Mothers and Children Who Weren't Very Bright
Liu Chang'an looked at Zhou Shuling. Compared to a few years ago when Zhou Shuling had just brought Zhou Dongdong, who could barely walk, to rent his house, Zhou Shuling now looked much better.
Although Zhou Dongdong eats more than other children, he learned to walk normally, run and jump steadily, and develop normal communication skills much later than other children.
Watching the two not-so-bright mother and child gradually shed their former life of needing pity, Liu Chang'an's lips curled slightly as he raised his hand to pat Zhou Shuling's head.
"My hair!" Zhou Shuling felt a warmth in Liu Chang'an's eyes, and said coquettishly, but a sentence came to mind.
I am fortunate to have met Chang'an in my life.
The original meaning of "Chang'an" in this sentence is certainly not "Liu Chang'an," but for Zhou Shuling, it is "Liu Chang'an."
"My hands are covered in oil, I need to wash them," Liu Chang'an said.
Zhou Shuling slapped him, but quickly looked up and touched her hair, running her fingers through the thick strands; it wasn't greasy at all.
"Why are you so annoying?" Zhu Juntang also raised her hands to hold her head and touched her hair, because Liu Chang'an had grabbed her head before.
Zhu Juntang absolutely did not believe that Liu Chang'an touching other people's heads... whether it was touching Zhou Shuling's head or touching her head, there was any ambiguous meaning behind it.
When he did this, Zhu Juntang felt as if he was just petting cute little animals, like cats and dogs, or petting Zhou Dongdong and Lu Protector.
Zhu Juntang often saw that look in his eyes, the kind that seemed to regard others as if they were some kind of small animal. So sometimes, Zhu Juntang really suspected that he thought she was an Immortal Sheep, a mount, and that he wasn't just joking.
Liu Chang'an didn't wash his hands. He casually pushed Zhu Juntang off the table, grabbed a paper menu from under her bottom, glanced at it, and then said to Zhou Shuling, "I want rice noodles, two servings, double toppings, three Dongdong Brand Chicken Leg, two fried eggs with lard... and a poached egg, just in the soup, three Zhou Shuling brand meat buns, and a super-sized iced soy milk."
"It's Zhou Mama's Big Meat Bun!" Zhou Shuling corrected. This was her invention, and the correct name was related to the inventor's pride and dignity. Zhou Shuling had invented many dishes, but this was the only one that had received Liu Chang'an's approval. He even got the name wrong, which made Zhou Shuling a little depressed.
However, he still ordered three at once, which made Zhou Shuling a little proud, because he ordered them at a restaurant, which meant that he really liked them, unlike at home, where he would eat whatever she cooked, regardless of whether it tasted good or not.
"Third Miss, what would you like to eat?" Zhou Shuling asked Zhu Juntang politely and warmly. She always believed that if you were opening a shop on someone else's turf, you had to treat the owner well, just like how she used to always send Zhou Dongdong to deliver soy milk to Liu Chang'an.
Zhu Juntang was calculating how much food Liu Chang'an had ordered. She thought Liu Chang'an was also a kind of animal.
Although Zhu Juntang usually eats a much wider variety of dishes than Liu Chang'an, that's all arranged by the kitchen. When Zhu Juntang actually eats, he only picks out a little bit at random, while he eats all the dishes that Liu Chang'an orders.
"I'll have a meat bun, one, please." Zhu Juntang said, rubbing her little belly. Fairies should always rub their little bellies before ordering food; it's an essential etiquette for fairies, a way to remind themselves to be careful not to gain weight on their bellies.
"Is that not enough? How about a few more? Or a few more chicken legs and a cup of soy milk?" Zhou Shuling said with concern.
After all, she was someone who often watched the three giants dining under the sycamore tree, so she felt that Zhu Juntang should eat more as well.
"One meat bun and a cup of soy milk, please," Zhu Juntang said somewhat reluctantly, "Fine, I'll give Dongdong's mom some face."
Zhou Shuling placed the order, and after the food was served, she moved a chair over to sit with Liu Chang'an and watch him eat heartily.
Zhu Juntang found Zhou Shuling a bit strange. What was so interesting about watching other people eat? In Zhu Juntang's understanding of dining etiquette, it was really impolite to sit next to others and watch them eat.
The key point is that Zhou Shuling watched Liu Chang'an eat, smiling from time to time as if she were very satisfied. She would also glance at Zhu Juntang from time to time. Although Zhou Shuling tried to hide it, Zhu Juntang still noticed that Zhou Shuling would unconsciously frown when she saw Zhu Juntang eating small bites... Zhou Shuling herself probably didn't even notice.
Zhu Juntang didn't think much of it... After all, she was someone who lived with Liu Chang'an, just like Zhou Dongdong. Under such influence, it was inevitable that Zhou Shuling would become a little abnormal.
If Zhou Shuling didn't have this job at the restaurant, Zhu Juntang would actually like to have Zhou Shuling be his personal assistant, so she could take over some of Zhong Qing's work.
Zhu Juntang hopes that the people who work for her are good-looking. Zhou Shuling and Zhong Qing have similar figures. If she wore a uniform skirt suit in the style of Zhong Qing, she would probably look more like a gentle and charming secretary.
Actually, Zhu Juntang prefers Zhou Shuling's appearance. It goes without saying that she is beautiful, but more importantly, her face has soft curves and her expression is natural and gentle, unlike Zhong Qing, who is always expressionless, as if he is wearing a mask all the time.
Although he was a protector under the Saintess, the Saintess's mother became his subordinate, so his status naturally rose accordingly.
"Dongdong's mom, look, the restaurant is on the right track now. Actually, you just need to hire a manager, so you don't have to stay in the restaurant every day." Zhu Juntang found such a tempting reason and began to work on it.
"He said that too." Zhou Shuling pointed at Liu Chang'an and smiled. "I really don't think it's necessary. I'm idle anyway, so it's good to save some costs. I heard from Manager Quan that for a store like ours, the requirements for hiring a store manager should be higher, with a monthly salary estimated to be between ten thousand and twenty thousand, which is too expensive."
"I'll pay for it," Zhu Juntang said generously.
"What's it to you?" Liu Chang'an glared at Zhu Juntang.
"That's not appropriate," Zhou Shuling refused with a smile.
"What I mean is, I'll hire a store manager for you, and you can work for me. I need a personal assistant to take care of some daily chores. It's actually quite simple; it's just managing the amenities, like the kitchen and the dressing room." Zhu Juntang glared back at Liu Chang'an. Honestly, it's not like she's looking for his wife, what business is it of his!
"This... I'm not good at this," Zhou Shuling said somewhat awkwardly.
"Yes, managing this shop is really tough on you." Liu Chang'an nodded. "She's just trying to fool you. She talks about the kitchen and the dressing room, making it sound simple, but actually, a kitchen is divided into Western and Chinese dining areas. You have to manage a group of chefs, cooks, soup chefs, grill chefs, vegetable chefs, cold dish chefs, and their leaders are the head chefs, as well as many waiters, pastry chefs, bakers..."
"Are there so many people serving you meals?" Zhou Shuling looked at Zhu Juntang in surprise. She only knew that Zhu Juntang's family was very wealthy, but ordinary people's imagination of the lifestyle of the rich is often limited.
"They... they... I only transferred Zhang Jiawei over. He's the one who found those people. What does it have to do with me!" Zhu Juntang was furious that Liu Chang'an had ruined her plans. She stuffed the remaining half of the big meat bun into her mouth and ate it in one bite.
"Zhang Jiawei... Manager Zhang from Zhu's Restaurant, right? He's been to our restaurant and praised our dishes highly. He's a very tasteful chef." Zhou Shuling was quite pleased. Zhang Jiawei used to be the one who prepared meals for Zhu Juntang. The fact that he praised the restaurant's rice noodles, chicken leg buns, and the like meant that her restaurant's dishes were also worthy of being considered high-end and exquisite.
"I'm going back." Zhu Juntang's plan to elevate her status had been thwarted, and she didn't want to play with Liu Chang'an anymore... She wasn't going to play with him today anyway.
Liu Chang'an smiled as he watched Zhu Juntang leave the restaurant.
"Still laughing? You've made her leave in anger." Zhou Shuling saw Zhu Juntang off from the restaurant, then came back and sat down, giving Liu Chang'an a reproachful glare.
"Have an egg to nourish your body." Liu Chang'an picked up an egg and stuffed it into Zhou Shuling's mouth to prevent her from rambling on about how to maintain a good relationship with the Third Miss for the sake of the restaurant's operation and how not to offend her.
Zhou Shuling saw that the edge of the egg was just touching her mouth, and he looked like he was about to let go of the chopsticks. She quickly stretched her head forward, opened her mouth, and bit it. She couldn't let it fall to the ground; that would be too wasteful.
After finishing his meal, Liu Chang'an texted An Nuan to ask if they had eaten, then packed up several servings of rice noodles, chicken legs, and meat buns from the restaurant and returned to his hotel room.