Chapter 90: He Was Not as Fragile as She Thought
Once Shen Lu picked up her chopsticks, the others started to serve themselves.
Ye Fan had his eye on the chicken in the soup. It was huge, the biggest he had ever seen.
He wasn’t one for pleasantries, much less respecting his elders. With a jab of his chopsticks, he speared a large drumstick and dropped it into his bowl.
The chicken had been stewed until it was incredibly tender, practically falling off the bone. A single bite filled his mouth with a savory, juicy flavor.
"Holy shit?!" Ye Fan couldn’t help but exclaim, drawing everyone’s attention.
A vein bulged on Lin Zhou’s forehead.
’Making such a scene over a meal. How embarrassing!’
"Haha, my apologies. Boss Shen’s cooking is just too good. It’s the first time I’ve ever had such a delicious drumstick." Ye Fan quickly laughed it off, then in a flash, devoured the entire drumstick until the bone was clean.
After that, Ye Fan started wolfing down his food like a tornado, making Shen Lu’s eyelids twitch.
’Seriously, does this guy have any manners at all?’
At the rate he was eating, the others probably wouldn’t even get a taste of the broth.
It was only after Lin Zhou stomped on Ye Fan’s foot twice under the table, reminding him not to go overboard, that Ye Fan finally stopped.
"Boss Shen, your food is seriously delicious."
Ye Fan’s praise was sincere, but there was something else he left unsaid.
’It’s not just delicious, it can actually soothe the Spiritual Sea. I think I finally get why the boss values Shen Lu so much.’
’Sweetheart my ass. Boss Xue must have discovered the secret of her food and wants to get on her good side.’
At first, he had been a little unhappy that Xue Can had arranged for him and Lin Zhou to work as security guards. They were some of the top members of the group, usually handling A-rank missions or higher. When had they been reduced to being someone’s security detail?
’I totally misjudged Boss Xue.’
’This is obviously a huge perk for me and Lin Zhou!’
After eating ravenously for a while, Ye Fan discovered that the food’s soothing effect had a limit. No matter how much you ate, it only stabilized within a certain range. In other words, even if he ate everything on the table, the effect would be the same.
Seeing him stop, Shen Lu breathed a sigh of relief. As for the praise, she accepted it gladly.
"It’s just some simple home cooking."
Ye Fan took a sip of water, the gears in his head turning. "I heard Boss Shen say you have a lot to do before the grand opening and are short on staff, right? Why don’t Lin Zhou and I help out? No extra pay, just cover our meals."
Lin Zhou’s eyes went wide as he glared at him. ’Are you fucking crazy? Looking for extra work for no reason? And this kind of low-level work, at that!’
Lin Zhou stomped hard on Ye Fan’s foot again, twice, warning him to shut his mouth.
Ye Fan felt like Lin Zhou was going to crush the bones in his foot, and he clenched his back teeth against the pain.
’This moron hasn’t even eaten anything yet. He has no idea what I’m trying to secure for us.’
Shen Lu was actually considering the feasibility of Ye Fan’s proposal. "Tomorrow would be fine, but the day after, you should prioritize maintaining order at the event."
’Ten thousand pounds of crayfish, after all. Just loading them batch by batch into the automatic cleaner will be a huge job.’
"Great, great, it’s a deal then," Ye Fan agreed, enduring the pain through gritted teeth.
Lin Zhou closed his eyes, wishing he could sew Ye Fan’s mouth shut.
But Ye Fan had already agreed, so he couldn’t very well object. A little dejected, he picked up some shredded potatoes with his chopsticks and stuffed them into his mouth. In an instant, Lin Zhou’s eyes lit up.
And it was a strange, unsettling way they lit up. The four pupils in his two eyes all changed color at once, making him look like someone tripping on magic mushrooms.
Of course, Shen Lu knew her food wasn’t poisonous. As for Lin Zhou’s reaction, she took it as a compliment to her cooking skills.
Lin Zhou finally understood why Ye Fan had been so eager.
’I misjudged him.’
’He did the right thing. We should definitely be trying to get more chances to eat here.’
Lin Zhou’s expression turned serious. "Boss Shen, Ye Fan and I will definitely work hard."
Shen Lu was a bit stunned. "Um... okay."
Although she didn’t know why the two of them were suddenly tripping over themselves to pledge their loyalty, Shen Lu was still very pleased to have people willing to work hard for her.
’At least they have a great attitude.’
In the end, the housewarming feast concluded on a rather successful note. Everyone ate their fill and was very satisfied.
Shen Lu had Wang Daguo give Granny Jin a ride home as well. The Lower City District wasn’t safe at night, so she and Cai Su wouldn’t be going out.
As she was leaving, Granny Jin patted the back of Shen Lu’s hand, completely reassured. "You’re a good cook. You’ll definitely be able to run this restaurant well."
There’s a big difference between running a restaurant and running a street stall. Before coming, Granny Jin had been a little worried about whether Shen Lu’s skills were good enough to support a whole restaurant, but after tasting the food, she was completely at ease.
"Granny, you can come visit me anytime, whether you need something or just want to hang out. You’re always welcome."
’Now that Cai Su and I have moved away, Granny Jin is probably going to be even lonelier.’
’But you always have to keep moving forward. I can’t just stay in one place.’
Granny Jin nodded and left with the Wang Family.
Cai Su took her child back to their room and was now clearing the table.
Cai Su said, "Boss Shen, you should go feed Fu Cheng. He must be starving."
Shen Lu glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost eight. True, Fu Cheng would have normally eaten long before now.
She put the reserved dishes on a tray and went up to the second floor. As soon as she entered the secondary bedroom, Fu Cheng’s gaze fell on her.
"You must be hungry." Shen Lu placed the tray on the bedside table and tucked another pillow behind Fu Cheng to help him sit up.
Seeing him subconsciously use his left hand to support his body, Shen Lu asked him, "How much has your left hand recovered?"
Fu Cheng couldn’t speak, so he could only demonstrate for her.
He could lift it and make a fist. When necessary, he could use it to shift his body slightly.
"Do you want to try eating by yourself, then?" Shen Lu suggested carefully. "It’s not that I don’t want to feed you, I just think some simple exercises might help you recover faster."
’If Fu Cheng could eat on his own, then I’d only have to bring his meals on time. If I got busy, he wouldn’t have to just lie here and starve like today.’
Fu Cheng blinked gently, which was his way of agreeing.
When she bought the bed for the secondary bedroom, Shen Lu had specifically chosen one with nursing features. Now, she could set up the overbed table to make it easier for Fu Cheng to eat.
Shen Lu had saved him a bowl of chicken soup, a small bowl of rice, a few lettuce leaves, and some fish. She placed the spoon in Fu Cheng’s left hand. "Take your time. If it’s too difficult, just stop. It’s okay, we’re just trying it out. Don’t feel pressured."
Fu Cheng gripped the spoon tightly, trying to control the muscles in his left arm as he slowly scooped up some rice from the bowl.
He succeeded with that first step, but as he tried to bring the rice to his mouth, his hand began to tremble uncontrollably, spilling the rice.
That had to be discouraging. Shen Lu quickly cleaned up the spilled rice and comforted him in a gentle voice, "That was already really good. I was the one who was too hasty. We should have started with something simpler."
But Fu Cheng didn’t seem very discouraged. The man’s gaze was calm, and it filled with a deep warmth as he looked at the young woman.
He was not as fragile as she thought.