Chapter 147: The Culinary Tycoon

Baizhu Gege

“Alright, it’s done.” Afraid that Brother Chang would get cold, Xue Baizhu helped him put on his footgear, tied it securely, and lowered his pant leg.

Looking up, he saw Brother Chang staring at him with a dazed expression, lost in his thoughts. Xue Baizhu called out again, “Brother Chang?”

Seeing him still unmoving, Xue Baizhu extended his index finger and gently tapped his forehead. “Brother Chang?”

“…Ah, what?!” Brother Chang startled, snapping back to reality. He nervously looked at Xue Baizhu and asked, “What did you say?”

“What are you thinking? I called you several times. It’s done.” Xue Baizhu chuckled as he looked at Brother Chang.

“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Brother Chang shook his head, lowered it, and tried to hide his guilty expression.

He wondered if the winter wind had blown his mind. How did he connect Young Master Xue and the words of the monk about a good partner?

But yesterday, the monk had just mentioned that he would encounter a good partner, and right after that, he was carried and hugged by Xue Baizhu. Brother Le even said that Xue Baizhu often ate the dim sum he made…

Anyone would misunderstand, right?!

As he pondered, Brother Chang recalled being carried and hugged by Xue Baizhu yesterday. The slightly bitter herbal scent, the shoulders that were not thick but strong and sturdy…

Wait, would a regular doctor carry a patient with a sprained foot horizontally like that?

Could it be that…

“Do you think I’m exceptionally handsome?” Xue Baizhu suddenly leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

Brother Chang snapped out of his thoughts and lifted his head to see the handsome face right in front of him. His breath hitched for a moment, and instinctively, he leaned back. After his breathing eased a bit, he said, “Why are you getting so close? You scared me.”

Xue Baizhu smiled with his eyes and said, “You’ve been staring at me. Did you notice that I’m actually quite good-looking?” As he spoke, he even winked at Brother Chang.

Well, he does look good, but…

Brother Chang blinked and then gave him a disdainful look, pushing his shoulder with his hand. He said, “Yes, yes, Young Master Xue is the most handsome. Are we done now?”

“Alright.” Xue Baizhu nodded earnestly, standing upright. He said, “I’ve noted that. I’m satisfied with this evaluation.”

Brother Chang: “…I’ve never seen anyone with thicker skin than you.”

Xue Baizhu looked at Brother Chang’s helpless expression, smiled and squatted down, picked up the medicine jar to go to the well to fetch water and clean it. His servant saw this and took it from him to wash.

“Do you still want to go to the hall?” Xue Baizhu asked.

“Yes, just get me a chair to sit on,” Brother Chang nodded, took the crutch beside him, and was about to get up.

Xue Baizhu supported him and couldn’t help but say, “Shall I carry you?”

Brother Chang glanced at him and silently raised the crutch in his hand.

“Alright then, isn’t it faster to be carried?” Xue Baizhu touched his nose and said.

Brother Chang lowered his head, smiled, and walked to the hall with his crutch.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Xue Baizhu quickly brought over a chair and asked, “Where should I place it?”

Brother Chang pointed to the table where the meal tray was placed, indicating for him to put it there.

After sitting down, Brother Chang said, “Thank you, Young Master Xue. You should go and have your breakfast quickly. It’s much later than usual, and I don’t want to delay your time at the medicine hall.”

Xue Baizhu replied, “This can be considered my medical rounds.”

Meanwhile, Xue Baizhu’s servant, Guipi, watched him. He had already prepared his own breakfast and was waiting for Xue Baizhu’s instructions.

“Hold on, let me take a look,” Xue Baizhu said to Brother Chang and went for a walk around. Then he instructed the servant to bring a sticky rice chicken, a red bean bun, and a bowl of savory bone porridge.

Brother Chang had been secretly observing and was somewhat surprised to see that Xue Baizhu had indeed brought the two dim sum he had made that morning.

“You can eat both sweet and savory dishes like this?” Brother Chang asked.

Xue Baizhu smiled and said, “I eat them separately.”

Brother Chang looked at him, pursed his lips, smiled, but didn’t say anything.

In the following days, Xue Baizhu continued to come on time to change Brother Chang’s medicine.

Brother Chang paid special attention each day and noticed that Xue Baizhu would always take the dim sum he made, along with a bowl of porridge.

This puzzled Brother Chang.

Usually, he only made dim sum in the morning, and he would only make them until just before the shop opened. So, he would make dim sum that required more time and were sold in larger quantities, like steamed buns and dumplings that needed to be steamed again.

Moreover, Brother Chang didn’t have a fixed schedule for making pastries. He would make different ones each day, and it was never certain. How did Xue Baizhu manage to bring exactly what he made each time?

Brother Chang decided to give it another try.

The next day, Brother Chang deliberately didn’t make buns, dumplings, sticky rice chicken, and instead prepared porridge, sticky rice with pork ribs, and braised chicken feet as side dishes.

After changing the dressing in the morning, Xue Baizhu went to the stove as usual, wandering around. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, he stopped, frowned, and took another round, carefully looking again. Indeed, it wasn’t there.

Brother Chang watched him frown and wander around, unable to help but laugh.

He looked silly…

“Brother Chang, you didn’t make any dim sum today?” Xue Baizhu asked as he approached.

Brother Chang nodded and smiled, “Hmm, I didn’t.”

“Oh, I see. No wonder…” Xue Baizhu suddenly realized, no wonder he couldn’t find them.

Brother Chang smiled and looked at him, raising an eyebrow, “No wonder what?”

Xue Baizhu said disappointedly, “I won’t be able to eat the dim sum you made today.”

Seeing the expression on his face, Brother Chang casually said, “You make it sound like you eat my dim sum every day. With so many dim sum every day, can you even tell which ones I made?”

Xue Baizhu winked at Brother Chang and smiled, “I do eat your dim sum every day, and I really can tell which ones you made. Impressed?”

Brother Chang shook his head and said, “I don’t believe you.” Hurry and say, “I don’t believe you, show me.”

To his surprise, Xue Baizhu didn’t take the bait and laughed, “If you don’t believe me, it’s fine. I know, that’s enough. Hehe, you made sticky rice chicken and red bean buns yesterday, right?”

Guipi came over and asked Xue Baizhu what he wanted for breakfast, and Xue Baizhu replied, “Anything, just like you.” After all, neither of them were made by Brother Chang.

Brother Chang blinked and asked, “How did you know?”

Xue Baizhu raised an eyebrow and asked, “Do you want to know?”

Brother Chang nodded.

Xue Baizhu immediately bent down and whispered in Brother Chang’s ear, “If you call me ‘Gege’, I’ll tell you, okay?”

(T/N: In Chinese, “gege” (哥哥) is a term used to address an older brother or a male friend who is older than the speaker. It is a term of endearment and respect. On the other hand, “ge” (哥) can simply mean “brother” and is a more generic term. Using “gege” instead of just “ge” adds a sense of familiarity and closeness in the relationship. It can indicate a level of affection and intimacy between the speaker and the person being addressed.)

Brother Chang’s mouth twitched, and he raised an eyebrow, looking at Xue Baizhu as if he were looking at a fool. What was this idiot thinking?

Calling him “Gege”?

Did he think he was the kind of gentle and delicate little brother?

Xue Baizhu noticed that Brother Chang’s expression was off and hesitantly extended a finger, saying, “Just once?”

Brother Chang: ……

Seeing Brother Chang’s indifference, Xue Baizhu sighed and secretly glanced at him, shaking his head in a “heartbroken” manner. He said, “Ah, I come early in the morning to change your medicine, and not only can’t I taste the dim sum you make, but you won’t even call me ‘gege.'”

Brother Chang: …The feigned sadness tactic isn’t supposed to be used like this!

Seeing his “pretending to be sad” expression, Brother Chang was moved and patted his arm.

“What’s wrong? Are you willing now?” Xue Baizhu looked at Brother Chang with shining eyes.

Brother Chang beckoned him with his hand and said, “Bend down.”

Xue Baizhu immediately bent down, bringing his ear close to Brother Chang, his expression extremely focused, afraid of missing a single word and suffering a great loss.

Brother Chang pursed his lips and smiled. A mischievous glint flashed in his lively eyes as he softly called out to Xue Baizhu, “White… Pig Gege.”

“Ah…” Xue Baizhu, who was initially enjoying the moment with slightly narrowed eyes, upon closer reflection, realized that the tone didn’t quite fit. He looked at Brother Chang with suspicion and asked, “Hey, wait a minute, Brother Chang, what did you just call me?”

Brother Chang smiled with narrowed eyes and replied, “White… Pig Gege, of course.”

White… Pig Gege…

(T/N: ‘Zhu’ from Xue Baizhu’s name kinda sound like pig in pronunciation, and Bai = White. So, it’s Xue White Pig.)

This time Xue Baizhu heard it clearly and was instantly speechless. He felt a mix of anger and affection, and playfully flicked Brother Chang’s forehead with his hand, scolding with a smile, “You…!”

Brother Chang rubbed his forehead and immediately glared at him, saying, “I did call you! Hurry up and say it.”

Xue Baizhu glanced at Brother Chang with a hint of resentment, let out a sigh, and said, “Because it’s something you made. It’s different. I’m going to eat now.”

After saying that, Xue Baizhu headed to the dining area.

Brother Chang lowered his hand from his forehead and frowned.

Different from what I made? Aren’t they all similar?

As Xue Baizhu finished his meal and went to the medicine hall, Brother Chang was still pondering over this matter, not even hearing him bid farewell.

Xue Baizhu smirked, haha, let him keep thinking about me all day!

Although he didn’t get to eat Brother Chang’s dim sum today, nor did he hear “Baizhu Gege,” he did receive a “White Pig Gege.” Nonetheless, Xue Baizhu went to the medicine hall in a rather good mood.

Chang Le didn’t need acupuncture today. The first month of treatment had ended, and Dr. Ye said the results were satisfactory. From now on, he would go for treatment every two days.

During breakfast, he noticed Xue Baizhu and Brother Chang engrossed in a lively conversation. In the past few days, he had clearly felt Brother Chang’s attitude shifting. They were even whispering to each other just now.

Chang Le told Yu Qingze to go find Brother Chang, and he headed over.

Yu Qingze watched as Chang Le directly carried Brother Chang to the back, shaking his head and chuckling. His lover always took the unconventional route.

Inside Brother Chang and his mother’s room, Chang Le placed Brother Chang on the lower bunk bed, closed the door, and hurriedly sat down himself. He then started gesturing to Brother Chang.

Chang Le: So, how is it? Does he eat your dim sum every day? You’ve been observing for many days, right? Did you figure it out?

Brother Chang nodded and said, “Yes. Today, I intentionally didn’t make dim sum. I made ribs and chicken feet instead, and then he knew I didn’t make dim sum. I don’t know how he figured it out.”

Chang Le: Did you ask him?

Brother Chang furrowed his brow and replied, “I did. He said that what I make is different from what others make, and he can recognize it.”

Chang Le blinked and smiled as he gestured, saying, “He really likes you, otherwise, how could he recognize even the snacks you make?”

Brother Chang’s face blushed slightly as he thought about Xue Baizhu’s words and actions in the past few days. He said, “I think… it seems so.”

Before, he thought chatting with Xue Baizhu was just fun and didn’t think much about it in that direction. He didn’t pay special attention. But these past few days, he observed that Xue Baizhu always tried to get close to him whenever he had the chance, wanted to carry him on his back, and his words and actions were subtly filled with hints of affection and confession. It was hard for him to ignore.

Finally, he realized it. Chang Le became spirited and asked, “What about you? Do you like him?”

Brother Chang blushed again, but he and Chang Le were always open about their feelings, and this was something he could only share with Chang Le. He nodded gently and said, “Yes, I do like him.”

Chang Le was happy, a smile lighting up his face as he gestured, saying, “That’s great! The abbot really is wise. He said you would meet a good person, and you did!”

Brother Chang also nodded and said, “Yes, it’s quite accurate. I’ll go and make an offering to the abbot another day. But… he hasn’t explicitly said that he likes me.”

Chang Le bumped his shoulder playfully and gestured, saying, “Maybe he thinks you don’t like him. Why not give him a hint and see how he responds?”

Brother Chang shook his head and said, “I won’t give him any hints. He hasn’t even told me why he can recognize the dim sum I make. Besides, with his background, even if he likes me, would his family agree to him marrying a country boy like me?”

Chang Le paused for a moment and gestured, saying, “They would agree. You’re so great.”

Brother Chang shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

Chang Le cheered him on again, gesturing, “Didn’t the abbot say that if you meet your destined partner, don’t let it slip away?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I almost forgot about that,” Brother Chang scratched his head and said.

Chang Le smiled and gestured, “You told me before, didn’t you? That you have to fight for your own happiness, be confident? I listened to your words and found happiness. Now, listen to my words. You’re amazing, and whoever gets to marry you will be lucky! It’s not easy to meet someone you like, so seize the opportunity and don’t let it slip away!”

Brother Chang looked at him and suddenly hugged Chang Le, saying, “Yes, I understand. Brother Le, thank you.”

Brother Chang thought about it all night and came to a realization. Why think so much? It didn’t feel like himself at all.

The next morning, Brother Chang made dim sum as usual.

Xue Baizhu was clearly delighted and approached him, saying, “Today, my favorite meat buns and shumai!”

Brother Chang squinted and asked him with a smile, “Do you like them?”

Xue Baizhu nodded, “Yes, I do.”

Brother Chang waved at him, gesturing for him to bend down.

Xue Baizhu obediently bent down.

“Do you like me? Baizhu gege.”

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