Chapter 115: The Culinary Tycoon

Fate

Xue Baizhu carried the snacks and returned to the backyard, where he saw his mother digging in the small garden. He quickly placed the snacks on the stone table and walked over to snatch the garden hoe from his mother’s hand, saying, “Mother, Father asked you to rest quietly, but you took the opportunity while he was out to come and dig the ground. Sit down and take a break.”

“Ah, it’s not a problem. I only dug for a little while. I’ve been lying down for long enough, I need to come out and move around. You see, if a person doesn’t move, their spirits will become listless.” Ye Man stood up, clapped his hands, and had his son support him to sit by the stone table.

There was a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his face was pale, and his lips were faint, giving him a weak and sickly appearance.

“You only dug for a short while, and you’re already sweating. If you want to grow medicinal herbs, let your son do it for you. You should rest properly, right? You’ve been working hard for decades. Father said you’re exhausted, and he brought you to Tongshan to let you rest. But look at you, you can’t sit still.” Xue Baizhu asked the servant to bring water to wash his hands and took a towel to wipe the fine sweat from his mother’s forehead.

Ye Man took the towel and wiped it himself, laughing, “Oh, so I’m that weak, huh? I know my own body. How come you’re as nagging as your father? No ger will dare to marry you.”

Xue Baizhu didn’t mind and said, “I care about my own mother. How can that be called nagging? Come on, wash your hands.”

Ye Man washed his hands and looked at the two packages on the stone table, with the words “Yu’s Delicious Delights” printed on them. He asked, “What’s this?”

Xue Baizhu didn’t dare to let his mother know that someone had come to seek medical advice. If he found out, he would definitely ignore his own health and attend to the person.

“Oh, this? I bought these snacks from the street,” he casually came up with an excuse. After all, he loved eating snacks, and his mother wouldn’t suspect anything.

Ye Man took the towel to wipe his hands and responded, “Oh, then go ahead and eat. It’s been a while since I’ve been back, and I don’t know what changes have happened on the streets. When I feel better, I’ll go out for a stroll.”

As Xue Baizhu opened the snack box, he said, “I went out to take a look yesterday, and there have been quite a few changes, especially on North-South Street. It’s bustling with more people than before. Mother, you should try these snacks.”

“I don’t like sweet things. You eat them yourself,” Ye Man shook his head and said.

As he spoke, Xue Baizhu had already opened the snack box, which contained a total of five different small snacks, each with a unique design.

His eyes lit up, and he took a flower-shaped snack and said to his mother, “Mother, look, it’s like a flower. Would you like to try it?”

“Oh, these snacks look quite beautiful,” Ye Man exclaimed as he was also amazed by the exquisite shape of the snack. The white dough resembled five petals of a flower, with a deep red filling in the center. It looked incredibly appealing.

“Indeed, try this flower-shaped one, and I’ll have this soft and fluffy one. It seems to have a filling inside too,” Xue Baizhu handed the flower-shaped snack to his mother and took a bite of a round white ball himself.

The chewy outer layer was filled with crushed peanuts and sesame seeds, sweet and fragrant. Xue Baizhu nodded repeatedly, squinting his eyes in satisfaction, and finished the remaining half in one go.

The texture was delicate, and the taste was sweet and delicious. This snack was excellent!

“It’s quite tasty,” Ye Man commented as he tasted the flower-shaped petal in his hand. He then turned the shell of the gift box to read, “Yu’s Delicious Delights? I haven’t heard of it before. It’s probably a newly opened shop, not one of the old well-established ones.”

“We haven’t been back for nine years, and we didn’t stay long last time. I definitely have no idea how many new snack shops have opened,” Xue Baizhu said, taking another slightly browned snack and eating it.

As he took a bite, his eyes widened, and he looked at the cross-section of the snack, just as his mother did. “Look, mother, there are two types of fillings inside. One occupies one side, it seems to be red bean paste and lotus seed.”

Seeing his son enjoying the snacks, Ye Man smiled and asked, “Do they suit your taste?”

Xue Baizhu nodded and said, “They taste great, and they look appealing too. It’s called Yu’s Delicious Delights, right? Next time, I’ll visit the shop and who knows, they might have many other types of snacks.”

He thought about what the young man who gave him the snacks had said, that they were made in their own shop?

“Aren’t you supposed to go with your father to the herbal shop today?” Ye Man, who usually didn’t like sweets, ate the snack slowly, thinking about how his son had said he would go out in the morning but was now distracted by the snack. He was worried that it would delay his son from attending to important matters.

Xue Baizhu nodded. His father wanted to open a medicine hall in the city, and they were currently surveying the situation everywhere. He replied, “Hmm, I’ll go after finishing this. I was thinking of going out to stroll around the streets earlier. By the way, mother, Lord Luo invited us to have lunch together the day after tomorrow. Will you go?”

“Lord Luo? Oh, the third son of the Minister of Rites?” Ye Man thought for a moment and asked.

“Yes, he is now the magistrate here. Father used to help him with his bones, and you have treated his grandfather before. I heard that when he found out we had returned, he sent an invitation to have a meal together. Will you go?”

Ye Man shook his head and said, “You can go. I don’t like joining in such gatherings.”

“Alright. Then I’ll be going. Please don’t continue digging in the ground, okay?” Xue Baizhu replied.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Ye Man nodded and said, “Alright, I got it. Let’s go, let’s go.”

Xue Baizhu took a snack and placed it in his mouth, then he packed up the snack box to continue eating later, and he went out.

On the other side, before Chang Le and Brother Chang went back, they deliberately went to the cloth shop and bought a piece of fabric. Their excuse for going out was to buy fabric, and it wouldn’t be satisfactory if they didn’t bring one back.

In the House of Prosperity building, Yu Qingze noticed that Chang Le had returned so quickly and his expression wasn’t happy, probably because he didn’t see Dr. Ye.

He said, “Brother Le, Grandpa is here in the backyard.”

As soon as Chang Le heard that his Grandpa had arrived, he hurriedly rushed to the backyard. He had arranged for his Grandpa to come today through someone else.

Afraid that Yu Qingze might hear, he specifically took Grandpa Chang to a room and then asked him if he had taken any cooling medicine when he was young.

Grandpa Chang furrowed his brows and asked suspiciously, “Why are you asking about this?”

Chang Le paused for a moment, but still mentioned his own visit to the doctor, but didn’t mention seeing Dr. Ye. If he did, Grandpa would definitely go to see Dr. Ye himself, and he didn’t want Grandpa to exert himself.

Grandpa Chang’s expression turned solemn as he asked, “Is it because of that reason?”

Chang Le nodded.

After a moment of contemplation, Grandpa Chang said, “When you were young, we were still in Qingzhou. You had a high fever that lasted for several days and we couldn’t bring it down. It was chaotic at that time, and we couldn’t find a doctor. The only person in the village who knew a little about medicine was Grandpa Mu. He tried many methods but couldn’t bring down your temperature. Seeing that you couldn’t hold on much longer, Grandpa Mu made a tough decision and suggested trying many cooling medicines, hoping that it might bring down your fever. After discussing it, we thought it was worth a try. Grandpa Mu took your father and mother up the mountain to gather a lot of herbs. You drank the medicine for three days, and miraculously, your temperature started to drop, which saved your life.”

Chang Le listened and realized it was like that.

Actually, his memories of that time were very vague, and he didn’t remember much. Only in extremely intense moments would he recall fragments of scenes, like when Xiao Hao was in danger before. But he knew that his father and Grandpa had told him about the incident and how his younger brother was lost because of it.

Grandpa Chang sighed and said, “So it was because of that incident? Xiao Le, it was our fault. We let you down.”

Chang Le grabbed Grandpa’s hand and shook his head, then gestured, “Grandpa, don’t blame yourself. It was an accident. If we hadn’t done that, I might not have survived.”

“Oh, it was hard on you…” Grandpa Chang lovingly patted Chang Le’s head.

Chang Le shook his head and gestured, “Not hard, Grandpa. I’m doing well now.”

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Chang nodded, and a tear glistened in his eyes.

Chang Le gestured again, “Do you remember which herbs they were?”

Grandpa Mu and his father had already passed away, so he could only ask his Grandpa.

Grandpa Chang shook his head and said, “There were many herbs, I don’t remember them all. They gathered herbs from the nearby mountains and quickly boiled them.”

Hearing this, Chang Le didn’t ask further.

After leaving the room, Chang Le went busy with his tasks, and Yu Qingze took Grandpa back to the storage room to inquire further.

Grandpa Chang repeated his explanation once again, then looked at Yu Qingze with suspicion and asked, “Why are you asking again? Did you have a disagreement with Brother Le?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “Grandpa, no. Brother Le didn’t tell me about his visit to the doctor because he didn’t want me to worry. So, I had to pretend not to know, otherwise he might become more concerned about his health.”

“Oh,” Grandpa Chang looked at him and said earnestly, “Do you remember the promise you made to me before?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Of course, I always keep my word. Grandpa, don’t worry, I’m just concerned that Brother Le might overthink things. Trust me, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

Grandpa Chang looked at him for a while, then sighed and said, “As long as you remember.”

On the second and third days, Chang Le and Brother Chang went to Dr. Ye’s house after breakfast, but they received the same answer and were stopped by Uncle Zheng (Lao Bo).

“I’ve already discussed this matter with the family head, and he said it’s not possible. Both of you, our madam is truly unwell now, suffering from long-term exhaustion that has taken a toll on his health and spirit. The family head doesn’t want him to strain himself any further, so please go back,” Uncle Zheng said and closed the door.

Chang Le and Brother Chang had no choice but to leave the pastries by the door and return home.

“Uncle Zheng, what’s the matter? Did they come again?” Xue Baizhu was in the courtyard, digging the ground for his mother. When he saw Uncle Zheng coming in with two familiar boxes of pastries, he asked.

Uncle Zheng nodded helplessly and said, “Yes, they came again, but they just left the pastries at the door and went away.”

Xue Baizhu sighed and said, “If only my medical skills were as good as my mother’s, I could go and help them. Unfortunately, my father is not well-versed in this field either. I visited Dr. Li yesterday and discussed this matter with him. He said he couldn’t find a solution, let alone me.”

Xue Baizhu’s father was also a doctor, specializing mainly in trauma and orthopedics. He was equally helpless when it came to issues like infertility in Chang Le.

Uncle Zheng replied, “Young Master, please don’t underestimate yourself. Your medical skills are already quite impressive. Given time, you will surpass both the Lord and the elder master.”

“Sigh…”

During lunchtime, Xue Baizhu and his father went to House of Prosperity to have a meal in response to Lord Luo’s invitation.

The waiter led them to a private room.

When they entered the room, Lord Luo and Madam Luo were already there.

“Lord Luo, Madam Luo,” Xue Baizhu and his father, Xue Jingfu, greeted them with cupped hands.

Upon seeing the two, Luo Mingda stood up and gestured with his hands, saying, “Dr. Xue, Brother Xue, it’s been a long time. I didn’t expect you both to return to Tongshan. Come, please have a seat.”

Xue Jingfu led Xue Baizhu to sit down, then waved his hand and smiled, saying, “I’m no longer a doctor now, Lord Luo. You shouldn’t address me that way anymore.”

Luo Mingda smiled and said, “You’re being modest. With your medical skills, if it weren’t for Dr. Ye’s poor health and your insistence on coming back, how could the emperor allow you to leave? Oh, why didn’t Dr. Ye come together?”

“Well, his health isn’t good, and it’s inconvenient for him to go out. He asked me to convey his greetings to the two of you,” Xue Jingfu sighed and explained.

“In that case, it was our oversight. We disturbed Dr. Ye’s rest. Our family has always kept your kindness in mind, and we must express our gratitude to both of you,” Luo Mingda said.

“Don’t mention it. It’s the duty of a physician. Lord Luo, there’s no need to worry about it,” Xue Jingfu replied.

After a few more polite exchanges, they began chatting. The dishes arrived quickly, and they ate and talked, enjoying themselves.

In the latter half of the meal, Xue Baizhu stood up and went downstairs to use the restroom.

As he passed by the kitchen, he casually glanced inside and caught sight of a familiar figure.

Is this one of the two gers who came to seek medical treatment at his house recently? So, he’s a cook at this restaurant?

Xue Baizhu didn’t pay much attention and went to the outhouse in the backyard to relieve himself. When he came out, he happened to see that kid and an old man talking by the well in the backyard.

He stood aside and planned to wait until they finished their conversation before washing his hands.

At that moment, his father also came down to relieve himself.

“Baizhu, what are you standing there for?”

“…,” Xue Baizhu paused for a moment, seeing both of them looking over, he quickly said, “Nothing, I’ll wash my hands and go up.”

When Chang Le saw that it was Xue Baizhu, his eyes widened in surprise.

Grandpa Chang asked, “What’s wrong? Do you know him?”

Chang Le nodded but didn’t specify who it was.

On the other hand, when Xue Jingfu passed by, he saw Grandpa Chang and stopped in his tracks. After looking at him for a while, he hesitantly asked, “Old brother, may I ask if your surname is Chang?”

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