Chapter 139: The Culinary Tycoon

Changes

By the time the trial was over, it was already evening. In winter, the days grew dark quickly, and by the time the rooster crowed, the sky had turned black.

The boats at the dock had ceased operation, and the villagers from Wulipo who had come to testify couldn’t return home at this hour. So, Yu Qingze specially invited Cao Yuan and the people from their village to have dinner at his restaurant.

Cao Yuan had already tasted Yu Qingze’s cooking before, so he gladly accepted the invitation.

The other villagers were unfamiliar with this area, so they could only follow Cao Yuan and his brother Cao Ming. Seeing Cao Yuan’s agreement, they followed along and planned to have their meal first and then stay at the inn arranged by the county government.

Because they had attended the court session in the afternoon, the restaurant was closed in the afternoon. Everyone had gone to the county government to witness the trial. After leaving the courtroom, the employees who lived in the city returned home, while the emloyees from Niutou Village went back to their shop.

When Xiaoshu, who was watching the shop, saw them return and noticed the smiles on their faces, he guessed that they had succeeded. Excitedly, he asked, “How did it go? Tell me quickly.”

Da Song said, “You didn’t see it; it was amazing. Come in, let me tell you…” Da Song pulled Xiaoshu into the kitchen and, while washing vegetables, excitedly recounted the whole process to him.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Xiaoshu burst into laughter and exclaimed, “Serves them right! This whole family isn’t a bunch of good people. What a joke, dogs biting dogs, full of nonsense, hahaha!”

“That’s right! You accuse me, I accuse you. What a family, a real family isn’t like that.”

“Fortunately, they are like that. Otherwise, this matter wouldn’t have been resolved so quickly.”

“That’s true.”

Others also started discussing the matter.

Yu Qingze arranged Cao Yuan and the others in the hall, then entered the kitchen. He saw Chang Le rolling up his sleeves, preparing to cook, so he took the spatula from his hand and asked, “Are you tired? You didn’t rest much today. Would you like to take a break now? I’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”

Because he went to watch the trial, Chang Le only rested for a while after his acupuncture treatment today.

Chang Le shook his head and gestured, indicating that he was fine. He said, “It’s alright, I’ve recovered. Lord Cai and the others will be coming later, so we need to hurry.”

“Are you really not tired?” Yu Qingze confirmed once again.

Chang Le nodded and took the spatula back from Yu Qingze’s hand. He gestured, telling him not to take his spatula and to get his own.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze washed his hands and started cooking.

After leaving the courtroom, Steward Zhou had already informed him that Lord Cai would be bringing two officials for dinner tonight, and there would likely be several other officials from the county yamen accompanying them. Furthermore, Lord Cai had mentioned that Yu Qingze should keep him company and not eat beforehand.

Since Lord Cai and the others hadn’t arrived yet, they could prepare the dishes for the Wulipo villagers and themselves first.

“Boss Yu, take a look, is this amount of water enough?” One of the helpers, who had finished washing, came in holding a jug and asked Yu Qingze to check.

Yu Qingze looked and nodded, saying, “It’s fine. Thank you, my friend.”

The helper chuckled and said, “No trouble at all, it’s just a small matter.” With that, he carried the jug and went to the backyard to brew medicine.

“Big brother, there are customers outside who saw that we’ve opened the door and asked if we’re open at this hour,” Jiabao came in and asked.

Yu Qingze turned his head and replied, “We’re not open today.”

“Oh,” Jiabao responded and went out to inform the customers.

The employees continued washing and cutting vegetables, while Yu Qingze, Chang Le, and Jiabao cooked together. They quickly prepared the dishes for Cao Yuan and the others at their table, as well as their own dinner.

Cao Yuan’s older brother and the other villagers were experiencing such delicious food for the first time. Apart from saying “it’s delicious,” they couldn’t think of any other words to describe it. They all just ate with their heads down.

Cao Ming expressed his admiration to Cao Yuan, saying, “Boss Yu’s culinary skills are something we can never catch up to in our lifetime. No wonder Jia Xiaoren wanted to deal with Boss Yu like that. With this kind of flavor in the neighborhood, his business there must not be doing well.”

Cao Yuan nodded and said, “Yes, with Boss Yu’s culinary skills, he won’t have to worry about business anywhere he goes.”

Just after Yu Qingze and the others finished their meal, Lord Cai completed the follow-up matters and brought the two officials and Luo Mingda with him.

Yu Qingze personally escorted them upstairs and led them to the prepared private room.

After ordering the dishes, Lord Cai introduced Yu Qingze to the two officials, saying, “Lord Huang and Lord Li, this is Yu Qingze, the person I mentioned to you earlier. He’s the one who came up with the foot-operated thresher and the wind-powered cart.”

The two officials looked at Yu Qingze with some surprise. Wasn’t he the plaintiff in today’s court case?

“Aze, this is Lord Huang, an official from the Ministry of Revenue, and Lord Li, an official from the Ministry of Works. They were sent here to learn about the new farming tools,” Lord Cai further introduced Yu Qingze.

“Yu Qingze greets Lord Huang and Lord Li.” Yu Qingze clasped his hands and bowed respectfully.

Lord Huang chuckled and said, “I thought that someone who could come up with such agricultural tools would be an experienced farmer. I didn’t expect it to be you, Boss Yu.”

Yu Qingze smiled inwardly, thinking that he couldn’t take credit for these agricultural tools as they were the result of the wisdom of his ancestors. However, he couldn’t say that outright, so he found an excuse and replied, “I came up with the idea because I saw how hard everyone worked during the harvest, and it just came to me.”

“Boss Yu is truly talented!” Lord Li praised and then said, “If Boss Yu has the time, I would like to learn from you about the principles behind the foot-operated thresher.”

This topic had been discussed for a while, so Lord Cai quickly interjected, “Lord Li, there’s no rush at the moment. Let him cook first. Today, I brought you here mainly to taste his culinary skills. Tomorrow, we can visit Niutou Village, where you can see the actual equipment, and then you can ask your questions.”

Lord Li nodded and said, “Alright, that sounds good.”

Lord Cai then asked Yu Qingze, “Do you have time to accompany us to the village tomorrow?”

Naturally, Yu Qingze wouldn’t delay Lord Cai’s invitation. He nodded and replied, “I can.”

“What about the restaurant here? Does it need any attention?” Lord Cai asked.

“No problem, I will make the arrangements,” Yu Qingze replied.

“Alright, we’ll come to pick you up early tomorrow morning,” Lord Cai agreed.

Yu Qingze went down to the kitchen and informed Jiabao and the others that he would accompany the officials to the village tomorrow. Since Chang Le had to go for acupuncture and wouldn’t be able to cook in the afternoon, and Jiabao alone would be too busy, he decided to close the restaurant for the day. He instructed Jiabao to sell cured meats with Xiaoshu and Da Song tomorrow, specifically for that purpose and not to open the restaurant.

After preparing a table full of delicious dishes, Yu Qingze went upstairs to dine with the officials.

The two officials praised Yu Qingze’s culinary skills once again, expressing that they had never tasted such delicacies before. Their impression of Yu Qingze grew even more favorable.

Not only did he come up with such excellent agricultural tools, but his cooking skills were also exceptional!

During the meal, Lord Huang looked at Luo Mingda and remarked, “It feels like you, Lord Luo, have changed a lot compared to before, after not seeing you for half a year.”

Lord Li nodded in agreement and said, “Yes, there has been quite a significant change.”

Luo Mingda smiled and asked, “Where do you see any change? It’s still the same. It’s only been half a year. How much can one change?”

Lord Huang shook his head and said, “Lord Luo, you’re mistaken. Sometimes, half a year can truly change a person, depending on what they have experienced.”

Luo Mingda smiled in response.

Lord Li chimed in, “Today, Lord Luo led the defendants and witnesses step by step in the courtroom, revealing the truth. His quick thinking and outstanding abilities are remarkable.”

If this had happened half a year ago, Lord Huang and Lord Li couldn’t have imagined that the notorious dandy Luo Mingda, known for his indulgent lifestyle in the capital, would have such a side to him.

Upon hearing their praise, Lord Cai also nodded and complimented, “The case was handled well today.”

Luo Mingda was delighted to hear the compliments from the officials and said, “Ah, you gentlemen may not know, but in matters of governance, I enjoy handling court cases the most. It’s the most interesting aspect for me. The other administrative tasks can be quite tedious, but fortunately, we have the deputy county magistrate and others to handle them.”

The deputy county magistrate and the chief clerk exchanged a glance, each seeing the helplessness in the other’s eyes.

This Lord Luo was truly peculiar. While other county officials disliked handling court cases and would doze off at the sight of piles of administrative documents, he would immediately become alert upon hearing the sound of the gavel outside.

In the county yamen, there weren’t many major cases involving loss of life, but Lord Luo surprisingly found enjoyment even in trivial disputes among the common people. He would listen attentively and handle the cases with precision.

However, because of this, there were no backlogs of cases in Tongshan City over the past six months. In fact, some old cases had been resolved.

Lord Cai chuckled and said, “Since you have an interest in this area, how about you handle the backlog of old cases when you have time?”

Lord Luo widened his eyes upon hearing this and said, “Lord Cai, don’t oppress your subordinates like that. I was just making a passing comment. Please don’t take it seriously.”

Lord Cai laughed and replied, “I actually took it seriously. How about this? There’s still a month until the Lunar New Year. You can handle three old cases by then, and I’ll come to inspect after the festival.”

Luo Mingda: …

Everyone laughed.

The two officials were satisfied with the meal, and all the guests were well-fed and had their fill of wine.

Before leaving, Lord Cai specially reminded Yu Qingze, “I listened to the trial today, and the people from the Jia Family are accustomed to being overbearing. They probably won’t let it go easily. Since you have so many people working for you, you need to be cautious and careful during this period.”

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze nodded solemnly and said, “Thank you for your reminder, Lord Cai.”

Lord Cai asked, “Do you need me to assign some people to help you?”

After considering for a moment, Yu Qingze thought that Cai Mansion had its own guards, and Lord Cai himself had bodyguards. It would be good if he could receive their assistance. However, he asked, “Will it affect you and your household?”

Lord Cai whispered to him, “There’s no problem with that. As long as you get through this period, the Jia Family won’t have the ability to cause trouble for you in the future.”

Yu Qingze raised an eyebrow, sensing the deeper meaning behind Lord Cai’s words…

He replied, “Alright, then I’ll trouble you to assign a few people to me, Lord Cai.”

That evening, after Lord Cai returned home, he instructed four individuals to seek out Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze divided the four individuals into pairs, assigning two to watch over the snack shop and two to watch over the restaurant. As long as they kept an eye on things after everyone went to sleep, he and Chang Le could sleep soundly at night and have the energy to work during the day.

With the presence of the two guards, Yu Qingze and Chang Le became more cautious during Chang Le’s bathing time, ensuring that the doors were securely closed when entering or leaving the room. Fortunately, during this period, they couldn’t share a room, as having two strangers in the restaurant would have been inconvenient.

The next day, Yu Qingze accompanied Lord Cai and others back to the village to see the agricultural tools and crops, while Chang Le went with Brother Chang to the Xue Family for treatment.

Not long after they left, Dahe returned with two large buckets and a big bundle.

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Author’s Note: It is said that official complaints are the most deadly~

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