CH 15

“You two have a really good relationship.”

After sending away the shopkeeper, Liu Wen finally had the chance to sit down and discuss the cooperation with Cheng Yun.

Cheng Yun was still angry from earlier, but Liu Wen’s actions had eased his mood a little. He realized that this was a chance to negotiate with Liu Wen, and Cheng Yun was someone who could be flexible and adapt easily, so he would be able to adjust quickly after crossing over to this world.

He didn’t show any expression on his face and continued to maintain his posture. He didn’t rush to say that he would take Yang Hong in with him. Seeing that there was still room for negotiation, Liu Wen quickly seized the opportunity and asked the waiter to bring a pot of good Longjing tea and ordered three to five signature dishes. He then invited Cheng Yun and Yang Hong to sit down.

“Cheng-Ge’er, Brother Liu is here to apologize to you for today’s matter. Everything was just a misunderstanding, and we have resolved it now. Let’s put our minds at ease and discuss business.” While pouring the tea, Liu Wen spoke. Yesterday, he had asked Cheng Yun to call him Liu Wen, and today, he changed it to Brother Liu, which reduced the distance between them.

Cheng Yun took the offer, poured a cup of tea for Yang Hongjin, comforting him with a few words before taking a sip of tea and saying, and said, “It’s not your fault. Even the wisest man makes mistakes. Brother Liu is always so busy, and it’s natural that you can’t take care of everything.”

“Right, that’s exactly the point,” replied Liu Wen, following the topic, just as the waiter brought the dishes. Cleverly avoiding the conversation, he said, “Come on, Cheng-Ge’er, try our restaurant’s signature dishes. These are some of the best dishes in town, and many wealthy families feel uneasy if they don’t eat them for a few days. They are no worse than the few dishes you have had.”

There were three hot dishes and two cold dishes on the table, with fish, meat, and vegetables. Although Cheng Yun thought they were relatively simple compared to modern standards, they were considered excellent in this era. After evaluating for a moment, Cheng Yun became more confident in the cooperation he was going to discuss.

Liu Wen personally served him food and even put a chicken leg in Yang Hongjin’s bowl, winking at him, telling him to eat quickly.

Yang Hongjin had not recovered from the argument just now and was still scared. He stuck close to Cheng Yun and glanced at Liu Wen from the corner of his eye, lowered his head, then glanced again after two seconds, found that the other party was still winking at him, and quickly lowered his head again.

Cheng Yun felt both heartache and amusement, patting his head and softly comforting him, “Don’t be afraid. The bad guy has gone away. Are you hungry? Let’s eat first.”

“The bad guy ran away?” Yang Hongjin blinked his eyes and cautiously looked around, making sure that the “bad guy” was not around before his courage slowly returned. He then said to Cheng Yun, “The bad guy ran away!”

Cheng Yun said with a smile, “Yes, he did. Now let’s eat. Can you eat on your own or do you want me to feed you?”

“I can do it,” Yang Hongjin nodded his head and put a piece of meat in his mouth and chewed it twice as if afraid that Cheng Yun didn’t believe him, “Wife, I can do it.”

Seeing that he could eat by himself, Cheng Yun patted his head then picked up his chopsticks.He turned to look, only to find Liu Wen staring at him silently.

Feeling Cheng Yun’s gaze, Liu Wen touched his nose and smiled, “You two have such a good relationship.”

Liu Wen had been busy with his career and had not yet married. Although he was still young in modern times, in this era, he was considered to be late for marriage. Having seen many people in the village busy with their livelihoods and just living together carelessly, he had no thoughts of finding someone to settle down with. But now, he felt a desire to get married, inspired by this unusual couple.

This was the second time Cheng Yun had heard this phrase today, and he inexplicably felt a warm feeling in his heart. He did not deny it, but also did not say much about it. He picked up a piece of the so-called signature dish and tasted it.

The dish was called ‘Crystal Chicken,’ and was actually just boiled chicken, but made with fresh ingredients, chickens raised and slaughtered on-site, and paired with high-quality soy sauce, giving it a better taste than the old hens used in ordinary households.

But in the eyes of Cheng Yun, the dish was not as good as the ginger and scallion chicken he had eaten before, at best it could only be considered an ordinary farmhouse dish. If you considered the soy sauce chicken commonly eaten in the future, there was a big difference.

He ate two bites and didn’t eat anymore, turning to another of Yueqiong Tower’s signature dish, called ‘Sweet and Sour Fish’.

“For this dish, and it’s not just me saying it, it is the most famous dish in the whole Tengyun town.” Liu Wen’s face showed a confident expression. He also picked up a piece of fish and enjoyed it, saying, “This dish is our exclusive, even some dignitaries from the neighboring town will come here to eat, just for this sweet and sour fish.”

Cheng Yun nodded and tasted it carefully.

From the outside, this dish did indeed require a lot of effort, the red sauce spread over the fish, and some tomatoes and fruit pieces were sprinkled on top. It tasted sour and sweet, with a hint of fruit fragrance, fresh and refreshing in this hot weather. It was indeed a good dish.

In this era of limited cooking options, if Cheng Yun had not come from the modern era, he might have been amazed by this dish. However, as far as Cheng Yun was concerned, this Sweet and Sour Fish was much inferior to the Pine Nut Fish he had eaten in the future.

“Brother Liu, let me give you a little suggestion for your chef,” Cheng Yun wiped his mouth, took a sip of tea, and said, “Cut the fish head open, pick two pieces of fish from the cut part along the fishbone, remove the chest bone, and then cut it diagonally and straight to the fish skin, carve it into shuttle shape, marinate it with seasoning, then coat it with a layer of cornstarch, deep fry until golden brown, and then pour the sauce over it. The sauce is made of tomatoes, with a little white vinegar, sugar, and salt mixed together. This way, the fish not only looks beautiful, but the meat is also fully flavored, with a crispy and delicious taste.”

Liu Wen had tasted many delicious dishes and had some culinary skills himself. He immediately understood the essence of what Cheng Yun was saying. With just a few words, the entire process was clear and easy to understand. This made Liu Wen realize that Cheng Yun was far more valuable than he had originally thought.

He had already planned to recruit Cheng Yun, but now this idea was even stronger. Cheng Yun was a talented person, and he could not let him fall into the hands of his competitors!

At this moment, he deeply felt how right his decision was to solve the shopkeeper’s problem and how wise it was to keep Cheng Yun.

He then asked Cheng Yun about his opinion on “Crystal Chicken” in a probing manner. Cheng Yun looked at him and truthfully shared the method of eating it with ginger, scallion, and soy sauce chicken. The more Liu Wen listened, the brighter his eyes became, and in the end, his gaze at Cheng Yun was like looking at a money tree.

“I really don’t know how you come up with so many creative ideas.” Liu Wen ate two pieces of fish and smacked his lips. This dish, which he had boasted about as incomparable, suddenly paled in comparison when he heard what Cheng Yun had to say. He fantasized about those ideas and just wanted to taste the finished product as soon as possible.

Cheng Yun smiled and said nothing. He didn’t want to show off. The more he said, the cheaper it would seem. It was better to say nothing and wait for Liu Wen to bring up the topic of cooperation.

The atmosphere of the dinner was pleasant. Yang Hongjin had never tasted such delicious food before. He even ate the dishes that Cheng Yun couldn’t finish. Encouraged by Cheng Yun, he ate until his stomach was full. After eating the last piece of fish, he asked Cheng Yun, “Wife, can we still eat this in the future?”

Cheng Yun was patient. Liu Wen had been waiting for a long time, but he couldn’t find a chance to propose cooperation. Finally, he heard Yang Hongjin’s words and quickly said, “Do you still want to eat this, Brother Yang?”

Under Cheng Yun’s intense gaze, Yang Hongjin shrank back a little, looked at his wife, saw no objection, and bravely nodded.

Liu Wen immediately showed a brilliant smile and said to Cheng Yun, “Cheng-Ge’er, you see, your husband is very satisfied with our food. If we cooperate, you can also improve your food in the future. Every time we have a new dish, you will definitely be the first to taste it!”

Cheng Yun took a sip of tea and didn’t rush to answer. This was a good time to negotiate conditions. He could tell that Liu Wen was extremely satisfied with him. Everything should be said clearly in the early stages of cooperation to avoid future conflicts.

Cheng Yun said, “Brother Liu, to be honest, I had planned to cooperate with you before you came today.” Seeing that Liu Wen’s smile became even deeper, he smiled and continued, “But as you can see, because of our poor family conditions, we are often rejected when we try to cooperate with others. What you said today could probably be offered by other restaurants. If it weren’t for Dr. Liu’s kindness, I wouldn’t have stayed for this meal.”

Liu Wen broke out in a sweat when he heard this. He cursed the shopkeeper a hundred times in his heart, but he could only smile and agree. At this point, even if Cheng Yun asked him to fire all his employees, he wouldn’t mind as long as he could keep Cheng Yun. Even if he had to spend a lot of money, he would accept it.

However, Cheng Yun didn’t have this idea. Or, he didn’t care about how Yueqiong Tower would develop. He was only trying to gain more benefits for himself and Yang Hongjin. If Yueqiong Tower could make progress, their future would be more secure. But even if Yueqiong Tower didn’t work out, he had other options.

First, be a villain and then, a gentleman. Criticizing a person in a subtle way, Cheng Yun understood the principle of giving a sweet date after slapping someone, “But since such an incident occurred today, I trust Dr. Liu and naturally trust Brother Liu’s character so I don’t want to dwell on this issue anymore.”

Liu Wen thought to himself, ‘Don’t you think you’ve mentioned it enough?’ But he had to smile and promise, “Of course, you can rest assured.”

After praising and criticizing, Cheng Yun finally got to the point and presented his pre-planned cooperation request.

Author’s note:

To explain, some readers may feel that the plot is a bit slow. It is because it needs to control the word count as it is currently on the charts. If you feel that the plot is progressing slowly, you can save it for later and read it. The pace of the early stage may not be particularly fast. Thank you for your support.