White armor

Chapter 780 Secret Recipe? Doesn't Exist.

Something's not right, something looks wrong, but Luo Hao couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Chen Yong knew at a glance that Luo Hao had questions in his mind. He made a gesture, and a seductive aura wafted over him.

I am!

Luo Hao was stunned. How could Chen Yong look like a woman?

This guy really dares to do anything.

"Are you going to pretend to be Xiao Cao's best friend?" Luo Hao asked.

"Best friend? This is a blind date!" Chen Yong said with a smirk.

Luo Hao's mind went blank for a moment, and he looked at Chen Yong with suspicion, wondering what he was up to.

"Hey, what are you thinking about? Just watch."

After a while, Cao Guohua's parents came in, and Luo Hao stood up and greeted them politely.

Parents' hearts are always full of love and concern. When they looked at Luo Hao, their eyes were wide open, especially the old lady, whose eyes were filled with undisguised joy.

However, when Cao Guohua introduced Chen Yong, he didn't mention his name, just called him Xiao Chen.

Chen Yong would also work. He looks a little effeminate, but he's not the kind of person who's seventy or eighty years old, older than me, and who would have to call me Mom and Dad.

The elderly couple could accept it.

The group chatted casually for a while, and Ma Zhuang's cousin brought out the dishes, exchanged a few polite words, and then left.

Chen Yong leaned close to Liu Yiyi's ear and whispered something.

Liu Yiyi bit her lower lip, seemingly a little embarrassed.

But it wasn't entirely out of embarrassment; the expression was complex, and the emotions contained a lot of special information.

Luo Hao found it interesting and didn't say anything, just watched quietly.

Soon, Chen Yong took Liu Yiyi's bag himself and started rummaging through it.

Holding a bag of Sofy in his hand, Chen Yong stood up, apologized, and then left.

Cao Guohua's parents were stunned. Her father asked in a low voice, "Where is Xiao Chen going?"

"Her period suddenly started," Liu Yiyi said, lowering her head as if afraid of messing up her facial expression.

Menstrual period? !

They arrived suddenly?!

Cao Guohua's parents stared blankly at him.

"She's a girl," Liu Yiyi said softly, her head down. "It's so hot, and she's on her period... I'm sorry."

Although her subconscious apology on behalf of Chen Yong was already a flaw, Cao Guohua's parents couldn't possibly notice it.

They stared blankly in the direction Chen Yong had left, completely dumbfounded, their eyes glazed over, their hearts filled with despair.

Cao Guohua's father seemed to have his spine removed, sinking into his seat, even his breathing becoming light and unsteady.

His chapped lips trembled slightly, and his fingers unconsciously rubbed the non-existent creases on his knees, his knuckles turning bluish-white.

The tea on the table gradually cooled, and a thin film condensed on the surface, reflecting his empty eyes—those eyes were like hollowed-out walnut shells, unable to let even light in.

He tried to speak several times, but only a "hoarse" sound came from his throat, like an old bellows that had been neglected for a long time.

Cao Guohua's mother still held the fruit knife she had prepared to peel an apple for her "future son-in-law," the blade gleaming coldly under the light. The corners of her mouth retained the smile from moments before, but it seemed frozen on her face, more unsightly than a grimace.

The shadows of the two people cast on the wall grew increasingly hunched, as if they might shrink into a ball and disappear at any moment.

The clock in the private room ticked away, and with each tick of the second hand, their shoulders trembled, as if they were counting down some cruel countdown.

The cicadas outside the window suddenly became shrill, and the setting sun cast dappled shadows on the ground through the gauze curtains.

Mr. Cao finally moved, reaching for the teacup, but his fingers trembled so badly that the bottom of the cup made a series of crisp sounds on the glass coffee table, like some kind of Morse code on the verge of collapse.

Luo Hao sighed inwardly. He had no doubt that Cao Guohua's parents had broken down, or even were on the verge of breaking down, after one prank after another.

Chen Yong is really something else!

“He…she…” Cao Guohua’s mother murmured something, but even with Luo Hao’s senses enhanced by digital technology, he couldn’t hear her clearly.

No one else spoke; the room was quiet except for the ticking of the wall clock, which added a bit of noise.

A few minutes later, Chen Yong returned.

"Are you a girl?" Cao Guohua's father asked in a low voice.

It's clear that he still seems to hold onto a sliver of hope.

But Luo Hao knew that if Chen Yong was willing, he could completely shatter all of Cao Guohua's father's hopes.

"Uncle, I'm a girl." Chen Yong smiled, his smile captivating.

No need for any extra words; a smile was enough to prove that he was right.

What kind of man smiles so charmingly?

Luo Hao even suspected that Chen Yong also had a system, and that his acting skills were at their peak.

"You...you...it's impossible..." Cao Guohua's father couldn't accept it, looking at Chen Yong and muttering to himself.

"Men and women are the same; Guohua and I are truly in love," Chen Yong said seriously. "And I will take responsibility..."

He began to speak fluently, and even his voice gradually changed.

This is a psychological tactic, subtly implying that Chen Yong is indeed a woman.

Luo Hao watched silently as Cao Guohua's parents' faces gradually turned ashen, like death.

He recalled a conversation between a father and daughter when he was studying in the capital. The father was relatively open-minded and approved of the lesbian relationship, but it was absolutely unacceptable without a household registration.

Emmm.

Many things in this world are hard to say whether they are right or wrong.

Just like the two blows Chen Yong dealt to Cao Guohua's parents, after receiving a series of explosive damages, the elderly couple must have felt that Cao Guohua's current boyfriend was a normal person and accepted it gladly.

Just then, Cao Guohua's father stood up angrily and glared fiercely at Chen Yong.

“Xiao Cao likes my short hair; I used to have long hair,” Chen Yong said with a smile, completely ignoring the malice in Cao Guohua’s father’s eyes.

He reached into his bag, opened it, took out a wig, and put it on.

Chen Yong ran his long, slender fingers through the strands of the wig, then gently tossed his head, and his smooth, long hair cascaded down like a waterfall, creating an elegant arc over his shoulders.

The wolf tail mullet's hair swept just across his shoulders, gleaming like satin under the light.

He tilted his head slightly, a few strands of hair falling to the corners of his eyes, making his peach blossom eyes even more alluring.

A few strands of silver-purple highlights at the ends of his hair peeked out as he moved, as if concealing some dangerous secret. When he turned around, his long hair swayed gently over his shoulders, carrying a touch of lazy wildness.

The most striking thing was his casual gesture of tucking one side of his hair behind his ear—his little finger unconsciously lingering on his earlobe for half a second, unintentionally carrying countless implications.

Luo Hao's eyelids twitched as he watched.

It's no exaggeration to say that Chen Yong is popular with women. Even if he's not bisexual, he's open to all sorts of fetishes among women.

The silver earrings peeking out from between her hair gleamed with a cold light, as dazzling as the faint smile on Chen Yong's lips.

At this moment, he was like a Tang sword drawn from its sheath, beautiful yet sharp, even the silhouette cast on the wall carried an aggressive elegance.

Liu Yiyi could see it clearly—this wasn't a wig at all, but rather the battle flag used by this monster during its hunt.

"Hmph!" Cao Guohua's father left angrily, even shoving his beloved daughter who was blocking his way.

"Bang~~~"

The door was slammed shut.

Ma Zhuang's cousin cautiously opened the door and looked at Luo Hao.

"It's alright, you go ahead and do your thing," Luo Hao smiled.

"Okay, Professor Luo, please feel free to speak up if you need anything." Ma Zhuang's cousin quickly closed the door.

"Chen Yong, won't you upset the old man and make him sick?" Liu Yiyi asked with some concern.

"No, it's alright," Chen Yong said. "In a few days, Xiao Cao will go home, apologize, say she's found a boyfriend, and then bring him home."

Liu Yiyi sighed.

She couldn't accept it, mainly because Chen Yong wearing a long-haired wolf-tail mullet wig gave her some bad thoughts.

"Okay, that's settled then, let's eat." Luo Hao waved his hand, and the group began to eat.

Chen Yong noticed that Liu Yiyi was in a bad mood, so he put everything away, sat down next to her, and started eating.

This guy really dares to do anything. I'm afraid this will leave Cao Guohua's parents with a lot of psychological trauma.

You can tell from the name that nowadays, apart from old directors like Wang Guohua, there are very few names like Guohua. The probability of similar names appearing is extremely low.

Luo Hao was thinking as he ate.

Not long after, after finishing their meal, Liu Yiyi was going to take Xiao Cao home.

Before leaving, she refused Chen Yong's offer to follow her and gave him a deep look.

After they left, Luo Hao asked, "Are you alright?"

“How could there be a problem?” Chen Yong laughed. “Old Liu isn’t that unreasonable.”

"Yes, that's what I think too. What about Xiao Cao?"

"There's no problem at all. If something happens, I reckon she'll be single all the time from now on."

"Full-time single?" Luo Hao roughly understood what it meant, but still asked the question.

"The most typical description of being single is a standardized and systematic form of singleness. It means being completely and circumstantially disconnected from the outside world, both physically and psychologically."

"No flirtation, no sleeping relationship, no blind dates, no crushes, and no ties to any exes."

"Completely zero contact is the purest state of being single in the dating market. To put it simply, it's a state of complete detachment from worldly desires, an immersive single life."

"Are you describing yourself as someone with depression?" Luo Hao asked.

"No, being single is actually quite good. If your parents absolutely disapprove of a relationship, then you can just become disheartened and put yourself in this state. It's actually a good thing." Chen Yong stretched. "Don't overthink it. Xiao Cao's parents have definitely backed down. Now, as long as Xiao Cao brings a decent person home, they won't be picky."

Indeed, first she was in her fifties, then she was a lesbian. After these two experiences, Xiao Cao's current boyfriend looks handsome.

Luo Hao smiled. Just as Chen Yong had said, if something went wrong with this thing, it would be almost impossible.

"Let's go." Chen Yong didn't seem to care much.

"Where did you get your wig?" Luo Hao asked.

"I asked Lao Liu to buy it for me. It's a long-haired wolf tail mullet hairstyle, but it's the first time Lao Liu has seen me wearing it today, and he can't accept it right away." Chen Yong pouted, reached out and took out the mask, and sighed.

As the saying goes, a man is a boy until he dies.

Luo Hao's phone rang.

When I took it out, I saw that it was a call from Meng Liangren.

"Old Meng, is there a problem with the patient?" Luo Hao's voice quickly turned serious.

"No, no, Professor Luo, the patient is fine," Old Meng immediately said. "I'm at the orphanage."

"Oh, he went to see the child." Luo Hao didn't even know the girl's name; he just dumped everything on Lao Meng and let him do the work for him.

That's roughly what it means to handle the final stages.

Furthermore, it seems that Director Tanuki also has connections with the orphanage.

"Professor Luo, we've encountered a bit of a problem here," Meng Liangren said without hesitation.

"You said."

"Dean Ma wanted to start a small business, like selling cold noodles, but the other party kept raising the price."

"You're making it sound too simple," Luo Hao said.

Meng Liangren paused for a moment, then reorganized his thoughts.

It turned out that Dean Ma wanted to start a small business, so he bought the soup base from a cold noodle shop in Donglian City.

For cold noodles, the broth is very important. And the cold noodles in Donglian City are quite famous. Just hearing Lao Meng talk about it made Luo Hao's mouth water.

"It's been so long since I've had cold noodles. Should I go home this week?" Luo Hao wondered to himself.

Originally, it was agreed that the initial franchise fee would be 3 yuan, and the soup base price would not increase for 10 years. However, seeing that the noodles were selling well, they used the excuse of rising raw material prices to keep raising the price of the soup base.

When Dean Ma and Lao Meng were chatting, they mentioned this matter. Lao Meng thought that Luo Hao should be able to solve it, so he made a phone call.

“Sure,” Luo Hao said directly after hearing the answer. “Bring me the soup base.”

Where shall we meet?

Luo Hao gave an address and then hung up the phone.

"Are you going to take it for testing?" Chen Yong asked. "Will it be detectable?"

"Of course it can." Luo Hao said confidently. "You really think there's something special about a cold noodle soup base? Coca-Cola didn't survive to this day with just one formula; it became the world's number one by leveraging its supply chain to reduce costs."

“That’s true.” Chen Yong agreed with Luo Hao’s words.

Luo Hao exchanged a few pleasantries with Ma Zhuang's cousin before driving away.

When I arrived at the testing center, Lao Meng was already there, carrying a sealed plastic bag containing a dark brown liquid.

This must be the broth from the cold noodles.

"Professor Luo, you've arrived." Old Meng greeted him.

"Old Meng, you've worked hard."

"Professor Luo, you're too kind." Meng Liangren's expression remained unchanged, and he quickly changed the subject, "I learned a lot when I went there."

"Oh? What kind of insight do you have?"

"Dean Ma opened a small shop that also sells cooked food. In my memory, things like pig's trotters had to be roasted with an alcohol torch for a long time to burn off all the pig hair."

"Yes, and now?" Luo Hao asked.

"Ah!" Chen Yong exclaimed. "Old Meng, the laser equipment you asked me to inquire about two months ago, is it used for this?"

Laser equipment?!

Luo Hao was slightly taken aback, but immediately understood what they meant.

I used to think of laser equipment as something high-tech and sophisticated, but now even unmanned hospitals are using lasers to kill mosquitoes.

Besides swatting mosquitoes, it has many other uses.

This stuff isn't expensive, so you're probably using it for hair removal? Laser hair removal does have clinical applications...

“There is a group at the university that has connections with small workshops in rural areas of Jizhou, which specialize in producing laser equipment.”

"..."

Damn it, no matter how high-end something is, it always sounds a bit strange coming from Chen Yong's mouth.

In Luo Hao's memory, Lithuania's laser technology was inherited from the former Soviet Union. After Lithuania began to develop laser technology, the country's invisible ban disappeared, and laser equipment began to be mass-produced in factories.

“There’s a piece of equipment. Dean Ma showed me how to use it,” Lao Meng explained. “She found a rusty lump of iron, ran a laser over it, and it became shiny and new.”

"Huh? It can even remove rust?"

"Yes, it can remove rust and hair. Unlike the hospital's, the power can be turned up a bit," Meng Liangren said.

Luo Hao smiled.

Various new uses will surely emerge like mushrooms after rain.

Luo Hao carried the soup into the laboratory, handed it to his senior, asked about the time, and then turned to leave.

"How many days?" Chen Yong asked.

"It will only take 2 hours."

"Uh, so fast?"

"It's not complicated. I took a bite, and it's a very rich fermented ingredient." Luo Hao smiled slightly, took out his phone, found a place to sit down casually, and started smoking.

"That's too fast."

"It's alright, it's just a bag of fermentation material and some broth. We can just do a simple analysis of the chemical composition," Luo Hao said.

Chen Yong frowned slightly, "Why do all the high-sounding words sound so low-class coming from your mouth?"

Luo Hao turned his head to look at Chen Yong. Why did this guy have the same feeling as him?

"Old Meng, tell me about the orphanage." Luo Hao ignored Chen Yong and looked at Meng Liangren instead.

Meng Liangren squatted down in front of Luo Hao and began to tell him some interesting stories about the orphanage.

Dean Ma wanted to earn some money himself because he didn't want to be stingy with the children. The Civil Affairs Bureau does allocate funds, but the amount hasn't changed in a long time. While they won't go hungry, they won't be well off either.

I run a small business, and I come to visit any child who isn't too busy with their studies.

As for the accounts, Meng Liangren also said that Dean Ma was quite serious about this matter, and judging from his appearance, he would definitely not let his lifelong reputation be ruined.

Luo Hao didn't care, he just casually asked the girl how her grades were and whether she had enough money for her daily expenses.

Old Meng answered in great detail, showing that he took this matter to heart.

In fact, Lao Meng took everything Luo Hao said to heart, not just this one thing.

With Lao Meng around, Luo Hao felt reassured; he held Meng Liangren in extremely high regard. It was truly fortunate that such a person had ended up in his hands.

More than an hour later, Luo Hao's phone rang.

He stood up. "Let's go take a look."

"You're out? So fast?"

“Yes, it’s easy to find out by comparing with the taste database. It’s not that complicated. We should trust science, right?” Luo Hao said.

"Taste has a database?" Chen Yong was taken aback.

"of course."

Luo Hao walked to the laboratory door, and his senior handed him a piece of paper. "It's a recipe for rice wine lees with apple puree, an old recipe."

"Senior brother, can you copy it?"

"It needs some adjustments, and the cost is about 2 yuan per bag," the senior student said with a smile. "It will take 2-3 days."

"Alright, thank you for your help, senior brother," Luo Hao replied. "I'll scan the code for the testing fee in a bit."

"We're all family, so there's no need to be so polite."

"That won't do. We need to keep it official business. By the way, are you able to go out for food and drinks now?"

"I come here after get off work to earn some money, but I don't have time to eat or drink. You have no idea how expensive my son's tutoring fees are. My salary is simply not enough to cover the expenses," the senior student said with some distress.

"Have you reached your rebellious phase?" Luo Hao asked with concern.

"Not yet, but it'll be soon. I'm a little worried. So I need to earn more money. If he really rebels in the future and doesn't even take the college entrance exam, I still have some savings, so I won't starve."

"Senior brother, you probably have a plan, right?"

"Yes, 150g of rice wine lees, 80g of apple puree, 60g of pear puree, and 200g of white vinegar..."

My senior colleague casually mentioned the recipe.

He could handle a whole series of things with ease.

"That will be of trouble to you." Luo Hao said politely for a few moments and then scanned the code to pay.

This time, the senior brother didn't stop them, but just said a few polite words and saw Luo Hao and his group to the door.

"Rebellious phase? What's going on?" Chen Yong asked curiously.

“There’s a senior student’s child in the group who suddenly stopped studying a few months ago. Apparently, he didn’t even take the college entrance exam and insisted on going to work to earn money.”

"!!!"

"!!!"

Teenagers in their rebellious phase can indeed be unreasonable.

"The score was pretty good, around 600 points," Luo Hao said. "Suddenly, she had to go to work, and my senior sister almost had a mental breakdown."

"And then what? And then what?" Chen Yong asked curiously.

However, his expression was serious, and he didn't seem eager to try.

Luo Hao sensed that Chen Yong and Lao Liu's wedding was approaching, and he began to put himself in the shoes of a father, thinking about what to do if his own child became rebellious in the future.

"And then? Senior sister just disappeared without saying a word. I asked around and everyone said she was a bit depressed." Luo Hao sighed. "But actually, it's not so bad. It's only a two-year delay. Once the child has worked and realized how hard it is to earn money, it's not too late for her to come back and take the college entrance exam."

"When it comes to kids, the earlier their rebellious phase starts, the less harm it does," Old Meng chimed in.

"Is it just a two-year delay? What if I pick up bad habits while working?"

"You can make a scarecrow."

"!!!" Chen Yong was stunned.

He was initially worried, but Luo Hao's joke seemed to open up a new way of thinking, and the worry on Chen Yong's face disappeared.

"What are you thinking about?" Luo Hao was also taken aback.

“I thought I could pray for my child’s well-being. My child, Chen Yong’s child, will surely have good luck.”

Luo Hao felt that Chen Yong was being sarcastic and taking advantage of him, but he had no evidence.

However, based on my own experience, if Chen Yong prays for good fortune, he will have good luck in becoming a downline, and the number of downlines won't be very low.

"It's better to cultivate Taoism," a strange thought flashed through Luo Hao's mind.

"I saw them saying in the group that a senior female student doesn't understand why her child likes cosplay, and the child doesn't like her chasing after young male celebrities. The mother and daughter are almost fighting." Luo Hao gossiped while driving.

"Uh, you still don't understand this?" Chen Yong couldn't figure it out.

"Of course, my senior sister held her nose and took her child to the comic convention, but told the child to stay more than a meter away from her." Luo Hao smiled helplessly. "The child said the same thing, saying that mother fans like her have a weird smell about them."

"!!!"

Chen Yong felt something was amiss. He looked ahead and gradually became somewhat lost.

(End of this chapter)