Chapter 460: Conflict and Influence
Translator: Xiong_Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
Countless people came to Yuan Zhou's restaurant every day, therefore such customers were quite common.
When Yuan Zhou arrived at the intersection, Ling Hong immediately opened the door and got off the SUV before Master Cheng went to park his car steadily.
"Park the car here. I'll take my vegetables." Once Ling Hong got off the SUV, he kept thinking about his vegetables.
What a joke! The vegetables were his achievement of the whole afternoon. He didn't even have time to worry about his Ferrari sports car.
"One minute, please." Master Cheng parked the car and then got off to open the trunk.
"Come on. Let me do it myself." Ling Hong was always quite proactive about things that were edible and delicious.
After all, even with his spoilt character as a young master, he could still tolerate Yuan Zhou's stubborn rules. That could sufficiently explain how persistent he was in delicacies.
"Mr. Ling, you don't know how to put them. Let me do it." Master Cheng didn't give way to him, but just stood at the trunk and said that.
"They are all well-wrapped. How could you say that?" Ling Hong said discontentedly.
"These vegetables are all wrapped up by Boss Yuan. He has placed each vegetable and meat in different positions. If pressure is applied to the vegetables, it might cause the taste to turn bad." Master Cheng explained earnestly.
"Okay okay. I won't touch it. You do it." Ling Hong raised his hands overhead and indicated that he wouldn't touch it.
"Just put them like how I did just now." Yuan Zhou said in the SUV.
"Okay." Master Cheng nodded his head.
Then, he moved the vegetables to the trunk of the sports car carefully and swiftly.
Because the engine was at the rear part of the super sports car, the trunk was actually at the front.
Of course, the arrangement of the vegetables was exactly the same as how it had been arranged by Yuan Zhou just now. In this regard, Master Cheng was capable.
Nowadays, Master Cheng could study everything from Yuan Zhou when he stayed beside him, including cooking, processing and washing of the ingredients, and even the sculpting, sometimes.
It was impossible for him to be omnipotent. However, Yuan Zhou also told him that having some knowledge could help him to improve his culinary skills.
"See you in the evening." Ling Hong waved his hand and stepped on the accelerator. Then, the sports car disappeared in an instant.
It was so fast that neither of Yuan Zhou and Master Cheng reacted.
"Fortunately, I didn't say anything," thought Yuan Zhou to himself.
"Master Yuan, let me drive you to the intersection of Taoxi Road, ok?" Master Cheng asked while driving.
"Okay. You can go back home later. I'm not going to sculpt today." Yuan Zhou nodded and then said.
"Okay. Thank you, Master Yuan." A delighted smile appeared on Master Cheng's face.
"Okay. Take care on the way back." Thinking of the speed of the sports car, Yuan Zhou specifically instructed him.
"Don't worry." Master Cheng answered with a nod.
The SUV wasn't as comfortable the super sports car, but it definitely had more room. Besides, it didn't have problems when it came to speed either. Sure enough, they arrived at the Taoxi Road in just a little while.
As usual, Master Cheng opened the door for Yuan Zhou to get off his SUV. However, Yuan Zhou didn't let him carry the radishes for him this time, but took them by himself.
Only after Yuan Zhou left did Master Cheng turn around and drive away, too.
Time flew. After Yuan Zhou returned to his restaurant, he naturally started to wash the radishes and then dried them in the sun, preparing to sculpt them the next day and cook some new dishes.
Naturally, Ling Hong went back home directly. He asked his people to wash, cut and package the vegetables and then sent them back to him.
However, the chefs in his villa started a heated discussion.
"Rich people nowadays are getting stranger and stranger. They go to a restaurant that doesn't even own a kitchen knife to eat hotpot and moreover, they have to buy and prepare the side ingredients by themselves." The kitchen helper murmured while he was washing.
"All rich people have some eccentric traits." Even the head chef couldn't help echoing.
No matter how the chefs thought, Ling Hong had high expectations for the meal and thus started to call his friends.
The young man only arrived at Yuan Zhou's restaurant about half an hour before the dinner time.
Of course, it wasn't because he walked slowly, but because he carefully calculated the time. His teacher would probably arrive at around this time.
"Is it so small?" It was the first reaction of the young man when he saw Yuan Zhou's restaurant.
The young man was the old man's disciple and his name was Xie Jun. The old man, Lian Ji, was a master watch-and-clock-repairing craftsman.
Well, it was the type that did their business along the streets.
Judging from the young man's clothing and apparel, however, he wasn't that kind of person.
Therefore, Xie Jun was thinking to find a restaurant that served the most expensive and delicious dishes and treat his teacher a decent meal in order to prove that his thinking and practice were right.
"It's too small." Xie Jun knitted his brows when he saw the crowd lining up outside Yuan Zhou's restaurant.
The first reaction upon seeing Yuan Zhou's restaurant was that it was much too small. After all, this restaurant was a synonym for the most expensive and delicious dishes, as said throughout the internet.
"Is this the restaurant you found? It looks nice and you seem to be successful in your business." A sarcastic voice sounded beside him.
"Of course. The restaurant is indeed very good." The moment Xie Jun saw his teacher, he said with a smile, without any discontent on his face.
As it was he himself who had intended to flaunt in front of his teacher, he had to persist regardless.
Now that there were so many people waiting in line, at least the dishes should be delicious.
"Humph. Treating your teacher in this tiny restaurant, I think you're getting worse and worse." Lian Ji snorted coldly.
"We need to line up here. Shall we go?" Xie Jun instead replied with a smile.
"When you studied, you didn't work hard. And when you can't make a decent living now, you come to me. I won't help you." Lian Ji kept scolding his disciple, but still he lined up.
"Don't worry about that. You don't even have a pension, so this disciple will support you when you are too old to work." When Xie Jun said that, he kept smiling all along.
"It would be great if you don't ask me for help when I'm old. I told you to study hard, but you didn't. And now, you end up like that." Lian Ji looked at his own disciple with a manner of contempt.
Other customers lining up at the side nevertheless got puzzled.
Lian Ji was dressed in a plain thin cotton shirt and simple black suit pants. His shoes were also the casual cotton shoes.
On the other than, Xie Jun was obviously wearing all branded clothes worth at least ten thousand RMB from top to bottom, even excluding the Panerai Radiomir10DaySGMT that cost one hundred thousand RMB on his wrist.
At any rate, he wasn't like a loser.
"What an odd teacher and disciple pair!" A customer murmured.
The other customers all looked at the two of them curiously.
However, the teacher and disciple were still talking, ignoring the people around them.
In most cases, Lian Ji reproved Xie Jun while Xie Jun contradicted him with a smile and moreover, constantly winning the arguments with sass.
Luckily, they didn't quarrel for long before Yuan Zhou's restaurant opened.
As soon as they entered the restaurant, Lian Ji picked up the exquisite menu painted with lotus-flower patterns and prepared to order dishes.
"Ho Ho. It seems you really become rich. You have surprisingly learned to waste money." Lian Ji slapped on the table and scolded his disciple loudly.
That's right. In Lian Ji's opinion, the prices on the menu equaled to waste."
It would be surprising if he didn't get furious when he saw the Roast Goose worth 5888 RMB and Clear Broth Noodle Soup worth 268 RMB on the menu.
"Don't worry. I can afford them." Xie Jun stopped Lian Ji and let him sit down.
"Don't do anything beyond your means just to be impressive." Lian Ji pushed away Xie Jun's hand immediately.
Just when Xie Jun wanted to say something, Yuan Zhou uttered first.
"Sorry for bothering you. Now is the time to order dishes. What do you want to eat today?" Yuan Zhou came over solemnly to ask about the order and gave them a chance to calm down.
The quarrel between the two people affected other customers. When such things happen, Yuan Zhou usually dealt with it by himself.
Chapter 461: Result
Translator: Xiong_Guoqi Editor: DesTheSloth
"Sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't notice that." Lian Ji stood up first, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Never mind. Sit down, please. What do you want to eat today?" Yuan Zhou said calmly. He didn't seem to be angry.
"Well, ask him." Looking at the price, Lian Ji hesitated for a while and then looked at Xie Jun indignantly.
"Please get me a Clear Broth Noodle Soup Set, Translucent Beef Slices, Egg Fried Rice Set, Jinling Grass, Dongpo Pig Knuckle and Roast Goose." Without any hesitation, Xie Jun ordered several dishes.
Besides, what he ordered was all expensive dishes, which made Lian Jie blush at the side. This single meal almost cost ten thousand RMB.
"There is no Roast Goose today." Yuan Zhou said naturally.
"Then get me a serving of Phoenix-Tail Prawns, instead." Xie Jun didn't say anything more, but immediately changed another dish.
Anyway, he came here today just to prove he had money now. More frankly, he wanted to posture in front of his teacher.
Of course, he must order the expensive dishes.
"Okay. Please wait a moment." After a nod, Yuan Zhou turned around and went to prepare the meal. And Zhou Jia was in charge of receiving the payment.
After that, Lian Ji was unable to bear it anymore and revealed an angry look.
"Why do you pretend to be wealthy? How many months' worth of salary does this meal cost?" Lian Ji pointed at Xie Jun in an exasperated manner and asked in a low voice.
"Teacher, I can afford to eat here every day with my salary. It's just that I won't save much money." Xie Jun said that lightly.
"Do you think you really are wealthy just because I said so? You have done no decent work every day. Don't call me teacher." While Lian Ji said that, he couldn't help slapping the table again.
"Excuse me. This is a dining place. Could you please be quiet?" One of the customers, Su Mu, looked at them and said with a frown.
The two people were really noisy and didn't seem to be finishing their debate anytime soon ever since they lined up just now.
"Yeah. What are you eating here for if you two don't have a good relationship?" Immediately, another customer chimed in with Su Mu.
"Exactly. You have affected us having our meal." More people started to murmur like that.
After all, with someone else quarrelling at the side, no one could enjoy delicacies with ease.
"Humph." Lian Ji didn't apologize this time, but just snorted coldly and discontentedly.
"Sorry, it won't happen again. We are about to eat." Instead, Xie Jun expressed his apology to them politely.
"Good." Su Mu nodded his head.
After saying that, Zhou Jia carried the dishes ordered to them.
"Please enjoy your meal." Zhou Jia said courteously.
There was sort of confidence in her tone. They definitely wouldn't quarrel with each other once they started eating the dishes. Zhou Jia was quite confident of Yuan Zhou's dishes.
"Teacher, shall we eat first?" Xie Jun said to Lian Ji earnestly.
"Yes, of course. I'm quite qualified to eat your flesh and blood." Lian Jie snorted coldly again as usual.
"Teacher, I have been working in the repair department of Bulgari for almost one year." Looking at Lian Ji's angry face, Xie Jun sighed and said.
"What? You really went there?" Lian Ji asked him in surprise and with puzzlement. The originally scooped fried rice fell back into the bowl again.
"Yes. They offered me an irresistible salary." Xie Jun answered carefully.
"Irresistible? On the first day when you came to study from me, I told you that the watches aren't merely an object and repairing watches isn't a business and transaction, either. You have to ensure that you make the best out of it." Lian Ji pointed at Xie Jun and sounded heartbroken.
"Um." Xie Jun nodded, only indicating that he remembered that.
Seeing Xie Jun only nod his head indifferently, Lian Ji became angrier.
"I don't understand why you went there. You can't take the dog you are raising as an object, can you?" Lian Ji suddenly remembered that Xie Jun loved dogs very much and thus illustrated it with an example.
"No, I can't. But there are also many people who know how to raise dogs and then sell them. They just want to find a nice master for the dogs. And it's also a skill to raise dogs." Xie Jun answered peacefully.
"You little brat!" Lian Ji was made speechless immediately.
"With your wonderful craftsmanship, you can easily work there as a supervisor. What do you think?" Xie Jun looked at Lian Ji earnestly.
"I refused you last time and it is no exception this time." Lian Ji refused blankly.
"You are too stubborn. Isn't craftsmanship used for earning money to live?" Xie Jun knitted his brows and said.
"Do you think I can't support myself?" Lian Ji stared at Xie Jun and said discontentedly.
"But you are not living a decent life while I can eat such nice dishes at any time," said Xie Jun while pointing at the exquisite dishes of Yuan Zhou's restaurant.
"I have a good time." Staring at Xie Jun, Lian Ji contradicted him.
"It's a total waste if you don't use your craftsmanship to have a better life." Xie Jun sighed.
"I have told you that repairing watches is not a business or a transaction. You are no more than a dabbler in this industry." Lian Ji snorted coldly. Obviously, he looked down upon Xie Jun's craftsmanship.
"You are right. This dabbler is using his craftsmanship to treat you to a meal here." Xie Ju shrugged.
"Let's eat. The dishes here are said to be quite delicious." Before Lian Ji got furious, Xie Jun pointed at the dishes and said immediately.
"Considering the very high prices, they would taste great even if there are actually not." Lian Ji took the price too much to heart.
"You'll know the taste after you try some." Xie Jun moved the dishes to Lian Ji a little bit.
Lian Ji stopped talking this time. He took the spoon and started to eat.
"They turn out to be a teacher and his disciple." Hearing their conversation, Yuan Zhou muttered in his heart.
"The economic inequality is so obvious." Yuan Zhou looked at their clothing and made such a judgement.
However, Yuan Zhou was right. The two people were indeed watch repairmen yet in different positions. One was working in a repair department of an international luxury watch company while the other was repairing watches along the streets.
As a result, the economic inequality between them was naturally large.
After all, one earned a high yearly salary while the other earned money that was barely enough to make a basic living.
While they were eating, it appeared quite harmonious. They no longer quarreled and even occasionally talked a little bit.
Once the delicious dishes entered his mouth, Lian Ji wasn't as solemn as before anymore. When Xie Jun asked something, he would simply answer him.
"Teacher, the gear dial plate of the mechanical watch..." Xie Jun asked some profound knowledge about the watch.
"All you do is thinking of stealing my craftsmanship all day long." Lian Ji first gave a contemptuous look to Xie Jun and then answered.
Xie Jun shrugged and cared little about that. For things he had to ask, he still asked.
Lian Ji usually only answered in a leisurely manner after he savored a mouthful of Jinling Grass and Phoenix Tail Prawns.
However, he sneered at Xie Jun whenever he spoke, saying he didn't have a good craftsmanship.
Therefore, the meal between them went on boisterously. Fortunately, they rarely spoke loudly and thus, other customers didn't say anything more.
After the meal, the two of them walked out of Yuan Zhou's restaurant shoulder to shoulder. People could vaguely hear Xie Ju's voice to suggest Lian Ji to go to Bulgari and work, but he was still refused flatly by the stubborn teacher, Lian Ji.
Well, not in a very polite manner.
"It's really strange. They don't agree with each other on their worldview and concepts and don't seem to be in a good relationship, but don't seem to be bad." Su Mu looked at the way the teacher and disciple left and murmured in puzzlement.
"Things don't necessarily require a right or wrong. It's not like they must convince each other." Wu Hai had a deep feeling about that.
For example, he didn't feel that he and Zheng Jiawei had the same worldview, but that had no influence on Zheng Jiawei being his brother-in-law.
Many things in the world were vague like that.