"Ah, yes, yes."
Shopkeeper Tian heaved a sigh of relief, turned his head towards Walnut and the siblings Youzi and Chengzi sitting beside him, and noticed that although they were sitting properly, their gazes were wandering around out of curiosity about the shop. He tentatively suggested to Hua Xiaomai and ng Yuhuai, "Why not have the young assistant take them out to play? Master Du ca in the morning and made a lot of cakes and pastries for the guests. Would it be alright for them to try so?"
ng Yuhuai turned to look at the three children and, with a smile, said, "There’s no need to trouble them like that, everyone has their own tasks, let’s not bother them. Walnut, I know you can’t sit still, if you want to look around, take your two sisters with you, but you mustn’t run around everywhere and definitely cannot enter the kitchen or get too close to the stove. I’ll give you... half a stick of incense’s ti, make a round and co back quickly, do you promise?"
"Okay!"
Walnut, who had been sitting bored, was delighted to hear this, quickly nodded in agreent, and imdiately jumped up and ran out with Youzi and Chengzi at a swift pace.
"It’s fine, Walnut is young and a bit of a troublemaker, but he knows his limits when instructed; he surely won’t ss around."
Seeing that Shopkeeper Tian was still hesitating, Hua Xiaomai turned to him with a smile, "We’ll sit here for a while, and once it’s warm, let’s look around. I know you’re busy, there’s no need to keep us company, go about your business."
Shopkeeper Tian also smiled, got up to leave, and had just taken a couple of steps when he rembered sothing and turned back, pondering, "Your family doesn’t often co here, and tomorrow you have to return to Fire Knife Village, why not stay for lunch at the shop today?"
"Sure."
Hua Xiaomai nodded without hesitation, "It’s already alti, and if we were to go ho now, I’d have to cook myself, so it’s better to take a break from cooking at the shop today — you don’t need to prepare much, just make a couple of dishes."
Shopkeeper Tian nodded repeatedly, a slight worry forming in his mind.
Just a couple of dishes? Are you joking? You and your spouse are the owners of Daoxiang Garden, and both of you have extraordinary culinary skills. Staying to eat here is just like evaluating the chefs, who would dare to skimp? Unless they don’t want to work here anymore!
Looks like the kitchen is going to be busy...
He agreed with a cheerful smile, lifted his foot to leave, but then saw the young assistant who was greeting guests at the entrance stumble in, because he had run too fast and was almost tripped by the doorstep.
"What are you doing?!"
Shopkeeper Tian felt embarrassed and scolded loudly.
"That..."
The young assistant gasped for breath and looked towards Hua Xiaomai, "Just now when several guests entered, they saw you and asked if you are the owner of Daoxiang Garden. I didn’t know what they ant by it and just nodded. Unexpectedly, they imdiately got excited and said that although they had been here many tis since this branch opened, they had never tasted dishes personally made by the owner and asked if you could cook... to showcase your skills and let them taste what truly good food is."
"How could that be?"
Before Hua Xiaomai could respond, Shopkeeper Tian quickly interjected, "The owners didn’t co today to cook; they hardly get to rest during the New Year..."
"So what should I say?" the young assistant asked, spreading his hands helplessly.
Hua Xiaomai turned to look at ng Yuhuai.
Well, honestly, she wasn’t too fond of the feeling of being asked to "show off her skills" wherever she went like a street perforr. What was this?
But then... Daoxiang Garden was her family’s business, and when a guest made a request, could she really say no?
"Why are you looking at ? Decide for yourself." ng Yuhuai smiled slightly.
"It seems I really can’t avoid being busy today..."
Hua Xiaomai gave a wry smile, stood up, and said, "Then I will go make a dish; you all keep quiet and let no one else know we are here, and please ask that group of guests not to publicize it."
"Alright!" The assistant, relieved of a burden, hurriedly ran out.
Shopkeeper Tian then led Hua Xiaomai to the main yard’s large kitchen, opened a specific stove for her use, and especially pulled in a kitchen helper to assist.
Hua Xiaomai tied her apron, washed her hands, and turned to the sowhat nervous Chef Du standing beside her, smiling, "What dishes have they ordered?"
"The cold dishes are all prepared," Chef Du imdiately responded, "The soup has also been stewed, there are also two stir-fried hot dishes that will be quick to finish. There’s just one dish of braised beef brisket left..."
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