Chang Zhe's voice brought Chu Yan out of her thoughts. She looked at him blankly. What a pair of bright eyes they had, so much so that when she was stared at by them, she swallowed back the words that came to her lips.
.
"Nothing, we will go back after dinner."
"good."
The corners of Chu Yan's lips raised, she already had some ideas.
While waiting for the shopkeeper to serve the food, Chu Yan asked, "Why haven't you seen the waiter? Does the shopkeeper serve the food himself now?"
The shopkeeper's face showed helplessness, "Save what you can, business is not easy to do now. But don't worry, the cooks are all top-notch, and the food they cook is delicious."
Chu Yan didn't say anything, took a bite of the scrambled eggs, raised his head and smiled brightly.
"Yeah, it's really delicious."
The shopkeeper felt that he was comforted, and he breathed a sigh of relief, and the smile on his face seemed to be filled with infinite brilliance.
Chang Zhe on the side felt a little uncomfortable because Chu Yan was too unguarded against the shopkeeper's smile.
No matter who sees her smile, he will be happy.
"Then...you two eat slowly, I'll go and get busy first."
The shopkeeper's steps became much more brisk.
Chu Yan lowered his head to eat, thinking that the shopkeeper was quite cute.
In the previous life, Ah Qi helped the tavern regain its foothold in the town. In this life, let her do this.
She ate in silence, then put down her bowls and chopsticks and walked straight to the counter.
"Today is my friend's birthday. Can you borrow the kitchen of the shopkeeper's house? I want to cook something delicious for him. It doesn't matter. I will make whatever ingredients you have. How about it?"
"good!"
The shopkeeper agreed without thinking, and in his heart he felt that Chu Yan was an excellent girl.
Chu Yan returned to Chang Zhe and said in a low voice, "I want to go and have a look at their kitchen. Can you wait for me for a while?"
"……good."
Chu Yan didn't give him any words to go with him, and Chang Zhe was stupid, so he could only nod and agree, but he looked deeply at the shopkeeper, and his fists on the table became a little harder.
The shopkeeper saw this and looked at the two people again, his eyes flashing slightly.
He took Chu Yan to the kitchen and whispered, "This friend of yours values you very much, and you are also very talented. Little girl, you must hurry up and don't be overtaken by others."
Chu Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Uncle, do you think that if you seize the opportunity, you will definitely be able to retain people? Besides, what if he already has someone in his heart and just forgot about it temporarily?"
What she said made the shopkeeper stunned.
At this time, Chu Yanren had already arrived in the kitchen.
There are many types of ingredients, but the amounts of each are small.
Chu Yan quickly went through some of the dishes Ah Qi taught him in his mind, and finally set his sights on the fish in the tank.
"I want that fish. Does the shopkeeper have peppers, fennel, bay leaves, sauerkraut, etc. at home? Could you please bring me some?"
"...Here, okay. I'll get it for you right now."
He originally wanted to ask Chu Yan what she wanted to do, but seeing her determined look, he turned around and left.
The cooks in the back kitchen were stunned when they saw a beautiful woman suddenly come in.
"What are you doing here? Cooking? This shop is about to close down. I suggest you find another way out."
One of them tried to persuade him, but seeing Chu Yan's cute look, he thought he probably didn't know how to be a cook, and now he became more and more confused.
"I want to make a dish for a friend today, and I'm going to borrow the chef's kitchen. I'd like to excuse you all."
She spoke softly, and although she looked very shabby in her clothes, her movements were charming. Those people immediately let go of their guard, and their expressions unconsciously softened.
"The girl is so kind to her friends."
"Are they really just friends? They can't be sweethearts, right?"
"Go, go, go, what nonsense did you say! You scared that little girl."
The person who just spoke pushed the person aside, said something angrily, and looked at Chu Yan again, with a smile on his face.
"Girl, don't be offended, they just said, don't worry, they are all good people. You can use this place as you like, there are not many guests anyway."
Chu Yan smiled and shook his head, "It's okay."
"I just tasted the food and it was pretty good. Why are there no customers?"
Several people looked at each other in disbelief.
One of them said dullly, "What else can happen? It was better before. Since that restaurant opened, many people from our tavern have been recruited."
"Yes, their cook is our Brother Tiger's apprentice. I didn't expect him to be a scum."
"The newly developed dishes are not suitable. Nowadays, we just live one day at a time."
"..."
Each of them spoke to each other, and the man standing at the front looked ugly to the naked eye.
The person who spoke first nudged the others with his elbow. Everyone realized something and stopped talking.
"Here, girl, I've found everything you asked for. Are you using these for cooking?"
Chu Yan smiled, "Well, cooking."
The shopkeeper was immediately shocked, and several others looked at her with wide eyes and disbelief.
Chu Yan didn't say anything. He just walked to the kitchen table, picked up the grass carp in the water tank, and deftly disembowelled it.
Her sleeves were rolled up, revealing the light scars on them.
Several people were stunned.
Chu Yan's green-white fingers skillfully fished out the internal organs and fish gills, cleaned them, removed the fish bones, and cut the fish into slices.
She moved skillfully, and everyone's attention quickly fell on her little hands.
When the fish was ready, she walked to the stove.
"I'll show you the fire!"
Someone volunteered to say something. Chu Yan raised his eyes and smiled.
"Thank you, brother."
"My name is Haozi, you can just call me Brother Haozi."
The other person smiled with big white teeth and looked very enthusiastic.
"Well, Brother Haozi."
The people on the side suddenly felt sour, and the looks they looked at Haozi almost made him stunned.
Haozi seemed not to notice it and helped cheerfully.
Heat the oil in the pot, add the seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the fish heads and cut them until both sides are golden brown. When it is almost done, pour in the water and start cooking.
While cooking, I cut the sauerkraut.
This is also Ah Qi's favorite dish.
Rather than making it for Chang Zhe, it is better to say that it is to commemorate Ah Qi, the only friend who never left me in the previous life.
At the same time, it is also to leave a new dish for the shopkeeper.
After the water boils, add sauerkraut and fresh fish.
When Chang Zhe saw that Chu Yan hadn't been out for a long time, he was worried that something might go wrong, so he hurriedly followed him in to take a look.
When he opened the kitchen curtain, everyone was stunned.
The cooks and shopkeepers in the tavern were silent, all their eyes fixed on Chu Yan.
When she stood there alone, her movements were skillful and her whole body was shining.