Chapter 655: Chopstick and Bowls
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Just a little more.
Zhang Zian had almost been labeled as “The Late Emperor That Passed Whilst Building His Empire” by his family descendants (if there were any), he understood that some words should never be said and some cats should never be bothered.
A supposedly peaceful day of story-telling turned out to be a day of chaos. Every five minutes, Richard and Snowy Lionet ask why they haven’t yet made their appearance in the story. Fina seemed to be suffering from paranoid delusions because it got overly suspicious of every book review, believing that some unruly peasant was out to get it. Galaxy, Old Time Tea and Famous paid attention to the story, but if they didn’t understand a word or term, they too would ask questions and Zhang Zian would have to stop, causing the fluid story-telling to be disrupted. It was exhausting!
As afternoon slowly approached, Ting Ting and Zhuang, who were doing volunteer work at the snack bar, entered the shop, holding a styrofoam cooler.
“You guys didn’t have to bring it, I was going to pick it up myself.” Zhang Zian locked his smartphone as he went to welcome them, taking the cooler from them.
Zhuang and Ting Ting were only required to work an hour each, in the morning and at night. They were only responsible for taking care of the cats, there was no need for them to worry about the affairs of the store.
“Well, we had nothing to do and the old couple seemed busy, so we decided to help since it was on the way.” Ting Ting and Zhuang looked at each other.
They had never raised a cat before, but they had always played around with the idea of having one. Volunteering, having to take care of seven cats at once, allowed them to truly understand that raising a cat was no easy feat. Every cat was different, some were playful, while some were quiet, and their attitudes changed when it came to strangers.
On their first day of volunteering, they had made a joke of themselves. They saw the eight food bowls and eight litter boxes in the storeroom, thought it was a waste, and decided to remove the excess, which resulted in the seven cats fighting over food bowls and litter boxes.
After a lecture by the Lis, they learned that when raising multiple cats, one needs more food bowls and litter boxes than cats, or it’d result in a fight. Ever since then, they no longer dared to make decisions on their own, and spent way more time in the snack bar than the required two hours, helping out with other matters.
Every day, the Lis would privately report Zhuang and Ting Tang’s performance to Zhang Zian and Sun Xiaomeng. As such, Zhang Zian was aware of how hardworking the two were, but he still reminded them, “The initial agreement was for a month, so they have to continue, even during New Years.”
“Don’t worry, we have nothing going on during New Years. Unless a natural disaster occurs, we’ll report every day,” Ting Tang confidently replied.
“Is that so?” Zhang Zian said. “Valentine’s Day isn’t that long after New Years, won’t you guys have plans then?”
Zhuang and Ting Ting looked at one another. “We’re okay with a casual celebration for Valentine’s Day, it won’t interfere with our volunteer work.”
Zhang Zian’s face was covered in tears, he didn’t expect such a loving display of affection. His last question was really unnecessary.
As soon as the two left the store with the empty cooler, Zhang Zian prepared food for him and the elfins.
Since it was going to be a new year soon, he decided he needed a change when it came to food. Even though the Li’s food was delicious and cheap, Zhang Zian was a little tired of having it every day. It was customary to have dumplings on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, but Zhang Zian couldn’t be bothered to wrap them himself. Instead, he went to the supermarket and bought a few frozen dumplings.
It had been a long time since he made food for himself, but the preparation for frozen dumplings couldn’t be simpler. One just has to throw them into a pot of boiling water until they’re ready and prepare some vinegar with chopped garlic.
In the kitchen, Zhang Zian threw the dumplings into a pot and took out a plate for the dumplings once they were ready. He took out a pair of chopsticks and a bowl, and set them aside before chopping some garlic on a board.
After chopping the garlic, he placed them into a bowl with some vinegar and two drops of sesame oil before mixing it all together.
He placed the chopsticks atop the bowl as he patiently waited for his dumplings.
Waiting was boring, but the stove was on, so he couldn’t leave the kitchen to do something else.
He leaned on the counter as he looked around the kitchen. As his eyes swept pass the bowl and chopsticks, something tugged at his heart. A thought flashed through his mind, but when he brought his eyes back to the bowl in an attempt to recapture the abnormal feeling, nothing happened.
He frowned as he stared at the spot, deep in thought.
The bowl was just an ordinary bowl, white with a shade of gray. Although the bowl hadn’t been used in a long time, it was used a lot when it was first bought.
The chopsticks were also ordinary. They were light yellow when they were brand new, but now they were slightly brown.
Zhang Zian had used the bowl and chopsticks countless times before, so what was the tug at his heart earlier? It felt like he had vaguely grasped a solution to some problem.
The water in the pot started to boil, streams of steam could be seen as the glistening white dumplings danced within the hot water.
Grasping at straws, Zhang Zian held onto the tail of the momentary thought. He knew that he had to figure it out before he scooped out the dumplings, or else he’d lose his train of thought.
The chopsticks were on top of the round bowl, as if proposing a challenge to him.
The water was boiling, and the lid started to shake.
At the last moment, Zhang Zian figured it out. He shot forwards to turn off the stove, repeating the answer in his head, afraid that he’d let it slip away from him again.
