Chapter 539: Happenings in the World (IX)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Yang Si’s face stiffened. He glared at the boy servant fiercely.
He should not talk if he did not know how to speak the human language. Was there a boy servant like him who bullied his master all day long?
While packing up the clean clothes and folding them neatly into the suitcase, the boy servant mumbled, “He has always been picky about food. He’s only satisfied when he gets to eat what he wants… I don’t have the skills of a chef…”
Startled, Yang Si said as a matter of course, “Learn then.”
The boy servant snickered. “I’ve eaten some of the food. It must be a secret skill handed down in the family. Who would be willing to teach outsiders?”
That made sense.
It was already midnight when Wei Ci returned. Yang Si specially waited for him and asked, “Can you give me your chef?”
Wei Ci asked rhetorically in a doubtful tone, “Are you talking about the chef in my residence? The lord shows solicitude for my ill health, so she has specially rewarded the chef to me.”
If it was a reward, whether it was a person or an object, it had a special meaning. Thus, it surely could not be resold.
Yang Si replied, “Then, can you ask the chef to teach my servant some cooking skills? I’m afraid that I’ll starve to death now that I’m used to eating the food in your residence.”
Yang Si never hid his interests in front of his close friends.
Eating was also a form of art. Loving food was a way to enjoy life. It was nothing to be shameful about.
Wei Ci thought about it and said frankly, “That’s possible, but the main duty of the chef is to take charge of the three meals each day in the residence. Teaching others to cook is probably not part of his job. If your servant wants to learn, you’ll have to pay him something.”
Feelings would be hurt when money matters were discussed. If feelings were considered, money matters would be affected.
Whether it was Yang Si or Wei Ci, neither of them was a pure, little white flower. How could they not understand each other?
It did not matter if feelings would be hurt. Money matters must be discussed!
The two boxes of books and some small belongings were all of Yang Si’s property. According to his understanding of Wei Ci, he would demand an exorbitant price, so he decided to strike first to gain the upper hand. “Have you forgotten that you still owe me quite a few strings of 1000 cash? We’ll just offset it.”
Wei Ci was confused. Since when had he owed the other man money?
Everyone knew that Yang Si was a cheapskate, besides loving to eat. He was not considered greedy, but he would not spend any money which he had acquired.
He was like a mythical wild beast!
Yang Si rambled on while digging up the past debts. At its root, the so-called debt of a few strings of 1000 cash stemmed from a bun which was worth a penny.
Wei Ci was speechless.
Sure enough, he did not know his friend well enough. A bun which was worth a penny could grow into a debt of a few strings of 1000 cash. Was he practicing exploitation?!
Wei Ci thought about it and corrected himself, “Alright. I’ll just pay you back.”
Yang Si was surprised. Since when was Wei Ci this nice?
“In terms of a chef’s skills, I still think the tiny kitchen in the government office is the best. Why don’t you let your servant learn some skills there for a few days?”
Yang Si nodded in agreement. For a foodie, nothing could be more attractive than food.
Looking at Yang Si, Wei Ci suddenly understood why Yang Si was miserably tricked by Her Majesty in his previous life.
He deserved it!
During the period when the boy servant learned some cooking skills, Jiang Pengji realized that the food from the tiny kitchen in the government office had increased. Even if she had a huge appetite, she would feel somewhat full after a meal. The key thing was that the food was sometimes seasoned a little too much. It made her feel thirsty.
However, there was no extra capacity in her stomach. No matter how thirsty she was, she could only keep the water in her mouth to quench her thirst and could not swallow it.
She asked the chef and only then found out that the menu of the tiny kitchen was specially advised by Wei Ci.
Hearing the reason, Jiang Pengji waved her hand helplessly and dismissed the chef.
She said dotingly, “It’s up to him.”
As Wei Ci had expected, the boy servant showed off his cooking skills to Yang Si when he had only learned a little, stoking Yang Si’s craving for food.
The next day at the office, Wei Ci heard that Yang Si was waiting outside.
Looking up at the sky, he knew that Yang Si was there for a meal.
He was matchless in freeloading for food in such a dignified and sophisticated manner.
As Jiang Pengji was busy with the government affairs, she had basically stayed in the government office lately. She also had her meals there.
There were originally only the two of them in the simple and crude government office. A young man who looked somewhat chubby suddenly showed up that day.
Her gaze drifted. She ate her meal and ignored him.
Yang Si was also eating as if no one else was around. He had a very good appetite.
In short, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.
Wei Ci initially wanted to create an atmosphere for them to talk. According to his lord’s charm and mysterious temper, they could at least hit it off even if they did not immediately become partners in crime… Now, they had no intention of speaking with each other at all.
Not only did the three people present feel that the atmosphere was weird, but the audience in the streaming room could also see some oddity.
Chun Lie: “I’m here to see ‘the ruler and his minister’ eat. Why is there such a huge, awkward bubble here?”
Kele: “Umm, he’s probably the newly recruited talent? The streamer’s territory is growing, so more people are needed.”
Koujiao Chifan: “The atmosphere is obviously not right. It feels like the three of them are eating on their own. They aren’t even making eye contact.”
Jiang Pengji had fallen under a spell which made her think that she had to work overtime because her subordinate had fallen ill. The streaming location of the past few days was in the small government office. The audience in the streaming room was feeling a little bored watching it. The three mealtimes were their only joy each day.
Many of the viewers could eat a few bowls of rice while watching the streamer and Beauty Ci eat. After all, their good looks gave them an appetite.
Yang Si, whom they had never seen before, suddenly came into the picture. Who could get used to that?
Yang Si went to the government office to freeload for food for a few days consecutively.
At the beginning, he only ate one meal each day in the government office. Then, it became two meals each day. At last, he ate three meals each day in addition to the various snack times throughout the day.
Jiang Pengji was getting annoyed. She said to Yang Si directly, “Why don’t you stay here? It’s quite troublesome for you to check in every day at mealtime.”
Those were the first words that Jiang Pengji said to Yang Si. Wei Ci was shocked to hear it. His right hand, which was holding a pen, drew a long line on the bamboo slip.
How was that different from throwing Yang Si out?
She could not do that if she wanted to recruit a strategist!
Especially for people who had very sensitive self-esteem like Yang Si, such ambiguous words were taboo.
He would at most treat it as a joke if it was said by a friend. If it was a stranger, it would be easily judged as mockery.
Yang Si was somewhat displeased at the beginning. However, he looked up and made eye contact with Jiang Pengji. He realized that she did not mean to ridicule or disdain him. She was simply stating a fact. The discovery made Yang Si’s flickering anger disappear.
“What if I don’t want to?”
“That would be such a pity. The food in the government office is only cooked with the ingredients which can be found around Fengyi County, so there isn’t much variety. Compared with delicacies, it’s just the tip of an iceberg.” Jiang Pengji added, “Furthermore… if you don’t want to, please remember to pay for the food for these last few days.”
He bullied her strategist by compounding the interest, right?
If he disagreed, he would be in debt for the rest of his life!
Yang Si continued to look at her. “Then?”
She responded, “You’ll be able to eat all over the world if you follow me! If you don’t, try and see if you can walk out this door.”
Wei Ci was utterly deflated. With his lord’s temper, it was no wonder that the talents in her previous life were all captured. Normal people would not follow her at all!