Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“I will be able to look for a block of ice, but I heard that Harbin’s ice is sturdier than your regular ice blocks.”
In terms of ice sculpting, Yuan Zhou had learned the craft himself without anyone teaching him, not even the system. With his great knife skills as the foundation, he lacked knowledge of various aspects of ice sculpting. An example of this was the fact that he knew nothing about the different sturdiness of the ice blocks of different regions. These hints were something one was supposed to learn from one’s teacher in the beginning.
A craftsman earned respect by mastering his craft.
“I seem to have forgotten to ask Chairman Zhou which region’s ice block will he get for me. I need to call him and ask about this tomorrow,” Yuan Zhou muttered while he stared at the ice blocks he had in his ice storage when he returned to the kitchen after he was done with the blueprint.
“It’s already too late at night. I will sculpt tomorrow,” Yuan Zhou held back his urge to sculpt right now and prepared to head to bed.
That’s right. After Yang Shuxin’s visit and working on the blueprint, it was already late at night. Even Shen Min had already got off work. It was time to sleep.
Lying on the bed, Yuan Zhou tossed about for a bit before he fell asleep. This was quite rare from him, but it was understandable. He couldn’t help feeling pride after being acknowledged by a master ice sculptor.
The next day, Yuan Zhou woke up five minutes earlier than usual. He got off the bed and washed himself as usual before heading out to jog and exercise.
He was persisting in exercising like how he persisted in improving his cooking skills. Slowly but surely, the results were becoming apparent.
In the past, Yuan Zhou was a shut-in that never went outside. He spent all his time standing in the kitchen cooking, and despite the constant stream of money he was making, he still felt incredibly exhausted by this lifestyle.
Nowadays, he wasn’t as exhausted at the end of the day anymore. This proved that Yuan Zhou’s body was getting stronger and stronger as well, and as a result, he felt better and better. Of course, the increase in the money he earned might have also played a part in him feeling better as well.
More importantly, Yuan Zhou could feel that his grip on his knife was now firmer, and even towards the end of business hours when he was the most exhausted, he could still maintain a steady grip.
The minute improvement he sensed gave him an incredibly joyful feeling.
“Jogging again, Boss Yuan?”
“Good morning, Boss Yuan.”
“Morning, Boss Yuan.”
“What’s the breakfast today, Boss Yuan?”
“Do you have Smoked Fish Silver Thread Noodles or Soup Dumplings for breakfast today? I love those dishes.”
As Yuan Zhou jogged, many people greeted him, with some asking about the breakfast. Although very few people relied on Yuan Zhou’s restaurant entirely for their meals like Wu Hai, the restaurant’s breakfast was still something many people look forward to each day.
“Morning,” Yuan Zhou returned the greetings one by one.
As for those asking about breakfast, Yuan Zhou gave a standard reply, “You will know during breakfast.”
Yuan Zhou was a staunch believer that spoilers were bad. As such, he much preferred to keep things mysterious.
While jogging, Yuan Zhou saw a pretty girl that he would occasionally see around. She gave off a refreshing feeling, but since she had never been to Yuan Zhou’s restaurant, he had never talked to her and get to know her.
After the exercise, the busy breakfast time arrived. As this was not a Sunday morning, most customers were in a rush. Therefore, it did not take long for Yuan Zhou to sell 100 sets of breakfasts.
Even the breakfast stall outside were selling fast.
“Um, I can start sculpting now,” Yuan Zhou muttered joyfully as he cleaned up the final bowl.
“Boss, you are itching to sculpt today?” asked Zhou Jia who was wiping the table with a smile.
“Um, I have a competition,” Yuan Zhou nodded.
“Competition? Someone actually sculpts better than you?” Zhou Jia asked in astonishment.
That’s right. In Zhou Jia’s opinion, Yuan Zhou’s sculpting was no longer a craft. It had evolved into an art.
Regardless of whether it was animals or landscapes, Yuan Zhou could sculpt all of them with a simple radish. He could even sculpt a peony flower out of a tomato. With a sculpting skill like this, someone was actually challenging him? Zhou Jia could not understand why.
“No, it’s ice sculpting,” Yuan Zhou spoke with a serious expression even though he was feeling smug inwardly again.
“I see,” Zhou Jia nodded.
This was more understandable since it was ice sculpting. After all, Yuan Zhou’s ice sculpting wasn’t as good as his plant sculpting. However, Zhou Jia still wasn’t feeling optimistic for the challenger.
“Be careful on your way back,” Yuan Zhou said.
“Take note to keep warm, boss. Don’t catch a cold,” Zhou Jia nodded and exhorted in a concerned manner.
“I won’t,” Yuan Zhou sank into a short silence before he answered.
“Bye, boss,” Zhou Jia looked at the rather thick clothing Yuan Zhou was wearing and stopped worrying.
After Zhou Jia left, Yuan Zhou started moving things outside the restaurant in preparation for his ice sculpting.
Right after he moved his chair outside, his phone rang.
“Ding Ling Ling, Ding Ling Ling” the phone rang.
“Sun Ming?” Yuan Zhou got curious when he saw the caller name. After all, this guy had just visited him not long ago.
“What’s the matter?” Yuan Zhou answered the phone.
“Nothing much. Just calling to check on your sickness,” Sun Ming replied.
Yuan Zhou replied, “It has been two days since I recovered.”
He sounded like he was berating Sun Ming to calling him only now. But this was definitely not what Yuan Zhou intended. Alas, this was how he spoke, and this was how he would usually kill conversations.
Fortunately, Sun Ming had thick skin and was able to bear the awkwardness and continued the conversation.
“Your medicine is quite good,” Yuan Zhou said seriously.
That’s right. When Yuan Zhou caught a cold, Sun Ming had delivered him some medicine for colds.
“Good to hear,” Sun Ming replied.
“Um,” Yuan Zhou replied.
“By the way, I have good news for you,” Sun Ming said.
“Tell me the bad news first,” Yuan Zhou replied by instinct.
He could not be blamed for this reaction. After all, most people would first ask if one wanted to hear the good or the bad news first when they had something to tell. Yuan Zhou had a habit of first hearing the bad news. Therefore, he said those words by reflex.
“Hahaha, no bad news,” Sun Ming roared with laughter and said.
“Say it, then,” Yuan Zhou said after a slight pause.
“Don’t get angry. It’s not like I’m deliberating playing with you. You are the one who got it wrong,” Sun Ming said teasingly.
“I’m going to sculpt now,” Yuan Zhou said, hinting that he was about to hang the call.
“No, wait, I really have something to tell you,” Sun Ming promptly said as he knew Yuan Zhou well.
“You see, my birthday is coming soon. I am treating you to a meal on my birthday,” Sun Ming quickly said.
“Birthday? I thought you celebrated your birthday two months ago,” Yuan Zhou said coldly.
“That was my Chinese calendar birthday. Now, I am celebrating my Gregorian calendar birthday,” Sun Ming said with a straight face.
“I won’t have any presents for you,” Yuan Zhou was defeated by Sun Ming’s shamelessness and quickly made that clear.
“Please don’t say that. I only require a very simple present. It won’t be a trouble for you,” Sun Ming quickly said.
“I’ll think about it when it comes,” Yuan Zhou said.
“Sure. I will visit you within two days to get the present. Remember to prepare it,” Sun Ming said and immediately hung up the phone so Yuan Zhou could not reject him.
