Seeing Cao Kang looking like a fool and about to go to the line, Ye Chui laughed and handed two skewers of lamb to him. "Just kidding, don't take it seriously. You don't need to queue up since Lin Wei is here."
Cao Kang gritted his teeth fiercely but continued to wear a smile on his face as he accepted the two skewers of lamb.
After the scolding from his father yesterday, he decided to change his strategy and treat Ye Chui as an equal opponent. Despite his previous appearances, Cao Kang was not dumb, especially in matters of dating.
Although young, he had rich experience. After analyzing the situation, he formulated a strategy for himself. His first step was to gain Lin Wei's favour —apologizing to Ye Chui in front of Lin Wei was part of this plan.
Yesterday, during dinner, Lin Zhengdao mentioned that Lin Wei visited Ye Chui's lamb skewer stall every day. Therefore, he came here today specifically to wait for an opportunity.
"Wei Wei, are you currently looking for the high school you'll be transferring to? I think the Xizhou Elite Noble School is excellent. The teaching quality is good, and most importantly, it is suitable for people in our social class. Tomorrow, I can take you to visit the school." Cao Kang, appearing enthusiastic, took a bite of the lamb skewer and extended the invitation.
Thinking that his words were harmless, Cao Kang was surprised when Lin Wei furrowed her brows, showing some displeasure. She shook her head and replied, "No need. I still have to accompany my mom at home these days, and I don't want to handle the enrollment procedures."
Cao Kang felt a bit disappointed but continued to smile. "Well, how about another day? I'll visit Auntie then."
Ye Chui, who had been taking care of the lamb skewer business, gradually understood Cao Kang's intentions. Apologizing was indeed insincere; his main goal was to win Lin Wei's favour. However, the way he invited Lin Wei seemed inappropriate.
Ye Chui, feeling somewhat annoyed by Cao Kang's condescending tone, smiled at Lin Wei and said, "Wei Wei, tomorrow I need to go to the outskirts to purchase ingredients for the big meal I'm preparing for Old Han in a week. Are you interested in joining me? It should be quite fun."
"Purchasing ingredients?" Lin Wei was puzzled.
Cao Kang snorted lightly. "Ye Chui, what's so fun about buying ingredients?"
"I'm going to a chicken farm in the mountains to purchase ingredients. The chickens there are free-range on the hilltop. We can have a picnic on the mountain, and I just need to prepare some simple seasonings."
"Then, we can make delicious grilled chicken. There's a method called Beggar's Chicken, simple to make but with a rich brown-red colour, glossy appearance, a fragrant aroma, and tender meat. It's even more delicious than the spicy chicken you had yesterday." Ye Chui vividly described.
Lin Wei, a food enthusiast, couldn't help but salivate. Her eyes sparkled. "Is it really that delicious?"
"Of course, it's true. This is an ancient recipe passed down since the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong era. Emperor Qianlong praised this dish highly back then, and it's also known as the 'Wealth and Prosperity Dish.' What do you think? Do you want to try it?" Ye Chui enticingly said.
"I want to!" Lin Wei was already captivated, nodding vigorously as if she had forgotten her earlier excuse to stay home with her mom —clearly a pretext to reject Cao Kang.
"Alright, we'll set off tomorrow morning," Ye Chui said with a smile, then cast a slight glance at Cao Kang. "See that? This is the right way to invite a girl out!"
This time, Cao Kang was furious. Tonight, he was full of confidence, hoping to regain some ground in front of Ye Chui. However, Ye Chui effortlessly turned the situation around with just a few words. Why didn't he think of using delicious food to capture Lin Wei's attention?
Afterwards, Lin Wei discussed the details of tomorrow's meeting time and place with Ye Chui, and then happily left.
Cao Kang, no longer needing to put on an act after Lin Wei left, cast a cold look at Ye Chui. He angrily threw the half-eaten lamb skewer to the ground. "I will never lose to you!"
Ye Chui shrugged indifferently. What could he be so arrogant about? Ye Chui smiled and extended his hand to Cao Kang. "The two skewers of grilled lamb cost four yuan. Also, the lamb skewer you just bought was sold out of turn, so that's another ninety-six. Please settle the bill first."
Cao Kang: "…"
***
"The method of grilling lamb skewers may seem simple, but there are quite a few subtleties to it. Achieving a crispy and delicious taste is not that easy."
Around 11 p.m. that night, after the night market had dispersed and they were packing up to leave, Qin Feng, deep in thought, shared an idea with Ye Chui. He was clearly a kid who enjoyed delving into things: "Ye Ge, why do we only grill lamb skewers? What about grilling other things like beef, fish, shrimp, crab, and even some vegetables? Can we do that too?"
Hearing Qin Feng's words, Ye Chui was a bit surprised and praised him, "Well done! I didn't expect you to think of these things. When we have enough funds, of course, we can expand. Let's call it barbecue. Eating this with beer on a hot day is definitely a pleasure."
Eating grilled skewers and drinking beer, there's nothing more enjoyable on a scorching hot day.
Qin Feng's eyes brightened even more. "I didn't expect you, Ye Ge, to have already thought about this. I will definitely work hard to make our barbecue business successful."
"Don't aim too high for now. Let's manage the grilled lamb skewers first. Take it slowly, and in the future, our barbecue business will surely thrive." Ye Chui said with a smile. Barbecue, as an interesting snack, had not yet appeared in this world.
After all, without meat, barbecue wouldn't have a promising future. However, now that meat was liberated, the barbecue business would surely cause a sensation. Ye Chui was determined to promote this type of snack.
"I got it, Ye Ge. I won't let you down!" Qin Feng, now genuinely admiring Ye Chui, had resolved to follow him and make a name for himself.
Early the next morning, Ye Chui got up, rushed into the bathroom, and tidied up. On ordinary days, Ye Chui didn't care much about his appearance. As long as he was clean and tidy, it was enough. But today was different —this could be considered his first date with Lin Wei, right?
Well, even though that little foodie cat was purely attracted by the delicious food, Ye Chui didn't want to miss the opportunity to increase his friendliness. He rummaged through his belongings and picked out his best clothes.
When he finally walked out of the bathroom, Wang Shiyu, who had just woken up, had her little mouth turned into a big 'O,' and she rubbed her eyes forcefully. "Brother, are you going on a blind date today?"
"..."
Ye Chui couldn't help but sweat a bit and walked over to tap Wang Shiyu on the head. "Where did you learn all these messy things?"
An Jing, who had just walked out of the bedroom, also showed a curious expression on her face, looking at Ye Chui strangely. "Brother, do you have a date today?"
"Hehe, kind of..." Ye Chui's face blushed a bit. He then looked at her and asked for her opinion, "By the way...how do I look in this outfit?"
"Very handsome." An Jing looked Ye Chui up and down, smiled gracefully, and teased, "If I were me, I would definitely fall in love with brother."
"Uh..."
As a younger sister, can you not tease your brother like this?