Chapter 1570: The Little Lotus Shows Its Sharp Tip

"Nonsense, how could there be a water monster in the fish pond when everything is fine?"

"I fish for three days and nothing bites, but the moment you go out, the fish bite? That could be a coincidence, but suddenly someone sees a water monster—who else could it be but you?"

She spoke with righteous confidence, but it could not withstand scrutiny.

Sheng Hanyu pressed for the truth: "It still doesn't add up. Based on that alone, you couldn't have guessed the water monster was me. Tell me, what other reason is there?"

Shi Youxuan glared at him: "Old fox, you caught me. The reason is simple: the water where I was sitting was very clear, and I saw the 'water monster' hooking fish onto my line."

Sheng Hanyu:...

"Even if you saw it, I was dressed so thoroughly, how could you tell it was me?"

"Of course I knew it was you. I discovered you sneaking around hiding a wetsuit at home..."

Sheng Hanyu:...

He had gone to such great lengths to arrange everything, thinking his wife didn't know, wanting to give her a "surprise."

Yet she knew it all, and still acted surprised, boasting triumphantly about catching fish while everyone else was discussing the water monster!

To have a wife like this, this life is worth it.

He took his wife's hand, and the couple interlaced their fingers.

The whole family was having a reunion dinner. Zichen had just returned and insisted on cooking himself, so Li Dashao came over to help.

The food was cooked and fragrant. He was about to leave, but Zichen grabbed him: "Brother Li, don't go. Stay and eat a little with us."

"That wouldn't be right. It's your family dinner; it's not appropriate for an outsider like me to stay," Li Dashao declined.

"You are not an outsider. I have something to discuss with you. I don't have an older brother, so you are my older brother." With that one sentence from Zichen, Li Dashao was so moved he nearly shed tears.

A university student from Jiangzhou University acknowledging him, someone who hadn't even finished middle school, as his older brother—it was such an honor.

"Alright, brother. Since you treat me as your older brother, from now on I will treat you as my own younger brother." He didn't just say this to be polite; from that moment on, that was exactly how he acted.

During the meal.

Zichen said he wanted to open a small restaurant, but he had never run one before and asked his older brother for some guidance.

He also wanted to ask Li Dashao to help him find two people: one as a Second Chef and one as an apprentice.

The requirement was that their character had to be reliable.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, that's all. I'll have to trouble you, Brother."

Li Dashao slapped his thigh and said: "Why is that any trouble? Damn, if news got out that you were looking for a Second Chef and an apprentice, wouldn't people break their heads trying to get in?"

"You don't even need me for a good thing like this. Even if you just wrote a notice and posted it at the village entrance, you'd have dozens of people showing up in less than half a day. Believe me?"

Li Dashao was not exaggerating.

Zichen had not yet entered the world of the trade, but the world was already full of his legends.

And legends are things that become more exaggerated the more they are told; Zichen was practically becoming a legend in the culinary world!

There are many legends.

But there is probably only one person, Sheng Zichen, who became a legend before even entering the industry.

Zichen said: "Brother, this matter still needs to be handled by you. I don't trust people who come on their own. I have no other requirements, only one: good character."

"It doesn't matter if they are smart or stupid, but if their character is flawed, I definitely don't want them."

Only then did Li Dashao understand why Zichen wanted to entrust such a good opportunity to him.

First, it was because he had many friends in the culinary world and wide connections.

Second, and most importantly, it was because he trusted him, and therefore trusted the people he recommended!

"Don't worry, brother."

Li Dashao patted his chest in assurance: "I will definitely choose carefully for you, but it will take some time. When do you need the people?"

"Before school starts, is that okay?"

There was still one month until school started.

Li Dashao had a quick temper; he thought Zichen needed people by the next day. Now that he heard there was a month, he immediately agreed: "Sure, no problem at all. It won't take a month; I'll have it done in a week at most."

But he broke his word.

A week passed, and no suitable candidates had been finalized!

The reason was simple: there were too many people applying, so many that it was impossible to choose, and he was dazzled by the options.

Many of the people who wanted to be Zichen's Second Chef were actually head chefs at five-star hotels.

Now they were lowering themselves, scrambling to be Zichen's Second Chef.

And those who wanted to be apprentices were not all novices; many were already head chefs or Second Chefs themselves, yet they still wanted to come and be his apprentice.

These people were willing to lower their status to become apprentices, but of course, it wasn't purely because they wanted to learn skills; everyone had their own calculations.

Li Dashao took the filtered list to find Zichen, but Zichen didn't want any of them.

The reason was simple: "The temple is too small to hold a big Buddha."

The restaurant he planned to open was only a small place of forty or fifty square meters, the customer base was mainly students, and the consumption was primarily economical and affordable. What would he need a five-star head chef for?

In the end, he selected a Second Chef who had been stir-frying dishes at a small restaurant for three years.

The apprentice was even simpler: a boy who had chosen to become an apprentice because of family misfortune and could not continue his studies.

Although the person was recommended by Li Dashao, he couldn't understand: "Why choose him? This kid isn't even skilled with a kitchen knife yet. Wouldn't someone who has worked in a kitchen be easier to train?"

"Brother, don't you think his experience is very similar to someone's? Think about who he is like."

There was no need to think at all.

This boy's experience was very similar to Li Dashao's own past.

It was precisely because of this that he had written the person's name on the recommendation list!

"Heh, so you want someone like me?"

"That's right. I trust Big Brother, and I'm willing to trust people who are like Big Brother. Someone like you is a person of impeccable character."

Zichen did not expect that, just because of this one sentence, Li Dashao and that apprentice would later become his most capable right-hand men.

Every time Zichen encountered difficulties, these two people stood by his side, standing firmly with him, never leaving or forsaking him!

The manpower had been found.

But the restaurant's name hadn't been chosen yet; this was Zichen's first "venture," so the name naturally had to be chosen with care.

He discussed it with Yuxin: "What do you think about naming the restaurant Yuchen Snacks? A rainy morning, it's very romantic and very warm."

Yuxin shook her head and said, "Not very good."

"There aren't many people out on a rainy morning. You're opening a restaurant, and a restaurant needs booming business. What's the use of being that romantic? Few people is inauspicious, so let's change the name."

Zichen explained: "This is what I was thinking: we take one character from each of our names to use as the restaurant's name."

Even if he hadn't explained it, Yuxin had already figured it out.

But she pretended not to have noticed and even put on a very surprised look: "Your restaurant has my name in it? Why?"

Zichen corrected her: "It's not my restaurant, it's our restaurant; you have a thirty percent stake in it."

Yuxin let out a "pfft" and laughed.

She asked: "How big is your restaurant that it even needs shares? Since you're giving me shares, why isn't it half? You even went and made it thirty percent, I'm not happy."