking Shen Xi.
“Because I used to drink,” Shen Xi answered.
That’s right. Shen Xi was someone who had quit drinking. He wasn’t here to drink and would only eat some snacks. This was also why Chen Wei was willing to bring Shen Xi here instead of the incredibly sturdy Dong Dong.
Because if Shen Xi came, he would not fight over the liquor with them. Although they would have fewer snacks to eat, that was better than having a smaller share of liquor.
“I wonder what is it. I’m salivating just by smelling it,” muttered the novelist after he took in a deep breath.
“Min Min, what is your boss cooking today? He’s filling the entire courtyard with the smell,” Jiang Changxi asked Shen Min.
“Sister Jiang, I have no clue,” Shen Min shook her head in doubt.
Shen Min was aware that Yuan Zhou would occasionally cook something for himself to eat in the kitchen. However, this was the first time the smell of what he cooked spread up here.
“Go down and take a look,” Jiang Changxi suggested.
“Ok,” Shen Min nodded.
Shen Min was quite curious herself so she immediately went downstairs after Jiang Changxi suggested her to do so.
Ta. Ta. Ta. Shen Min’s footsteps went downstairs slowly, while Jiang Changxi stood up and said, “Let us go take a look as well.”
“Yes, let’s go,” Yin Ya was the first to agree.
When the three men saw the two women walking towards the edge, they followed and looked down as well.
Yuan Zhou’s pub was on the second floor, with the wall at the edge being replaced with a wall of bamboo. One only needed to softly pry the bamboos apart to have a clear look at the courtyard downstairs.
A tiny path was in the courtyard, and there were two lotus lanterns on either side of the path. Apart from lanterns, flowers were grown along the path as well, and some of the flowers that were already in season were already blooming.
Yuan Zhou was seated underneath the eaves. There, a table was placed and an elegant lotus lantern was hanging on the eaves, shining on the table.
On the table was a pot of liquor, a cup, a pair of chopsticks, one empty bowl, and a few dishes.
This was what they saw when they looked down at the courtyard. For some reason, this sight looked really enchanting.
“As a chef, he’s already good at cooking. Why is he acting so elegantly?” Yin Ya mumbled inwardly, yet a blush appeared on her face as well.
Even Jiang Changxi exclaimed in admiration when she saw this sight.
“Boss Yuan is eating alone!” This was the only thing Chen Wei noticed.
Boss Yuan was not sharing.
“Oh…” This rendered Jiang Changxi speechless.
Yin Ya burst out in laughter, while Shen Xi beside her had a helpless expression. The novelist maintained his calm and focused on the dishes on the table that had steam simmering out of it.
At this time, Shen Min arrived beside Yuan Zhou’s table. They started speaking, but the people upstairs couldn’t hear them.
Jiang Changxi waited for a bit before she shouted, “Boss Yuan, it’s boring to drink alone. Come up here. Let’s drink together.”
“Bring your dishes up here while you’re at it,” Jiang Changxi added with a smile when Yuan Zhou raised his head to look at her.
Chen Wei immediately agreed, “Yeah, yeah, Boss Yuan, come up. We can drink together. When drinking, the more the merrier.”
“Bring your new dish up as well,” said the novelist.
“You all want to try the new dish?” Yuan Zhou asked.
“I only want to know how it tastes like,” Chen Wei said as he giggled while rubbing his head.
“Boss Yuan, come up. I have other snacks here as well,” Jiang Changxi said.
Yuan Zhou looked at them before saying to Shen Min, “Let’s go up. Carry the dishes with us.”
“Ok, Boss Yuan,” Shen Min nodded.
Shen Min took a tray and started putting the dishes on the table on it before walking upstairs.
As for Yuan Zhou, he carried the table and chair and headed to the second floor.
The system had only provided three chairs and tables. Therefore, if he wanted to have a seat upstairs, he had to bring his own chair and table.
“We should maintain a harmonious relationship and start sharing food later,” Chen Wei told the others.
“You are the liquor snatcher,” said the novelist.
“Yeah, just don’t go around scamming liquor. Let us see what new dish Boss Yuan has,” Jiang Changxi nodded.
“Yeah, I wonder what good food Boss Yuan has this time. It looks like it is some kind of snack that goes with liquor,” said Yin Ya.
“We will know when they come up,” Shen Xi said.
Shen Min came with a tray of food while Yuan Zhou came with table and chair. Jiang Changxi and Chen Wei warmly helped them and before long, Yuan Zhou was seated right in the middle of three tables.
The moment Yuan Zhou sat down, Chen Wei pointed at the Mushroom Roasted Chicken Tail and said, “Boss Yuan, what new dish is this? Is it a liquor snack?”
“It is kind of a liquor snack, but it can be eaten as a regular meal as well,” Yuan Zhou said with a nod.
“It’s actually heart-shaped. It looks so good,” Yin Ya said curiously.
“Boss Yuan, this is chicken tail, right?” asked the novelist and Shen Xi at the same time. The novelist was frowning while Shen Xi was curious.
“This is a new dish, Mushroom Roasted Chicken Tail,” Yuan Zhou said.
“What’s chicken tail? The tail of a chicken?” Yin Ya asked.
“It is commonly known as the chicken butt,” Shen Xi said.
“Cough, cough. What?” Yin Ya was immediately choking on her breath, feeling like the smell in the air wasn’t so attractive anymore.
“I heard this thing goes very well with liquor. Boss Yuan, share and let us try it together,” Chen Wei was very interested.
Even Jiang Changxi was interested.
Yuan Zhou took in their reaction, getting ready for the kind of reaction he would get when the dish was released tomorrow.
