I am a Chef in the Modern Era

Chapter 40: Mixed Vegetables Bibimbap

Translated by Kollumceti of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Contrary to expectations, this brief episode did not bring about any substantial changes in the lives of the two people. After all, Shen Fu did not intend to go back, and Lin ShuYi did not intend to have any contact with the Shen Fu that was present when he was away from this place.

As long as Shen Fu was still here, there would not much change in their lives.

His top priority was to reopen the XiQin Restaurant and expand it, but he could not do much with his current strength. Shen Fu could help him, and he also intended to accept Shen Fu’s help. However, Lin ShuYi was unwilling to accept Shen Fu’s help based on empty promises even if he knew that Shen Fu was not joking and he was really rich.

Even financial matters should be settled clearly between brothers, let alone between him and Shen Fu.

So at noon on this day, Lin ShuYi did a through search, rummaging for the only thing he had in the world and handed it to Shen Fu.

Shen Fu was watching television on the sofa. When he saw the property deed that Lin ShuYi passed to him, he was at a loss, “Why are you giving this to me?”

Lin ShuYi handed over another piece of paper, “Collateral.”

“Collateral?” Shen Fu was stunned for two seconds before he understood and laughed. “You want to use this house as collateral?”

In addition to the property deed, the paper also clearly stated that he would use the house as collateral for the cost of renovating the XiQin Restaurant. Shen Fu read through the paper twice, and then thought to himself that Lin ShuYi’s handwriting was really beautiful. Each stroke was neat and orderly even when the characters where written in such a small size.

Lin ShuYi nodded.

Shen Fu put down the paper and the property deed, then he patted the space beside him, hinting for Lin ShuYi to sit down. “Actually I don’t need it at all. I’ll lend you the money. Don’t tell me that you wouldn’t return it to me?”

Shen Fu smiled as he looked at Lin ShuYi. Lin ShuYi immediately stared at him and shook his head. Did he look like that kind of person?

Shen Fu looked at Lin ShuYi’s deadly earnest manner and broke into chuckles again, “Then isn’t it all right?” What’s more, Shen Fu felt that it did not matter if Lin ShuYi did not return it to him. After all, maybe the two people would not need to draw such a distinct line between them by that time.

Lin ShuYi thought it over and still handed the deed to Shen Fu, “No. Although that’s true, you have no reason to take such a big risk to help me.”

No reason? Would pursuing him count? However, Shen Fu obviously was unable to mention this reason. He shot a troubled gaze at Lin ShuYi: Do you have to draw such a clear line between us?

Yet, Shen Fu smiled again after thinking about it, “Are you sure you want to give me the property deed as collateral?”

Lin ShuYi hesitated for a moment, not because of a particular reason, but because he seemed to have seen Shen Fu’s eyes shining in that moment. In the end, Lin ShuYi still consented with an ‘en’. Though he did not know why, he was actually rather reluctant to owe anything to Shen Fu. However, there was no other way.

The mirth in Shen Fu’s eyes deepened upon seeing Lin ShuYi’s agreement. Then he said thoughtfully, “Since the property deed is in my hands, I have control over this house, right?”

Lin ShuYi did not quite understand what Shen Fu meant. Shen Fu explained, “For example, can I sleep on the bed when I don’t want to sleep on the sofa?”

Lin ShuYi totally had no idea that he was going to mention this. He immediately rolled his eyes and replied, “I can let you sleep on it today.”

Shen Fu nodded with satisfaction and then said, “How about the rest?”

Lin ShuYi could not stand to be disturbed any longer and to deal with it, he replied, “Everything’s fine. You can do as you wish.”

Lin ShuYi had already turned around and was ready to leave. Unknown to him, the corner of Shen Fu’s mouth was curved up, revealing a sly smile. “Don’t be in such a rush to leave.”

Lin ShuYi turned his head and stared at him. Shen Fu raised his hand that was holding a card between his fingers and smiled, “When are you going to start?”

Shen Fu had already prepared this card beforehand. He planned to help Lin ShuYi reopen the XiQin Restaurant regardless of whether he brought this matter up or not. Now it was better that things had progressed like this, since he had gotten an unexpected windfall besides this.

Shen Fu did not tell Lin ShuYi how much money there was on the card. He just told him to use it and promised there would be more than enough.

In any case, Lin ShuYi intended to record down each and every amount he spent, so he simply did not ask.

He had originally wanted to wait for Old man Yang to come back and discuss how to renovate the shop. Who would have expected that when he called Xiao Wan’s Grandma, Old man Yang said that they would not come back for a while since they had transferred to another place and asked him to take care of it.

Lin ShuYi was somewhat confused after hanging up the phone.

Shen Fu went up and rubbed his downy head, “Didn’t Grandpa tell you to take care it? Then you should just give him a surprise when he comes back.”

Thus, the re-building of the XiQin Restaurant was put on the agenda ahead of time.

The XiQin Restaurant was located on the south end of ChaoYang Street. It was surrounded by residential areas and the XiQin Restaurant that was sandwiched in the middle could only be considered as a small restaurant.

ChaoYang Street was part of the suburbs. Although there was a large population, everyone were locals. That was to say, this location itself was unsuitable if they wanted to expand the XiQin Restaurant. After all, few people would come if it was far from the city center even if they opened a five-star hotel, let alone with the surrounding buildings being full of residential areas.

So the new definition that Lin ShuYi gave to the XiQin Restaurant was as a private restaurant.

Lin ShuYi could cook well, especially those kind of troublesome traditional dishes that few people cooked. They could only depend on different tastes  if they wanted to stand out amongst the many other restaurants, and this areas was exactly what Lin ShuYi was good at.

So this ‘private’ reputation would naturally come from real distinction.

Firstly, he did not need a place that was too large if they opened a private restaurant here. Secondly, a private restaurant was just like rural tourism. If done well, it would always attract customers to eat there.

Since Lin ShuYi was not ready to make the XiQin Restaurant into a hotel, he did not need to win by quantity nor maintain such a large expense with the hiring of so many people. He could abide by his original intention and quietly run the restaurant, remaining forever in his land of idyllic beauty.

After listening to Lin ShuYi’s thoughts, Shen Fu thought that… it was really great. Although he also felt that as long as Lin ShuYi was in-charge, it would be good no matter what happened.

Since it was a private restaurant, it was natural that it would still be located in the original location of the XiQin Restaurant. However, the original area of the XiQin Restaurant was still too small, so in order to expand, it was necessary to expand sidewards.

However, the XiQin Restaurant was surrounded by residential houses and there was no room for expansion.

In addition to that, the neighbors living on either side were all familiar with Old man Yang. They had been living here all the time and this which made Lin ShuYi feel a little like he did not know how to start.

Yet, things took a turn for the better before Lin ShuYi could think over how to resolve this problem.

The couple living to the right of the XiQin Restaurant were invited to move to the city as their son bought a house there. They originally intended to leave the house empty, but took the initiative to look for Lin ShuYi and said that they wanted to sell the house when they heard that Lin ShuYi wanted to expand the XiQin Restaurant.

Shen Fu immediately agreed before Lin ShuYi could even hesitate about making this decision. “What are you hesitating about when the matter has been settled so smoothly? Where are you going to cry if you wait until they go back on their word?” Shen Fu was beaming as he went through the procedures with the landlord and Lin ShuYi.

Lin ShuYi looked at Shen Fu and frowned. It was because the matter was solved so smoothly and skillfully that he felt as if everything was due to Shen Fu’s influence.

But the owner did not reveal anything that linked him to Shen Fu in front of Lin ShuYi. Lin ShuYi could only keep his doubts to himself.

Even more coincidentally, floor area of the house on the right was wider, yet the price he quoted to Lin ShuYi was quite low. However, Lin ShuYi did not feel that it was strange even if he was a little suspicious, since it was an old house that had been bought many years ago.

The wall separating the two houses was knocked down, and according to Lin ShuYi’s design, it was to be re-built into a two-storied building that had a front courtyard. This time, he would definitely have more than enough space.

Next was to finalize the construction plan of the building and then they could start the construction.

Lin ShuYi’s intention was that it must have its own distinguishing feature since it was a private restaurant. If it was still similar to the surrounding houses, then he had nothing new. So he decided to make the style of the XiQin Restaurant stand out. At the very least, he wanted customers to be able to recognize which building was the XiQin Restaurant at first glance.

Shen Fu had no objection to this.

This was the XiQin Restaurant belonging to Lin ShuYi. Shen Fu would support it no matter what kind restaurant he hoped to make.

As a result, Shen Fu was amazed by the reality before his eyes.

Lin ShuYi had his own unique opinions about the design even though he was young. He had a long conversation with the architect that lasted for a whole afternoon, before deciding on the re-modeling and renovation plan. Before leaving, the architect continuously looked back and as he reiterated that Lin ShuYi was talented in this field and when the time comes, he must take the university entrance exams for an arcitecture major.

Shen Fu’s reaction to this was his face turning as black as the bottom of a pot.

After pushing the architect out of the door, Shen Fu turned around and sighed, “You really amaze me every time.”

Lin ShuYi cocked his head, expressing his puzzlement.

A little suspicion flashed through Shen Fu’s eyes, “You probably stopped schooling after graduating from high school, right?”

Lin ShuYi nodded as he recalled the diploma he had managed to find at home.

“But why do I feel like you know a lot?”

Lin ShuYi guiltily moved his eyes away, “I learned everything from the web.”

The knowledge that he had in the past had combined with what he saw and remembered after he came to this world and benefited him a lot. He had already achieved a mastery through a comprehensive study of the subject by drawing inferences from one fact even for a subject like mathematics which he had never been exposed to before. This was probably all due to his brain which absorbed knowledge like a sponge.

Shen Fu instantly felt as if he had picked up a treasure. Then he went up and rested his head on Lin ShuYi’s shoulder. Before Lin ShuYi pushed him away, he pouted, “I haven’t eaten anything since you spoke with him all afternoon.”

What was clearly coquettish and shameless words took on an ambiguous flavor when paired with Shen Fu’s low and husky voice. Not to mention that Shen Fu’s lips were still right beside Lin ShuYi’s ear.

Lin ShuYi awkwardly tilted his head away, and then he lifted his hand to push Shen Fu away. He did not know why, but his ears were a little red. “You don’t know how to go out and buy it yourself?”

“But I want to eat bibimbap. I’ve already bought and cut all the vegetables.”

Lin ShuYi rolled his eyes and suppressed the strange feeling in his heart. Then he put on an apron and went to cook.

After quite a while, Lin ShuYi suddenly came out with a knife in hand and looked at Shen Fu with a dark gaze. “Next time, you’re not allowed to get grope me!”

It was only then did he recall that Shen Fu had said he was a cut-sleeve. When he thought about all of Shen Fu’s previous actions, Lin ShuYi began to feel a bad premonition.