Chapter 119

Xu Ran was surprised that he had guessed right, and he was more surprised that Lin Hua had admitted it so easily. He patted Lin Hua’s shoulder and said, “Don’t think too much. I don’t have any other meanings. I guess so because I feel you two have been stuck and glued to each other for a long time.”

Lin Hua shook his head. “It’s okay. I told you it because you’re my friend. Now you know why Zhao Chen’s dad didn’t let me join his family, right?”

Xu Ran nodded to show his understanding. Even in modern world, few families could accept this, let alone in this world.

While they were talking, Zhao Chen came out. Xu Ran didn’t ask what he wanted to know as it was not the time, so he bit his tongue.

Bleary eyed, Zhao Chen looked a little awkward. However, when he saw Lin Hua, his eyes obviously lit up and he looked more energetic.

Xu Ran perceived all of these. No wonder the two were so intimate.

After Zhao Chen came out, Du Xin took the initiative to introduce himself again. Then he said a few words to Xu Ran before they walked towards the shop.

Zhao Chen had been kept at home by his dad for days, so Lin Hua helped him manage the shop affairs.

Lin Hua and Zhao Chen naturally walked side by side soon. They kept the pace the perfectly same, regardless of the difference of the size of their steps or the range of their hands’ swinging. They weren’t be too fast or slow, nor did they touch each other. It was as if they had walked like this for many years, and they had reached a secret agreement.

Actually, they had indeed walked like this for many years.

Xu Ran shook his head. No matter how worried he was, it wasn’t his problem and he couldn’t help them solve the problem, so he could only bless them silently.

He thought that if Tangtang and Guoguo fell in love with a man in the future, he would never stop them. They might not care about other people’s opinions, but they would care that of their families. As a parent, he naturally hoped that his children could be happy.

What’s more, he was from modern world. He had modern ideologies.

What was beyond Xu Ran’s expectation was that his prediction would come true.

The turnover of his shop had been increasing stably, especially after Xu Ran introduced the bean jelly, the blanched chicken and ducks in summer.

When they reached the door, they saw a long line outside for buying food.

Some of the customers would added the sauce to the the bean jelly and had a good meal instantly, while others would like to buy it home. And the blanched chicken were sauced and sold according to the weight.

Lin Hua said, “The blanched chicken and ducks were extremely popular. Over twenty chickens and ducks could be sold every day. I even sent someone to find an ice room, where can store the surplus meat so that they could be sold the next day.”

Looking at the chili paste and dried bean curd which were not so popular, Xu Ran suddenly came up with an idea that maybe they could sell salad specifically.

Besides blanched chicken and ducks, they could also sell some pot-stewed meat and salad.

In this way, Xu Ran needed a professional chef in his shop.

After thinking for a while, Xu Ran turned to Lin Hua and asked, “Do you know a chef with good cooking skills, Lin Hua? I mean, maybe he’s not so good at cooking fried dishes, but he should know how to make salad at least.”

Lin Hua clapped his hands. “Right! We have already had one in our restaurant now! It was true that you invented the spice dressing of the blanched chicken, but the sauce of the salad was invented by him! He’s a proficient cook who has worked for my family restaurant for many years. I begged my dad for a long time before he agreed to send him to my shop.”

Hearing Lin Hua’s words, Xu Ran suddenly became interested. “Well! Let’s go! Let’s talk to the chef. I came up with another good idea.”

Hearing that, Lin Hua was very happy too. He believed it could earn him some nice moola. The three of them walked into the shop and Xu Ran found that there was one person missing. When he looked back, he found that Du Xin didn’t follow.

Xu Ran turned back and saw that Du Xin had been in the line. It was exactly his turn. He bought a sauced bean jelly and showed it to the other two smugly.

Xu Ran felt it a little funny, “Come here quickly. We have something to tell you.”

Du Xin failed to be envied and he looked at Xu Ran discontentedly. Soon, he came to Xu Ran happily.

Lin Hua and Zhao Chen were already waiting in the room, and there was also a strong man, who might be the chief mentioned by Lin Hua. Xu Ran guessed so.

After Xu Ran sat down with Du Xin, Lin Hua introduced this tough guy to Xu Ran, “This is the chef I mentioned to you. His family name was also Lin, and he’s proficient in both cooking and seasoning. Tell him what you want him to do!”

Xu Ran greeted the guy and then started to talk about business.

“There are a lot of things we intend to sell. I think you guys have tasted the pot-stewed meat before. We can sell them, including the pot-stewed pork, pig ears, pig heads, chicken feet and chicken wings. Moreover, we can also cook eggs in this way, which will be extremely tasty. As for the salad, such as cucumber and cowpeas, these can be cooked easily. And they are economical too. They must be popular!”

“There are plenty of vegetables in this season, and they can be sowed these days. In two months, these vegetables will be able to be harvested again. They will not only feed ourselves, but also be sold. There’s guarantee that you can make money. Lin Hua, it’s not troublesome for you to plant some vegetables, right? Do you have a field?” Xu Ran asked.

Lin Hua tapped on the table with his hand. “No, I don’t have any, but Zhao Chen does. However, isn’t it more costly than before? If we plant vegetables by ourselves, we’ll need to tackle problems of labor, field and seed. Even worse, it can be more costly than buying the vegetables from others.”

“Don’t worry. The vegetables planted in August couldn’t be harvested until the end of October. Till then, there would be few fresh vegetables on the market. If you sell them at this time, you can raise the price easily. It won’t be long before you can make the principals back.”

Lin Hua thought about it carefully, then glanced at Zhao Chen and nodded, “You’re right. If that’s the case, why not write down everything you want to sell and discuss everything with Old Lin? Zhao Chen and I are responsible for the rest affairs.”

While they were discussing the business, Du Xin was enjoying himself with the delicious bean jelly, making a sound that attracted people’s attention.

After Xu Ran and others finished their discussion, Du Xin also finished his bean jelly, sitting on the stool and rubbing his stomach.

Xu Ran turned his head and saw such an eye-catching scene. Then he couldn’t help but ask, “Are you getting in the family way?”

Before Du Xin could understand his meaning, other people started to laugh. Lin Hua also asked, “Du Xin, how many months have you been pregnant?”

Then Du Xin immediately understood it and stood up, seeming to be about to fight against Xu Ran.

He looked really a little fierce. Xu Ran dodged while begging for mercy, while the others looked on with folded arms.

This afternoon, Xu Ran and the others were sitting in the shop and discussing the new dishes. At night, Lin Hua brought others to a restaurant to have dinner, and Xu Ran finally got a chance to ask Zhao Chen about the autumn test.

Zhao Chen shook his head. “I don’t want to take the exam, but my father would keep me in my room if so maybe I should go.”

Xu Ran turned to Lin Hua, “What about you? Would you go though you don’t need to take the exam?”

Obviously, Xu Ran was trying to get two of them together. Lin Hua understood it immediately and said, “Of course I want to go. I will tell it to my dad tonight and go with you tomorrow morning.”

Meanwhile, Zhao Chen looked at Xu Ran with a bewildered face, but he said nothing due to Du Xin. Du Xin was really a foodie. He started eating as soon as the food was served, and most of the food were eaten by him. Xu Ran really wanted to ask him how long he hadn’t eaten food. He behaved like he was about to be starved to death.

After dinner, Lin Hua and the others went home. Xu Ran and Du Xin went back to the inn.

On the way back, Lin Hua and Zhao Chen walked slowly and silently. They hadn’t seen each other for yonks. The two of them didn’t say anything. They kept walking for a long time. Thanks to Xu Ran, they had met each other today. Maybe they would have to be like this in the future, but they didn’t intend to give up. After spending time together for so many years, they walked into each other’s hearts step by step. How could they give up so easily?

The Zhao Mansion didn’t adjoin the Lin Mansion, rather, they situated opposite to each other. Now, Zhao Chen and Lin Hua had to say goodbye at the intersection in the road. Zhao Chen had hesitated for a long time and finally asked, “Xu Ran knows about our relationship, right?”

Lin Hua paused, and then nodded.

“How did he know that? Did you tell him?” Zhao Chen asked.

Lin Hua shook his head. “He found it by himself. I had thought no one could perceive it.”

Zhao Chen said nothing and turned to leave.

Lin Hua sighed and walked off in the opposite direction.

It was indeed fortunate for them to come across and fall in love with each other. However, it was unfortunate for them to be both men, and they were not allowed to be in a normal relationship.

Even though, they were happy enough to spend the rest of their lives like this.

…

The next day, Lin Hua and Zhao Chen waited early at the gate of Xu Ran’s inn. Xu Ran and Du Xin saw them when they went downstairs.

Lin Hua and Zhao Chen didn’t bring their followers or suitcases, “Are you going there empty-handed like this?” Xu Ran asked.

Lin Hua said, “The carriage is waiting outside the city. Zhao Chen’s dad didn’t let him go alone, so he sent a driver to him. My dad doesn’t care about me, so I could take the carriage…”

He didn’t finish his words “so I could take the carriage with Zhao Chen”. It would take them a few days to finish their task this time. Although Zhao Chen had to take the exam in three days, Lin Hua was still happy. Thanks to Xu Ran’s advice, he got a good opportunity. Lin Hua expressed his gratitude to Xu Ran, and Xu Ran just smiled and said nothing.

One day’s journey was not too long, and with Du Xin here, it was also interesting.

On September 7, five people including Xu Ran finally arrived at the county before the city gate was closed.

The county where the exam would be held was Qingzhou County, and it was considered the bustling area of the Southwestern region. No town could be compared with Qingzhou County, which could be judged from the buildings and stalls by the street there.

It was not dark yet, but many lanterns were already on, reflecting the afterglow of the sun, making the street more beautiful and unique.

None of them was familiar with Qingzhou County, so they found a place to settle down. They could travel around tomorrow, and today they were exhausted and had better take a good rest.

Xu Ran chose an inn that seemed OK and settled down there with the other four. For saving money, Xu Ran and Du Xin shared a room, Lin Hua and Zhao Chen lived together, while the carter lived alone.

Then, they spent their first night in Qingzhou County peacefully.