1996: Starting from a bankrupt farmhouse restaurant

Chapter 132 Unexpected Contact

Lu Yuan held two rice bowls in his hands and felt a soft, delicate body press against his chest, soft and full of youthful vitality.

Warm breaths kept coming from his neck, and Lu Yuan felt his heart suddenly race, almost uncontrollably.

Zhao Yan was also a little dazed at the moment. She was so focused on putting meat on Lu Yuan's plate that she didn't realize she had lost her balance.

She had caught a glimpse of Lu Yuan's muscular chest just now; the lines were clearly visible.

For some reason, her ears and neck felt hot, and she didn't know where to look.

"Wow!" A childish voice suddenly broke the awkward silence.

Lu Yuan and Zhao Yan jumped up and realized that the children had filled the windows of the classroom and were looking on curiously.

"Oh dear, this is so embarrassing! Let's go!" Zhao Yan grabbed Lu Yuan and started running towards the cafeteria. Lu Yuan held his rice bowl with both hands, looking like a crab as Zhao Yan pulled him along, which was quite comical.

When the two of them returned to the kitchen, panting, the aunties thought they were being chased by a dog and curiously craned their necks to look outside.

Lu Yuan and Zhao Yan sat on the steps at the kitchen doorway, both of them breathing silently.

Finally, the two of them caught their breath and began to eat their noodles in silence.

Lu Yuan ate the noodles very quickly, finishing them in just a few bites.

He silently closed his rice bowl, then suddenly said, "Zhaoyan, did you drool over my noodles?!"

"Pfft!" Zhao Yan choked upon hearing this, raising her small fist angrily and saying, "Lu Yuan, are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

But Lu Yuan had already run into the kitchen laughing.

Lunch is relatively simple to prepare; the rice is soaked in advance and then steamed.

If we're talking about stir-frying, with the current conditions, we only need one dish.

Cooking two or three dishes would not only be very complicated in terms of process, but the cost would also increase accordingly.

In fact, rural people usually only have one dish for lunch at home, and by standard, it might not even be as good as what Lu Yuan makes.

Because when Lu Yuan stir-fries this kind of large-pot dish, he always uses meat to enhance the flavor.

This kind of stew is not simply stir-fried, but a combination of stir-frying and boiling.

Today, Lu Yuan is cooking a stew of cabbage, vermicelli, and tofu, using two large woks simultaneously.

Heat oil in a wok, then add the sliced ​​meat. The meat slices must have some fat on them so that they can be stir-fried to release their aroma.

Then, sauté a large amount of scallions and garlic until fragrant, add chili powder and seasoning powder, stir-fry until the oil turns red, and then add vinegar to bring out the aroma.

Then add the cabbage, and then direct the aunties to stir-fry the cabbage continuously with large iron shovels.

After the cabbage has wilted, add a ring of water, and then start seasoning.

Then add the tofu, and once the soup boils, reduce the heat and simmer for a while.

Having accomplished this, Lu Yuan prepared to head back, as it was time for Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Cuisine to be served.

When it's almost time for school to let out in the morning, the aunties will put the glass noodles and garlic sprouts into the pot and simmer for a while before it's ready to serve.

Lu Yuan took off his apron, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and quickly left the cafeteria.

Zhao Yan was still waiting outside the door, glaring fiercely at Lu Yuan. Then she tossed out the car keys and said irritably:

6

Let's drive back!

"I'll pick you up this afternoon!" Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony, took the keys, started the car, and drove back immediately.

"Talking nonsense again!" Zhao Yan was starting to regret giving him the key. Although what Lu Yuan said wasn't wrong, it just sounded strange.

Lu Yuan floored the gas pedal and sped to the entrance of Xiao Lu Farmhouse Restaurant, just in time to see President Wang and his entourage arrive for dinner.

Mr. Wang looked at Lu Yuan's Jeep, circled it once, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Young Master Lu is really making money, driving such a big Jeep now?"

Lu Yuan jumped out of the car and said, "My friend, how could I afford such a big Jeep? Mr. Wang is too kind to me."

"That's more like it!" Boss Wang joked. "If Boss Lu really makes that much money, I'd be jealous!"

. . .

There was no private banquet this afternoon. After finishing his work, Lu Yuan rested for a while and then drove to pick up Zhao Yan.

Baiyang Elementary School has no gatehouse. If you miss the time to enter the school, the gate is simply locked.

Lu Yuan couldn't drive the car in, so he could only park it at the school gate and wait for school to let out.

As soon as the school bell rang, the children rushed out of the school like madmen.

Lu Yuan felt the jeep sway slightly, and thought to himself that he should reduce the amount of food for lunch tomorrow; it wouldn't be good to feed these guys too much.

After most of the students had left, Zhao Yan picked up her bag and walked out of the school.

Although the setting was just the entrance to a rural primary school, it felt a little strange as Lu Yuan sat in the driver's seat, watching Zhao Yan walk towards him step by step, and then naturally opened the car door and sat in the passenger seat.

"What are you looking at? Let's go!" Zhao Yan fastened her seatbelt and noticed that Lu Yuan was staring blankly at her. She waved her hand in front of his eyes.

When Lu Yuan saw several jade-like fingers appear in front of him, he immediately came back to his senses and said with a smile, "I think Teacher Xiao Zhao is too fashionable. She has turned this dirt road at school into a runway."

Zhao Yan smiled slightly and said, "You have good taste!"

After parking the car in front of Xiao Lu's Farmhouse Restaurant, Lu Yuan got out and said, "Come and eat quickly, there's something delicious today!"

"Okay, Chef Lu!" Hearing that there was something delicious to eat, Zhao Yan's mood immediately brightened. She ran into the backyard in her mid-heeled shoes.

Lu Yuan and the others had already eaten lunch, so dinner was prepared separately for Zhao Yan.

What Lu Yuan needs to do is make a bowl of seafood noodles.

After heating the oil in the pan, he first fried an egg.

After frying the eggs until cooked, remove them from the pan without washing it. Then, add two small crucian carp directly to the pan.

Actually, it would be better to use small yellow croaker or small croaker for seafood noodles, but these days it's really hard to find them in the northern regions, so we can only use small crucian carp to enhance the flavor.

The downside of small crucian carp is that they have too many bones. After boiling them in water to make a thick soup, you can only scoop out the crucian carp meat and throw it away.

After seasoning the thick soup, add black tiger prawns, sea cucumber, and fried eggs, and cook all the ingredients until done.

Adding some small seafood like shellfish or squid would make it even more delicious, but unfortunately there's nothing like that here.

Then, boil water in a separate pot, cook the hand-pulled noodles and a few green vegetables until done, then scoop them out and put them in a large bowl.

The broth is poured directly over the hand-pulled noodles, and a bowl of incredibly delicious seafood noodles is ready.

Lu Yuan brought the seafood noodles to the front hall, where Zhao Yan had changed out of her suit jacket and into casual pants and a loose white T-shirt. She was sitting at the table, eagerly waiting.

The energetic ponytail has been transformed into loose, shoulder-length hair, except for a headband, making her look like a pretty girl next door.

When Zhao Yan saw the two large shrimp sticking out of the bowl, her eyes lit up with excitement: "Wow, such big shrimp! Thank you, Chef Lu!"

"There are sea cucumbers too?" Zhao Yan exclaimed in surprise after Lu Yuan put the noodles on the table.

Zhao Yan picked up a mouthful of noodles with her chopsticks, slurped it down, and exclaimed, "It's so delicious! I could eat this every day!"

Lu Yuan got up and poured her a glass of water, then went back to the front desk, took out a notebook, and sat opposite Zhao Yan, silently flipping through it.

It has to be said that pretty girls look good no matter what they do.

Even though Zhao Yan's cheeks were bulging from eating, Lu Yuan only thought of her as cute.

Watching Zhaoyan eat always made him feel that the food tasted even better than if he were eating it himself.

This girl has a blissful look when she eats; she's completely immersed in the food, and even the unintentional smile on her face shows immense joy.

About half an hour later, Zhao Yan finished the bowl of seafood noodles completely, leaving almost nothing except for the dried shrimp, without being fussy at all.

Fine beads of sweat even appeared on her pert nose, and her face was flushed, giving her a unique kind of beauty.

Lu Yuan pushed the empty bowl aside, then placed the notebook in front of Zhao Yan and said with a smile, "Have you finished eating? Now it's time to get back to work!"

Zhao Yan was taken aback and asked, "What kind of work are you doing?"

Lu Yuan pointed to the manuscript on the table and said, "Your young lady is a bit forgetful, isn't she? The day you came back, you were insisting on painting a mural, but you haven't done anything about it for the past few days."

"Who's acting like they're going to die?" Zhao Yan found Lu Yuan increasingly infuriating, even though he looked quite handsome.

But she could shut someone up with just one word. As a native of Beijing, she had never seen anyone so infuriating.

She thought Lu Yuan was going to improve her meals, but she never expected that he would feed her and then treat her like a beast of burden.

However, she also regretted it a little. She hadn't gone to class when she agreed to Lu Yuan's request, and only after finishing class did she realize how tiring it was.

After the mischievous boys at school became familiar with her, they became increasingly disobedient, and she could barely suppress her urge to find a pointer to discipline them.

Every day when I come home, all I want to do is lie on the kang (heated brick bed) and not move at all; I don't want to say a word.

But there was nothing she could do; she had agreed to this guy's request.

She pouted and opened the manuscript, staring at the three large characters with some surprise: One Piece.

The art style of One Piece is completely different from that of Naruto, and Zhaoyan was immediately captivated by it.

The concept of Devil Fruits is novel and interesting, and the conflict between pirates and the navy is also very vivid.

Zhao Yan read through the book one chapter after another, and soon finished it.

"Is that all?" Zhao Yan wasn't satisfied and was a little itchy to watch more.

Lu Yuan closed the manuscript for her, speechless. "It's just a mural. The point is to tell a story through the mural. You really want to draw a comic strip on the wall?"

"Let's go!" Lu Yuan strode towards the courtyard, and Zhao Yan quickly followed.

In the courtyard, Lu Yuan had already painted over the original murals, and he had also prepared the tools for painting the murals, including scaffolding, paint, brushes, and other equipment.

"Please come in, Mr. Zhao!" Lu Yuan said with a smile, gesturing for them to proceed.

Zhao Yan pouted and said, "Lu Yuan, I've noticed that whenever you flatter someone, you're always up to no good!"

"You found out about this? Too bad it's too late! You're not allowed to sleep until you finish drawing!" Lu Yuan threatened fiercely, then picked up his paintbrush, found a white wall, and started drawing.

"Huh? You want to draw too?" Zhao Yan asked curiously.

Lu Yuandao said, "Don't misunderstand, I'm just worried that you're drawing too slowly and it will delay things."

"Tch~"

The two of them each chose a wall and began drawing Luffy's story.

Before long, two murals about Luffy appeared vividly on the wall.

Unlike the somewhat depressing style of Naruto, One Piece clearly has a more positive and uplifting style.

By then it was completely dark, and the two of them stood in front of the mural, carefully examining it under the streetlights.

They discovered that the two paintings looked like they were made from the same mold, and it was difficult to tell that they were painted by two different people; the visual impressions were remarkably consistent.

"Master Zhao, what a masterpiece!"

"Master Lu, you flatter me!"

"Ouch! Lu Yuan, you spilled paint on my hair!" It turned out that Lu Yuan had laughed a little too loudly and hadn't noticed that his paintbrush had slipped.

As a result, a red stain was flicked onto Zhao Yan's hair, which was the color of Luffy's vest.

"Come on, let's wash it off quickly, it'll be a problem if it solidifies!"

Lu Yuan threw down his paintbrush, grabbed Zhao Yan, and rushed to the bathroom, turning on the tap to wash the paint off Zhao Yan.

Zhao Yan took a step back and stopped her, saying, "You'll get my hair all wet. Lift up the part of my hair that's dyed, wet your hand with a little water, and see if you can wipe it off."

Because there was no mirror in the bathroom, Zhao Yan couldn't accurately wash off the paint stains, so she had to ask Lu Yuan for help.

Lu Yuan had never washed a girl's hair before. He clumsily followed Zhao Yan's instructions, lifting up the few strands of hair stained with dye, and trying to slowly wipe them off with water in his palm.

But the paint was very stubborn, and it took Lu Yuan a long time to rub off even a tiny bit.

Zhao Yan had been in a hunched position for a long time, and her back was a little sore, so she couldn't help but move her waist a bit.

It was from this slight movement that Lu Yuan caught a glimpse of a patch of snow-white skin through Zhao Yan's neckline.

Lu Yuan's heart pounded. Zhao Yan had just graduated from university this year and was three years older than Lu Yuan. She was at the age when she was just beginning to blossom.

Although it was just a brief glance, Lu Yuan clearly saw the girl's enormous size, which was usually completely hidden under normal clothing.

Lu Yuan suddenly felt thirsty, and his movements slowed down a bit.

Just then, Wei Yinghong's voice came from the doorway: "Is anyone inside? Why is the light on and the door open?"

Upon hearing Wei Yinghong's voice, Zhao Yan seemed to have found a savior and immediately cried out for help, "Auntie, please help me!"

"Don't be afraid, Yan Yan, Auntie is coming right away." Hearing Zhao Yan's pitiful tone, Wei Yinghong rushed in immediately.

Then they discovered Lu Yuan holding Zhao Yan's head down and rinsing it under the tap. Lu Yuan roared angrily, "What are you doing, you little brat? Bullying Yan Yan? I'll beat you up!"

After saying that, Wei Yinghong picked up a broom and swung it at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan immediately dodged and ran out of the bathroom, calling out, "Mom, I'm washing the paint off Zhao Yan's hair. If you come, you can wash it for her!"

Wei Yinghong's imposing aura was too intimidating, so Lu Yuan decisively slipped away.

The main problem is that she was using a broom from the bathroom, which is so dirty. If she got hit by it, her clothes would be ruined.

The next morning, Lu Yuan waited early beside the jeep.

Upon seeing Zhao Yan, he immediately ran over, grabbed a lock of her hair and examined it closely, then nodded and said, "Not bad, it's very clean."

Zhao Yan pushed Lu Yuan away and said, "Lu Yuan, I need to keep my distance from you now. All the embarrassing moments I experienced yesterday were related to you!"

Lu Yuan waved his hand speechlessly and said, "You can't blame me for this."

"7

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0

After lunchtime, Uncle suddenly found Lu Yuan excitedly and said that Yang Ermazi and the landlord had a big fight.

The commotion was so great that the entire town heard it.

The landlord simply locked Yang Ermazi's door, and Yang Ermazi has been making a fuss all day long. Now, no one is asking about those two empty shops anymore.

Lu Yuan and his uncle shared the same opinion: it was time to talk about the shop.

So after he delivered Zhaoyan's jeep to the school, he and his uncle rode their motorcycle to Daning Town.

The two shops were in such a good location that Lu Yuan immediately noticed they were empty.

The landlord was also waiting at the shop entrance early, as my uncle had made an appointment in advance.

When the landlord saw that his uncle had arrived with his men, he immediately went up to greet them warmly.

His shop has been in a bad state these past two days, and even other tenants have some complaints.

He was in a real bind, wanting to kill Yang Ermazi on one hand, and urgently needing to find someone to take over the shop on the other.

Otherwise, he would be losing money every day and wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.

Lu Yuan dressed up in a more fashionable way today, and the landlord could tell at a glance that Lu Yuan was not a country bumpkin.

"Hey buddy, looking to come and see the shop?" The landlord, a bald man in his forties, greeted him warmly.

Lu Yuan didn't seem too interested. He looked around and said with a hint of impatience, "I'm just looking around. This place is a bit far. I mainly want to go see Jinling Town later."

"No, brother!" The landlord had finally found someone to watch the shop; how could he let him go so easily?

"The area around Jinling Town is full of farmers, they don't have any money there!" The landlord changed the subject, "Look at our Daning Town, everyone raises cattle and sheep, or at the very least, chickens, ducks, and geese. It's definitely richer than Jinling Town. When doing business, you have to choose a place with money!"

Lu Yuan nodded in agreement, saying, "Brother, you're right. Let's take a look at the shop first!"

"That's for sure. You have to compare prices before buying a pair of socks, brother. Take a close look." The landlord said, taking out his key and opening the empty shop next to Yang Ermazi's.

After looking around, Lu Yuan felt that it was a bit narrow and looked unsightly from the doorway. In later generations, this kind of shop was called a coffin box.

These coffin box shops not only have limited interior space, but correspondingly, the storefronts they can set up are also narrower, making them look less grand.

After looking at it, Lu Yuan didn't show any intention of renting it and walked straight out the door.

The landlord panicked upon seeing this and immediately stopped Lu Yuandao, saying, "Brother, if there's anything wrong, just ask me. This shop is definitely in high demand!"