Chapter 123
Allen listened to Su Bin’s words from earlier, “I only deliver meals for you,” and indeed, there was a smile on his face.
During this period, Su Bin had been diligently practicing the promise he made, “to treat you well,” carefully exploring ways to get along with Allen, trying his best to please him.
As they got to know each other better, Su Bin discovered that aside from being a bit domineering, Allen wasn’t that difficult to get along with. Most of the time, he was gentle and understanding, often giving Su Bin the right guidance when he was confused and making many decisions for him, which made Su Bin feel unprecedentedly relaxed.
However, Allen couldn’t replace Su Bin’s brain. Sometimes his actions would make Su Bin feel too overbearing, prompting him to instinctively resist. Yet, Allen didn’t like his resistance and defiance. Su Bin tried a few times with no good results, either facing violence or being coldly treated, both of which made him even more uncomfortable. Moreover, Allen was extremely proud and would never be the first to back down. So, in the end, Su Bin would always be the one to actively please him. When Allen was pleased again, Su Bin felt like his previous resistance was futile.
Therefore, after several attempts, Su Bin learned to be obedient and no longer clashed head-on. Whenever it was Allen’s command, even if he felt repulsed for a moment, he wouldn’t argue, but instead would comply first, then think and digest it later. If he really couldn’t accept it, he would act coquettish towards Allen, say some nice words, and use a roundabout method. Allen would never make it difficult for him.
Due to Su Bin’s repeated “enlightenment,” he and Allen had not had any conflicts for a long time. And those flaws that Su Bin once thought Allen had became insignificant with his tolerance and understanding.
In the lunchbox, there was black pepper beef and mashed potatoes, which Su Bin had made early in the morning, emitting a fragrant aroma after being reheated. Su Bin also took out the dumplings he brought back, along with a box of vegetable salad.
Allen’s eyes lit up. “Did you make this?” Su Bin nodded. They had been to restaurants a few times, and Su Bin noticed Allen’s fondness for vegetable salads, so he remembered it. Since fresh vegetable salads were best enjoyed fresh, Su Bin hadn’t made it in the morning but prepared it at the restaurant instead. He used the lettuce, purple cabbage, and cucumber that “Boss Su” had directly delivered from the vegetable market early this morning, boiled some green peas and corn kernels, added black olives, and mixed them with olive oil and sushi vinegar before rushing over.
Allen lowered his eyes and tasted it. Su Bin carefully observed his expression.
“It’s very good,” Allen nodded slightly, with a noticeable smile on his lips.
Su Bin pushed the dumplings over and said, “Try these, they’re pork and cabbage filling.”
“I won’t need so many in the future, I can’t eat them all,” Allen smiled, picking up the one Su Bin had offered with a fork.
Su Bin quickly reminded, “Take it slow, chew gently.”
Allen didn’t directly put the dumpling into his mouth but instead put it on the plate, then picked up the knife beside him… Su Bin: “…”
Allen glanced at him strangely. “What’s wrong?”
Su Bin: “You don’t need a knife to eat dumplings…”
“Weren’t you telling me to chew slowly?” With an expression of “it’s hard,” Allen stared at the dumplings in the plate, skillfully opened the belly of the dumpling with the knife… Before the tip of the knife touched the bottom of the plate, Allen’s brows furrowed, “What’s this?” It didn’t feel like food.
Using the fork, Allen pried open the dumpling’s body, revealing… a shining coin.
Su Bin: “… Sniff sniff sniff, I shouldn’t have reminded him! ><”
Allen looked at Su Bin, puzzled, and asked, “There’s a coin in the dumpling? Can you eat that?”
Su Bin shook his head vigorously, his face tense, explaining, “Not every dumpling has it, only the lucky ones do.”
Seeing Allen’s confusion, Su Bin added, “The coins are new, I had a friend exchange them at the bank, and I disinfected them with alcohol…”
Allen didn’t care about that; he asked with a smirk, “So, you knew from the start that this dumpling had a coin inside?”
Su Bin: “Uh…” Allen poked at the remnants of the dumpling, “Then it doesn’t have a lucky meaning for me.”
Plan failed, Su Bin felt a bit disheartened. Suddenly, Allen got up, leaned over, and kissed Su Bin’s forehead gently, saying, “You are my luck.” Su Bin: “…” Allen smiled and sat back, starting to eat the vegetable salad, saying as he ate, “Mu, I’m very happy.”
Su Bin, his face all red, responded slowly with an “Ah.”
“You’ve succeeded in pleasing me,” Allen glanced at him, “I’m happy now.” Su Bin: “… Aah, why does he have to wear this kind of clothes and say these things? I can’t resist at all! o////o”
In the afternoon, Su Bin returned to “Boss Su’s” kitchen.
The lunch rush had passed, and all the delicious food in the restaurant had indeed been sold out. They only started selling noodles at three in the afternoon.
At the moment, there was a temporary “sold out” sign hung at the restaurant’s entrance. Lily had classes in the afternoon and had gone back early, while Uncle Wang was resting in the back lounge.
“Qin Ge, how’s it going? Take a break and let’s chat!” Su Bin called out to Qin Chao.
Qin Chao: “Ah, the three fresh dumplings sold the fastest, sold out before noon, followed by pork, and chicken sold the slowest. In the future, we could prepare more three fresh fillings… I noticed when it gets busy, many people in the back lose patience waiting, especially foreigners. Personally, I think the restaurant needs more staff.”
Su Bin nodded, “We definitely need more staff. Both you and Lily are part-time, and I have classes to attend regularly. I can’t be here all the time.”
Qin Chao looked around, “There’s still space in the restaurant. I think we can add a station for drinks.” Su Bin: “What kind of drinks?”
Qin Chao: “Bubble tea! Don’t you know that roujiamo and pearl milk tea are a perfect match?” “Damn, you’re right!” Su Bin got excited, “After you mentioned it, I’m craving pearl milk tea now.”
He had just had milk tea made by Allen at noon, and although it tasted great, Su Bin still felt it wasn’t as good as the pearl milk tea back in China. Suddenly, he had a revelation… What was missing was pearls!
Qin Chao chuckled, “It’s not my idea. Today, when about twenty people bought roujiamo, they asked why we don’t sell pearl milk tea. Just eating roujiamo is not enough, they’re thirsty for more.”
Thirsty… (==) Su Bin: “Can you use some normal words?” Qin Chao, holding a toothpick in his mouth, said, “B country’s black tea and milk are cheap and of good quality. Just boil them, add some sugar, it’s simple. We just need black sugar pearls, make a batch every day, and they’ll sell well for sure.”
Su Bin immediately took out his “brainstorming” notebook and added “pearl milk tea” to the new products. After some thought, since foreigners liked coffee, he also added “yuan yang milk tea.”
Su Bin: “Does anyone have any other suggestions?” Qin Chao looked serious, “Yes!” Su Bin, holding a pen, asked, “What suggestion?” Qin Chao stared at Su Bin, “Many people ask where Boss Su is.”
Su Bin: “…”
Qin Chao rubbed his chin, “It’s best for you to be seen in the restaurant. I noticed when you’re around, there are more female customers who become regulars.”
Su Bin thought of Allen’s words “appear less,” sighed, “It’s not my problem.” Qin Chao: “Then whose problem is it?” Su Bin touched his face and glanced at Qin Chao with a plaintive look, “It’s because you’re not handsome enough.”
Qin Chao: “…Your sister!” (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
Su Bin thought for a moment, lowered his head, and said as he wrote, “When hiring, let’s pick some handsome guys and pretty girls, the salary can be negotiated.”
Qin Chao continued to despair at this looks-oriented world… While the two were chatting, Manager Wang came over, “Little Su is here?” Su Bin smiled and called out, “Uncle Wang.”
Manager Wang took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to Su Bin, who declined, but he didn’t offer it to Qin Chao.
“Business is good today,” Manager Wang didn’t care about Qin Chao’s awkwardness at all, smiling at Su Bin, “I didn’t expect just selling these few things would do so well. I thought only fries and fish would sell in B country!”
Su Bin smiled awkwardly. He didn’t really like the smell of smoke, and seeing Manager Wang smoking directly in the kitchen, he furrowed his brows slightly. Manager Wang paused, nodded significantly, and bowed, “I’ll go out for a smoke. You guys chat.”
Once he left, Qin Chao snorted coldly, “Where did you find Chef Wang? Is he reliable?” Su Bin looked at Qin Chao apologetically, “The operations agent found him. His resume was hanging in a job agency, so we hired him.”
“You know…” Qin Chao leaned in closer to Su Bin, whispered, “He used to be a helper in ‘Tai Fu,’ I’ve seen him a couple of times when I just started working there. Later, I heard he was reported for stealing and got fired directly by the restaurant.”
Su Bin was stunned, “Is that true?” Qin Chao said seriously, “It’s true. Later, I heard he opened a takeout shop, but it got shut down because the ingredients weren’t sourced properly, almost had his chef license revoked.”
But Su Bin remembered Chef Wang saying that his takeout business failed because of poor sales… He suddenly remembered Chef Wang’s suggestion this morning to temporarily buy frozen dumplings from a Chinese supermarket to fill the gap, and he felt a bit disgusted.
Su Bin said to Qin Chao, “But we’ve signed a one-year contract with him. If he hasn’t made any mistakes, it’s not good to fire him. Besides, it’s not easy to find a chef now.” Qin Chao nodded, “I’m just reminding you to be careful.”
Su Bin: “I got it, I’ll keep an eye on it.” Su Bin looked at the time; it was almost three o’clock.
He called Sun Yujie, “Xiao Jie, can you come this afternoon?” “I’m already on my way to you…”
The voice on the other end of the phone didn’t sound right. Su Bin breathed a sigh of relief, “Okay, I’ll wait for you.”
Sun Yujie lived near the school, so it was convenient for him to come over. He appeared in just a few minutes. Su Bin looked at him carefully and saw that his face wasn’t as flushed as before, but he had dark circles under his eyes, and his complexion wasn’t great.
Su Bin worriedly asked, “… Are you okay?”
Sun Yujie pretended to be relaxed, “I’m fine, don’t worry about me… Come on, teach me how to operate for a while.” Su Bin first introduced him to Qin Chao, then asked him to look at the menu and do some calculations.
“Tonight, we’ll make braised noodles and cook instant noodles. Chef Wang will cook the noodles, and you and Qin Ge will be responsible for taking orders, cashiering, and packing.” Sun Yujie tried it once.
Although he didn’t make any mistakes, he seemed absent-minded the whole time. Su Bin finally couldn’t help but ask, “Did you go straight to bed after you got home last night? Did you meet with your boyfriend, uh, with Cheng Ang?”
Sun Yujie shook his head, fell silent for a moment, and smiled bitterly, “We’ve broken up.”
