Chapter 79: Chapter 79: Throw Her Out
"Miss Lianhua, please be accommodating and at least let us finish these two dishes first, then..."
Lianhua’s delicate eyebrows twisted, and her sidekick immediately said, "What’s the deal with dishes or no dishes, can you afford to delay the Princely Heir’s meal? Hurry up and take your things away!"
The two cooks looked anxious.
It wasn’t a problem usually, when there aren’t many guests, Lianhua could take her time, but now every seat outside was occupied, and nearly every table had ordered dishes.
Having one less stove greatly delays the work.
Moreover, Lianhua wanted to occupy two stoves at once.
At this moment, Lianhua could see no one else; her whole heart was set on cooking for the Princely Heir, carefully selecting ingredients, rejecting anything too coarse or too fine, even the soybeans for soup had to be uniformly sized.
Only the best ingredients could create the best flavors.
The two cooks watched from the side, unsure of how long this slow process would take, almost to the point of tears.
The storyteller hadn’t started yet outside, so the guests were getting impatient, inevitably venting their anger here.
The person in charge of serving the dishes found themselves in a bind and had to approach Qu Fulan, explaining the situation, hoping she could talk some sense into Miss Lianhua, and at least free up one stove.
Qu Fulan was almost fully in charge today, akin to a stage manager, overseeing everything to ensure no aspect was overlooked, she was incredibly busy.
After checking everything else, she was about to head to the kitchen, having ensured there were no issues with the storytelling segment, the kitchen was now the key concern.
If the food wasn’t served properly, there would be widespread complaints from guests, creating a big problem.
She happened to meet the one serving the dishes halfway.
After understanding the situation, Qu Fulan went to the kitchen, and without saying a word, instructed people to move the pots from Lianhua’s two stoves and let the waiting chefs start cooking.
Lianhua was busy making soup and cooking dishes, now forcibly moved, her eyes widened furiously, and she screamed sharply at Qu Fulan, "Are you crazy! This is my specialty dish for the Princely Heir, how dare you move my things?"
Then she angrily scolded those moving her things, "Put everything back, or if the Princely Heir’s meal is delayed, who among you can bear the blame?"
Those two people were Shi San and Shi Si from the four great guards, they didn’t even flinch at her words.
Lianhua felt utterly ignored, fury boiling over, eyes reddened, she pointed at Qu Fulan, "Qu Fulan, this is absolute bullying! If I can’t use these two stoves today, no one else should think about it!"
With that, she stood in front of the stoves, not budging an inch, preventing anyone from approaching.
Qu Fulan remained expressionless, her voice unusually cold, "Throw her out."
This time Shi Yi and Shi Er stepped forward, approaching Lianhua.
They were favored guards by the Princely Heir, not just because of their exceptional skills, but also their way of conducting themselves.
Even if they had many opinions about Qu Fulan, feeling she wasn’t worthy of such regard from the Princely Heir, his command was absolute.
Thus, Qu Fulan’s words were also obeyed without question.
Seeing the two guards approaching, expressionless, Lianhua’s eyes widened in panic and anger, she sternly shouted, "How dare you! If you lay a finger on me, you’ll regret it!"
But she was carried out regardless of her screams.
No matter how she shouted, it was useless.
Qu Fulan turned back to the kitchen and calmly ordered, "Get to work!"
Looking at the two delayed cooks, she said, "Pour out the delayed dishes and start fresh, someone will explain to the guests."
The delayed dishes had gone cold, losing their freshness, so naturally they needed to be remade.
The two cooks were filled with gratitude.
Very soon, the kitchen returned to orderly operations.
Remarkably, though Qu Fulan was just a young girl, she spoke with a deep, stable voice that gave a surprisingly calming effect, making everyone subconsciously want to follow her lead.
Meanwhile, at the front, every table was served with the same beverage: milk tea.
"The storyteller had a dry throat earlier, now they’re soothing it, dear guests, thank you for waiting. This is milk tea prepared for you by the establishment, complimentary on our opening day; please enjoy."
In the heat of summer, the milk tea was served with ice cubes.
The esteemed guests were fuming with impatience as the storytelling hadn’t started, and the dishes were slow to be served, although actually not that slow; any bustling business would serve at this pace. It was just impatience for ’Journey to the West’ manifesting into irritation.
Seeing the complimentary treat, served in exquisite bowls with ice cubes, fruit, and a subtle hint of milk and tea aroma, not only did it smell inviting, but it also was visually appealing.
Sitting idle with something free to eat, why not enjoy it?
So they scooped it up with spoons and took a bite.
Meanwhile, on the third floor, the Pei Family was enjoying the milk tea.
Initially, Mrs. Pei wasn’t in the mood to eat, all her thoughts on the next episode of Journey to the West, and while waiting, she chatted with her family, then absentmindedly felt her mouth dry and ate a spoonful.
With that taste, her eyes lit up.
"Is this milk tea? It’s really good, refreshing with a rich flavor, I like it; one spoonful and I feel much lighter."
With Mrs. Pei’s approval, naturally everyone else began to eat, resulting in a chorus of amazement.
"So fragrant, did Sister Fulan invent this milk tea? She’s so talented," the Third Miss remarked.
"It’s okay, but the flavor is a bit strong," added Miss Ying.
The Second Madam and Third Madam agreed with Mrs. Pei.
The Second Young Miss, however, had a different focus, "I heard milk tea is being given out for free today, isn’t that wasteful? Although our family is substantial, we’re not usually so wasteful, does Brother know about Fulan’s decision?"
The attendants on the third floor didn’t know and couldn’t answer.
The Second Young Miss sneered, "I think she’s just showing off her skills, using freebies to attract customers. Where is she? I want to ask her directly."
The message was soon returned, "Miss Fulan said she’s busy, she’ll come over later to explain and apologize."
The Second Young Miss immediately concluded that Qu Fulan did it behind Brother’s back, with Brother treating her so well, likely giving her control of the storeroom keys, she could do whatever she liked.
"I told her to come, how dare she not?"
Mrs. Pei couldn’t help but interject, "You see how busy the store is now, why summon her now and disrupt things?"
The Second Young Miss naturally dared not contradict Mrs. Pei, only sighed with concern, "I’m just worried she’s overstepping, if things go wrong, the Pei Family will suffer."
Mrs. Pei said nothing, although she too worried that the store might incur losses if things were handled too carelessly.