Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 8: The Pretty Little Cook

When Yang Yuan walked into Song's snack shop, there were not many customers in the shop.

It is not the time to serve customers yet. Only when the lights are on at night will this snack street be crowded with customers.

There were only five or six tables in the front hall of the Song family snack shop, and now there were only two tables of guests.

Yang Yuan did not greet the guests. He walked quietly through the hall and went to the kitchen.

I saw a petite figure carefully making a dish of fish sashimi in front of the chopping board.

As soon as he saw this figure, a hint of tenderness appeared on Yang Yuan's face.

He let out a light breath, leaned against the door frame, and smiled at the young cook who was carefully making fish sashimi.

The young cook's name is Luxi, and she is Old Man Song's only daughter.

More than a year ago, when Yang Yuan, who came to this world unexpectedly, wandered to Qingshi Lane, it was the kind-hearted girl Luxi who made him a bowl of steaming hot scallion noodles to fill his stomach.

It was still Lu Xi who discovered that he might have some relationship with Yang Che, the marriage officer of the Imperial City Bureau, so he kept him in the store until Yang Che came back from his shift.

In his previous life, Yang Yuan was a crisis public relations officer, specializing in helping people deal with various crisis events. His thinking, reaction and adaptability were very strong, so in just one afternoon, he had quietly extracted from Lu Xi everything she knew about Yang Che and his long-lost brother.

At that time, he decided that Yang Che was his big brother!

In the Song Dynasty where he has no relatives, he must first find someone to rely on and a place to stay.

Of course, Yang Che, as the marriage official of the Imperial City Bureau, is no ordinary person.

The reason why he could easily believe that Yang Yuan was his long-lost brother was not only because Yang Yuan could tell him some information that only they brothers knew, but also because when the two brothers were separated during their escape to the south, he was only nine years old and his younger brother was only six and a half years old, and it was impossible for them to remember so many things.

In this situation, Yang Yuan relied on some information he had learned from Lu Xi in advance to deal with Yang Che's questioning.

The brother that Yang Che lost in the north was originally named Yang Ze. Now he changed "Yang Ze" to Yang Yuan, and he also gave a reasonable explanation.

When he was separated from his family, he was just six years old and had no ability to survive at all. Of course, someone would adopt him.

It is already very rare that he insisted on not changing his ancestral surname and only changed his name. What else can you ask of him?
From then on, Yang Yuan became Yang Che's brother, and together with his elder brother, he became a tenant of the Song family snack shop.

Yang Yuan was not as serious and upright as Yang Che, so he quickly became friends with the innocent little cook Lu Xi and they fell in love.

It's just that Luxi's father, Old Man Song, always looked down on him, so the window paper between the two of them was never dared to break and let others know.

Luxi didn't notice Yang Yuan's return and was still concentrating on making delicious food.

She likes cooking and also likes to research and invent new dishes. Whenever she makes a delicious dish, she feels particularly satisfied and happy.

Luxi is sixteen years old, petite, with a round face, a little baby fat, and a pair of drooping eyes.

Her hair was tied in a bow with a red ribbon, and a bamboo hairpin was inserted on it, and there was an apricot blossom among her hair.

At this time, she was wearing a straight-collared, double-breasted short shirt with lapels. The loops went around her shoulders and hugged her sleeves tightly, making it easier for her to use the knife.

But because of this, the loops of her arms clearly revealed the youthful and soft curves of her chest.

Luxi, with a piece of his white arm exposed, was making "fish maw two-color sashimi".

She was an excellent knife worker, and she sliced ​​the fish into slices as thin as a cicada's wing. The slices floated onto the celadon plate one by one, and with just a little arrangement, it became a very exquisite dish.

Lu Xi, who didn't know that someone was staring at her at the door, exuded an aura of concentration and simplicity.

Her concentration and simplicity give her the sweetness and purity of a girl next door.

After arranging the dish, Lu Xi picked up some chopped green onion and sprinkled it on top. For fish sashimi, green onion is used in spring and mustard is used in autumn.

It is May now and people in the south of the Yangtze River tend to prefer light tastes, so she only used some chopped green onions to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor.

Lu Xi picked up the plate and as soon as she turned around, she found Yang Yuan leaning against the door frame, looking at her with a smile.

"Oh, you're back!" Lu Xi was delighted and handed the plate over: "Here, this is for the two guests' table."

Yang Yuan didn't answer, and immediately looked miserable: "Oh, I just came back from Banjing Hall, my legs are broken from running..."

Lu Xi wrinkled his nose at him, changed his knife, and cut a piece of braised pig intestine on the chopping board with a "thump". He held it between his fingers and pouted at him: "Open your mouth!"

"Ah~~~"

The feeding of Luxi was successful. Yang Yuan squinted his eyes with satisfaction. While chewing the delicious braised pork intestines, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

A fragrant jasmine flower suddenly appeared in his hand.

This was something Yang Yuan learned from a magic trick master in Zhongwazi. The master taught him because he couldn't stand being pestered by him, but that was the only trick he taught him.

Every time he went out to send Suo Huan, Yang Yuan would always pick some seasonal flowers as a gift, which would make the little girl from Luxi smile happily.

Luxi was indeed very happy, with a pair of curved eyes and a very sweet smile.

She did not take the branch, but walked closer, raised her face, and looked up at Yang Yuan with a smile.

Yang Yuan plucked the slightly wilted apricot blossom from her hairline and carefully inserted a fresh jasmine flower between her black hair.

Lu Xi tilted his head and asked with a smile, "Does it look good?"

Yang Yuan nodded vigorously: "Yeah! That's right! This girl is so attractive, so exciting!"

Lu Xi nudged him with her elbow and said coquettishly, "Just keep on being funny, you badass second brother."

Old Man Song came in from the backyard, dragging his lame leg, holding a clay pot full of seasonings.

He looked towards the kitchen and saw Yang Yuan standing facing his daughter. The petite Lu Xi was looking up at him, smiling like a spring flower.

Old Man Song was immediately furious, as if the flower he had carefully tended was about to be taken away by someone.

He slowed down his pace, quietly passed through the kitchen door, and stood in the aisle. Then he shouted: "The guests' dishes! Why haven't they been served yet?"

The two people who were looking at each other affectionately in the kitchen immediately distanced themselves from each other, like a pair of wild mandarin ducks that had been beaten with a stick.

Lu Xi hurriedly handed the plate to Yang Yuan and gestured to the outside. Yang Yuan took the fish sashimi, turned around and left.

Old Man Song put the condiment jar on the guest table with an apologetic smile. He turned around and saw Yang Yuan, and his face suddenly darkened.

Yang Yuan pretended not to see it, walked quickly to the table of the two guests and put down the fish sashimi.

Old Man Song snorted coldly, but sighed helplessly in his heart.

What a good young man Yang Jia Dalang is. He is mature and steady, and he is a government employee. It is so respectable to talk about him.

But how come Luxi, that kid, hasn't liked him for so many years?
But this Yang family's second son, a smooth-talking idler with no proper livelihood, managed to coax his daughter into obeying him.

Old man Song was worried. Could this kind of man be a good match? No, I couldn't let him cheat on my daughter.

Didn’t Yang Jia Dalang ask me to find a matchmaker for his brother? I have to do this for him right away!

(End of this chapter)