The scent of chives flooded into his mouth. Old Master Cheng resisted and resisted, but in the end, he could not hold it back and vomited it all out.
“Blegh—!!”
Madam Cheng’s face immediately darkened. She stared at him for a moment, then turned around and walked away, fuming.
Old Master Cheng, unable to worry about anything else, hurriedly chased after her.
“Madam, Madam, wait for me…”
Jiang Mo arched her brows and turned to look at Chef Cheng beside her. “I will pack up the remaining buns. You can take them back for Old Master and Madam Cheng.”
Chef Cheng nodded helplessly. “That’s the only way.”
After they left, the restaurant became quiet. Jiang Mo took out paper and a brush, sat down, dipped the brush in ink, wrote a recruitment notice, and pasted it outside the door. She stood there, stroking her chin and admiring her work.
She stepped back on her tiptoes and accidentally bumped into someone.
She quickly turned around to apologize, but when she looked up, she discovered it was Shen Zhengze.
Unlike the crimson official robe she had seen him in last time, this time he was wearing the same attire he had on when they first met. The edges of his warm white robe were embroidered with cloud patterns woven from silver and gold threads, and the sunlight reflecting off them made them look even more eye-catching than that night.
Jiang Mo bowed. “My Lord.”
Shen Zhengze’s starry eyes circled Jiang Mo’s palm-sized face, but unfortunately, the veil concealed everything, and he could see nothing.
The woman before him kept her peach-blossom eyes lowered; her respectful expression was as if she were looking at a Buddha.
He nodded slightly and walked past her into the restaurant.
Mindful of Shen Zhengze’s presence, Han You lowered his voice and said excitedly as he passed Jiang Mo, “Boss Jiang, you made it very hard for our Lord to find you. Next time you move, remember to tell me.”
Jiang Mo looked blank.
“Why is the Lord looking for me?”
Han You’s eyes widened. “To eat, of course.”
Could Boss Jiang be unsure about the food she makes? It was so delicious—if not to eat, why would the Lord come here?
Jiang Mo: “…”
The breakfast hours were over, and it was not yet time for lunch.
She had Iris bring the bamboo lottery tube and personally attended to Shen Zhengze.
Her graceful figure placed the tube on the table. Her eyes were half-lowered, and the expression revealed as she lifted her eyelashes was exceptionally moving, making one unable to help but want to look again and again.
Shen Zhengze stared at the small red mole near her eye for a moment.
“Why do you always keep your face covered?”
Jiang Mo blinked and said in a low voice, “Replying to my Lord, this commoner was greedy for play when I was a child and accidentally fell, leaving a scar on my cheek. It has not healed for many years and is not fit to be seen by my Lord.”
She observed that this Lord Shen possessed the demeanor of a gentleman and should be someone who respected women. By saying this, he would not force her to remove the veil.
Sure enough, Shen Zhengze did not ask further.
Women were always very concerned about their appearance, and it made perfect sense that she would use a veil to cover up for fear of being ridiculed.
“This is the lottery tube. Whether my Lord would like breakfast or lunch, you may either draw a lot or order à la carte.”
Shen Zhengze swept his gaze over the tube but did not reach out.
“Just bring a few dishes at random; you decide.”
Jiang Mo couldn’t grasp his intentions. “Then does my Lord have any dietary restrictions?”
“Boss Jiang, our Lord is very easy to feed! He isn’t picky at all!” Han You shouted with a grin.
He sat at the table next door, but his eyes were fixed on the steamer in the distance that hadn’t been cleared away yet.
“I see there are buns! Bring me a steamer of every flavor! Thank you, Boss Jiang!”
Those were, after all, the steamed buns made by Boss Jiang; they must be especially delicious, hehehe.
If he couldn’t finish them, he would take them back to share with his colleagues—killing two birds with one stone!
Yay!
Jiang Mo couldn’t help but laugh. “No problem, coming right up!”
She took the lottery tube and ducked into the kitchen to put the buns on to steam.
Thinking for a moment, she took out four century eggs, cut them into crescent-shaped pieces, and seasoned them with chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, salt, and vinegar. Since she didn’t know Shen Zhengze’s taste, she added only a small amount of wild Sichuan pepper.
She rang the silver bell, and Iris followed the sound. When the girl saw the dressed century eggs, her eyes lit up.
“Another new dish! Why haven’t I ever seen you make this before, Miss?”
Seeing her expression, Jiang Mo feared the little girl would steal the dish, so she took a small bowl from the table.
“I know you’re greedy, so I saved half an egg for you.”
Calling it half an egg, it was really just one mouthful for Iris.
She quickly snatched up the century egg, gulping it down, and then contentedly carried the tray out to serve the food.
Han You waited for the steamed buns to arrive. He waited and waited, swallowing his saliva several times, but there was no sign of the buns, and his stomach rumbled from the craving.
Although only a short time had passed, it felt like years.
The moment the kitchen bell rang, he jerked his head around to stare at the swaying cloth curtain of the kitchen. When he saw Iris walk in carrying a tray, his eyes slowly lit up. He didn’t move his body, but his head followed the tray.
The tray was placed in front of his Lord at the next table, and the light in his eyes dimmed accordingly.
“Dressed century egg, please enjoy, my Lord,” Iris said.
Shen Zhengze hadn’t picked up his chopsticks yet. Han You watched eagerly from the side, but didn’t dare to move closer; he looked exactly like a dog craving food.
Seeing Shen Zhengze not moving, he became anxious.
“My Lord, why aren’t you eating? Do hurry and taste it.”
He hoped that Shen Zhengze wouldn’t like it and would wave his hand to reward it to him.
He absolutely wouldn’t be polite!!
Awoo awoo awoo.
Shen Zhengze finally moved.
He picked up a piece of the translucent century egg. The amber egg white and the greenish egg yolk were intertwined, causing his eyebrows to furrow slightly.
He had never seen an egg of this color before. It smelled a bit pungent, mixed with the acidic and spicy scent of ginger and vinegar; it was very strange.
He put the egg into his mouth and tasted it slowly.
The texture of the egg was not like a boiled chicken egg; the egg white had the elastic texture of gelatin, and the yolk dissolved at a touch, soft and glutinous. The flavor was something peculiar that he couldn’t describe, but he didn’t dislike it.
“How is it, my Lord? Is it delicious?”
Shen Zhengze’s expression remained unchanged. “It’s acceptable.”
Han You didn’t believe it.
Boss Jiang’s cooking was definitely especially, especially delicious—how could it be as ordinary as the Lord described?
What kind of egg was this?
He truly, really wanted to eat it QAQ.
Before he could drool over the plate of century eggs, the kitchen bell rang again.
Han You immediately returned to his seat, watching as Iris brought out several steamers of buns.
It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here.
Iris placed five steamers of buns and a bowl of porridge in front of him.
“Signature Three-Delicacy Buns, Signature Sauce Meat Buns, Cabbage and Pork Buns, Chive and Egg Buns, Radish and Mutton Buns, and this bowl is Century Egg and Lean Meat Porridge.”
In an instant, Han You felt like he possessed the whole world.
This time, it was Shen Zhengze’s turn to look to the side.
Han You picked up a cute little steamed bun, ignoring the fact that it was leaking juice, and stuffed it into his mouth.
“Awoo awoo awoo, this is delicious!! I love the Sauce Meat Buns!”
“Awoo awoo awoo, this is also delicious! I love the Three-Delicacy Buns!”
“The mutton buns are also super, super fragrant!!!”
“My Lord, you must taste these steamed buns! They are really too delicious!!”
Shen Zhengze silently gazed at the plate of century eggs in front of him.
Han You gave a hehe laugh. “Look at me, I almost forgot. My Lord doesn’t have any steamed buns there. Please wait a little longer.”
In the hierarchy of status, he could share a steamer of buns with his colleagues and brothers, but the Lord could not.
Shen Zhengze: “…”
Ding-ding—
He lifted his gaze toward the kitchen. Iris was bringing out another steamer of buns. This time, it must be his.
He pushed the plate of century eggs inward to make space for the buns.
Then, he watched as the steamer passed him by—and landed on Han You’s table.
Shen Zhengze closed his eyes, his ears filled with Han You’s exclamation of surprise.
“Is this also for me? That’s great!”
“Long live Boss Jiang!”