Chapter 246: Yuan Zhou’s Little Hobby (Third)
Translator: Xiong Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
"Boss Yuan, is the vinegar for sale?" Hit by an inspiration, Wu Zhou suddenly asked.
"No." Yuan Zhou answered subconsciously.
"Boss Yuan, I have a reason to ask that. Trust me," Wu Zhou emphasized.
"So what’s the reason?" The one who asked that was, of course, not Yuan Zhou. The little amount of curiosity he had had all been contributed to culinary skills. Therefore, it was Ling Hong at the side who asked.
"Let me tell you, Boss Yuan. My girlfriend enjoys eating boiled prawns very much, but she prefers eating it with vinegar. What’s more, she doesn’t like the vinegar bought outside, except the one served here," said Wu Zhou with a look of sweetness.
"Sorry. My dishes can’t be taken out," said Yuan Zhou primly, not caring about Wu Zhou’s business even if he was a little annoyed by Wu Zhou’s showing off his love.
"Vinegar is not a dish. It’s only a flavoring." Wu Zhou tried his best to get his request to be accepted for the sake of his girlfriend.
"The rules are all on the wall." Yuan Zhou was too lazy to explain anymore. He just pointed at the wall and said that.
"Then I will buy and take some prawns here to eat." Having recalled the distinct way he ate the Egg Fried Rice that was bought outside here last time, Wu Zhou suddenly became enlightened and then said that.
"A separate serving of vinegar costs 66 RMB per plate," Yuan Zhou said lightly.
"Eh..." Wu Zhou choked right away.
"A man cannot admit defeat. Just buy one." Ling Hong spoke nonsense with a prim look.
"Exactly. A man can’t say he is incapable," Octopus held back his laughter and said.
They all knew about Yuan Zhou’s rules. With the price of 66 RMB, he could only buy a plate of vinegar. Even if they didn’t lack money, they still felt heartache.
"Let me first consult my wife when I go home." Ever since Zhuang Xinmu agreed to Wu Zhou’s plan to buy an apartment, he addressed his girlfriend as his wife.
As the result, the several people who teased him were again attacked by the flaunting of his sweet love.
"I feel that having meals is more important," Octopus said quietly.
Then they began to order their dishes and neglected Wu Zhou at the side on the nod.
The one-hour breakfast time soon passed. However, the customers didn’t leave immediately. They hadn’t seen each other for long and those who were free basically stayed to make small talk for a while.
Nevertheless, the most important thing was, of course, to inquire about Yuan Zhou’s next itinerary and if he planned to go out again.
After applying various speaking techniques of beating about the bush, Wu Zhou made the final conclusion in the end.
"Boss Yuan, are you prepared to rest again these few days?" Wu Zhou said straightforwardly.
Once the words were uttered, those who still stayed in the restaurant all listened carefully to Yuan Zhou’s answer. Zhou Jia also listened earnestly. After all, she had been paid all along but didn’t do much work, hence felt a little perturbed.
"Temporarily, no," Yuan Zhou said indifferently.
"Hu..... Bye, Boss Yuan. I’m going to work." Wu Anlu let out a sigh of relief and then directly said goodbye.
Having got their satisfactory answer, other customers also left one after another. Even the hawkers that publicly listened in on their conversation likewise left contentedly.
What a joke. After Yuan Zhou’s restaurant was closed, the customers were directly reduced by 2/3. And the remaining 1/3 merely came here to inquire about when Yuan Zhou would open the restaurant and hence wasn’t in the mood for buying their food. Therefore, their business had been severely affected for the past five days.
They eagerly expected that Yuan Zhou could open the restaurant and do business without any rest like them. That way, they could also make a lot of money.
"Boss, I’m leaving, too." Zhou Jia prepared to leave in silence.
"Wait a moment. Your weekly salary." Yuan Zhou took out the brand-new 100 RMB notes and handed them to her.
"Thank you, boss. But we didn’t work this week and it’s inappropriate to receive the money." Zhou Jia first thanked him, but didn’t reach her hands to get the money.
"Did you come here everyday?" asked Yuan Zhou suddenly.
"Yes, I did. I came every morning at 8:00 with Shen Min." Zhou Jia didn’t know Yuan Zhou’s style well and hence answered honestly.
"Did you do the cleaning?" Yuan Zhou continued to ask.
"Yes. The area at the front door has been very clean and we only cleaned the backdoor area." Zhou Jia thought Yuan Zhou was checking their previous work, so she answered very carefully.
"Since you have finished the work I demanded, then you deserve the payment." while Yuan Zhou was handing the money to Zhou Jia, he said primly.
"Humm." Zhou Jia vaguely felt Boss Yuan’s words did make sense. Then she received the money in a daze and then left.
After all customers were gone, Yuan Zhou couldn’t wait to take his pulling cart and walk out of the restaurant.
"Boss, 5 kgs of radishes. Please make it a round number," Yuan Zhou headed straight for the stall that he had often visited to buy vegetables and directly said when he arrived.
"No problem. I have kept a lot of curiously shaped radishes for you." The boss was still the grandma. As soon she saw Yuan Zhou, she said smilingly.
"Thank you." Seeing the boss take out many curiously shaped radishes as said and packed them in his bag, Yuan Zhou expressed his gratitude with a nod.
After that, Yuan Zhou carefully pulled his small cart with a sound of "Zhi Ya, Zhi Ya" and returned to his restaurant.
The first thing he did after arriving at the restaurant was to move a chair from upstairs. Then he began to sit by the door and sculpt the radish. Of course, the flower shelf was also moved outside.
While taking a radish with a big belly in his hands, Yuan Zhou first observed its shape carefully and made a composition in his mind according to the methods taught by Wu Hai. Then, he began to cut away the skin and prepared to sculpt the flowers.
After the skin was cut away, the round radish appeared bigger and more lovable.
Following a sound of "Shua Shua", he waved the miracle kitchen knife around the radish quickly and concisely. Then, the skin of the radish fell in the trash bin at his feet by pieces gradually.
Theoretically, it would be pleasant and enjoyable to watch Yuan Zhou sculpt. Nevertheless, Man Man who just arrived didn’t have the mood. Naturally, she was slightly stunned while watching but once she thought of her matter, she couldn’t continue to watch.
"Boss Yuan, please do me a favor," said Man Man anxiously.
However, Yuan Zhou’s reaction was still No Reaction.
"Boss Yuan, Boss Yuan, I really need your help. Please." Man Man said persistently.
"Wait a moment." Yuan Zhou eventually responded this time, yet not turning his head to her at all.
"God. Can you just sculpt it after a while? I really have something urgent to ask for your help." Man Man remained anxious.
However, Yuan Zhou still didn’t stop the work and just continued to sculpt the radish carefully. Nor did the speed of his action become slow.
Man Man knew that Yuan Zhou was very easy to get along with. Besides, they knew each other and were considered to be friends. Basically, when she needed his help, he had never refused her. It was nevertheless the first time that Yuan Zhou didn’t even listen to her.
"This is the Jinyaolou Peony, isn’t it? It has 880 petals. It definitely needs much longer time. Please, couldn’t you help me first?" Man Man lowered her head and looked at Yuan Zhou’s hands before she said that.
"Quiet, please." Having raised his head and taken a look at Man Man’s face, Yuan Zhou lowered the head and continued with his sculpting.
"Hey..." Man Man shouted again persistently.
The person who answered her every time she called him nevertheless continued his work as if he had heard nothing, no matter how hard Man Man talked to him.
Not until five minutes later did Yuan Zhou take a deep breath and set down the radish, saying, "What’s up?"
"Finally. Dear Boss Yuan, I need to accept delivery of materials and hence need your help to check the quality. Never did I expect you not to answer me for so long." Man Man was a little angry. The person who quickly answered her during normal times nevertheless didn’t respond to her at the crucial moment.
"Don’t disturb me when I sculpt," said Yuan Zhou seriously.
"You don’t allow disturbance while cooking before and now while sculpting. In my opinion, you don’t have your own spare time at all." Man Man said in a tough tone.
"No, for neither occasions." Yuan Zhou nodded the head solemnly.
It wasn’t unreasonable for him to be single until now...
"Ok, got it. Then can you help me now?" After a sigh, Man Man agreed. Only then did Yuan Zhou stand up.
People who got up on the wrong side of the bed were dreadful while Yuan Zhou, when his hobby was disturbed, was equally dreadful too.