Chapter 6 (1/2)
Translated by Crystal of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Seeing that it was about to enter the summer seasons, schools were starting to go on holidays. ChaoYang Street was a side-street, but business at XiQin Restaurant was better than previous years and that’s all because of Lin ShuYi.
“Where are we going? Is there even anything good on ChaoYang Street?”
“I’m bringing you to a good place, the noodles there are really good! But most importantly, there’s a really handsome guy!”
XiQin Restaurant had existed for a while now, but other than some middle-aged people, it was rarely visited by youngsters. The reason was simply because it was mundane looking. The sign was normal, the place was clean but seemed to hold nothing interesting. There really wasn’t anything that would make youngsters want to go in and try it out. However, it was slightly different now. Of course, the restaurant was still the same, but now there was a surge of young girls, even to the point where they needed a line.
“Xiao Yi, the Tomato Sauce Noodles are ready.”The bright red tomato sauce brought about a tangy but sweet smell. Added with a few fresh greens and a golden fried egg, it was a simple dish, but because of the pork bone soup, the flavor instantly changed. It was light and fresh, perfect for the summer time.
“Your Tomato Sauce Noodles are ready.” The young man was tall and skinny, one seventy something centimeters in height. Even with a random t-shirt and jeans, he looked fashionable. Not to mention that his face was handsome. When his lips curled up, he could make one’s heart start pounding in their chest. His slender fingers, that held the porcelain bowl, looked like a piece of art. The young ladies hearts were completely captured.
“So handsome!”
“See, I wasn’t lying to you. I told you there was a really handsome man, but you didn’t believe me. Not only that, the noodles here are really good too. Give it a try.”
“Why didn’t I see him last time I was here?”
“I heard from mom that he is new. But he seems to have lived here before. It’s weird. Why didn’t I see him even once? Considering how handsome he is, there’s no way I would forget him.”
“Who cares! I know I’m going to be spending all of my lunches here, even if the food tastes horrible!”
“Were you even listening to me? The noodles here are extraordinary! You really think everyone came here to look at a handsome dude?”
The young girl picked up a thin white noodle that still had soup on it with her chopsticks and blew on it to cool it down. She took a bite and instantly her eyes brightened, “It’s really good! Probably because there weren’t any handsome dudes before, but after all these years, I have never eaten here! If I knew it was this good, I would’ve come even if there were no handsome guys!”
The twos girls ate and talked quietly. Well, they thought they were quiet, but everyone could hear them. That didn’t matter though, because everyone came here to look at the hot guy but discovered that the noodles were really good! Thus, the young ladies who came for the handsome guy were all absorbed by the noodles. Other than taking photos and posting it on social media, they also tagged a few shots of Lin ShuYi. In a few days, the repost amount went over ten thousand. With that, the XiQin Restaurant and Lin ShuYi became famous overnight.
Lin ShuYi was obviously happy about the good business, but even more than that, he was worried about old man Yang’s body. Since there were more customers, the stuff he prepared beforehand wasn’t enough anymore. From the pork bone soup to the sauce, he needed to wake up even earlier to prepare more. After a few days, it was starting to take a toll on his body.
“Ouch, Xiao Yi don’t press so hard. Sigh, these old bones of mine are really getting old. Just a little more work and they can’t take it anymore, but the XiQin Restaurant has never been so popular before. I’d say it’s all thanks to Xiao Yi.” Even though old man Yang felt sore all over, having so many people loving his noodles, made him extremely happy. So this amount of stress was nothing.
Lin ShuYi loosened his grip and carefully massaged old man Yang’s shoulders. “It’s because Grandpa’s noodles are delicious, but making so many a day, your body can’t take it.”
“Don’t worry, with so many people liking grandpa’s noodles, grandpa’s happy.”
Lin ShuYi frowned, even then he didn’t want old man Yang to hurt his body. “Grandpa, how about I help you out, you can teach me.”
Old man Yang paused for a moment, he knew Lin ShuYi was worried about him and felt gratified, but he patted his hand and said, “Don’t worry, grandpa can still work. You’re still young, this work isn’t heavy but it isn’t easy either.”
Lin ShuYi usually listened to old man Yang but this time he became stubborn. “Grandpa, I can do it.”
In the beginning, old man Yang simply pitied Lin ShuYi living without parents like him. Only when they were together longer did he discover that this child was just eighteen and a well-behaved. He was a fast worker and didn’t complain. He liked him especially because he treated him like his real grandpa. He liked the kid originally and now he just liked him more. Although he had a son and grandson, the grandson wasn’t close with him. If it wasn’t for Lin ShuYi, he would have probably spent the rest of his life alone. From the bottom of his heart he liked this child. As he thought about it, his eyes started to become red, and finally he nodded. “Okay, if you want to learn, grandpa will teach you.”
Rather than a restaurant, XiQin would be more appropriately named as a noodle house, because that was all they served. The essence of noodles was sauce and soup.
For noodle soups, the soup needed to be fresh and the noodles glossy. For dry noodles, the sauce needed to be the center of the dish. Other than the common place Tomato Sauce Noodles (closer to ketchup) and the Minced Pork Noodles, there were the braised Beef Noodles, Tomato Noodles, Shredded chicken noodle soup, Sour Cabbage Shredded Beef Noodle, and Minced Beef Noodles. These were all easy to make with the focusing being on the sauce and the soup.
The beef sauce and paste needed to be prepared beforehand and the shredded chicken was made in the morning then stored till it was time to serve. There wasn’t anything special about the soup making process, other than old man Yang’s own spice mix. That was his secret ingredient, other than him, no one else knew why his soup was creamy white and fresh tasting.
Teaching all of this to Lin ShuYi meant that the old man Yang was really thinking of handing the restaurant over to him. It was not like old man Yang’s son had an interest in this, much less his grandson.
The next day, Lin ShuYi woke up early, even earlier than usual. Old man Yang said that they needed to prepare before opening, thus he would need to wake up around this hour everyday.