“Delicious. I’ll make it for my brother again next time.”
Lin Youyou watched Qingli clear the dishes from the table. “Since Brother is done, you should get back to work. Qingli and I will head back first. We’ll stop by for a stroll on the way.”
“Alright.” Lin Jingbo nodded. “I’ll see you out.”
He escorted Lin Youyou to the carriage, then took out a pouch from his robes and handed it to Qingli.
“If the young lady sees anything she likes, just buy it. If it’s not enough, come back and I’ll give you more.”
“Yes, Young Master.” Qingli naturally wouldn’t refuse on behalf of her lady. This was the elder brother’s intention toward his younger sister—what was wrong with a brother giving his sister some money?
Qingli boarded the carriage. Lin Jingbo watched as it slowly drove away, only then returning to his work with a pleased expression.
Inside the carriage, Qingli handed the pouch to Lin Youyou and repeated his words.
Lin Youyou gave a light laugh. It seemed this brother truly treated her well.
“Which of Mother’s dowry shops is the closest to here?”
“Mm… Miss, it’s a restaurant. It’s just a short ride ahead,” Qingli replied after thinking.
“Then let’s go there today. We might as well eat something on the way,” Lin Youyou said calmly.
“Yes, Miss.”
Qingli stepped out and spoke softly to the coachman.
Soon after, the carriage stopped. Qingli lifted the curtain.
“Miss, we’ve arrived. Let me help you down.”
“Mm.”
With Qingli’s support, Lin Youyou stepped down and stood before the restaurant.
Above the entrance hung three large characters: “Guibin Lou” (VIP Pavilion).
Her eye twitched slightly.
She felt like she had seen this name in some old costume drama before.
Although the name was hard to describe in words, she said nothing and walked inside.
What she expected was a bustling place full of customers.
What she saw instead was a few scattered diners—so few that there were more waiters than guests. The shopkeeper was even dozing off behind the counter.
Qingli said nothing and helped her sit in a slightly secluded corner of the hall. The table was a bit greasy—not very clean.
A waiter slowly walked over, lazily asking, “Miss, what would you like to eat?”
“What are your specialties?” Lin Youyou asked, glancing at the empty cup—there wasn’t even water.
“You can just look at what you like. The dishes are all listed on the wall,” the waiter said, pointing.
On the wall hung more than ten wooden plaques. The dishes written on them were all common items found in any other restaurant.
“I’ll have one of each dish on the wall,” Lin Youyou said.
“You… can you even finish that?” the waiter asked in surprise.
“If I can’t finish it, I’ll pack it to go. Go on.”
“But…” The waiter hesitated. “Some of these dishes… we don’t even have anymore.”
“Then bring me everything you do have.”
“Alright, please wait.”
The waiter left.
Qingli’s face darkened. She stood and went to the counter.
“Shopkeeper, some water. Our young lady is thirsty to death.”
“What would you like? Green tea or flower tea?” the shopkeeper replied immediately.
“Can’t we just have water?” Qingli said flatly.
“Guests here usually order tea. No one orders water,” the shopkeeper answered as if it were obvious.
“Then bring a pot of flower tea,” Lin Youyou’s voice came from the table.
“Right away!” the shopkeeper responded cheerfully, then called out, “Send a pot of flower tea to that young lady’s table! Quickly!”
“Yes!”
A few minutes later, the tea arrived. Qingli looked at the teapot with a few floating chrysanthemum flowers and her face darkened. She opened her mouth, thinking this was her madam’s dowry shop…
But seeing that the young lady herself had not lost her temper, she swallowed her anger.
Was Lin Youyou not angry?
No—she was. She was just curious to see what other ridiculous things could happen.
And indeed, things became even more absurd.
Out of more than ten dishes, only five were served. It took nearly an hour to bring them out—even though no other guests were ordering.
Lin Youyou took a deep breath, calmed herself, and tasted each dish.
After trying them all, she set down her chopsticks.
How to put it?
No specialty. No flavor. Completely ordinary.
And slightly stale.
She exhaled and called out, “Waiter, pack it up.”
The waiter froze. “Our shop doesn’t have takeout boxes. Did you bring one?”
“I did. Qingli, go get it.”
“Yes.”
Qingli went out to fetch the food box.
Then Lin Youyou asked, “Shouldn’t these be standard items in a restaurant? Why don’t you have them?”
The waiter sighed deeply.
“About a year ago, our head chef offended the previous owner and was dismissed. He took his apprentices with him. We couldn’t hire a decent new chef, so the food became worse and worse.”
“Customers gradually stopped coming. The shop started losing money. More waiters were dismissed. Only two of us are left now. The owner doesn’t make any profit and has given up on managing this place.”
“We haven’t been paid for half a year. We can’t even afford fresh ingredients anymore. Who would still be motivated to work?”
Lin Youyou understood now. Her anger faded a little—after all, they hadn’t been paid in half a year.
“Who is your owner?” she asked.
“I heard it used to be Madam Lin’s shop, but now it’s under Second Madam Lin. Ever since the change, it feels like the fortune turned bad,” the waiter said bitterly.
If not for unpaid wages and the shop still not closing, they would have left long ago.
Qingli returned with the food box and began packing the dishes with the waiter.
The waiter continued speaking as if he had opened a floodgate.
“Now we can’t even afford proper ingredients. Everything served is leftover from yesterday. If this continues, the shop won’t last ten days before shutting down.”
“If I had known earlier, I would have left the month wages stopped. At least I wouldn’t have wasted so much time…”
Lin Youyou said nothing. She took out a silver ingot and handed it over.
“No need to give change. The extra is your tip.”
The waiter’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Thank you, miss! You’re truly a good person!”
After half a year, he finally saw money again—even if not much, it was still money.
Back in the carriage, not a trace of a smile remained on Lin Youyou’s face.
Qingli didn’t even dare breathe too loudly.