Today, Yuta took Sora and Miyu to see the environment of the new school. If they found it suitable, they would officially settle on it.
Liu Ming had originally planned to help, but he was refused. Sora and the others said that Liu Ming had already helped them a lot, and they could handle this small matter themselves. Anyway, it was just to check things out and understand the situation, which was not difficult at all.
Seeing this, Liu Ming didn't insist. Besides, the restaurant indeed needed someone to look after it, and so did Xiao Hina. If all her close relatives were gone, she might throw a tantrum.
With three fewer waiters, the shop suddenly became busy.
Liu Ming also had no choice but to stop slacking off and went to the kitchen to help.
"Master," Tadokoro Megumi called out respectfully.
"Speaking of which, school is starting for you soon, isn't it?" Liu Ming no longer intended to correct Tadokoro Megumi's attitude towards him; he would let her do as she pleased. If she wanted to be respectful, then so be it.
She was truly very reluctant to leave suddenly.
"While there's still some time, do you want to go home and see? I've taught you most of what I can, and you've completed the tasks I gave you very well. Your steamed buns are very popular with customers."
Tadokoro Megumi smiled modestly. She hadn't forgotten what Liu Ming had instructed her and had been thinking about what to sell.
Finally, she decided to make some steamed buns, and they were also easy to take away.
In Chinese Cuisine, steamed buns hold a very important position.
She chose several famous types of steamed buns, such as soup dumplings, char siu bao, Goubuli, and so on.
The ingredient pairings were all based on her own ideas, and perhaps not the most authentic. But after Thor, Kanna, and the others tasted them, they all found them excellent and delicious, and the customers also loved them.
Some customers even suggested that the restaurant open in the mornings, even if it only sold steamed buns. This idea was immediately shot down by Liu Ming. What a joke, selling steamed buns in the morning, how early would he have to wake up to prepare? He wasn't that foolish.
"After being busy for so long, it's time for you to take a break, and your family must miss you very much," Liu Ming continued, speaking to Tadokoro Megumi.
"What about the restaurant?" Tadokoro Megumi asked worriedly. She understood Liu Ming's personality quite well. During this time, with her as the chef, Liu Ming could leisurely be a slacker. If she left, she was genuinely a little worried about the restaurant's business.
It wasn't that her cooking skills surpassed her master's, but rather that her master always liked to be lazy and was afraid of affecting customers' perception of the restaurant.
"Your master doesn't need you, his apprentice, to worry. This week, the restaurant will be closed for now. It's perfect because I need to help Sora and the others with their transfer procedures, and Xiao Hina and Kanna also need to start school. Just you staying here alone wouldn't be of much use, so you might as well go home and visit," Liu Ming said.
"How can that be? We've worked so hard to establish the restaurant's reputation," Tadokoro Megumi said anxiously. Her family ran a food business, so she knew how much a good reputation attracted customers.
"What's there to worry about? With your master's cooking skills, are we afraid of having no customers?
Besides, hasn't Thor already learned all the dishes on the menu? Although she still can't make the dishes on the special menu,
she can still manage as a chef. When we reopen, customers will definitely come back.
Just go home and visit your family with peace of mind. Take this opportunity to rest up at home. I'm still waiting for you to become one of the Elite Ten. Having an Elite Ten apprentice makes me, as your master, feel very proud."
"Don't worry, Master, I will definitely become one of the Elite Ten," Tadokoro Megumi said seriously.
A month ago, she certainly wouldn't have dared to say such a thing, but now, she was very confident.
Just then, a loud noise suddenly came from the courtyard.
"Master!" Tadokoro Megumi was startled.
"You stay here, I'll go out and see," Liu Ming frowned, thinking to himself, 'This sound couldn't be Thor's doing, could it?'
As he passed through the hall, he spoke to calm the dining customers.
"Kanna, take care of Xiao Hina. I'll go out and check by myself."
Liu Ming saw the two children seemed to be planning to go to the courtyard, so he quickly stopped them.
Kanna was one thing, but Xiao Hina was a real child. Any small accident could be too much for her, and Liu Ming didn't want Xiao Hina to take that risk.
After arriving in the courtyard, he found Thor indeed there, but her expression now seemed quite surprised. Her gaze was fixed on the collapsed gazebo, speechless for a long time.
Could it be that what happened wasn't Thor's fault?
"Thor, what happened?" Liu Ming could only ask.
"If my feeling isn't wrong, that annoying guy must have come," Thor said with a hint of displeasure.
"Who?" Liu Ming was puzzled.
As the dust settled, a human-like silhouette gradually emerged from the gazebo area, then slowly became clear.
Now, without Thor's explanation, Liu Ming knew who the person was.
This was strange. Hadn't he already disrupted the plot? He hadn't seen the other two dragons appear yet, so how could she suddenly show up?
Liu Ming remembered that the other party didn't seem to have the ability to cross worlds.
Suddenly, he remembered that Thor seemed to have gone back to that world to find ingredients not long ago. Could the other party have followed Thor here?