Chapter 3: 第三章：签订协议

Xiao Li nodded, turned around, and said to the busy female cooks, "You all get out. The Young Master requested this lady to come in and cook."

Cook A looked at Su Jin's appearance with a face full of disgust. "Looking like a little beggar, how could she know how to cook? Xiao Li, has the shopkeeper made a mistake?"

Cook B immediately chimed in with a nod. "Yeah, has the shopkeeper..."

Hearing the cooks' incessant nagging, Xiao Li raised his voice in an impatient roar, "Why do you all have so much to say? Do you not want to work anymore?"

Cook A put down the vegetables she was cutting and pushed Cook B toward the exit. "Let's... let's go. Let's get out and see what kind of thing she can actually make."

With a bitter expression, Xiao Li said, "Lady, I have offended them for your sake. Please do not make things difficult for me."

Su Jin walked up to Xiao Li, patted him on the shoulder, and said heroically, "Don't worry, Xiao Li! I won't let you down. You go out first, and remember to close the door behind you."

"Alright," Xiao Li said as he retreated. After he left, Su Jin scanned the vegetables and found red chili peppers, potatoes, meat, garlic, and some other items. She checked the seasonings and found salt, white vinegar, and Sichuan peppercorns; all the basic seasonings were there. Su Jin had thought that these seasonings might not exist in ancient times, but it seemed she had worried too much.

"Then I'll make some sour and spicy shredded potatoes," Su Jin said as she got to work. She picked up the kitchen knife from the cutting board, peeled the potatoes, peeled the garlic, and then removed the stems from the red chilies. She washed the chilies and potatoes in clean water, then took out a basin and filled it with fresh water.

She placed the potatoes on the cutting board and sliced them into shreds, then placed the shredded potatoes into the basin of water. After cutting the potatoes, Su Jin then minced the red chilies and garlic. Once finished with these steps...

Su Jin washed the wok. These ancient large woks were truly difficult to clean, but fortunately, Su Jin had used such large woks when she visited her grandmother in the countryside and had even stir-fried dishes in them. Although they were hard to clean, the flavor of food stir-fried in such a large wok was more fragrant and delicious than food cooked in the big cities. After washing the wok, Su Jin used a fire striker to start the flame.

Once the wok heated up, she poured in the oil. When the oil reached fifty percent heat, she added the potato shreds to give them a light oil soak, then used a spatula to scoop them out into a bowl. She then reheated the oil in the wok.

Next, she added the red chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and garlic in sequence, followed by the potato shreds. She stir-fried them, added salt and sugar, and finally added some dried chilies and white vinegar just before taking it off the heat. Once the dish was cooked and plated, a dish of sour and spicy shredded potatoes was ready. After finishing, Su Jin hurriedly carried the steaming dish over to Zhongli Chen. "Try it, it's fresh off the stove."

Seeing what Su Jin had brought, Zhongli Chen frowned and stared at it for a long time, unable to tell what it was. He looked up at Su Jin and asked, "What is it that you have stir-fried?"

"Potatoes, or what you call 'Ma Ling Shu'," Su Jin had originally said "potatoes," but suddenly remembered that in ancient times they were called "Ma Ling Shu," so she quickly corrected herself.

Zhongli Chen stared at the shredded potatoes in the dish, looking at Su Jin with an expression of astonishment, his eyes filled with disbelief. "Potatoes can be prepared like this?"

Su Jin nodded and said with a smile, "Yes, why not? Try it first and tell me what you think of the taste."

"Fine." Zhongli Chen picked up his chopsticks and took a mouthful of the potato shreds. Upon entering his mouth, the taste was first sour, then spicy; the two different flavors of sour and spicy spread through his mouth, stimulating his taste buds. Zhongli Chen hadn't expected a single dish to produce two distinct flavors. He took several more bites, still unsatisfied, but for the sake of his image, he had to put his chopsticks down.

Seeing Zhongli Chen put down his chopsticks without a word, Su Jin looked at him nervously. It wasn't that she lacked confidence in her skills, but rather that she was afraid ancient people wouldn't be used to such a dish. "How does it feel?"

"Not bad. I accept your terms."

"Deal."

Su Jin glanced at the cooks standing behind them. Who asked them to look down on people just now! "Dismiss all your cooks."

The previously arrogant cooks were so terrified by Su Jin's words that they immediately knelt down, kowtowing to her. "Lady, Lady, I was blind to judge you by your appearance! Please, Lady, you are magnanimous, please forgive this lowly one!" They could never have imagined that this little beggar would suddenly become half a shopkeeper; they were instantly filled with regret.

Zhongli Chen didn't even spare a glance at the cooks on the floor and gave a direct order, "Xiao Li, settle their accounts and let them leave."

"Yes." "Follow me." Xiao Li glanced at the kneeling cooks, feeling a secret tremor in his heart. If he hadn't changed his attitude toward this lady just now, he would be the one kneeling on the ground.

"May I know your honorable name, Lady?"

Su Jin glanced indifferently at Zhongli Chen and said, "Su Jin."

"Zhongli Chen."

"Oh." Seeing that Su Jin only gave a faint response upon hearing his name, Zhongli Chen wondered if she didn't know who he was. That was impossible; anyone from the capital would know his name. Could it be that this lady was not from the capital? "Miss Su, may I ask where you are from?"

Seeing Zhongli Chen asking where she was from, Su Jin looked up and saw his ink-black eyes, which seemed as if they could see right through her. Su Jin avoided his gaze and quickly made up an excuse. "I have amnesia; I don't know where I am from."

"Don't call me Miss Su. Just call me Su Jin. From now on, we are allies; calling me 'Miss' makes us feel like strangers."

Seeing Su Jin's shifting gaze, Zhongli Chen knew she wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't want to press further. "Fine. So, Su Jin, what should we do now?"

Su Jin lowered her head in thought for a moment before looking up at Zhongli Chen. "Let's sign a contract first. I will dictate it, you write it down, and once you're done, I'll take a look and sign it."

Zhongli Chen nodded, then turned to Xiao Li. "Alright, Xiao Li, bring the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."

"Yes, Young Master, please wait a moment." Xiao Li ran quickly up to the second floor and returned a moment later carrying the writing tools. Xiao Li spread out the paper and ground the ink. "Young Master, the ink is ready. You may write."

Zhongli Chen picked up the brush and looked at Su Jin. "Fine. Su Jin, go ahead. I will write."

"First clause: From this day forward, the shares of Qinxiang Ju shall be split equally between Zhongli Chen and Su Jin..." Su Jin dictated ten clauses all at once. As soon as she finished, Zhongli Chen set down the brush.

"Su Jin, please review this." Su Jin took the contract Zhongli Chen had written, but she was instantly stunned when she saw his handwriting. It was Traditional Chinese!

Su Jin couldn't understand a single character. She truly hated herself for not studying Traditional Chinese more thoroughly back then! However, Su Jin pretended to understand and nodded, because she trusted Zhongli Chen's character, and judging by his attire, he did not look like the type of person who lacked money.

Su Jin nodded as if she had understood and handed the paper back to Zhongli Chen. "Mhm, it's fine. Write another copy. Each of us will keep one copy of the contract. Oh, and write your name at the bottom."

"Alright." After a short while, Zhongli Chen produced a second copy.

Su Jin pointed to the blank space at the bottom right of the contract. "Write your name here."

"Fine." Before long, Zhongli Chen had written his name.

"Give me the brush." Zhongli Chen handed the brush to Su Jin. Su Jin took it and wrote the two characters of her name, "Su Jin," in a crooked, wobbly fashion. Looking at her own chicken scratch, the corners of her mouth twitched involuntarily. It was so ugly!

Su Jin handed the paper with her signed name to Zhongli Chen. "Here, let's exchange. You keep the copy with my name, and I'll keep the copy with yours." Zhongli Chen took the paper Su Jin handed him and then handed his signed contract back to her. When Zhongli Chen saw Su Jin's signature, the corners of his mouth also twitched. What on earth was this?

Seeing Zhongli Chen's reaction to her handwriting, Su Jin quickly changed the subject. "Alright, now we are allies. Find a few reliable people. I will teach them how to cook when the time comes. They must be reliable; otherwise, if they learn my cooking skills and run off to work at another restaurant, that would be bad."

"Fine."